Kushner says Israel can 'finish the job properly' in Gaza if Hamas does not disarm

“We will not allow Gaza to be rebuilt until the demilitarisation occurs.”

Speaking to Fox News after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump's envoy and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, said that Israel will have the support of the US to “finish the job properly” in Gaza if Hamas does not agree to disarm.

Kushner also said that he had a "very cordial" meeting with Hamas and that getting the group to disarm and move forward with Trump's peace plan could materialise in about a month.

However, he added that Trump's "Board of Peace" will "not restrict Israel’s right to defend itself if there are any imminent threats".

Palestinian American citizen reunites with family under Israeli settler siege in Qusra

"Earlier today they still shaking hands with the settlers instead of arresting them and removing them from the area.”

Loui Ridi, a Palestinian American citizen who lives in Ohio, reunited with his family on Monday, who have been under Israeli settler siege in Qusra in the occupied West Bank.

The siege began when settlers surrounded three homes on a hilltop in the village, setting up tents to force families out and take control.

Despite the Israeli military deploying troops to maintain order, settlers are still roaming around the properties, harassing Palestinian families.

Palestinian American citizen reunites with family under Israeli settler siege in Qusra

"Earlier today they still shaking hands with the settlers instead of arresting them and removing them from the area.”

Loui Ridi, a Palestinian American citizen who lives in Ohio, reunited with his family on Monday, who have been under Israeli settler siege in Qusra in the occupied West Bank.

The siege began when settlers surrounded three homes on a hilltop in the village, setting up tents to force families out and take control.

Despite the Israeli military deploying troops to maintain order, settlers are still roaming around the properties, harassing Palestinian families.

Trump says Iran won't make deal he thinks is necessary

US President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday that Iran would not make the type of deal with the US that he thought was necessary.

He also added that Iran “cannot have a nuclear weapon” and argued that rebuilding its nuclear capabilities would take a long time.

Trump says Iran won't make deal he thinks is necessary

US President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday that Iran would not make the type of deal with the US that he thought was necessary.

He also added that Iran “cannot have a nuclear weapon” and argued that rebuilding its nuclear capabilities would take a long time.

Qatar says Hormuz deal crucial for US-Iran talks

Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari told reporters on Monday that an agreement on opening the Strait of Hormuz would make it easier to resume talks between the US and Iran.

Huckabee calls Israeli settler siege in Qusra ‘act of terror’

In an interview with Israeli broadcaster Channel 12, US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said on Tuesday that “terror” is the most accurate term to describe the actions of Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.

This comes after Huckabee recently condemned the settler siege of homes in the occupied West Bank village of Qusra.

Israeli soldiers number Palestinian detainees on their foreheads amid West Bank raids

Israeli soldiers marked Palestinian detainees with numbers on their foreheads and arms during a raid in Qabatiya, near Jenin, in the occupied West Bank on Monday.

Ahmad al-Hathnawi, who was marked with the number 44 on his forehead, said at least 50 people were detained, including women.

The Israeli army confirmed that soldiers had marked the detainees with numbers, saying that “lessons have been learned”, according to Israeli media.

Bali gym owner refuses Israeli tourists entry over links to Israeli army

Footage circulating online shows a gym owner in Bali kicking out three tourists after finding out that they were Israelis who served in the Israeli army. 

In a video he posted on his TikTok, gym owner Samir explains that the three Israelis were brought to his attention after one of them was rude towards a staff member. 

“They told me they are Israelis. So I said we don’t serve Israelis, we don’t serve the IDF and we don’t serve anyone who’s rude to our staff,” he said. 

The tourists later left a negative Google review for the gym, accusing Samir of being “racist” and of kicking them out because of their religion.

Who will disarm the Israeli settlers storming West Bank villages? | Soumaya Ghannoushi | MEE Opinion

Soumaya Ghannoushi, a writer and expert in Middle East politics, says that Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank is not a series of isolated attacks but part of a wider campaign of displacement. In Qusra, Palestinian families have been trapped inside their homes as settlers cut water and electricity, attacked houses and gathered outside armed, while Israeli soldiers failed to protect them.

Ghannoushi says the same pattern is repeating across the West Bank. Homes are attacked, cars torched, farmers beaten, livestock stolen and olive trees destroyed. She points to human rights groups that have warned of mass atrocities and ethnic cleansing, while B’Tselem describes the relationship simply as “Settler Violence = State Violence.”

Israel’s Ben Gvir boasts of planned execution facility for Palestinian prisoners

Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir boasted on Tuesday about the construction of a facility intended for the execution of Palestinian prisoners.

“In this place, the terrorists will be executed,” Ben Gvir said in a video posted on Instagram, where he has around 150,000 followers.

In the video, Ben Gvir points towards what appears to be an active construction site and says the complex will include “viewing chambers where crime victims will be able to come and watch” Palestinians being hanged.

"We are fulfilling what we promised," the minister added.

Ben Gvir also celebrated what he described as a victory over his opponents, saying those who “ridiculed” and “giggled” at his plan to execute Palestinians could now see that “this place is starting to be built”.

Israel kills nine people in Gaza police station bombing

Israeli air strikes killed at least nine Palestinians at a police station in Gaza City on Wednesday, in the latest escalation as mediators push to advance the fragile ceasefire.

Gaza’s Police Department said Israeli fighter jets dropped several bombs on the Gaza Governorate Municipalities Police Headquarters.

Who will disarm the Israeli settlers storming West Bank villages?

Soumaya Ghannoushi, a writer and expert in Middle East politics, explains the growing militarisation of settlers and Israel’s expanding settlements, arguing that “the machinery of annexation is advancing”.

She says the West Bank exposes the weakness of claims that Israel’s violence against Palestinians is simply a response to Hamas, because Hamas does not govern there, yet Palestinians are still being killed, displaced and stripped of their land.

She questions why Western discourse constantly invokes Israel’s right to exist, security and self-defence while denying Palestinians the same rights. “The West asks Palestinians to disarm,” she writes. “But who will disarm the armed settlers storming their villages?”

Israel admits firing on car carrying 5-year-old Hind Rajab in Gaza

Israel’s military has for the first time admitted that it opened fire on a vehicle carrying five-year-old Hind Rajab and her family in Gaza City two-and-a-half years ago.

The military said it would open a criminal investigation into the killing of nine people on 29 January 2024, including Hind. 

The bodies of Hind, six family members, and two paramedics who attempted to rescue her were found 12 days after the attack.

📰 A mercenary allegedly hired and paid millions of dollars by the United Arab Emirates carried out a covert surveillance operation against a British activist and academic in London, according to an investigation by ITV News.

Abraham Golan, a dual Hungarian-Israeli citizen who ran the private security company Spear Operations Group, travelled to Britain in December 2016 to target Anas al-Tikriti, the chief executive of the London-based Cordoba Foundation think tank, ITV News reported on Wednesday.

Emirati financial records seen by ITV showed that Golan, who lived in the US, was being paid by the UAE while carrying out the operation. He was receiving a six-figure annual retainer, as well as substantial bonuses, including a $1m payment weeks before his trip to London for an operation in Yemen.

🔗 https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uae-funded-mercenary-targeted-british-activist-anas-altikriti-london

Released Gaza detainee recounts killing of Dr Adnan al-Bursh

In an interview with Middle East Eye, released Palestinian detainee Islam Al-Hijazi recounts the harrowing details of Dr Adnan al-Bursh’s killing in Israeli detention, as relayed to him by inmates at Ofer prison. 

During his detention, Al-Hijazi found himself in the same cell where, around a month earlier, al-Bursh drew his last breath. Inmates who were present at the time told him what happened. 

“The doctor collapsed on the floor of the room, barely breathing. His breathing was very weak. The men started calling for help, banging on the doors and shouting that they needed a doctor. Unfortunately, there was no response from the prison guards,” says Al-Hijazi.

British academic Anas Altikriti targeted in UAE-funded surveillance operation

British academic Anas Altikriti told MEE he expected “far better” from the UK government after an ITV investigation revealed that a UAE-funded mercenary had covertly surveilled him in 2016, recording details of his home, car and workplace.

Victim of Israeli strike on Gaza port had to have her hand amputated, says daughter

Middle East Eye spoke to Ibtisam Murtaja, the daughter of 70-year-old Layla Murtaja, whose photo went viral after she was seen covered in blood and severely injured following an Israeli drone strike on a café at Gaza City’s port. The attack killed six people, including Layla’s son, and left her in intensive care.

“We didn’t hear the missile,” Ibtisam said. “I woke up, there were so many bodies. I didn’t know who to help and who to leave.”

Ibtisam told MEE that her mother’s right hand, which had been her only functioning hand for the past six years, had to be amputated due to the severity of her injuries.