Ramallah
latest news & developments
Fayyad unveils plan for Palestinian state in two years
Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad on Tuesday unveiled his government’s plans to create a de facto state in two years.
Rival Palestinian factions fail to agree on unity govt
Rival Palestinian factions have so far failed to overcome obstacles in reconciliation talks which they hope will lead to a unified governing body.
Rice presses Israel on roadblocks, settlements
United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Sunday pressed Israel to ease travel restrictions on Palestinians and called Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank…
Israeli army breaks up protest at wildcat settlement
Israeli soldiers on Thursday dispersed about 50 Palestinian and Israeli demonstrators who briefly took control of a wildcat settlement near Ramallah to protest against the…
Bush sees Middle East peace treaty in a year
United States President George Bush on Thursday predicted the signing of a Middle East peace treaty in a year and called for an end to Israel’s four-decade occupation of…
Israel frees more than 400 Palestinian prisoners
More than 400 Palestinian prisoners came home to a heroes’ welcome on Monday after the latest Israeli release aimed at boosting President Mahmoud Abbas during the revived peace…
Rice promises ‘substantive’ Middle East conference
United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice vowed on Monday that a US-sponsored Israeli-Palestinian conference would be serious and substantive, confirming it will take…
Blair sees possibilities in Middle East mission
Tony Blair said on Tuesday there was a new ”moment of opportunity” in the Middle East but cautioned in his first visit as an international envoy against expecting any peace…
Palestinians pay first full salaries in over a year
Thousands of Palestinian civil servants began receiving their first full salaries in 17 months on Wednesday after Israel released tens of millions of dollars of withheld tax…
New Palestinian Cabinet may end aid boycott
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was set to swear in a new Cabinet in the West Bank on Sunday, further sealing the divide sparked by the bloody seizure of the Gaza Strip by…
Palestinian despair deepens over Gaza
Hamas may now rule Gaza, but for many ordinary Palestinians the bloody conclusion of this week’s factional fighting promises only more chaos. Emergency measures imposed by…
Forty years on, Palestinians recall Israeli victory
Marking 40 years of Israeli occupation, President Mahmoud Abbas said on Tuesday internal fighting had brought Palestinians to the brink of civil war. Yet Abbas, recalling what he…
Palestinian Parliament paralysed amid crisis
Palestinians are crying out for order and progress towards statehood, yet their Parliament has failed to pass a single law in over a year, paralysed by factional fighting and,…
Hamas leader warns of new Palestinian uprising
Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal warned Israel could face another Palestinian uprising unless conditions in the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank improve. Meshaal told the Palestinian…
Amid civil war fears, Fatah and Hamas stockpile arms
When hundreds of Fatah gunmen paraded past his West Bank supermarket last week, Mohammad Zahi stared unbelieving at their sparkling black M16 assault rifles. In years past,…