Israel/Palästina

The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said on Wednesday that her Office has started an investigation into crimes allegedly committed in occupied Palestinian territory. 

Judges at the International Criminal Court on Friday found the court has jurisdiction over war crimes committed in the Palestinian territories, paving the way for a possible criminal investigation, despite Israeli objections.

Palestinian elections scheduled for later this year will be a crucial step towards unity, the new UN envoy in the region, Tor Wennesland, said on Tuesday in his first briefing to the Security Council. 

The UN Secretary-General has welcomed Friday’s announcement from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of the first full parliamentary and presidential elections in 15 years, scheduled to begin in May. … Pressure has grown on Palestinian leaders to reconcile across political and regional divides, according to news reports, following the stalemate with Israel over peace negotiations, and diplomatic agreements reached in recent months between Israel and four Arab nations.

Preliminary vote inches Israel toward fourth election in two years, but Netanyahu-Gantz compromise could prevent it.

The Palestinian Authority has agreed to resume coordination with Israeli authorities, which has been suspended since May over Israel's plans to annex parts of the West Bank, Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh said Tuesday.

US President Donald Trump announced Friday that Sudan is in the process of normalizing its ties with Israel, making it the third Arab state to do so as part of recent US-brokered deals.

Israel has stopped granting any visas to employees at the United Nations’ human rights agency, effectively forcing the body’s top staff to leave, Middle East Eye can reveal.

Israeli and Palestinian leaders, and their international partners, must urgently resume peace efforts “before it is too late”, UN Middle East envoy Nikolay Mladenov told the Security Council on Tuesday, echoing the Secretary-General. 

Deal between the rival Palestinian factions follows normalisation agreements between Israel, the UAE and Bahrain.