Israel/Palästina

Israel's plans to open up tenders for the construction of some 1,200 settlement homes in a strategically important part of the occupied West Bank have sparked fresh condemnation by major Western powers.

Reports of new illegal Israeli outposts in the occupied West Bank raised alarms at UN Headquarters on Wednesday while the UN rights office called on Israel to condemn its national security minister’s words that incite “violence amounting to atrocity crimes” against Palestinians.

US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Jared Kushner has arrived in Israel, where he is expected to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. It comes after Kushner held rare talks with Hamas to discuss the implementation of the US-backed Gaza peace plan. … Last week, Israel rejected Trump's 15-point plan, which also calls for Israeli troops to withdraw and for Gaza to be rebuilt under a new civilian Palestinian administration.

The United Arab Emirates and seven other countries on Sunday condemned Israel's rejection of US President Donald Trump's plan to end the war in the Gaza Strip. It comes a week after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the 15-point plan for Gaza, stating that no military pullout will happen until Hamas is "genuinely" disarmed.

Trump's Board of Peace said last month it had reached an agreement for the "complete disarmament" of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza. But Hamas said handing over its heavy weapons was contingent on Israel ending "all forms of aggression" and withdrawing its forces from Gaza.

Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, which was set up in January to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza, has finally issued its first construction contract in the devastated territory: a project to build a rudimentary 150-person military outpost to house Moroccan troops.

Israeli forces have intensified their military operations in the Gaza Strip since the roadmap for a second stage of the Palestinian enclave’s “ceasefire” was announced last week.

Hamas and other Palestinian factions have agreed to a document setting out a plan for their disarmament in Gaza, in what United States President Donald Trump has called “a monumental step” towards peace and security. Al Jazeera has received a copy of Thursday’s agreement, which stipulates that the precise disarmament roadmap must be prepared within 14 days, with possible extensions subject to the approval of an international verification body, and the agreement of all parties.

Israel’s government has approved the entry of the International Stabilization Force (ISF), part of United States President Donald Trump’s 20-point “peace plan,” to Gaza. An Israeli official reported on Sunday that Israel’s security cabinet had approved the key legal measures and that the force would operate “in full coordination with” the Israeli military, according to the Times of Israel.

Amid intensified deadly Israeli attacks in Gaza, the UN chief and top officials condemned the killings while a surge violence rocked the West Bank and aid agencies scrambled to help Palestinians.