Is Qatar in over its head? Hamas hails the first visit by a foreign head of state since it took over Gaza five years ago, but the rival Fatah sees the Emir’s visit as driving a further wedge between Palestinians.
Is Qatar in over its head? Hamas hails the first visit by a foreign head of state since it took over Gaza five years ago, but the rival Fatah sees the Emir’s visit as driving a further wedge between Palestinians.
We look at how Friday’s car bombing in Beirut has reignited fears the conflict in Syria spilling over its borders. We also speak to the brother of a missing Syrian man; his family fears he has been left to rot in one of the country’s infamous prisons. Finally, we analyse the results of this weekend’s elections in the West Bank.
Palestinians voted for new mayors and local councils across the West Bank on Saturday in their first elections since 2006. But turnout was low as the main opposition party, Hamas, boycotted the vote.
In an indication he wished to avoid playing favourites, Egypt’s new president Mohamed Morsi played host to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (pictured) Wednesday and prepared to meet the head of rival Palestinian faction Hamas on Thursday.
Five years ago this week, the Palestinian Islamist group, Hamas, seized control of Gaza after a violent battle with their arch-foes, Fatah. In the meantime, the border between Gaza and Israel continues to be a flashpoint; Palestinian militants fire rockets in southern Israel prompting a harsh military response from the Israelis. Annette Young talks to French historian, Jean-Pierre Filiu who’s just published a book about this tiny sliver of land and its troubled history.
Has the Arab Spring meant the Palestinian cause has been forgotten? And is the two-state solution dead and buried - especially as it appears Washington has shut up shop and put a "closed for business" sign on the window? Not at all, argues Fatah official Afif Safieh, who tells Annette Young that now more than ever, Europe has to get more involved to push for an end to the impasse.
The Palestinian Authority appears to be clamping down on dissent in the West Bank, blocking access to internet news sites and arresting journalists who are suspected of libel against leading Palestinian politicians. The growing censorship has surprised outside observers, many of whom considered Palestinian internet use relatively free compared with neighbouring countries.
In its first big escalation since it moved its headquarters out of Syria, Hamas finds itself tempering more hardline militants engaged in tit-for-tat attacks with Israel. François Picard’s panel looks at the impact of change elsewhere on Gaza.
In its first big escalation since it moved its headquarters out of Syria, Hamas finds itself tempering more hardline militants engaged in tit-for-tat attacks with Israel. François Picard’s panel looks at the impact of change elsewhere on Gaza.
