49 h. ago Fears Gaza ‘temporary’ ceasefire line could become permanent new border

Yellow markers installed by IDF entrench divide that cuts strip in two, as hopes of moving to next phase of truce fadeA supposedly temporary yellow line marking Gaza’s ceasefire is taking an increasingly physical form as the precarious truce shows signs of stalling, with potentially dramatic consequences for Palestine’s future.Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops have started installing yellow concrete markers every 200 metres to delineate the area remaining under Israeli control during the first phase of the ceasefire. Continue reading...

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53 h. ago The war in Gaza is supposed to be over. But be warned: without truth and justice, it will never truly end | Simon Tisdall

A fragile ceasefire is in place, but what’s needed is an international tribunal for resolution and reparation. That’s the only route to lasting peaceDonald Trump insists the war in Gaza is over. No, it isn’t. The violence is much reduced. Yet Israeli forces have reportedly killed about 100 Palestinians and wounded hundreds more since the 10 October ceasefire began. Food aid supplies are still heavily restricted. The occupation continues, in Gaza and the West Bank. US officials fear prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his accomplices may renege on the deal, as in the past.Likewise, Hamas elements and rival gangs have kept fighting. The terrorist group is not disarming; Israeli forces have not fully withdrawn to the agreed lines. US-framed security, governance and reconstruction proposals remain vague, hypothetical and contentious. The war’s root causes, principally the denial of Palestinian sovereignty and statehood, are not addressed. Unless that changes, it will all kick off agai...

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4 d. ago West Bank residents fear they may be Israel’s next target after Gaza

With the war in Gaza drawing down, Palestinians worry the Israeli military will turn its attention towards the West BankShadi Dabaya’s body bears the scars of the Israeli occupation. The 54-year-old proudly stuck out his jaw to show the chunk of his cheek torn away by Israeli fire and traced the zigzag scar on his arm, the pink, raised flesh marking the bullet’s path through his body.“I got these in the second intifada,” said Dabaya, beaming. He pulled up a video of himself a year earlier confronting an Israeli personnel carrier in Jenin camp wielding only a flip-flop, playing it from different angles. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago West Bank resistance dies amid fears of becoming Israel’s ‘next Gaza’

Once known as the ‘martyrs’ capital’ of Palestine, Jenin is now patrolled by Israeli soldiers as weary residents seek quiet lifeShadi Dabaya’s body bears the scars of the Israeli occupation. The 54-year-old proudly stuck out his jaw to show the chunk of his cheek torn away by Israeli fire and traced the zigzag scar on his arm, the pink, raised flesh marking the bullet’s path through his body.“I got these in the second intifada,” said Dabaya, beaming. He pulled up a video of himself a year earlier confronting an Israeli personnel carrier in Jenin camp wielding only a flip-flop. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Most athletes have chosen to ‘shut up and dribble’ over Gaza | Nathan Kalman

Only a handful of North American athletes have spoken out against Israel’s assault on Gaza, a silence shaped by fear, sponsorship and the policing of speech“I will not just shut up and dribble I get to sit up here and talk about what’s really important.” So proclaimed LeBron James in 2018 when confronted with the question of whether athletes have the right to speak about the political and social justice questions of their time.Yet since 7 October 2023, elite athletes in North America have had startlingly little to say about what most human rights groups in the world, the International Association of Genocide Scholars, and the United Nations have characterized as Israel’s genocide in Gaza (a situation currently in flux due to a mutually agreed upon ceasefire and prisoner exchange).Nathan Kalman-Lamb is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of New Brunswick. Derek Silva is Professor of Sociology and Criminology at King’s University College at Western University. They are ...

Politics

1 week ago Fears for Gaza ceasefire grow after Israel and Hamas accuse each other of breaching Trump’s peace

Hamas has claimed Israel has killed 24 Palestinians since the ceasefire began, while Israeli hostage families call on the truce to be terminated if the remaining bodies in Gaza are not returned

Politics

1 week ago Pakistan and Afghanistan agree to temporary ceasefire after airstrike in Kandahar

Dozens have been killed in recent clashes on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border

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1 week ago Fears for fragile Gaza ceasefire after seven Palestinians killed and aid cut off

Hamas has also been filmed carrying out public executions of men accused of ‘collaborating’ with Israeli forces

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1 week ago The battle to keep peace in Gaza: Experts fear Hamas will bring ceasefire to an end as it unleashes bloody revenge

Experts on the conflict in the Middle East have warned that despite the recent success of Trump's 20-point peace plan, it could easily descend into renewed fighting between Israel and Hamas.

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2 w. ago Hamas executes 'collaborators' in Gaza as it clings to power amid fears Trump's peace deal is already at risk 

In the disturbing footage circulating on social media yesterday, a group of men lined up side by side can be seen kneeling on the ground with their hands behind their backs.

Politics

2 w. ago ‘All we see is destruction’: Palestinians pulling bodies from the rubble of Gaza fear the fragile ceasefire will not last

As aid trickles in, families reunite and homes are returned to, Gazans tell The Independent that they are still in danger

Events

2 w. ago Hamas and Israel prepare to implement ceasefire as Netanyahu says deal approved by government

Israel’s government ratified the ceasefire and hostage deal on Friday, clearing the way to suspend hostilities in Gaza within 24 hoursIsraelis and Palestinians celebrated on Thursday night as Hamas and Israel’s government began preparations to implement a ceasefire deal that promises a durable end to a bloody two-year conflict that has killed tens of thousands, destabilised much of the Middle East and prompted protests around the world.In Gaza, there was joy but much anxiety. Many expressed the fear that the new deal would collapse, bringing more suffering to the devastated territory. Though crowds gathered in some places to dance and sing, in many places witnesses reported muted reaction amid loud overflights by warplanes and drones. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago ‘Everyone is still afraid’: ceasefire deal brings relief to Gaza but fears remain over future

Two previous short-lived ceasefires have left many in Gaza doubtful about the staying power of the latest agreementOn Thursday morning, there was little joy in Gaza. The news of the imminent ceasefire had spread rapidly across the devastated territory during the night, with a few gunshots fired into the sky in celebration, but as morning came the mood was of tense anticipation.“Everyone is still afraid,” said a 26-year-old woman in al-Mawasi, the squalid, overcrowded coastal strip where much of the population has sought shelter in makeshift tents and plastic shacks. Continue reading...

Economics

2 w. ago ‘It’s over! It’s over!’ they shout, but people here in Gaza still fear what the future may bring | Hassan Abo Qamar

Phase one of Donald Trump’s peace plan has brought joy and relief, yet it’s hard to believe this fragile peace will lastHassan Abo Qamar is a Palestinian writer and journalist based in GazaOn Thursday morning, I didn’t wake up to the sound of explosions, but to my brother shouting: “It’s over! It’s over!” For a moment, I thought I was dreaming. I wondered: what is happening? Has another loved one been targeted? What is over? Then he told me that Donald Trump had said it. “I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan,” the president wrote on his social media. For the first day in a long time, people in Gaza woke up to news that could be called happy. The ceasefire went into effect at noon. The sound of Israeli warplanes still echoed in the sky, but, for once, they didn’t feel frightening.The first phase of the agreement only includes the exchange of prisoners. That means 20 Israeli hostages in Gaza thought to be alive and...

Politics

3 w. ago This war of revenge has lasted two nightmare years. There’s only one hope for peace: Israel recognising Palestine | Raja Shehadeh

Donald Trump’s proposals are in play, but here in the West Bank we live in fear that the devastation of Gaza is coming our wayBeing an eternal optimist, I hoped that the events of 7 October 2023 – Hamas’s attack on southern Israel and breaking of the Israeli siege of Gaza – might precipitate a reappraisal of Israeli strategy towards the Palestinians. I hoped Israeli leaders would come to realise the futility of protecting their country by building walls, however impregnable.Instead, the attack did the opposite. It led to a war of revenge that has now lasted for close to two years, killing more than 65,000 Palestinians and causing the widespread devastation of Gaza, including destroying 92% of its residential buildings. Initially, I was shocked by this, and the dehumanisation of the people of Gaza which immediately came from Israeli leaders – Yoav Gallant, who was defence minister at the time of the attack, justified the war by declaring: “We are fighting human animals and are acting...

Politics

3 w. ago Civil liberty groups express concern over plan for more anti

Home secretary says police can consider ‘cumulative impact’ of demonstrations as Palestine Action ban opponents vow ‘escalation’Civil liberty groups have expressed concern over government plans to hand police greater powers to restrict protests as organisers of mass demonstrations against the banning of Palestine Action pledged a “major escalation” of their campaign.Shabana Mahmood said on Sunday that repeated large-scale demonstrations over Gaza had caused “considerable fear” for the Jewish community in the wake of a fatal terror attack on a synagogue last week. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago ‘After joining the deadly 2010 Gaza flotilla, I’m now sailing again. I’m worried Israel will kill us’

Ewa Jasiewicz, a British-Polish activist and journalist, was on board the 2010 Gaza aid flotilla in which nine activists were killed. As she sails to Gaza for a second time, she tells Alex Croft that she fears history may repeat itself

Events

3 w. ago ANDREW NEIL: I fear the Gaza peace plan rests on the fiction that Hamas will surrender. We must hope I'm wrong and that Trump is right

Donald Trump claims it's the route to 'eternal peace' and 'potentially a great day for civilisation'.

Politics

4 w. ago Brits on red alert for ANOTHER Labour tax bomb: No10 chief admits manifesto vows on income tax, NICs and VAT only stand 'today' as Reeves warns of Budget 'choices' over '£30bn' black hole

No10 enforcer Darren Jones hinted at pain to come as he insisted Labour's manifesto commitments still applied 'today' - but only because no decisions have been taken.

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4 w. ago Rachel Reeves stokes tax fears by warning of 'tough choices' in Budget and takes a swipe at Andy Burnham in Labour conference speech

Chancellor Rachel Reeves insisted she was going to keep taxes 'as low as possible' as Brits brace for more pain in her fiscal package on November 26.

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