5 h. ago Where is the Gaza ‘peace process’ really going? | Ahmad Ibsais

Israel turns the violence up and down at will, maintaining full dominion over Gaza and the West Bank, then calls each pause a generous ‘ceasefire’If you started attending one funeral a day beginning 1 January 2025, you would finish in the year 3887. That is how long it would take to mourn every life lost in Gaza. By then, your grandchildren’s great10 grandchildren would be dust, and still you would be burying Palestinian bodies from a “war” Israel insists was about self-defense. Even then, this number does not tell you about the thousands of ways these bodies were burned, torn, crushed and made anything but whole.And yet here we are, watching world leaders gather in Egypt for a “peace summit” last month where the only people absent were Palestinians. The banner read “Peace 2025”, while Palestine’s representatives were barred from the room.Ahmad Ibsais is a first generation Palestinian American, law student and poet who writes the newsletter State of Siege Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago As Trump’s Gaza plan unravels, what’s next for the Middle East? Join live Q&A with Bel Trew

With tensions rising once more and the US rushing to uphold its fragile deal, chief international correspondent Bel Trew will answer readers’ questions on what – if anything – is achievable for the Middle East under the current framework

Politics

8 d. ago Gaza sliding into deadly limbo of ‘no war, no peace’, top Qatari diplomat warns

Majed al-Ansari calls for international force to be urgently set up to pave way for Israeli withdrawalGaza is sliding towards a deadly limbo where a ceasefire is nominally in place but killing continues, a top Qatari diplomat has warned, calling for rapid progress in setting up the international security force and administration to pave the way for full Israeli withdrawal.“We don’t want to reach a situation of no war, no peace,” said Majed al-Ansari, adviser to Qatar’s prime minister and spokesperson for the foreign ministry. Continue reading...

Events

8 d. ago Gaza risks sliding into deadly limbo of ‘no war, no peace’, top Qatari diplomat warns

Majed al-Ansari calls for international force to be set up urgently to pave way for Israeli withdrawalGaza risks sliding towards a deadly limbo where a ceasefire is nominally in place but killing continues, a top Qatari diplomat has warned, calling for rapid progress in setting up the international security force and administration to pave the way for full Israeli withdrawal.“We don’t want to reach a situation of no war, no peace,” said Majed al-Ansari, adviser to Qatar’s prime minister and spokesperson for the foreign ministry. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Tony Blair ‘has a contribution to make’ to Trump’s Gaza peace deal, UK’s Middle East minister says

Exclusive: Hamish Falconer has spoken to The Independent on Gaza and why cutting international aid has not made the migrant crisis worse

Politics

1 week ago Jared Kushner is back – and so are big questions about his financial ties | Mohamad Bazzi

Kushner’s investment firm is backed by three Arab petrostates critical to the Gaza agreement. And the deals keep comingIn Donald Trump’s first term, his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner was omnipresent. He worked on criminal justice reform, Covid-19 vaccine development and modernizing technology across federal agencies. His portfolio extended to foreign policy, as he brokered a new North American trade agreement and negotiated peace deals in the Middle East. But when Trump returned to the White House in January, Kushner stayed out of the limelight and declined to take a formal role in the administration.A few weeks ago, Kushner re-emerged as a central player behind Trump’s peace plan for Gaza, which so far has achieved a ceasefire, an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners and a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territory. Kushner took a victory lap, as Trump and others in the US administration gave him significant credit for helping negotiate ...

Politics

1 week ago Dear Donald Trump, here’s how you can win that Nobel peace prize | Mehdi Hasan

Make Israel release Marwan Barghouti, the ‘Palestinian Mandela’. The future of peace in the region depends on itDear Donald Trump,You still want that Nobel peace prize, right? You believe you deserve it, don’t you? Even as you send the world’s biggest warship towards Venezuela, promise to just “kill people that are bringing drugs into our country they’re going to be, like dead”, and threaten further national guard invasions of Democratic-run cities here in the United States.Mehdi Hasan is a broadcaster, author and a former host on MSNBC. He is also a Guardian US columnist and the editor-in-chief of Zeteo Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Tony Blair should be part of Trump’s Gaza peace deal, UK’s Middle East minister says

Exclusive: Hamish Falconer has spoken to The Independent on Gaza and why cutting international aid has not made the migrant crisis worse

Politics

1 week ago Israel's Netanyahu issues 'powerful' order as Gaza peace appears shattered after 2 weeks

After two weeks of relative peace, the Gaza ceasefire lies in tatters as furious Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu orders 'powerful' revenge strikes because Hamas failed to hand a hostage's body over

Politics

1 week ago Ben & Jerry’s owner stopped brand developing flavour for peace in Gaza

Exclusive: Co-founder accuses ice-cream brand’s parent of taking part in ‘corporate butt kissing’ of Donald TrumpThe co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s has accused its owner of being part of a movement of “corporate butt kissing” of Donald Trump and says management blocked the ice-cream brand from producing a flavour in support of peace in Gaza.Ben Cohen told the Guardian that Unilever was pursuing a “corporate attack on free speech” by blocking the development of a special flavour in solidarity with the Palestine people. It is understood the flavour had been approved by Ben & Jerry’s independent board and first mooted about a year ago. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Jordan’s Queen Rania praises Donald Trump for Gaza ceasefire plan

Jordan's Queen Rania has praised Donald Trump for his 20-point peace plan for Gaza.

Politics

1 week 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...

Events

2 w. ago Welcome to Hotel Hamas: 150 dangerous terrorists released by Israel under Gaza peace deal are staying at five

Hamas terrorists released under the Gaza peace deal are staying in a five-star hotel alongside unsuspecting Western tourists.

Economics

2 w. ago 'UK forces on tense mission to help Gaza peace must remember lessons of Iraq'

British troops have been deployed to the Middle East to help keep the peace in Gaza - but commanders and politicians must remember the 'mission creep' of previous conflicts

Events

2 w. ago The EU was complicit in the war in Gaza. Trump's plan can't be an excuse to dodge responsibility now | Nathalie Tocci

Tiptoeing around Israel has cost Europe its credibility. It must exert meaningful pressure to ensure the horrors we have seen never happen againThe first phase of Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza has drawn a collective sigh of relief from European leaders. After two years of slaughter, the ceasefire, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, the Israeli military’s partial withdrawal from Gaza and humanitarian access to the territory offer hope – and unfortunately, an excuse for Europe to continue doing nothing.When it comes to the war in Gaza, unlike Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, European governments have shown their worst colours. They are divided, and their political splits have led to policy paralysis. But worse than sitting on the sidelines hand-wringing, European governments and EU institutions in Brussels can be accused of complicity in Israel’s war crimes. They have been unwilling to exert any pressure on the perpetrators, while continuing economic, political and...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump threatens 'FAST, FURIOUS & BRUTAL END' for Hamas as horrific video shows Palestinians being kneecapped

WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT: Trump has threaten to unleash death upon Hamas if they do not uphold the Gaza peace deal with Israel.

Politics

2 w. ago Trump warns Hamas of 'FAST, FURIOUS & BRUTAL END' as Middle East allies are ready to invade Gaza

Trump threaten to unleash death upon Hamas if they do not uphold the Gaza peace deal with Israel.

Events

2 w. ago JD and Usha Vance arrive in Israel for urgent talks as Netanyahu drops 153 tons of bombs on Gaza

The vice president and second lady are hoping to shore up support for the historic peace deal brokered by Donald Trump between Israel and Hamas.

Politics

2 w. ago Trump says Gaza peace deal is holding and insists Hamas leaders are not to blame for 'rebels' within the group attacking IDF troops, as Israel launches deadly retaliation strikes

Speaking aboard Air Force One on Sunday, the president downplayed fears that the fragile ceasefire was collapsing, insisting that Hamas' s leadership was not behind the flare-up.

Politics

2 w. ago In Gaza, and now Ukraine, Donald Trump may be peace activists' greatest ally. That deserves our backing | Simon Jenkins

It’s a fool’s game trying to understand the president’s true motives, but do our misgivings matter if the outcome is a speedy end to war?Donald Trump is sensible and he is right. Basking in glory after his Gaza ceasefire, he was on Friday evening flying to Florida with his entourage of reporters. The drums of war were beating across Europe and Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, had pleaded with him for Tomahawk missiles. What was his reply?Trump was clearly fed up. He had told Zelenskyy: go make a deal. He had said, “They should stop the war immediately. You go go by the battle line wherever it is and both sides should go home. Go to their families, stop the killing and that should be it.” Matter closed. Tomahawks would merely mean escalation and more killing. Get a deal.Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Politics