Middle East
Latest stories
Israeli foreign minister makes first visit to Sweden in two decades

Israel's foreign minister has paid a visit to Sweden in a new sign of warming ties between the two nations.

Eli Cohen said his visit to Stockholm was the first visit by an Israeli foreign minister to Sweden in 22 years.

W140 Full Story
Cyprus, Israel working on deal for natural gas pipeline, processing plant in Cyprus

Cyprus and Israel are working on a deal to build a pipeline that will convey natural gas from both countries to the east Mediterranean island nation, where it will be liquefied for export by ship to Europe and potentially elsewhere, the Cypriot energy minister said Monday.

Minister Giorgos Papanastasiou said Monday he would soon visit Israel to hammer out a formal agreement. Once the deal is signed, the pipeline could be completed in 18 months.

W140 Full Story
Family with disabled children among hundreds of Gaza's homeless after latest fighting with Israel

When Najah Nabhan learned that her home was about to be bombed by Israel, she knew she had to get out quickly. What she didn't know was how she would get her four children with special needs out of the building in time.

With the help of neighbors, her children, who are unable to walk on their own, were carried to safety. But the airstrike flattened the three-story building, leaving 42 members of Nabhan's extended family homeless and leaving her children without the wheelchairs, crutches and medical equipment they need to move about.

W140 Full Story
UN to commemorate Palestinians' 1948 flight from Israel for the first time

For the first time, the United Nations will officially commemorate the flight of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from what is now Israel on the 75th anniversary of their exodus — an action stemming from the U.N.'s partition of British-ruled Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is headlining Monday's U.N. commemoration of what Palestinians call the "Nakba" or "catastrophe."

W140 Full Story
Syria attends first Arab League meeting in 11 years

Syria ended over a decade of exile from the Arab League on Monday as officials participated in a preparatory session ahead of Friday's summit in Saudi Arabia.

"I... take this opportunity to welcome the Syrian Arab Republic to the League of Arab States," Saudi finance minister Mohammed al-Jadaan told the meeting, which was broadcast live by state TV channel Al Ekhbariya.

W140 Full Story
Israeli army kills Palestinian in West Bank

Israeli soldiers killed a Palestinian man Monday in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said, with the army saying it returned fire after being shot at.

"Saleh Mohamed Sabra, 22, was killed by live bullets during an Israeli attack in Nablus," the ministry said, adding that another Palestinian was wounded by gunfire.

W140 Full Story
Israel-Gaza ceasefire takes hold after days of deadly fighting

A fragile ceasefire between Israeli forces and militants in the Gaza Strip appeared to be holding on Sunday, after a five-day clash that killed 33 Palestinians and two people in Israel.

The latest round of Gaza fighting was sparked Tuesday when Israeli jets killed three top commanders from the Islamic Jihad militant group in response to earlier rocket launches from Gaza. Those killings set off a barrage of militant fire and the conflagration threatened to drag the region into another all-out war until an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire took hold late Saturday.

W140 Full Story
Israel-Gaza fighting continues as 2 Palestinians killed in West Bank raid

Israel and Palestinian militants unleashed salvos of fire for a fourth day on Saturday, with the Islamic Jihad militant group launching rockets and the Israeli military pounding targets inside the Gaza Strip.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in Gaza or Israel on Saturday. But in a reminder of the combustible situation in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli military raided the Balata refugee camp in the northern city of Nablus, killing two Palestinians. The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the two as 32-year-old Said Mesha and 19-year-old Adnan Araj. At least three other Palestinians were wounded in the raid, the latest of near-daily Israeli arrest operations against suspected militants in the territory.

W140 Full Story
New UK Special Representative to Syria appointed

Ann Snow has been appointed UK Special Representative to Syria. She has taken up the role in succession to Jonathan Hargreaves.

Snow joined the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in 2009. She has served in Malaysia and worked on Iran, China and Counter Terrorism. She takes up the role after 15 months of full-time Arabic-language training.

W140 Full Story
Amnesty: UN must keep moving quake aid to Syria after deadline

Amnesty International on Friday called on the United Nations to keep delivering crucial aid to quake-stricken Syrians via two crossings in rebel-held areas even if authorization from Damascus expires.

On February 6, a devastating earthquake hit Turkey and Syria, killing more than 55,000 people across both countries.

W140 Full Story