MAHMOUD ABBAS

Israeli forces shot and killed three Palestinian gunmen who opened fire on them at a military post near the West Bank city of Nablus on Sunday, the army said.

JERUSALEM — (AP) — Israeli forces shot and killed three Palestinian militants Sunday who opened fire on troops in the occupied West Bank, the military said, the latest bloodshed in a year-long wave of violence in the region. A spasm of Palestinian attacks against Israelis has killed 14 people in 2023. The fresh violence follows an Israeli military raid last week on the West Bank village of Jaba, where three Palestinian militants were killed. It began last spring after a series of Palestinian attacks against Israelis that triggered near-nightly Israeli raids in the West Bank. Palestinian attacks against Israelis during that same time killed 30 people.

JERUSALEM — (AP) — Israeli forces shot and killed three Palestinian militants Sunday who opened fire on troops in the occupied West Bank, the military said, the latest bloodshed in a year-long wave of violence in the region. The fresh violence follows an Israeli military raid last week on the West Bank village of Jaba, where three Palestinian militants were killed. The current round of violence is one of the worst between Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank in years. It began last spring after a series of Palestinian attacks against Israelis that triggered near-nightly Israeli raids in the West Bank. Israel captured the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war.

The head of the Palestinian intelligence services as well as advisers to President Mahmoud Abbas were expected to join. It was also a rare high-level meeting between the sides, coming during a time of rising tensions and after the Palestinians cut security coordination with Israel over the violence. The meeting's Palestinian attendees were confirmed by a Palestinian official. Israel has pledged to continue fighting militants in the West Bank where the Palestinian Authority often has little control. Violence between Israelis and Palestinians has surged since Israel stepped up raids on West Bank cities, towns and villages following a spate of Palestinian attacks last spring.

It was also a rare high-level meeting between the sides, coming during a time of rising tensions and after the Palestinians cut security coordination with Israel over the violence. The meeting's Palestinian attendees were confirmed by a Palestinian official. Palestinians who oppose any official engagement with Israel said they would protest the meeting, while the Islamic militant Hamas group, which rules the Gaza Strip criticized the meeting. Israel also is led by a far-right government with members that oppose concessions to the Palestinians and favor settlement construction on occupied lands sought by the Palestinians for a future state. Violence between Israelis and Palestinians has surged since Israel stepped up raids on West Bank cities, towns and villages following a spate of Palestinian attacks last spring.

The Palestinian president’s office says a high-level Palestinian delegation will meet with top Israeli officials in Jordan

Scores of Israeli settlers have gone on a violent rampage in the northern West Bank, setting cars and homes on fire after two settlers were killed by a Palestinian gunman.

RAMALLAH, West Bank — (AP) — Ahmed Qureia, a former Palestinian prime minister and one of the architects of interim peace deals with Israel, has died at age 85. A key player in the 1993 Oslo peace accords, Qureia witnessed the rise of the dream of Palestinian statehood that surged during the negotiations. Born in 1937 in Abu Dis, suburb of east Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank, Qureia joined the Fatah movement in 1968. Qureia headed the Palestinian delegation to Oslo, where intensive talks with Israel led to the peace accords in 1993, which created the Palestinian Authority and set up self-rule areas in the Palestinian territories. After Abbas resigned as the PA’s first prime minister in 2003, Arafat replaced him with Qureia.

Ahmed Qureia, a former Palestinian prime minister and one of the architects of interim peace deals with Israel, has died at age 85

Ahmed Qureia, a former Palestinian prime minister and one of the architects of interim peace deals with Israel, has died at age 85.

Senior aides to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestinian President Abbas have been in secret talks to de-escalate tensions in the West Bank, according to a new Axios report. Meanwhile the Security Council issued a statement against new settlement building.

Neither statement mentioned the proposed U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an immediate halt to Israeli settlements. The U.S. opposes the Palestinian resolution and is almost certain to veto it. But it has also said the same about recent Israeli settlement expansion announcements. Israel captured the West Bank, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Mideast war. Ultranationalists who oppose Palestinian statehood comprise a majority of Israel’s new government, which has declared settlement construction a top priority.

The Biden administration is scrambling to avert a diplomatic crisis this week at the United Nations over Israeli settlement activity.

The U.S. is so far empty-handed in dealing with Israel's radical government and dysfunctional Palestinian leadership.

CAIRO — (AP) — Dozens of leaders and senior officials from Arab and Islamic countries warned on Sunday Israeli actions in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank could worsen regional turmoil, as violence surges between Israel and the Palestinians. The high-level gathering came amid one of the deadliest periods of fighting in years in Jerusalem and the neighboring Israeli-occupied territory. Since Israel captured the site in the 1967 Mideast War, Jews have been allowed to visit but not pray there. “The region cannot live in peace, stability, and prosperity without any progress made on the Palestinian cause,” he warned. Last month, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Egyptian, Israeli and Palestinian leaders and urged them to ease tensions.

CAIRO — (AP) — Dozens of leaders and senior officials from Arab and Islamic countries Sunday condemned recent Israeli measures in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, where violence has surged between Israel and the Palestinians. Speakers at the meeting condemned Israel's "unilateral measures" in Jerusalem and the West Bank in statements, including home demolitions and expanding settlements. Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its undivided capital, while the Palestinians seek east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. The Cairo gathering came amid one of the deadliest periods of fighting in years in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. Last month, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Egyptian, Israeli and Palestinian leaders and urged them to ease tensions.

Dozens of leaders and senior officials from Arab and Islamic countries have condemned recent Israeli measures in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, where violence has surged between Israel and the Palestinians

Dozens of leaders and senior officials from Arab and Islamic countries have condemned recent Israeli measures in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, where violence has surged between Israel and the Palestinians.

Blinken’s visit came amid one of the deadliest periods of fighting in years in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem. In Ramallah, Blinken was expected to discuss the Palestinian Authority’s decision to halt security coordination with Israel. "It’s not his job.”January has been the deadliest month in the West Bank and east Jerusalem in years. On Friday, a Palestinian gunman killed seven people outside a synagogue in an east Jerusalem settlement. The next morning, a 13-year-old Palestinian boy shot and wounded two Israelis elsewhere in east Jerusalem.

Visiting the Mideast, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken reiterates support for the two-state solution, even as its prospects seem to be vanishing.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is promoting the long-held dream of two states side by side — one Israeli, one Palestinian — as the best guarantor of peace.

Blinken was meeting Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank town of Ramallah on Tuesday, a day after seeing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Standing alongside the Israeli leader, Blinken stressed the importance the Biden administration places on resolving the long-running conflict with a two-state solution. Blinken’s visit comes amid one of the deadliest periods of fighting in years in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem. Before heading to the West Bank, Blinken met with Israel's opposition leader, former Prime Minister Yair Lapid. January is shaping up to be the deadliest month in the West Bank and east Jerusalem in years.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has wrapped up a two-day visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank with little to show for his renewed appeals for Israeli-Palestinian calm amid an alarming spike of violence.

An alarming spike in Israeli-Palestinian violence and sharp responses by both sides are testing the Biden administration as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken plunges into a cauldron of deepening mistrust and anger on visits to Israel and the West Bank this week.

A 10-month military crackdown, a half-century occupation, increasing Palestinian militancy and a far-right Israeli government could impact the chances for more violence.

JENIN REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank — (AP) — Air raid sirens have gone off in southern Israel, signalling a possible rocket attack launched from the militant Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. The PA already has limited control over scattered enclaves in the West Bank, and almost none over militant strongholds like the Jenin camp. Violent escalations in the West Bank have previously triggered retaliatory rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces in the West Bank and on the Gaza frontier went on heightened alert. Tensions over West Bank violence have spilled into Gaza before.

The State Department said Thursday that Blinken would leave Washington on Saturday for stops in Cairo, Jerusalem and Ramallah. The announcement came just hours after an Israeli raid on suspected terrorists in the West Bank city of Jenin that Palestinian officials say killed nine people in the deadliest such incident this year. After the raid on a suspected terrorist hideout, Israel’s defense minister directed forces in the occupied West Bank and on Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip to go on heightened alert. Tensions between Israelis and Palestinians have soared since Israel launched the nightly raids in the West Bank last spring, following a spate of Palestinian attacks. The conflict has only intensified this month, as Netanyahu's government came to office and pledged to take a hard line against the Palestinians.

Palestinian officials and media reports say Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian schoolteacher and a militant during a military raid in the occupied West Bank.

Palestinians say Israeli forces killed a militant and a teenage boy during clashes that erupted when troops entered a Palestinian town in the occupied West Bank

Palestinian health officials say Israeli forces have killed two Palestinians during a confrontation that erupted when troops entered a village in the occupied West Bank.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians thronged a Gaza City park Saturday to mark the 58th anniversary of the founding of the Fatah party, a rare show of popularity in the heartland of the militant Hamas group, Fatah’s main rival. The crowds turned Katiba Park into a sea of yellow flags and pictures of Fatah founders and leaders, including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his predecessor Yasser Arafat. Hamas, which took over Gaza after routing pro-Abbas forces in 2007, permitted Fatah to hold the rally. While polls indicate Fatah is not that popular, the huge turnout could be seen as a rare opportunity to protest Hamas’ heavy-handed rule in Gaza. Fatah and Hamas, the largest Palestinian factions, remain bitter enemies and repeated Arab attempts to reconcile them failed.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have thronged a Gaza City park to mark the 58th anniversary of the founding of the Fatah party

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have thronged a Gaza City park to mark the 58th anniversary of the founding of the Fatah party.

A top aide to President Mahmoud Abbas is heard in newly released recordings cursing the Palestinian leader and insulting other members of the Palestinian leadership

A top aide to President Mahmoud Abbas was heard in newly released recordings on Tuesday cursing the Palestinian leader and insulting other members of the Palestinian leadership. The purported remarks by Hussein al-Sheikh, a senior official who is seen as a potential successor to the 87-year-old Abbas, gave a glimpse of the bitter infighting inside the Palestinian leadership as several hopefuls try to position themselves for the post-Abbas era. The recordings were released by a news website run by the militant Hamas group, the bitter rival of Abbas’ Fatah party.

JERUSALEM — (AP) — Israel's defense minister said Wednesday that the remains of a Palestinian prisoner who died a day earlier from lung cancer would not be released for burial. Abu Hamid, 50, was a former leader of the armed wing of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party. Hamas has been holding two Israeli captives and the remains of two Israeli soldiers killed during the 2014 Gaza war. Palestinian officials had called for Abu Hamid's release as his health deteriorated in recent months, and on Tuesday blamed Israel for his death. Gantz denied the allegations that Israel had any involvement in Abu Hamid's death.

Israel’s defense minister says the remains of a Palestinian prisoner who died a day earlier from lung cancer will not be released for burial

Palestinian factions are calling for a general strike in the occupied West Bank and urging Palestinians to confront Israeli troops after a Palestinian prisoner died of lung cancer

RAMALLAH, West Bank — (AP) — The family of an outspoken critic of the Palestinian Authority who died last year after allegedly being beaten by Palestinian security forces said Thursday it has asked the International Criminal Court to investigate the death. Banat's family said he died after Palestinian security forces arrested him and beat him with batons. “Having lost confidence in the independence of the Palestinian judiciary, Nizar Banat’s family sent a request to ICC prosecutor Karim Khan to investigate their son’s brutal murder and prosecute all those responsible,” the family said in a statement. Banat’s family said it views Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as bearing full responsibility for Banat’s death. Israel captured the West Bank, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Mideast war.

The family of an outspoken critic of the Palestinian Authority who died last year after allegedly being beaten by Palestinian security forces says it has asked the International Criminal Court to investigate the death

The family of an outspoken critic of the Palestinian Authority who died last year after allegedly being beaten by Palestinian security forces says it has asked the International Criminal Court to investigate the death.

Hundreds of Thousands of Palestinians have thronged a rally in downtown Gaza City to mark the 35th founding anniversary of militant Hamas group

Palestinians have pushed back against Israeli police claims that an Israeli border police officer who shot to death a 22-year-old Palestinian at close range acted in self-defense.

The World Cup began in Qatar 12 years after the tiny gulf nation secured the rights.

Qatar’s news agency reports that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has arrived in Doha to attend the World Cup opening ceremony

A deadly fire Thursday night broke out in a refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, killing 21 people. The fire was set off by stored gasoline in a residential building.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — (AP) — A fire set off by stored gasoline in a residential building killed 21 people Thursday evening in a refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, the territory's Hamas rulers said, in one of the deadliest incidents in recent years outside the violence stemming from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The blaze erupted on the third floor of a three-story building in the crowded Jabaliya camp, according to the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The Civil Defense in Gaza, which is run by Hamas, attributed the cause of the fire to gasoline that was being stored in the building. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas offered condolences to the families of the dead and declared Friday a day of mourning. COGAT, the Israeli body controlling the Erez Crossing with the Gaza Strip, did not comment.

A fire set off by stored gasoline in a residential building killed 21 people in a refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, the territory’s Hamas rulers said.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza have marked the anniversary of the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat — a rare public show of support for the Fatah faction in the heartland of its Islamist rival, the militant Hamas group

The apparent comeback of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the dramatic rise of his far-right and ultra-Orthodox allies in Israel’s general election this week have prompted little more than shrugs from many Palestinians.

The U.N. Mideast envoy says 2022 is on course to be the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank since the U.N. started tracking fatalities in 2005 and called for immediate action to calm “an explosive situation” and move toward renewing Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

Five Palestinians were killed at the time, including a leader of the militia, which calls itself Lions' Den. More than 125 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli-Palestinian fighting in the West Bank and east Jerusalem this year. The fighting has surged since a series of Palestinian attacks killed 19 people in Israel in the spring. The Israeli army says most of the Palestinians killed have been militants. The Palestinians want the West Bank to form the main part of their future state.

Palestinian health officials say two Palestinians were killed and a third was wounded by Israeli army fire in the occupied West Bank

Palestinian health officials say two Palestinians have been killed and a third was wounded by Israeli army fire in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli forces blew up a bomb lab in an apartment in Nablus, killing five Palestinians and injuring 20 others as tensions rise in the region.

Israeli forces raided a gunman's hideout and blew up a bomb lab, resulting in five Palestinians dead and 20 wounded, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid told Kan public radio that Wadie Houh, a leader of the Lion’s Den group, was killed in a shootout with Israeli troops overnight. In Tuesday's raid, Israeli forces blew up an explosives lab in an apartment in Nablus, the military said. More than 125 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli-Palestinian fighting in the West Bank and east Jerusalem this year. The Israeli army says most of the Palestinians killed have been militants. The Palestinians want the West Bank to form the main part of their future state.

The military says Israeli forces have raided a stronghold of an armed group in the occupied West Bank’s second largest city, blowing up an explosives lab and engaging in a firefight

The military says Israeli forces have raided a stronghold of an armed group in the occupied West Bank’s second largest city, blowing up a bomb lab and engaging in a firefight.

Israeli forces raided a stronghold of an armed group in the occupied West Bank's second-largest city, blowing up a bomb lab and engaging in a firefight, the military said Tuesday. Five Palestinians were killed and 20 were wounded, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The overnight raid in the old city, or kasbah, of Nablus, was one of the deadliest in the West Bank in 2022 and comes at a time of escalating tensions.

BRUSSELS — (AP) — The European Union and Israel on Monday held high-level talks for the first time in a decade, with the Europeans keen to press Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid on how to put a two-state solution to the conflict with the Palestinians into place. We want the resumption of a political process that can lead to a two-state solution and a comprehensive regional peace,” Borrell said. Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank is now in its 55th year. The last real peace talks ended in 2009, and critics say growing Israeli settlements in the West Bank and elsewhere undermine any hopes for a two-state solution. The Palestinians seek all of the West Bank along with Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, controlled by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, for a future state.

The European Union and Israel have held high-level talks for the first time in a decade.

The U.N. Mideast envoy says Israel continued its defiance of a 2016 U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an immediate halt to all settlement activity in lands the Palestinians want for their future state, advancing plans for construction of nearly 2,000 housing units in the last three months

Israel continued its defiance of a 2016 U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an immediate halt to all settlement activity in lands the Palestinians want for their future state, advancing plans for construction of nearly 2,000 housing units in the last three months, the U.N. Mideast envoy said Wednesday. Tor Wennesland told the council that no progress was made by Israelis and Palestinians on other demands in the resolution -- preventing all violence against civilians, refraining from acts of provocation, incitement and inflammatory rhetoric, distinguishing between Israeli territory and territories occupied since the 1967 war, and exerting “collective efforts to launch credible negotiations.”

The gathering of world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly is over.

UNITED NATIONS — (AP) — Two of the world's most persistent conflicts punctuated debate at the United Nations on Friday, as the annual gathering of world leaders deviated from the dominating issue of the war in Ukraine. Sharif urged world leaders and the U.N. to “play their rightful role” in resolving the fight and said India “must take credible steps” too. After days of world leaders returning again and again to Ukraine, Sharif and Abbas provided a reminder of the other problems facing the international community. The United Nations,” he said in a speech more than three times the 15-minute limit leaders are asked to respect. “He won’t stop at Ukraine if we don’t stop him now,” Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Friday.

UNITED NATIONS — (AP) — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Friday that hope of peace with Israel was "waning," as the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations took a brief foray from the dominating issue of the war in Ukraine. “Our confidence in achieving a peace based on justice and international law is waning, due to the Israeli occupation policies,” he said. “Do you want to kill what remains of hope in our souls?”Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank is now in its 55th year. The United Nations,” he said. Abbas has staked his political legitimacy abroad and at home on his commitment to a negotiated peace deal with Israel.

Two of the world’s most persistent conflicts have punctuated debate at the United Nations.

The Jenin refugee camp has become a hotbed of militancy as the power of the Palestinian Authority fades and Israeli forces step up operations in the West Bank.

Gaza’s Hamas authorities have executed five Palestinian men convicted in separate cases of murder and alleged collaboration with Israel

Gaza’s Hamas authorities have executed five Palestinian men convicted in separate cases of murder and alleged collaboration with Israel.

Turkey's president says his country's reconciliation with Israel will in no way diminish Ankara's support for the Palestinian cause.

Germany’s chancellor says that he was “disgusted by the outrageous remarks” made by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Berlin, accusing Israel of committing “50 Holocausts” against Palestinians over the years.

The Israeli military says it has attacked a Hamas military site in the Gaza Strip in response to a pair of rocket attacks overnight.

President Joe Biden has exchanged a cordial fist bump with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, but says he then raised the issue of the murder of writer Jamal Khashoggi, which U.S. intelligence has said the crown prince approved.

President Joe Biden says he raised the “outrageous” murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi during his meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who U.S. intelligence officials say ordered his killing.

President Joe Biden has called for “two states for two peoples” — the Israelis and Palestinians — while visiting the West Bank.

President Joe Biden’s dash through Israel and the occupied West Bank this week is expected to cut across some of the region’s most iconic places.

President Joe Biden is heading to the Middle East for the first time since taking office last year.

Algeria is celebrating 60 years of independence from France with nationwide ceremonies, a pardon of 14,000 prisoners and its first military parade in years.

The Palestinian Authority says it has given the bullet that killed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh to American forensic experts.

President Joe Biden will make his first trip to the Middle East next month with visits to Israel, the occupied West Bank and Saudi Arabia.

Hussein al-Sheikh is a senior Palestinian official who serves as the main liaison with Israel.

An Israeli court has sentenced six Palestinian inmates to five years in prison for tunneling out of their cell last year and escaping from a high-security facility.

Thousands have gathered to mourn a slain Al Jazeera journalist in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah.

Residents of a cluster of Bedouin communities in the occupied West Bank have vowed to stick to their land and resist an order by Israel's top court to evict them.

Israel's interior minister says plans will be advanced for the construction of 4,000 settler homes in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli security forces are carrying out a massive manhunt for two Palestinians suspected in a mass stabbing near Tel Aviv that left three Israelis dead.

Palestinian medical officials say 17 people have been wounded in clashes with Israeli police in Jerusalem.

The Palestinian Health Ministry says Israeli forces shot and killed three Palestinians, including a teenage boy, in the occupied West Bank.

Three deadly attacks in Israel in a week are raising doubts over Israel’s approach to its conflict with the Palestinians.

Israel has hosted the foreign ministers of four Arab nations and the United States in a bid to strengthen its position in a rapidly shifting Middle East.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will try to use his three-nation tour of the Middle East and North Africa to reassure wary Israelis and Arabs that the Biden administration is committed to the region’s security at a time when Washington is confronting multiple foreign policy challenges.

Israel says its security forces killed three Palestinian militants in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus who had been responsible for recent shooting attacks.

Amnesty International says Israel has maintained “a system of oppression and domination” over the Palestinians going all the way back to its establishment in 1948, one that meets the international definition of apartheid.

Small dovish parties that support Palestinian statehood are back in Israel's government after years in the country's political wilderness - but they are finding their influence is limited.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry says it has detected spyware developed by the Israeli hacker-for-hire company NSO Group on the phones of three senior officials.

Israel’s new prime minister has appealed to the international community to stand together against Iran.

Palestinian health officials say at least five Palestinians have been killed in shootouts with Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank.

President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday gave Israel one year to end its occupation of territories the Palestinians want for a future state.