Under the Biden administration, Israel’s far-right finance minister was the rare Israeli official whom the United States rebuked by name for his views, like his opposition to a cease-fire in Gaza. Under the Trump administration, he is a welcome guest in Washington, where top U.S. officials are now aligning with some of his beliefs about…
When leaders of every Arab country meet for an emergency summit in Cairo on Tuesday, they will face pressure to come up with something that has proved elusive for decades: a comprehensive Arab vision for Gaza, just as the Israel-Hamas cease-fire is teetering and Israel, buoyed by President Trump’s backing, holds the upper hand. “Arab…
The Palestinian Authority was carrying out one of the most extensive security operations in its history, pursuing armed militants in the West Bank city of Jenin. For weeks, the authority’s forces slowly advanced on the militants’ densely populated stronghold, Palestinian officials said. When the Israeli military launched its own wide-scale raid there in January, the…
Israeli operations against militants in the West Bank have escalated to a level not seen since the Second Intifada of the early 2000s. Tens of thousands have been forced to flee their homes, with Israel’s defense minister saying they will not be allowed to return. And for the first time in two decades, Israeli forces…
After President Trump shocked the Arab world last month by suggesting the entire population of Gaza be expelled from the territory, his aides reframed the idea as an invitation to the leaders of the Middle East: Come up with a better plan, or do it our way. “All these countries say how much they care…
For years, the Palestinian administration in the occupied West Bank has doled out hundreds of millions of dollars in stipends to the families of Palestinians jailed or killed by Israel — including those involved in violent attacks. The United States and Israel have long condemned the payments and pressured the Palestinian Authority to end them….
President Trump’s brazen proposal to move all Palestinians out of Gaza and make it a U.S. territory sent shock waves around the world, where it was welcomed by Trump loyalists and members of Israel’s far right; rejected by American allies and adversaries alike; and criticized by experts as a breach of international law. Here’s what…
President Trump’s Middle East envoy is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel on Tuesday, according to a spokesman for Mr. Netanyahu. The visit by the envoy, Steven Witkoff, was set to take place as Israeli and Hamas officials prepared for a new round of negotiations aimed at cementing the current cease-fire in…
The cease-fires in Gaza and Lebanon will most likely hold for now, despite being tested to their limits over the weekend, because all sides want to avoid full-scale fighting at least for a few weeks, analysts said. In southern Lebanon, Israeli troops remained in position past the deadline on Sunday for their withdrawal, amid Israeli…
The morning the cease-fire in Gaza went into effect, masked members of Hamas’s military wing drove through the streets of Gaza in clean, white pickups, carrying Hamas flags and automatic rifles. The militants were also carrying an unambiguous message: However weakened, Hamas survived Israel’s 15-month bombing campaign in Gaza and remains the most powerful Palestinian…