Israel’s security cabinet approves 19 new settlements in West Bank

Israel’s security cabinet approved the establishment of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, a move the country’s far-right finance minister said on Sunday was aimed at preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state.

The decision brings the total number of settlements approved over the past three years to 69, according to a statement from the office of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

Zionism without borders: Annexation and normalization as tools of Arab subjugation

Tel Aviv’s colonial project blends the ambitions of Greater Israel with the reach of ‘Great Israel’ – annexing land while redrawing the sovereignty of its Arab neighbors.

Four weeks after Israel signed the US-brokered Abraham Accords with the UAE and Bahrain on 15 September 2020, Tel Aviv’s Higher Planning Council approved 4,948 new settler units in the occupied West Bank. No public fanfare.

The PMU: A resistance army at the heart of Iraq’s sovereignty crisis

Born from a religious call to arms against ISIS terror, Iraq’s PMU has become more than a military force – it is now a pillar of national strength and a powerful player in the country’s struggle to reclaim full sovereignty.

In June 2014, the Iraqi army collapsed under the weight of ISIS’s blitz across Mosul. The so-called caliphate then surged toward Baghdad, threatening to overrun the capital and desecrate the shrine cities of Najaf and Karbala.

Is Europe pushing for Palestinian statehood or Palestinian surrender?

Europe’s belated recognition of Palestinian statehood is a naked geopolitical maneuver – part of a wider normalization push that sidelines Palestinian liberation, while repackaging defeat as diplomatic progress. Are we witnessing the birth of a state? Or the declaration of its defeat?

Since its inception in 1948, Israel has never operated within fixed borders. Expansion has always been its doctrine – not constrained by law, but propelled by force and endorsed by unwavering western support. Israel has refused to define its boundaries for almost eight decades because its very identity is rooted in a colonial ambition that has never truly ended.

The future of Gaza: Israel must implement Trump’s plan gradually, safely – opinion

It is in Israel’s interest to allow the US the space and time to act according to its own approach, until Washington reaches the inevitable conclusion that Hamas cannot be disarmed.

The ceasefire that came into effect on the basis of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan, leading to the release of all living hostages and 26 of the 28 deceased hostages, constitutes a significant achievement for Israel, all the more so given that it was secured while the country continued to hold 53% of the Gaza Strip at this stage.

Across the divide: Living in the shadow of Israel’s expanding Golan Heights border

For Syrians on both sides of the divide, life has changed immeasurably since Israel began expanding its occupation of the Golan Heights

Majdal Shams/Beit Jinn – There are no Syrian flags anymore in the main square of Majdal Shams, a Druze village in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, nor were there celebrations for the first anniversary of the fall of Bashar Al-Assad’s regime.

After the ceasefire: In south Lebanon, Israel’s war never ended

A year on from the ceasefire, displaced civilians in south Lebanon continue to live under near-daily Israeli airstrikes, drones, and military occupation

South Lebanon – Ali Hammoud looked worn out, staring blankly at the little fire and the pot of boiling vegetables that would soon be his dinner. There is no gas, water or electricity, so he is cooking outdoors. And though an Israeli airstrike had torn away one side of his house, he is glad to be back.

Damascus puts forward proposal to integrate SDF into army

Enab Baladi – All Rights Reserved

Reuters reported that Syrian, Kurdish, and American officials are racing against time to show progress, even if limited, on the March 10 agreement before the end of the year.

The agency quoted several Syrian, Kurdish, and Western sources, involved in or briefed on the talks, as saying that negotiations had accelerated in recent days despite mounting frustration over delays, and that the Syrian government had sent a proposal to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) agreeing to incorporate its forces into the Syrian army as brigades and divisions.