MAHMOUD ABBAS

Egyptian authorities have deported the son of a prominent Palestinian politician after he served 2 1/2 years of pre-trial detention over allegations of having ties with an outlawed group

After session with Mahmoud Abbas, Defense Minister Benny Gantz OK'd a series of measures designed to help relations with Palestinians.

Israel's defense minister approved a raft of measures aimed at improving relations with the Palestinians on Wednesday following a rare meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Israel. Defense Minister Benny Gantz met with Abbas at his private residence in a Tel Aviv suburb late Tuesday night. It was the first time Abbas met an Israeli official inside Israel since 2010.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas paid a rare visit to Israel on Tuesday for talks with Israel's defense minister, the latest in a series of meetings by top Israeli officials with the Palestinian leader. Israel’s new prime minister, Naftali Bennett, opposes Palestinian independence and has ruled out formal peace talks.

Small dovish parties that support Palestinian statehood and oppose Jewish settlements 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.

A man pelts French President Emmanuel Macron with an egg during his visit to a restaurant and hotel trade fair in the southeastern city of Lyon.

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.

With cascading crises casting a pall over the proceedings at this year's United Nations General Assembly, women's voices at the annual gathering of world leaders are few, but growing. (Sept. 24)

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

In an unusually harsh speech, President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday gave Israel one year to end its occupation of territories the Palestinians want for a future state. “If the Israeli occupation authorities continue to entrench the reality of one apartheid state as is happening today, our Palestinian people and the entire world will not tolerate such a situation," Abbas said.

Only five women addressed the United Nations General Assembly in the first half of its session this year.

The United Nations chief is warning global leaders at the opening of the U_N_'s foremost gathering that the world has never been more threatened and divided and “we face the greatest cascade of crises in our lifetime.”.

Israel has launched a massive manhunt in the country's north and the occupied West Bank after six Palestinian prisoners escaped from a high-security facility.

A Palestinian official said Gantz and Abbas discussed possible steps toward improving the atmosphere.

Israel’s defense minister held talks with the Palestinian president in the occupied West Bank, the first high-level meeting between the two sides in years, and on Monday approved a series of measures to bolster the Palestinian economy.

The White House says Israel's new prime minister is coming to Washington next week, with Iran and Israel's relationship with the Palestinians on the agenda.

Relations between the new Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority have shifted substantially in recent weeks, with Israeli officials going so far as to call it “a renaissance."Why it matters: During Benjamin Netanyahu's 12-year tenure as prime minister, relations deteriorated to the point where there was almost no contact other than security coordination. Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for freeState of play: In the last month,

Hundreds of Jewish pilgrims have visited a contested Jerusalem holy site under heavy police guard after Muslim worshippers briefly clashed with Israeli security forces there.

The family of a political activist who died in the custody of Palestinian security forces last month has accused the Palestinian Authority of trying to cover up his death

The family of a political activist who died in the custody of Palestinian security forces last month has accused the Palestinian Authority of trying to cover up his death.

The family of a political activist who died in the custody of Palestinian security forces last month on Saturday accused the Palestinian Authority of trying to cover up his death. Relatives of Nazir Banat said they still have not received a document with an official cause of death and said the Palestinian Authority has made efforts to settle the matter out of court. Nazir Banat was an outspoken critic of the Palestinian Authority who called on Western nations to stop providing aid to the PA due to human rights violations and growing authoritarianism.

A Palestinian human rights lawyer was detained by Israeli forces early Sunday after taking part in a protest in the occupied West Bank against Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, his rights group said. The Independent Commission for Human Rights said Farid al-Atrash was detained at an Israeli checkpoint while returning from a protest against the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, where the PA is headquartered. It said al-Atrash was transferred to Israel's Hadassah Hospital.

Hundreds of Palestinians gathered in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on Saturday to demonstrate against President Mahmoud Abbas, hoping to inject new momentum into a protest movement sparked by the death of an outspoken critic in the custody of security forces. Palestinian security forces and groups of men in plainclothes violently dispersed a similar protest a week ago, drawing expressions of concern from the United States and the U.N. human rights chief. The Palestinian Authority was established as part of the peace process in the 1990s and governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

For the first time in decades no one is clamoring for a quixotic US-led effort to deliver a final status agreement.

The U.N. human rights chief on Thursday urged the Palestinian Authority to ensure the safety of protesters after security forces and supporters of President Mahmoud Abbas attacked demonstrators over the weekend. The protests erupted after an outspoken critic of the PA died shortly after his family says he was severely beaten by security forces who arrested him. The PA, which governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has grown increasingly autocratic and unpopular in recent years.

Mobilized by the killing of a political activist, Palestinian protesters are saying their increasingly autocratic president, Mahmoud Abbas, must go.

Thousands of Palestinians have taken to the streets in recent days to protest against President Mahmoud Abbas and his Palestinian Authority.

She allegedly used the Turo app to rent cars that two brothers - one of whom is the father of her children - used to rob people.

A new poll released Tuesday finds a dramatic surge in Palestinian support for Hamas following last month's Gaza war, with around three quarters viewing the Islamic militants as victors in a battle against Israel to defend Jerusalem and its holy sites. The scientific poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research also found plummeting support for President Mahmoud Abbas, who was sidelined by the war but is seen internationally as a partner for reviving the long-defunct peace process. The poll found that 53% of Palestinians believe Hamas is “most deserving of representing and leading the Palestinian people,” while only 14% prefer Abbas' secular Fatah party.

Israeli troops shot and killed three Palestinians, including two security officers, in a shootout that erupted in the occupied West Bank town of Jenin during what appeared to be an Israeli arrest raid overnight, Palestinian officials said Thursday. The coordination has contributed to mounting anger at the PA among Palestinians. A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned what he called a “dangerous Israeli escalation," saying the three were killed by Israeli special forces who disguise themselves as Arabs during arrest raids.

A boy “scared for himself and his siblings” called 911 on his mom, police say.

Egypt has invited Israel, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority for separate talks that aim at consolidating the cease-fire that ended an 11-day war between Israel and the Gaza Strip’s militant Hamas rulers, an Egyptian intelligence official said Thursday.

Over 48 hours, Biden's secretary of State held meetings with four very different leaders who had contradictory ties with former President Trump.

He met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has wrapped up a two-day Mideast mission, winning valuable diplomatic support and hundreds of millions of dollars of pledges from Arab allies as he moved to shore up the cease-fire that ended an 11-day war between Israel and the Gaza Strip’s militant Hamas rulers.

Secretary of State Tony Blinken announced on Tuesday that the U.S. would be reopening the Consulate General in Jerusalem that handled relations with the Palestinians but was shut down by the Trump administration.The state of play: Blinken made the announcement after a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and hours after he had raised the issue with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for freeWhy it matters: The consulate oversaw U.S. diplomatic relations with the Palestinian Authority for more than two decades before being merged into the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem. Reopening the consulate will be a major step toward normalizing U.S.-Palestinian ties, but it also requires Israeli approval.White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the move was the "natural next step toward restoring ties with the Palestinians," while Blinken said the consulate would also be used to re-engage with civil society and the business sector. He didn't offer a timeline for the reopening.Behind the scenes: Netanyahu raised reservations with Blinken during their meeting and said he'd prefer it if the consulate were to remain as part of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, rather than an independent diplomatic mission, Israeli officials say. The State Department didn’t immediately offer comment.Hady Amr, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Israeli-Palestinian affairs, raised the consulate issue last week with officials in Netanyahu's office and the Foreign Ministry while serving as Blinken's envoy during the Gaza crisis. The Israeli officials say Amr received a noncommittal response. The sense of urgency grew in Washington during the crisis, with officials at the State Department feeling at times that they were "flying blind" without a consulate to engage with the Palestinian side, a source familiar with the issue said.In his comments on Tuesday, Blinken stressed that reopening the consulate would make it easier to coordinate humanitarian assistance to Gaza and reconstruction efforts with the UN and the Palestinian Authority. Blinken added the Biden administration would be asking Congress to approve an additional $75 million dollars in assistance for the reconstruction of Gaza in 2021 and another $30 million dollars for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees.The backstory: The consulate dates back to 1844 and served for 25 years as the U.S. diplomatic mission to the Palestinians before being shut down by the Trump administration and merged into the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem in 2019.More from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free

Blinken visits Israel, West Bank, offers Palestinians aid for devastated Gaza Strip after Israeli-Hamas war, says U.S. to reopen Jerusalem consulate.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken did not give a precise date for reopening the consulate.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Tuesday that the U.S. would reopen its consulate in Jerusalem — a move that restores ties with Palestinians that had been downgraded by the Trump administration. The consulate long served as an autonomous office in charge of diplomatic relations with the Palestinians. Trump's move infuriated the Palestinians, who view east Jerusalem as occupied territory and the capital of their future state.

The U.S. and the international community are planning to engage with the Palestinians to revive peace efforts, after weeks of unrest and a devastating 11-day war in Gaza

After weeks of unrest and a devastating 11-day war in Gaza, the U.S. and the international community plan to engage with the Palestinians to revive peace efforts. The Palestinian Authority is no closer to statehood than it was when Mahmoud Abbas, now 85, was elected president in 2005 after the death of Yasser Arafat, and the Palestinians are far more deeply divided.

Israeli officials have privately expressed “regret” for blowing up a tower in the Gaza Strip that contained foreign media offices, it emerged on Sunday, as Palestinians began cleaning up the enclave’s rubble-strewn streets. In Gaza City, groups of young men and women used brooms to sweep dust and debris from the main roads, as outdoor vigils were held for the 248 victims of Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire. US officials estimate that the cost of repairing Gaza’s damaged hospitals, school and infrastructure will amount to several billion dollars, while the United Nations says hundreds of homes have been completely destroyed. It came as the New York Times reported that some Israeli military officials now “regret” a decision to strike the media tower in Gaza City, which contained the offices of Associated Press, a major US news agency, and the broadcaster Al-Jazeera. Israel maintains that the airstrike was justified as it claims that Hamas assets were in the building. The Israeli army gave reporters an hour to evacuate the tower, and no one was killed in the attack. But according to the New York Times, some Israeli military officials had argued against the air strike and now consider it a “mistake.” One official also felt that the damage caused by the strike to Israel’s international reputation outweighed the benefits of destroying Hamas equipment, the report added, citing three sources. Hamas denies that its assets were in the media tower and has accused Israel of committing “war crimes” by attacking civilian buildings, though Israel rejects this. In an interview with the Telegraph on Sunday, a senior Hamas official blamed Israel for the outbreak of the conflict in Gaza and warned that the Jewish state was “playing with fire.”

Hundreds of masked Hamas fighters brandishing assault rifles have paraded through the streets of Gaza City and the group’s top leader appeared in public for the first time.

Hundreds of masked Hamas fighters brandishing assault rifles paraded in Gaza City and the group’s top leader made his first public appearance on Saturday, in a defiant show of strength after the militants' 11-day war with Israel. In the fighting, Israel unleashed hundreds of airstrikes against militant targets in Gaza, while Hamas and other militants fired more than 4,000 rockets toward Israel. More than 250 people were killed, the vast majority of them Palestinians.

President Joe Biden says there has been no shift in his commitment to Israel’s security, but insisted a two-state solution that includes a state for Palestinians remains “the only answer” to that conflict.

Thousands of Palestinians rallied after a cease-fire took effect in the latest Gaza war.

The ceasefire brings to an end 11 days of bombardment in which more than 240 people have died.

A senior Hamas official says the Palestinian militant gorup has “no shortage of missiles” and could continue bombarding Israel for months if it chose to do so.

Egypt has rushed to try to broker a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas while also trying to prove itself to the Biden administration and the world as the main mediator in a conflict that threatens to worsen.

A Hamas official talks of a ceasefire "within a day or two", but firing from both sides continue.

Israel and the Palestinians are again locked in bitter fighting. Here is a look at some key events in the conflict over the past decade and a half.

President Joe Biden has called for “significant de-escalation” from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Biden’s appeal on Wednesday comes after 10 days of heavy fighting between Israelis and Palestinians. It was Biden’s toughest public pressure so far on the U.S. ally, with the president asking Netanyahu in a telephone call to move toward “the path to a cease-fire,” according to a White House statement on their conversation.

The deadliest violence in years between Israelis and Palestinians is not merely another round in the war with Hamas.

The deadliest violence in years between Israelis and Palestinians is not merely another round in the war with Hamas.

Mr. Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden left the White House for their home in Delaware on Saturday and returned to Washington on Monday morning.

Palestinians across Israel and the occupied territories went on strike in a rare collective protest of Israel’s policies.

President Joe Biden and administration officials have encouraged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials to wind down their bombardment of Gaza.

The US president spoke with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu as violence continues.

The UN, US and UK are among those making pleas for people caught in continuing, intense violence.

For the Islamist movement Hamas, which rules Gaza, war with Israel offered an opportunity to claim the mantle of Palestinian defenders of Jerusalem.

Confronting multiple unrelated international crises, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is aiming to revive strained ties with Denmark over climate change, Arctic policy and Russia.

Ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas could start imminently, according to senior Israeli officials. Egypt would mediate the discussions.

Israeli warplanes have unleashed a series of heavy airstrikes at several locations of Gaza City.

UN Security Council will discuss crisis on Sunday

The US president makes diplomatic calls after a sixth day of violence in the region.

President Biden spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas amid intensifying violence.

The Gaza Strip has been pounded by hundreds of Israeli strikes from sea, land and air this week, while the enclave’s militant Hamas rulers have fired hundreds of rockets into Israel.

President Joe Biden says he has spoken with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about calming the deadly conflict between Israel and Gaza's militant Hamas rulers. Biden was asked on Thursday whether Netanyahu was doing enough to keep the violence from escalating.

Israelis and Palestinians are caught in their worst round of violence since 2014, a sudden escalation of clashes with police into widespread airstrikes and rocket fire that have killed dozens of people and wounded hundreds more. The locus of the unrest shifted rapidly from Jerusalem to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip as events collided and unleashed long-held grievances, giving the moves a larger significance.

Israelis and Palestinians are caught in their worst round of violence since 2014, a sudden escalation of clashes with police into widespread airstrikes and rocket fire that have killed dozens of people and wounded hundreds more. The locus of the unrest shifted rapidly from Jerusalem to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip as events collided and unleashed long-held grievances, giving the moves a larger significance.

Israelis and Palestinians are caught in their worst round of violence since 2014, a sudden escalation of clashes with police into widespread airstrikes and rocket fire that have killed dozens of people and wounded hundreds more. The locus of the unrest shifted rapidly from Jerusalem to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip as events collided and unleashed long-held grievances, giving the moves a larger significance.

Israel unleashed new airstrikes on Gaza early Tuesday, hitting the high-rise home of a Hamas field commander and two border tunnels dug by militants, as Hamas and other armed groups fired dozens of rockets toward Israel. It was an escalation sparked by weeks of tensions in contested Jerusalem.

France’s prime minister is proposing tougher and faster punishment for people who attack the police, as the government pays a national tribute to the latest police officer killed in the line of duty. Prime Minister Jean Castex will lead Tuesday’s ceremony in the southern city of Avignon to honor officer Eric Masson, killed last week in an apparent drug-related incident. It was the latest of several attacks targeting French police that have angered police unions and become a political issue ahead of regional elections in June and France's presidential election next year.

Israeli police have clashed in east Jerusalem with Palestinian protesters during the holiest night of Ramadan.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has announced the postponement of the first elections planned in 15 years, citing a dispute with Israel over voting in east Jerusalem.

The holy city of Jerusalem is a tinderbox of competing religious and political claims.

The holy city of Jerusalem is a tinderbox of competing religious and political claims.

Facebook says it has broken up a hacker network linked to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' intelligence service.

The Biden administration says it has resumed U.S. assistance to the Palestinians, including to the U.N. agency that deals with Palestinian refugees.

Marwan Barghouti, a popular Palestinian uprising leader imprisoned by Israel has submitted an independent list of candidates to run in the upcoming parliamentary elections. Polls indicate it would split the vote for Fatah, potentially paving the way for another major victory by Hamas. That increases the likelihood that Abbas will find a way to call off the first Palestinian elections in 15 years. But he remains a popular and charismatic leader, and by breaking with Abbas he could reshape Palestinian politics and potentially replace him as president. Polls consistently show him to be the most popular Palestinian leader, with support from across the political spectrum.

The Department of Health reported more than 10,000 new COVID-19 cases Monday, the highest since the pandemic hit the country. Fauci told CNN it seemed like the Trump virus team was “fighting with each other rather than fighting the virus.”AdIn his statement, Trump says “Dr. Texas has administered more than 10 million vaccine doses. Jared Polis has announced that residents over age 16 will be eligible for the coronavirus vaccine starting Friday. Ad___NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Johnson & Johnson says it’s agreed to provide up to 400 million doses of its one-dose COVID-19 vaccine to African countries, starting this summer.

The vaccine shipment is a boost to the West Bank, where the PA has struggled to obtain vaccines as the infection rate surged in recent weeks. In the West Bank, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said the vaccines would go to medical workers and older people. But in recent weeks, it has inoculated over 100,000 Palestinian laborers in the West Bank who have permits to work inside Israel and its West Bank settlements. Bootsma said the limited number of vaccines in Gaza prevents a mass vaccination campaign. The West Bank has reported nearly 163,000 COVID-19 cases and 1,824 deaths.

The Palestinian Authority says it will receive 62,000 coronavirus vaccine doses through a World Health Organization partnership designed to help poor countries. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)JERUSALEM – The Palestinian Authority said Wednesday it will receive just over 60,000 coronavirus vaccine doses over the next 48 hours, the first shipment provided by a World Health Organization partnership aimed at helping poor countries. That's only enough doses to vaccinate 31,000 people out of a population of nearly 5 million Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza. Palestinian Health Ministry spokesman Kamal al-Shakhra said authorities would receive 38,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 24,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. AdUntil now, the PA had received 2,000 doses from Israel and acquired another 10,000 doses of the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine.

But to date it has only acquired enough doses to inoculate 6,000 people in a population of nearly 5 million. “We have focused from the beginning on health workers, but there are around 100,000" in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, Health Minister Mai Alkaila told reporters on Tuesday. The PA acquired another 10,000 doses of the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine. AdAlkaila said 2,000 doses have been shipped to Gaza, which is ruled by the Palestinian militant group Hamas and is under an Israeli-Egyptian blockade. Of the remaining 9,800 doses, she said 90% have been given to health workers.

Israel's attorney general says a plan by Netanyahu to ship surplus coronavirus vaccines to diplomatic allies has been frozen. (AP Photo/Tal Shahar, Yediot Ahronot, Pool, File)JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's controversial plan to ship surplus coronavirus vaccines to a group of allied nations was frozen Thursday following a legal challenge to the deal, his office announced. Netanyahu announced on Wednesday that he had personally decided to share small quantities of surplus Israeli vaccines with allied nations. He described the mission as a “strategic and political move at zero cost.”Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel has hundreds of thousands of surplus vaccines. In his letter, Gantz noted that the decision to share vaccines with the Palestinians was made after consultations involving various government ministries.

While Israel does not produce vaccines, Netanyahu has moved aggressively to secure enough vaccines for Israel’s 9.3 million people in deals with Pfizer and Moderna. Ad“Our supply is beyond what is needed by the citizens of Israel,” Netanyahu told reporters Tuesday. In Prague, the Czech prime minister, Andrej Babis, said Israel was donating 5,000 doses to his country after a request for assistance. He said the vaccines were in response to requests from friendly countries, and not in exchange for any diplomatic favors. Israel this month delivered 2,000 doses of Moderna vaccines to the Palestinian Authority for frontline medical workers in the West Bank, and it has pledged to share a total of 5,000 doses.

GAZA – The Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip began its coronavirus vaccination drive on Monday following the arrival of the first vaccines to the blockaded coastal area. Former health ministers and several medical workers were inoculated with Russia’s Sputnik V jabs in front of dozens of cameras. More medical workers and patients with chronic diseases are to start receiving injections on Tuesday. The Palestinian Authority has struggled to secure vaccines, obtaining just 2,000 doses from Israel for West Bank medical workers and an additional 10,000 doses from Russia. Al-Qedra, the Health Ministry spokesman, said he expected more vaccines to arrive in Gaza in the coming days.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to clobber the aviation industry, Emirates Airlines, the Middle Easts biggest airline is seeking to play a vital role in the global vaccine delivery effort. The arrival was part of an effort by the Middle East's biggest airline to pivot from shuttling people to shipping cargo — and grabbing a central role in the global vaccine delivery race. The key transit hub, previously used for the global shipment of pharmaceuticals, is now at the center of a growing vaccine supply network based in the United Arab Emirates. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, reported as being 95% effective, must be preserved at the frigid temperature of negative 70 Celsius (minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit). On the one hand, the federation of seven emirates is accelerating efforts to import vaccines despite supply lags.

Hamas police officers guard a truck containing a shipment of Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccines at the Kerem Shalom border crossing, in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021. The announcement by Mohammed Dahlan came a day after Abbas' government managed to deliver 2,000 vaccines to Gaza and appeared to be aimed in part at embarrassing the Palestinian president. Dahlan was once a bitter foe of Hamas when he served as the Palestinian security chief in Gaza. The expected delivery of vaccines could further boost Dahlan's standing in the territory as Abbas continues to struggle to procure vaccines for his people. With Emirati money, Dahlan’s group has delivered tons of medical aid, including an oxygen generator, to support Gaza’s weak health care system dealing with COVID-19 patients.

FILE - In this Feb. 11, 2020 file photo, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters. ( (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)RAMALLAH – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday hosted the Egyptian and Jordanian intelligence chiefs to brief them on plans to hold the first Palestinian elections in 14 years. The elections would mark a major step toward reconciling the Palestinian rift between Abbas’ Fatah movement, which runs the West Bank, and Hamas. Jordan borders the West Bank, while Egypt border Gaza. The rival Palestinian factions are to meet in Egypt next week, hoping to settle their differences before election campaigning kicks off.

FILE - In this May 19, 2020 file photo, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas heads a leadership meeting at his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Abbas has issued a decree setting parliamentary and presidential elections for later this year, Friday, Jan. 15, 2021. Elections would pose a major risk for Abbas' Fatah party and also for Hamas, which welcomed the decree. Abbas' Palestinian Authority is confined to the occupied West Bank, where it administers major population centers according to agreements with Israel. The decree sets a timeline in which legislative elections would be held on May 22, followed by presidential elections on July 31 — the first since Abbas was elected to a four-year term in 2005.

Few people were there to greet them as the coronavirus pandemic and a strict lockdown dampened Christmas Eve celebrations. The Philippines prohibited mass gatherings and barred extended families from holding traditional Christmas Eve dinners. On Christmas Eve in Italy, church bells rang earlier than usual. In Athens, Christmas Eve was eerily silent. The schedule for Christmas Eve and Christmas day included Masses in English and Spanish, and a bilingual jazz vespers service.

As late as last week, the United Nations still listed the deposed president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, as an upcoming speaker. But the final countries addressed the U.N. gathering on Tuesday afternoon with no word from Mali. Before this latest coup, extremists were moving south into more densely populated areas, adding to the frustrations that fed massive protests in the weeks ahead of the coup. He delivered a prerecorded address Tuesday to the U.N. General Assembly’s annual meeting of global leaders, being held virtually this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Emirati foreign minister also warned against what he said were “the expansionist ambitions of some countries in the region."

But its actions had an impact in the region, he said, though he wouldn’t speculate on whether other Arab countries would follow the UAE and Bahrain in establishing relations with Israel. “The only thing I want to say is the more strategic the Israelis look at these relationships, the more doors will open to them,” Gargash said. Looking back at the UAE's decision to normalize relations with Israel, Gargash said the government decided it was strategically good for the country, “and will make the UAE more of a global presence." But the Arab world and the region remain polarized, Gargash said, though “I would like to say we haven’t lost a single friend.”The UAE minister called the Iranian reaction “very alarming." ___Edith M. Lederer, chief U.N. correspondent for The Associated Press, has been covering world affairs for nearly a half-century.

“This emergency has, more than a thousand treaties or speeches, made us suddenly realize that we are part of one single world,” said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. In times of global crisis, Europe’s rich governments are often looked to for financial and material aid for poorer ones. As infections tick up, EU countries are again imposing quarantines on visitors from neighboring nations. “In every corner of the world today, there is a young man, a young woman, looking at their cell phone screen. “If we’re truly going to defeat this virus we’ll have to do even more to enhance international cooperation,” Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said.

(UNTV via AP)JERUSALEM – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday called for an international conference early next year to launch a "genuine peace process” while criticizing the recent decision of two Arab countries to normalize relations with Israel. Arguing that Washington is no longer an honest broker, they have called for a multilateral peace process based on U.N. resolutions and past agreements. Instead, Netanyahu has focused on building ties with Arab, African and Asian countries that have long supported the Palestinian cause. In Israel, the agreement with the United Arab Emirates, an oil-rich country with considerable regional influence, is seen as a historic breakthrough that could transform the Middle East. ___Associated Press writer Aya Batrawy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed.

___5:50 p.m.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will tell the U.N. General Assembly that the coronavirus pandemic has frayed the bonds between nations and will urge world leaders to unite against the “common foe” of COVID-19. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi also used his U.N. speech this week to describe the dam, Africa’s largest, as an existential threat. Khan has frequently criticized the decision by the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August 2019 to strip Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood, scrap its separate constitution and remove inherited protections on land and jobs. The United Kingdom is a founding nation of the United Nations and a member of the Security Council, and the country has been a global diplomatic juggernaut for centuries. Michel’s ire was raised when British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would contemplate breaking an agreement he signed with the EU.

(AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)GAZA Hundreds of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday rallied against the U.S.-brokered deal to normalize ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. The demonstrators in Gaza City also voiced support for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for his rejection of President Donald Trump's Mideast plan, which the Palestinians say unfairly favors Israel. The protest was organized by the militant Hamas group, which rules the Gaza Strip, and other factions. "Instead, it serves and promotes the occupation in its projects that target Palestine and the region.In the West Bank town of Turmusaya, several dozen Palestinians demonstrated against the UAE's deal with Israel, the Trump administration's Mideast plan and Israel's plan to annex parts of the West Bank. Protesters burned Israeli flags and threw stones at Israeli soldiers in the distance.