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Bedouin face eviction as Israeli settlement spreads near Jerusalem

By Pesha Magid

JABAL Al-BABA, West Bank (Reuters) -The land available to Atallah al-Jahalin’s Bedouin community for grazing livestock near Jerusalem has steadily shrunk, as expanding Jewish settlements on Israeli-occupied territory encircle the city and push deeper into the West Bank.

Now, the group of some 80 families faces eviction from the last patches of valley and scrubland they have called home for decades.

Palestinian Bedouin men pray, as the communities of Jabal Al-Baba face displacement due to plans to build a new Israeli settlement near the E1 road, in Jabal Al-Baba in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, September 17, 2025. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

Singapore to sanction Israeli settler leaders, supports Palestine statehood

By Jun Yuan Yong

SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Singapore said on Monday it will impose targeted sanctions on leaders of Israeli settler groups and would recognise a Palestine state under the right conditions.

Western and other nations have been taking an increasingly hard line against settler groups and some Israeli officials they accuse of fomenting violence, while global recognition is growing of Palestinians' aspiration for an independent homeland.

FILE PHOTO: A view of the Parliament House in Singapore May 24, 2018. REUTERS/Edgar Su/ File Photo

Egypt's President Sisi pardons high-profile Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah, al Qahera news says

(Reuters) - Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi pardoned high-profile Egyptian-British activist, Alaa Abd el-Fattah, after a lengthy imprisonment and repeated hunger strikes that prompted international pleas for his release, Al Qahera news said on Monday.

Abd el-Fattah, 43, became Egypt's most prominent political prisoner after spending much of his adult life in and out of detention due to his activism, and a rare symbol of opposition to a far-reaching crackdown under Sisi.

FILE PHOTO: Signage to support Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah is displayed during the hunger strike of Laila Soueif to protest against her son's detention in Egypt, outside Downing Street in Westminster in London, Britain, February 10, 2025.  REUTERS/Jaimi Joy/File Photo

Israeli army operations stir fears in Syria's Quneitra

Rubble and Hebrew graffiti mark Israel's presence in Syria's Quneitra province, where people accuse the southern neighbour's troops of demolitions, detentions and forced displacement -- defying ongoing security talks between the two sides.

"Israeli forces entered under cover of darkness and demolished my house, along with 15 others, with a bulldozer," said Mohammed al-Ali.

"They turned them into rubble within a few hours," said the 50-year-old from the southern town of Hamidiya.

A UN Disengagement Observer Force soldier stands guard at an observation post in the city of Quneitra near the border with the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights in southern Syria

Clashes as tens of thousands join pro-Palestinian demos in Italy

Tens of thousands of people protested on Monday across Italy as part of a day of action to "denounce the genocide in Gaza", with blockades, strikes and marches that descended into clashes with police in Milan.

The demonstrations came on the same day as France and other countries prepared to recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, following recognition by the UK, Australia and Canada on Sunday.

Italy's hard-right government under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said it will not recognise a Palestinian state for now.

Protesters clashed with anti-riot police at Milano Centrale train station

Russia, after Western Palestinian state recognition move, says it still backs a two-state solution

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia still believes that a two-state solution is the only way to settle the conflict in the Middle East, the Kremlin said on Monday, after it was asked about a decision by some Western countries to recognise a Palestinian state.

Britain, Canada, Australia and Portugal all recognised a Palestinian state on Sunday in a move borne out of frustration over the Gaza war and intended to promote a two-state solution, prompting a furious response from Israel.

FILE PHOTO: A view shows the Kremlin's towers, the Grand Kremlin Palace and cathedrals behind the wall in central Moscow, Russia, August 7, 2025. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/ File Photo

Genoa dockers walk out as Italian unions protest against Israel

ROME (Reuters) -Striking dockworkers blocked access roads to the port of Genoa in northern Italy on Monday, as part of protests against Israel's offensive in Gaza.

Transport services also faced disruption and a number of schools across Italy were closed following strikes called by a group of unions in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

In Genoa, in northwest Italy, some protesters waved the Palestinian flag during early morning gatherings around the port. Further down the coast in the Tuscan city of Livorno, an entrance to the port was blocked by protesting workers.

Students gather for a demonstration, as dockworkers take part in a strike near the port of Genoa as part of a nationwide "Let's Block Everything" protest, with activists calling for a halt to arms shipments to Israel, in Genoa, Italy, September 22, 2025. REUTERS/Matteo Minnella

Malta to formally recognise Palestinian state at UN assembly, PM says

VALLETTA (Reuters) -Malta will announce its formal recognition of a Palestinian state at the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Monday, the Prime Minister's Office said, joining a group of countries in making the move.

Britain, Canada, Australia and Portugal all recognised a Palestinian state on Sunday, a move intended to promote a two-state solution to end the war in Gaza. France and several other states are expected to make the same decision on Monday.

Activists hold a two-day protest vigil in solidarity with the victims in Gaza outside the Auberge de Castille, the office of Malta's Prime Minister Robert Abela after he announced that Malta will formally recognise the state of Palestine in the coming days, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Valletta, Malta, September 21, 2025. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi/File Photo

French town halls fly Palestinian flag despite government warning

Almost two dozen town halls in France were on Monday flying the Palestinian flag from their entrances in defiance of an interior ministry warning not to do so ahead of the recognition of a Palestinian state by President Emmanuel Macron.

The president is due to recognise a Palestinian state in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, following up on a pledge he made in the summer that angered Israel.

Several French town halls hoisted the Palestinian flag

Israel bolsters military presence across fronts for Jewish New Year

(Reuters) -The Israeli military said on Monday it had reinforced all combat fronts with air, land and naval forces across the country during the Jewish New Year holiday.

Earlier this year, Israeli media reported that the military had ended its long-standing practice of granting unit-wide leave during holidays.

The decision followed a military investigation that found Hamas took advantage of the reduced troop presence along the Gaza border on October 7, 2023, during a Jewish holiday, to launch its attack, according to media reports.

An Israeli military convoy manoeuvres on Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, in Israel, September 21, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo