Have Israel, Hamas reopened backchannel to discuss swap deal?

A Palestinian source has claimed that in recent messages between Israel and Hamas over the communication channel established for the Gilad Shalit exchange, Hamas has admitted to holding Israeli civilian Avraham Mengistu.

Palestine

Dangers of international 'fatigue' on Israel-Palestine issue

If the international community opts for passivity on a two-state solution instead of intervention, the policy vacuum might attract many negative factors and ignite violence.

Palestine

Gaza's cybercriminals get rich hacking Internet-based phone lines

Cybercrime is on the rise in the Gaza Strip, where an absence of relevant legislation has facilitated criminals' efforts to intercept Internet-based phone lines and sell minutes.

Palestine

Nablus library seeks to catch up with modern times

The Nablus Municipality Public Library is a Palestinian cultural landmark, but its current inability to keep up with technological advances has limited scholars' access to its holdings.

Palestine

Palestinians smuggle cheaper nicotine fix from Jordan

Smugglers are finding a profitable business in moving cigarettes into Palestine from Jordan and competing with locally made tobacco and more expensive imported cigarettes.

Palestine

Slim prospects in Gaza force college grads to work as deliverymen

The poor economic situation in the Gaza Strip has taken a toll on the opportunities available for holders of university degrees, some of whom are now working as deliverymen to get by.

Palestine

Syrian mortar shells sow fear in Jordan border town

Many residents of Ramtha, northern Jordan, are calling for military action to contain the violence in Syria that is spilling over onto their city, where mortars fall on houses and parents are afraid to send their children to school.

Palestine

Tens of thousands of Palestinians on verge of retirement, but why?

Government employees having served 15 years on the job are now grappling with the prospect of being forced into early retirement, as part of large-scale austerity measures in Palestine.

Palestine

Israeli-Palestinian bridges crumble under sorrow, anger over Douma murders

The female volunteers of the Israeli Machsom Watch activist group are supporting the Dawabsha family while Riham and Ahmad Dawabsha fight for their lives in the hospital, but some of their students are too hurt and angry to continue seeing them.

Palestine

All Bibi all the time: How Netanyahu looks to find the media spotlight, not solutions

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has done nothing to seize the opportunities that he claimed Operation Protective Edge presented to Israel.

Palestine

Will nuclear deal help improve PA-Iran relations?

The Palestinian Authority is exploring the benefits of bettering its relations with Iran following the nuclear deal as Iran’s influence on the international scene becomes more powerful.

Palestine

Born behind bars: What it’s like to raise a baby in Gaza’s prisons

Incarcerated women in Gaza, often ostracized by their families and communities, must relinquish their children to uncertain lives at 2 years of age.

Palestine