Latest Palestinian territories government News

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. It would be the first vote of its kind since 2006, when the Islamic militant group Hamas won a landslide victory. (Alaa Badarneh/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Abbas decrees first Palestinian elections in 15 years

Jan. 15, 2021 3:15 PM EST

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday decreed parliamentary and presidential elections for later this year in what would be the first vote of its kind since 2006, when the Islamic militant group Hamas won a landslide victory. Elections would pose a major risk for Abbas'...

A woman wearing a face mask to protect against coronavirus walks at a train station in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

The Latest: New Zealand visitors must show negative test

Jan. 11, 2021 11:57 PM EST

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand will soon require that travelers from most countries show negative coronavirus tests before they leave for New Zealand. COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says New Zealand is in a fortunate position to have stamped out community spread of the virus, but takes...

Palestinians say Israeli gunshot in the neck paralyzed man

Jan. 2, 2021 5:50 AM EST

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — The Palestinian Health Ministry said Saturday a youth is suffering from paralysis a day after he was shot in the neck by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank. The man, Haron Abu Aram, 24, was left quadriplegic, the ministry said. Witnesses said the incident was triggered when...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement at the Israeli Knesset, or Parliament, in Jerusalem, Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020. Netanyahu said,

Israel heads to new elections as government collapses

Dec. 22, 2020 5:36 PM EST

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s divided government collapsed early Wednesday, triggering the country’s fourth election in under two years and bringing an unprecedented threat to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's lengthy grip on power. Netanyahu, who is used to labeling his opponents as weak...

A Palestinian vendor stands in front of his shop near the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank City of Bethlehem, Monday, Nov. 23, 2020. Normally packed with tourists from around the world at this time of year, Bethlehem resembles a ghost town – with hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops shuttered by the pandemic. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Lockdown looms over Christmas in Bethlehem

Dec. 17, 2020 2:33 PM EST

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — The mayor of Bethlehem on Thursday said Christmas celebrations in the birthplace of Jesus will be limited to just a handful of people this year as Palestinian officials announced a strict new lockdown across the West Bank due to a soaring coronavirus outbreak. In an interview,...

FILE - In this Dec. 9, 2020, file photo, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein, center, attend the arrival of over 100,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, Israel. Israel plans to begin vaccinating millions of its citizens against COVID-19 this month after Netanyahu personally reached out to the head of the Pfizer pharmaceuticals company. The timetable is very different for the Palestinians, who live under Israeli military rule but have no idea when vaccinations will arrive as they largely fend for themselves in the face of an intense worldwide competition for scarce supplies. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP, File )

Palestinians left waiting as Israel is set to deploy vaccine

Dec. 17, 2020 1:38 PM EST

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Israel will begin rolling out a major coronavirus vaccination campaign next week after the prime minister reached out personally to the head of a major drug company. Millions of Palestinians living under Israeli control will have to wait much longer. Worldwide, rich nations are...

FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2003, file photo, Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi smiles as she receives the 2003 Sydney Peace Prize in Sydney. Ashrawi, a veteran senior official in the Palestine Liberation Organization, announced her resignation on Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020, saying the Palestinian political system needs “renewal and reinvigoration.” (AP Photo/Mick Tsikas, Pool, File)

Veteran Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi resigns

Dec. 9, 2020 3:29 PM EST

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Hanan Ashrawi, a veteran senior official in the Palestine Liberation Organization, announced her resignation on Wednesday, saying the Palestinian political system needs “renewal and reinvigoration.” Ashrawi, a member of the PLO's decision-making executive committee,...

A nurse walks COVID-19 tests back to the tent at the free COVID-19 testing site on Monday, Nov. 23, 2020 in Glenwood Springs, Colo. (Chelsea Self/Glenwood Springs Post Independent via AP)

The Latest: China reports results of mass testing

Nov. 23, 2020 10:56 PM EST

BEIJING — China has reported new coronavirus cases in the cities of Shanghai and Tianjin as it seeks to prevent small outbreaks from becoming larger ones. The National Health Commission said Tuesday that there were two new locally spread cases in the previous 24-hour period, one in each city. It also...

Palestinian Christians celebrate the lighting of a Christmas tree outside the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed by Christians to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2019. The Palestinian Health Ministry has recommended strict limits on Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem this year due to the coronavirus outbreak. Celebrations in the biblical town revered by Christians as Jesus’ birthplace are usually attended by thousands of people from around the world. In its recommendations Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020 it said religious services on Christmas Eve should also have limited attendance. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Palestinians may limit Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem

Nov. 22, 2020 3:39 PM EST

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — The Palestinian Health Ministry has recommended strict limits on Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem this year due to the coronavirus outbreak. Celebrations in the biblical town revered by Christians as Jesus’ birthplace are usually attended by thousands of people from...

FILE - In this Jan. 22, 2020 file photo, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks after a meeting of the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank city of Ramallah. A senior Palestinian official said Tuesday, Nov. 17 the Palestinian Authority will restore ties with Israel after it cut all contacts in May over Israel’s planned annexation of up to a third of the occupied West Bank. The move to restore ties likely reflects the Palestinians’ hopes that the election of former Vice President Joe Biden spells the end of the Trump administration’s Mideast policies, which overwhelmingly favored Israel. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed, File)

Palestinians restore Israel ties as annexation fears fade

Nov. 17, 2020 2:43 PM EST

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Palestinian Authority will restore ties with Israel that it severed in May over Israel's planned annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank, a move that will allow it to receive much-needed tax revenues that Israel collects on its behalf, Palestinian officials said Tuesday. The move...

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