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Putin to meet Iran's president, Qatar's emir Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Tuesday, the Kremlin said, according to Reuters. Earlier on Monday, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that Pezeshkian would leave for Moscow on Monday night to attend the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) on Tuesday.
What's behind the rise of the Palestinian vote in Israel's 2026 election? Lubna Masarwa on Mon, 10/26/2026 - 14:09 In an in-depth interview, analyst Ameer Fakhoury explains how Palestinian citizens of Israel are voting to ensure their very survival A billboard for Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, with the Hebrew phrase "the Right or Palestine", is displayed in Arab majority city Kafr Qasim in central Israel on 19 October 2026 (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP) Off On Tuesday, massive numbers of Palestinian citizens of Israel are expected to vote in the Israeli election. According to the last two opinion polls, voter turnout among Palestinians - who at 2.1 million make up about 20 percent of Israel's population - is expected to range between 64 and 68 percent. The turnout, says analyst Ameer Fakhoury, could even exceed the record numbers seen in 2020, when the Joint List alliance of parties representing Palestinian citizens won 15 seats in Israel’s parliament, the Knesset. The last time Israelis went to the polls, in 2022, just 54 percent of Palestinians in Israel voted. Since then, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has waged genocide in Gaza and violent apartheid in the occupied West Bank, and allowed crime to run rampant in Palestinian communities in Israel. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Clearly, Israel’s Palestinian citizens are responding to the horror that has played out in front of their eyes over the past four years. “There is genuine hope, and seemingly well-founded expectations, that turnout could approach 70 percent, or even exceed it,” Fakhoury, an analyst at Israel’s Vanleer Institute think tank, tells Middle East Eye. “The information I have suggests that we are already at around 69 percent. However, there is a reluctance to publicise this figure because it might create a sense of complacency.” Haifa-born Fakhoury is an expert in the politics of Palestinians inside Israel. He heads Vanleer’s Nisan Center for a Shared Society, which is described as “an intellectual hub for Jewish–Arab Palestinian partnership in Israel”. Speaking to Middle East Eye in a wide-ranging interview, Fakhoury delves into the reasons underpinning the surge in Palestinian interest in this election when life for Palestinians everywhere is at a nadir and Israeli society is more hostile than ever. “I believe people instinctively understand that the Israel they once knew has changed,” he says. No more security According to Fakhoury, many Palestinians previously abstained from voting in Israeli elections because of ideological and socioeconomic reasons. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); “Marginalised communities and oppressed social classes often lack a sense of political agency,” he notes. “However, there was also a degree of reassurance, or perhaps a sense of security, that Israel possessed some rationality or internal restraints,” he continues. “We believed that Israel might act against us politically, or prioritise Jewish national interests over ours, but that it would not necessarily threaten our very existence. People now understand that this space, these internal restraints, has disappeared.” Fakhoury believes that one of those guardrails was that Israel cared about its international image. The genocide in Gaza proves that is no longer the case. “Previously, Israel wanted to maintain at least a degree of plausible deniability. It wanted to present itself as part of the family of nations, as a state possessing some rationality, some commitment to international norms, and a measure of soft power and diplomatic legitimacy,” he says. 'Opinion polls have shown that around 80 percent of Jewish Israelis support the destruction being inflicted on Palestinians' - Ameer Fakhoury “That has changed. Israel has committed the crime of crimes and has not been punished. It has not merely committed genocide; it has escaped punishment for genocide. Once that happens, it becomes easier for the state to repress, persecute, delegitimise and strip people of their citizenship.” Israel’s Palestinian community, Fakhoury says, understands this instinctively, “as any politically conscious and living society would”. “They understand that the institutions have changed, and that the Jewish majority within Israeli society has changed. Opinion polls have shown that around 80 percent of Jewish Israelis support the destruction being inflicted on Palestinians.” Fakhoury believes that, historically, the Palestinians inside Israel have had three major lines of defence that have shielded them from meeting the same fate as the 750,000 Palestinians expelled during the 1948 Nakba. The first was a degree of self-restraint within Israeli society and its institutions. “Israel's Jewish majority had adopted certain restraints, at least partly because Israel wanted to belong to the international community and the liberal international order established after the Second World War. Of course, there was always hypocrisy in this arrangement. Nevertheless, even as a hypocritical system, it existed and provided some limitations on what the state could do.” The second line of defence was Israel's relationship with the liberal international order itself. “That restraint has also disappeared. Look at Israel's conduct towards international institutions, the International Criminal Court, international courts, Iran and even the United States. Israel is no longer simply operating within the international system. It is actively leading a process that undermines and dismantles that system.” (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The third line of defence was the Israeli Supreme Court. Israeli press review: Netanyahu accused of pushing Iran escalation ahead of election Read More » “Historically, the court distinguished between Palestinians living under Israeli rule as subjects and Palestinians holding Israeli citizenship. Although the court often failed, or was complicit in failing, to protect Palestinians, there was a limited compensatory mechanism,” he says. “Israel sought to maintain its liberal image internationally by offering some degree of protection to Palestinian citizens internally. This was always limited, but it existed. That, too, has disappeared.” Fakhoury points to the case of Sami Abu Shehada, the head of the Balad party, who was banned from running in this year’s election because of an article he wrote three years ago contextualising the 7 October Hamas-led attack. “There was no genuine legal debate. The proceedings were directed towards the instincts of the majority, offering the public what amounted to a litre of Palestinian blood. This is the most dangerous development: a populist court appealing to the instincts of the majority rather than applying legal principles.” These three lines of defence, Fakhoury says, have effectively collapsed. “Some people argue that the existence of a Palestinian middle class provides an additional safeguard. I consider that argument meaningless. We have seen how quickly Palestinians can be accused of treachery. It can happen within an hour and a half. When these protections collapse, voting for the executive authority begins to serve a very different purpose. It becomes a potential lifeline.” Voting to protect existence Ordinarily, minority participation in elections expresses confidence in the democratic system. Fakhoury believes that, for perhaps the first time, Palestinian electoral participation in Israel expresses the opposite: “a lack of confidence in state institutions and an attempt to cling to the political forces or government arrangements that might offer some protection”. “That is the background to the current rise in turnout.” Palestinians are not going to the polls simply seeking to repeal the Nation-State Law that enshrined Jewish supremacy over Palestinian citizens, nor to secure additional budgets or obtain further rights. “We are voting to prevent displacement and protect the most basic conditions of our existence. Even the issue of organised crime, which Arab Knesset members discuss in terms of security and a safety net, concerns rights that should be taken for granted in any ordinary, reasonably functioning state.” Fakhoury and colleagues at the University of Haifa are currently conducting research examining three principal motivations behind Palestinian political participation in Israeli elections. 'A citizen, in the substantive sense, should not have to engage in politics simply to avoid death. This is not how citizenship is supposed to function' - Ameer Fakhoury The first is solidarity with the Palestinian people. The second is self-preservation: the desire to protect one's immediate community and secure one's own interests. The third is simply survival. “Today, survival has become the dominant motivation. We are conducting a survey involving approximately 1,500 Palestinians inside Israel, and I am still analysing the findings. What is becoming clear is that when the survival instinct enters the political equation, it overwhelms other motivations,” Fakhoury says. “You cannot meaningfully place existential survival alongside ordinary civic demands as though they were equivalent considerations. When your existence is at stake, everything else becomes secondary. You cannot say that you are voting to protect your existence and, at the same time, treat municipal services or ordinary civil rights as equally important motivations,” he continues. “The moment your existence becomes the central concern, the very meaning of citizenship changes. A citizen, in the substantive sense, should not have to engage in politics simply to avoid death. This is not how citizenship is supposed to function. When survival becomes the dominant motivation, the boundaries of ordinary political participation collapse. The symbolic and substantive meaning of citizenship is fundamentally undermined.” Three Israeli political parties are running on platforms that openly support the deportation, displacement and expulsion of Palestinians - even those with Israeli citizenship. Bezalel Smotrich, finance minister and head of the Religious Zionism party, has made “Judaising” the Galilee and Negev regions of Israel, where many Palestinians live, a key tenant of his election campaign. Israel election 2026: Netanyahu may be weak but the right wing remains as strong as ever Read More » “If you are lying awake at night fearing an attack, your primary concerns are protecting your children, securing food and ensuring that nobody will harm your family. You cannot meaningfully participate in political life under those conditions,” Fakhoury says. “There is no genuine space for politics.” Palestinians, he notes, are often the overwhelmingly weaker party, subjected to violence rather than possessing the means to defend themselves. “This is why the recognition that our existence is threatened is so politically significant. When Palestinians inside Israel say they are voting to prevent what happened in Gaza or the West Bank from happening to them, consider what that actually means,” he says. “They are saying they want to prevent ethnic cleansing or genocide. And from whom? From their own state. From the state of which they are supposedly citizens.” Essentially, Fakhoury says, such a dynamic means that citizenship has lost its substantive meaning. A Palestinian may possess citizenship legally, but they do not have it in any meaningful sense if there is genuine fear that their own state might turn against them and destroy them. The rise of Mansour Abbas For Fakhoury, it is in this broader context that the rise of Mansour Abbas, head of the Raam party, can be understood. Raam is one of the four major parties traditionally representing Palestinian citizens, and has a conservative Islamic background. It has participated as part of the Joint List in several elections, but more recently split from that alliance and in 2021 even entered the governing coalition when Netanyahu was briefly ousted from power. Fakhoury notes that in the 1990s, there was concern that Palestinian citizens of Israel would assume an Israeli-Arab identity that decoupled them from the broader Palestinian people and cause. Abbas’ electoral and political success, he says, suggests that this has now happened to some extent. “A major division has emerged within Palestinian society, particularly in how Palestinians politically identify and categorise themselves. To understand its significance, we need to examine the exceptional position of Palestinians inside Israel,” he says. “We are a trapped minority, a post-partition minority, although the partition itself was never fully realised. Typically, such minorities look to their parent nation for protection and assistance. But Palestinians inside Israel represent an exceptional historical case. Rather than simply seeking rescue from the wider Palestinian people, we have developed a political responsibility towards rescuing and supporting that wider nation. This is one of our most distinctive characteristics.” Mansour Abbas, leader of the Raam party, speaks at the plenum at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem, 13 July 2026 (Reuters/Ronen Zvulun) Fakhoury asks us to imagine what would happen if Palestinians in Israel decided to ignore the plight of those in the West Bank and Gaza, and to concentrate on their own issues and improving their own situation. “If we adopted that approach, we could participate much more freely in Israeli politics. We could negotiate with Netanyahu, Eisenkot or almost anyone else. Political parties would compete for our support,” he says. “But we cannot do that. Our Palestinian national minority possesses a remarkably high moral threshold. Even if someone adopted the most extreme position and said, 'I have nothing to do with the West Bank or Gaza. I only want to look after myself and obtain whatever benefits I can,' that would fundamentally contradict the political and moral position we have maintained. We cannot simply abandon our people. That is what distinguishes us.” Mansour Abbas has challenged this principle, Fakhoury says. 'We have consistently insisted that we are an inseparable part of a larger Palestinian people, politically, morally and through our shared circumstances and destiny' - Ameer Fakhoury “He has not necessarily done so by declaring that he is no longer part of the Palestinian people. Instead, his argument is effectively that Palestinians inside Israel are too weak to help the wider Palestinian nation. He suggests that our situation is so difficult that we must dilute, suspend or even abandon that responsibility in order to protect ourselves.” But this argument, Fakhoury argues, contains a deeper assumption: that the capacity to assist the wider Palestinian people depends on the meaningfulness of Israeli citizenship. “There is a dual process taking place. On the one hand, our citizenship is being stripped of meaning. On the other, our political responsibility towards the wider Palestinian people is being undermined. The message becomes: do not imagine that you can rescue your people; save yourselves first,” he says. “This process operates on two levels simultaneously. Abbas represents a political expression of this condition. His position is effectively: my citizenship has been emptied of substance, and because of that, I cannot protect anyone else. I can barely protect myself. In my view, this amounts to submitting to the political conditions imposed upon us.” Crime as a way to break society One of the most pressing issues for Israel’s Palestinian community is organised crime. Israeli authorities have allowed it to spiral out of control, with youths killed in Palestinian towns and villages routinely and little to no law enforcement or justice. Fakoury suggests organised crime within Palestinian society inside Israel should not be understood merely as a criminal phenomenon, but rather as a form of proxy governance, an alternative system of control operating alongside the central state. “This is not simply about individual crimes,” he says. “It is a broader mechanism through which Palestinian society is governed and weakened. Allowing organised crime to proliferate serves more than one purpose. It does not merely push us towards dependence on the authorities. It also undermines our belief that we possess a political responsibility, and the capacity, to contribute to the survival of the wider Palestinian people.” Abbas, Fakhoury says, has internalised this reality and transformed it into a political programme. “The issue is therefore not simply whether he has emotionally, politically or historically abandoned the Palestinian people. It is that he has abandoned the theory of rescue: the political principle that Palestinians inside Israel have a responsibility towards the wider Palestinian nation,” he says. “This principle is central to our collective political identity. Had we abandoned Gaza and the West Bank and concentrated exclusively on our own interests, we could have participated in Israeli politics with far greater freedom. The competing Israeli political blocs would have sought our support. But we have consistently insisted that we are an inseparable part of a larger Palestinian people, politically, morally and through our shared circumstances and destiny.” Coalition building Fakhoury believes this election is also distinctive because of the positions adopted by Israeli political parties towards Arab participation in government. Historically, parties frequently campaigned on promises not to govern with Arab parties. This time, the situation is more complicated. Almost all the major parties, with the exception of the centre-left Democrats, have maintained their stance that the Palestinian parties will be boycotted in coalition talks. However, some politicians have left room for possible arrangements involving Mansour Abbas. “The Palestinian vote could play a decisive role, particularly if Arab parties secure around 15 seats,” Fakhoury says. “Such a result could deprive the Israeli right of the parliamentary numbers needed to form a government. Our greatest influence would therefore lie in preventing the continuation of what we describe as the colonial, genocidal right-wing government.” There is nonetheless a severe discrepancy between the Palestinian community’s ability to prevent a hard-right government from forming and its ability to establish an alternative one. How Israel’s election is further excluding Palestinian citizens from politics Read More » Fakhoury sees three possible scenarios after polls close and coalition-building negotiations between the parties begin. The first is a national unity government that includes Netanyhau and his chief rival, former military leader Gabi Eisenkott. “At present, this appears to have the strongest prospects, particularly because of American pressure for an arrangement involving Eisenkot and Netanyahu. Nevertheless, even though it is the most likely of the three scenarios, its overall prospects remain limited. The second possibility is a minority government. “This would be a government that could command sufficient parliamentary support to survive without possessing an outright majority of its own. In such a scenario, Arab parties might abstain rather than provide an explicit parliamentary safety net.” The third possibility, which could prove more likely than many expect, involves Mansour Abbas. “Consider Eisenkot's language carefully. He has not simply said that Abbas cannot participate in government. He has said that the government would consist only of Zionist parties. That distinction is important. It leaves open the possibility that Abbas's political positions could be interpreted as sufficiently compatible with Zionism to allow some form of cooperation.” Abbas has expressed acceptance of Israel as a Jewish state, and Jewish Israeli MP Yoav Segalovitz has swapped the centrist Together slate for Raam, running second on the party’s electoral list. “From Eisenkot's perspective, this could be interpreted as acceptance of a minimum component of the Zionist political project. When Eisenkot says that only Zionist parties will participate in government, he may be deliberately leaving room to present Abbas as someone who has accepted that project, at least in its most basic formulation,” Fakhoury says. “In my assessment, Abbas's statements about accepting the Jewish character of the state were not accidental. They may form part of an ongoing political exchange between the two sides, preparing the ground for possible arrangements after the election.” The impact of Ben Gvir and Smotrich It is no surprise that figures such as Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, Jewish supremacists who repeatedly make genocidal statements and work towards the expulsion and subjugation of Palestinians, have spurred the Palestinian vote. “In that sense, they have done more to mobilise Palestinian voters than any conventional election campaign could have achieved,” Fakhoury notes. “We have government ministers whose political activity centres on humiliating us, degrading our citizenship and attacking our very existence. These politicians have sought to capitalise politically on degrading Palestinians and stripping their citizenship of its fundamental meaning. That is why I believe they deserve much of the credit for the increased determination to vote.” The task for the Palestinian community, Fakhoury says, is to organise effectively on election day. “I believe turnout could reach 72 percent or 73 percent. God willing, perhaps even higher. Election day may bring many surprises.” But there is a deeper political challenge here. 'Turnout could reach 72 percent or 73 percent. God willing, perhaps even higher. Election day may bring many surprises' - Ameer Fakhoury The Palestinian community is giving the Joint List and Raam political oxygen and another opportunity to survive and remain relevant. If they fail, and fail to represent or tackle the underlying conditions of Palestinian politics in Israel, which Fakhoury notes have changed fundamentally since the 1993 Oslo Accords, they will squander a huge opportunity and may be punished for it. “The entire environment in which they developed their political language, vocabulary, alliances and strategies has changed almost completely. If they continue to operate using the same assumptions, without recognising this transformation, they will fail,” he says. “The greatest danger does not necessarily lie in the immediate election result. It lies in what comes afterwards.” The next Israeli government is unlikely to be stable. If, as with other elections over the past decade, there is no clear outcome, another round of polls will take place. These could be even more difficult and dangerous for the Palestinian community, Fakhoury warns. “This is why our political work must begin immediately after the election. We cannot simply congratulate ourselves for preventing the continuation of a genocidal government.” Fakhoury says he has contemplated some worst-case post-election scenarios, “and some of them are deeply alarming”. “One involves Mansour Abbas continuing to provide political support to a government that represses his own people. That is entirely possible. Once he enters such an arrangement, he may find it extremely difficult to withdraw his support or bring down the government. This could produce a major rupture within Palestinian society.” Trump gives Netanyahu ‘complete and total endorsement’ ahead of Israeli election Read More » Another scenario involves the Arab parties providing a parliamentary safety net to an Israeli government, only to find themselves implicated in policies that become increasingly indefensible. “We could reach a deeply shameful position. But withdrawing that safety net would create another problem. Our entire political calculation has been based on the principle of preventing the greater evil. "We have told our people that political participation allows us to distinguish between a bad outcome and a worse one. But what happens if that distinction collapses? What do we tell our people then?” Another factor is that Israel is likely entering a period of increasing international isolation. Such isolation could produce a siege mentality. And a siege mentality could generate greater hatred and greater violence directed against Palestinians. In recent days, Netanyahu has been speaking about preparing for an increasingly self-reliant, isolated economy. He has suggested an end to US support for Israel is on the horizon and that the country may be placed under international sanctions. “Israel is preparing for a different political and economic era. We are witnessing its transformation into what might be described as a pariah state, increasingly organised around a Spartan model,” Fakhoury says, referring to a hawkish, isolationist mentality. “The competing schools of thought and political traditions that once existed are being overtaken by a new consensus. We are all becoming Sparta. And that is the reality we must prepare for.” Israeli Elections Jerusalem 'We are becoming Sparta': Why the Palestinian vote is rising in Israel's 2026 election News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0
Pezeshkian says Iran supports unity among Muslim countries Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that Iran supports strengthening unity and cohesion among Islamic countries, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported on Monday. "Muslim nations should stand together against threats targeting their peoples," Pezeshkian said during his meeting with Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman, Pakistani army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin.
Blasts hit Yemen’s capital and Red Sea coast, residents report Explosions have been reported in Yemen’s Houthi-held capital Sanaa and along the country’s Red Sea coast, with residents describing damage to homes and a hospital, Al Jazeera reported. Residents in western Sanaa reported hearing at least four blasts, although it was not immediately clear what had been hit, the report said. A woman living near a Houthi base said a powerful explosion shattered windows in her home and neighbouring houses. In the coastal city of Mokha, resident Khaled Adib said a rocket struck a four-storey residential building, damaging at least 10 other houses and Mocha General Hospital, according to residents. Meanwhile, fighting continues between Houthi forces and Saudi-backed Yemeni government troops around the strategic city of Taiz.
Countering Houthi advances in Yemen will be a major focus for Saudi Arabia and its allies in Tehran.
Iran’s anti-negotiation hardliners turn against President Pezeshkian over negotiations with the US.
Iran president says Tehran seeks unity and security among Muslim nations Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has called on Muslim countries to strengthen regional cooperation against what he described as “Israeli aggression” and US-backed efforts to divide the Middle East, as senior Saudi, Pakistani and Turkish officials met with him in Tehran. During the meeting with Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman, Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, Pezeshkian condemned Israeli attacks on Gaza, Lebanon, Iran and other parts of the region. He said Iran was not seeking nuclear weapons but insisted on its right to pursue peaceful nuclear activities under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. He also criticised what he called “contradictory US policies”, accusing Washington of pursuing negotiations while attacking Iran and its nuclear facilities.
Israeli press review: Netanyahu accused of pushing Iran escalation ahead of election Nadav Rapaport on Mon, 10/26/2026 - 12:47 Meanwhile, women’s representation is set to fall in the next Knesset, and tens of thousands of Israelis living abroad have returned home ahead of Tuesday’s vote Cars drive past an election billboard of Israel's Likud party bearing portraits of (L-R) Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem with the message 'They want Netanyahu to lose, Don't let them win', in Netanya on 6 October 2026 (Jack Guez/AFP) Off Netanyahu’s Iran order sparks pre‑election uproar Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and army chief Eyal Zamir clashed on Sunday over an instruction that Zamir feared could trigger a military confrontation with Iran just days before Israel’s legislative elections, Channel 12 News reported on Sunday. The report, which did not detail the instruction itself, said Zamir challenged Netanyahu’s order and demanded legal assurances before carrying out any military action. Sources familiar with the row told Channel 12 News that senior military officials feared “the political echelon is trying to exploit the Iranian issue for political momentum”, raising doubts about Netanyahu’s motives. Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz both denied the report, with Katz writing on X on Monday that Israel had no intention of attacking Iran before Tuesday’s election. Channel 12 News added that the dispute unfolded amid reports that Netanyahu had spoken with US President Donald Trump about resuming the joint US‑Israeli campaign against Iran. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Israeli opposition leaders reacted to the report by accusing Netanyahu of trying to manipulate the election. Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu’s main challenger, warned him on X on Sunday: “Don’t you dare put your political interests above the security of the state.” Eisenkot’s bloc partner, Avigdor Lieberman of the right‑wing Yisrael Beiteinu party, went further, calling the alleged move treason. "Netanyahu is plainly betraying the country when he wants to drag us into a war," Lieberman told Radio 103FM on Monday, adding that he would seek an investigation into the prime minister "on charges of treason". Women’s representation in parliament set to drop Only 31 women are expected to enter Israel’s Knesset in Tuesday’s elections - just over a quarter of the 120 seats - according to a report on Monday by the women’s magazine LaIsha. This figure is far below the record set after the March 2021 elections, when 45 women won seats. Israel’s 2026 election: Who are the main leaders and where do they stand on the key issues? Read More » It also marks a decline from the last Knesset, which already saw women’s representation fall to 35, the report noted. The estimate, based on recent polls, suggests that most of the 31 women elected will come from Zionist opposition parties. According to the report, 23 women from Eisenkot’s Yashar party, Naftali Bennett’s Together party, Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu and Yair Golan’s left‑wing The Democrats are expected to enter the next Knesset. By contrast, Netanyahu’s bloc - comprising his Likud party, the far‑right parties Otzma Yehudit, led by Itamar Ben Gvir, and Religious Zionism, led by Bezalel Smotrich, as well as the ultra‑Orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism (UTJ) - is expected to send only six women. Shas and UTJ will send no women at all, as both parties permit only men to run. The report also said that the Palestinian‑led parties - the Islamist Ra’am and the left‑wing Joint List - are expected to send only two women to the Knesset. Israelis living abroad return to vote With elections approaching, around 90,000 Israelis living abroad are currently in the country, the economic daily Calcalist reported on Sunday. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The report said estimates from an Israeli telecoms company, which tracks users’ activity, indicate that the number could rise to about 111,000 on election day. This would represent an increase of roughly 94,000 compared with typical periods, according to the report. The findings come amid a major wave of emigration, with around 270,000 Israelis leaving the country since 2023 - a trend disproportionately affecting highly educated citizens. Although the exact reason for the return of Israelis living abroad is unclear, the telecoms company believes the surge is linked to the elections. "People don’t just travel to Israel randomly in the middle of October," the company told Calcalist, adding that "these are clearly people travelling in order to vote". A similar estimate from Channel 13 News, based on Ben Gurion Airport data, found that comparable numbers of Israelis had arrived from abroad this month. The report noted that 90,000 votes could translate into roughly two Knesset seats, though Channel 13 News noted that the arrivals include children who are not eligible to vote. Inside Israel News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0
Oil and shipping disruption adds urgency to Turkey’s renewable energy plans Khaled Shalaby on Mon, 10/26/2026 - 10:18 Ankara’s plans for renewable power, battery storage and cleaner port operations come as regional conflict puts energy security back in focus Mustafa Aydin, deputy general director for environmental and minerals markets, Energy Exchange Istanbul (Khaled Shalaby/MEE) Off With increasing disruption to commercial shipping routes and oil trade affecting energy security globally, Turkey is promoting green initiatives such as battery storage, carbon trading and clean maritime technology ahead of hosting the United Nations climate summit next month. The Washington Institute for Near East Policy recorded 28 confirmed and reported attacks during the month and 113 since the US-Israeli war with Iran began on 28 February. October has become the worst month on record for attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waterways. There have been 120 incidents in the Strait of Hormuz and the Middle East overall, impacting around 20,000 seafarers, port workers and offshore staff, according to the International Maritime Organisation. The Strait of Hormuz is a major route for oil and liquefied natural gas shipments, making its stability important to energy-importing economies. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Ahead of Cop31, which will be held in Antalya between 9 and 20 November, Ankara is pushing to boost its renewable electricity supply by creating a local carbon trading system and helping industries prepare for the changes. The summit will bring governments, businesses and civil society together to discuss climate action and the implementation of existing commitments. Initiatives proposed by Turkey include battery storage, renewable energy certificates, electric harbour tugs, waste reduction and coastal ecosystem protection. Turkey's organised energy markets operator, Energy Exchange Istanbul, known as Epias, put the country's installed electricity capacity at 127.3 gigawatts as of 10 October, with renewable sources accounting for about 62 percent of the total. Turkey, Qatar, Pakistan and Indonesia forge ‘Badr’ deal to jointly produce weapons Read More » Taha Meli Arvas, Epias's chief executive, told Middle East Eye that the next major step was to improve the ability to store electricity generated from renewable sources. “For Turkey in general, it’s increasing battery storage capacity and using that to help renewable energy become baseload,” he said. YEK-G, a renewable energy guarantee-of-origin system that issues, trades and redeems certificates linked to renewable electricity production. The certificates allow businesses to document the renewable electricity they purchase. Turkey has also announced that it is establishing a national emissions trading system, which will allow covered companies to trade allowances linked to greenhouse gas emissions. The system will be piloted in 2026 and 2027. However, 2026 is a monitoring year under current rules and companies included in the system will have to report on their emissions but will not be required to give up allowances. The system’s price mechanism will come into effect in 2027. Energy transition Mustafa Aydin, Epias's deputy general director for environmental and minerals markets, told MEE that participating industries could use revenues generated through the system to support investments in their transition. Turkey's emissions trading system is also being developed as exporters prepare for the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. ‘Turkey is a common enemy’: Pro-Israel network forms parliamentary groups in Greece and Cyprus Read More » The rules matter for Turkey, whose manufacturers export extensively to European markets. Companies that cannot provide reliable emissions data or demonstrate how much carbon is embedded in their products could face higher compliance costs. Arvas said Epias was helping domestic companies understand the new requirements and prepare for the changes. Turkey's preparations also extend to maritime transport, where battery-powered vessels offer an alternative to conventional diesel propulsion for port operations. In Tuzla, Navtek naval technologies designs and builds ZeeTug zero-emissions, battery-powered harbour tugboats. The company says four vessels are operational. Tugboats help manoeuvre and tow ships in ports, and electric propulsion can reduce direct exhaust emissions and noise during operation. Zero waste Christian Mensah, an adviser to the Zero Waste Foundation and former secretary to UN-Habitat's governing bodies and chief of intergovernmental relations, has discussed the connections between waste prevention, food systems, urban development and industrial activity in the climate agenda. Established in 2023, the foundation is promoting initiatives focused on food waste, methane reduction, resource efficiency and the circular economy. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Samed Agirbas, the foundation's president, is working to connect cities, businesses, investors and civil society with the climate process. The foundation has proposed an Istanbul platform to link zero-waste projects with financing, measure progress and follow up on commitments made around Cop31. The approach seeks to move waste management beyond disposal and recycling towards preventing waste, improving the use of materials and reducing emissions throughout production and consumption. Protecting coastal ecosystems Turkey's climate preparations also include projects to protect marine habitats along its Mediterranean coast. In the Fethiye-Gocek protected area, a buoy and mooring initiative aims to provide boats with designated places to dock, reducing the need to drop anchors into sensitive seabed habitats. The Deria digital system maps and manages buoys and moorings to help protect seagrass meadows. These habitats provide shelter and feeding grounds for marine life and can store carbon in their biomass and underlying sediments. Why Greece's alliances failed to prevent eastern Libya's maritime deal with Turkey Read More » The area is also home to several wildlife species, including sea turtles, dolphins and Mediterranean monk seals. The Zero Waste Foundation is preparing a protection plan for the Dalyan-Koycegiz area, where Lake Koycegiz connects to the Mediterranean through the Dalyan canals. The landscape includes wetlands, forests and Iztuzu beach, an important nesting site for loggerhead turtles. The upcoming climate summit gives Ankara an opportunity to present its plans for renewable energy, emissions trading, waste reduction and coastal conservation to an international audience. For Turkey, the challenge is to demonstrate that its preparations for Cop31 can translate into measurable changes in energy use, industrial emissions and environmental protection. As attacks on shipping continue to threaten trade through the Strait of Hormuz, the case for more resilient energy systems is becoming harder to separate from the wider climate transition. Inside Turkey Istanbul, Turkey News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0
A new political campaign ad in support of US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is generating conversation online.
‘We left with heavy hearts’: Israel’s assault displaces thousands in Hebron Fayha Shalash on Mon, 10/26/2026 - 12:17 Condemned as collective punishment, Israel’s assault forces hundreds of Palestinians families from their homes, leaving them without shelter, stability or a clear path to return A Palestinian homeowner looks on as Israeli forces demolish his house in Hebron, occupied West Bank, 23 October 2026 (Reuters/Mussa Qawasma) Off Less than two weeks before her wedding, Mayar Amrish sat with her family in the spacious courtyard of their home, making plans for the big day. The 23-year-old Palestinian was preparing for her future, but within hours, her family home would be reduced to rubble. Outside the house in Farsh al-Hawa, in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, Israeli forces were launching a sweeping demolition and forced displacement campaign. The assault, condemned as collective punishment against Palestinians, followed a shooting on Friday in which two Palestinians killed two Israeli soldiers. Israel imposed a total lockdown on the city and launched a wide-ranging military assault involving home raids, arrests, demolitions and the forced displacement of thousands of people. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Amrish’s family were among the first to be targeted. Their offence was living close to the site of the shooting. When Israeli media reports began circulating on Friday that the army would target such homes, Amrish rushed to gather clothes and essential documents. “Something inside me told me they were coming to tear it down,” she told Middle East Eye. “Sure enough, we had barely gathered a few items of clothing when soldiers surrounded the house and ordered us to leave,” she recalled. Just days earlier, the family had breathed a sigh of relief after an Israeli court informed them that the demolition order against their home had been suspended. The house had faced the threat of demolition for years because it was built in Area C of the occupied West Bank, which remains under Israeli administrative and security control. Since building the house in 2021, the family had spent around 30,000 shekels ($9,600), in addition to substantial legal fees and fines, trying to prevent its demolition. 'My father worked incredibly hard to build our home so we could finally settle down in our own city' - Mayar Amrish, Hebron resident But their reprieve was short-lived. Israeli bulldozers arrived and razed the three-storey home to the ground. The seven-member family were given no chance to remove their furniture from the 600-square-metre property, which had cost around 2 million shekels ($645,000) to build. As the demolition unfolded, Amrish’s parents lost consciousness as they watched years of hard work disappear before their eyes. The family is now staying with Amrish’s uncle while searching for somewhere else to live. “This house was the fruit of 25 years spent living abroad in Saudi Arabia. My father worked incredibly hard to build it so we could finally settle down in our own city.” A city under siege Following Friday’s shooting, the Israeli army launched an operation dubbed “Roar of Judah”, saying it would carry out extensive searches, seize weapons, uncover what it described as “terrorist infrastructure” and interrogate dozens of people across Hebron. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Since then, Israeli forces have sealed off parts of the city, carrying out raids, searches and arrests while forcing more than 3,100 Palestinians to leave their homes. Israel’s defence minister said those displaced would not be allowed to return until what he called “Hamas infrastructure” in the city had been dismantled. According to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, 47 Palestinians have been arrested in Hebron since the assault began, while hundreds more have been subjected to field interrogations. The Commission Against the Wall and Settlements said Israeli forces had demolished a building containing three apartments, targeted commercial premises and shops, including a tile and ceramics company and auto parts stores, and bulldozed or damaged around seven dunums (0.7 hectares) of land. Most of those forced from their homes have been residents of Deir Baha and al-Jalada, in western Hebron. Yousef al-Jabari, the city’s mayor, said 488 families had been forced to evacuate, affecting more than 3,100 people. They include over a thousand children, dozens of elderly people, pregnant and breastfeeding women, people with disabilities and those with chronic illnesses, according to the city’s Support and Relief Committee, established to manage the crisis. ‘We left with heavy hearts’ The committee said 198 families were staying with relatives, 19 had moved into rented accommodation, and 22 had found other housing arrangements. Another 177 families reported having nowhere safe to stay. Hamza Shabana, 33, lived with his wife and their two-year-old daughter in an eight-storey residential building in Ein Deir Baha. The building housed at least 160 people. At dawn on Saturday, the family were forced to flee under threat from Israeli soldiers. 'We are all living in fear of an unknown future' - Hamza Shabana, Hebron resident Shabana said troops had surrounded the building and used loudspeakers to order residents out, showing no consideration for the children and elderly people inside. “My wife, my daughter and I left without being able to take anything other than enough clothing for two days; we departed our home with heavy hearts,” he said. Soldiers were stationed along roads in the al-Jalada and Ein Deir Baha neighbourhoods, directing displaced residents where to go. Since fleeing, Shabana has been moving between relatives’ homes, spending each night in a different place. "There is no stability at all, and we are all living in fear of an unknown future," he said. Economic lifelines under threat Hebron is the most populous governorate in the occupied West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, its population reached approximately 874,000 by the end of 2025, accounting for 15.7 percent of the total population of the State of Palestine. The city is also a major economic and industrial hub, with a diverse manufacturing base spanning food processing, leather goods, plastics, footwear, stone and marble, jewellery and trade. But the military operation and the closures imposed on the city and its entry points are taking a heavy toll on local businesses. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Abdo Idris, head of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Hebron, said the economic damage had already reached millions of shekels, warning that losses could rise into the tens of millions. Al-Jabari said that the operation had severely disrupted industrial and commercial activity, forcing factories to close and preventing workers from reaching their jobs. The movement of goods and raw materials had also been obstructed. It's time to decolonise the Palestinian economic system Read More » The municipality is working with relevant economic authorities to assess the damage, including the destruction of infrastructure and commercial premises. But the ongoing siege has prevented officials from accessing some affected areas, al-Jabari told MEE. He warned that a prolonged assault would deepen the losses, disrupt factory operations and deprive workers of their wages, compounding the city’s existing economic and financial crisis. Despite dwindling resources, he said, the municipality was continuing to support residents, help them remain in their homes and facilitate the return of those displaced. "The municipality continues to carry out its duties despite a scarcity of resources with the aim of supporting the resilience of the residents," he said. Islam Hassouna, a professor of economics and business at Palestine Polytechnic University, said the closures were choking off the movement of goods in both directions, preventing Hebron’s products from reaching markets in the West Bank and Israel while restricting supplies entering the city. The disruption is compounding the damage to the industrial and commercial sectors, he said. But the consequences reach beyond lost production and trade. “They also encompass the psychological and social impacts of the siege and the displacement of residents, bringing with them fear and anxiety that further stifle economic activity,” Hassouna said. Occupation Ramallah, occupied Palestine News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0
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What it's like to be Palestine's 17-year-old chess grand master Pauline Ertel on Wed, 10/21/2026 - 19:51 Mohammed Seder started his chess journey at just five years old - today, he's ready to take on the world A young Mohammed Seder at a chess tournament (supplied) Off At five years old, when Mohammed Seder came home from school in his native city Hebron in the occupied West Bank, he liked to solve chess puzzles. Seeing his son play chess at a young age, Seder's father and former national Palestinian chess champion Naji Sider began thinking that he might have passed his talent onto his son. He decided to give his son chess training and at age 10, Seder started playing chess competitively. Today, he is 17 years old and Palestine's most high-ranking player. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Seder has an International Chess Federation (FIDE) rating of 2235, making him a grand master. The FIDE score measures a chess player's skill based on results against other rated opponents. Seder's chess talent runs in the family: Seder's 12-year-old sister, Randa, is also a notable player and recently won the 2026 Palestine Women's Classical Chess Championship. Seder has twice won the Palestinian National Chess Championship and frequently represents Palestine at international championships and chess olympiads. He has also won the Arab chess championships in the "under eight", "under 10" and "under 14" categories. Middle East Eye spoke to Seder about what it's like to be Palestine's national chess champion at age 17. Representing Palestine Seder's passion and gift has brought him considerable recognition, both locally and internationally. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); At home in Hebron, teachers in Seder's school already know who he is before becoming his teacher, he told MEE. "A lot of people at my school know me because I take part in a lot of tournaments for my school. When I win it, it is like I have done everything in the world for the school," he said. But his fame reaches beyond Seder's close circle. International chess tournaments and competitions abroad have taken the chess champion to over 20 countries and representing Palestine at competitions is both a source of pride and a responsibility for Seder. "When I travel abroad, I am very proud to represent Palestine. I also feel I have a responsibilty to show the world that Palestine has a lot of very smart and very good people," Seder said. The last FIDE Chess Olympiad took place in September in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, with the Palestinian chess team competing in both the Open and Women's sections. While Seder was unable to participate due to upcoming school exams, his sister Randa travelled to Uzbekistan where she achieved high results. 'When I travel abroad, I am very proud to represent Palestine,' Mohammed Seder tells Middle East Eye (MEE/supplied) At the 2022 FIDE Chess Olympiad in Mamallapuram, India, Randa made history as the youngest ever participant. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Taking part in a competition requires meticulous preparation according to Seder, who is now focused on school to finish his final year. Once he knows his opponent, Seder carefully researches and studies the player's profile, including their playing style, openings and how the player deals with problems. He then receives advice from coaches on how to face a specific opponent. Besides training and preparation, Seder says that getting enough sleep and eating the right amount are equally important. "Before competing, I need to get enough sleep. You should also eat lots of carbs but the food shouldn't be too heavy, otherwise you fall asleep," Mohammad tells MEE. Seder believes he once lost a competition in Dusseldorf, Germany, after overeating at lunch in a Turkish restaurant because the food was “too delicious”. 'I feel a responsibilty to show the world that Palestine has a lot of very smart and very good people' - Mohammed Seder, 17, Palestine's national chess champion When he's not able to travel for competitions, Seder plays chess every day, often on open-source online chess platforms like Lichess or Chess.com. Next spring, Seder will pass the General Secondary Education Certificate, known as Tawjihi in Palestine. Palestinian society places a very high value on education, with a youth literacy rate of 99 percent. High academic achievement is a source of pride for students, families and entire communities. Seder is hoping to obtain excellent results to secure a scholarship to study computer science or engineering at a university in the US or in Europe. His top choice is Saint Louis University in Missouri, United States, due to its top-ranked collegiate chess programme. "Saint Louis is one of the best universities for chess players. It has a chess club and a lot of tournaments which would be really good for me. But if they don’t accept me or don’t give me a scholarship, I’ll go to another university, no problem," Seder told MEE. Despite his wish to leave Palestine in search of better opportunities, Seder hopes to return in the future. "Chess doesn't matter to me when it comes to Palestine. My land is much more important to me than chess. If I leave Palestine for some years, I will come back for sure," he said. Limited opportunities While Seder's talent has enabled him to travel the world to compete internationally, restrictions on the freedom of movement for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and lack of resources and financial support in Palestine's chess scene has limited his opportunities. The high number of checkpoints and military interventions by Israeli soldiers have made travelling from Hebron to other cities in the West Bank to meet with coaches or participate in competitions diffcult and dangerous. "Travelling from Hebron to Ramallah, Nablus, Jenin is about 60 kilometres, which is nothing. But if you go by car it might take more than four or five hours. Sometimes it takes more than 12 hours," he told MEE. 'Chess doesn't matter to me when it comes to Palestine. My land is much more important to me than chess. If I leave Palestine for some years, I will come back for sure' - Mohammed Seder Hebron is also close to many Israeli settlements, and attacks by Israeli settlers as well as violence by Israeli soldiers have intensified in recent years. Over the weekend, the Israeli military has levelled an entire neighbourhood in Hebron, and forcibly displaced at least 2,670 Palestinians from their homes, according to Hebron Mayor Yousef Jaabari, in collective punishment for an attack on an army checkpoint outside the city. Seder has many stories of being prevented or almost prevented from travelling to competitions, both national and international. Once, while en route to a competition in Kuwait, Seder said he was stopped and held at the border because he was not carrying his Palestinian national ID, which, he explained, is usually only useful inside Palestine. "Another time, I was travelling between two cities in Palestine when we were stopped by Israeli soldiers who told us to get out of the car. When we got out, we waited beside our car for two hours for no reason," he told MEE. About two months ago, Israeli soldiers broke into the Seder family home at night and arrested Seder's father. He was released several hours later. Another problem is the lack of financial resources for chess in Palestine. There is hardly any corporate support for chess in Palestine and opportunities for Seder to participate in tournaments that are challenging for him are limited. Seder's next goal is to become a FIDE International Master, for which he must obtain a FIDE score of 2400. To achieve this, he needs to compete against players who already have the International Master title. "It’s not very hard, but I don’t have the opportunity to play in enough tournaments. If you want to become an International Master, you have to play at least three or four tournaments a month," Seder told MEE. "In 2026, I have only played in one tournament. If I continue living in Palestine, my chess career will end." Palestine state News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0
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