As the Palestinians were finalizing the formation of their unity government in recent days, U.S. lawmakers were discussing the legal ramifications of continued American aid to the Palestinian Authority. Secretary of State John Kerry told PBS last Thursday that Israel’s stance toward an expected unity government between the rival Palestinian Hamas and...

Iran has become the “the new priority” for Saudi Arabia in orienting itself toward Israel, replacing the Palestinian issue that had for decades been emphasized by Riyadh as having prominence, according to a not wholly sympathetic account of the shift published Thursday by London School of Economics professor Madawi Al-Rasheed....

The Palestinians are pulling the wool over the eyes of the international community by describing the new Palestinian Authority government as a cabinet of technocrats, according to Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz. The most important thing is not who are the personalities, or the ministers, but who sent them,...

While Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas says it will be business as usual with Israel after the expected formation of a new Palestinian government this week, one of Hamas’ leading officials told reporters on Saturday that security cooperation with Israel will not continue. The Hamas-Fatah unity government was sworn in earlier...

The Lebanese-Shiite Hezbollah may have set up a branch in the Gaza Strip, according to the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar. The flag and logo of an organization that was launched a few days ago in the Gaza Strip suggest a Hezbollah now exists in Gaza. The organization is called al-Sabirin (the...

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas early this morning announced the formation of a Palestinian government agreed to by the rival Fatah and Hamas factions. The new cabinet is made up of 17 cabinet ministers who were sworn in despite what local Reuters bureau chief Crispian Balmer described as a...