Middle East Monitor Latest news from the Middle East and North Africa

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  Israel tops UN list of grave violations against children in 2025

  by Mehdi Editor on June 18, 2026

  Israel was responsible for the highest number of verified grave violations against children in the occupied Palestinian territories in 2025, according to a new UN report, which recorded a sharp...

  Israel tops UN list of grave violations against children in 2025

  

  Israel was responsible for the highest number of verified grave violations against children in the occupied Palestinian territories in 2025, according to a new UN report, which recorded a sharp rise in abuses against children in conflict zones worldwide. The report, titled Children and Armed Conflict 2025 and prepared by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, found that grave violations against children increased by 34 per cent compared with the previous year. According to the 47-page report, parties to armed conflicts committed a record number of grave violations against children in 2025, marking “the highest number of children affected since the establishment of the Children and Armed Conflict mandate”. The UN documented 38,558 grave violations against children worldwide during 2025. These violations
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  US-Iran memorandum of understanding formally finalized after presidents sign text

  by Mehdi Editor on June 18, 2026

  Iran said early Thursday that a 14-point memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the United States aimed at ending the war had been formally finalized after the presidents of both countries...

  US-Iran memorandum of understanding formally finalized after presidents sign text

  

  Iran said early Thursday that a 14-point memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the United States aimed at ending the war had been formally finalized after the presidents of both countries signed the text of the agreement, Anadolu reports. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said the “Islamabad memorandum” had become fully official after being signed by both Tehran and Washington, according to remarks carried by Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency. Baghaei said the agreement was signed digitally and confirmed that negotiations under the memorandum would focus exclusively on nuclear issues and sanctions relief. He said the two sides would hold talks for up to 60 days, with the possibility of extending negotiations if necessary due to the complexity of the
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  Iran to charge ships for services in Strait of Hormuz, parliament speaker says

  by Mehdi Editor on June 18, 2026

  Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Iran has sovereign rights over the Strait of Hormuz as a coastal state overlooking the strategic waterway. Ghalibaf said the Strait of Hormuz...

  Iran to charge ships for services in Strait of Hormuz, parliament speaker says

  

  Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Iran has sovereign rights over the Strait of Hormuz as a coastal state overlooking the strategic waterway. Ghalibaf said the Strait of Hormuz “will not return to what it was before”, but stressed that Iran does not intend to act in violation of international law. He added that Iran has sovereign rights in the strait and that it is natural for the country to charge fees for services provided to vessels passing through it, clarifying that these are service fees rather than tolls. Ghalibaf also said that Article 13 of the memorandum of understanding stipulates that commitments will be implemented on a “step-for-step” basis. READ: Trump says US will have to give Iran’s money
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  Palestinian female prisoner Lama Khater details alleged abuse in Israeli prisons

  by Mehdi Editor on June 18, 2026

  Palestinian prisoner and political activist Lama Khater has described what she said were harsh conditions during her detention in Israeli custody, alleging systematic abuse inside interrogation centres and prisons. According...

  Palestinian female prisoner Lama Khater details alleged abuse in Israeli prisons

  

  Palestinian prisoner and political activist Lama Khater has described what she said were harsh conditions during her detention in Israeli custody, alleging systematic abuse inside interrogation centres and prisons. According to a statement relayed by her lawyer following a recent visit, Khater said Palestinian female prisoners face ongoing violations, including beatings, humiliation, strip searches and solitary confinement. Khater was arrested after Israeli forces raided her home in Hebron in the early hours of 23 March 2026. She was then transferred to the Al-Moskobiya interrogation centre in occupied Jerusalem. READ: Israeli Security Minister Ben-Gvir appoints relatives of slain Israelis as prison inspectors: Reports She described Al-Moskobiya prison as “hell,” stating that guards subjected her to a full strip search upon arrival followed
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  Hezbollah chief: Resistance thwarted ‘Greater Israel’ project, disarmament will not pass

  by Mehdi Editor on June 18, 2026

  Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said on Wednesday that the resistance had succeeded in “thwarting the Greater Israel project” and protecting what he described as Lebanon’s existence from plans of “extermination...

  Hezbollah chief: Resistance thwarted ‘Greater Israel’ project, disarmament will not pass

  

  Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said on Wednesday that the resistance had succeeded in “thwarting the Greater Israel project” and protecting what he described as Lebanon’s existence from plans of “extermination and displacement”. In a recorded speech, Qassem said that the basis of any negotiations with Israel should be “mutual security”, reiterating the group’s firm rejection of any proposal to disarm Hezbollah. He described such proposals as an “Israeli prescription” that would not be accepted. He called on the Lebanese authorities and political forces to engage in internal dialogue to organise national affairs away from external dictates or any direct negotiations, stressing Hezbollah’s readiness to cooperate on efforts to protect Lebanon’s sovereignty. READ: Israel cannot stop home demolitions in southern Lebanon: Ben-Gvir
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  US envoy says ‘without Israel, there would be no America’

  by Mehdi Editor on June 18, 2026

  US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said that “without Israel, the United States would not exist”, during his participation in a settlement conference held on Tuesday evening at Herodium National...

  US envoy says ‘without Israel, there would be no America’

  

  US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said that “without Israel, the United States would not exist”, during his participation in a settlement conference held on Tuesday evening at Herodium National Park, about 6 kilometres southeast of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank. According to Maariv, the event was titled the “International Conference on Israeli Heritage and Archaeology in Judea and Samaria” — the biblical term used by Israel for the West Bank. In his speech, Huckabee said: “My role is not only to represent the United States in Israel, but also to convey Israel’s importance to the United States.” READ: ‘Without me there is no Israel’ says Trump warning Tel-Aviv to stop flattening homes Addressing Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, in
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  Maximum Pressure: How Trump Spent Five Years Proving Obama Was Right About Iran

  by Mehdi Editor on June 18, 2026

  Tomorrow, Friday June 19, will mark yet another historic day in the international community’s decades-long preoccupation with Iran’s nuclear program—an assumed ghoul that, despite endless Western hyperbole, never actually materialized...

  Maximum Pressure: How Trump Spent Five Years Proving Obama Was Right About Iran

  

  Tomorrow, Friday June 19, will mark yet another historic day in the international community’s decades-long preoccupation with Iran’s nuclear program—an assumed ghoul that, despite endless Western hyperbole, never actually materialized into a weapon. With the signing of a memorandum of understanding in Geneva between Washington and Tehran, the true history being made tomorrow is not the substance of the agreement itself, but the spectacular, ironic collapse of Washington’s “Maximum Pressure” strategy—or rather Trump’s endless boasting about American power and his tactical use of force, besides calling himself the God of all deals! It has taken Donald Trump five long years—counting his first term, a prolific barrage of senseless social media threats, and rhetoric warning that “whole civilisation will die tonight”—to
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  Trump says US will have to give Iran’s money back

  by Mehdi Editor on June 17, 2026

  President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the US has taken “a lot of” Iranian money and will have to give it back, Anadolu reports. “We have taken a lot of...

  Trump says US will have to give Iran’s money back

  

  President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the US has taken “a lot of” Iranian money and will have to give it back, Anadolu reports. “We have taken a lot of their money, and we have their money,” Trump said at a news conference in France as the G7 summit ended. “It’s not our money, it’s their money, and we froze it at a certain point in time. I guess we’re going to have to give it back, you know, if we didn’t give it back, nobody would ever invest in the dollar again,” he added. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between the US and Iran electronically on Sunday, which includes an end to the military operations on all
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  When the Iran War is over: Why the West Bank may be Netanyahu’s next front

  by Mehdi Editor on June 17, 2026

  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing perhaps the most precarious moment of his political career. He knows it. His allies know it. And his rivals—both within his coalition and...

  When the Iran War is over: Why the West Bank may be Netanyahu’s next front

  

  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing perhaps the most precarious moment of his political career. He knows it. His allies know it. And his rivals—both within his coalition and across Israel’s political spectrum—are preparing to capitalize on his growing weakness. Former Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon, who also served as deputy prime minister between 2007 and 2009, is among the latest Israeli political figures to join a growing chorus of criticism directed at Netanyahu. “In the final result,” Ramon said in an interview with Radio Galey, cited by the Israeli outlet Srugim, “we did not win.” He then broke down that failure in blunt terms: “We did not win in Lebanon, we did not win in Iran, and we
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  Is Israel Losing Its American Shield? | Palestine This Week with Mouin Rabbani

  by Mehdi Editor on June 17, 2026

  In this episode, we examine whether Gaza features in the Iran ceasefire calculation, the crisis facing Israel’s security doctrine and its fear of US abandonment. We also discuss whether the...

  Is Israel Losing Its American Shield? | Palestine This Week with Mouin Rabbani

  

  In this episode, we examine whether Gaza features in the Iran ceasefire calculation, the crisis facing Israel’s security doctrine and its fear of US abandonment. We also discuss whether the Iran deal signals a deeper rupture in US-Israel relations, Al Jazeera’s shocking investigation into Israel’s abuse of Palestinian detainees and Israel’s strangling of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. Get your copy of ‘Gaza Apocalypse’ by Mouin Rabbani: https://orbooks.com/catalog/gaza-apocalypse/ Watch the Al Jazeera documentary ‘Bodies of Evidence’ : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3pApprHfrY    WATCH: 100 Days In: Palestine, Iran, and the War Remaking the Middle East | Palestine This Week with Mouin Rabbani
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  Israel cannot stop home demolitions in southern Lebanon: Ben-Gvir

  by Mehdi Editor on June 17, 2026

  Israel cannot stop home demolitions in southern Lebanon, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Wednesday, following statements by US Vice President JD Vance that a draft agreement with Iran...

  Israel cannot stop home demolitions in southern Lebanon: Ben-Gvir

  

  Israel cannot stop home demolitions in southern Lebanon, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Wednesday, following statements by US Vice President JD Vance that a draft agreement with Iran includes Lebanon, Anadolu reports. “Israel cannot stop the demolition of houses in southern Lebanon. We simply cannot stop, that’s all,” Ben-Gvir said in comments carried by the Knesset’s channel. “We cannot allow the residents of southern Lebanon to return. We must continue to control the territory even if we disagree with (US President Donald) Trump, we are an independent state,” he added. In statements early Wednesday, Vance described the agreement with Iran as “regional peace,” saying it “will include the Gulf states, Israel, and it will include Lebanon.” “The basic
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  Italy to reopen embassy in Tehran on Friday

  by Mehdi Editor on June 17, 2026

  Italy will reopen its embassy in Tehran on Friday, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Wednesday, according to the ANSA news agency. “Our embassy in Tehran will reopen on Friday,” Tajani...

  Italy to reopen embassy in Tehran on Friday

  

  Italy will reopen its embassy in Tehran on Friday, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Wednesday, according to the ANSA news agency. “Our embassy in Tehran will reopen on Friday,” Tajani said during Question Time in parliament. The announcement comes after Italy temporarily closed its diplomatic mission in the Iranian capital earlier this year amid regional tensions. Tajani said the Italian ambassador, along with diplomats and staff from the Foreign Ministry, would return to Tehran as part of the reopening process. READ: Italy’s premier backs sanctions on Israeli settlers, Ben Gvir ahead of EU Council He described recent understandings between the US and Iran as an “encouraging development” and said there was a “glimmer of peace” in the Middle East that should
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  Trump turns on Israel over Lebanon war, says Syria could fight Hezbollah better

  by Mehdi Editor on June 17, 2026

  “Syria can do the job” of fighting Hezbollah better than Israel, Donald Trump has said, in a remarkable rebuke of Tel Aviv’s war in Lebanon and its mounting civilian toll....

  Trump turns on Israel over Lebanon war, says Syria could fight Hezbollah better

  

  “Syria can do the job” of fighting Hezbollah better than Israel, Donald Trump has said, in a remarkable rebuke of Tel Aviv’s war in Lebanon and its mounting civilian toll. Speaking ahead of a bilateral meeting with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at the G7 summit in Evian, Trump said he was “not happy” with Israel’s handling of Lebanon and warned that its offensive was undermining Washington’s efforts to secure a wider regional deal with Iran. “I’m not happy with the way Israel has handled themselves with Lebanon and with Hezbollah,” Trump said. “It just goes on forever, and when that happens, it throws a negative light on the big deal, and that’s the deal with Iran.”
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  The war that failed to define Iran

  by Mehdi Editor on June 17, 2026

  Iran did not win the war. But it denied Washington and Tel Aviv the victory they needed most: the power to decide what the war had made of Iran. The...

  The war that failed to define Iran

  

  Iran did not win the war. But it denied Washington and Tel Aviv the victory they needed most: the power to decide what the war had made of Iran. The recent US-Iran memorandum of understanding is important for that reason. It is designed to end the near four-month war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz gradually and move the hardest questions into follow-on negotiations. That is not the result of a state untouched by punishment. It is the result of a state damaged enough to need relief, but still coherent enough to bargain over the terms of its survival. This distinction matters. The campaign hurt Iran. Its infrastructure, economy, military networks and civilian population absorbed severe pressure. But damage answers only
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  US: Clinton says Netanyahu is ‘obsessed’ with Iran, Saudi normalisation

  by Mehdi Editor on June 17, 2026

  Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “persistent” and “obsessed” with striking Iran and normalising relations with Saudi Arabia during her...

  US: Clinton says Netanyahu is ‘obsessed’ with Iran, Saudi normalisation

  

  Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “persistent” and “obsessed” with striking Iran and normalising relations with Saudi Arabia during her tenure, Anadolu reports. Speaking in an interview with New Yorker Editor David Remnick at an event in New York City, Clinton discussed Netanyahu’s approach while she served as secretary of state. Clinton said Netanyahu was relentlessly insistent on attacking Iran. “He would say, ‘You have to support us in attacking Iran.’ This was during the period from 2009 to 2012,” Clinton said. READ: Trump says Israel’s Netanyahu must be ‘more responsible’ on Lebanon She said the issue of attacking Iran was a recurring topic and recalled a lengthy phone conversation with
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  Israel approves Jewish religious school construction in occupied West Bank’s Hebron

  by Mehdi Editor on June 17, 2026

  Israeli authorities on Wednesday approved the construction of a Jewish religious school in the city of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank, in an unprecedented move, Anadolu reports. The decision...

  Israel approves Jewish religious school construction in occupied West Bank’s Hebron

  

  Israeli authorities on Wednesday approved the construction of a Jewish religious school in the city of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank, in an unprecedented move, Anadolu reports. The decision marks the first implementation of Israel’s announcement on Tuesday that it was stripping the Palestinian Hebron municipality of its authority over building and planning, in violation of the Hebron Agreement. The Higher Planning Committee in the Civil Administration approved plans to build 576 new housing units in Judea and Samaria, as part of the government’s policy to expand settlements, Israel’s private Channel 7 reported. Judea and Samaria is the biblical term Israel uses for the West Bank. As part of the decision, approval was also granted for the first time
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  Pope Leo stresses need for US-Iran deal to enhance security, stability across Middle East

  by Mehdi Editor on June 17, 2026

  Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday stressed the need for the recently announced agreement between the US and Iran to enforce security and stability across the Middle East, Anadolu reports. “I hope...

  Pope Leo stresses need for US-Iran deal to enhance security, stability across Middle East

  

  Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday stressed the need for the recently announced agreement between the US and Iran to enforce security and stability across the Middle East, Anadolu reports. “I hope that this agreement will contribute to strengthening mutual trust, security, and stability in the Middle East, and promote paths of dialogue and cooperation among the peoples,” the pontiff said through US social media platform X. He also welcomed, “with satisfaction,” the agreement as an “encouraging outcome of patient work in dialogue and negotiation.” “I express my gratitude to the countries that have strived to foster the encounter between the parties and make such an understanding possible,” the pope added. Washington and Tehran reached a temporary truce this April through Pakistani
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  Israeli Security Minister Ben-Gvir appoints relatives of slain Israelis as prison inspectors: Reports

  by Mehdi Editor on June 17, 2026

  Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has decided to appoint relatives of slain Israelis as official prison inspectors in a move aimed at tightening detention conditions for Palestinian detainees, Israeli...

  Israeli Security Minister Ben-Gvir appoints relatives of slain Israelis as prison inspectors: Reports

  

  Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has decided to appoint relatives of slain Israelis as official prison inspectors in a move aimed at tightening detention conditions for Palestinian detainees, Israeli media reported Wednesday. “The minister’s goal is to worsen the conditions of security prisoners,” people close to Ben-Gvir said, according to Israel’s Channel 12. Israel uses the term “security prisoners” to refer to Palestinian detainees. According to the broadcaster, Ben-Gvir decided to appoint the family members as official visitors and inspectors of Palestinian prisoners instead of qualified professionals. “Minister Ben-Gvir reduced the number of inspectors to fewer than 20, and instead appointed bereaved families,” the channel said. The inspectors are responsible for overseeing prisoners and monitoring their detention conditions and
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  Iran won, power no longer looks the same

  by Mehdi Editor on June 17, 2026

  The most dangerous mistake in international affairs is to confuse military destruction with strategic success. That mistake now risks obscuring one of the most consequential geopolitical shifts in the modern...

  Iran won, power no longer looks the same

  

  The most dangerous mistake in international affairs is to confuse military destruction with strategic success. That mistake now risks obscuring one of the most consequential geopolitical shifts in the modern Middle East. For decades, the United States and its allies defined victory through familiar metrics: air superiority, precision strikes, technological dominance, sanctions pressure, and the ability to shape the diplomatic endgame. Yet the outcome of the 2025–26 Iran conflict suggests a different reality. Despite absorbing devastating attacks, suffering immense economic damage, and confronting the combined weight of American and Israeli military power, Iran emerged with something far more valuable than an unscarred battlefield: it emerged with leverage. And in contemporary geopolitics, leverage is power. If the reported contours of the
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  When peace becomes a media battlefield

  by Mehdi Editor on June 17, 2026

  When a war begins to give way to diplomacy, the battle rarely ends at the negotiating table. It continues in headlines, guest segments and the emotional frame through which audiences...

  When peace becomes a media battlefield

  

  When a war begins to give way to diplomacy, the battle rarely ends at the negotiating table. It continues in headlines, guest segments and the emotional frame through which audiences are told to interpret a possible end to violence. Reuters has reported that the United States and Iran have agreed on a framework to end their war, halt Washington’s blockade and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while The Associated Press has reported that mediators were working to finalise agreed language. The details remain uncertain and the hardest questions, including sanctions and Iran’s nuclear programme, may be pushed into another phase. Yet even a fragile opening can threaten the political usefulness of panic. That is why the media war matters. Iran
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  ‘Without me there is no Israel’ says Trump warning Tel-Aviv to stop flattening homes

  by Mehdi Editor on June 17, 2026

  US President Donald Trump has delivered a rare public rebuke of Israel’s military conduct in Lebanon, warning that Israel is killing too many civilians in its war with Hezbollah and...

  ‘Without me there is no Israel’ says Trump warning Tel-Aviv to stop flattening homes

  

  US President Donald Trump has delivered a rare public rebuke of Israel’s military conduct in Lebanon, warning that Israel is killing too many civilians in its war with Hezbollah and does not need to destroy entire apartment buildings in pursuit of individual targets. Speaking to reporters at the G7 summit in France, Trump said: “Israel’s fighting Hezbollah too long, and too many people are being killed. And you don’t have to knock down an apartment house every time you’re looking for somebody. Because there are a lot of people in those apartment houses, and they’re not all Hezbollah, that I can tell you.” Trump said Israel doesn’t need to knock down an apartment building every time it’s looking for someone
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  UAE plans to cut Strait of Hormuz dependency to ‘zero’: Report

  by Mehdi Editor on June 17, 2026

  The United Arab Emirates is working on a major plan to eliminate its dependence on the Strait of Hormuz after the recent closure of the critical waterway exposed the vulnerability...

  UAE plans to cut Strait of Hormuz dependency to ‘zero’: Report

  

  The United Arab Emirates is working on a major plan to eliminate its dependence on the Strait of Hormuz after the recent closure of the critical waterway exposed the vulnerability of Gulf trade and energy flows, Anadolu Agency reports. UAE Minister of Foreign Trade Thani Al Zeyoudi said the country is moving toward “zero Hormuz dependency,” according to a Bloomberg report. The plan comes as global markets await the full reopening of the strait following an interim peace deal between Iran and the US. The Strait of Hormuz, through which around a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas shipments passed before the war, has been disrupted since US and Israeli strikes on Iran began in late February.
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  Israeli occupiers set fire to 2 mosques, army demolishes Palestinian home in occupied West Bank

  by Mehdi Editor on June 17, 2026

  Israeli occupiers on Wednesday set fire to parts of two mosques in the villages of Jiljilya and Mazra’a al-Nubani, north of the central occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, and...

  Israeli occupiers set fire to 2 mosques, army demolishes Palestinian home in occupied West Bank

  

  Israeli occupiers on Wednesday set fire to parts of two mosques in the villages of Jiljilya and Mazra’a al-Nubani, north of the central occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, and sprayed Hebrew slogans on their walls, while Israeli forces demolished an inhabited Palestinian home east of Yatta, Anadolu Agency reports. A group of occupiers stormed Jiljilya at dawn and set fire to the village mosque, burning the women’s prayer hall and damaging the mosque’s exterior walls, local sources told Anadolu Agency. The village has recently witnessed an escalation in occupier attacks, the sources said. Last month, occupiers attacked the village and stole a flock of sheep. In a separate incident, occupiers attacked Mazra’a al-Nubani and set fire to a mosque
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  Trump says Iran pact ‘not final,’ warns of renewed strikes

  by Mehdi Editor on June 17, 2026

  US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the deal announced with Iran this week is a “memorandum of understanding” and remains subject to change, Anadolu reports. “If I don’t like...

  Trump says Iran pact ‘not final,’ warns of renewed strikes

  

  US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the deal announced with Iran this week is a “memorandum of understanding” and remains subject to change, Anadolu reports. “If I don’t like it, we’ll go back to shooting at them,” Trump told reporters during a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. He warned that if Iran’s leaders “don’t behave,” the US will resume “dropping bombs” on their territory. Washington and Tehran reached a temporary truce this April through Pakistani mediation before announcing a framework agreement this Monday to end the conflict. The accord is expected to be formally signed in Switzerland on Friday. Nuclear goals, funding denied Trump said the core objective of the deal is preventing Tehran from obtaining nuclear
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  HRW: Israel escalating home demolitions, evictions in East Jerusalem

  by Mehdi Editor on June 17, 2026

  Israeli authorities are accelerating home demolitions and forced evictions of Palestinian residents in the Silwan district of occupied East Jerusalem, Human Rights Watch said today. The organisation said the forcible deportation...

  HRW: Israel escalating home demolitions, evictions in East Jerusalem

  

  Israeli authorities are accelerating home demolitions and forced evictions of Palestinian residents in the Silwan district of occupied East Jerusalem, Human Rights Watch said today. The organisation said the forcible deportation or transfer of the population of an occupied territory within or outside the territory, unless justified on a temporary basis for the protection of the population itself or imperative military reasons, is a violation of international humanitarian law and amounts to a war crime.  Silwan lies south of Jerusalem’s Old City. Among its 12 neighbourhoods, al-Bustan and Batn al-Hawa have for decades been the primary focus of eviction and demolition campaigns led by Israeli authorities and settler organisations such as Ateret Cohanim. These campaigns intensified under cover of the hostilities in Gaza and, this year,
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  Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya warns Israel of ‘harsh response’ over southern Lebanon violations

  by Mehdi Editor on June 17, 2026

  The Iranian Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters said on Tuesday that Israel has violated the ceasefire in southern Lebanon 84 times over the past two days, warning that continued actions would trigger...

  Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya warns Israel of ‘harsh response’ over southern Lebanon violations

  

  The Iranian Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters said on Tuesday that Israel has violated the ceasefire in southern Lebanon 84 times over the past two days, warning that continued actions would trigger a “harsh” response. The headquarters said in a statement that the Israeli army had “violated the ceasefire in southern Lebanon 84 times over the past two days”. The statement further alleged that Israeli forces persisted in their attacks and killings in Lebanon even after US President Donald Trump announced the end of the war. It warned that if Israel continues its actions in southern Lebanon, it should expect a “harsh response” from Iranian armed forces. On the ground, Israeli forces continued strikes and demolitions in southern Lebanon, which Khatam al-Anbiya
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  The art of the recycled deal: Trump and the outcome Israel cannot tolerate

  by Mehdi Editor on June 17, 2026

  There are many lessons to be learned from the lates made-for-Israel war on Iran. The first and most damning is that the war resolved the very crisis it created. Donald...

  The art of the recycled deal: Trump and the outcome Israel cannot tolerate

  

  There are many lessons to be learned from the lates made-for-Israel war on Iran. The first and most damning is that the war resolved the very crisis it created. Donald Trump celebrated the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the lifting of the blockade against Iran. Two conditions that were fully in place before Benjamin Netanyahu dog walked Trump into this war. The agreement that concluded the war took us back to exactly where we stood before America spent $200 billion, and where Americans continue to pay Israeli surcharge tax at the pump and grocery stores.  As for Iran’s nuclear program, the arithmetic does not lie. The 400 kilograms of 60-percent enriched uranium that Iran possessed were zero before
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  Al-Aqsa preacher says opening of embassies in Jerusalem will not change its Palestinian status

  by Mehdi Editor on June 17, 2026

  The head of the Higher Islamic Council in Jerusalem and preacher of Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, said on Tuesday that Jerusalem “was, is and will remain Palestinian,” stressing that...

  Al-Aqsa preacher says opening of embassies in Jerusalem will not change its Palestinian status

  

  The head of the Higher Islamic Council in Jerusalem and preacher of Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, said on Tuesday that Jerusalem “was, is and will remain Palestinian,” stressing that opening embassies in the city would not change its status.  His remarks came in a statement following the opening of an embassy for the self-declared Somaliland region in occupied Jerusalem on Monday, attended by Somaliland leader Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar. Sabri said that any political or diplomatic steps related to the holy city would not grant legitimacy to the Israeli occupation or alter its historical and national identity. READ: President of Somaliland breakaway region makes 1st visit to Israel, to open embassy in Jerusalem He added
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  Trump considers dismissing senior officials opposed to Iran deal, including defence secretary, CIA chief

  by Mehdi Editor on June 17, 2026

  US President Donald Trump is considering dismissing several senior officials in his administration because of their opposition to a developing agreement with Iran, according to Hebrew media reports on Tuesday....

  Trump considers dismissing senior officials opposed to Iran deal, including defence secretary, CIA chief

  

  US President Donald Trump is considering dismissing several senior officials in his administration because of their opposition to a developing agreement with Iran, according to Hebrew media reports on Tuesday. The Hebrew daily Israel Hayom, citing senior US sources, reported that Trump is reviewing the possible removal of a number of high-ranking figures from the White House and US security and military institutions. The sources said the main reason behind the move is the officials’ opposition to the emerging agreement with Iran. According to the report, those whose positions could be at risk include US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and CIA Director John Ratcliffe. READ: US rejects Israeli request to review Iran agreement memorandum, Hebrew media report
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  Israel strips Hebron Municipality of planning and construction powers

  by Mehdi Editor on June 17, 2026

  Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that Israel has cancelled the Hebron agreements in the southern occupied West Bank and transferred their powers to Israeli authorities. Speaking during the announcement...

  Israel strips Hebron Municipality of planning and construction powers

  

  Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that Israel has cancelled the Hebron agreements in the southern occupied West Bank and transferred their powers to Israeli authorities. Speaking during the announcement of a new settlement in Hebron on Tuesday, Smotrich, a far-right minister, said what he described as a “historic” step had been completed, under which all planning and construction powers granted to the Hebron Municipality under the Hebron Agreement had been withdrawn. According to Smotrich, planning and construction authorities, as well as responsibility for the Ibrahimi Mosque, are no longer under the control of the Hebron Municipality and have been returned to full Israeli responsibility. READ: Ben-Gvir raids Hebron neighborhood following Israeli curfew in occupied West Bank