The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, announced this Sunday that he rejects the 15-point plan announced by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, to move towards the second phase of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, and reiterated that the Israeli army will not abandon the Palestinian enclave until Hamas is disarmed.

A prison surrounded by crocodiles seems like the plot of a fictional movie, but it has become a real proposal within the Israeli political debate. The initiative promoted by the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, to use Nile crocodiles as a deterrent around a center housing Palestinian prisoners, has once again put the focus on the "Israeli prison system.

Iran tries to project stability as doubts grow about the health status of Mojtaba Khamenei, the new supreme leader of the country after the death of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the first American and Israeli attacks against the country on February 28. Suspicions have resurfaced after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian admitted that communication with the country's leader is currently "very difficult".The statements, made in an interview broadcast by Iranian state television, have further fueled speculation about the physical condition of Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, who has not appeared publicly since taking office. The new leader has so far only communicated through written messages and did not appear at his father's funeral ceremonies last July.“It is very difficult to communicate with him at the moment, but, in any case, his presence is a great source of strength for us to continue,” stated Pezeshkian, without offering further details on what exactly this difficulty of interaction means. The Iranian president, however, took the opportunity to reject versions describing Khamenei as a weakened figure and assured that the meetings they have held have been “productive” and marked by “great kindness and very solid logic.”According to information published in March by the American newspaper The New York Times, the new supreme leader was reportedly seriously injured in the American and Israeli attack that killed his father. At that time, several media outlets reported that Mojtaba Khamenei was in good mental condition, but had suffered significant burns to his face and lips. He also reportedly underwent an operation on one of his hands and required plastic facial surgery, while awaiting a prosthesis for a leg. Iranian sources have assured that he only suffered a minor injury, but the Iranian regime has not released any video or audio recording of the religious leader. This week, the Iranian newspaper Al-Mashhari has assured that the decision not to release recordings of the supreme leader is due to security reasons. According to this newspaper, an audio or video could reveal his location and give clues about his physical condition.Tension within the regime

The statements by the president of Iran come at a time of tension within Iranian power structures. The Iranian media outlet Tabnak has reported that Khamenei would have warned Pezeshkian that he would accept his resignation if the president presented it again. This episode revisits doubts about the relationship between the presidency and the most influential centers of power in the Islamic Republic. After months of tensions between the government and the military and security apparatuses of the Islamic Republic, in May, Pezeshkian had already considered resigning because he felt he could not fully exercise his constitutional responsibilities.Several Iranian media outlets reported that the president had sent a letter to the supreme leader's office denouncing that the government had been sidelined from the state's main decisions and that the power vacuum had allowed the harder factions of the Revolutionary Guard to progressively take control of strategic issues. Both the Tasnim agency, linked to the Revolutionary Guard, and the Deputy Director of Communication and Information of the Presidency Office, Seyed Mehdi Tabatabaei, denied this information and assured that Pezeshkian would continue to exercise his duties normally.The uncertainty about the country's leader's condition has also begun to spread to Iranian society. During the days of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's funeral, several citizens consulted by Reuters expressed their concern about the prolonged public absence of the new supreme leader. Some warned that this situation could increase political uncertainty in the country, while others insisted that people needed to see that there was a leader running the country.All this comes at a time when Tehran is in full negotiation with Oman to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian Foreign Ministry assures that the talks with Oman to establish new maritime traffic routes through the Strait of Hormuz are “about to conclude”. Since the resumption of attacks between the United States and Iran on June 17, maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has been drastically reduced. This Wednesday only two ships crossed this route, according to maritime traffic monitoring data compiled by the company Kpler, compared to eight the previous day. Before the war that began on February 28, an average of 130 to 140 ships passed through it daily.

]]>

Morocco likes to recall that it was the first country to recognize the independence of the United States. A long-standing relationship that has accelerated dramatically under Donald Trump. The trigger was when, in 2020, Rabat adhered to the Abraham Accords, promoted by the Republican during his first term to normalize relations between Israel and Arab countries. In exchange, Washington recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. This transaction laid the groundwork for the current triangulation of interests between the US, Israel, and Morocco in Africa.

]]>

At ten in the morning, when the sun is already warming the sand, the Dead Sea seems indifferent to the noise of the country. The still water reflects the mountains of Jordan, the first visitors enter the beach with their skin covered in mud, and the hotels on the coast reopen terraces overlooking one of the most unique landscapes on the planet.

]]>

After a brief pause in which it seemed that calm could begin to settle in the Middle East, hostilities have returned with force. The region continues to be immersed in an escalation that threatens to further broaden the conflict and drag new actors into a crisis already marked by high military tension.

]]>

Tension in the Middle East is escalating again. Saudi Arabia took a step forward this Wednesday in the war against Iran by participating directly, alongside the United States, in bombings against the pro-Iranian militia Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Iraq. Riyadh's military involvement marks a turning point in one of the most tense moments in the region since the ceasefire in April and demonstrates the strategic shift driven by Donald Trump, who is increasingly reinforcing his commitment to the Saudi kingdom as one of Washington's main Arab allies in the region.

]]>

Israel will go to the polls with an open institutional wound. In the final hours before the dissolution of Parliament, the government has pushed through a package of laws that reactivates a conflict that marked the beginning of the legislature: the struggle between the government and the Supreme Court for control of the state's main power mechanisms.

]]>

The West Bank has experienced one of the most explosive days in recent months. A shooting in the village of Tell, southwest of Nablus, in which at least four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers died, triggered a massive wave of settler attacks against several Palestinian communities early this morning. Israeli authorities have arrested seventy Palestinians, who have been taken to an interrogation center set up in a house in the village where the incident took place. The army and settlers have organized raids in which they have carried out more arbitrary arrests, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised "forceful measures," such as demolishing the house of one of those involved in the riots and building new settlements in the area. Israeli settlers have attacked several Palestinian villages, including Urif, Surra, Far'ata, Jit, Imatin, Khirbet Imreiha, Iraq Burin, and the Masafer Yatta area, in the north and center of the West Bank. In Urif, a home was set on fire and at least one Palestinian was injured. In Far'ata, settlers burned agricultural land and shot a man in the chest, who is in critical condition. Other videos shared by residents of various localities show homes, businesses, and vehicles on fire, excavators uprooting olive trees, as well as the word revenge painted on the walls. In some of the incidents, according to local sources, Israeli troops dispersed Palestinian residents with tear gas.The incident that precipitated the escalation occurred after a group of Israeli settlers entered a restricted military zone without authorization or coordination with the army, according to the Israeli army. From here, the versions diverge. The army maintains that the settlers were on an unauthorized excursion when they were attacked and that a Palestinian snatched the weapon from one of the security members before opening fire. Palestinian witnesses, on the other hand, assure that it was the settlers, with the support of the soldiers present, who began to shoot at the inhabitants of the village.A video recorded during the events shows an armed settler trying to push two Palestinians away by pushing them with his rifle. A struggle for the weapon then ensues, while shouts of revenge in Hebrew are heard in the background. Moments later, one of the Palestinians appears holding the rifle and at least a dozen shots are heard coming from different points. Be that as it may, the result was four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers dead, one of whom was also a settler, according to the Efe agency.A pretext to intensify the offensive

After the events in Tell, the Israeli Prime Minister and Defense Minister, Israel Katz, announced that they would intensify military operations in villages that Israel considers "a hotbed of terrorism." They announced new military deployments, the demolition of homes of suspects who may have participated in the Tell incident, the confiscation of weapons, and the withdrawal of work permits for the inhabitants of this village.Netanyahu also ordered the acceleration of the construction of new settler outposts in the area where the events occurred and the legalization of those that already exist, even though the settlements are considered illegal, according to international law and by the majority of the international community.

]]>

The United States and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday closed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement that would open the door to the development of a Saudi nuclear program without some of the safeguards traditionally required by Washington. U.S. President Donald Trump has assured that "there will be no enrichment of nuclear material" and that the program will be exclusively for civilian uses. He also specified that the pact will only go ahead if Saudi Arabia adheres to the Abraham Accords, promoted by the United States in 2020, and if it normalizes relations with Israel. Riyadh has not yet reacted publicly.

]]>

For a few hours, Ramallah, the capital of occupied West Bank, wanted to believe that the world could be reduced to a giant screen, a ball and a World Cup final. In the Palestinian city, red shirts filled the squares and vendors were doing the last business of the night: the last Spanish flags were running out as the time of the match approached. Dozens of Palestinians had gathered at different points to watch the final between Spain and Argentina. One of the main spaces was a venue on the outskirts of the center: a vacant lot converted for a few days into a small World Cup party, with food stalls, colored lights, music from the speakers, merchandise, and entire families ready to live a night they wanted to be different.“Can I borrow the flag? I want a photo,” asked Amal, a young Palestinian woman. “Spain has made us feel like we are not alone, that's why we support la roja”. For many Palestinians, Spain represents not just a football team, but, above all, a political symbol. The recognition of the Palestinian state by the Spanish government in 2024 and its critical stance on the policies of Benjamin Netanyahu's Israeli government have made Spain one of the countries viewed with the most sympathy by a significant portion of Palestinian society, in Gaza and the West Bank.In the venue, those who supported Argentina were a minority. Since the arrival of the far-right leader Javier Milei to the presidency, Buenos Aires has strengthened its proximity to Israel. Milei's relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is close, to the point that Netanyahu himself wished Argentina victory before the final. “I honestly don't understand how they can go with them,” commented Khalil, a father of a family, pointing to one of the few young fans of the albiceleste. “One team represents one thing and the other represents another.”A touch of normality

When Spain scored, the venue erupted. Shouts, hugs, jumps on chairs. “Long live Spain!”, could be heard from the crowd. People who didn't know each other congratulated each other as if they shared the same history and, for a few moments, football granted something that reality rarely offers: a feeling of euphoria and normality.But the joy was short-lived. A few minutes later, the organizers stopped the broadcast. One of them came out in front of the audience and announced that two Palestinians had been murdered in an attack by settlers in a nearby area. “Let’s have a minute of silence and when the game ends we will turn off the screen,” he announced. The news changed the atmosphere instantly. The same people who a few minutes earlier were jumping and shouting fell silent.According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the attack occurred in Deir Jarir, a town northeast of Ramallah, where residents reported the entry of settlers with the aim of seizing the livestock of Palestinian shepherds. In the attack, Ahmad Adel Abu Mukho, 26, and Odeh Abdul Rahim Farakhneh, 53, were killed and three other people were injured.The death of another young man in an attack prior to the final, during the World Cup, was also confirmed: Fadi Hamdallah Al-Nassan, a 17-year-old Palestinian footballer from the Al-Mughayyir club and a member of the Palestinian youth team, died after being shot during an attack by settlers in his town.The same day, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Religious Affairs, settlers set fire to two houses and a mosque south of Hebron, and near Nablus, four Palestinians were injured in another attack, according to local sources.Record of colonial violence

In recent years, Palestinian, Israeli, and international organizations have documented an increase in settler attacks against the Palestinian population in the West Bank: physical assaults, arson of homes and vehicles, destruction of property, attacks against farmers, and displacement of entire communities.According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in what we have of 2026 settler violence has reached record levels. The agency has documented more than 1,200 incidents with victims or material damage in more than 240 Palestinian communities, an average of about six incidents per day. Up to sixteen Palestinian children have been killed and 187 have been injured in incidents related to Israeli forces or settlers.Organizations like Amnesty International denounce that these incidents often occur under the gaze of the Israeli forces, while the Israeli authorities deny this and defend that they intervene and investigate those responsible when necessary.In Ramallah, the night that had begun as a promise of collective joy ended with the screen off, some shouts of celebration, and most people leaving in almost silence. For a while, football had offered a respite, but reality imposed itself again. In Palestine, the World Cup final ended before the match.

]]>