Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas The Palestinian Authority has claimed its people are victims of “collective punishment” after accusing the United States of blocking $200 million in aid in response to President Mahmoud Abbas’s application for UN statehood. The freeze on funds, which has been unpublicised, was reportedly put in place in August, ahead of Mr Abbas’s planned... 

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton The European Union has criticized Israel for its illegal expansion of settlement units in the occupied Palestinian territories. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said on Tuesday that Israel’s plan to build 1,100 new illegal housing units in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) “undermines the talks with Palestinians and should be reversed,” AP reported. Ashton... 

Moscow has greeted the reconciliation between the Palestinian Fatah and Hamas groups with enthusiasm, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s official spokesperson, Aleksandr Lukashevich. ­“On May 4, 15 Palestinian movements, including the two largest, Fatah and Hamas, signed an inter-Palestinian reconciliation agreement. Based on this, a transition government of independent “technocrats”... 

Palestinian Fatah delegation chief Azzam al-Ahmed (R), Hamas deputy leader Mussa Abu Marzuq (L). The Palestinian movements of Hamas and Fatah will sign a deal to form a unity government next week in the Egyptian capital Cairo, a senior Fatah official says. Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal will meet Fatah leader and acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas in Cairo to sign the deal, AFP... 

Israel can be deprived of Jerusalem. The world’s leading countries are trying to solve the crisis in the Middle East against the background of yet another conflict between Palestine and Israel. Arab countries are about to convince Israel ’s major ally, the USA, to approve the Saudi initiative, in accordance with which Israel will no longer have Jerusalem. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov...