Palestine | featured news

President Obama, seeking to quell a storm of criticism from Republicans and pro-Israel groups, directed the Democratic Party on Wednesday to amend its platform to restore language declaring Jerusalem the Israeli capital.

Prosecutors have opened a murder inquiry into the 2004 death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, a judicial official tells the Sipa news agency.

Armed clashes erupted in at least three Syrian cities on Friday amid reports of a deadly mortar attack on a major Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus, an event that threatened to draw Syria’s displaced Palestinian population into its civil war... Western nations, led by the United States, have accused Russia of helping to sabotage Mr. Annan’s diplomacy and have questioned the need for a United Nations monitoring presence in Syria if there is no viable peace plan to monitor.

The British were offended, the Palestinians accused him of racism and even in friendlier Poland, Mitt Romney's union policies drew criticism from the current leaders of the movement that toppled communism... "The designated Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney wanted to demonstrate foreign policy expertise and diplomatic skills with his trip to Britain, Israel and Poland," the Swiss newspaper Tages-Zeitung said Tuesday. "Today, on the last day of the tour, he must be made to admit that he clearly missed this target."

Mitt Romney tried to explain his remarks about the Palestinian economy, which were called "racist" by an aide to Mahmoud Abbas.

Mitt Romney reportedly has angered Palestinians with his comments about their economy and his pledge to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem... "Yesterday, he destroyed negotiations by saying Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, and today he is saying Israeli culture is more advanced than Palestinian culture. Isn't this racism?" Erekat said.

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has rejected a request by the Palestinian Authority to recognise the court's jurisdiction.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat reacted strongly Saturday to comments by Republican presidential frontrunner Newt Gingrich that the Palestinians are an "invented" people, calling it "the most racist statement I've ever seen."

UNESCO voted overwhelmingly Monday to accept the Palestinian Authority as a member, setting the cultural agency on a confrontational path with the U.S. due to American law that prohibits funding of U.N. entities that grant state status to Palestinians.

Resisting American pressure, President Mahmoud Abbas formally requested United Nations membership on Friday.