By , RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Facing elections for the first time in 15 years, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is battling a growing rift within his powerful Fatah party that poses a new threat to his dominance over Palestinian politics.A breakaway bid by one of Abbas’s party allies has intensified speculation he might cancel a presidential vote planned for July, fearing a potential challenge by Marwan Barghouti, a popular Palestinian leader jailed by Israel.Abbas’s office denies he has plans to delay or scrub the presidential vote.Barghouti, now 61, was a driving force in...…By , RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Facing elections for the first time in 15 years, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is battling a growing rift within his powerful Fatah party that poses a new threat to his dominance over Palestinian politics.A breakaway bid by one of Abbas’s party allies has intensified speculation he might cancel a presidential vote planned for July, fearing a potential challenge by Marwan Barghouti, a popular Palestinian leader jailed by Israel.Abbas’s office denies he has plans to delay or scrub the presidential vote.Barghouti, now 61, was a driving force in...WW…

By , RAMALLAH, West Bank/GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinians expect to receive a first batch of COVID-19 vaccine by the weekend, officials said on Tuesday - at a time when more than a quarter of their Israeli neighbours have already been inoculated.Slideshow The Palestinian Authority (PA) has ordered Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine and hopes to administer it to 50,000 residents by March, after last week granting the drug emergency approval.The PA governs in the Israeli-occupied West Bank in coordination with Israel, whose vaccination campaign has been the world’s fastest. By Tuesday morning, 28% of...…By , RAMALLAH, West Bank/GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinians expect to receive a first batch of COVID-19 vaccine by the weekend, officials said on Tuesday - at a time when more than a quarter of their Israeli neighbours have already been inoculated.Slideshow The Palestinian Authority (PA) has ordered Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine and hopes to administer it to 50,000 residents by March, after last week granting the drug emergency approval.The PA governs in the Israeli-occupied West Bank in coordination with Israel, whose vaccination campaign has been the world’s fastest. By Tuesday morning, 28% of...WW…

By , , RAMALLAH, West Bank/GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced parliamentary and presidential elections on Friday, the first in 15 years, in an effort to heal long-standing internal divisions.The move is widely seen as a response to criticism of the democratic legitimacy of Palestinian political institutions, including Abbas’s presidency.It also comes days before the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, with whom the Palestinians want to reset relations after they reached a low under President Donald Trump.According to a decree issued by Abbas’s office,...…By , , RAMALLAH, West Bank/GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced parliamentary and presidential elections on Friday, the first in 15 years, in an effort to heal long-standing internal divisions.The move is widely seen as a response to criticism of the democratic legitimacy of Palestinian political institutions, including Abbas’s presidency.It also comes days before the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, with whom the Palestinians want to reset relations after they reached a low under President Donald Trump.According to a decree issued by Abbas’s office,...WW…

By RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - The Palestinian Authority will resume civil and security cooperation with Israel suspended in May over a now-frozen Israeli plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian minister said on Tuesday.Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh wrote on Twitter that “the relationship with Israel will return to how it was” after President Mahmoud Abbas received confirmation that Israel remained committed to past agreements with the Palestinians.Interim peace accords signed in the 1990s envisaged the creation of a Palestinian state alongside...…By RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - The Palestinian Authority will resume civil and security cooperation with Israel suspended in May over a now-frozen Israeli plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian minister said on Tuesday.Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh wrote on Twitter that “the relationship with Israel will return to how it was” after President Mahmoud Abbas received confirmation that Israel remained committed to past agreements with the Palestinians.Interim peace accords signed in the 1990s envisaged the creation of a Palestinian state alongside...WW…

By , BURQA, West Bank (Reuters) - For many West Bank Palestinians, the olive tree is both a revered cultural emblem and an economic necessity - but it has also become a focal point of a struggle between them and Israeli settlers for a land they both claim.More than 1,000 trees owned by Palestinian farmers have been burned or damaged in the Israeli-occupied territory since the harvest began three weeks ago, according to a United Nations report.The Oct 23 report by humanitarian affairs office UNOCHA has also logged 19 disruptions “by people believed or known to be Israeli settlers,” with 23...…By , BURQA, West Bank (Reuters) - For many West Bank Palestinians, the olive tree is both a revered cultural emblem and an economic necessity - but it has also become a focal point of a struggle between them and Israeli settlers for a land they both claim.More than 1,000 trees owned by Palestinian farmers have been burned or damaged in the Israeli-occupied territory since the harvest began three weeks ago, according to a United Nations report.The Oct 23 report by humanitarian affairs office UNOCHA has also logged 19 disruptions “by people believed or known to be Israeli settlers,” with 23...WW…

By JERICHO, West Bank (Reuters) - Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Israel on Sunday for treatment of a worsening case of COVID-19, the Palestine Liberation Organization said.Witnesses said Erekat, 65, was on a stretcher when he was placed inside an Israeli ambulance outside his home in Jericho, in the occupied West Bank. Erekat, who is also secretary-general of the PLO, disclosed on Oct. 8 that he had contracted coronavirus.He was rushed to Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center. A hospital spokeswoman said Erekat was in a serious but stable...…By JERICHO, West Bank (Reuters) - Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Israel on Sunday for treatment of a worsening case of COVID-19, the Palestine Liberation Organization said.Witnesses said Erekat, 65, was on a stretcher when he was placed inside an Israeli ambulance outside his home in Jericho, in the occupied West Bank. Erekat, who is also secretary-general of the PLO, disclosed on Oct. 8 that he had contracted coronavirus.He was rushed to Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center. A hospital spokeswoman said Erekat was in a serious but stable...WW…