RSS
Hebron Residents Want to Live in Peace with Israel; Palestinian Authority Calls It an ‘Israeli Plan’
People hold Fatah flags during a protest in support of the people of Gaza, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues, in Hebron, in the West Bank, Oct. 27, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma
Earlier this week, Palestinian Media Watch reported on Sheikh Wadee’ al-Jaabari’s plan to abolish the Palestinian Authority (PA) and establish family-run emirates that would recognize Israel.
Although the PA issued no official response a few days ago — and still has not done so today — it is already mounting a counter-campaign: recasting the idea as an Israeli initiative rather than a proposal from Hebron’s influential Jaabari clan.
On Tuesday, official PA TV hosted Palestinian journalist Zahir Abu Hamda, who dismissed the plan as an Israeli creation without mentioning the Jaabari family:
The Israeli plan regarding the West Bank is very dangerous, because they want to establish Palestinian emirates in the West Bank, meaning municipalities of limited size, without political backing, meaning there is no Palestinian state and no Palestinian government. There will be an emirate in Hebron, an emirate in Jenin, in Bethlehem, in other places, controlled by families.”
[Official PA TV, July 8 2025]
The PA apparently anticipated the announcement; before it was made public, PA TV broadcast a news flash — again portraying the idea as Israeli-driven:
The Minister of Economy in the occupation government, Nir Barkat, calls for the dismantling of the [Palestinian] National Authority.
[Palestinian television, July 4 2025]
The Wall Street Journal, which broke the story, noted that Barkat has met several times with the Hebron sheikhs and served as Israel’s interlocutor on the proposal.
After a statement and video was released by several Jaabari family members denouncing Sheikh Wadee’s plan, his supporters pointed out that every speaker in the clip was a current or former PA employee — effectively making the video the PA’s rebuttal rather than the clan’s.
Elliot Kaufman of The Wall Street Journal, who published the original report, shared the supporters’ statement on X (formerly Twitter):
The Palestinian Authority managed to issue a statement condemning Sheikh Jaabari’s position—which promotes its [the PA’s] dismantling—through an establishment figure named Arif Jaabari (Abu Basel), who previously served as governor of Hebron and Jericho on behalf of the PA. He was joined by a few other family members who are institutionally connected to the PA, such as senior municipality official Yusuf Jaabari and Nafeth Haidar Jaabari, who has working ties with the governor’s office, as well as a few others from the family with similar affiliations… Nevertheless, the vast majority of the Jaabari family — along with dozens of sheikhs representing most of the families in Hebron and its surroundings—stand firmly behind Sheikh Wadee’ Jaabari and his historic, just, and necessary initiative to dismantle the Palestinian Authority and establish the Hebron Emirate.
The author is the Founder and Director of Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this article first appeared.
The post Hebron Residents Want to Live in Peace with Israel; Palestinian Authority Calls It an ‘Israeli Plan’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Trump Hosts Qatari Prime Minister After Israeli Attack in Doha
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
US President Donald Trump held dinner with the Qatari prime minister in New York on Friday, days after US ally Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Doha.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an attack in Qatar on Tuesday, a strike that risked derailing US-backed efforts to broker a truce in Gaza and end the nearly two-year-old conflict. The attack was widely condemned in the Middle East and beyond as an act that could escalate tensions in a region already on edge.
Trump expressed annoyance about the strike in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sought to assure the Qataris that such attacks would not happen again.
Trump and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani were joined by a top Trump adviser, US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
“Great dinner with POTUS. Just ended,” Qatar’s deputy chief of mission, Hamah Al-Muftah, said on X.
The White House confirmed the dinner had taken place but offered no details.
The session followed an hour-long meeting that al-Thani had at the White House on Friday with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
A source briefed on the meeting said they discussed Qatar’s future as a mediator in the region and defense cooperation in the wake of the Israeli strikes against Hamas in Doha.
Trump said he was unhappy with Israel’s strike, which he described as a unilateral action that did not advance US or Israeli interests.
Washington counts Qatar as a strong Gulf ally. Qatar has been a main mediator in long-running negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and for a post-conflict plan for the territory.
Al-Thani blamed Israel on Tuesday for trying to sabotage chances for peace but said Qatar would not be deterred from its role as mediator.
RSS
Trump Urges NATO Countries to Halt Russian Oil Purchases
US President Donald Trump gestures during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, Aug. 26, 2025. Photo: Jonathan Ernst via Reuters Connect
i24 News – US President Donald Trump issued a letter to NATO nations on Saturday, impressing upon them to stop purchasing Russian oil and impose major sanctions on the regime of Vladimir Putin to end its war in Ukraine.
“I am ready to do major Sanctions on Russia when all NATO Nations have agreed, and started, to do the same thing, and when all NATO Nations STOP BUYING OIL FROM RUSSIA. As you know, NATO’S commitment to WIN has been far less than 100%, and the purchase of Russian Oil, by some, has been shocking! It greatly weakens your negotiating position, and bargaining power, over Russia,” the message read.
“Anyway, I am ready to ‘go’ when you are. Just say when? I believe that this, plus NATO, as a group, placing 50% to 100% TARIFFS ON CHINA, to be fully withdrawn after the WAR with Russia and Ukraine is ended, will also be of great help in ENDING this deadly, but RIDICULOUS, WAR. China has a strong control, and even grip, over Russia, and these powerful Tariffs will break that grip.”
Trump’s post comes after the recent flight of multiple Russian drones into Poland, widely perceived an escalatory move by Russia as it was entering the airspace of a NATO ally. Poland intercepted the drones, yet Trump played down the severity of the incident and Russia’s motives by saying it “could have been a mistake.”
RSS
Netanyahu Says Getting Rid of Hamas Chiefs in Qatar Would Remove Main Obstacle to Gaza Deal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the US Independence Day reception, known as the annual “Fourth of July” celebration, hosted by Newsmax, in Jerusalem, Aug. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that getting rid of Hamas chiefs living in Qatar would remove the main obstacle to releasing all hostages and ending the war in Gaza.
Israel on Tuesday targeted the Hamas leadership in Doha.