Palestinians Commemorate Naksah, Asserting Right of Return

Palestinian Territories, Nuseirat: Palestinian children wave national flags as they take part in a protest to express their solidarity with Jerusalem, in Nuseirat refugee camp. Photo: Ashraf Amra/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
Palestinian Territories, Nuseirat: Palestinian children wave national flags as they take part in a protest to express their solidarity with Jerusalem, in Nuseirat refugee camp. Photo: Ashraf Amra/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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Palestinians Commemorate Naksah, Asserting Right of Return

Palestinian Territories, Nuseirat: Palestinian children wave national flags as they take part in a protest to express their solidarity with Jerusalem, in Nuseirat refugee camp. Photo: Ashraf Amra/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
Palestinian Territories, Nuseirat: Palestinian children wave national flags as they take part in a protest to express their solidarity with Jerusalem, in Nuseirat refugee camp. Photo: Ashraf Amra/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

The Palestinians asserted their adherence to their land and the right of return, commemorating the 55th anniversary of the Six-Day War (Naksah), during which Israel occupied East Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Sinai, and the Golan Heights.

Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said that the Palestinians are more steadfast and attached to their land in the face of the occupation with determination.

"The Palestinian people are determined to thwart all the Israeli plans to erase their presence and end their national identity," Shtayyeh said.

The Arab League called on the international community to implement the two-state solution and recognize the state of Palestine.

The General Secretariat of the League of Arab States called on the Security Council to implement its decisions and carry out its duties in maintaining international peace and security.

It asserted that the Council must obligate Israel to end the occupation, complete withdrawal from all Palestinian and Arab territories occupied since June 5, 1967, and provide international protection for the Palestinian people.

The Palestine and Arab Occupied Territories Sector of the League asserted that the long record of the occupation's crimes and its plans to impose a fait accompli by force remains the same after five decades.

The Secretariat urged the countries that have not yet recognized Palestine to take this step in a way that helps achieve peace under the two-state solution.

It warned that this year's anniversary coincides with a dangerous Israeli escalation after the army increased its “aggression and terror” in Jerusalem, allowing settlers to attack and storm the courtyards of al-Aqsa Mosque, and desecrate Islamic and Christian sanctities.

Hamas movement confirmed that the developments in al-Aqsa are "acts of piracy" that will not succeed in Judaizing it.

The Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Hussein al-Sheikh, asserted that Palestinians renew their commitment to the continuous struggle until this occupation is defeated and they establish a free and independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.

Meanwhile, Hamas threatened to "widen the circle of engagement" with Israel following the recent attacks on al-Aqsa, asserting that the resistance will not remain silent about the occupation's crimes.

The movement's spokesman, Abdel Latif al-Qanou, called for a state of "alertness to confront and thwart the plans of the Zionist occupation."

On Sunday, over 500 extremists stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque under the protection of the Israeli police and performed Talmudic rituals in the courtyards.

The Islamic Waqf said that 526 extremists stormed the Mosque through the Maghrabi Gate, accompanied by heavy security guards from the occupation forces, noting that Israel officially prohibits Jews from performing prayers there.

The Israeli forces banned Muslims from entering the Mosque or performing noon prayers.

Israeli settlers approached Palestinians and they responded by throwing stones and shoes at them, after which the Israeli police arrested three Palestinians.

Extremist temple groups called for intensifying the raids on June 5-6 on the occasion of Shavuot. In response, Jerusalemites called to confront these incursions, leading to clashes with Jews, before the police fired rubber bullets and tear gas canisters at them.

Islamic bodies and authorities in Jerusalem warned that the developments constitute a flagrant and dangerous violation of the sanctity of the Mosque, confirming that these intrusions will only bring destruction, devastation, and hatred between peoples and nations.



Egypt’s Prime Minister and FM Head to Washington for Trump Peace Council Meeting

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty speaks during a joint press conference with Kenyan Prime Cabinet Secretary/Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi in Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty speaks during a joint press conference with Kenyan Prime Cabinet Secretary/Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi in Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP)
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Egypt’s Prime Minister and FM Head to Washington for Trump Peace Council Meeting

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty speaks during a joint press conference with Kenyan Prime Cabinet Secretary/Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi in Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty speaks during a joint press conference with Kenyan Prime Cabinet Secretary/Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi in Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP)

Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly headed to Washington on Tuesday ‌to ‌participate in ‌the inaugural ⁠meeting of a "Board of Peace" established by US President Donald ⁠Trump, the ‌cabinet ‌said.

Madbouly is ‌attending ‌on behalf of President Abdel ‌Fattah al-Sisi and is accompanied by ⁠Foreign ⁠Minister Badr Abdelatty.

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar will represent Israel at the inaugural meeting, his office said on Tuesday.

Hamas, meanwhile, called on the newly-formed board to pressure Israel to halt what it described as ongoing violations of the ceasefire in Gaza.

The Board of Peace, of which Trump is the chairman, was initially designed to oversee the Gaza truce and the territory's reconstruction after the war between Hamas and Israel.

But its purpose has since morphed into resolving all sorts of international conflicts, triggering fears the US president wants to create a rival to the United Nations.

Saar will first attend a ministerial level UN Security Council meeting in New York on Wednesday, and on Thursday he "will represent Israel at the inaugural session of the board, chaired by Trump in Washington DC, where he will present Israel's position", his office said in a statement.

It was initially reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might attend the gathering, but his office said last week that he would not.

Ahead of the meeting, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told AFP that the Palestinian movement urged the board's members "to take serious action to compel the Israeli occupation to stop its violations in Gaza".

"The war of genocide against the Strip is still ongoing -- through killing, displacement, siege, and starvation -- which have not stopped until this very moment," he added.

He also called for the board to work to support the newly formed Palestinian technocratic committee meant to oversee the day-to-day governance of post-war Gaza "so that relief and reconstruction efforts in Gaza can commence".

Announcing the creation of the board in January, Trump also unveiled plans to establish a "Gaza Executive Board" operating under the body.

The executive board would include Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Thawadi.

Netanyahu has strongly objected to their inclusion.

Since Trump launched his "Board of Peace" at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, at least 19 countries have signed its founding charter.


Palestinian Child Dies After Stepping on Mine in West Bank

Israeli troops conduct a military raid in the village of Al-Yamoun, west of Jenin, West Bank, 17 February 2026. (EPA)
Israeli troops conduct a military raid in the village of Al-Yamoun, west of Jenin, West Bank, 17 February 2026. (EPA)
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Palestinian Child Dies After Stepping on Mine in West Bank

Israeli troops conduct a military raid in the village of Al-Yamoun, west of Jenin, West Bank, 17 February 2026. (EPA)
Israeli troops conduct a military raid in the village of Al-Yamoun, west of Jenin, West Bank, 17 February 2026. (EPA)

A Palestinian child died after stepping on a mine near an Israeli military camp in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, the Palestinian Red Crescent said, with an Israeli defense ministry source confirming the death.

"Our crews received the body of a 13-year-old child who was killed after a mine exploded in one of the old camps in Jiftlik in the northern Jordan Valley," the Red Crescent said in a statement.

A source at COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry's agency in charge of civilian matters in the Palestinian territories, confirmed the death to AFP and identified the boy as Mohammed Abu Dalah, from the village of Jiftlik.

Israel's military had previously said in a statement that three Palestinians were injured "as a result of playing with unexploded ordnance", without specifying their ages.

It added that the area of the incident, Tirzah, is "a military camp in the area of the Jordan Valley", near Jiftlik and close to the Jordanian border.

"This area is a live-fire zone and entry into it is prohibited," the military said.

Jiftlik village council head Ahmad Ghawanmeh told AFP that three children, the oldest of whom was 16, were collecting herbs near the military base when they detonated a mine.

Jiftlik as well as the nearby Tirzah base are located in the Palestinian territory's Area C, which falls under direct Israeli control.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.

Much of the area near the border with Jordan -- which Israel signed a peace deal with in 1994 -- remains mined.

In January, Israel's defense ministry said it had begun demining the border area as part of construction works for a new barrier it says aims to stem weapons smuggling.


Hezbollah Rejects Disarmament Plan and Government’s Four-Month Timeline

29 July 2024, Iran, Tehran: Then Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem is pictured during a meeting in Tehran. (Iranian Presidency/dpa)
29 July 2024, Iran, Tehran: Then Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem is pictured during a meeting in Tehran. (Iranian Presidency/dpa)
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Hezbollah Rejects Disarmament Plan and Government’s Four-Month Timeline

29 July 2024, Iran, Tehran: Then Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem is pictured during a meeting in Tehran. (Iranian Presidency/dpa)
29 July 2024, Iran, Tehran: Then Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem is pictured during a meeting in Tehran. (Iranian Presidency/dpa)

Hezbollah rejected on Tuesday the Lebanese government's decision to grant the army at least four months to advance the second phase of a nationwide disarmament plan, saying it would not accept what it sees as a move serving Israel.

Lebanon's cabinet tasked the army in August 2025 with drawing up and beginning to implement a plan to bring all armed groups' weapons under state control, a bid aimed primarily at disarming Hezbollah after its devastating ‌war with ‌Israel in 2024.

In September 2025 the cabinet formally ‌welcomed ⁠the army's plan to ⁠disarm the Iran-backed Shiite party, although it did not set a clear timeframe and cautioned that the military's limited capabilities and ongoing Israeli strikes could hinder progress.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem said in a speech on Monday that "what the Lebanese government is doing by focusing on disarmament is a major mistake because this issue serves the goals of Israeli ⁠aggression".

Lebanon's Information Minister Paul Morcos said during a press ‌conference late on Monday after ‌a cabinet meeting that the government had taken note of the army's monthly ‌report on its arms control plan that includes restricting weapons in ‌areas north of the Litani River up to the Awali River in Sidon, and granted it four months.

"The required time frame is four months, renewable depending on available capabilities, Israeli attacks and field obstacles,” he said.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan ‌Fadlallah said, "we cannot be lenient," signaling the group's rejection of the timeline and the broader approach to ⁠the issue of ⁠its weapons.

Hezbollah has rejected the disarmament effort as a misstep while Israel continues to target Lebanon, and Shiite ministers walked out of the cabinet session in protest.

Israel has said Hezbollah's disarmament is a security priority, arguing that the group's weapons outside Lebanese state control pose a direct threat to its security.

Israeli officials say any disarmament plan must be fully and effectively implemented, especially in areas close to the border, and that continued Hezbollah military activity constitutes a violation of relevant international resolutions.

Israel has also said it will continue what it describes as action to prevent the entrenchment or arming of hostile actors in Lebanon until cross-border threats are eliminated.