Palestinian President's Son Vows to Put 'Gaza First'

Yasser Abbas, newly-elected member of Fatah's central committee, poses for a picture at his office in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on May 18, 2026. (AFP)
Yasser Abbas, newly-elected member of Fatah's central committee, poses for a picture at his office in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on May 18, 2026. (AFP)
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Palestinian President's Son Vows to Put 'Gaza First'

Yasser Abbas, newly-elected member of Fatah's central committee, poses for a picture at his office in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on May 18, 2026. (AFP)
Yasser Abbas, newly-elected member of Fatah's central committee, poses for a picture at his office in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on May 18, 2026. (AFP)

The son of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas on Monday said Fatah would prioritize Gaza and return it "to the fold of Palestinian legitimacy", the day after being elected to the movement's top decision-making body.

Fatah's first congress in a decade came as the Palestinian movement faces existential challenges in the wake of the devastating Gaza war, said AFP.

Veteran Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, 90, was re-elected as head of the movement, with his 64-year-old son Yasser Abbas securing a place on its central committee.

In his first remarks since his election, Yasser Abbas said he would focus on "Gaza first, prisoners and the families of martyrs, and the refugee camps."

"We will work to return Gaza to the fold of Palestinian legitimacy," he told journalists in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah.

Fatah has historically been the dominant force within the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the sole representative of the Palestinian people in international forums.

It groups most Palestinian factions but excludes the Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements.

"Achieving full national unity requires agreement to all the conditions for joining the Palestine Liberation Organization in all its provisions: one law, one state, one legitimate weapon, and recognition that the organization is the sole legitimate representative" of the Palestinian people, Yasser Abbas said.

"Whoever accepts that is welcome."

In recent decades, Fatah's popularity and influence have dwindled amid internal divisions and growing public frustration over the stagnation of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

The sense of disappointment led to a surge in support for rival Hamas, which won the last legislative elections held in 2006, before going on to expel Fatah from the Gaza Strip after a bout of factional fighting.

Under US President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan, Hamas is to play no role in the future governance of the territory.

It also demands sweeping reforms of the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority as a condition for it to play any meaningful role in post-war Gaza.

On Monday, the Fatah congress announced the official preliminary results of the elections for its central committee and the revolutionary council, the party's parliament.

A closing statement read out on Monday said that: "there is no state without Gaza, and no state in Gaza".

"Any international administrative arrangement must preserve the ceasefire, end the occupation, ensure the flow of aid, and begin recovery and reconstruction, all clearly linked to the Palestinian government, which must be enabled to exercise all its responsibilities in Gaza," it added.

It also said it was moving towards elections for the Palestinian National Council, the PLO parliament, on November 1, followed by general elections.

Abbas and the Palestinian Authority are under mounting international pressure to implement reforms and hold elections, amid widespread accusations of corruption and political stagnation.



Israel to Allocate $338 Million for West Bank Settlement Expansion, Rights Group Says

FILE PHOTO: A general view picture shows the Israeli settlement of Efrat in the Gush Etzion settlement block as Bethlehem is seen in the background, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank January 28, 2020. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A general view picture shows the Israeli settlement of Efrat in the Gush Etzion settlement block as Bethlehem is seen in the background, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank January 28, 2020. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo
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Israel to Allocate $338 Million for West Bank Settlement Expansion, Rights Group Says

FILE PHOTO: A general view picture shows the Israeli settlement of Efrat in the Gush Etzion settlement block as Bethlehem is seen in the background, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank January 28, 2020. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A general view picture shows the Israeli settlement of Efrat in the Gush Etzion settlement block as Bethlehem is seen in the background, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank January 28, 2020. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo

Israel is expected to approve on ‌Thursday the allocation of 1 billion shekels ($337.8 million) to build new settlements and connect them to infrastructure in the occupied West Bank, Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now said.

The plan is being promoted by Israel's far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, a proponent of Israeli settlement expansion who has said he wants to bury the idea of Palestinian statehood, reported Reuters.

According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet schedule, ministers are expected to discuss the establishment of temporary sites that have already been approved in the West Bank.

The schedule did not say whether ‌the ministers would ‌approve new funding. Netanyahu's office did not immediately ‌respond ⁠to a request for ⁠comment.

FUNDING FOR ROADS, WATER, RIGHTS GROUP SAYS

About 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1980, a move not recognized by most countries, but has not formally extended sovereignty over the West Bank.

UN bodies and most countries view the West Bank settlements as ⁠illegal, citing international conventions. Israel disputes this, saying ‌a Jewish presence has existed ‌in the West Bank for thousands of years.

In a statement, Peace Now said ‌the cabinet vote would bypass the standard settlement planning process. ‌It said the settlements in question had been approved by Netanyahu's government over the past three years.

Both Peace Now and the news website Axios, citing a draft resolution, said the allocation of funds would include construction of ‌infrastructure such as access roads, land preparation, sewage systems, water connections and related works, as well as ⁠temporary residential ⁠compounds.

A spokesperson for Smotrich, the finance minister, did not provide specifics but said the cabinet vote would strengthen Israeli settlements and that these are not new settlements, but rather existing sites. Smotrich last week announced a major expansion by more than 2,000 homes of three Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Palestinians and many countries view the settlements as a primary obstacle to peace, saying they eat into West Bank land that could make up a potential State of Palestine. The expansion of settlements and smaller settler outposts has been accompanied in recent years by a rise in Israeli settler violence, with settlers staging sometimes deadly attacks on Palestinians.


All 3 Missing Indian Seafarers Dead after US Strike on Tanker Off Oman


An F-35B Lighting II, attached to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121, prepares to take off from the flight deck of America-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7), May 13, 2026. (US Navy photo)
An F-35B Lighting II, attached to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121, prepares to take off from the flight deck of America-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7), May 13, 2026. (US Navy photo)
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All 3 Missing Indian Seafarers Dead after US Strike on Tanker Off Oman


An F-35B Lighting II, attached to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121, prepares to take off from the flight deck of America-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7), May 13, 2026. (US Navy photo)
An F-35B Lighting II, attached to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121, prepares to take off from the flight deck of America-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7), May 13, 2026. (US Navy photo)

All three missing Indian seafarers have died after a US military strike on a tanker in the Gulf of Oman, ⁠Indian Shipping Minister ⁠Sarbananda Sonoma said on Thursday.

The US said its military carried ⁠out a "precision" strike on the vessel that failed to follow its instructions and was carrying oil from Iran.

Indian sources told Reuters that ⁠New ⁠Delhi had summoned the US deputy chief of mission after lodging a "strong protest" on the strike.


Israeli Military Says Two 'Launches' Fall near Israeli Troops in Southern Lebanon

Lebanese army remove the rubble of a house that was destroyed in the recent clashes between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops in Dibbine village, southeast Lebanon, Friday, June 5, 2026, a day after Israeli forces withdrew. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Lebanese army remove the rubble of a house that was destroyed in the recent clashes between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops in Dibbine village, southeast Lebanon, Friday, June 5, 2026, a day after Israeli forces withdrew. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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Israeli Military Says Two 'Launches' Fall near Israeli Troops in Southern Lebanon

Lebanese army remove the rubble of a house that was destroyed in the recent clashes between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops in Dibbine village, southeast Lebanon, Friday, June 5, 2026, a day after Israeli forces withdrew. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Lebanese army remove the rubble of a house that was destroyed in the recent clashes between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops in Dibbine village, southeast Lebanon, Friday, June 5, 2026, a day after Israeli forces withdrew. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

The Israeli military said on Thursday that two "launches" were identified falling adjacent to an ‌area where ‌Israeli troops ‌are ⁠operating in southern ⁠Lebanon, after sirens sounded in several areas of northern Israel.

Earlier, the military ⁠said Home Front ‌Command ‌had issued a precautionary ‌directive after detecting "launches" ‌from Lebanon toward several communities in northern Israel, urging residents to ‌enter protected spaces.

More than three ⁠months ⁠since the US-Israeli attack on Iran ignited conflict around the Middle East, Lebanon remains a major frontline in the war.