Israeli voters on Tuesday gave opposition parties a narrow edge over ICC fugitive Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, initial projections showed, after a decades-high turnout in the country's first election since the outbreak of the genocidal war in October 2023.

Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister who has led the country for nearly two decades, had run on promises to fight enemies from Hamas to Iran and had spent election day raising fears of the strength of Israeli Arab voters.

Early projections broadcast by Israeli television networks showed that the bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot, a centre-right former military chief, had a narrow edge over Netanyahu's bloc, which includes the far-right.

Early exit polls showed Arab parties made sweeping gains, likely giving them a critical role in the next parliament.

With no single party winning a majority, Israeli politicians will likely spend weeks in high-stakes negotiations to cobble together a coalition.

The country's main pollsters, Channels 11, 12 and 13, projected the opposition bloc to win 52 to 53 seats, and Netanyahu's bloc to win around 50, although his Likud would be the largest single party in parliament, with 24 or 25 seats.

In a dash to secure as many votes as possible, Netanyahu had charged that Israeli Arabs were out to "steal the election" and his Likud party unsuccessfully asked election authorities to keep polls open past 10:00 PM (2000 GMT).

His efforts led the opposition to charge that he was looking for pretexts to challenge the results.

"We cannot leave this battle here in the hands of the left and the Arab parties that want to bring an end to the Jewish state," a visibly tense Netanyahu told supporters as he tried to bring up turnout in a Likud stronghold.

Nationwide turnout as of 8 PM stood at nearly 75 percent, the highest in decades.

Arab minority in spotlight

Some 7.3 million people were eligible to vote, with tens of thousands of Israelis estimated to have flown in from abroad for an election seen as crucial to deciding the future character of their country.

Netanyahu, 77, has served as prime minister on and off for more than 19 years.

Throughout his career, he has repeatedly raised the spectre of Arab voters as a threat. He warned Tuesday of Arabs voting by the busload, writing on social media that Israel could wake up to a "government of the left wing and Muslim Brotherhood".

Netanyahu said that three senior officials of the United Arab List had been arrested with envelopes full of cash in the south.

The acting director general of the Central Elections Committee, Dean Livne, said that police had "caught individuals who tried to bribe voters", adding that the unidentified suspects were not at polling stations and were caught near their homes.

He said the matter was a localised case and under investigation.

United Arab List head Mansour Abbas, who could emerge as a kingmaker in a close election, accused Netanyahu of "lying and inciting" to mobilise his voters.

Exit polls from the main Israeli television channels showed the two Arab lists winning 17 or 18 seats in the 120-member parliament between them, up from 10 in the last election in 2022.

In Tel Aviv, left-wing party The Democrats, which is part of Eisenkot's opposition bloc, said police had arrested a man with a knife who had moved threateningly towards its leader Yair Golan.

"Incitement and violence will not intimidate us," Golan said in a statement, blaming the incident on the "poison machine" of Netanyahu.

Netanyahu last returned to power in December 2022, bringing into his coalition far-right ultra-nationalists who have since seen their political clout skyrocket and have aggressively championed settlements in the West Bank.

In the last days of the campaign, he posted an image of a nuclear bomb destroying Tel Aviv and talked up his endorsement by US President Donald Trump, who is also fond of alleging election fraud.

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• The first exit polls from Israel's pivotal general election on Tuesday showed strong gains for the country's Arab-majority parties, whose voter base turned out in high numbers. Exit polls from the main Israeli television channels showed the two Arab lists winning 17 or 18 seats in the 120-member parliament between them, up from 10 in the last election in 2022.
• Israel has so far recorded the highest voter turnout since 1973 as millions of people head to the polls to elect 120 members of the Knesset. Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank are not allowed to vote, despite the Israeli government determining the direction of their future.
• Israeli voters on Tuesday gave a narrow edge to opposition parties over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, initial projections showed, after decades-high turnout in the country's first election since the outbreak of the genocidal war.
• The southern West Bank city of Hebron remains besieged for the fifth consecutive day following a deadly shootout on Friday, which prompted a large military operation that has displaced nearly 4,000 Palestinians.
• Meanwhile, the war in Yemen rages, with the Saudi-led coalition intercepting Houthi ballistic missiles and Houthi-affiliated media reported that Yemeni government forces launched air strikes in Taiz province

An Iraqi court on Tuesday jailed seven French nationals for belonging to the Islamic State group, after they were transferred along with dozens of others from Syria last year.

Six of the defendants were handed life sentences, which under Iraqi law are equivalent to 20 years in prison.

They were found guilty of belonging to IS and "of having contributed, together with members of the group, to spreading terror", according to an AFP journalist at the court.

The judge told the defendants the court had "commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment, given that you are young, to offer you a chance...to get your life back on track".

The court sentenced a seventh French national to 15 years in prison. The now 24-year-old had been taken to Syria by his mother, who joined IS more than a decade ago.

All seven were part of a group of 47 French citizens transferred from Syria last year.

The larger group includes Adrien Guihal, who claimed responsibility for the 2016 Nice attack for IS.

"These sentences offer a certain form of relief, especially for the families, because the death penalty was legitimately feared," said Matthieu Bagard, the French lawyer for four of the seven defendants sentenced on Tuesday.

He told AFP, however, that it "did not make a difference to everything we have denounced".

"There are French citizens being judged without a fair trial," he said, mentioning "the torture they suffered and the forced confessions".

Marie Dose, the lawyer for the now 24-year-old, reproached France for accepting "that this fate should be reserved for children who have become adults, who bear no responsibility whatsoever for their parents' choices".

The jihadist group swept across Syria and Iraq in 2014, committing massacres and forcing women and girls into sexual slavery.

Iraq, backed by US-led forces, proclaimed victory over IS in 2017, and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces ultimately defeated the group in Syria two years later.

Iraq is nonetheless still reckoning with the group's legacy, with mass graves still being uncovered and testimonies of IS brutality yet to be investigated.

For years, its courts have handed down hundreds of execution orders and life sentences to those convicted of terrorism offences, including foreign fighters.

Iranian-backed militias carried out a precision strike last month, hitting the pumping stations of Saudi Arabia’s most important oil pipeline. Days later, another attack hit a Saudi military air base, damaging an Italian fighter jet inside a hangar.

Crucial to the strikes' success was what was happening in the skies overhead: For days beforehand, a constellation of Russian spy satellites converged over the pipeline and the air base to gather intelligence.

A private geospatial intelligence firm said it examined 40 missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and militias in Iraq between July 1 and Oct. 19. In every case, the firm found the same pattern of Russian government and military satellites orbiting above the areas for days before and after.

"What we found is a 100% match" between the satellite activities and strikes, said Nawaf Obaid, founder of Geneva-based AURORAH Geosignal Intelligence.

The findings illustrate how Russia is believed to be helping Iran and its allies in the region target Saudi Arabia’s oil and military infrastructure in attacks that have helped raise global energy prices.

Three officials, including one from Saudi Arabia and another in the top ranks of the Houthis, as well as a private intelligence analyst, told The Associated Press that the Houthis and other Iranian allies have benefited from Russian intelligence, as well as Chinese capabilities. Iranian advisers in the field analyzed and transferred the intelligence to their allies, according to AP reporting.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry’s deputy minister for public diplomacy, Rayed Krimly, told reporters last week that Iran and the Houthis receive intelligence from "elements in Russia and China, even commercial elements sometimes."

"We do discuss these matters regularly with China and Russia, and we will continue to do so," he said.

Russian officials had no immediate comment when asked about the allegations, including AURORAH’s findings.

Russia and Iran have a longstanding military cooperation arrangement, including transferring drone technology. While Russia has not been directly involved in the wars in the region, U.S. and European officials have said Russia has shared intelligence with Iran.

Iranian-backed groups were able to carry out pinpoint strikes

On the morning of Sept. 10, multiple drone strikes from Iraq hit three critical pumping stations along Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline, immediately interrupting the flow of oil. The 1,200-kilometer (746-mile) pipeline across the kingdom has been a vital alternative route for getting its crude to market amid Iran’s attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

The pumping stations are vital to moving oil through the pipeline, which rises more than 1,100 meters (3,608 feet) in altitude as it goes from eastern Saudi Arabia across the Najd Plateau then back down to the kingdom’s western coast on the Red Sea, said Obaid, a fellow at King’s College Department of War Studies who also served as an adviser to various Saudi officials from 2004 to 2016.

"This is where the militias out of Iraq decided to strike," he said.

Beginning in July, his firm observed 11 of Russia’s Cosmos 2600 series satellites concentrating on those three sections of the pipeline. Flybys increased in the weeks leading up to the attacks and in the hours around the strikes, showing reconnaissance before and after, he said.

A week later, King Fahd Air Base in Taif, Saudi Arabia, was hit with multiple projectiles fired by the Iranian-backed Houthis. Along with hangars at the base, an Italian air force Eurofighter Typhoon jet was damaged, according to the Italian Defense Ministry. The Italian military has had assets deployed in Saudi Arabia for years as part of the U.S.-led coalition’s campaigns in Iraq and Syria.

In both those cases, Obaid's firm monitored a 50% increase in the number of Russian satellites orbiting above the targets during a 72-hour period before and after the strikes, compared with July.

Notably, the Taif attack precisely hit the Italian warplane rather than Saudi ones stationed at the same base, suggesting "highly specialized intelligence support that the Houthis and Iranians simply don’t have," Obaid said.

The Houthis have warned foreign powers not to help Saudi Arabia.

A clear pattern of satellites is visible

AURORAH used open-source information as well as other intelligence sources to identify 72 Russian reconnaissance satellites out of more than 11,000 spacecraft orbiting the Earth, Obaid said. It then tracked their trajectories and maneuvers while comparing them to military activity on the ground.

The firm has not intercepted actual transmission of intelligence to Iran or its allies, Obaid said. Instead, the firm has established a definitive pattern of Russian satellite positions and reconnaissance activity around strategic targets ahead of strikes, indicating that intelligence is being collected and transferred for Houthi and Iraqi militia targeting, he said.

Obaid said the same satellite patterns also occurred in connection with Iranian strikes on U.S. bases in the Middle East during the U.S.-Iran war that began in February.

“That is the fundamental transformation in the regional military balance: The intelligence system behind the weapon is becoming as important as the weapon itself,” he said.

Adam Marsh, vice president of technological solutions at California-based Leolabs, an orbital intelligence firm, said the massing of satellites is what one would expect to see for purposes of collecting intelligence. The Russians can deny they are doing it, he said, but he noted there is only a general policy and no regulatory body: “How would you stop anybody?”

Satellite intelligence has also helped Houthis in their fight inside Yemen

An official briefed on investigations in Saudi Arabia into recent attacks said intelligence showed that Russian satellites had helped Houthis and Iraqi militias strike sensitive targets, including the pumping stations on the East-West Pipeline. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists.

The satellites also helped strikes by Iran in March on Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan Air Base, where a U.S. surveillance aircraft was severely damaged, and on a CIA unit inside the U.S. Embassy complex in Riyadh, the official said.

The investigations found that missiles and drones used by the Houthis in their strikes had Russian- and Chinese-made components, the official said.

Russian satellite intelligence has also helped the Houthis in the dramatic advances they made against Saudi-backed opponents in Yemen’s civil war, according to Obaid and a Houthi leader.

AURORAH identified satellite configurations over targets in connection to an Oct. 15 Houthi strike on the presidential palace in Yemen’s southern port city of Aden and a nearby command center used by the Saudi-led coalition, as well as a strike on a government recruitment center in the province of Shabwa that killed 75 new recruits, Obaid said.

Iranian advisers on the ground in Yemen have been providing the rebels with data based on Russian satellite intelligence to help in targeting, a senior Houthi leader told the AP. The leader spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the confidential role of the advisers.

Mzahem Alsaloum, a security analyst who has followed Iranian-backed groups for nearly a decade and now runs a private intelligence firm, said the advisers use Russian spy satellite information to provide Iranians with target lists and operational information.

The Houthi leader also said the Iranians provided the rebels with more advanced equipment, including systems for piloting drones and for helping missiles evade air defenses.

The equipment was developed by the Iranians, bought commercially or provided by Russia and China, he said, though he did not know whether those countries were aware the equipment was being used in the Yemen war.

A drone was shot down near the US embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday, triggering three loud explosions near the heavily fortified Green Zone, Iraqi security officials said.

Iraq's Security Media Cell said in a brief statement that the explosions were caused by the interception of a drone near the Green Zone, which houses the US embassy and several government institutions.

Security sources in Baghdad told The New Arab that two surveillance drones had approached the US embassy compound before being intercepted by its C-RAM air defence system.

The sources said Iraqi authorities had launched an investigation but had not yet established where the drones were launched from.

The incident comes as the Iraqi government continues efforts to persuade armed factions to surrender their weapons and bring all military capabilities under state control.

Several factions have agreed to hand over their weapons, but others have refused, including four groups operating under the umbrella of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.

They are Kataib Hezbollah, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Harakat al-Nujaba and Harakat al-Awfiya.

Security sources told The New Arab that they suspected the drones belonged to factions opposed to disarmament, although no group had claimed responsibility.

The sources said the factions continued to regard the US embassy as an occupation base and possessed surveillance and drone capabilities unmatched by other local Iraqi groups.

Last week, the four factions accused Washington of violating Iraqi sovereignty and failing to honour its commitments to Baghdad.

In a joint statement, they criticised restrictions on airports and border crossings with Iran, arguing that such decisions were being dictated by the United States.

They also questioned whether Iraq could exercise genuine sovereignty while major national decisions remained subject to foreign influence.

Earlier, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi announced that three of five armed factions that had agreed to surrender their weapons had already done so, while negotiations continued with the remaining two.

"Five factions agreed to hand over their weapons, and three have already done so, while dialogue continues with the others," Zaidi said during a meeting with tribal leaders, according to his office.

Iraqi researcher Mujashaa al-Tamimi told The New Arab that the use of surveillance drones could be intended to signal to Washington that armed factions remained active and capable of carrying out operations.

However, he stressed that this interpretation depended on whether the drones had actually been launched by those groups.

Tamimi warned that the renewed use of drones could signal another period of heightened tensions in Baghdad.

Nearly 5,000 Palestinians have been forced from their homes in Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank as Israeli military operations entered their fifth consecutive day, while raids and settler attacks continued across the territory.

The Israeli army has closed all entrances and exits to Hebron while carrying out operations in the neighbourhoods of Deir Baha and al-Jilda, the hometowns of two Palestinians who carried out a shooting attack on Friday that killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded others. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to carry out collective punishment against the neighbourhoods following the shooting.

Ola al-Qawasmi, a spokesperson for Hebron Municipality, told The New Arab that municipal records showed 780 families, comprising 4,969 people, had been displaced from their homes.

Those displaced include 336 infants under the age of two, 441 people aged 60 and above, 216 pregnant or breastfeeding women, 44 people with disabilities and 312 people with chronic illnesses, al-Qawasmi said.

She added that displaced families had sought shelter with relatives, while the municipality had opened temporary shelters in preparation for further displacement as the Israeli operation and siege continued.

Military raids and settler attacks

The United Nations said on Tuesday that more than 3,000 people had been displaced by Israeli forces in Hebron since Friday, as humanitarian organisations supported local authorities in responding to the needs of affected residents.

Elsewhere in the West Bank, settlers attacked the village of Umm Safa, northwest of Ramallah, and set fire to three cars, according to village council head Marwan Sabah.

Settlers also stormed the courtyards of Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Tuesday morning under Israeli police protection and performed Talmudic rituals. Israeli officials and far-right settlers have increasingly challenged the longstanding status quo at Islam's third-holiest site, under which non-Muslims may visit but are not permitted to pray.

In Nablus governorate, a 44-year-old Palestinian was shot in the foot by Israeli forces at the Huwara checkpoint south of the city. The Palestinian Red Crescent said troops had initially prevented its medical teams from reaching the scene after receiving reports that a vehicle had come under fire. They later allowed medics to enter and evacuate the wounded man to hospital.

A 50-year-old Palestinian was also injured in a settler assault in the town of Burqa, northwest of Nablus, according to the Red Crescent.

Israeli forces also bulldozed memorials erected in honour of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the villages of Beita, Rujeib, Azmut, Madama and Iraq Burin, as well as the town of Beit Furik, east and south of Nablus.

Troops raided several communities across the West Bank, turned homes into military barracks and carried out arrests and house searches in multiple governorates on Tuesday and overnight. Israeli forces also tightened restrictions at checkpoints and roadblocks at the entrances to towns and villages.

In the village of Burin, south of Nablus, Israeli forces had been carrying out a raid since around 2am on Tuesday, according to village council head Ibrahim Omran, who spoke to The New Arab.

Omran said troops had seized a building and converted it into a military barracks while conducting widespread raids on residents' homes. Around 20 Palestinians had been detained, he said, with all but two released by the time he spoke. The raid was still ongoing.

Olive harvest disrupted by settler violence

Settler attacks have also targeted Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest.

In Madama, south of Nablus, a settler uprooted electricity poles, damaging the village's power network and obstructing residents' access to their land. An armed settler also forced four Palestinian families to leave while they were picking olives.

Elsewhere, settlers attacked olive harvesters in several villages around Nablus and Ramallah, smashing a vehicle and stealing harvested olives.

In other incidents, settlers closed off the al-Himma spring in the northern Jordan Valley and fenced off privately owned Palestinian land, cutting off a water source used by residents and livestock, according to Hasan Malihat, director of the al-Baydar Human Rights Organisation.

Israeli forces and settlers also prevented farmers from harvesting olives in Barta'a and Turmus Ayya.

In Masafer Yatta, Israeli forces raided a Palestinian home after settlers attacked the property and assaulted family members, forcing the family to leave. Troops later arrested the homeowner and his son, according to activist Osama Makhamreh.

In Beita, south of Nablus, settlers attacked Palestinian homes and fired live ammunition at residents' vehicles as young men confronted them. No injuries were reported.

Hollywood actor Mark Ruffalo has delivered a powerful message of solidarity with Palestinians at a sold-out Macklemore concert in Dublin, urging thousands of fans to continue fighting for Palestinian freedom and equality.

The Avengers star appeared in a surprise video message during Monday night's concert at the 3Arena, where the American rapper launched his Free Palestine tour alongside prominent musicians, actors and activists.

"Keep fighting for a free Palestine, and humanity all over the world, and equality amongst the people. There'll be no peace until there's equality," Ruffalo told the crowd.

"Lots of love. Have a great show. Keep fighting the good fight. Amen. God bless everybody," he added, drawing an enthusiastic response from the audience.

The 13,000-capacity concert featured performances by Irish singer Hozier, Belfast rap trio Kneecap, Palestinian singer Lina Makoul, Irish folk band Beoga and American hip-hop group Dead Prez.

Other celebrities, including Sex and the City actress Cynthia Nixon, comedian Ilana Glazer and The Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas, also delivered recorded messages of solidarity.

Irish actor Liam Cunningham, known for his role in Game of Thrones, addressed the audience in person, while a video performance by the Gaza Children's Choir was screened during the evening.

The concert was organised after Macklemore was dropped from the remaining American dates of Ed Sheeran's Loop tour following his public expressions of support for Palestine during performances in New Jersey last month.

The rapper had used the words "Free Palestine" during his appearances, prompting controversy that ultimately led to his removal from the tour.

Sheeran subsequently said the decision had been made by the tour's promoter after venues threatened to refuse further performances involving Macklemore.

Several artists, including Beoga, withdrew from the tour in solidarity with the rapper.

Speaking to the Dublin crowd, Macklemore reflected on the controversy and the overwhelming response to his decision to organise his own concerts in support of Palestinians.

"Six weeks ago, two words is all that it took," he said, referring to the slogan that sparked the dispute.

"Those two words are so threatening to some people that we'd rather silence those two words than confront what they actually mean."

He added that the words had become more controversial than the suffering Palestinians were experiencing.

The Grammy-winning rapper, who has repeatedly condemned Israel's genocidal war on Gaza, praised Ireland's solidarity with Palestinians and thanked Hozier and Kneecap for immediately agreeing to participate in the concerts.

Hozier also used his appearance to call on the Irish government to approve visas for 55 Palestinian students in Gaza who have secured scholarships at Irish universities.

He directed concertgoers to a petition urging the authorities to allow the students to travel to Ireland to continue their education.

Kneecap, who have been outspoken supporters of Palestine, performed a politically charged set and jokingly thanked Ed Sheeran for helping bring about the concert.

Macklemore performed several of his best-known songs, including Same Love, Thrift Shop and Can't Hold Us, alongside Hind's Hall, his protest song condemning Israel's assault on Gaza and expressing solidarity with pro-Palestinian student demonstrators.

Waving a Palestinian flag, the rapper pledged to continue campaigning for Palestinian liberation.

"I am proud to stand here on stage in solidarity with the Palestinian people," he told the audience.

"We will continue to fight for collective liberation until our last breath."

All proceeds from the Free Palestine concerts will support organisations providing humanitarian assistance, medical care and advocacy for Palestinians, including Medical Aid for Palestinians, Gaza Soup Kitchen, the Palestine Children's Relief Fund and UNRWA USA.

The tour continues in Paris on 29 October and London on 30 October, with further dates expected to be announced.

Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir went door-to-door on Tuesday, urging Israelis to vote before polls closed, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition allies intensified efforts to mobilise right-wing voters by portraying a reported surge in Palestinian turnout as a threat.

Footage shared by Ben-Gvir on X showed him accompanied by security personnel and campaign aides as he knocked on apartment doors, asking residents whether they had voted and urging those who had not to head to polling stations.

"In Rahat, the turnout percentages are insane," Ben-Gvir told one resident, referring to the predominantly Palestinian Bedouin city in southern Israel.

Earlier on Tuesday, Ben-Gvir visited the outskirts of Kafr Qasim, a Palestinian-majority town in central Israel, where he warned supporters that high Arab turnout could help Palestinian politicians Mansour Abbas and Ahmad Tibi gain political influence.

"If you want this country to remain Jewish and Zionist, if you want to keep this state from falling into the hands of Mansour Abbas and Ahmad Tibi, go out and vote," he said.

The last-minute mobilisation came as Netanyahu repeatedly warned supporters about Palestinian Arab participation in the election, drawing accusations of racism and incitement from Palestinian political leaders.

Cars flying Netanyahu's Likud party flags drove through Jerusalem playing the Islamic call to prayer and urging people to vote because "Arabs are voting", witnesses told Reuters.

Netanyahu also shared images purporting to show long queues at polling stations in Palestinian-majority communities.

"If we don't wake up now, we'll find ourselves with a government of Mansour Abbas and Ahmed Tibi," he wrote.

Turnout across Israel reached 55.7% during the first nine hours of voting, the Central Elections Committee said, marking the fastest pace on record. However, the national figure does not independently establish the scale of turnout among Palestinian Arab voters.

Palestinian politicians condemned the right-wing campaign, accusing Netanyahu and his allies of treating the democratic participation of Palestinian citizens of Israel as a threat.

Sami Abu Shehadeh, leader of the Palestinian Balad party, said long queues outside polling stations should inspire "pride and joy to anyone who believed in democracy".

"We are receiving all these inciting messages from the petty racists, Ben-Gvir, Netanyahu, and their partners. What are they afraid of? This is actually an excellent sight; it is good for democracy," he wrote on X.

Tibi said strong Palestinian Arab participation could "pave the way for an alternative government and change the grave reality".

Meanwhile, Netanyahu's Likud party sought an extension of voting hours, a request opposed by Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party.

The opposition party accused Likud of attempting to create grounds for challenging the election's legitimacy.

"No exceptional incident has occurred that would justify granting this request, which is intended to lay the groundwork for allegations challenging the integrity of the election, continuing the lies Netanyahu has been spreading since this morning," the party said.

The campaign echoes Netanyahu's previous election tactics, in which he has sought to rally right-wing voters by warning of high Palestinian Arab turnout.

The election is the first since the October 2023 Hamas-led attacks and Israel's subsequent wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

Opinion polls ahead of the vote suggested Netanyahu's coalition could lose its parliamentary majority, although opposition parties also faced difficulties securing the 61 seats needed to form a government.

Tripoli, Libya - Six years ago, Libya’s Benghazi-based House of Representatives (HoR) unanimously rejected the 2019 maritime memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Tripoli and Ankara.

Under Resolution No. 6/2020, the House severed political ties with Turkey and accused the former prime minister, foreign minister, and interior minister of high treason, referring them to the Attorney General.

Yet on 20 October 2026, the eastern-based HoR abruptly reversed its position, unanimously approving the maritime deal.

Parliament did not ratify the accompanying security pact, nor did it repeal the 2020 treason referrals - leaving it unclear if the Attorney General will act on a dormant mandate while the accused officials live openly in Tripoli.

The 2019 Istanbul agreements were born of an existential crisis for the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA). As Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) advanced within 10 kilometres of the capital, Ankara provided a vital military lifeline at a heavy political price.

The package comprised two parallel instruments: a security pact deploying drones and mercenaries to rout the LNA, and a maritime MoU securing Turkey’s Eastern Mediterranean ambitions.

Both pacts sparked immediate outrage, with critics arguing a besieged GNA could not bargain freely. One Libyan border expert, who wished to remain anonymous, told The New Arab that the arrangement was a clear “case of blackmail” of a desperate government.

Others, however, reject that description. Mohamed Taher Siala, Libya’s foreign minister at the time and one of the agreement’s signatories, told The New Arab that criticism of the deal would only be fair “if it fails to serve the [Libya] country's national interests”.

In his view, Tripoli conceded nothing to Ankara. Instead, it secured a substantial expansion of its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), unlocking vital offshore oil and gas reserves.

That perspective is shared by Baghdadi Saleh, a retired Libyan border expert, who verified that the maritime MoU does not deprive Libya of a single square meter of territory. Speaking to The New Arab, Saleh noted that the deal effectively “does not infringe” on Libya’s rights.

Yet, despite these potential territorial gains, the circumstances of 2019 have rendered both MoUs deeply controversial. Besides the HoR’s rejection, regional countries including Greece, Egypt, and Cyprus rejected the maritime boundaries as a direct violation of their own rights, while the European Union declared the deal legally null and void.

This history makes the HoR’s ratification of the deal all the more striking, raising the central question: what has changed in 2026 to make former adversaries embrace an agreement they once condemned as high treason?

Haftar's shift towards Turkey

Between 2019 and 2026, two developments help explain the HoR’s reversal. The first is the change in its leadership, with Al-Salhin Abdulnabi replacing Aguila Saleh, who had occupied the speakership since 2014.

The second, and likely the most important, is the recent pragmatic rapprochement between Haftar’s camp and Turkey.

Seven years after the military conflict, the former adversaries are moving closer. Ankara has consolidated its position in western Libya while increasingly engaging with Saddam Haftar, who is not only deputy to his father but also hoping to become president of Libya one day. Closer relations with Ankara could certainly serve his ambitions.

For Khalifa Haftar, meanwhile, cultivating ties with Turkey offers a way to advance his family’s political influence, even if his own long-standing ambition of governing Libya remains unrealised.

The 2019–2020 LNA military campaign on Tripoli was accompanied by a bitter war of words that makes today’s rapprochement all the more striking.

At the time, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan branded Haftar a “putschist,” while Haftar denounced Turkey as an occupying power and called for mobilisation against a “Turkish invasion”.

Egypt, meanwhile, backed Haftar fully. In June 2020, as Turkish-backed forces advanced toward Sirte, President Sisi declared the city a “red line” and threatened direct military intervention - a move publicly backed by then-HoR Speaker Aguila Saleh.

This confrontation went far beyond maritime boundaries, with Ankara and Cairo backing opposing camps and raising the spectre of a wider regional conflict.

Regional tensions

Reactions to the HoR’s reversal came quickly, led by Greece and Egypt, which rejected not only the agreement but also the legal effect of its ratification.

The Greek Foreign Minister declared that “the memorandum will not be implemented under any circumstances” because “it is illegal.” Cairo stated that the ratification had no “legal consequences for Egypt”.

The European Union followed, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa reiterating the bloc’s opposition and expressing solidarity with Greece and Cyprus.

Meanwhile, the EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, issued a further statement reiterating the EU’s rejection. Israel also strongly condemned the ratification while accusing Ankara of destabilising the region.

Washington’s response was more restrained. On 22 October, a US State Department spokesperson urged all parties to resolve maritime disputes through negotiations. Greece briefed the UN Security Council on the matter.

The controversy surrounding Turkey’s footprint in Libya is not confined to high-level diplomatic calculations or military bases - it extends directly into daily life in the capital.

In Tripoli’s Zawiyat al-Dahmani neighbourhood, the Turkish Embassy’s long-standing closure of a primary public road has become a persistent local grievance.

Security roadblocks have exacerbated the city’s severe traffic congestion, disrupting local businesses and often obstructing emergency access to the nearby Eye Hospital. The Turkish Embassy was contacted for comment, but no response was received by the time of publication.

The dispute serves as a local microcosm of the broader friction defining the Turkey–Libya relationship: a dynamic where foreign security arrangements regularly override public accountability and everyday Libyan rights.

Maritime ambitions, uncertain returns

In August 2022, then-Oil and Gas Minister Mohamed Aoun expressed approval of the deal, saying it gave Libya access to “vast maritime areas”.

His point is echoed by pro-Haftar commentator Ahmed Alhossein, who told The New Arab that the MoU should be viewed positively “as long as it secures Libya’s interests”.

But for other analysts, the main question is whether Libya is actually ready to exploit this vast maritime area.

Since 2011, the country has been struggling to manage and develop even its less costly onshore oil production and its existing infrastructure, let alone attract the huge investment needed for offshore exploration in disputed waters.

In the politically unstable country, violence could erupt at any moment and “oil production is regularly interrupted and sometimes stopped for months”, the Libyan border expert told The New Arab.

Major oil potential partners are unlikely to commit millions of dollars to contested offshore areas in this environment of instability.

The agreement has also put Libya at odds with Greece and Cyprus, backed by the European Union. The dispute could ultimately end up being decided through international legal proceedings, which are often lengthy, adding further uncertainty for investors.

Many Libyans argue that their country, already deeply weakened, needs fewer disputes, not more, particularly with its immediate neighbours and trading partners such as the EU.

Any potential gains from offshore resources must be weighed against the diplomatic, legal, and investment risks the agreement could create.

The question is not simply what Libya might gain, but whether those potential benefits will outweigh the problems the agreement could bring.

Mustafa Fetouri is an award-winning Libyan journalist, columnist, author, and translator, with contributions to major outlets like Middle East Monitor, Al-Monitor, and Washington Report, and a focus on North Africa and the Sahel region

Follow him on X: @MFetouri

Edited by Charlie Hoyle

US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has falsely claimed that Arabs do not produce science or literature and do not win prestigious international awards, making sweeping remarks that are contradicted by decades of achievements by Arab scientists, mathematicians and writers.

Speaking at a Republican campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Monday, Kennedy made the comments while supporting Senate candidate Mike Rogers, who faces Democrat Abdul El-Sayed in next month's election.

"There are 500 million Arabs in the world," Kennedy said. "And yet they don't produce science, they don't win the Nobel Prize, they don't win the Fields Prize, they don't win the Wolf Prize, they don't produce literature."

Kennedy went on to blame the Muslim Brotherhood for what he portrayed as the destruction of an earlier tradition of scientific and cultural achievement.

"They've created stagnant societies that do two things — hatred and war and victimization," he claimed.

But how much of what Kennedy said is actually true?

The New Arab examined his claims against the historical record and the achievements of Arab scientists, mathematicians and writers. The evidence tells a very different story.

Have Arab scientists won Nobel and Wolf prizes?

Yes. Egyptian-American scientist Ahmed Zewail won the 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for pioneering the use of ultrashort laser pulses to observe chemical reactions.

Zewail, born in Damanhur, Egypt, had already received the Wolf Prize in Chemistry in 1993, directly contradicting Kennedy's assertion that Arabs do not win either award.

More recently, Palestinian-American chemist Omar Yaghi, born in Jordan to Palestinian refugee parents, shared the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing metal-organic frameworks.

These highly porous materials have applications ranging from capturing carbon dioxide to harvesting water from desert air.

Yaghi also received the Wolf Prize in Chemistry in 2018.

Kennedy's claim that Arabs do not win major international scientific honours is therefore contradicted by the records of the very institutions he named.

Responding to Kennedy's remarks on Tuesday, American scientist Peter Hotez pointed to his late colleague Zewail, with whom he had served as a US science envoy during the Obama administration.

"My late colleague and brilliant co U.S. Science Envoy with me in the Obama Admin the @Caltech Nobel Laureate in Chemistry Ahmed Zewail would disagree," Hotez wrote on X.

He also highlighted the contributions of medieval Arab scholars to preserving and transmitting scientific and philosophical knowledge, including the works of Aristotle, Hippocrates and Galen.

 

 

 

 

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Have Arabs won the Fields Medal?

Kennedy also claimed that Arabs do not win the "Fields Prize", apparently referring to the Fields Medal, one of the most prestigious honours in mathematics.

However, Michael Atiyah, a British mathematician born to a Lebanese father and Scottish mother, received the Fields Medal in 1966.

Atiyah was recognised for groundbreaking contributions to mathematics, particularly in topology and geometry.

Although Atiyah was British, his Lebanese heritage makes him an example of internationally recognised scientific achievement among people of Arab descent.

The distinction matters: Kennedy made a sweeping claim about Arabs as a population, rather than limiting his remarks to scientists working in Arab countries.

Do Arabs produce internationally recognised literature?

Kennedy's assertion that Arabs do not produce literature is also contradicted by numerous internationally recognised authors.

Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1988, becoming the first Arabic-language writer to receive the award.

The Swedish Academy praised his creation of "an Arabian narrative art that applies to all mankind".

His best-known works include the Cairo Trilogy, which explores Egyptian society and political change across generations.

More recently, Omani novelist Jokha Alharthi won the 2019 Man Booker International Prize for Celestial Bodies, translated from Arabic by Marilyn Booth.

The award, shared between author and translator, made Alharthi the first Arab writer to win the prize.

Arab writers also claimed two major honours at the 2025 US National Book Awards.

Lebanese-American author Rabih Alameddine won the fiction award for The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother).

Egyptian-Canadian writer Omar El Akkad received the nonfiction prize for One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, which examines Western responses to Israel's war on Gaza.

These achievements directly contradict Kennedy's claim that Arabs do not produce literature or receive prestigious international recognition.

Have Arabs won the Nobel Peace Prize?

Kennedy's broader assertion that Arabs do not win Nobel Prizes is also contradicted by several recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Egyptian President Anwar Sadat shared the 1978 award with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin for their efforts towards a peace agreement between Egypt and Israel.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat shared the 1994 prize with Israeli leaders Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres for their roles in the Oslo peace process.

Egyptian diplomat Mohamed ElBaradei shared the 2005 award with the International Atomic Energy Agency for efforts to prevent nuclear proliferation.

Yemeni journalist and activist Tawakkol Karman shared the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for her nonviolent campaigning for women's rights and participation in peacebuilding.

She became the first woman from the Arab world to receive the award.

Tunisia's National Dialogue Quartet, representing trade unionists, employers, lawyers and human rights activists, won the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize for helping facilitate the country's democratic transition following the 2011 revolution.

The Nobel Committee credited its mediation with helping avert a potentially devastating political crisis.

Although peace prizes recognise different achievements from scientific and literary awards, these examples further disprove Kennedy's categorical assertion that Arabs do not win Nobel Prizes.

My late colleague and brilliant co U.S. Science Envoy with me in the Obama Admin the @Caltech Nobel Laureate in Chemistry Ahmed Zewail would disagree. God rest his soul he didn’t have to endure this, and of course RFK Jr forgets that it was the Arab scientists of the Middle Ages who kept Aristotle, Hippocrates, Galen alive to hand it down in the Renaissance. My favorite books on this topic attached

— Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD DSc(hon) (@PeterHotez) October 27, 2026

Did the Muslim Brotherhood destroy Arab intellectual life?

Kennedy also blamed the Muslim Brotherhood for what he described as the decline of Arab scientific and cultural achievements.

However, his explanation conflates centuries of intellectual history across numerous countries with the influence of a political and religious movement founded in Egypt in 1928.

The Brotherhood was established by Hassan al-Banna and developed into a wider Islamist movement advocating the organisation of society around Islamic principles.

Its branches and associated movements have followed different political paths across countries, including electoral participation and political opposition, while some offshoots have embraced violence.

It is not a single government exercising control over the Arab world.

Moreover, the scientific and literary achievements cited above all occurred after the Brotherhood's establishment, undermining Kennedy's suggestion that the movement brought Arab intellectual achievement to an end.

His remarks also overlook the contributions of Arab and Muslim scholars during the medieval period, when advances in mathematics, medicine, astronomy and philosophy helped shape scientific development far beyond the region.

The historical record does not support attributing the intellectual and cultural development of hundreds of millions of people across numerous countries to a single political movement.

Anti-Muslim rhetoric in Michigan's Senate race

Kennedy's remarks came as Republicans intensified attacks on Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who is Muslim.

President Donald Trump appeared in Michigan on Sunday, where he called El-Sayed a "jihadist" and suggested he would need to pass through a metal detector before entering the Senate.

The comments prompted accusations of racism and anti-Muslim prejudice.

El-Sayed has denied ties to extremist groups and disavowed the Muslim Brotherhood.

Kennedy's comments targeted Arabs as an ethnic and cultural population, while his attempt to blame the Muslim Brotherhood introduced a religious and political dimension to his claims.

Arabs are not exclusively Muslim, and Muslims are not exclusively Arab. The distinction further exposes the problems with Kennedy's sweeping characterisation of hundreds of millions of people.

Residents of southern Syria buried seven civilians, including three children from the same family, on Tuesday following a massacre caused by Jordanian airstrikes on Daraa province, as a grieving grandfather described desperately searching through the rubble for his grandchildren.

The funeral procession began at Al-Sanamayn Military Hospital and travelled to the town of Al-Tuff in the Lajat region of northeastern Daraa, where mourners gathered to bid farewell to those killed in Monday evening's bombing.

The strikes killed seven civilians and wounded three others, bringing the total number of casualties to 10, according to information obtained by The New Arab.

Among the dead were three siblings, Yassin Hadi al-Sulaim, 11, Osama Hadi al-Sulaim, eight, and Lamis Hadi al-Sulaim, six, whose father has been missing since his detention under the former regime of Bashar al-Assad.

Their grandfather, Masoud al-Sulaim, told The New Arab that he had returned home on Monday evening after working at a well, prayed and eaten with his family before going to sleep.

He woke about an hour later to what he believed was thunder, accompanied by lightning and the sound of aircraft overhead.

Moments later, an explosion struck as he walked towards a wall, forcing him to take cover. When he emerged, he discovered that the place where his family had been staying had been destroyed.

"I called and called, but nobody answered. I just wanted someone to say 'ah', but nobody spoke, nobody opened their mouth," he told The New Arab.

He said he began searching frantically through the rubble, moving stones and debris in the hope of finding survivors.

His three grandchildren were among those killed.

Al-Sulaim said other grandchildren, from his daughter's family, had been inside a building made of concrete blocks and corrugated metal sheets when parts of its walls collapsed during the bombing.

Their mother managed to pull them from the rubble, and they were taken to hospital with injuries.

He said he had received telephone calls reassuring him that they were alive but had not yet been able to see them.

The other confirmed fatalities were identified as Lotfiya Hosni al-Ali, 64, Zaher Masoud al-Sulaim, 23, Riyad al-Karad, 65, and Mutlaq al-Sulaim, 70.

Mohammed al-Dukhan, a relative of the victims, told The New Arab that he initially believed the aircraft overhead were Israeli.

He said the strike hit a civilian tent sheltering an elderly woman and her three grandchildren, whose father had been detained in Syria's notorious Saydnaya prison in 2018.

Jordan acknowledges civilian deaths

Jordan expressed regret on Tuesday over the civilian deaths but defended its airstrikes, saying they targeted Islamic State (IS) positions linked to the perpetrators of a deadly church attack in the Jordanian governorate of Karak.

Government spokesman Mohammad al-Momani said the operation was based on intelligence about threats to Jordanian national security and claimed that more than 20 IS members had been killed and a large weapons depot destroyed.

Momani insisted that Jordan had taken precautions to avoid civilian casualties and deliberately avoided locations where civilians were believed to be present.

However, an unnamed Jordanian source told the state-owned Al-Mamlaka television channel that civilians had been killed when an airstrike hit a small concrete building near their tent.

The source claimed the building housed an alleged militant and that the force of the explosion killed an elderly woman and three children sheltering nearby.

Jordan's military said the operation, named "Jordanian Deterrence – Hammoud", targeted groups allegedly linked to the recent attack on Hammoud Church in Karak.

Momani said Jordan would work with Syria to establish a joint committee to investigate the consequences of the operation and improve security coordination.

Damascus condemns violation of sovereignty

Syria's foreign ministry strongly condemned the airstrikes, describing the bombing of locations in Daraa and the entry of Jordanian aircraft into Syrian airspace without prior coordination as a violation of national sovereignty.

In a statement on Tuesday, Damascus said the attacks were unacceptable under any circumstances and violated the principles of good neighbourly relations.

The ministry nevertheless stressed the importance of maintaining relations with Jordan and announced plans for an urgent joint security committee to prevent further incidents and improve border coordination.

Syrian Interior Ministry spokesman Nour al-Din al-Baba offered condolences to the victims' families and said authorities were working to establish the circumstances of the bombing.

He emphasised that protecting civilians must remain a priority in efforts to combat terrorism and cross-border crime.

The massacre has left several generations of one family dead, including three young siblings whose father disappeared into the prisons of the former Assad regime, as their relatives struggle to come to terms with another devastating loss.

Amid the devastation of Israel's genocidal war, mass displacement and starvation, Gaza is hosting the second edition of the International Festival for Women's Cinema.

Running from 26 to 31 October 2026, the festival brings film screenings to the tents of displaced Palestinians, affirming the importance of Palestinian women's stories, culture, and creativity even as Israel's war continues to shape their everyday lives.

The festival was first held in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, from 26 to 31 October 2025, coinciding with Palestinian Women's National Day.

Through the event, organisers hope to show that Palestinians can continue to create art and tell their stories despite the devastation of Israel's genocidal war.

"We want to prove that the people of Palestine are still able to create beauty and life, even while they are living in tents under immense pressure and pain," Ezzeddin Shalh, the festival's founder and president, told ​​​​​​The New Arab.

The decision to hold the festival comes amid widespread displacement, documented malnutrition and the loss of loved ones as Israel's brutal war on the besieged enclave continues.

The Final Gaza Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment reported that more than 1.9 million people had experienced internal displacement, while more than 1.2 million Palestinians had been left without homes.

The destruction has also affected Gaza's economy. The Report on UNCTAD assistance to the Palestinian people: Developments in the economy of the Occupied Palestinian Territory states that 92% of Gaza's economic establishments had been damaged or destroyed by Israeli forces.

A red carpet amid the ruins

Despite these conditions, Ezzeddin said the scale of the destruction had strengthened the organisers' determination to hold the festival.

Asked what motivated them to go ahead with the event, he said Gaza should not be defined solely by the devastation.

"Gaza should not be limited to wars, death and destruction. This was the main motivation," Ezzeddin said.

"We are people with lives, culture, art and stories to tell. The scale of the destruction and genocide we have experienced in Gaza has made us feel more responsible for taking meaningful action, not less," he added.

For Ezzeddin, that meant going ahead with the Gaza International Festival for Women's Cinema rather than waiting for conditions to improve.

He explained, "We could say that conditions are difficult and that holding a festival is out of reach. But that raises the question: if we keep waiting for normal conditions, will they ever come? And if they do, when?"

But Ezzeddin does not ignore the reality on the ground, stating that the event was not an attempt to ignore the suffering in Gaza, but a way to preserve Palestinian voices and memories.

"We are not hosting a festival because we are disconnected from reality, but because it is part of life. Culture for us is a form of survival and a way of preserving Palestinians' voices and memories," he told The New Arab. 

That belief also shows in the decision to keep the red carpet, a familiar feature of international film festivals, despite the conditions under which this edition will take place.

"We want to have a red carpet so that people, despite their suffering, can experience what it feels like to attend an international film festival. The red carpet is an essential part of the festival's atmosphere and identity," Ezzeddin said.

But unlike a conventional international film event, with its celebrities, press coverage, cameras and sense of celebration, the festival's screenings and activities will take place among the tents of displaced Palestinians and damaged buildings, rather than in a cinema or prestigious theatre.

The organisers also recognise that attending a festival may not be a priority for people dealing with displacement, loss and psychological distress.

Ezzeddin said they were not asking people to put their suffering aside to take part.

"We are fully aware of the psychological difficulties people are facing. We are not asking them to forget the pain, loss and suffering they have endured to attend the festival," he said.

"That is why we will screen the films among the tents, bringing cinema closer to people and their everyday lives."

A platform for Gaza's women

By bringing screenings closer to displaced communities, the festival aims to make cinema accessible to people living through Israel's war.

For Gaza's residents, cinema also preserves memories and identity, lets them express themselves, and helps them share their stories.

As Ezzeddin explained, organising an international film festival in Gaza was far less difficult before Israel's war. The current circumstances have changed what is possible.

"Everything has changed. Three years ago, we could have imagined hosting an international film festival where the main challenge would have been organising an event to welcome and celebrate filmmakers and their films," he said.

Today, the organisers face practical difficulties, including power cuts, poor internet connections, mental health struggles among the population and a scarcity of resources.

"The festival relies mainly on voluntary efforts and contributions from individuals and the community. We are doing our best to make use of the limited resources available to organise the festival," Ezzeddin added. 

Despite these challenges, the festival has attracted submissions from dozens of filmmakers worldwide. The women-centred event selected 73 films from 24 countries, including the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Finland, the Netherlands, India, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, among others.

Ezzeddin said the organisers had selected films that reflected the festival's purpose and message.

"We tried to select the 73 films that reflect the festival's identity and message," he shared. 

The selected films focus on women's experiences in Gaza, with this year's edition taking the slogan Women Creating Life From Death to highlight their efforts to sustain life despite Israel's war.

"It was chosen to highlight the reality facing women in Gaza and their determination to keep going and sustain life despite the war," Ezzeddin said.

"We see women who have lost their homes and loved ones and are living in tents, yet they still wake up every day to provide for their children and families, even in the face of death."

Alongside screening films about women's experiences, the festival aims to give women in Gaza the opportunity to tell their own stories through filmmaking.

Ezzeddin said 25 women from Gaza had already been selected and trained to produce films about their lives and communities.

The films premiered on the festival's opening day, and organisers also plan to continue supporting local filmmakers through the Gaza Cinema Academy after the festival ends.

Ultimately, the festival aims to show that Palestinians are not merely subjects of the world's gaze, but storytellers who can tell their own stories through their own lens.

Rabie Jan is a Syrian student, writer and actor. He is also an ambassador for the Sharjah International Film Festival for Children and Youth and served as a junior juror in its 2023 edition

If Netanyahu is the problem, why did it start long before Netanyahu?

As Israel’s elections approach, Western media and politicians often cast Netanyahu and his far-right coalition as the central problem in Israeli politics, promoting the idea that a change of government would lead to a change of policy towards Palestinians.

This is a fantasy. History suggests otherwise. It is a narrative that enables criticism of individual leaders without challenging the broader structures underpinning Israeli policy.

From its inception, Zionism presented itself as a colonial movement.

And since the state was founded, the occupation and dispossession of Palestinians have united successive governments across the political spectrum, from left to right.

Let's rewind to 10 March 1948, more than two months before Israel declared independence. Eleven men met and approved a plan codenamed Dalet.

Headed by Israel's soon-to-be first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, they were creating a blueprint for ethnic cleansing.

The outcome was the Nakba: the destruction of at least 530 villages and the ethnic cleansing of more than 750,000 Palestinians in order to create a Jewish demographic majority.

Netanyahu wasn't in charge. Nor was Likud. It was Mapai, a democratic socialist party led by Ben-Gurion.

Fast forward to 1967 and Israel, still led by Mapai, occupied the remainder of historic Palestine. The party also oversaw a second mass displacement, expelling a further 300,000 Palestinians.

Then in 1968, Mapai merged into the Israeli Labour Party, and Israel's only female prime minister, Golda Meir, emerged as one of its leading figures.

She made clear her view on Palestinians in a 1969 interview: "There was no such thing."

A claim rooted in the early Zionist myth of "a land without a people for a people without a land".

After Israel occupied the remainder of Palestine in 1967, settlements began to spread across the newly occupied territories. These settlements created "facts on the ground" and remain among the biggest obstacles to Palestinian statehood.

Regardless of which political party was in power, they continued to expand. Even during the Oslo years under Labour Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, settlement growth remained high.

So what does history tell us about Israel's elections?

They may change governments, but they have not changed the fundamental reality for Palestinians.

Regardless of who is in power, Palestinians remain occupied, dispossessed and denied their rights.

The UK on Monday imposed sanctions on 15 Sudanese military figures it said were involved in a campaign of sexual violence in the city of El-Fasher.

The commanders are from both the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and are accused of committing atrocities against civilians.

Among those sanctioned are Hussein Abu Jalak, an RSF colonel thought to be involved in atrocities carried out during the capture of the city, and Al-Nour Ahmed Adam – known as "Al-Qubba" – who has been identified as playing a major role in the attack on the city.

The sanctions include asset freezes and travel bans on the commanders.

The measures came a year after the fall of El-Fasher following an 18-month siege by the RSF.

The UN has estimated that at least 6,000 people were killed by the militia between 25 October and 27 October 2025.

In one instance, gunmen massacred at least 460 people in a hospital and took doctors and nurses hostage.

Human rights monitors have documented mass rape carried out by RSF fighters inside the city. Thousands of others are thought to have starved to death during the siege.

The announcement comes after a UK-funded investigation by the Centre for Information Resilience (CIR) revealed what the government called a "campaign of systematic starvation and conflict-related sexual violence" against civilians carried out by both sides of the war.

"One year later, further UK-supported CIR reporting this week has shown the brutal tactics used during the siege are still being deployed across Sudan," the Foreign Office said.

"Sexual violence is also rampant, with CIR reporting describing women and girls being abducted, repeatedly raped, and held in conditions amounting to sexual slavery," it added.

The government announced it would allocate £5 million to assist survivors of sexual violence in Sudan and another £10 million in additional humanitarian assistance.

"A year on from the atrocities in El Fasher, UK-funded investigations have shown that rape and starvation are still being weaponised against the people of Sudan," Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said.

"These are crimes against our humanity - the perpetrators must be held accountable, and support from all external backers to the warring parties must end."

The UAE has been accused of heavily backing the RSF's campaign against the army with money, weapons and foreign fighters.

The RSF is composed mainly of fighters from the Arab Janjaweed militia, which is accused of committing genocide in Darfur in the 2000s.

The group has been linked to a series of atrocities during the current war and was accused of perpetrating genocidal violence by the Biden administration in 2025.

Welcome to TNA's continuing coverage of the Israeli elections and news from across the Middle East and beyond.

Here are the main developments today:

• Israel has so far recorded the highest voter turnout since 1973 as millions of people head to the polls to elect 120 members of the Knesset. Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank are not allowed to vote, despite the Israeli government determining the direction of their future.
• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged his supporters to vote, saying: "We cannot leave this battle here in the hands of the left and the Arab parties that want to bring an end to the Jewish state"
• The southern West Bank city of Hebron remains besieged for the fifth consecutive day following a deadly shootout on Friday, which prompted a large military operation that has displaced nearly 4,000 Palestinians.
• Meanwhile, the war in Yemen rages, with the Saudi-led coalition intercepting Houthi ballistic missiles and Houthi-affiliated media reported that Yemeni government forces launched air strikes in Taiz province

A court in Kuwait has sentenced three men to death over an alleged plot to assassinate the country’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Fahad al-Yusuf al-Sabbah, in a case involving charges of spying for Iran, joining Hezbollah and planning hostile acts against the state.

The Criminal Court’s State Security and Terrorism Division issued the sentences on Monday, while eight other defendants received prison terms.

Kuwaiti media reported that the eight were sentenced to five years in prison each. The verdicts are not final and can be appealed, according to Kuwait Times newspaper.

The three men sentenced to death were identified as Shia cleric Hussein Abdullah al-Maatouq, secretary-general of the National Islamic Alliance, Hassan Abdulhadi Hajieh and Iranian national Abdulreza Haidar Dehqani, according to local media reports.

The defendants were convicted of charges including alleged harming of Kuwait’s national interests, collaborating with Iran, plotting to assassinate senior officials and joining the Lebanese Shia militant group Hezbollah, which Kuwait classifies as a terrorist organisation.

According to two judicial sources cited by AFP, one of the men sentenced to death had previously been convicted of terrorism in 2016 and later received an amnesty from the emir before being arrested again in April.

The prosecution said the case involved 11 defendants, including nine Kuwaitis, an Iranian national and another non-Kuwaiti. Three of the defendants were outside the country. It also said that three defendants had previously received final criminal sentences in state security cases in 2015 and 2017.

According to Kuwait’s Al-Qabas newspaper, prosecutors accused the defendants of attempting to use explosives to carry out the assassination plot. One defendant was separately accused of attempting to bring explosives into the country to enable the others to carry out the alleged operation.

In its reasoning, the court said the defendants had sought to undermine Kuwait’s security, spread social unrest and erode public confidence in the authorities’ ability to protect lives and property.

Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai reported that the indictment accused the defendants of seeking assistance from and communicating with Iran and groups acting in its interests, including Hezbollah, to carry out hostile acts against Kuwait following the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on 28 February, at the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran.

The indictment also accused the defendants of joining and participating in a banned organisation, knowingly supporting its objectives and spreading ideas intended to undermine the country’s fundamental political and social systems through unlawful means.

Prosecutors further alleged that the defendants had engaged in activities harmful to Kuwait’s national interests, including attempting to use explosives to carry out the assassination and cause public panic. One defendant was accused of attempting to procure explosives to enable the others to commit the alleged crimes.

The court’s ruling is subject to appeal.

In March, Kuwait announced the arrest of dozens of people it said were linked to Hezbollah and plotting attacks in the Gulf state, which was repeatedly targeted by Iranian missiles and drones after the US-Israeli strikes on Iran triggered a regional war.

Hezbollah, engaged in conflict with Israel for more than three years, has denied it has a presence in Kuwait.

A major diplomatic dispute has erupted between Syria and Jordan after Jordanian airstrikes, launched in retaliation for a deadly attack on a Greek Orthodox church, killed seven Syrian civilians, including three children, and prompted Damascus to close its main border crossing with the kingdom.

The Syrian government condemned Monday's bombardment of southern Syria as a violation of its sovereignty, accusing Jordan of carrying out the operation without prior coordination and demanding an explanation for the strikes.

Jordan launched the attacks in response to Friday's killing of nine people at a church funeral in the village of Hamoud, in the southern Jordanian governorate of Karak, claiming that the perpetrators were linked to militant organisations operating across the border in Syria.

However, Syrian authorities said the airstrikes hit civilian areas in Daraa and Suweida provinces, killing five members of one family and two elderly men.

Syrian Civil Defence said rescue teams responded to four locations targeted by Jordanian warplanes, recovering the bodies of seven people, including three children, three men and a woman.

Five members of one family were killed and three others injured when a strike hit a tent in the village of al-Taff, in the Lajat area of rural Daraa.

An 80-year-old man was also killed when Jordanian aircraft struck a farm near the Nasib border crossing, while a 60-year-old man died after a house was bombed in the countryside of Suweida.

Jordan acknowledged the civilian deaths on Tuesday and expressed regret, but insisted its operation had targeted Islamic State militants connected to the church attack.

Jordanian government spokesman Mohammed al-Momani said Amman respected Syria's sovereignty and remained committed to cooperation with Damascus against terrorism and cross-border arms and drug smuggling.

Jordan claimed that its aircraft had killed more than 20 Islamic State militants and destroyed a large weapons depot during the operation, which its military named "Jordanian Deterrence – Hamoud".

The Syrian Foreign Ministry said it had formally conveyed its objections to Amman, stressing that military operations inside Syrian territory without prior coordination were unacceptable.

It added that communication between the two countries was continuing to establish the circumstances of the operation and address its consequences.

The dispute deepened on Tuesday when Syria's General Authority for Ports and Customs announced the closure of the Nasib border crossing, suspending passenger movements and commercial trade in both directions.

The crossing, known as Jaber on the Jordanian side, is a vital commercial artery linking the two countries and facilitating trade between Syria, Jordan and the wider Gulf region.

Syrian authorities said the closure was necessary to protect travellers and border personnel amid the security situation in Daraa, without specifying when operations would resume.

The Jordanian strikes followed Friday's attack on mourners attending a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in Hamoud, which left nine people dead and 34 wounded.

Jordanian security forces subsequently arrested three suspects, identified as two brothers and their brother-in-law, following an extensive manhunt.

Public Security Director Obeidallah al-Maaytah described the men as extremists who had adopted takfiri ideology, but said they had decided to carry out the attack spontaneously, without advance planning.

Jordanian authorities also indicated that the suspects did not belong to an organised militant group.

However, the Jordanian military subsequently asserted that the attackers were connected to the organisations targeted in southern Syria, without publicly identifying those groups or presenting evidence establishing their involvement.

The apparently conflicting accounts have raised questions about the justification for the cross-border military operation, particularly given the civilian casualties reported by Syrian authorities.

The bombardment and subsequent border closure mark a significant setback in relations between Damascus and Amman, which had sought closer security and economic cooperation following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

Despite their disagreement over the operation, both governments have indicated that diplomatic and security contacts will continue in an effort to prevent further deterioration in relations.

Turkey has intensified diplomatic efforts to reunify Libya's rival eastern and western administrations, hosting negotiations aimed at establishing a unified military command and government capable of managing the country's vast natural resources.

The latest talks, held in Ankara on Friday and Saturday, ended without a final agreement, as disagreements persisted over the structure of the military leadership and its relationship with civilian political authorities, Libyan sources familiar with the discussions told The New Arab.

Saddam Haftar, deputy commander of the eastern-based military leadership, and Abdulsalam al-Zoubi, undersecretary at the defence ministry of the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity, arrived in Ankara on Friday evening for Turkish-sponsored negotiations.

The discussions centred on a draft agreement to unify Libya's institutions, although the two sides remained divided over whether the deal should focus exclusively on military and technical arrangements or extend to senior political positions, including the Presidential Council.

Sources said the negotiations produced broad understandings on the structure of a unified military institution, but no decisive breakthrough.

Both delegations agreed to consult their respective leaderships in Tripoli and Benghazi before resuming negotiations, although no date has been set for further talks.

The initiative comes as Ankara seeks to consolidate its influence across Libya, strengthen its position in the eastern Mediterranean and secure the future of a controversial maritime boundary agreement signed with Tripoli in 2019.

The agreement has faced opposition from Greece, Egypt and other regional actors over competing maritime claims.

The Benghazi-based House of Representatives' approval of the maritime agreement has been viewed as an important step in Turkey's efforts to build closer relations with eastern Libya, after years of maintaining stronger ties with the Tripoli authorities.

Erdogan calls for Libyan unity

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated Ankara's opposition to Libya's continued division on Monday, saying his government wanted to see unity and solidarity across the country.

Speaking after a cabinet meeting, Erdogan said Turkey was working to reduce regional disputes and expand cooperation.

He also defended the 2019 maritime agreement, rejecting suggestions that Ankara was seeking to undermine other countries' interests in the eastern Mediterranean.

"Our policy towards the eastern Mediterranean is completely clear. We are not seeking to score goals against any party in the eastern Mediterranean," Erdogan said.

He maintained that Turkey was seeking to protect its maritime jurisdiction, rights and interests while advocating dialogue to resolve disputes.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also acknowledged Egyptian reservations about the maritime agreement last Friday, calling for dialogue to address Cairo's concerns.

Turkey's renewed engagement with both Libyan camps comes as the country's oil resources attract growing international attention, particularly as the war involving Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupt energy supplies and push up global prices.

A unified Libyan government could help stabilise oil production and exports to European markets, although significant political and security obstacles remain.

Ankara also hopes to expand commercial and investment opportunities, particularly in construction and infrastructure, sectors in which Turkish companies have historically maintained a substantial presence in Libya.

Military leadership remains major obstacle

Turkish researcher and writer Cahit Tuz told The New Arab that Ankara viewed Libya as a single state and opposed its permanent division.

He said Turkey's priorities included preserving Libya's territorial integrity, establishing a single administration and ensuring that the country's natural resources benefited its population.

Tuz argued that Turkey's diplomatic efforts had already produced tangible results, pointing to the eastern parliament's approval of the maritime agreement as evidence of improving relations.

He also claimed that some regional and international actors, including Israel, were uncomfortable with Turkey's expanding influence in Libya.

Journalist and political commentator Hamza Tekin told The New Arab that Ankara's approach had evolved from working primarily with one Libyan faction to establishing direct relationships with influential political and military figures on both sides.

He said this shift had helped Turkey reopen channels of dialogue between Tripoli and Benghazi.

"Turkey's efforts in Libya stem from a fundamental conviction that the continuation of political and institutional division does not serve Libyans," Tekin said.

He argued that Ankara was seeking to create the conditions for a unified Libyan state rather than merely bringing rival factions together for negotiations.

However, he warned that the central challenge was translating broad agreement on reunification into workable arrangements.

"The real test begins when determining who will assume military command, how responsibilities will be distributed, which political authority the institutions will answer to, and how to ensure that no single party monopolises power," he said.

Tekin stressed that any lasting agreement would depend on the willingness of Libyan factions to compromise and avoid turning institutional reunification into another arrangement for dividing political influence.

He said Turkey's expanding contacts with both camps offered an opportunity for progress, but cautioned that a sustainable settlement must reflect the will of Libyans rather than an externally imposed agreement.

Libya has remained politically divided for years, with rival authorities and competing military structures obstructing efforts to establish a unified government.

Israeli forces demolished around nine memorials commemorating Palestinians killed by Israel across six towns and villages near Nablus in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, as part of a widening campaign targeting Palestinian national symbols and public spaces.

The demolitions took place in Madama, Burin, Iraq Burin, Beit Furik, Rujeib and Azmut, where Israeli forces destroyed stone monuments, memorial plaques and structures bearing the names and photographs of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces.

The latest raids follow days of similar operations across the occupied territory, during which dozens of memorials have been destroyed in Palestinian cities, villages and refugee camps.

Palestinian academics and analysts told The New Arab that the campaign represented an attempt to reshape public spaces in the West Bank by removing symbols of Palestinian identity, resistance and collective memory.

The operations come as Israeli forces and settlers continue attacks on Palestinian communities, including the destruction of agricultural land, attacks on olive harvesters, livestock theft and restrictions on movement through military checkpoints and gates.

Beyond these attacks, Palestinians say Israel is increasingly targeting the physical symbols through which communities commemorate those killed during decades of occupation.

Across the West Bank, memorials bearing the names and photographs of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces have long been a feature of streets, public squares, refugee camps and university campuses.

Many have stood for decades, serving as reminders of individuals whose deaths remain part of local and national history.

Their destruction has coincided with the growing visibility of Israeli flags and Hebrew-language signs along roads connecting Palestinian towns and cities, particularly near Israeli settlements.

Settlers have also written threatening messages on concrete barriers at military checkpoints, including the Arabic phrase "No future in Palestine".

Israeli forces target memorials in Palestinian cities

On 5 October, Israeli forces raided Birzeit University near Ramallah and destroyed a memorial commemorating Palestinians killed by Israel, leaving no trace of the structure.

Similar operations have taken place in central Nablus, its historic neighbourhoods and Jenin, where Israeli troops deployed military vehicles and bulldozers to demolish stone monuments bearing the names and photographs of Palestinians.

Memorials have also been targeted in Ramallah and Tulkarm, including areas classified as Area A under the Oslo Accords, where the Palestinian Authority was granted responsibility for internal security and civil administration.

Israeli forces have distributed leaflets warning Palestinians against erecting or maintaining monuments commemorating people Israel accuses of carrying out attacks.

Israeli authorities have justified the removal of memorials on the grounds that they allegedly glorify "terrorism".

However, Palestinian academics argue that the campaign goes beyond individual monuments and forms part of a broader effort to suppress expressions of Palestinian national identity.

'A war on memory'

Abduljawad Omar, a writer and assistant professor at Birzeit University, told The New Arab that the demolitions served two purposes.

The first, he said, was to reinforce the visible presence of Israeli military forces in Palestinian communities and deter political and social mobilisation.

The second was a direct attack on Palestinian collective memory.

Omar drew parallels with Israel's destruction of Palestinian homes and neighbourhoods in Gaza, arguing that the loss of buildings and personal possessions also erased physical records of Palestinian lives and history.

He said the campaign in the West Bank had taken two forms: the proliferation of Israeli flags and symbols asserting control over the territory, and the removal of Palestinian flags, monuments and other expressions of remembrance.

According to Omar, Israel was using legal and political language centred on incitement to justify targeting memorials and other social practices associated with Palestinian identity.

He argued that the occupation itself, rather than the commemoration of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces, remained the principal source of resistance.

'A war on Palestinian consciousness'

Adel Shadid, an analyst specialising in Israeli affairs, told The New Arab that Israel viewed the commemoration of Palestinians killed during the occupation as a means through which resistance remained embedded in collective memory.

He argued that memorials gave those commemorated a lasting social, religious and moral significance, allowing their stories to influence subsequent generations.

Shadid said Israeli authorities were attempting to undermine the cultural and political significance of Palestinian resistance by removing the symbols associated with it.

The campaign, he argued, reflected a wider effort to reshape Palestinian political consciousness through military pressure, educational changes and restrictions on public commemoration.

He also questioned the continued relevance of the territorial divisions established under the Oslo Accords, pointing to Israeli military operations in areas nominally under Palestinian Authority control.

According to Shadid, Israeli forces now operate across virtually the entire West Bank, with Palestinian Authority security headquarters among the few places generally treated differently.

He argued that the demolitions demonstrated the extent to which Israel was prepared to deploy military resources against even small monuments made of stone or marble.

"Israel is forced to bring out its tanks, not to confront another tank, but to confront a memorial made of a piece of marble or stone bearing their name and photograph," Shadid told The New Arab.