Palestine Financial News

Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian national and a doctoral student at Columbia University, has voluntarily left the United States after her visa was revoked for allegedly «advocating violence and terrorism.» In a statement on Friday (local time), US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said that Srinivasan, a student in Urban Planning at Columbia University, self-deported using the CBP Home App. «Today, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced that one of the Columbia students who had her student visa revoked for advocating for violence and terrorism self-deported using the CBP Home App and ICE arrested a Palestinian student for overstaying her expired F-1 visa,» according to a release by the the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The US Department of State revoked Srinivasan's visa on March 5, alleging her involvement in «activities supporting Hamas.» «Ranjani Srinivasan, a citizen and national of India, entered the United States on a F-1 student visa as a doctoral student in Urban Planning at Columbia University. Srinivasan was involved in activities supporting Hammas, a terrorist organization. On March 5, 2025, the Department of State revoked her visa. The Department of Homeland Security has obtained video footage of her using the CBP Home App to self-deport on March 11,» the release stated.

Hamas said on Friday it agreed to release an American-Israeli dual national, believed to be the last living American hostage held in Gaza, after receiving a proposal from mediators to continue negotiations on the second phase of a ceasefire deal. Hamas said in a statement that it responded «positively» to the proposal that was presented on Thursday to resume negotiations. It will also release the bodies of four other dual nationality hostages, it said without giving further details. There was no immediate comment from Israel. Meetings between Hamas leaders and U.S. hostage negotiator Adam Boehler in recent days sought the release of Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old man from New Jersey, who served as a soldier with the Israeli military.

Harvard University terminated a librarian this month who ripped down a poster of Israeli hostages at a pro-Palestine rally, while Yale University’s law school placed a pro-Palestinian research scholar on leave over allegations that she has ties to a group subject to US sanctions. At Cornell University, a group called Students for Justice in Palestine faces suspension after disrupting a “Pathways for Peace” event on campus this week, and the University of California at Los Angeles —- rocked last year by anti-Zionist rallies and accusations of mistreatment of Jewish students — created a new initiative to combat antisemitism. Columbia University, the scene of some of the most dramatic protests against Israel last year, said the school will transform its approach to managing demonstrations.

Indo-Pacific could offer an alternative trading framework, but many countries—especially India—will be uneasy about China’s dominant role within it, commented Martin Wolf, Chief Economics Commentator at the Financial Times. He set the tone for CUTS International’s webinar on geopolitics last week. The two-session brought together global experts, policymakers, and thought leaders to assess the implications of President Donald Trump’s second term on the Indo-Pacific region’s geopolitics, trade, and security frameworks. Ambassador Meera Shankar, former Indian Ambassador to the U.S., emphasised that “Collective security, collective prosperity, and a rules-based order drive the Indo-Pacific region.” However, she noted that while economic cooperation has progressed, collective security remains a work in progress.

«The plan shows a realistic path to the reconstruction of Gaza and promises — if implemented — swift and sustainable improvement of the catastrophic living conditions for the Palestinians living in Gaza,» the ministers said in a joint statement. The plan, which was drawn up by Egypt and adopted by Arab leaders on Tuesday, has been rejected by Israel and by U.S. President Donald Trump, who has presented his own vision to turn the Gaza Strip into a «Middle East Riviera».

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. President Trump and his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff have threatened a return to war in the Gaza Strip if Hamas doesn’t release its remaining hostages. Israel is already plotting out how that would happen.

Trump to empty the Gaza Strip of its Palestinian population and backed a plan for an administrative committee of Palestinians to govern the territory to allow reconstruction to go ahead. The foreign ministers gathered in the Saudi city of Jeddah for a special session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to address the situation in Gaza, at a time when the 7-week-old ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has been thrown into doubt. In a statement put out Saturday, the gathering threw its support behind a plan to rebuild Gaza put forward by Egypt and backed by Arab states, including Saudi Arabia and Jordan, aimed at countering Trump's call. The OIC groups 57 nations with largely Muslim populations.

Organisation of Islamic Cooperation formally adopted early Saturday an Arab League counter-proposal to US President Donald Trump's plan to take over Gaza and displace its residents, calling on the international community to support the regional initiative. The decision by the 57-member grouping came at an emergency meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, three days after the Arab League ratified the plan at a summit in Cairo. The Egyptian-crafted alternative to Trump's widely condemned takeover proposes to rebuild the Gaza Strip under the future administration of the Palestinian Authority.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. At times, the Berlinale assumes the form of a tinderbox waiting to explode.

The proposal, put forward by US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, would cover Ramadan, due to end late March, and Passover, lasting through mid-April, according to a statement from the Israeli prime minister's office released just after midnight. The first phase of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas was set to expire over the weekend without any certainty as to the second phase, which is hoped to bring a more permanent end to the Gaza war.

Donald Trump has found himself at the center of a storm on his Truth Social platform after sharing a bizarre and controversial AI-generated video depicting a reimagined Gaza.

Israel and Hamas militants is set to end on Saturday — and it's unclear what comes next.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. As a cease-fire that halted a 15-month-long war nears its end on Saturday, Israel and the U.S. are trying to push Hamas to extend the first phase of the truce, delaying a discussion of the hardest parts of a pact that would see a complete end to the war.

Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel was prepared to resume fighting against Hamas after the Palestinian group accused it of endangering a five-week-old Gaza truce by suspending prisoner release.

Gaza truce by delaying the release of Palestinian prisoners under the deal because of the manner it has freed Israeli hostages.

Israel says the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners is delayed «until the release of the next hostages has been assured, and without the humiliating ceremonies» at handovers of Israeli captives in Gaza.