Palestine Financial News

Joe Biden highlighted that he hopes there will be a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict by «next Monday,» as reported by CNN. He further said that we are close to it but it's not done yet.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Monday that a Conservative lawmaker was wrong to say the mayor of London is controlled by Islamists, and denied his party tolerates anti-Muslim prejudice. Sunak was pressured to condemn Islamophobia after the comments by Lee Anderson about Mayor Sadiq Khan, amid growing tensions within British politics over the Israel-Hamas war. The Conservative lawmaker claimed Islamists had «got control» of Khan and the city of London. Khan is Muslim and a member of the opposition Labour Party.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres on Monday deplored how the U.N. Security Council had failed to respond adequately to the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, saying the conflicts had «perhaps fatally» undermined its authority. Speaking at the opening of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, Guterres said the U.N. Security Council often found itself deadlocked and «unable to act on the most significant peace and security issues of our time». «The Council's lack of unity on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and on Israel's military operations in Gaza following the horrific terror attacks by Hamas on 7 October, has severely — perhaps fatally — undermined its authority,» he said.

U.S. military service member set himself on fire, in an apparent act of protest against the war in Gaza, outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington on Sunday afternoon, authorities said. The man was transported to an area hospital after the fire was put out by U.S. Secret Service officers, DC Fire and EMS posted online. The man remains in critical condition, a Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson said Sunday afternoon. An Air Force spokesperson confirmed that the incident involved an active-duty airman. «I will no longer be complicit in genocide,» said the man, wearing military fatigues, in a video he broadcasted live over the internet, according to the New York Times.

Israel's military proposed a plan Monday for «evacuating» civilians from the Gaza Strip, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a ground invasion of the Palestinian territory's southern city Rafah was necessary for «total victory». Foreign governments and aid organisations have repeatedly expressed fears that such an operation will inflict mass civilian casualties in Rafah, where around 1.4 million Palestinians — most of them displaced from other areas — have converged. It is also the entry point for desperately needed aid, brought in via neighbouring Egypt.

southernmost city of Rafah could be “delayed somewhat" if a deal is reached for a weekslong cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. He further claimed that total victory in the territory would come within weeks once the offensive begins in Rafah as four of the six remaining Hamas battalions are concentrated there. Thus, Israel is set to undertake plans to expand its offensive against the Hamas militant group to Rafah on the Gaza-Egypt border even as humanitarian groups have warned of a catastrophe.

By David Milliken

Israeli military offensive in the southernmost city of Rafah could be «delayed somewhat» if a deal for a weekslong cease-fire between Israel and Hamas is reached, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday, but claimed that total victory in Gaza is «weeks away» once the offensive begins. Netanyahu confirmed to CBS that a deal is in the works, with no details. Israeli media reported that mediators were making progress on an agreement for a cease-fire and release of dozens of hostages held in Gaza as well as Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Several Israeli media outlets, citing unnamed officials, said the War Cabinet tacitly approved it. Talks resumed on Sunday in Qatar at the specialist level, Egypt's state-run Al Qahera TV reported, citing an Egyptian official as saying further discussions would follow in Cairo with the aim of achieving the cease-fire and release. Meanwhile, Israel is developing plans for expanding its offensive against the Hamas militant group to Rafah on the Gaza-Egypt border, where more than half the besieged territory's population of 2.3 million have sought refuge.

United States said Sunday that multinational talks in Paris came to an «understanding» on a possible deal for Hamas to release hostages and for a new ceasefire in the Gaza war. An Israeli delegation led by Mossad chief David Barnea was in the French capital on Friday to discuss a deal to ensure a fresh ceasefire and the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

By Dan Williams and Nidal al-Mughrabi

By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali

Houthi sites in Yemen on Saturday, according to officials. As reported by Reuters, this marks the latest in a series of military operations against the Iran-backed group, which has been implicated in ongoing attacks on shipping in the region.

Also Read: OPEC+ to support Brent at $80/bbl; ONGC/Oil India placed well on dividend pay, valuations Back home, on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), crude oil futures due for a March 19 expiry, last settled 0.05 per cent higher at ₹6,356 per bbl, having swung between ₹6,344 and ₹6,498 per bbl during the session, against a previous close of ₹6,353 per barrel. -The Federal Reserve has held its policy rate steady in a 5.25 per cent to 5.5 per cent range since last July. Minutes of its meeting last month show most central bankers were worried about moving too quickly to ease policy.

town of Rafah, Palestinians cling to life amid the grinding war with Israel. A barefoot boy wears a pot on his head and beams a smile. A child lugs a jerry can half his size full of water. Men sit at half-empty tables selling canned goods. A tapestry of laundry hangs from every line.

Antony Blinken, while speaking at a news conference during a trip to Buenos Aires, said, “They're also inconsistent with international law. Our administration maintains a firm opposition to settlement expansion, and in our judgment this only weakens, doesn't strengthen, Israel's security." The comments reversed the Trump administration's position that settlements did not violate international law. Israel on Thursday said that it plans to build more than 3,300 new homes in settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday reaffirmed Washington's opposition to any reoccupation of the Gaza Strip by Israel as well as any reduction of the Palestinian territory's size. Blinken's remarks were in response to a plan for post-war Gaza put forward by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which his country's army would have «indefinite freedom» to operate throughout the Gaza Strip once Hamas is defeated.

Reuters, Israel aims to maintain security control over all land west of Jordan. This includes the occupied West Bank and Gaza - the territories where the Palestinians hope to establish an independent state. Besides, Netanyahu's plan also suggested way to replace Hamas rule in Gaza while maintaining public order.

UK Parliament has taken the internet by storm. Pakistan and its propaganda machinery have issued threats to Yana Mir. Toolkit gang" has been quite active for the past 48 hours.

Israel-Hamas conflict could attack crowds at events in Canada.In a series of strategic intelligence briefs issued in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the analysts cautioned about mass violence spilling into this country.The Integrated Terrorist Assessment Centre (ITAC) predicted attacks could target protests, cultural centres, diplomatic posts “or other symbols of Israeli or Palestinian interests in Canada.”Such an attack would likely be carried out by a “radicalized lone actor” using readily available weapons, ITAC wrote in the briefs circulated last October and released to Global News.“It is possible that ideologically and religiously motivated violent extremists and lone actors may be triggered by events and mobilize to violence and conduct a mass casualty attack at large gatherings,” ITAC wrote in a brief on the Canadian implications of the conflict.ITAC is a federal government team, composed of members of the security and intelligence community, that assesses threats to Canada.In December 2023, police in Ottawa arrested a youth who has been charged with plotting a terrorist attack against the Jewish community.Additional charges filed on Feb.

Israel's military exports to India, its largest defence buyer, have not been affected by the war in Gaza, an Indian source and an Israeli source aware of the details said. India has imported military hardware worth $2.9 billion from Israel over the last decade, including radars, surveillance and combat drones, and missiles. Israel launched its months-long military campaign after militants from Hamas-ruled Gaza killed 1,200 people and took 253 hostages in southern Israel on Oct. 7. Since then, more than 29,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.

Oil prices fell on Friday after a U.S. Fed official said interest rate cuts should be delayed at least two more months. Brent crude futures were down 25 cents, or 0.3%, at $83.42 a barrel at 0212 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were 25 cents, or 0.3%, lower at $78.36.