Netanyahu once again rejects two-state solution

Israel’s PM Netanyahu has said the status quo in the West Bank would remain unaltered for the foreseeable future and insisted that the Israeli public is opposed to a two-state solution that would lead to the creation of a Palestinian state.

In a news conference alongside German Chancellor Merz, Netanyahu said 99 out of 120 members of the Knesset voted against a possible Palestinian state.

“The purpose of a Palestinian state is to destroy the Jewish state,” he said.

Merz and other European leaders have long said they remain committed to a negotiated two-state solution and called for negotiations.

Netanyahu says ‘political annexation’ of West Bank remains on the table

Asked whether he would comply with Germany’s calls not to annex the occupied West Bank, Netanyahu told reporters Israel was already in charge of security in the Palestinian territory.

“Israel today controls security between the Jordan River and the sea,” he told a news conference alongside Germany’s Chancellor.

“We are the power in charge with overall security and that in the foreseeable future will stay. That has nothing to do with the question of political annexation, which remains a subject of discussion.”

The Israeli government says what it doesn’t want, not what it does

Ofer Bronchtein, peace activist and special adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron for Israeli-Palestinian affairs, tells Al Jazeera he has been talking to the Israeli government for a year about France’s diplomatic push for a two-state solution.

He said, in response, the Israeli government has been clear that it does not want a Palestinian state, but has not offered another clear solution.

Despite this, Bronchtein said the French initiative today has succeeded in ensuring that four of the five members of the UN Security Council recognise the Palestinian state.

He added that, among the G7, he soon believes there will be six states recognising the Palestinian state.

Bronchtein said the government represents a minority view from within Israel on the two-state solution, citing a recent poll that showed 65 percent of Israelis would accept a Palestinian state if the Arab countries recognise Israel.

“If there were a Palestinian state … October 7 would not have happened because the name of the game is to have a sovereign country responsible for its people,” he said. 

‘Israeli efforts to set up Palestinian rule in Gaza loyal to it are doomed’

“[The death of Yasser Abu Shabab] marks the end of a dark chapter – one that did not reflect our tribe’s history and principles …The Tarabin tribe stands with the Palestinian resistance in all its factions … it refuses to let our tribe’s name or members be exploited to form militias that work for the benefit of the occupation.”

This is what Gaza’s Tarabin tribe said in a statement following the killing of its member Yasser Abu Shabab on December 4. There have been conflicting reports about how he died and who killed him. Some have said it was Hamas fighters who shot him, others that members of his own tribe did. Reportedly, he was taken to an Israeli hospital, where he died of his wounds.

Israel framed the killing as a “tribal dispute” rather than retribution for his collaboration; this was also the position of the Popular Forces militia, which Abu Shabab commanded. This narrative, of course, ignores the fact that his own tribe saw him as a collaborator and welcomed his death.

His death deals a massive blow to Israel’s efforts to establish a new Palestinian administration in Gaza that responds to its wishes and oppresses the Palestinians. It is yet another proof that the Palestinian people will never accept colonial rule.

For decades, Israel has used collaborators to undermine Palestinian unity and governance. In the early 1980s, it spearheaded the creation of so-called “village leagues” in the occupied West Bank. These represented institutions of local rule headed by individuals funded and protected by Israel in exchange for their loyalty. The aim was to diminish the influence of the Palestine Liberation Organization and spread disunity. However, the leagues were rejected by the Palestinians as illegitimate, and the whole initiative collapsed within a few years.


Now Israel is trying to replicate the same model in Gaza. Funding and arming Abu Shabab was supposed to create a centre of coercive power in Gaza, which would have been fully loyal to Israel. It would have allowed the Israeli occupation to come after the resistance, exterminating its fighters, without having to get its soldiers involved any more or bearing the diplomatic cost of doing so.

Even if Abu Shabab had not succeeded in establishing control over Rafah or the whole of Gaza, sowing internal conflict would have been beneficial enough for Israel. It would have undermined internal security in Gaza, damaging the cohesion of the Palestinian society and encouraging people to leave.

But just like in the past, Israel’s plan was doomed to fail. Although Abu Shabab had significant financial and military support from the occupation, he could not convince his tribe to follow him or the people of Rafah to join him. He was only able to recruit takfiri extremists, criminals and formerly imprisoned collaborators.

The vast majority of Palestinians saw him as a collaborator. Abu Shabab could not recruit even among those who oppose or dislike the resistance factions because they too would not sell out their principles and work for the genocidal power killing Palestinians every day.


While Abu Shabab provided Israel with security and technical services on the ground, his power was built entirely on crimes and theft, which made him just a hated traitor, not a leader. Despite bragging in videos about giving away stolen aid to the poor or building tent camps with looted tents, he was unable to rally people behind himself.

Main events on December 7th

• German Chancellor Merz has expressed his support for a two-state solution after a meeting with the Israeli prime minister.
• Five Palestinian prisoners released by Israel have arrived at Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza, according to our sources.
• Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim tells The AP the group is ready to discuss “freezing or storing” its arsenal of weapons as part of its ceasefire with Israel.
• Israeli soldiers kill a Palestinian and wound another near Azzun in the occupied West Bank, accusing them of throwing stones.
• Gaza’s Health Ministry has said that at least 373 people have been killed and 970 wounded since the start of the ceasefire in October.
• Israel’s military says on X that “dozens” of soldiers from the Israeli navy and the US Fifth Fleet began a joint exercise today, and will continue through this week.

Condemnation as Israel raids UNRWA HQ in East Jerusalem, removes UN flag

Israeli forces have raided the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in occupied East Jerusalem, seizing items and replacing the UN flag with Israel’s flag.

In a statement on X, the agency’s commissioner-general, Philippe Lazzarini, said Israeli police, accompanied by municipal officials, forcibly entered its compound in Sheikh Jarrah early on Monday morning.

“Police motorcycles, as well as trucks and forklifts, were brought in and all communications were cut. Furniture, IT equipment and other property was seized,” he said. “The UN flag was pulled down and replaced with an Israeli flag.”

UNRWA has not used the building since the beginning of the year after Israeli authorities ordered the agency to vacate all of its premises and halt operations inside Israel.

Lazzarini said this follows “months of harassment that included arson attacks in 2024, hateful demonstrations and intimidation, supported by a large-scale disinformation campaign, as well as anti-UNRWA legislation passed by the Israeli parliament in breach of its international obligations”.

Israel barred UNRWA from operating on its soil after claiming some employees had participated in the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. UNRWA denied the allegations, while in October the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found that Israel’s allegations against UNRWA were unsubstantiated.

Still, Israel’s claims prompted the United States, historically UNRWA’s largest donor, to suspend funding.

Francesca Albanese ROARS In Doha, Qatar: “The Power Of The Palėstinians Is Still Intact”!

"Anti-Semite of the Year": Pro-Israel DOUBLES DOWN On Hilarious List

Visiting Israel MADE Me ‘Anti-Zionist,’ Says Holocaust Survivor

In this conversation, Mehdi Hasan sits down with Stephen Kapos – an 88-year-old British-Hungarian Holocaust survivor, who was forced to go into hiding at the age of seven, was separated from his mother and father, lost 15 members of his family to the Nazi concentration camps, and witnessed the total destruction of cities during the war.  Today, Kapos has become one of the most vocal pro-Palestinian voices among Jewish Holocaust survivors.

Mehdi also asks Kapos about those who have cited similarities between Donald Trump’s fascistic leadership in the US and Nazi Germany in the 1920s and 30s. Kapos says it’s “absolutely” a fair comparison.

Watch the full interview where the two discuss Kapos’ experience as a Jewish, pro-Palestine activist, his rejection of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism, and why he will continue to fight for the children of Gaza.

Rains and low temperatures threaten Gaza displaced

Gaza’s media office has called on the world to respond “to save the catastrophic humanitarian reality” in Gaza as cold weather and rain bears down on the enclave.

The storm is set to hit on Wednesday and last until Friday, bringing with it heavy rains that will flood the tens of thousands of tents housing Gaza’s displaced. It is also set to bring heavy winds, fierce waves from the sea and thunderstorms, according to the office.

It said the weather “may cause extensive damage to tens of thousands of families living in tents and primitive shelters that do not protect them from the cold winter or the harshness of weather lows.”

Nearly all of Gaza’s population has been displaced by Israel’s genocidal war.


_{In a displacement camp by the sea, Palestinians brace for winter storm}

‘Shockingly high’ number still acutely malnourished in Gaza: UNICEF

The UN children’s agency has said that 9,300 children were treated for severe acute malnutrition in Gaza in October, when the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel went into effect.

That was down from a peak of 14,000 in August, but still much higher than during a previous pause in fighting from February to March. The rate indicates that aid flows are insufficient, according to spokesperson Tess Ingram.

“It’s still a shockingly high number,” she said in Geneva. “The number of children admitted is five times higher than in February, so we need to see the numbers come down further,” she said.

She further described meeting underweight babies weighing less than one kilogram (2.2 pounds) born in hospitals, “their tiny chests heaving with the effort of staying alive”.

Israel says will re-open Jordan crossing for Gaza-bound trucks: Report

An anonymous Israeli official has told Reuters that the country will allow aid trucks to enter via the King Hussein (Allenby) Bridge with Jordan. The crossing had been closed following a September attack by a truck driver that killed two Israeli soldiers.

The official said, starting tomorrow, “the transfer of goods and aid from Jordan to the area of Judea and Samaria and to the Gaza Strip will be permitted through the Allenby Crossing”.

“All aid trucks destined for the Gaza Strip will proceed under escort and security, following a thorough security inspection,” the official added.

Operations to recover body of last remaining captive ongoing in Gaza

We understand work is under way to recover the body of Israeli police officer Ran Gvili, the last remaining captive in Gaza. Officials say finding his body is like looking for a needle in a haystack and this reflects the complexity of the operations to uncover the remains in the massive ocean of debris.

If the body is found, it will be sent to Israel via the ICRC and its handover will mark the conclusion of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement and open the door for further negotiations.

We keep hearing from the US administration that the ceasefire will continue to hold, despite the main sticking points for a second phase still being unresolved.

Gaza government says Israel violated truce 738 times in 60 days

Israel has violated the Gaza ceasefire agreement at least 738 times since it came into effect in October, according to the Gaza Government Media Office.

“This constitutes a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and a deliberate undermining of the essence of the ceasefire and the provisions of its attached humanitarian protocol,” it said in a statement.

According to the Health Ministry in Gaza, Israeli attacks since the start of the ceasefire have killed at least 377 people and wounded 987.

Hamas official says more pressure must be put on Israel for next phase of ceasefire

Hossam Badran has told AFP has said a second phase of the ceasefire cannot move forward if Israeli “violations” persist. He called on mediators to heap more pressure on Israel.

“The second phase cannot begin as long as the [Israeli] occupation continues its violations of the agreement and evades its commitments,” he said. “Hamas has asked the mediators to pressure the occupation to complete the implementation of the first phase,” he said.

The first phase of the ceasefire, which went into effect on October 10, is nearing its end. It largely concerned the exchange of captives – both living and dead – for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, and Israel’s partial withdrawal from Gaza.

Details of the second phase, which would concern future governance and the possible deployment of an international stability force, have yet to be agreed upon.

‘Beyond absurd’: Israeli Supreme Court extends ban on foreign media in Gaza

The Supreme Court in Jerusalem has held another hearing on Tuesday regarding a petition by the Foreign Press Association (FPA) to allow independent international media to enter Gaza.

The court again granted the Israeli government a postponement. The Foreign Press Association says this is the ninth postponement since the petition was filed in September last year.

In a statement, the FPA said the situation was “beyond absurd”.

“These repeated delays have robbed the world of a fuller glimpse of conditions in Gaza and made a mockery of the entire legal process,” the FPA said.

No independent international media has been allowed in Gaza since October 7, 2023. Earlier this month, Reporters Without Borders said Israel killed more reporters than any other country in 2025.

Israel remains leading killer of journalists in 2025: Report

Nearly half of the journalists killed globally this year were by Israeli forces in Gaza, a new report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has found. Israel killed more journalists in 2025 than any other country and was named the top killer of journalists by the NGO for the third year running.

Overall, 67 journalists were killed around the world this year, one more than in 2024. Israeli forces carrying out the genocidal war in Gaza were responsible for the deaths of 29 Palestinian reporters.

Thibaut Bruttin, RSF’s director general, said Palestinian journalists were not killed by accident. “They weren’t collateral victims. They were killed, targeted for their work,” Bruttin said in a statement.

Tony Blair dropped from Gaza ‘peace board’ shortlist: Report

UK newspaper The Financial Times reports that former UK Labour prime minister was dropped from the yet-to-be-established Gaza oversight board in Trump’s ceasefire plan over objections from Arab and Muslim nations.

Blair, noted for his role as one of the key architects of the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, is viewed with scepticism and distrust in the Arab region. It was previously reported that he had been campaigning behind the scenes to play a central part in the interim administration of the Gaza Strip.

An anonymous source quoted by the newspaper said it is “likely” Blair will still play a role in Gaza because he is well-liked by the US and Israel. His office declined comment, but FT quotes someone close to him saying that he would not be sitting on the board.


UN chief condemns Israeli raid of UNRWA compound

Antonio Guterres has weighed in on an Israeli raid of the UNRWA compound in occupied East Jerusalem yesterday.

“I strongly condemn the unauthorized entry into the UN Sheikh Jarrah compound held by UNRWA in occupied East Jerusalem by Israeli authorities,” Guterres said in a post on X.

“This compound is inviolable & immune from any other form of interference,” he said. “I urge Israel to immediately take all necessary steps to restore, preserve & uphold the inviolability of UNRWA premises & to refrain from taking any further action with regard to these premises.”

Israeli forces took items from the compound and replaced the UN flag with an Israeli flag during the raid. UNRWA has not used the compound since the beginning of the year, when Israeli authorities ordered it to cease all operations in Israeli-occupied territory.

Israeli forces raid university campuses in occupied West Bank

The Israeli army has raided the Birzeit University, north of Ramallah, in the third Israeli military raid on the oldest Palestinian higher-education institution since the start of the year. The army detained university security staff before ransacking warehouses used by student groups.

A separate raid was reported at the al-Quds University in Abu Dis, south of Jerusalem.

Israeli settlers prevent Palestinian farmers from accessing land, attack property

Israeli settlers who recently set up an illegal outpost near Yatta, south of Hebron, are preventing Palestinian farmers from working their lands, local sources have told Al Jazeera.

In Beit Fajjar, south of Bethlehem, settlers set two cars ablaze and defaced Palestinian homes with spray paint.

Settler attacks have increased to unprecedented levels, according to the UN. Israel’s far-right finance minister on Monday unveiled a five-year plan allocating about $830m to further expand Israel’s control over the occupied West Bank, which is illegal under international law. The plan has been approved by the cabinet but still requires Knesset approval within three months.

Israeli army demolishes Palestinian homes in occupied West Bank, Jerusalem

Footage posted on social media and verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad unit shows the Israeli army demolishing a house in the Palestinian neighbourhood of Silwan, in occupied East Jerusalem.

Palestinian homes are being demolished and residents displaced as the Israeli-controlled Jerusalem Municipality pursues its policy of Judaisation of the occupied eastern part of the city to make way for Israeli settlers, a policy illegal under international law.

Palestine’s Wafa news agency also reported the demolition of three homes in Khirbet Khallat al-Farra, south of Hebron.

In the village of Husan, west of Bethlehem, the Palestinian news agency said one house was demolished, and one other received an evacuation order.

Three Palestinian detainees assaulted before release: Palestine Red Crescent Society

The emergency agency has said the incident took place at the al-Jib checkpoint north of Jerusalem, as reported by WAFA. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said it provided emergency services to the three wounded detainees, saying they had been beaten by Israeli security forces. They were taken to Ramallah Hospital.

Shells of unknown origin land near Damascus airport: Syrian state TV

State-run Al Ekhbariya TV reported the shells fell in the vicinity of Syria’s Mezzah airport in the capital Damascus. Syria’s state news agency earlier reported the sound of an explosion in the vicinity of Damascus and said the matter was under investigation.

China, Iran, Saudi Arabia urge end to Israeli attacks

The three countries called for “an immediate halt to Israeli aggression against Palestine, Lebanon and Syria” at a trilateral meeting in Tehran today, a statement released by China’s Foreign Ministry showed.

The three countries “condemned violations of Iran’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity” in the meeting attended by their foreign ministry officials, according to the statement, cited by Reuters news agency.


US official says phase two talks progressing, but challenges remain

A US official has spoken to our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic. Here are some of the top takeaways.