Cyprus to join Trump’s upcoming Board of Peace meeting as observer

The announcement by government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis comes on X.

Letymbiotis said, “The Republic of Cyprus has received and accepted an invitation to participate, with Observer status, in the forthcoming Gaza meeting of the Peace Council to be held in Washington on February 19, 2026.”

“Our country’s participation is part of the steady and active regional role it has played from the very first moment of the crisis, with initiatives and specific proposals to international partners,” he added.

Hungary and Bulgaria are among the other European Union member states that recently confirmed their participation in the gathering.

Albania’s leader to attend Board of Peace meeting in US

Edi Rama, Albania’s prime minister, will travel to Washington, DC, in the coming week to attend the first meeting of Trump’s initiative on Thursday, he says on a podcast.

“I will be in Washington for the official creation of the peace council and the launch of the activities of this council,” Rama said in an interview with the Albanian podcast Flasim.

The board, of which Trump is the chairman, was originally intended to oversee the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip after two years of Israel’s genocidal war, but its charter appears to extend beyond the Palestinian enclave.

Romanian president to attend Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ meeting as observer

Romanian President Nicusor Dan has announced that he will attend as observer the first meeting of US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace”.

“Next week I will take part in the first meeting of the Board of Peace in Washington, responding to the invitation addressed by the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump,” Dan wrote on X, after having recently said that his country was still considering whether to join the body, of which Trump is the chairman.

Indonesia says troops ready to join Gaza peacekeeping mission by June

Indonesia’s military says up to 8,000 troops are expected to be ready by the end of June to join a potential deployment to Gaza as part of a peacekeeping force under US President Donald Trump’s plan.

Army spokesperson Brigadier-General Donny Pramono said the Southeast Asian nation’s armed forces finalised a proposed troop structure and timeline.

“In principle we are ready to be assigned anywhere,” Pramono told The Associated Press. “Our troops are fully prepared and can be dispatched at short notice once the government gives formal approval.”

Throughout February, troops will undergo health checks and paperwork followed by a “force readiness review” at the end of the month, Pramono said.

About 1,000 personnel are expected to be ready to deploy as an advance team by April with the remainder by June. However, Pramono said being ready doesn’t mean soldiers will actually deploy as it still requires a political decision and depends on international mechanisms.

Indonesia – the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation – doesn’t have formal diplomatic relations with Israel and has long been a strong supporter of a two-state solution. It has been deeply involved in providing humanitarian aid to Gaza including funding a hospital.

African Union demands full UN membership for Palestine

African leaders have called for granting the State of Palestine full membership in the United Nations at the closing session of the African Union summit in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa.

The leaders said Palestinians have the “legitimate right” to self-determination and the end of Israeli occupation. The summit’s closing statement also condemned any attempts to forcibly displace the Palestinian population and warned of worsening conditions in Gaza.

During the summit, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa emphasised that the situation in the occupied West Bank mirrors the ongoing conditions in Gaza with Israeli forces continuing to “seize Palestinian lands, expand illegal colonies, and protect the actions of colonists who commit various forms of violence and destruction against the Palestinian people”, the Wafa news agency reported.

Gaza death toll rises

Israeli attacks have killed at least 601 Palestinians and wounded 1,607 in Gaza since the October 10 “ceasefire”, according to the Health Ministry. At least 10 people were killed in the past 24 hours alone, the ministry said.

The total number of people killed in Israel’s genocidal war on the Strip since October 7, 2023 has reached 72,061, with 171,715 injured.

Israeli ‘ceasefire’ violations continue, least 9 killed in Gaza since dawn

At least nine Palestinians have been killed in attacks since dawn. The first attack was in Jabalia in the northern parts of the Gaza Strip, where Israeli forces targeted a tent where displaced Palestinians have been sheltering.

There was another air strike on a group of people in Khan Younis, where at least five were killed. These Palestinians were just living their normal lives when the Israelis targeted them.

But Israel justified these attacks, saying they came after they monitored five fighters in the northern parts of the Gaza Strip. There’s no way we could confirm these justifications, but every single day, there have been endless violations by the Israeli forces since the “ceasefire” started.

Now, more than 1,600 violations have occurred, and nearly 600 Palestinians have been killed since the “ceasefire”, and this is happening on a daily basis.


_{Civil defence teams, in coordination with officials from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), use heavy machinery to search the rubble of a destroyed building to recover the bodies of members of the Abu Nasr family following Israeli attacks in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, on February 15}

Israel killed Palestinians in Gaza City, Khan Younis and Jabalia

In the past couple of minutes, there was another attack on a group of civilians in Tal al-Hawa, in the southern part of the Gaza City where at least one Palestinian was killed.

There was also an attack on a tent, where people were sheltering, in the Jabalia refugee camp where at least four people have been killed. There was also another attack on Khan Younis where at least five people were killed.

This raised today’s death toll to 10 people.

Commander of PIJ’s armed wing killed in Gaza City’s Tal al-Hawa area

Sami al-Dahdouh, a commander in the al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), has been killed in an Israeli attack in Gaza City’s Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood.

That’s according to Palestinian sources speaking to our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic.

Recap of latest developments in occupied West Bank

Israeli forces arrest at least 18 Palestinians across occupied West Bank

We have reported earlier, based on the Wafa reports, that at least 12 Palestinians were arrested near Nablus overnight and this morning.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office put the number at 13 for the Nablus governorate, adding that two others were arrested in the governorate of Bethlehem and three in Salfit.

“These raids included the ransacking and destruction of property and assaults on residents,” the office said.

Israeli forces to conduct drill near occupied East Jerusalem

An Israeli military statement says the exercise will be held today in the Modi’in-Maccabim-Re’ut settlement, 30km (18.6 miles) west of occupied East Jerusalem, without specifying its duration.

“There will be active movement of security forces and vehicles in the area during the drill,” it added.

The army said the exercise was part of its 2026 annual plan. The Israeli army carried out two drills on Thursday, one on land in the Red Sea area around Eilat and another at sea in the Mediterranean.

Israel issues 20 demolition notices near occupied East Jerusalem

Israeli authorities issued demolition notices to more than 20 residential, agricultural, and commercial structures in the town of Anata, northeast of occupied East Jerusalem, shortly before announcing the decision to seize Palestinian land.

According to the Jerusalem Governorate, Israeli forces delivered the notices to property owners in the Wa’ar al-Beik area of the town, citing construction without permits as a reason for the demolitions.

Israel has issued similar notices in the same area in recent days as part of a wider policy to pressure Palestinians and restrict their ability to build homes and public infrastructure.

Local sources also told Wafa news agency Israeli forces fired volleys of stun grenades and tear gas cannisters indiscriminately towards residents in the area.

Far-right Israeli Knesset member, armed settlers storm school near Nablus

Far-right Israeli Knesset member Tzvi Tzukot forcibly entered the al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya Girls’ Secondary School south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.

Tzukot, accompanied by armed settlers, stormed the schoolyard, filmed inside the school, and threatened staff. After the settlers left, the Israeli army immediately entered the area, Wafa news agency reported.

The Palestinian Education Ministry condemned the incursion and called on the international community to put pressure on Israel to stop the raids.

Samer al-Jamal, director-general of education in southern Nablus, said the incident “constituted a clear violation of all international laws and conventions that guarantee the protection of educational institutions and ensure students’ right to a safe education”.

Israeli government approves resolution on de facto annexation of occupied West Bank

The Israeli government has approved a draft resolution to begin the process of settling and registering land in the occupied West Bank for the first time since 1967.

“We are continuing the settlement revolution to control all our lands,” said Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Israel Katz described it as an “essential security and governance measure designed to ensure control, enforcement, and full freedom of action for the State of Israel in the area”, the Jerusalem Post newspaper reported.

Last week, the Israeli Security Cabinet approved decisions pushed by both Smotrich and Katz which make it easier to seize Palestinian land illegally.

Experts have called it the de facto annexation of the West Bank and say it will fundamentally alter the civil and legal reality of the territory, removing what the Israeli ministers termed “legal obstacles” that have existed for decades against the expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied territories.

‘Null and void’: Hamas slams Israeli move ‘to steal and Judaise lands in the occupied West Bank’

The group has condemned the government decision allowing Israel, what it called, “to steal and Judaise lands in the occupied West Bank by registering them as so-called ‘state lands'”.

The statement called the approval “a null and void decision issued by an illegitimate occupying power”, adding: “It is an attempt to forcibly impose settlement and Judaisation on the ground, in flagrant violation of international law and relevant UN resolutions”.

Hamas called on the UN Security Council, and all relevant international parties “to assume their legal and political responsibilities and take immediate action to halt the occupation’s aggression and its ongoing violations against our Palestinian people”.

Earlier, the Israeli government approved the proposal to open the land registration process in the occupied West Bank for the first time since 1967.

Palestinian presidency slams Israeli plans in the occupied West Bank as ‘threat’ to security

The Palestinian presidency warns of serious consequences after the Israeli government approved a decision to declare areas in the occupied West Bank as state property, according to the Wafa news agency.

According to a statement by the presidency, the decision constituted a “direct threat to security and stability” and amounted to the de facto annexation of Palestinian territory and the entrenching of illegal settlement expansion.

The presidency added that the decision had nullified and contradicted signed agreements with the UN Security Council, particularly Resolution 2334, which stipulates that all Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem was illegal and violated international law.

The statement affirmed that the decision would not grant Israel any legitimacy over the State of Palestine and called on the international community, especially the UN and US, to intervene and force Israel to comply with international law to de-escalate tensions and restore stability.

Israel’s West Bank move means ‘more threats, intimidation from Israeli settlers’

Xavier Abu Eid, a political analyst based in Ramallah, said the “land registration” announcement by Israel is “packing annexation into some sort of bureaucratic move”.

He told Al Jazeera the International Court of Justice ruled in 2024 what the Israelis are doing is a clear sign of annexation of the occupied West Bank.

“People should understand this is not just a step towards annexation, we are experiencing annexation as we speak today. What the Israeli government is doing is implanting their political programme – a policy that has already been presented,” said Abu Eid.

Palestinian landowners are now going to face “more threats and intimidation from Israeli settlers supported by the Israeli government”, he added.

British Museum removes word ‘Palestine’ from displays after pressure by pro-Israel lawyers

The British Museum has removed the word Palestine from displays about the ancient Middle East following “concerns” by a UK-based Israeli advocacy group.

The British Museum has confirmed that it is reviewing and updating some gallery panels and labels after “Audience testing has shown that the historic use of the term Palestine … is in some circumstances no longer meaningful,” UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) said in a statement.

The group claimed there were “historically inaccurate” references to Palestine in displays covering the ancient Levant and Egypt. It said applying a single name across thousands of years “erases historical changes and creates a false impression of continuity.”

The statement said responding to the concerns, the British Museum’s spokesperson confirmed it was in the process of reviewing and updating panels and labels on a case-by-case basis.

“For example, the information panels in the Levant gallery, covering the period 2000-300 BC, have all been updated to describe in some detail the history of Canaan and the Canaanites and the rise of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel using those names. A revised text devoted to the Phoenicians was installed in early 2025,” it added.

Rewriting history, how British.

Palestine signs $27m aid agreement with Japan

Palestine’s Minister of Finance and Planning Istifan Salameh has signed a new agreement with Japan for the provision of humanitarian services in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Japan’s aid package of US $27.3m will be allocated to support waste management, water and sanitation, the health sector, infrastructure projects including roads, and the energy sector.

Salameh said the support is an “important step to enhance the resilience of citizens and improve basic services”, Wafa news agency quoted him as saying.

The agreement was signed in Ramallah, the occupied West Bank, at the Finance Ministry in the presence of Japan’s Ambassador to Palestine Ariaki Matsuhiko and a representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

Thousands of Western nationals fought Israel’s war on Gaza: What to know

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/15/thousands-of-western-nationals-fought-israels-war-on-gaza-what-to-know

More than 50,000 soldiers in the Israeli military hold at least one other citizenship, with a majority of them holding US or European passports, information obtained by the Israeli NGO Hatzlacha through Israel’s Freedom of Information Law has revealed.

At least 12,135 soldiers enlisted in the Israeli military hold United States passports, topping the list by a huge margin. That is in addition to 1,207 soldiers who possess another passport in addition to their US and Israeli ones.

The data – shared with Al Jazeera by Israeli lawyer Elad Man, who serves as the legal counsel for Hatzlacha – shows that 6,127 French nationals serve in the Israeli military.

The Israeli military, which shared such data for the first time, noted that soldiers holding multiple citizenships are counted more than once in the breakdown. The numbers show service members enlisted in the military as of March 2025, 17 months into Israel’s devastating war in Gaza.

Russia stands at third, with 5,067 nationals serving in the Israeli military, followed by 3,901 Ukrainians and 1,668 Germans. The data revealed that 1,686 soldiers in the military held dual British-Israeli citizenship, in addition to 383 other soldiers who held another passport in addition to their British and Israeli ones.

South Africa, which brought a case of genocide against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also had 589 of its citizens serving in the Israeli military ranks. Furthermore, 1,686 soldiers hold Brazilian citizenship, 609 Argentine, 505 Canadian, 112 Colombian, and 181 Mexican, in addition to their Israeli nationality.

Israel’s military comprises an estimated 169,000 active personnel and 465,000 reservists – of whom nearly eight percent hold dual or multiple citizenships.

Can dual nationals be tried for war crimes in Gaza?

Rights organisations around the world have been trying to identify and prosecute foreign nationals, many of whom have posted videos of their abuse on social media, for their involvement in war crimes, particularly in Gaza.

Ilias Bantekas, a professor of transnational law at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar, told Al Jazeera that “war crimes incur criminal liability under international law, irrespective of what the law of nationality says”. Otherwise, Nazi Germans, whose law allowed and obliged them to commit atrocities, would incur no liability, Bantekas added. “Dual nationality is immaterial to criminal liability,” he said.

However, the major issue in prosecuting the accused “is getting [them] on your territory and putting them before a court”, he noted.

Bantekas also added that there is no difference in the question of liability between native soldiers and those of dual nationalities. Dual nationals, in fact, “may in addition be liable under laws that prevent military service in foreign conflicts or joining armies of other nations”, the professor said.

Prosecuting foreign nationals has been “pretty much the norm”, he noted. “Think of Nazi Germans tried by Allied war crimes tribunals after World War II, Japanese officers tried by US military courts, and crimes committed during the Bosnian conflict where alleged offenders were tried by various courts in Europe,” Bantekas told Al Jazeera.

Last May, the United Kingdom’s Foreign Office said that allegations of war crimes should be submitted to the Metropolitan Police. “The UK recognises the right of British dual nationals to serve in the legitimately recognised armed forces of the country of their other nationality,” it said. “Allegations of war crimes should be submitted to the Met Police for investigation.”

Have foreign nationals been tried for Gaza war crimes?

Nationals with dual or multiple citizenships have not yet been arrested for committing war crimes in Gaza. But rights groups, including lawyers, are trying to get them prosecuted.

In the UK last April, the Gaza-based Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) and the UK-based Public Interest Law Centre (PILC) filed a 240-page report to the Metropolitan Police. Accusations against the 10 British individuals, whose names have not been publicly disclosed, include murder, forcible transfer of people, and attacks on humanitarian personnel, between October 2023 and May 2024.

In September last year, a case was filed in Germany against a 25-year-old soldier, born and raised in Munich, for participating in the killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, by PCHR, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), Al-Haq, and the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights. The sniper, with shootings documented near Gaza’s al-Quds and Nasser hospitals between November 2023 and March 2024, was a member of a unit known as “Refaim”, “ghost” in Hebrew.

Legal proceedings against members of the same unit are also under way in France, Italy, South Africa, and Belgium. The Belgian public prosecutor’s office also opened a judicial investigation last October into a 21-year-old Belgian-Israeli citizen, a member of Refaim.

The mandatory military service law in Israel exempts dual nationals residing abroad, making the enlistment a voluntary act, an important distinction when such crimes are tried in foreign courts. Lawyers have reportedly noted that the voluntary nature of the soldiers’ service makes them more liable for alleged crimes.

What does international law say about soldiers in foreign wars?

South Africa brought its case to the ICJ in December 2023, arguing that Israel’s war in Gaza violates the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.  While a final ruling could take years, the ICJ issued provisional measures in January 2024 ordering Israel to take steps to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza and to allow unimpeded access for humanitarian aid. But Israel has continued curb the supply of aid into Gaza in violation of the ICJ interim order.

Under the 1948 Genocide Convention, countries that are party to the treaty have a binding obligation to prevent and punish genocide. Countries can investigate and prosecute individuals who may have committed or been complicit in this crime.

In March last year, the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) announced the “Global 195” campaign to hold Israeli and dual-national individuals accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. The coalition aims to work simultaneously within multiple jurisdictions to apply for private arrest warrants and initiate legal proceedings against those implicated, including the Israeli military members and the entire Israeli military and political command in its scope.

For countries that are parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), there is an additional layer, where the ICC can assert its jurisdiction. Palestine has been a state party since 2015. The State of Palestine is recognised as a sovereign nation by 157 of the 193 UN member states, representing 81 percent of the international community. Most recently, it has been recognised by France, Belgium, Canada, Australia, and the UK.

A foreign national, whose country considers Palestine a “friendly state”, would also be vulnerable to prosecution for participating in the Israeli military’s war crimes in Gaza.

Violence Erupts in Bnei Brak Over Israel’s Army Conscription Drive

Why Is ISRAEL Getting Venezuelan Oil?!?!

"Venezuela is sending its first crude oil cargo to Israel in years as the Latin American country’s exports open up following the capture of its president Nicolas Maduro. The cargo is being transported to Bazan Group, the Mediterranean country’s top crude processor, people with knowledge of the deal said, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public."

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-10/venezuela-sending-first-crude-oil-cargo-to-israel-in-years


Maduro was against Israel, hence he had to go...