Lebanon says normalisation with Israel can only come with Palestinian state

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has said normalisation with Israel can only come after the establishment of a Palestinian state.

In a post on X, Salam’s office said Beirut was committed to the two-state solution and no agreement would be possible until that objective is achieved.

One killed, three injured in Israeli attacks on Syria: Reports

Syrian state media is reporting that one person was killed and three others injured in an Israeli air strike on the coastal city of Latakia. The SANA news agency said earlier that the Israeli military targeted three sites in the countryside of the Latakia and Tartous governorates.

Palestinian foreign affairs ministry calls for international mechanisms to halt annexation plans

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said Israeli settlement expansion into the occupied West Bank requires an “effective international mechanism to halt annexation plans”.

It added that announcements of major expansions such as the approval on Thursday of 22 new settlements are part of an Israeli attempt to destroy the two-state solution, in “blatant disregard” for UN resolutions and international law.

Israeli forces launch more raids, settlers burn olive trees in West Bank

Israeli forces have raided the village of al-Lubban Asharqiya, located south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.

Local sources told the Wafa news agency that Israeli soldiers fired live ammunition and tear gas canisters in the area, sparking clashes. No casualties have been reported so far. In Deir Ghassana town located northwest of Ramallah, two Palestinian brothers were arrested by Israeli soldiers who raided their home.

Also in Ramallah, Israeli settlers are continuing work on establishing an illegal outpost close to the village of al-Mughayyir, where Israeli forces earlier today detained a number of worshippers in the local mosque.

Israeli settlers also launched an attack on Palestinian lands in Sinjil town north of Ramallah, setting fire to olive trees.

Shooting incident leaves two killed in Kafr Qasim

Two men have been shot and killed in the city of Kafr Qasim, a mostly Palestinian-populated city located on the Israeli side of the Green Line that separates Israel and the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian Wafa news agency said the killings, which took place outside a restaurant, come amid “inaction” by Israeli police and a lack of serious government plans to combat crime in the area, which has mostly affected Palestinian citizens of Israel.

This brings the death toll from such shootings inside Israel to five in the past day alone, and to 99 since the beginning of the year. Shooting incidents inside Israel killed 221 in the Palestinian community last year, and 222 in 2023.

Israel to block West Bank visit of Saudi-led delegation of ministers: Reports

The Israeli government has decided to block a rare visit by a delegation of foreign ministers from mostly Arab countries to the occupied West Bank, according to Israeli media.

The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and Turkiye were planning to meet with leaders from the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah on Sunday.

The goal was to promote the establishment of a Palestinian state, especially with Saudi Arabia and France planning a UN conference next month to help advance a two-state solution.

But the Walla news website and The Times of Israel are now quoting unnamed Israeli sources as saying the visit will be blocked amid Israel’s efforts to combat the internationally-backed two-state solution.

UN spokesperson says nearly 200,000 displaced in Gaza in last two weeks

Stephane Dujarric, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s spokesperson, has told reporters that Israel’s displacement orders cover all of Gaza’s northern and southern governorates, and eastern parts of the Strip.

Dujarric also said the United Nations and its humanitarian partners were only able to bring five truckloads of aid into Gaza on Thursday.

“The other 60 trucks had to return to the crossing due to intense hostilities in the area,” he said during a briefing at UN headquarters in New York.

“The limited amounts of aid entering the Strip are nowhere near sufficient to support the 2.1 million people in desperate need of assistance. As conditions on the ground further deteriorate and public order and safety break down, looting incidents continue to be reported.”

He added that a group of armed people stormed warehouses at a field hospital in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza today, “looting large quantities of medical equipment, supplies, medicines, [and] nutritional supplements that were intended for malnourished children”.

More than 12,000 Palestinians taken prisoner by Israel from Gaza: Monitor

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office reports that after 700 people in Gaza were detained by Israeli forces in May alone, the total number of those taken from the enclave since the start of the war has exceeded 12,000.

More than 3,500 Palestinians from Gaza remain incarcerated, while at least 44 people from Gaza have died in prison, the monitor said.

Israel is holding 1,846 people as so-called “unlawful combatants”, which strips them of any legal rights.

In total, Israel is holding 3,577 people under “administrative detention” without charge. Many prisoners have reported being tortured or starved in detention.

‘Aid being sent makes mockery of mass tragedy’ in Gaza: UNRWA chief

Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), says political will is needed to stop “the current mass starvation” in the Gaza Strip.

“We are not asking for the impossible. Allow the UN including UNRWA & humanitarian partners to do our work: assist people in need and preserving their dignity,” he wrote in a post on X.

Lazzarini also noted that the aid that has been allowed into Gaza so far amounts to just more than 10 percent of residents’ daily needs.

We are back to the blaming game while the people of #Gaza are starving + trying to survive heavy bombardments.

There are reports that 900 trucks were sent in the past two weeks.
That’s just over 10 per cent of the daily needs of people in #Gaza

The aid that’s being sent now…

— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) May 30, 2025

Main events on May 30th

• A spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office warns that Gaza’s entire population is at risk of famine as Israel’s blockade has turned the enclave into “the hungriest place on Earth”.
• Israeli forces have shot at Palestinians seeking food at a US-backed distribution point in Gaza, injuring at least 20 people.
• At least 72 deaths and 278 injuries have been reported to Gaza hospitals over the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry says, as Israel continues to pummel the Strip.
• US President Trump says a Gaza ceasefire deal is “very close” after a proposal was submitted to Hamas for review; the Palestinian group says it is still assessing the plan.
• The Israeli military has launched more raids across the occupied West Bank as Israel’s illegal settlement expansion plans continue to spur international condemnation.

‘Safe to say there is famine’ in Gaza: UN expert

Michael Fakhri, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, says he came to that conclusion because a formal recognition of famine relies on having access to people – but Israel is blocking independent experts from assessing the situation in Gaza.

Fakhri said a more important question than whether famine has already taken hold in the territory is how to ensure that the Israeli government allows humanitarian aid to enter Gaza immediately.

Describing the US- and Israeli-backed food distribution scheme that began this week as a means of control, Fakhri told Al Jazeera that Israel is using aid “as bait to corral people” and push them out of the north and into militarised zones.

“It’s about humiliating people, and it’s about controlling the population. This has nothing to do with stopping starvation,” he said.

“The danger is that this is a situation where the United Nations and other international humanitarian organisations are being sidelined. This might set a dangerous precedent for the future in which aid will be militarised in other contexts.”

Wow, some actual discussion and real information in the YouTube comments, that's a first.

The Balfour Declaration and the Mandate did not promise the Jews a State

Unlike the vague language of the Balfour Declaration, the Mandate Charter clearly affirmed Palestinian self-determination as a core principle of international law — and promised independence at a time when Palestinian Christian and Muslim Arabs made up 90% of the population. This video explores how British duplicity, driven by imperial interests, planted the seeds of a conflict that still reverberates today.

Anyway some background, counterpoint to all those saying Palestinian's were never promised a state.

Gaza Is The Test: Does the US Really Believe in Human Rights?

Congressman (D) Ro. Khanna joined Mehdi to discuss his ‘loudest condemnation’ of the Netanyahu government’s actions in Gaza, the need for unconditional aid to get in immediately, and what kind of stand he thinks the next Democratic presidential nominee should be taking when it comes to Israel and Gaza.

Khanna tells Mehdi: “It’ll be for history to judge whether people like me did enough to stand up [for Palestine]”

Did the US ever believe in human rights? A country build on slavery, jails the most people in the world (1.8 million) and produced horror camps like Guantanamo Bay. And now on the global human rights watch list.

Stunning Poll Out Of Israel Will Make Your Jaw Drop

Yes to Transfer: 82% of Jewish Israelis Back Expelling Gazans

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-05-28/ty-article-magazine/.premium/yes-to-transfer-82-of-jewish-israelis-back-expelling-gazans/00000197-12a4-df22-a9d7-9ef6af930000

A recent survey of Israeli Jews reveals a growing comfort with the idea of forcibly expelling Palestinians – both from Gaza and from within Israel's borders. The poll also found that a significant minority supports the mass killing of civilians in enemy cities captured by the Israeli army. These disturbing trends reflect the radicalization of religious Zionism since Israel's 2005 withdrawal from Gaza, and the failure of secular Israeli Jews to articulate a vision that challenges Jewish supremacy.

Israel’s Katz to Hamas: Agree to ceasefire or face ‘annihilation’

Defence Minister Israel Katz said Hamas must agree to a ceasefire proposal presented by US envoy Steve Witkoff or be destroyed, after the Palestinian group said the deal failed to satisfy its demands.

“The Hamas murderers will now be forced to choose: accept the terms of the ‘Witkoff Deal’ for the release of the hostages – or be annihilated.” Israel has repeatedly said that the destruction of Hamas is a key aim of the war.

Surrender and die 60 days later, or don't surrender and die a little sooner. That's not a choice. The ceasefire proposal is at most a stay of execution and a false lifeline to the population.

The intent to remove the people from Gaza by both Israeli government, the Israeli public (82% approval) as well as Trump (Riviera of the ME) and the GHF (ethnic cleansing of the North) makes any proposal Witkoff makes highly suspect. Guarantees by the US mean nothing as we've seen with the previous ceasefire which the IDF continually violated then broke on March 18th after blocking all aid since March 2nd. As well as betraying Hamas for the release of the remaining American PoW Edan Alexander. (was taken from a Military outpost)

And don't forget Lebanon that still routinely gets bombed and is still occupied in parts by Israel despite a ceasefire guaranteed by US/France.

If Hamas accepts that would be a great gesture to the remaining PoWs, as Hamas certainly won't get anything out of it, while the population gets to die a little slower. It's not a ceasefire proposal, it's a delay of execution proposal.

Israeli drone strike hits car, killing one in southern Lebanon: Reports

An Israeli drone attack targeted a vehicle in the southern Lebanese town of Deir ez-Zahrani earlier this morning, killing a man on his way to morning prayers, reports Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency.

A photo shared by the agency shows the attacked car scorched and wrecked.

Although a truce last November halted months of heavy fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, Israeli forces have continued to carry out regular air strikes in Lebanon ever since, killing dozens of people.

Arrests near Jenin, Tulkarem

Israeli forces have carried out violent raids and arrests in the occupied West Bank, reports the Wafa news agency.

Overnight, Israeli troops stormed the town of Kfirt, near Jenin, where they raided and ransacked several homes, said Wafa. The troops also detained and assaulted a group of people, it said.

Early this morning, Israeli troops also raided the town of Anabta, near Tulkarem, and arrested a woman, according to the report.

Israeli army accused of ramming vehicle carrying Hajj pilgrims in occupied West Bank

According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, the car-ramming incident early on Saturday took place in the northern West Bank city of Jenin.

Wafa quoted witnesses and officials as saying that the minibus, which was carrying Palestinians heading to Saudi Arabia by way of Jordan, was hit “deliberately”, causing panic among the elderly passengers.

Deputy Governor of Jenin Mansour Al-Saadi confirmed that an Israeli army vehicle rammed directly into the vehicle, which was parked outside the governorate compound.

Although no injuries were reported, the minibus sustained damage and the incident caused significant distress among the pilgrims.

قوات الاحتلال تتعمد صدم حافلة حجاج بيت الله الحرام بآلياتها قبيل انطلاقهم من مدينة جنين فجر اليوم. pic.twitter.com/DTMOgGgosy

— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) May 31, 2025

Israel arrests woman, former prisoners in West Bank raids

Israeli forces have made several arrests during dawn and morning raids across the occupied West Bank, including a 24-year-old woman taken from her home in Anabta, located east of Tulkarem.

Local sources told Wafa, a young man was arrested during a raid on Silat al-Harithiya village, east of Jenin. Another young man was taken from his home during a raid on Deir Abu Daif, east of Ramallah.

The Prisoners’ Media Office said two former prisoners who were recently released as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal after spending 20 years in Israeli prisons were rearrested in the town of Idhna in Hebron. A teacher was also arrested in the town.

Several Palestinians were arrested during a violent raid on Kafr Qaddum, south of Jenin, and another raid was reported on the Askar al-Jadeed refugee camp in Nablus, but with no arrests.

Israel using cruel methods to torture Gaza prisoners: Monitor

Israel is using a variety of cruel methods to torture Palestinians taken prisoner from the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office. They include:

Israel blocks Ramallah meeting with Arab ministers

Israel will not allow a planned meeting in the Palestinian administrative capital of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, to go ahead, an Israeli official says, after media reported that Arab ministers planning to attend had been stopped from coming.

The delegation included ministers from Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, Palestinian Authority officials said. The ministers would require Israeli consent to travel to the West Bank from Jordan.

An Israeli official told Reuters news agency the ministers intended to take part in “a provocative meeting” to discuss promoting the establishment of a Palestinian state.

“Such a state would undoubtedly become a terrorist state in the heart of the land of Israel,” the official said. “Israel will not cooperate with such moves aimed at harming it and its security.”

A Palestinian Authority official said that the issue of whether the meeting in Ramallah would be able to go ahead was under discussion.

‘Quiet part being said out loud’ about Israel’s settlement enterprise

Political analyst Ori Goldberg says the Israeli government’s new settlement announcement is a “big deal” that shows how brazen it has become in annexing land. Yet paradoxically, he calls it a “desperate move” driven by settlers who sense their political influence is fragile.

“Settlers are quite aware of the fact that come the next election cycle … their position inside and outside of Israel will not allow them to do this as easily,” Goldberg told Al Jazeera.

Establishing more settlements is “the only way for the settlers who are holding on to significant political power to make a statement”.

One of the leading figures in the pro-settler movement, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, understands this dynamic well and is intent on aggressively promoting settlement expansion, says Goldberg.

“Smotrich has absolutely no political livelihood if he is not able to say this as loudly and as clearly as he can,” he said. “He knows this is the only moment he can push this initiative forward and get some kind of national support.”

“The main difference following the almost two-year war in Gaza, is that all the quiet parts are spoken out loud,” he added.

‘Blatant violation’: Arab ministers forced to cancel Ramallah visit over Israeli curbs

Jordan’s Foreign Ministry says a planned visit to Ramallah by an Arab ministerial delegation has been called off today due to Israeli obstruction.

In a statement, the ministry said the delegation – including ministers from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE – was forced to cancel after Israel denied access through the airspace over the occupied West Bank, which it controls.

The delegation condemned the move as a “blatant violation” that “reflects the arrogance of the Israeli government” and its “disregard for international law”, according to the statement.

Protesters march in Mauritania against Israeli siege of Gaza

Video footage taken by our Al Jazeera Arabic colleagues showed residents of the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, taking to the streets to denounce the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza. The protesters, including children and women, were seen waving Mauritanian and Palestinian flags while shouting slogans against Israel.

The protesters are demanding that Israel lift the blockade against starving Palestinians and end the deadly strikes that have displaced hundreds of thousands of people. According to the latest figures from UN OCHA, nearly 200,000 people were displaced in Gaza in the last two weeks alone.

مسيرة حاشدة تجوب شوارع نواكشوط مطالبة بوقف الإبادة في قطاع #غزة#حرب_غزة pic.twitter.com/1MSyEdpUto

— قناة الجزيرة (@AJArabic) May 31, 2025

US children’s YouTube star Ms Rachel says world leaders must be ‘ashamed’

YouTube star Ms Rachel, who is massively popular in the US for her children’s content, has released a video directed at leaders who see Israel’s mass killing in Gaza and ignore it.

“You saw the doctor who had her nine children come to her who had been killed. You saw the little girl walking through the fire,” she said in a video post on Instagram.

“It’s never been wrong to say not to starve children, not bomb children, and not to kill 15,000 children. What’s wrong is to be silent.”

Ms Rachel has been using her platform to raise awareness about the horrors unfolding in Gaza, and last week met with a three-year-old from the enclave who lost her legs in an Israeli air strike.

Pro-Palestinian march in Athens

_{Protesters in the Greek capital rally in support of Palestinians in Gaza}

Students stage graduation walkout at New York’s Hunter College in support of Gaza

Dozens of students walked out of a graduation ceremony at New York’s Hunter College on Friday, chanting pro-Palestinian slogans during the dean’s speech.

Footage shows the group exiting the hall to a mix of cheers from some in the audience. Outside, the students were joined by a larger group of pro-Palestinian protesters demanding the school sever financial ties with Israel-linked companies.

Last year, a series of pro-Palestinian protests, starting at New York’s Columbia University, swept colleges across the country.

The Trump administration has since launched a campaign against pro-Palestinian activism on college campuses, including by revoking the visas of foreign students critical of Israel.

Student protesters just walked out of the Hunter College commencement and are rallying outside protesting in solidarity with Palestine against the university’s complicity in genocide 🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/gb3RDx54PJ

— Gerard (@GerardDalbon) May 30, 2025