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Israel goes to the polls: Will Netanyahu retain his throne?

Election day is here. After months of campaigning, today Israel’s political parties can only watch anxiously as the country heads to the polls. The past four months have been nothing if not dramatic, with accusations of corruption, armies of social media bots and phone hacking. Yet despite the theatrics, mud-slinging and cries of foul play, the polls suggest this could be one of the closest-fought elections Israel has seen. Will King Netanyahu retain his throne? Stay tuned to the MEMO live blog for all the latest updates and the initial exit poll at 22:00 local time [19:00 GMT, 20:00 BST].

Palestine's Million Man March to end the siege on Gaza

Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip are today gathering at the border fence for a Million Man March to mark the first anniversary of the Great March of Return. On 30 March 2018, tens of thousands of Gazans gathered for the first day of the march. Though originally planned to take place every Friday for six weeks, a year later the march has grown in momentum, despite Israel’s repeated attempts to quash the protests. To date, Israel has killed 273 protesters since the beginning of the Great March of Return, among them 51 children. Palestinians are braced for a violent response from Israel, which has been amassing troops, tanks and reserve aerial units along the Gaza fence. Earlier this week Israel bombed the coastal enclave, destroying civilian infrastructure including a mosque and tens of Palestinians’ homes. MEMO will be liveblogging developments throughout the day; stay tuned for the latest updates.

With elections weeks away, Israel pounds Gaza

Israel today began strikes on the Gaza Strip, hitting targets across the already-besieged enclave. MEMO is liveblogging the latest developments. The strikes began this evening at around 18:00 local time (16:00 GMT), after Israel spent the day preparing for the assault. After claiming that a rocket was fired from Gaza on a town north of Tel Aviv, the Israeli army sent two army brigades – amounting to over 1,000 soldiers – to the Gaza fence and called up reservists from aerial units in preparation for air strikes. Israel also today locked down the Gaza Strip, closing the Kerem Shalom (Karm Abu Salem) and Erez (Beit Hanoun) crossings which allow goods and medical supplies into the enclave. It also reduced the fishing zone it imposes off Gaza’s Mediterranean coast, further blockading the territory. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – who also serves as the country’s defence minister - cut short his trip to the US to oversee the assault, returning to Israel "to manage our operations up close". With just two weeks to go before Israel’s upcoming general election on 9 April, commentators have speculated that Netanyahu may hit Gaza with a particularly heavy hand in order to prove himself to the country’s right-wing and secure his re-election in the wake of struggling polling figures.

Palestinians protest Israel's closure of Al-Aqsa gate

Earlier this week, Israel closed Jerusalem’s Bab Al-Rahma, sometimes known as Golden Gate, which leads to Al-Aqsa compound. Although Al-Rahma has long been out of use, Israel on Sunday installed new locks and metal chains on the gate. Under the status quo agreement - which declares Al-Aqsa compound to be under the jurisdiction of the Jordanian Waqf (Islamic endowment) - Israel is forbidden from making any changes to the holy site and its surroundings. Throughout the week, Israel has cracked down on Palestinians protesting against the move, attacking students and worshippers and raiding the Al-Aqsa compound. Jordan has issued a statement condemning the Israeli violations “in the strongest possible terms,” stressing that Israel should “act in accordance with international law and immediately reopen the gates”. Yesterday, leader of Hamas’ political bureau Ismail Haniyeh called Israel’s actions “extraordinarily alarming” and accused it of planning a “full takeover of the holy site”. Haniyeh called on Palestinians from across the occupied West Bank, Jerusalem and Israel “to gather on Friday [today] at Al-Aqsa Mosque and defend it in order to foil the newly imposed Israeli measures aimed at Judaising the compound”.

Palestinian anger as Israel tightens grip on occupied territories

This week has seen increased tensions and violence across the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt), with the Israeli army undertaking nightly raids, arresting scores of Palestinians and shooting several to death, citing a series of attacks against Israeli soldiers and illegal settlers as justification. In response, Hamas – which governs the besieged Gaza Strip – has called for a “day of rage”, while protests are also expected across the occupied West Bank. Stay tuned to our live blog for the latest updates.

Palestinians protest as Israel bans guards, scholars from Al-Aqsa

Last weekend, Israel banned the head of the Waqf, Sheikh Abdul-Azim Salhab, from Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque. Salhab was banned from entering the compound for 40 days, while Sheikh Najeh Bkerat, the deputy director of Muslim Endowments and Al-Aqsa Affairs, was also banned from the holy site for four months. Under the status quo agreement, the Waqf holds custodianship of the city’s Islamic and Christian holy sites. Israel is forbidden from making changes to the compound or its surroundings under the agreement. This week’s ban, however, was the latest in a string of Israeli violations of the status quo in recent weeks. Last month, Israel closed Jerusalem’s Bab Al-Rahma, sometimes known as Golden Gate, which leads to Al-Aqsa compound. Although Al-Rahma has long been out of use, Israel installed new locks and metal chains on the gate, before cracking down on Palestinians who protested against the move. The Waqf has called for Palestinians from Jerusalem, the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) and Israel to today hold a mass prayer and protest outside Al-Aqsa compound against the banning of its employees and leaders.

Palestine Book Awards 2018 Pre-launch Evening

Join us for an evening with authors of the shortlisted books for the Palestine Book Awards 2018! The evening is a chance for the authors to discuss their works, ideas and inspirations.

Remembering Jamal

In association with the Al Sharq Forum, Middle East Monitor is hosting an international memorial in honour of Jamal Khashoggi. Jamal, a leading journalist and columnist on the Middle East and an outspoken critic of the Saudi Arabian regime, was killed on October 2nd at the consulate of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul, Turkey. Follow our live blog for up-to-date coverage on the event and the contributions from our panel of speakers.

Palestinian outrage as US embassy opens in Jerusalem, 70 years since Nakba Day

As dozens of Palestinians have been killed and hundreds more have been injured by Israeli forces, MEMO will be doing a live coverage as protests take place across the occupied territories ahead of the US embassy opening in Jerusalem and the 70th anniversary of the Nakba.

Jerusalem Watch

On 6 December US President Donald Trump declared his intention to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem sparking outrage across the Middle East and the international community. Stay tuned as MEMO covers the reactions from across the world.

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