'Granting the country's highest civilian honour to Prime Minister Modi was surprising as it indicated the government was going out of its way to have India as a close partner.'
The Palestinian foreign ministry also denied this information, saying, "Our ambassador in Pakistan is in Palestine and our position was declared by our official statement which we have published last week."
Meet Ibrahim Ghunaim, who raps to a different beat in an Islamist-ruled Palestinian enclave.
FIFA chief Sepp Blatter, visiting the Middle East to try to persuade the Palestine FA (PFA) to drop a proposal to suspend Israel from the world body, on Tuesday proposed a peace match.
United States President Barack Obama, on a historic trip to the West Bank, on Thursday told Israel that its settlement activities were "not constructive" for peace in the region, and pledged his commitment to a two-state solution as Palestinians "deserve a state of their own".
"India, the second largest populated nation in the world and the biggest democracy with a booming economy, including hi-tech, could play an important role in the Middle East peace process," Abbas told PTI in an interview a day before leaving for New Delhi.
In a brutal attack, two Palestinians wielding axes, knives and guns, on Tuesday killed at least four Israeli worshippers in a Jewish synagogue and a seminary and injured another eight, prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to vow a "harsh response" to the murders.
Abbas seeks India's role in peace process as PM Modi visits Palestine.
Hundreds of people are feared dead after a deadly blast at a hospital in Gaza for which Hamas and Israel traded charges holding each other responsible for the incident.
Palestinian sports supremo Jibril Rajoub has threatened to call for Israel's expulsion from world soccer's governing body after it denied a number of officials entry to the West Bank for a youth tournament on security grounds
In Amman, Biden will meet with King Abdullah of Jordan, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
The consignments were sent in a C-17 transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force.
Here's a collection of some of the best photos from around the world shot in the last 24 hours.
Modi said New Delhi has emphasised on dialogue and diplomacy along with restraint to deal with the situation arising out of the Hamas-Israel conflict.
A veteran journalist working for Al Jazeera was killed on Wednesday during an Israeli operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, prompting the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Qatar-based network to blame the Israeli Army for her death.
Trump described the agreement as the "worst" and "one-sided transactions" that America has ever entered into.
Netanyahu would be received by Modi in Ahmedabad on his arrival on January 14, the sources said.
Stepping up its offensive, Israeli military killed 26 Palestinians, including eight members of a family, in overnight raids on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, taking the death toll to more than 300 in the 12-day long conflict that has displaced thousands.
Amid spiralling violence and growing tension over the killing of three Israeli teens and the burning of an Arab boy in retaliation, a bereaved Jewish family has emerged as a steady and calming voice trying to instill reason among people calling for revenge.
Israel on Monday pressed on with its heavy bombardment of Gaza and foiled major infiltration attempts by Hamas on the 14th day of the conflict that has killed 558 Palestinians and 27 Israelis, even as the United Nations and the United States called for an "immediate ceasefire".
Modi will address world leaders from the iconic United Nations General Assembly hall on the morning of September 25, a day after he participates in the Quad Leaders' Summit in Washington, DC hosted by Biden on September 24.
Palestinians, who protested massively along the Gaza border clashed with Israeli forces.
The prime minister's visit will begin from Palestine on February 10 after transiting through Jordan, where he will meet King Abdullah II.
Israel on Tuesday bombed several mosques, a hospital and a stadium in Hamas-ruled Gaza even as international efforts intensified to broker a ceasefire to end the 15-day conflict that has killed 620 Palestinians and 29 Israelis.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met Jordan's King Abdullah II and said he had "wonderful" meeting that would further boost India-Jordan ties.
Trump becomes first sitting US President to pray at the Western Wall.
Israeli jets on Tuesday hit over 100 targets in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, killing at least 17 people, as the army mobilised 40,000 reservists to prepare for a "strong" ground offensive and warned the Palestinian group to be ready to pay a heavy price for its rocket attacks.
Out of 120 members of the Knesset (Israeli parliament), Netanyahu has the support of 64 members
'Modi's visit is path breaking in the sense that India has come out of the closet and is prepared to deal with Israel openly and in a host of fields, military as well as civilian,' says P R Kumaraswamy, one of India's leading experts on the Middle-East, currently in Israel.
Trump said his visit to Saudi Arabia will include a gathering of leaders from 'across the Muslim world' to unite against extremism.
He was merely responding to the changing currents in the region, which, unfortunately, are not favourable to the Palestinians, says P R Kumaraswamy.
Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party has claimed a stunning victory in the election.
He will also order the state department to start the process of planning and building a new US embassy in Jerusalem, but White House officials said that process would take at least three years.
Modi's visit is aimed at commemorating 25 years of establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
Israel needs to come terms with the new reality that they are no longer invincible or the dominant power in the West Asian region, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Leaders from 70 countries, including United States President Barack Obama and Arab politicians, gathered in Jerusalem on Friday to bid farewell to one of the last leaders of Israel's founding generation and Nobel Peace Prize winner Shimon Peres as his funeral began amid unprecedented security.
Israel on Thursday launched a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip even as hectic diplomatic efforts continued to broker a ceasefire to end the 10 days of conflict that has killed 237 Palestinians.
An uneasy 72-hour ceasefire brokered by Egypt between Israel and the Palestinian militant groups began on Tuesday morning after a month of fighting, with Hamas firing a salvo of long-range rockets minutes before the truce, calling them revenge for Israel's "massacres".
'The stage is set for increasing tensions in a highly volatile region as crucial as ever from a geopolitical standpoint,' predicts Claude Smadja.
No other foreign leader seems to have been extended such a warm welcome by an Israeli Prime Minister in the past few decades.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances