Lull in US-Iran tit-for-tat attacks opens the door for intense diplomacy

The Refugee Convention still fails Palestinians 75 years on, and Britain must face up to its role in this, writes Victor Kattan.

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The head of the Yashar Party, Gadi Eisenkot, warned on Monday of the deteriorating situation in the occupied West Bank, considering that the region stands "on the brink of chaos," and holding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible for what he described as a "loss of control" due to coalition considerations.

During a national security conference organised by the Ynet website and Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper in cooperation with the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies, he said that Netanyahu "practically dismantled the party that was imposing control in the West Bank, which is the Israeli army as the ruling authority there."

Eisenkot added that Netanyahu granted the civil administration to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and the police to National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, which, according to him, led to "a complete loss of control, difficulty in exhausting the ability to thwart operations, and failure to implement law and order in Judea and Samaria."

He warned that Israel "is facing very difficult days" unless this reality is "immediately corrected."

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said on Monday they targeted several sensitive crude oil supply and transport sites linking eastern Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea city of Yanbu.

The group's military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said the action was in response to what he described as Saudi drone incursions into Yemeni airspace. 

EU firms maintain ties with Israel’s industrial settlements, despite evidence of environmental crimes being committed on Palestinian land and people.

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According to the Saudi Defence Ministry, Saudi Arabian air defences intercepted and destroyed drones coming from Iraq. 

Five strategic fronts could decide the future of Yemen as government forces and the Houthis prepare for a potential return to large-scale ground fighting.

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Wall Street futures climbed on Monday after the United States and Iran announced a pause in hostilities over the weekend, driving oil prices sharply lower and boosting risk appetite ahead of a week of major earnings, economic data and an interest rate decision.

A wide swathe of stocks sensitive to energy prices rose in premarket trading. United Airlines and Southwest Airlines were up 4% and 3.6%, respectively. Cruise operators Royal Caribbean and Carnival rose 2.4% and 3.2%, respectively.

A 7.8% slide in Brent Crude prices to $89.23 a barrel weighed on shares of energy companies. Occidental Petroleum and Exxon Mobil were down 4% and 3.1%, respectively.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has taken off for Washington, DC, from the Israeli Nevatim Airbase.

He is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump tomorrow, Tuesday, as well as to attend a funeral service for the late Republican senator Lindsey Graham.

According to the Israeli press, his flight, originally scheduled for 11 am local time, was delayed by more than two hours.

His office did not explain the reason for the delay or announced that he has departed to the US.

Iran's foreign ministry on Monday said it was not currently involved in negotiations with the United States, despite a halt in recent fighting between the two sides.

"Mediators may convey messages from the American side to us regarding current developments in the region. But at present, we are not engaged in any negotiations with the United States," ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said at a weekly press briefing.

"Claims that Iran has requested negotiations are fabrications that the other side circulates from time to time," he added.

Baqaei criticised the United States, saying its conduct in recent years has "resembled that of a mafia gang that adheres to no rules or laws".

"So long as such behaviour by the United States continues, we cannot be hopeful about the emergence of a reasonable process," he added.

European shares climbed on Monday, as a pause in US-Iran hostilities over the weekend sent oil prices lower and boosted risk appetite.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.7% at 648.9, as of 0850 GMT, having touched its highest since 7 July.

Brent crude futures dropped 6% to around $90 a barrel, after Washington paused its bombing campaign over arsenal deletion concerns, and Iran said it would do the same if the US did.

Travel and leisure stocks were among the biggest gainers, up 2.3%, as lower oil prices boosted the outlook for airlines. Shares of Lufthansa, IAG and Ryanair added about 3% each.

Energy stocks lost 2%, making them the top decliners on the STOXX 600.

"How the situation will develop is unclear, and the risk of further escalation remains high... A retest of oil price highs from earlier this year cannot be ruled out should military actions intensify," said UBS analysts in a note.

However, global markets welcomed the de-escalation with Asian markets and Wall Street futures edging up. The resumption in hostilities recently had heightened inflation concerns, especially in energy import-heavy regions such as Asia and Europe.

An official military source in the General Command of the Jordanian Armed Forces stated, in a statement, that Royal Air Force aircraft intercepted and shot down two drones that targeted the Kingdom’s territory this morning, with no casualties or material damage.

The statement did not specify the source of the two drones.

Mediators have achieved progress in efforts to get the United States and Iran back to negotiations and avert an all-out war in the region, two regional officials said Monday, with a pause in attacks coming after a period of rapidly escalating tensions.

The comments came after neither the US nor Iran reported carrying out any attacks for three straight days—a respite after about two weeks of sustained bombardments that had led to increasing fears of a return to all-out war.

The two regional officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive regional talks, said mediators led by Qatar and Pakistan were working to bridge the gap between Washington and Tehran to return to an interim ceasefire deal that had been largely undermined by recent exchanges of fire.

At a conference of the Institute for National Security Studies, Together party leader Naftali Bennett, who seeks to unseat current far-right Israeli prime minister Netanyahu, says that in the next government, he intends to declare Qatar an enemy state.

"Qatar is a violent antisemitic cancer that is spreading metastases to the West and even to the office of Israel's prime minister, with the aim of destroying the State of Israel," Bennett says.

He adds that through its Al Jazeera news network, it is running "a global influence operation aimed at eliminating Israel."

The Jerusalem Governorate reported that the Israeli occupation forces this morning threw tear gas bombs into the center of the Qalandiya camp, north of Jerusalem, as they also stormed into the Qalandiya Technical Training Institute, where they abducted teachers, administrators and workers. 

The governorate reported that the occupation forces demolished a house and a sheep barn in the town of Beit Hanina al-Tahta, north of occupied Jerusalem.

Neighboring countries carried out strikes against Iran, says Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei.

Iran has been regularly attacking Gulf nations since the outbreak of war in February, citing their cooperation with and hosting of US military bases.

"Against all norms of international law and the principle of being a good neighbor, these countries opened their territory to parties attacking Iran," Baghaei says. "In some cases, we know that they independently participated in the military aggression against Iran."

Iran's foreign ministry on Monday said the United States was not involved in recent talks with Oman over the administration of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

"These talks have no connection with the United States. They are a bilateral matter between Iran and Oman, and they are continuing," said the ministry's spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press briefing, adding that the waterway "remains closed".

The general supervisor of the Al-Baidar human rights organisation, Hassan Malihat, reported to The New Arab that the occupation forces demolished homes and sheep pens belonging to citizen Marei Muhammad Malihat in the Arab Al-Kaabna community near Beit Hanina, northwest of Jerusalem, noting that the community, which includes hundreds of families, was subjected to a deportation operation about a month ago.

Iran's foreign ministry warned on Monday of "unforeseen" consequences following Ukraine's attack on an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea over the weekend.

"This action by Ukraine was an absolutely illegal and unjustified act, contrary to the Charter of the United Nations, as well as a dangerous act of adventurism that will certainly not go unanswered by us," the ministry's spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a weekly press briefing, adding that the consequences of Ukraine's action "will certainly be unforeseen".

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Two suspected drones were intercepted by the Israeli army over the border with Jordan, near the Dead Sea, according to Israeli media.

The Iranian Fars Agency reported that US air operations indicate an "attempt by American forces to open" the southern section of the Strait of Hormuz.
Fars said in a post on the Telegram: "Air navigation data shows the activity of American military support aircraft in the Gulf,” noting that this pattern of US air support had previously been seen for tankers that intended to cross the Strait of Hormuz without adhering to Iranian arrangements.

The agency attached aerial photos in which it said that 5 American support aircraft could be directly monitored over the Gulf.

Saturday was the second consecutive night in almost two weeks that the US did not bomb Iran.

Since resuming strikes on 13 July, the Pentagon has largely limited its attacks to Iran's southern coastline in an effort to dislodge the Revolutionary Guard from the Strait of Hormuz.

Earlier on Friday, Trump had threatened to expand the war with a "massive attack" on the Islamic Republic. Hours later, he did the opposite and ordered a pause in the fighting.

Here's what is going on.

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Wafa Agency reported that the Israeli occupation forces raided several towns in the Hebron Governorate, searched Palestinian homes and vehicles, in conjunction with erecting military checkpoints and closing main and secondary roads.

Local sources reported to the agency that the occupation forces stormed the towns of Beit Ummar, Idhna, Dura, and Yatta, searched Palestinian homes and vehicles, wreaked havoc on their contents, and subjected a number of their owners to interrogations, including a journalist.

In this context, the occupation forces set up several military checkpoints at the entrances to the city of Hebron, its towns, villages, and camps, and sealed off roads with iron gates, cement cubes, and dirt barriers.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is also wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity, will take off for Washington, DC, at 11 am local time, according to Israeli media

Tomorrow, he is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump, and then attend a funeral service for Lindsey Graham.

Netanyahu is expected to return on Thursday.

Shares were mostly higher on Monday in Asia as oil prices slipped more than 4% after the US and Iran refrained from fighting while discussing a possible resumption of negotiations on an interim ceasefire deal.

The Pentagon did not respond to questions about the pause in attacks on Iranian coastal areas and infrastructure after nearly two weeks of escalating fighting sparked by Iran’s firing at ships trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz.

But markets reacted with relief. US futures surged early Monday and the price of a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, dropped 4.6% to $87.46.

US benchmark crude dropped 5.1% to $84.79 per barrel.

Iranian authorities said that they stopped six ships in Gulf waters at dawn today, after attempting to cross routes that Tehran considers "illegal" in the southern part of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian television quoted a knowledgeable official as saying that these ships deliberately turned off their navigation and positioning systems, considering that these movements were instigated by US forces.

The Iranian official added that one of the ships suffered an accident during the attempt, while the other ships were taken back "under the firm management of Iranian forces."

The source stressed that the shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz have been previously defined, and that any attempt to take alternative routes will lead to security risks.