Jerusalem row: Palestinian leadership suspends recognition of Israel

AL JAZEERA
January 16, 2018

The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) has decided to suspend its recognition of Israel until the latter recognises the State of Palestine on its 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

During a meeting in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah late on Monday, the PLO, which is an umbrella of major Palestinian political parties, also said that the Oslo Accords, signed with Israel in the early 1990s, "no longer stand".

In the final statement read after the meeting, the PLO's Central Council, the second-highest Palestinian decision-making body, said that it would renew its decision to "stop security coordination [with Israel] in all its forms" and called on all Arab states "to sever all ties with any state that recognises Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and transfers its embassy to it".

The meeting comes following a decision in December by US President Donald Trump to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Breaking with decades of US policy in favour of a two-state solution, Trump's declaration dealt a blow to the Palestinian leadership, which for more than two decades has unsuccessfully attempted to establish a state on the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.

The PLO meeting in Ramallah was organised to lay out the Palestinian strategy to confront the US in the wake of its Jerusalem decision.

According to Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, the PLO rejected the US' "deal of the century" for a peaceful solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and affirmed it would find "other international pathways under the auspices of the United Nations to sponsor solving the Palestinian cause".

At the start of the two-day meeting, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas slammedTrump's peace proposal, saying: "Now we say 'No' to Trump, we won't accept his plan - we say the 'deal of the century' is the slap of the century," referring to the US president's pledge to achieve the "ultimate deal".

After officially recognising Israel's existence in 1988, the PLO and Israel signed the Oslo Accords in 1993 and 1995 meant to lead to the creation of an independent Palestinian state through the establishment of an interim Palestinian government - the Palestinian Authority.

The Oslo deals also gifted Israel complete control of the Palestinian economy, civil and security matters in over 60 percent of the West Bank, and introduced the controversial security coordination between Israel and the PA.

The PA says the only answer to more than 70-year-old conflict is the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

But since the signing of the Oslo Accords, the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories has only intensified, making it difficult for Palestinians to envision such a solution.

Currently, between 600,000 to 750,000 Israeli citizens - or 11 percent of the Israeli population - live in the occupied Palestinian territories - encouraged by the right-wing Israeli government which offers them incentives to move there.

Guarded by heavily armed Israeli soldiers, they have taken up large swaths of Palestinian private land.

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News Network
February 3,2026

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Kasaragod: An 18-year-old girl was stabbed to death at Thuminad in Manjeshwar panchayat on Monday, allegedly by her father following a domestic dispute. 

The victim has been identified as K U Mariyamath Jumaila. Her father, Umar Farooq, has been taken into police custody, Manjeshwar Station House Officer Inspector Ajith Kumar P said.

According to the police, Umar Farooq had been working in a West Asian country and returned home about three months ago. 

Family tensions reportedly escalated after his wife, Thahira (41), decided to seek a divorce and asked him to leave her life. Kasaragod district panchayat member Harshad Vorkady alleged that Umer was addicted to marijuana and frequently caused disturbances at home.

On Monday, Thahira asked Umar to come to her sister’s house in Thuminad to discuss the dispute. Jumaila accompanied her mother. 

Manjeshwar panchayat member Illiyas Thuminad said Umar arrived along with his brother, following which Thahira handed over gold ornaments and property documents to him and asked him to sever ties with her.

However, the police said a property dispute had been ongoing between Umar Farooq and his sister-in-law’s husband. During a heated argument, Umar allegedly attempted to attack the man with a sharp weapon. When Jumaila intervened to stop the assault, she was stabbed in the neck.

The teenager collapsed after bleeding profusely and was rushed to a private hospital in Mangaluru, where doctors declared her dead. Her body was later shifted to Mangalpady Taluk Hospital for post-mortem examination.

Jumaila was a former student of Sirajul Huda English Medium Higher Secondary School, Manjeshwar. 

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News Network
January 23,2026

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his visit to Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, January 23, indicated that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is aiming to expand its political footprint in Kerala ahead of the Assembly elections scheduled in the coming months.

Speaking at a BJP-organised public meeting, Modi drew parallels between the party’s early electoral gains in Gujarat and its recent victory in the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation. The civic body win, which ended decades of Left control, was cited by the Prime Minister as a possible starting point for the party’s broader ambitions in the state.

Recalling BJP’s political trajectory in Gujarat, Modi said the party was largely insignificant before 1987 and received little media attention. He pointed out that the BJP’s first major breakthrough came with its victory in the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation that year.

“Just as our journey in Gujarat began with one city, Kerala’s journey has also started with a single city,” Modi said, suggesting that the party’s municipal-level success could translate into wider electoral acceptance.

The Prime Minister alleged that successive governments led by the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF) had failed to adequately develop Thiruvananthapuram. He accused both fronts of corruption and neglect, claiming that basic infrastructure and facilities were denied to the capital city for decades.

According to Modi, the BJP’s control of the civic body represents a shift driven by public dissatisfaction with the existing political alternatives. He asserted that the BJP administration in Thiruvananthapuram had begun working towards development, though no specific details or timelines were outlined.

Addressing the gathering at Putharikandam Maidan, Modi said the BJP intended to project Thiruvananthapuram as a “model city,” reiterating his party’s commitment to governance-led change.

The Prime Minister’s visit to Kerala also included the inauguration of several development projects and the flagging off of new train services, as the BJP intensifies its political outreach in the poll-bound state.

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