Gershon Baskin

Ramadan Dabash, a Palestinian resident of Sur Baher running for Jerusalem's city council, at his second home in Beit Hanina, July 2018 (Adam Rasgon/Times of Israel)

August 2, 2018, 10:00 am

Taboo-breaking Palestinian candidate says East Jerusalem deserves better

Hoping to be deputy mayor, Ramadan Dabash campaigns for city elections, defying PLO and aiming to mobilize electorate that stays away: ‘We’re not telling anyone to become Israeli’

By Adam Rasgon

From left to right: Zionist Union MK Amir Peretz, Jewish Home MK Shuli Mualem and Zehava Shaul, mother of Oron Shaul, at the Knesset, January 25, 2017 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

January 25, 2017, 10:55 pm

Families of fallen soldiers lament government inaction

Parents of Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, whose remains are held by Hamas in Gaza, exhort MKs behind new lobby to ‘do something’

By TOI staff

Senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk (second from left) speaks to media at the Rafah crossing in the southern Gaza Strip after negotiations in Cairo, August 28, 2014. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

January 13, 2017, 6:26 am

Israel-Hamas talks on return of civilians and soldiers remains fall through

As precondition, Palestinian terror group reportedly demands release of security prisoners freed in Gilad Shalit deal and rearrested since

By Avi Issacharoff

French President Francois Hollande (C), United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (C-L), French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault (C-R), US Secretary of State John Kerry (4th R), European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini (3rd R) and officials pose for a group photo at an international meeting in a bid to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process in Paris, on June 3, 2016. (AFP Photo/Pool/Kamil Zihnioglu)

June 7, 2016, 1:49 am

For Israelis and Palestinians, peace plans just keep coming

A slew of proposals have been put forward in recent weeks to revive negotiations and solve the decades-long Middle East conflict

By Ben Sales

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads the weekly cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, May 15, 2016. (Emil Salman/POOL)

May 17, 2016, 2:32 pm

Netanyahu’s office denies Abbas offered secret talks

PM spokesman says ‘no truth whatsoever’ to claims Palestinians made 3 separate attempts to start closed-door negotiations

By JTA and Raoul Wootliff

Mahmoud Abbas, left, and Saeb Erekat. (Uri Lenz/Flash90)

August 20, 2015, 10:33 pm

As West Bank storm brews, Abbas looks to groom a successor

September could be a fateful month — with an escalation of violence, major changes in the Palestinian leadership, or both

By Avi Issacharoff

Avraham Avera Mengistu, who is believed to be held captive by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. (Facebook)

July 10, 2015, 9:18 pm

Israel fears Gaza captive may no longer be alive

With no word in months, officials fear for Avraham Mengistu’s life, say there will be no prisoner exchange for him or 2nd missing Israeli

By TOI staff

Illustrative: Hamas members watch as a bus carrying Palestinian prisoners arrives at the Rafah crossing with Egypt in the southern Gaza Strip on October 18, 2011. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash 90)

July 10, 2015, 4:30 am

Israel: No prisoner swap for Gaza-held Israelis

Jerusalem expects Hamas to free 2 captives on humanitarian grounds, officials say; hostages won’t be included in deal for return of soldiers’ bodies

By Adiv Sterman and TOI staff

Hamas official Ghazi Hamad speaks during a press conference at a hotel in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, February 8, 2007 (photo credit: AP/Hasan Jamali)

January 2, 2015, 11:57 am

From a Hamas leader, unusual introspection

Top Gaza official Ghazi Hamad breaks two taboos in a most unusual op-ed: he admits unity with Fatah is a sham, and criticizes Hamas’s sole reliance on ‘armed resistance.’ But there is no softening on Israel

By Elhanan Miller

Israeli potatoes in Jerusalem, March 2007 (photo credit: Orel Cohen/Flash90)

August 18, 2014, 6:55 pm

Buy potatoes for peace

Gershon Baskin, one of the negotiators responsible for Gilad Shalit deal, raises $93,000 to transfer Israeli spuds to Gaza

By Debra Kamin

Israeli soldiers on patrol in Netiv Ha'asara on the second day of Operation Protective Edge, on July 9, 2014. (photo credit: Edi Israel/Flash90)

July 11, 2014, 4:38 am

Will Israel’s third Gaza conflict in six years end any differently?

Even a ground invasion would be unlikely to topple Hamas, or to end rocket fire for more than a couple of years

By Ben Sales

A member of the Israeli and foreigner's group tour to Ramallah takes a photo of the Palestinian national flag during their visit to a museum dedicated to national poet Mahmoud Darwish. (photo credit: AP/Nasser Nasser)

April 17, 2014, 11:30 am

Replacing fear with curiosity, Israelis foray into Ramallah

Trip to West Bank center meant to foster dialogue, but visit strained by Palestinian opposition to normalization with Israel

By Karin Laub

Hamas Deputy Foreign Minister Ghazi Hamad, at a press conference. (photo credit: YouTube screenshot)

February 18, 2014, 6:01 pm

Hamas denies correspondence with Israel

Deputy FM Ghazi Hamad says Times of Israel report ‘fabricated,’ no communication between Gaza PM Haniyeh and Netanyahu

By Aron Dónzis

Former Hamas prime minister in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh. (photo credit: AP/Hatem Moussa)

February 18, 2014, 10:39 am

Hamas head sent message to Netanyahu asking for restraint

Intermediary Gershon Baskin confirms he was passed message by contact in room with Ismail Haniyeh, asking Israel to keep from escalating violence

By Avi Issacharoff

US Secretary of State John Kerry with Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al-Thani, second from left, and Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby, April 29, 2013 (photo credit: AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

May 1, 2013, 9:16 pm

Arab Peace Initiative, take 2: Major development or ‘scam’?

Could the amended formula for a two-state solution yield a breakthrough? The consensual answer seems to be, ‘Maybe, but…’

By Raphael Ahren