Palestinians voted in local elections on Saturday that, for the first time in two decades, include Gaza and will gauge the political mood as Israel's government seeks to destroy any future for a Palestinian state. The West Bank-based Palestinian Authority (PA) hopes the symbolic inclusion of the Gaza city of Deir al-Balah will reinforce its claim to authority over the territory from which it was ousted by Hamas in 2007. Gazans, who are struggling to meet their basic needs in the devastated enclave, welcomed the opportunity to vote. "As a Palestinian and a son of the Gaza Strip, I feel proud that after this war the democratic process is returning," said voter Mamdouh al-Bhaisi, 52, at the Deir al-Balah polling station. Israel has extended control over Gaza and West Bank Since a US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza between Hamas and Israel took effect in October, intermittent talks led by the United States have made little progress towards a settlement that envisages internat...
Iran said it had hanged an Iranian working for Israeli intelligence on Saturday for vandalism and violence during nationwide protests this year, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported. It said Erfan Kiani, a “hired thug of Mossad,” had engaged in the destruction and arson of public and private property, spreading fear and terror across the central city of Isfahan, and wielding a machete. He was hanged early in the morning after his sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court and following legal procedures, Tasnim said. Read: Iran says dual national held for espionage is Swedish Iran executed a man in December 2025 on charges of spying for Israel's intelligence agency, Mossad. This brings the number of convicts Iran has executed on espionage charges since June this year to 10. The executed man had been identified as Aghil Keshavarz, a 27-year-old architecture student. Keshavarz was arrested by soldiers earlier this year in the northwestern city of Urmia, ...