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Palestinians, mostly children search for food among burnt debris in the aftermath of an Israeli strike
Image: Mohammed Salem/REUTERS

Israel and the crisis in the Middle East

Israel's war in Gaza has exacerbated regional tensions in the Middle East.

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All Content on this topic

Calls for investigation into allegations of war crimes in Gaza

The UN Human Rights Council has been debating a report by a fact-finding mission, which accuses both Israel and Hamas militants of committing war crimes and calls on both sides to mount credible investigations.
September 29, 2009
A Palestinian man looks at a building, used by the Hamas government, after it was destroyed by an Israeli air strike in Gaza City

Goldstone report

A study critical of Israel's action in last winter's Gaza Strip conflict is presented at the UN.
September 29, 2009
Members of the 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly

UN General Assembly

The Middle East peace process and Iran dominate proceedings at the United Nations General Assembly.
September 25, 2009

Parents in Israel and Gaza campaign for sons' return

The parents of an Israeli soldier who has been held by his captors in Gaza for three years, joined parents of Palestinian prisoners in Israel on the Gazan border to call for the release of all their sons.
September 17, 2009
Smoke rises fromGaza City after an Israel bombardment

Gaza crimes

Palestinian militants and Israeli military both committed war crimes according to a UN report.
September 15, 2009
Israeli and European flags

Israeli settlements

The EU has criticized Israel over new settlement plans in East Jerusalem.
July 21, 2009
A Palestinian man looks at a building destroyed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza City

War crimes

A group of Israeli soldiers has spoken of abuses against civilians in the recent Gaza war.
July 15, 2009
An injured Palestinian man looks on as others inspect a damaged building in Gaza

Gaza offensive

Amnesty International releases a report accusing Israel of war crimes in the recent Gaza conflict.
July 2, 2009
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Palestinian statehood

Israel's Prime Minister outlines the conditions under which he would accept Palestinian statehood.
June 14, 2009
The EU's top diplomat Javier Solana

Solana visits Lebanon

EU foreign policy chief Solana is in Beirut for talks on post-election developments in Lebanon.
June 13, 2009
Flags of Lebanon and EU

Elections in Lebanon

The EU is expected to continue its strong ties to Beirut, even if an Hezbollah-led alliance wins.
June 6, 2009
US President Barack Obama shaking hands with Saudi King Abdullah

Fence-mending visit

Obama arrives in Saudi Arabia, a day before a widely- anticipated speech to the Muslim world.
June 3, 2009
Police hold back crowd in front of bomb scene

Hezbollah denial

Hezbollah denies German reports of involvement in death of former Lebanese leader Rafik al-Hariri.
May 25, 2009
Israeli flag over West Bank countryside

US-Israeli talks

Talks between Obama and Netanyahu fail to reach an Israeli commitment to a two-state solution.
May 19, 2009
A banner of Pope Benedict on a Bethlehem street

Pope in West Bank

Pope Benedict backs Palestinians' right to a homeland during a visit to Bethlehem.
May 13, 2009
A Palestinian man looks at a destroyed building in Gaza

Damning report

A UN investigation slams Israeli forces for gross negligence during the recent Gaza war.
May 6, 2009
Workers, seen through a hole in a damaged building, sift through the rubble of a destroyed house in Gaza

Gaza probe

A Spanish judge is pressing on with an investigation into a 2002 bombing in the Gaza Strip.
May 4, 2009
A Palestinian assists a wounded woman, who according to Palestinian medical sources was injured in an Israeli strike, into Kamal Adwan hospital, in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahiya, Monday, Jan. 12, 2009

War in Gaza

The UN has appointed a Jewish judge to investigate alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza.
April 3, 2009
A handshake in front of the EU and Israeli flags

Pressure on Israel

The EU says ties with Israel could be under threat if its new leader rejects a Palestinian state.
March 28, 2009

UN Investigator Accuses Israel of Gaza War Crimes

The UN investigator looking into alleged human rights violations in the Palestinian territories has presented his report in Geneva. Richard Falk criticized Israel’s incursion into Gaza, questioning its legality.
March 23, 2009
A Palestinian man looks at a building, used by the Hamas government, after it was destroyed by an Israeli air strike in Gaza City,

Aid to Gaza

Europe has donated hundreds of millions of euros to help the reconstruction of war-torn Gaza.
March 2, 2009
Palestinians gather next to the rubble of a mosque that was part of a compound used by the security forces of Hamas the day after it was hit in an Israeli missile strike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, March 2, 2008.

Gaza Donor Conference

Donors will pledge billions to rebuild Gaza, but only if Hama plays no part in spending the money.
March 1, 2009

No Change in Israel

No winners will emerge from this latest Israeli election, says DW's Peter Philipp.
February 11, 2009
israeli flag and a person casting a vote

Close Race

Israel is expected to shift to the right in a parliamentary election held after a Gaza offensive.
February 10, 2009
Photo of part of Cairo

Egyptian Spies Detain German-Egyptian Student

Egypt's domestic intelligence service has detained a German-Egyptian graduate student after a march in support of Gaza, witnesses and his sister said Sunday, Feb. 8.
February 8, 2009
Abbas speaking to the European Parliament

Gaza Conflict

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has asked for EU peacekeepers to be sent to the Middle East.
February 4, 2009
Daniel Barenboim, conducting

Rebuilding Gaza

Conductor Barenboim has called for a German-led 'Marshall Plan' in the Gaza Strip.
February 4, 2009
View of a destroyed home in the northern Gaza Strip

Fragile Ceasefire

As mediation efforts continue, Gaza's fragile truce is threatened by more violence and threats.
February 3, 2009
Palestinians inspect the damage to a Hamas security complex after it was destroyed in an Israeli air strike

Mideast Violence

French leader Sarkozy met Palestinian President Abbas to firm up an increasingly shaky Gaza truce.
February 2, 2009
Defaced Jewish gravestones bearing the swastika

Increased Tensions

Increased tensions and anger in Germany prompt fears of a turning tide against Jews in the country.
February 1, 2009

Mideast Tensions

DW's Baha Güngör says Turkish PM Erdogan has discredited himself as a mediator after a public spat.
January 30, 2009
Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, left, with Israeli President Shimon Peres

Controversy at Davos

Israeli President Peres says a public spat with Turkey's prime minister over Gaza won't affect ties.
January 30, 2009
Palestinians inspect the damage at a building following Israeli military operations, in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City

EU Aid for Gaza

The European Commission will provide 58 million euros in aid to the Palestinians this year.
January 26, 2009
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe

Zimbabwe Sanctions

The European Union piled more sanctions on the regime of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.
January 26, 2009
destruction in Gaza

Pushing Peace

EU ministers are to meet Mideast counterparts to discuss ways to relaunch peace moves.
January 25, 2009
A rocket explodes over Gaza

Bomb Probe

Germany asks Israel to investigate allegations over illegal use of phosphorus shells.
January 23, 2009
Far left, Tzipi Livni, with with EU's Foreign Affairs chief Javier Solana (center) and EU Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner, right, on a discussion podium

Border Debate

In Brussels, Israel's Tzipi Livni stressed the need to halt weapons smuggling into the Gaza Strip.
January 22, 2009
An injured Palestinian man looks on as others inspect the damage at a building following Israeli military operations, in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City

UN Chief in Gaza City

UN Chief Ban Ki-moon witnesses the Gaza destruction firt hand during a visit Tuesday.
January 20, 2009
A Palestinian smuggler climbs from a tunnel as a hose is seen that is used to bring fuel from Egypt to Gaza before the recent conflict

Gaza Aftermath

Germany pledges to help find Gaza smuggling tunnels as its foreign minister devises a peace plan.
January 20, 2009
An Israeli soldier carries his equipment near the Israel-Gaza border on Monday

After the Fighting

Israel is continuing its pullout of the Gaza Strip as the ceasefire holds.
January 19, 2009
Opinion

No Winners in Gaza

DW's Peter Philipp says Jews and Palestinians can only achieve peace by rejecting extremism.
January 19, 2009
Summit participants with flags in the background

Calls for Durable Peace

World leaders meeting in Egypt have called for a durable peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
January 18, 2009
Israeli soldiers gesture as they return to Israel from the northern Gaza Strip, Sunday Jan. 18

Fragile Ceasefire

Hamas has agrees to halt fighting after Israel announced a unilateral ceasefire.
January 18, 2009
Protestors march during a pro-Palestinian demonstration against the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip on Jan. 17, 2009, in Paris. The banner reads "Israel, USA, Murderers"

European Protests

Thousands took to the streets of Europe to demonstrate against ongoing violence in the Gaza Strip.
January 17, 2009
Soldiers in Gaza, smoke in the background

Israel Weighs Unilateral Ceasefire Without Peace Deal

The Israeli security cabinet was expected to vote Saturday night on a ceasefire proposal, as the military campaign entered its fourth week and airstrikes continued overnight across the Gaza Strip.
January 17, 2009
Smoke rises from Gaza City after an Israeli rocket strike

Push for Peace

UN Chief Ban Ki-moon urges Israel to declare a unilateral humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip.
January 16, 2009
Palestinian relatives of Hamas militant Sami Lobad, who was killed in an Israeli missile strike, during his funeral

Gaza Conflict

Muslims in Germany say war isn't the answer to solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
January 16, 2009
The UN compound up in smoke after being hit by a bomb

Bombing Campaign

A UN compound in Gaza has been hit by what observers say are phosphorus shells sent by Israel.
January 15, 2009
Angela Merkel points as Gordon Brown looks on

New Bid for Peace

German and British leaders called for urgent action to end the hostilities in the Gaza Strip.
January 15, 2009
An Israeli army mobile artillery piece fires towards targets in the southern Gaza Strip, on the Israel side of the border with Gaza Sunday, Jan. 4, 2009.

Calming the Mideast

Israel's former ambassador to Germany says the EU can play a key peacekeeping role in Gaza.
January 15, 2009