Palestinian political figure and longtime inmate
Fatah has held its eighth General Conference and has re-elected Mahmoud Abbas as movement chair while voters have elected a new Central Committee. Marwan Barghouti has topped the vote, Majed Faraj and Jibril Rajoub have won seats, and Yasser Abbas has secured a place on the Central Committee.
Israel and its allies are under renewed pressure as mediation efforts on southern Lebanon and southern Syria are tested by ongoing clashes, shifting security zones, and new calls for withdrawal. The broader Middle East crisis is escalating with US-led diplomacy pushing for a staged redeployment while maintaining security arrangements.
President Donald Trump has directed the Pentagon to respond "many times" over for every US soldier Iran kills, and US Central Command has launched repeated airstrikes on Iranian targets while Iran has struck US positions and allies in the Gulf. Seventeen US service members have been killed and roughly 430 wounded since February.