Germany to raise minimum wage despite pandemicMinimum-wage workers in Germany are set to see their incomes grow by nearly 12% percent by 2022, an official committee announced. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the minimum wage "must not fall behind," one minister said.


Germany's minimum wage will be raised over several stages, officials announced on Tuesday, eventually amounting to €10.45 ($11.74) per hour by mid-2022.

The talks on raising the minimum wage in Germany were "partly controversial" as members of the country's official commission wrangled over the sum, said commission head Jan Zilius.

However, after prolonging the talks and canceling one press conference last minute, the representatives of both employers and workers' unions unanimously agreed to boost the minimum wage from the current €9.35 to €10.45 by July 2022.

The minimum wage will be gradually increased over four stages, with the first bump set to take place in January 2021.

German Labor Minister Hubertus Heil said the government would implement the recommendation.

Read more: EU launches 'fair minimum wage' initiative

With the German economy reeling under the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, many employers have warned that raising the minimum wage too much would make it harder to hire people during the recovery phase.

The economy council of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative CDU party described it as a "millstone" for the business, according to a report published by the newspapers of the Funke media group.

In turn, workers' representatives said the raise would give boost to spending among some two people in the lowest income bracket. Following the Tuesday decision, the opposition Left and Green parties said the increase was too small.

Read more: Germany's minimum wage spurred productivity, but hit small firms

Germany's 'success story'

Labor Minister Heil, however, said there will be more minimum wage reforms coming this fall.

"The minimum wage must not fall behind," said the politician from the left-leaning SPD party, which is the junior partner in Merkel's ruling coalition.

Germany only introduced the minimum wage regulation in 2015. On Tuesday, Heil said it has been a "success story, that needs to keep being written" and that the state should work towards bringing it closer to €12 per hour.

The upcoming raise is set to be implemented in four stages, with the first increase set for January next year.

dj/rs (KNA, Reuters, dpa)

Montenegro: Parliament legalizes same-sex civil partnerships
Montenegro is the first European country outside of Western Europe and the EU to legally recognize same-sex couples. President Milo Djukanovic said it was a confirmation that Montenegrin society "is maturing."

The Balkan nation of Montenegro legalized same-sex partnerships on Wednesday. President Milo Djukanovic described the moment as "one step closer to joining the most developed world democracies."

Montenegro is considered a predominantly conservative and male-dominated society, where the LGBT+ community has often faced rejection and harassment.

But the country's government is currently undergoing advanced negotiations to join the EU. Boosting the rights of minority groups has been seen as necessary for the EU integration process.

The move makes Montenegro the first European country outside of Western Europe and the EU to legally recognize same-sex partnerships.

Read more: Balkan LGBT+ artists still fighting for Pride

Djukanovic said on Twitter that legalizing same-sex partnerships was "a confirmation that our society is maturing, accepting and living the differences. Born free and equal in dignity and rights!"


The law, which would give same-sex couples the same legal rights as heterosexual ones except over child adoption, passed Montenegro's 81-seat legislature by a margin of 42 votes to five.

"This is a huge leap in the right direction for the Montenegrin society," Prime Minister Dusko Markovic said. "In a European Montenegro, there is not and there should not be any room for sexual discrimination," Markovic added.

Most members of parliament who opposed the bill chose not to vote on it and described same-sex civil partnerships as something imposed by "global world Satanists."

LGBT Forum Progress group said the law had "unspeakably tremendous importance for all LGBT persons in Montenegro."

"I honestly I wasn't expecting it," said John Barac, executive director of LGBT Forum Progress. "It's really extraordinary; it's a big day for all of us."

jcg/sms (Reuters, AP, dpa)

European human rights court condemns France for treatment of asylum-seekers

The asylum-seekers from Russia, Iran and Afghanistan filed a complaint after spending months sleeping rough. The ECHR ordered France to pay damages, saying the men suffered "degrading treatment."


The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Thursday ordered France to pay compensation to three asylum-seekers who spent months sleeping on the street without any financial support.

The court noted that the applicants, all single men, waited months for acknowledgement that they had lodged asylum claims. Without this recognition, they were not able to access housing or welfare payments, and were at risk of deportation.

The court heard how one of them, a 46-year-old Iranian journalist, lived on the streets for almost six months before being granted refugee status. Another applicant, a 27-year-old Afghan national, was ultimately granted humanitarian protection in France after sleeping under canal bridges for 262 days. The third complainant was from Russia.

Read more: In lockdown: Migrants in France up against pandemic, police abuse

'Victims of degrading treatment'

The court said French officials had "failed in their duties," and that the men were "victims of degrading treatment" who were "sleeping rough, without access to sanitary facilities, having no means of subsistence and constantly in fear of being attacked or robbed."

Read more: French police remove over 1,600 migrants from Paris camps

The ECHR ordered the French government to pay the claimants damages ranging from €10,000 to €12,396 ($11,285 to $13,990).

The court rejected a claim by a fourth asylum-seeker because, although he had lived in a tent for nine months, he had been given a subsistence allowance after two months.

Since mid-2018, authorities in France have stepped up efforts to clear migrant camps on the outskirts of Paris and move the people living there to shelters. Many of those sleeping rough included undocumented migrants and those attempting to apply for asylum in France. But NGOs say even recognized refugees and registered asylum-seekers ended up sleeping there because of a severe lack of official accommodation.

nm/rs (dpa, AFP)

PATENT'S FOR PRIMATE GENE SCRAPPED The European Patent Office has disallowed two patents that include great apes, the family of primates that humans also belong to. A US firm had registered the patents for genetically modified chimpanzees.


Two patents relating to the genetic modification of apes were removed by the European Patent Office (EPO) on Thursday. The patents themselves still exist but can no longer include apes, an EPO spokesperson said.

Animal welfare activists have celebrated the decision as a success, including world-renowned British primatologist Jane Goodall who called it a "wise and responsible decision."

The assigning of patents resulted in "the suffering of these animals without any substantial medical benefit to man or animal," the EPO said.

The controversy arose after a US company filed two patents claiming that genetically modified chimpanzees as well as other animal species, were an invention that could be used in experiments. The patents were filed in 2012 and 2013, with 14,000 signatories supporting groups that opposed the patents.

Read more: 10 facts you probably didn't know about great apes

Animals are 'not research tools'

Goodall, who has worked with chimpanzees in Tanzania for over 60 years, said "Chimpanzees are our closest relatives, sharing 98.6% of our genetic makeup. All those who understand that genetic modification of these monkeys and other sentient animals is unacceptable will welcome this ruling."

Read more: 'The biggest problem is greed,' says conservationist Jane Goodall

The ruling should be a sign to other companies that "animals are capable of suffering and should not be seen as research tools," she added.

However, many researchers will still be permitted to conduct experiments on primates and other animals, even if they no longer are allowed to hold patents relating to their research.

Other patents under pressure

The question of whether patents can be filed on genetically modified animals has been under discussion for over 30 years. The new ruling does not affect provisions for patents on mice, rats, cats, dogs, cattle, pigs or a number of other animals.

However, the decision will affect other patents relating to primates within Europe, for example in Germany's Max Planck Society, which holds a 2010 patent on primates who were genetically modified to have epilepsy.

Chimpanzees are a species of great ape, the primate family that includes humans.

ed/ng (AFP, dpa)

SYSTEMIC RACISM PANDEMIC
Discrimination increases hypertension risk by 49 percent in black Americans

HEALTH NEWS JULY 1, 2020 

Lifelong discrimination may contribute to increased rates of high blood pressure among black Americans, a new study has found. File Photo by ronstik/Shutterstock

July 1 (UPI) -- Facing racial discrimination increases risk for high blood pressure among black Americans, according to a study published Wednesday by the journal Hypertension.

Black people who reported "medium levels" of lifetime discrimination had a 49 percent increased risk for high blood pressure, or hypertension, compared to those who indicated low levels of lifetime discrimination, the researchers found.

The study was based on nearly 2,000 black Americans who participated in The Jackson Heart Study, which focused on cardiovascular disease among residents in the tri-county region of Jackson, Mississippi.

"African Americans continue to be disproportionately affected by hypertension, making it imperative to identify the drivers of hypertension in this population," co-author Allana T. Forde, said in a statement.

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"Greater lifetime discrimination was associated with an increased risk for hypertension among African Americans in this study, which reflects the impact of cumulative exposure to stressors over one's lifetime and the physiological reactions to stress that contribute to deleterious health outcomes," said Forde, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Urban Health Collaborative at Drexel University.

Forde and colleagues reviewed data on 1,845 black Americans, aged 21 to 85, who were enrolled in The Jackson Heart Study. None of the participants had a history of hypertension at the start of the research, the authors said.

Participants self-reported their discrimination experiences through in-home interviews, questionnaires and in-clinic examinations, researchers said.

RELATED Study: 70% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Detroit are African American

For the purposes of the study, having hypertension was defined as taking blood pressure-lowering medication, having a systolic blood pressure of 140 mm Hg or above or having diastolic blood pressure higher than 90 mm Hg at follow-up visits, according to the authors.

During the follow-up period, more than half of the participants -- 954, or 52 percent -- developed hypertension.

The study results, Forde said, "suggest how social determinants such as racism and discrimination affect health in measurable ways."

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Strategies to reduce health inequities and improve health are needed to address these broader social determinants, she added.

Although the study included experiences of discrimination among a large sample of black Americans, discrimination was measured at a single point in time, which limited the researchers' ability to capture changes in discrimination experiences over the entire follow-up period, according to the researchers.

In all, nearly 80 million American adults are living with high blood pressure, including more than 40 percent of black Americans, according to the American Heart Association.

"Previous studies have shown that discrimination affects African Americans' health," Forde said.

"Traditional risk factors, such as diet and physical activity, have been strongly correlated with hypertension, yet important psychosocial factors like discrimination, which also have the potential to negatively impact health, are rarely considered," she said.


upi.com/7018479

British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell arrested in Jeffrey Epstein case

British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell has been accused of luring girls and young women into Jeffrey Epstein's circle, where they were sexually abused. She has said that many accusations against her are "absolute rubbish."


Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite who was a longtime friend of the late accused sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was arrested by the FBI on Thursday in the US state of New Hampshire.

Maxwell, who was also Epstein's girlfriend at one point, has been accused of luring underage girls into the late billionaire's circle, where he and his friends allegedly sexually abused them.

FBI spokesman Marty Feely said Maxwell was taken into custody around 8:30 AM local time.

Maxwell has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and has said that many of the claims against her are "absolute rubbish."

Epstein's 'highest-raking employee'

The lawsuit alleges that Maxwell oversaw and trained recruiters, developed recruiting plans and helped conceal the activity from law enforcement.

An unsealed indictment, reported by Reuters, shows Maxwell charged with six counts, which include enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and two counts of perjury, among other related offenses.

''The victims were as young as 14 years old when they were groomed and abused by Maxwell and Epstein, both of whom knew that certain victims were in fact under the age of 18,'' the indictment read.


One victim accused Maxwell of arranging for her to have sex with Prince Andrew, a claim denied by the royal

One of the most controversial accusations leveled against Maxwell was a claim by one Epstein victim, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who said the socialite arranged for her to have sex with Britain's Prince Andrew at Maxwell's London townhouse.

In a separate lawsuit by another Epstein victim, Maxwell was described as the ''highest-ranking employee'' in the alleged sex trafficking operation.

A lavish life in New York

Maxwell is the daughter of late British media magnate Robert Maxwell, who founded a publishing house and owned tabloids, including the Daily Mirror.

In the early 1990s, she moved to New York, where she began a romantic relationship with Epstein, who was a financier at the time. The two lived a lavish style and frequently attended high society parties.

Maxwell largely disappeared from public view in 2016 and has been elusive since Epstein was charged with sex trafficking.

jcg/rs (Reuters, AP, dpa,AFP)

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Special edition: Israel's contentious annexation plan for the West bank

FRANCE 24 English

In this edition, we're focusing our entire programme on Israel’s planned annexation of settlements in the West Bank. The term ‘annexation’ is used when a state unilaterally incorporates another territory within its borders. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called these zones “an integral part of the historic Jewish homeland”. Palestinians say the plan is an “existential threat" and have threatened to respond with their own measures.

This latest move comes after US President Donald Trump last year presented a so-called “Middle East plan”, which allows Israel to annex 30 percent of this territory, which has been under illegal occupation – according to international law – since 1967.

Joining our programme to discuss this contentious issue is Dr Evan Cohen, former international media advisor to Israel’s prime minister, and Ashraf al-Ajrami, a former minister for the Palestinian authority.

But first here’s our report, which looks at the landlocked territory in question: the West Bank.

Palestinians rally against Israeli annexation as West Bank goes on Covid-19 lockdown

Issued on: 01/07/2020

A Palestinian man wears a mask during a rally against Israel's West Bank annexation plans in the Jordan Valley village of Bardala on June 27, 2020. © Jaafat Ashtiyeh, AFP

Text by:FRANCE 24

Thousands of Palestinians protested in Gaza on Wednesday against Israel's plans to annex parts of the West Bank, where Palestinian authorities announced a new five-day lockdown amid a worrying resurgence of the coronavirus.

Israel's centre-right coalition government had set July 1 as the date from which it could begin implementing US President Donald Trump's Middle East peace proposal.

While no major announcement was expected on the kick-off date, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said talks with US officials "were continuing on the application of sovereignty".

Netanyahu was also discussing annexation with his security chiefs, it added, noting that "further discussions will be held in the coming days".

In Gaza City, several thousand protesters gathered, some brandishing Palestinian flags and placards condemning Trump at a rally.

"The resistance must be revived," Gaza protester Rafeeq Inaiah told AFP. "Israel is afraid of force."

Smaller demonstrations were held in the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Jericho, attended by a handful of left-wing Israeli politicians opposed to annexation.

"We want to affirm our support for peace," former Labour party official Ophir Pines-Paz told AFP.

The Trump plan, unveiled in January, offered a path for Israel to annex territory and Jewish West Bank settlements, communities considered illegal under international law.

Netanyahu supports the Trump plan – which has been roundly rejected by the Palestinians – but the right-wing premier has not laid out his intentions for enacting the US proposals.

Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, fired some 20 rockets from the coastal Palestinian enclave into the Mediterranean Sea on Wednesday, a move aimed at dissuading Israel from moving forward, Hamas sources told AFP.

Hamas, which has fought three wars with Israel since 2008, says that Israeli annexations in the West Bank, which borders Jordan, would be a "declaration of war".

Growing global opposition

France's foreign minister said on Wednesday that any Israeli annexation in the occupied West Bank would be in violation of international law and would have consequences.

"Annexation of Palestinian territories, whatever the perimeters, would seriously throw into question the parameters to resolve the conflict," Jean-Yves Le Drian told a parliamentary hearing.

"An annexation decision could not be left without consequences and we are examining different options at a national level and also in coordination with our main European partners," he added.

Writing in Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper on Wednesday, Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that although he was a "passionate defender of Israel", he viewed annexation as "contrary to Israel's own long-term interests."

"Annexation would represent a violation of international law," he said.

Australia, in a rare criticism of Israel, warned against "unilateral annexation or change in status of territory on the West Bank".

Most European states and the United Nations oppose annexation, as do Gulf Arab states, with which Israel has increasingly sought warmer ties.

Jordan, one of only two Arab nations that has diplomatic ties with Israel, has warned that annexation could trigger a "massive conflict" and has not ruled out reviewing its 1994 peace treaty with the Jewish state.

Amnesty International's deputy Middle East chief Saleh Hijazi said: "International law is crystal clear on this matter – annexation is unlawful", adding that if Israel moves forward it "points to the 'law of the jungle.'".

Covid-19 second wave

Israel's defence minister and alternate prime minister Benny Gantz has said annexation must wait until the coronavirus crisis has been contained, amid a sharp spike in new Israeli and Palestinian cases.

The Palestinian Authority on Wednesday announced a five-day lockdown across the West Bank after total confirmed coronavirus infections in the territory more than doubled following the easing of previous restrictions.

"Starting from Friday morning, all governorates of the West Bank... will be closed for a period of five days," government spokesman Ibrahim Melhem said, adding that pharmacies, bakeries and supermarkets were exempt.

The latest data from the Palestinian ministry of health said that as of Wednesday morning, a total of 2,636 people had tested positive for Covid-19 since the illness was first recorded in the West Bank, compared with just 1,256 a week ago.

Last week, after the easing of a previous coronavirus lockdown in late May, Palestinian health minister Mai al-Kaila said the territory had entered a second wave of infections "more dangerous than the first".

Most infections were traceable to Palestinians working in Israel or Arab Israeli visitors to the West Bank, Kaila said.

There have been seven deaths from the virus in the territory.

Israel has also recorded a surge, with 25,547 confirmed cases on Wednesday morning, up around 15 percent from a week earlier.

The Palestinian Authority imposed a full West Bank lockdown after the first coronavirus cases were identified on 5 March, lifting it at the end of May.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Germany, France urge Israel to reconsider West Bank annexation plans

The foreign ministers of France and Germany have demanded Israel halt plans to annex parts of the West Bank.

 Israeli spies have reportedly called for the plans to be expedited, with the world distracted the pandemic.


German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian, have urged Israel to renounce its plans to annex parts of the West Bank.

"Our goal is still to prevent any annexation in violation of international law in the first place," said Le Drian, after meeting with Maas in Berlin on Friday.

The pair announced intensive talks between European Union partners and neighboring countries such as Jordan.

Maas said Israel's annexation plans were "of great concern" to him and Le Drian and that in the coming days, no effort would be spared to bring together the parties involved for talks.

Maas said the issue of annexation should be brought to the forefront once more, and that it was still possible to use "the opportunity and the time window" before a possible annexation.

Israel's new government is expected to present its strategy on July 1 for implementing the Middle East "peace plan" drawn up by the Trump administration. The plan allows for Israel to annex large parts of the West Bank, including the Jordan Valley, which Israel occupied in 1967.

Palestinians are completely opposed to the plan, fearing it will trigger a new wave of violence in the region.

Le Drian stressed that an annexation would increase "instability in the Middle East" and would violate international law. He said the two-state solution was still the only option, adding that close cooperation with European partners was necessary to achieve this goal.

Read more: UN panel: Israel annexation of West Bank 'violates international law'

Israel: Annex now, as world occupied with coronavirus

Israel's Ministry of Intelligence has reportedly compiled a document listing reasons for the immediate annexation of West Bank areas.

According to dpa news agency, the document finds that the support of US President Donald Trump means the timing is good.

"It is unclear what US support will look like after the November elections," the document reportedly says.

The ministry reportedly found that the threat of violence was low, with the Palestinian Authority and Hamas both against conflict and no expectation of "severe unrest" in Jordan.

It also found that the international community was preoccupied with the fight against the coronavirus.

On Thursday, Jordan's foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, unexpectedly visited the West Bank and warned against the annexation plans.

"Annexation is unprecedented for the peace process, and it will kill the two-state solution and will destroy all the foundations of the peace process,'" Safadi said after meeting with his Palestinian counterpart in the city of Ramallah.

He said the plans would "deprive all peoples of the region of their right to live in security, peace and stability."

aw/msh (AFP, dpa, Reuters, AP)


Germany rejects Israel's West Bank annexation plans as illegal
The German parliament has called on Israel to halt its plans to annex settlements in the occupied West Bank. However, it has ruled out the use of sanctions against Israel.


Germany called on Israel not to annex the West Bank on Wednesday, saying the plans were "in contradiction with international law."

The motion was brought in the Bundestag by the three parties in Chancellor Angela Merkel's broad coalition and was approved without opposing votes. All parliamentary groups, aside from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, warned that Israel's plans to annex parts of the West Bank would jeopardize Israel's security and hopes of a two-state solution.

Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the plan threatened the stability of the entire Middle East.

"Peace cannot be achieved by unilateral steps," Maas said.

In a dissenting voice, the AfD's Anton Friesen said the annexation was in Israel's national interest.

Read more: What will Israel's West Bank annexation plans mean for the region?

No sanctions

However, lawmakers said threatening Israel with sanctions over the matter would have "no constructive effect." 

The move, taken just as Germany takes over the EU presidency, greatly reduces the chances of European Union sanctions as it requires unanimous support from EU member states.

The document said, "Discussions on unilateral sanctions or threats of sanctions have no constructive effect" on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Plans pushed back

Israel was due to begin annexing settlements in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley on July 1, but the US-backed plans have been pushed back. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said talks with his security chiefs were ongoing.

Annexation forms part of the plans of US President Donald Trump's administration, which also includes the creation of a demilitarized Palestinian state with a capital outside of Jerusalem. Palestinians have firmly rejected this plan. 

The EU has also strongly opposed the US plan, mounting a diplomatic campaign against the project. Germany's Maas traveled to Israel to raise concerns about the plans. 

Also on Wednesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said any Israeli annexation would be a violation of international law and would have consequences.

"Annexation of Palestinian territories, whatever the perimeters, would seriously throw into question the parameters to resolve the conflict," Le Drian told a parliamentary hearing. "An annexation decision could not be left without consequences and we are examining different options at a national level and also in coordination with our main European partners." 

The UK chimed in as well, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying annexation would violate international law and harm Israel's drive to improve relations with the Arab world.

"Annexation would represent a violation of international law," Johnson said in an opinion piece for Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel's top-selling daily.

"Annexation would put in jeopardy the progress that Israel has made in improving relationships with the Arab and Muslim world," Johnson wrote, calling for justice and security for both Israelis and Palestinians.

Read more: How will Arab states react to Israel's annexation plans?

Protests in Gaza

Thousands of people in Gaza protested against the plans on Wednesday, some brandishing Palestinian flags and placards condemning Trump.

"The resistance must be revived," Gaza protester Rafeeq Inaiah told the AFP news agency. "Israel is afraid of force."

There were smaller demonstrations in the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Jericho, which some left-wing Israeli politicians attended. 

Meanwhile, Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, fired 20 rockets in the Mediterranean Sea as a show of force.

aw/sms (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)


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Palestinian rivals Hamas, Fatah threaten Israel's annexation plans
The rival groups have called for unifying resistance against plans to annex parts of the West Bank, long considered part of a future Palestinian state. But analysts say the show of unity is unlikely to result in action.


Rival Palestinian factions on Thursday pledged unity against Israeli plans to annex part of the West Bank.

"We will put in place all necessary measures to ensure national unity," said Jibril Rajub, secretary general of the Fatah Central Committee, in a virtual press conference with Beirut-based Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri. "Today, we want to speak in a single voice."

The Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has signaled its intention to move forward with plans to annex territory that has been set aside for a future Palestinian state. The territory in question includes Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Israeli officials have suggested that the announcement would happen in July, but not before US President Donald Trump has given his approval.

Read more: What will Israel's West Bank annexation plans mean for the region?

The Trump administration has spearheaded a new plan to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, although many of its proposals violate internationally-recognized resolutions, such as border delineations for a UN-sanctioned two-state solution.

'Resistance'

Both Fatah and Hamas have outright rejected the US-led plan, saying it undermines the prospect of peace. Hamas' al-Arouri said the annexation plans would only serve to unify Palestinian resistance.

"We should put aside all differences and agree on a strategy," said al-Arouri. "We will use all forms of resistance against the annexation."

Read more: How will Arab states react to Israel's annexation plans?

However, Middle East analysts have suggested that the show of unity is unlikely to translate into broader cooperation between the rival factions.

"I doubt the annexation challenge will help these two factions to end their split and unify again," former Palestinian Authority official Ghassan Khatib told news agency AFP. "They'll agree about the significance of the annexation … but I don't think they'll go beyond that."
Since 2006, Hamas has been at odds with Fatah, which runs the Palestinian Authority, a body tasked with governing the Palestinian Territories.

That same year, Hamas won a majority in parliamentary elections, placing it in a position to lead the Palestinian government. However, fighting broke out between the two factions, eventually leading to armed conflict that forced Israel to withdraw from the Gaza Strip. Hamas has since been in control of the coastal enclave.

ls/rs (AFP, dpa)

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