Middle East

The number of people experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity more than doubled last year compared to 2019.

In Israel and the Palestinian territories – and other parts of the world suffering from conflict – the holy month has often correlated with heightened tensions and violence.

Jordan is home to the world’s second-largest per capita number of refugees and a large Palestinian population.

The Palestinian prime minister announced on Feb. 26 that he and his council of ministers will resign from the Palestinian Authority amid declining support, which has been weakened by accusations of corruption, withdrawn financial aid, and the slow pace of progress toward Palestinian self-determination. 

The U.S. testified at the United Nations’ court on Feb. 21, saying that Israel should not be “legally obligated to immediately and unconditionally withdraw” from occupied Palestinian territory and instead the International Court of Justice should work within the “land-for-peace” framework to issue their opinion.

The United Nations General Assembly has asked the organization’s court to give advice on what legal consequences Israel should face for its decades-long occupation of the Palestinian territories. 

Aziz Abu Sarah grew up in East Jerusalem. When he was 9 years old, his older brother was arrested on suspicion of throwing rocks and died shortly after his release from internal injuries sustained during his time in prison. “For eight years, my life was focused on revenge,” Aziz told Blue Marble. But when he was 18, he decided to study Hebrew. 

Activist Vivian Silver dedicated her life to building a path to peace between Israelis and Palestinians. On Oct. 7, she was killed in the Hamas attacks. Yonatan Zeigen talked with Blue Marble about his mother's life and the impact of her death.

Julia Sebutinde of Uganda voted no on more measures in the ICJ's ruling than the judge Israel appointed to the UN court for this case.

The court did not order a cease-fire. In 63% of previous cases, it denied similar requests to stop military action.