Objection after museum removes word ‘Palestine’ from list of countries of ancient Levant and Egypt and from some explanatory panels

The Palestinian ambassador to the UK has called for Foreign Office intervention after the British Museum removed references to Palestine from its exhibits.

The UK recognised the state of Palestine in September 2025, but the same year the museum removed the name “Palestine” from a panel listing the present-day countries encompassed by the ancient Levant, and replaced it with Gaza and the West Bank.

Jonathan Pollard, who served 30 years for selling US military secrets, advocates ‘forcible removal’ of Palestinians

Jonathan Pollard, a former US navy intelligence analyst jailed for 30 years for spying for Israel, has said he will stand for election to the Knesset this year on a platform of ethnic cleansing.

Speaking to Channel 13 television, Pollard said: “I personally prefer the forcible removal of all current residents of Gaza, and the annexation of Gaza and its repopulation by us.”

Leaked remarks by Maj Gen Avi Bluth describe fatal shootings of stone-throwers and different treatment for Jewish settlers

The Israeli army chief in the West Bank has said his troops were “killing like we haven’t killed since 1967”, including fatally shooting Palestinian stone-throwers, according to an Israeli report of his comments.

The remarks by Maj Gen Avi Bluth, head of the army’s central command, were made in a recent closed forum but were leaked to Israel’s Haaretz newspaper. Bluth has so far not denied the authenticity of the Haaretz account. The Israel Defense Forces did not respond to a request for comment.

US operation announced as ‘Project Freedom’ dramatically raises stakes in conflict

The US has launched Donald Trump’s operation to open a route through the strait of Hormuz for hundreds of ships trapped with their crews in the Gulf, in a move that brought the region back to the brink of full-scale war as Iran sought to reassert its blockade.

The US operation, which got under way on Monday after being announced as “Project Freedom” by Trump on Sunday night on his social media site, dramatically raised the stakes in a conflict that had been in a month-long period of uneasy limbo.

US president’s post follows flurry of mixed signals including concern Tehran had not ‘paid big enough price’

Donald Trump has announced that the US will “guide” ships trapped by the Iran war out of the Gulf through the strait of Hormuz on Monday morning, and claimed his representatives were having “very positive” discussions with Iran.

Trump wrote on his social media site that the operation, called “Project Freedom”, would be a humanitarian gesture “on behalf of the United States, Middle Eastern Countries but, in particular, the Country of Iran”.

German government calls redeployment of 5,000 troops ‘anticipated’ and reminder of Europe’s need to invest in its own defence

• ‘We love our Americans’: the German town rocked by Trump’s plan to withdraw US troops

Nato is seeking to “understand the details” of a US decision to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany, a redeployment ordered by Donald Trump amid a feud with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz.

The German government sought to play down the severity of Trump’s move, describing it as “anticipated”, and a reminder of Europe’s need to invest in its own defence. The US withdrawal, which the Pentagon said would take place over the next six to 12 months, comes after criticism from Merz over Trump’s war with Iran and his handling of subsequent talks with Tehran.

Israeli foreign ministry denounces ‘shameful act’ after video shows man pushing woman to ground and kicking her

A video of an attack on a French Catholic nun and archeological researcher in Jerusalem has caused widespread revulsion and been denounced as a “shameful act” by Israel’s foreign ministry.

In the video, a man runs up behind the nun as she walks down a street and pushes her over with force, so that the victim comes close to hitting her head on a block of stone. After walking away a few paces, the attacker, who appears to be Jewish, returns to kick the nun as she lies on the ground and only stops when a passerby intervenes.