Hamas, an acronym of its official name, Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya, is a Palestinian Sunni Islamist political and military movement governing the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip since 2007.
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is an ongoing military and political conflict about land and self-determination within the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine. Key aspects of the conflict include the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the status of Jerusalem, Israeli settlements, borders, security, water rights, the permit regime, Palestinian freedom of movement, and the Palestinian right of return.
The Palestinian territories are the two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967, namely the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has referred to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as "the Occupied Palestinian Territory", and this term was used as the legal definition by the ICJ in its advisory opinion of July 2004. The term occupied Palestinian territory was used by the United Nations and other international organizations between October 1999 and December 2012 to refer to areas controlled by the Palestinian National Authority, but from 2012, when Palestine was admitted as one of its non-member observer states, the United Nations started using exclusively the name State of Palestine. The European Union (EU) also uses the term "occupied Palestinian territory". The government of Israel and its supporters use the label "disputed territories" instead.
Mohammad Yusuf Dahlan born on 29 September 1961 in Khan Yunis Refugee Camp, Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip also known by the kunya Abu Fadi is a Palestinian politician, the former leader of Fatah in Gaza. Dahlan was born to a refugee family from Hamama, the youngest of six children.
Virgin Active is a chain of health clubs in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Italy, Australia, Singapore, Thailand and the United Kingdom.
Humphrey Michael Cobbold is the current chief executive officer of PureGym, the UK’s largest gym operator. He joined the business in 2015 when there were 84 gyms, growing the business to over 200 facilities in 2018. He oversaw the sale of the business for the founder and investors from CCMP to Leonard Green & Partners in November 2017 for over £600m.
Migros Online is the Swiss market leader among online supermarkets and a subsidiary of the Migros Genossenschafts-Bund (MGB), the largest retailer in Switzerland.
Germany–Israel relations are the diplomatic relationship between the Federal Republic of Germany and the State of Israel. After the end of World War II and the Holocaust, relations gradually thawed as West Germany offered to pay reparations to Israel in 1952 and diplomatic relations were officially established in 1965. Nonetheless, a deep mistrust of the German people remained widespread in Israel and the Jewish diaspora communities worldwide for many years after. Relations between East Germany and Israel never materialised. Israel and Germany now maintain a "special relationship" based on shared beliefs, Western values, and a combination of historical perspectives. Among the most important factors in their relations is Nazi Germany's genocide of Jews in Europe during the Holocaust.
Israel–South Africa relations refer to the current and historic relationship between the Republic of South Africa and the State of Israel. During the 1950s and 1960s, Israel became an open critic of the apartheid regime in South Africa, hoping to establish good relations with black-majority countries in Africa. However, most African countries severed ties with Israel in 1973 while increasing their ties with Arab countries. This situation led Israel to deepen its diplomatic ties with South Africa throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Up to 1986, Israel had a vibrant economic relationship but was forced to sanction South Africa in 1987, mainly as a consequence of American pressure.
LA Fitness is an American gym chain with more than 550 clubs across the United States and Canada. The company was founded in 1984 and is based in Irvine, California.
Colombia–Israel relations are the diplomatic relations between Colombia and Israel which were officially established in the mid-1950s, however, diplomatic relations were severed in 2024 by Colombia as a result of the Israel–Hamas war.
Switzerland recognized Israel on January 25, 1949 and opened a consulate in Tel Aviv. Israel has an embassy in Bern. Since 1958, Switzerland has an embassy in Tel Aviv and an honorary consulate in Eilat.
Israel–Jordan relations are the diplomatic, economic and cultural relations between Israel and Jordan. The two countries share a land border, with three border crossings: Yitzhak Rabin/Wadi Araba Crossing, Jordan River Crossing and the Allenby/King Hussein Bridge Crossing, that connects the West Bank with Jordan. The relationship between the two countries is regulated by the Israel–Jordan peace treaty in 1994, which formally ended the state of war that had existed between the two countries since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, and also established diplomatic relations, besides other matters. Relations between the countries get strained from time to time, usually over tensions at the Al-Aqsa mosque. On 8 October 2020, Israel and Jordan reached an agreement to allow flights to cross over both countries’ airspace.
Fathi Ahmad Hamad is a Palestinian politician and member of the Hamas political bureau. He was Interior Minister in the Hamas-administered Gaza Strip from 2009 to 2014.
Wiggle is an online brand of the Frasers Group, having been bought after WiggleCRC went into administration with losses of £97 million.
DW Sports Fitness was a British retailing and fitness business, founded as a result of Dave Whelan's purchase of 50 JJB Sports fitness clubs with attached retail stores for £83.4 million in March 2009. The business would later encompass more than 140 sites, which included expansion to stand-alone retail stores and stand-alone fitness clubs. In 2011, the business joined buying group Intersport, and began using its name within its facades, and in 2016 it joint-purchased the Fitness First UK business alongside The Gym Group and Greenwich Leisure Limited.
Hamas has governed the Gaza Strip in Palestine since its takeover of the region from rival party Fatah in June 2007. Hamas' government was led by Ismail Haniyeh from 2007 until February 2017, when Haniyeh was replaced as leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip by Yahya Sinwar. As of November 2023, Yahya Sinwar continues to be the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Due to the ongoing Israel–Hamas war, Hamas lost control of most of the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
Ismail Haniyeh is a Palestinian politician who is seen as the overall political leader of Hamas, the de facto ruling entity of the Gaza Strip. He is the current chairman of Hamas’s political bureau; as of 2023, Haniyeh lives in Qatar.
The Abraham Accords are bilateral agreements on Arab–Israeli normalization signed between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and between Israel and Bahrain on September 15, 2020. Mediated by the United States, the announcement of August 13, 2020, concerned Israel and the UAE before the subsequent announcement of an agreement between Israel and Bahrain on September 11, 2020. On September 15, 2020, the signing of the agreements was hosted by US president Trump on the Truman Balcony of the White House amid elaborate staging intended to evoke the signings of historic formal peace treaties in prior administrations.
Following the outbreak of the Israel–Hamas war on October 7th, 2023, the United Kingdom has provided Israel with extensive military and diplomatic support. In response to the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak asserted that the United Kingdom "unequivocally" stands with Israel. The UK also issued an "unequivocal condemnation" of Palestinian militant group Hamas and deployed British Armed Forces personnel and assets to the Eastern Mediterranean to support Israel.
