President Trump is predisposed to reverse most of his predecessor’s policies, so President Obama’s least favorite foreign leader is bound to receive a warmer welcome than he is used to. But in the last week, the noises coming out of both the White House and the State Department have indicated that, as was the case with all of his predecessors, there is going to be a considerable gap between Trump’s campaign rhetoric about Israel and the policies that he will actually pursue.
Category: Middle East Travel
This drone could be ferrying passengers through Dubai’s futuristic skyline as soon as July
Up, up and away: Dubai hopes to have a passenger-carrying drone regularly buzzing through the skyline of this futuristic city-state in July. The arrival of the Chinese-made EHang 184 – which already has had its flying debut over Dubai’s iconic, sail-shaped Burj al-Arab skyscraper hotel – comes as the Emirati city also has partnered with other cutting-edge technology companies, including Hyperloop One.
Syria Warns of Setting Up Safe Zones for Civilians as Unsafe
Syria warned Monday of safe zones for civilians that U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed interest in creating, saying it would have to come in coordination with the Syrian government, otherwise it would be unsafe and violate the Arab nation’s sovereignty. The announcement was made in Damascus by Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem during a meeting with the head of the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR, Filippo Grandi, who began an official visit to Syria on Monday.
Prime Minister Netanyahu will visit February 15, White House announces
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the White House on February 15, White House press secretary Sean Spicer announced Monday. A senior administration official said last week that moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem remains a priority for the president but cautioned that it would not be happen quickly.
Syria warns of setting up safe zones for civilians as unsafe
Syria warned Monday of safe zones for civilians that U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed interest in creating, saying it would have to come in coordination with the Syrian government, otherwise it would be unsafe and violate the Arab nation’s sovereignty. The announcement was made in Damascus by Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem during a meeting with the head of the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR, Filippo Grandi, who began an official visit to Syria on Monday.
UN holds off action over new Israeli settler homes30 min ago
The UN Security Council met behind closed doors today to discuss Israel’s plan to build new settler homes in the Palestinian West Bank, but took no action. Council members heard a report from UN envoy Nickolay Mladenov after the Israeli government approved a major expansion of 2,500 homes, in defiance of a UN resolution that demanded an end to settlement construction.
Nation-Now 15 mins ago 7:19 p.m.Trump prepares for busy Monday,…
President Trump, having declared post-inaugural Monday the true opening day of his new administration, spent Sunday pondering a string of executive orders on topics ranging from immigration to Israel to the economy, including what he called a re-working of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Supervising the swearing-in of 30 new White House staff members, Trump said he will soon meet with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexico President Enrique Pena Nieto to discuss changes to NAFTA, the trade deal he claims has shipped U.S. jobs to those other countries.
Obama says U.N. vote didn’t rupture U.S.-Israel relations
U.S. President Barack Obama played down fallout from a U.S. abstention on a United Nations resolution last month demanding an end to Israeli settlements in occupied territory, saying it did not trigger a significant break in relations with Israel. Relations between the United States and Israel, which have soured during Obama’s eight years in office, reached a low point late last month when Washington, defying pressure from longtime ally Israel and President-elect Donald Trump, declined to veto the U.N. resolution.
House rebukes United Nations
The House overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan measure Thursday that rebukes the United Nations for criticizing Israeli settlements as Republicans used the debate to accuse President Barack Obama of turning his back on the Jewish state. Lawmakers voted 342-80 for the non-binding resolution that declares unwavering support for Israel and insists that the United States reject any future U.N. actions that are similarly “one-sided and anti-Israel.”
GOP senators introduce bill forcing president’s hand on moving embassy to Jerusalem
Jewish worshippers draped in prayer shawls performing the annual Priestly Blessing during Sukkot at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, Israel, Sept. 30, 2015.
Morning Bits
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi speaks at her weekly news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on Nov. 17. One is precedent, two is a trend . “Another way for Australia to demonstrate its unswerving support for Israel, as the Middle East’s only liberal, pluralist democracy, might be to join any move by the Trump administration to move its embassy to Jerusalem.”
Obama’s petty attempts to sabotage Trump are bound to fail :0
It’s easy to come up with several different reasons for the Obama administration’s moves against Russia and Israel. The repudiation of his policies in last month’s election would have wounded a normal person’s ego, to say nothing of someone as vain as Obama.
What the UNSC resolution means for the US and Israel
The United Nations Security Council on Friday passed a resolution condemning Israel’s settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The United States abstained on the resolution, allowing it to pass, rather than vetoing it — as it usually does with resolutions it sees as overly critical of Israel.
What the UNSC resolution means for the US and Israel
The United Nations Security Council on Friday passed a resolution condemning Israel’s settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The United States abstained on the resolution, allowing it to pass, rather than vetoing it — as it usually does with resolutions it sees as overly critical of Israel.
Following anti-settlement UN vote, Netanyahu looks to rally Israelis against Obama
U.S. President Barack Obama meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York September 21, 2016. Netanyahu has been unrelenting in his criticism of the Obama administration over what he condemned as its “shameful” decision not to veto a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a halt to Israeli settlement-building.
Defying pressure, the United States lets UN denounce Israeli settlements
“Israel rejects this shameful anti-Israel resolution at the U.N. and will not abide by its terms,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says. The United States on Friday allowed the U.N. Security Council to adopt a resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlement building, defying heavy pressure from long-time ally Israel and President-elect Donald Trump for Washington to wield its veto.
What the UN vote says about how Trump will treat Israel
A dramatic vote Friday at the United Nations Security Council likely marked the final chapter in President Barack Obama’s troubled relationship with Netanyahu. But perhaps more importantly, the vote – in which the United States allowed a resolution condemning Israeli settlement construction to pass – offered a glimpse of how the President-elect and the Israeli Prime Minister are poised to soon overhaul the relationship between their two countries.
Israel Cabinet minister calls planned Kerry speech on Mideast policy a pathetica
In this Sept. 30, 2016 file photo, US President Barack Obama, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talk during the funeral of former Israeli President and Prime minister Shimon Peres in Jerusalem.