Category: Jerusalem, Israel

Trump invites Palestinian leader to the White House

Abbas has spent many hours on the phone and in meetings with USA presidents and secretaries of state over the past decade but he has been unsuccessful when reaching out to Trump. “President Trump has extended an official invitation to President Abbas to visit the White House soon to discuss ways to resume the political process, stressing his commitment to a peace process that will lead to a real peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis”, said Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rdainah.

‘Peace partner’ Abbas meets terrorists

Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who is often touted by the West as a “peace partner” for Israel, recently met with Palestinian Arabs who carried out terrorist attacks and with the family of a terrorist, the Middle East Media Research Institute reveals. On March 5, he received in his office in Ramallah the family of Muhammad Al-Jallad, who died of his wounds after being shot while attempting to carry out a stabbing attack at a checkpoint in November 2016.

‘Peace partner’ Abbas meets terrorists

Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who is often touted by the West as a “peace partner” for Israel, recently met with Palestinian Arabs who carried out terrorist attacks and with the family of a terrorist, the Middle East Media Research Institute reveals. On March 5, he received in his office in Ramallah the family of Muhammad Al-Jallad, who died of his wounds after being shot while attempting to carry out a stabbing attack at a checkpoint in November 2016.

Avigdor Liberman Heads To Washington For Talks With Team Trump

Palestinian laborers work at a construction site in a new housing project in the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim near Jerusalem Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, addressing a Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting on Monday, expressed opposition to the efforts of some other coalition members to incorporate Judea and Samaria into Israel. Lieberman said Israeli annexation would mean “an immediate crisis” in US-Israeli relations, and was too risky even before considering the ramifications under worldwide law for extending Israeli sovereignty to include 2.7 million occupied Palestinians.

Facebook’s Grovelling Apology To Fatah

A few days it was widely reported that Fatah had their Facebook page closed down, due to the “campaign the social media platform is carrying out against accounts that promote violence.” Munir Jaghoub, a spokesman of Fatah’s Mobilization and Organization commissariat, told The Jerusalem Post that he believes Facebook closed the account because of a historic photo of former PA president Yasser Arafat grasping a rifle, while standing alongside Fatah Vice Chairman Mahmoud al-Aloul.

Demolition in Jerusalem leaves 30 Palestinians homeless

Last month, Israeli authorities demolished at least three homes in Issawiya in a singe day, and in January, a man in the neighborhood was forced to demolish his own home in compliance with an order from the municipality. I sraeli forces demolished a building in the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya on Wednesday morning without giving prior warning, leaving 30 Palestinians homeless, under the pretext that the building lacked the nearly impossible to obtain construction permits required by Israeli authorities.

No love lost for Bibi in Australia

PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem last September. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Australia this week was supposed to be a positive, official trip to further cement Australia’s bipartisan support for Israel.

Netanyahu Says Israel, US To Form Team To Tackle Settlements

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that he and US President Donald Trump agreed to set up a team to discuss settlements in the occupied West Bank, China’s Xinhua news agency reported. Netanyahu told his weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem that during his recent visit to Washington, he and Trump agreed to establish teams on many areas, “even in areas we did not previously agree on.

Report: Israeli leader turned down regional peace initiative

An Israeli newspaper reported Sunday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu turned down a regional peace initiative last year that was brokered by then-American Secretary of State John Kerry , in apparent contradiction to his stated goal of involving regional powers in resolving Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians. Haaretz reported that Netanyahu took part in a secret summit that Kerry organized in the southern Jordanian port city of Aqaba last February and included Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.

February 19, 2017: Culture of pettiness

Culture of pettiness I was pleased to read your February 16 editorial “Israel’s own Air Force One,” which relates to the culture of pettiness that has engulfed our otherwise proud country. Those of us who were privileged to watch and listen to our prime minister talking at the side of the president of the United States last week could not have been more proud that we have a statesman of international stature whose eloquence, diplomacy and sense of occasion are matched only by those of the legendary master of these same qualities, the late Abba Eban.

Trump still considering moving US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem

Shortly before Donald Trump’s inauguration last month, Jerusalem’s mayor unveiled a video tribute to the incoming president for his much-touted campaign promise to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. On Tuesday, on the eve of the first White House summit between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mayor Nir Barkat emphasized his support for the move during a conference in the city.

German-Israeli summit delayed ‘after settlements row’

Germany said Feb. 13 that a summit with Israel planned for later this year had been delayed, with Israeli media reporting it was due to the Jewish state’s controversial new settlements law. Israel passed a new law last week that legalizes dozens of Jewish outposts and thousands of settler homes built on private Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank.

Donald Trump, Benjamim Netanyahu to discuss tough line on Iran

U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin NetA anyahu are expected to agree on a tough line toward Iran but are unlikely to call for an end to the international nuA clear deal with Tehran during NetA anyahu’s visit to Washington. After eight years of U.S.-Israeli differences under Trump’s predeA cessor, Barack Obama, Netanyahu is hoping to establish a strong bond with the staunchly pro-Israel Trump administration.

PA calls mosque-muffling bill an attack on religious freedom

Abbas says legislation ‘would drag the area into disaster,’ top Arab lawmaker says move is racist, vows call to prayer will outlast Netanyahu A mosque in the West Bank city of Nablus and part of the Jewish settlement of Elon Moreh in the West Bank, December 7, 2016. The Palestinian Authority on Sunday slammed proposed Israeli legislation prohibiting the overnight use of loudspeakers in houses of prayer, calling it an attack on religious freedom.

Netanyahu pledges to promote ‘responsible policies’ at Trump meeting

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he would present “responsible policies” in talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, signaling to the Israeli far-right to curb its territorial demands in the occupied West Bank. Netanyahu leaves for Washington on Monday and will see Trump at the White House on Wednesday for their first meeting since the Republican’s inauguration last month, with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and policy toward Iran on the agenda.

Qatar Strongly Condemns Israeli Settlement Law In Palestinian Territories

Qatar strongly condemned Israel’s approval to build thousands of new settlement units in the occupied Palestinian territories, including Jerusalem, Qatar News Agency reported. In a statement Wednesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the Israeli Knesset’s adoption of settlement legislation law is a flagrant violation of international resolutions and a blatant attack on the right of the Palestinian people.

Jeremy Corbyn calls on the PM to stand up for rights of Palestinian people

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is to visit 10 Downing Street on Monday for talks with Theresa May Jeremy Corbyn has called on Theresa May to stand up for the rights of the Palestinian people when she meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. The Labour leader said that it was “simply not good enough” for Mrs May to say that Israeli settlement building on occupied Palestinian land undermined trust in the Middle East peace process.

U.S. tells Israel that West Bank settlements ‘may not be helpful’ to achieving peace

The White House on Thursday gently warned Israel that new or expanded settlements in the West Bank “may not be helpful” in achieving a Middle East peace, while insisting it has no “official position on settlement activity.” A statement issued by press secretary Sean Spicer said that although the administration does not believe settlements are “an impediment to peace, the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal.”

Theresa May Pastes Jeremy Corbyn

UK Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn went on the offensive against Prime Minister Theresa May during Prime Minister’s Questions, over Donald Trump’s immigration ban and protecting refugees. An Aussie immigrant to Israel, Aussie Dave is founder and managing editor of Israellycool, one of the world’s most popular pro-Israel blogs He is a happy family man, and a lover of steak, Australian sports and girlie drinks “Well done and special thanks.

Jewish settlers set tires ablaze at the Amona outpost, northeast of Ramallah, on Wednesday.

Hours after Israel approved 3,000 new settlement homes in the West Bank, Israeli security forces moved to evacuate settlers from an illegal outpost there, sparking scuffles. There’s been a clear uptick in the rate of settlement approval since Donald Trump was sworn in as U.S. president less than two weeks ago – and Trump is expected to be supportive of settlement expansion.

In Israel, It’s Build, Build, Build

Israel approved 3,000 more housing units in the occupied West Bank late Tuesday, the largest number in a wave of new construction plans that defy the international community and that open a forceful phase in the country’s expansion into land the Palestinians claim for a future state. Emboldened by the new Trump administration and internal battles at home, Israel announced plans for the new units in about a dozen settlements a week after approving 2,500 homes in the West Bank and 566 in East Jerusalem.

Israel moves quickly to take advantage of Trump support

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the weekly cabinet meeting at the PM’s office in Jerusalem, on December 27, 2015 Israel has moved immediately to take advantage of US President Donald Trump’s pledges of support, announcing a major settlement expansion that deeply concerns those hoping to salvage a two-state solution with the Palestinians. Since Trump’s inauguration last week, Israel has approved some 3,000 settler homes in the occupied West Bank and in annexed east Jerusalem, signalling a sharp change of pace from such projects during the Barack Obama years.

Understanding what Israel did and didn’t do

Israel announced a bold plan on Tuesday to construct 2,500 housing units in Jewish settlements in the West Bank, a decision made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just two days after he spoke with President Trump. a For eight years, Netanyahu and his right-wing allies bristled at the harsh condemnations of settlement growth by the Obama administration, which referred to the Israeli communities as “illegitimate” and “an obstacle to peace.”

Israel announces plans for 2,500 new settlement homes

Israel announced plans on Tuesday for 2,500 more settlement homes in the occupied West Bank, the second such declaration since U.S. President Donald Trump took office signalling he could be more accommodating towards such projects than his predecessor. A statement from the Israeli Defence Ministry, which administers lands Israel captured in a 1967 war, said the decision was meant to fulfil demand for new housing “to maintain regular daily life”.

Emboldened by Trump, Israel Rapidly Expands Illegal Settlements

“The Trump administration is giving Israel the green light to entrench a separate and unequal one-state reality with more illegal settlements.” Emboldened by the new right-wing Trump administration, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved a large settlement expansion-2,500 housing units-in the West Bank on Tuesday.

Emboldened by Trump, Israel Rapidly Expands Illegal Settlements

“The Trump administration is giving Israel the green light to entrench a separate and unequal one-state reality with more illegal settlements.” Emboldened by the new right-wing Trump administration, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved a large settlement expansion-2,500 housing units-in the West Bank on Tuesday.