Oman says it accepts 10 Guantanamo Bay detainees

Oman said Monday it accepted 10 detainees from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay ahead of President Barack Obama leaving office, part of his efforts to shrink the facility he promised to close. Oman's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it had accepted the prisoners at Obama's request.

The Peace Prize Winner Who Waged War

When he was first elected president, many observers, up to and including the Norwegian Nobel Committee, believed Barack Obama would represent a substantive departure from the foreign policy of his predecessor, George W. Bush. On the campaign trail, the then-senator from Illinois promised to bring the Iraq War to an end within 16 months.

Syria fighting threatens deal to fix damaged Damascus water source

Jan 15 The Syrian army and allied militia clashed with rebels in Wadi Barada near Damascus on Sunday, threatening to disrupt planned repair works to a pumping station that supplies most of the capital's water, a war monitor said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the army and the allied Lebanese militia Hezbollah had made some gains against rebels in the Wadi Barada area.

Poll: Israelis believe Trump pro-Israel, Obama pro-Arab

An overwhelming majority of Israelis believe that outgoing President Barack Obama and his administration were pro-Palestinian Authority, as opposed to pro-Israel, according to a new poll by the Smith polling institute. According to the survey, which was released on Thursday, nearly two-thirds of Israeli Jews believe the Obama administration is pro-Palestinian Authority, but an even larger majority say his successor is pro-Israel.

74% of Republicans sympathize with Israel over Palestinians

The difference between the proportion of Republicans and Democrats who sympathize with Israel over the Palestinians is the largest it has been in surveys dating to 1978, according to a new report. While 74 percent of Republicans sympathize more with Israel than the Palestinians, the number is 33 percent for Democrats, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted Jan. 4-9 and published Thursday.

Netanyahu condemns Paris summit as ‘rigged’ against Israel

Israel's prime minister said Thursday that an upcoming conference in Paris aimed at reviving peace talks with the Palestinians was "rigged" and that Israel was not bound by the meeting. Dozens of countries are set to attend the conference on Jan. 15, where they may endorse an international framework for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Tillerson: “Israel is our most important ally in the region”

President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, pledged on Wednesday to support Israel if his nomination is confirmed by the Senate. Testifying at the Senate hearing Wednesday, he said in answer to a question from Sen. John Barrasso : "Israel is, has always been, and remains our most important ally in the region.

How about sticking with our ally Israel?

So it's near the end of his time in office and President Barack Obama decides to put forever-threatened Israel at more of a disadvantage in maintaining its survival. Interestingly, the move could also weaken a United Nations that indeed needs weakening, but that was hardly the president's intent.

Keith Ellison votes against GOP’s Israel resolution

Rep. Keith Ellison attends a news conference with the Congressional Progressive Caucus about the nominations for President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet in Washington on Dec. 8, 2016. U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison , who had not commented on a controversial United Nations resolution that called Israel's settlements in disputed territories "illegal," voted Thursday night against a GOP resolution that condemned it.

A Bipartisan Repudiation of President Obama

The House of Representatives on Thursday voted to condemn a United Nations resolution critical of Israeli settlements as anti-Israel and one-sided, in a rebuke of the Obama administration's decision to allow the resolution to pass. The U.N. resolution, which passed in late December 14 to 0 with an abstention from the United States, declares Israeli settlements a "flagrant violation under international law" and describes east Jerusalem and the Western Wall as "occupied Palestinian territory."

US House passes motion repudiating UN resolution on Israel

The US House of Representatives passed a scathing rebuke Thursday night to a United Nations Security Council resolution the Obama administration allowed through last month that condemned Israeli settlements as illegal. House Resolution 11 declared the UN motion a "one-sided" effort that is an obstacle to peace, placing disproportionate blame on Israel for the continuation of the conflict and encouraging Palestinians from engaging in direct, bilateral negotiations.

Cruz pushes to move US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem

Republican Senator Ted Cruz submitted a bill proposal to the new US Congress on its very first day calling for the United States to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's eternal and undivided capital and to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The Texan senator's bill, which was also sponsored by Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Nevada Senator Dean Heller, includes an article that suggests Congress would delay the transfer of budgets to the State Department until the move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is done.

I Cannot believe what liberals are planning to do 5 days before the inauguration

On the Friday before Christmas, can you believe the Obama administration abstained from the UN Security Council vote that condemned Israel over "settlements?" We must once again reiterate that term is used to delegitimize Israel's right to build neighborhoods and communities for its people. How can it be that one single nation can be so vilified for its existence? And so, ol' Barry Soetoro, as part of his scorched earth policy, has unleashed the hounds of hell by assisting in the creation of UN Security Council Resolution 2334, and enabling it to pass.

Rivlin says Israelis should shun contact with Europe’s far-right

President Reuven Rivlin delivers a speech at the European Union Parliament in Brussels on June 22, 2016. Indirectly rejecting overtures by Austria's right-wing party toward Israel, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin has told Jewish officials that he strongly opposes contact between European parties with a history of anti-Semitism and his country's officials.