Category: Middle East

Netanyahu offers condolences to Russia over plane crash

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the COP 21 United Nations conference on climate change at Le Bourget, on the outskirts of Paris, France, on November 30, 2015. The day after upbraiding the Russian ambassador over a UN Security Council vote, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday sent his sympathies to Moscow for a military plane crash in which 92 people are believed to have perished.

Trump’s pick for ambassador to Israel has all sides on edge

If President-elect Donald Trump wanted to show he planned to obliterate President Barack Obama’s approach to Israel, he may have found his man to deliver that message in David Friedman, his pick for US ambassador. The bankruptcy lawyer and son of an Orthodox rabbi is everything Obama is not: a fervent supporter of Israeli settlements, opponent of Palestinian statehood and unrelenting defender of Israel’s government.

The Mail

Dexter Filkins’s article on the Muslim scholar and preacher Fethullah GA1 4len, the founder of the social and religious movement Hizmet, of which I am a participant, misrepresents GA1 4len and leaves unchallenged a series of claims against him . Filkins refers to statements that GA1 4len made decades ago regarding Jews, but does not explain the evolution of his views, which GA1 4len has clarified in other interviews, or mention his consistent criticism of terrorist attacks in Israel and support for interfaith dialogue.

A Bigger Problem Than ISIS?

On the morning of August 7, 2014, a team of fighters from the Islamic State, riding in pickup trucks and purloined American Humvees, swept out of the Iraqi village of Wana and headed for the Mosul Dam. Two months earlier, had captured Mosul, a city of nearly two million people, as part of a ruthless campaign to build a new caliphate in the Middle East.

Israel: humbled Netanyahu places hopes in Trump

In this Dec. 11, 2016, file photo, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem. Netanyahu lashed out at President Barack Obama on Saturday, Dec. 24, accusing him of a “shameful ambush” at the United Nations over West Bank settlements and saying he is looking forward to working with his “friend” President-elect Donald Trump.

Israel summons US ambassador as Netanyahu hits out at Obama

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a scathing attack Sunday on the Obama administration and summoned the US ambassador after its refusal to veto a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israel’s settlements in the West Bank. 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, leading to US ambassador Daniel Shapiro being summoned, an Israeli official told CNN Sunday.

Netanyahu Lashes Out at Obama Over Un Vote Acusses Onama of Ambush

AP reports Israel’s prime minister lashed out at President Barack Obama on Saturday, accusing him of a “shameful ambush” at the United Nations over West Bank settlements and saying he is looking forward to working with his “friend” President-elect Donald Trump. Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments came a day after the United States broke with past practice and allowed the U.N. Security Council to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem as a “flagrant violation” of international law.

Netanyahu Lashes Out at Obama Over Un Vote Acusses Onama of Ambush

AP reports Israel’s prime minister lashed out at President Barack Obama on Saturday, accusing him of a “shameful ambush” at the United Nations over West Bank settlements and saying he is looking forward to working with his “friend” President-elect Donald Trump. Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments came a day after the United States broke with past practice and allowed the U.N. Security Council to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem as a “flagrant violation” of international law.

PM calls in US envoy for ‘clarifications’ after US failed to veto anti-settlement UN vote

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday summoned US Ambassador Dan Shapiro for “clarifications,” after the US abstained in Friday’s United Nations Security Council vote demanding a halt to all Israeli settlement activity, enabling the resolution to pass. Netanyahu, who has publicly accused US President Barack Obama of “ambushing” Israel at the UN with the “shameful” resolution, reportedly told colleagues earlier Sunday that the diplomatic tussle was not yet over.

PM calls in US envoy for ‘clarifications’ after US failed to veto anti-settlement UN vote

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday summoned US Ambassador Dan Shapiro for “clarifications,” after the US abstained in Friday’s United Nations Security Council vote demanding a halt to all Israeli settlement activity, enabling the resolution to pass. Netanyahu, who has publicly accused US President Barack Obama of “ambushing” Israel at the UN with the “shameful” resolution, reportedly told colleagues earlier Sunday that the diplomatic tussle was not yet over.

Netanyahu: Since Carter, Obama worst for Israelis

In a speech Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attacked President Barack Obama and the United Nations for the passage a day before of a resolution that criticized Israel’s settlement activity in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. Netanyahu said the resolution was part of the “swan song of old world bias against Israel,” and he compared Obama to former President Jimmy Carter, whom the prime minister called the worst president for Israel and the last to break with a traditional U.S. commitment to support Israel.

Israel’s Netanyahu lashes out at Obama over UN vote

In this Dec. 11, 2016, file photo, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem. Netanyahu lashed out at President Barack Obama on Saturday, Dec. 24, accusing him of a “shameful ambush” at the United Nations over West Bank settlements and saying he is looking forward to working with his “friend” President-elect Donald Trump.

Israela s Netanyahu lashes out at Obama over UN vote

Israel’s prime minister lashed out at President Barack Obama on Saturday, accusing him of a “shameful ambush” at the United Nations over West Bank settlements and saying he is looking forward to working with his “friend” President-elect Donald Trump. Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments came a day after the United States broke with past practice and allowed the U.N. Security Council to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem as a “flagrant violation” of international law.

Vote on Israel could spur further action – or trouble for UN

The U.S. green light that allowed the U.N. Security Council to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem could spur moves toward new terms to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But it also poses dangers for the United Nations with the incoming Trump administration and may harden Israel’s attitude toward concessions.

It’s Official: Obama Is Way Worse Than Jimmy Carter

Obama had barely lowered his hand after being sworn in back in 2009 that Glenn Reynolds proposed that a re-run of the Carter presidency was likely a best case scenari o for the lightworker, and while this has been manifestly true for quite a while now, yesterday’s UN vote seals the deal. I dimly recalled that Carter made a similar move in his last year in office, voting to abstain on a UN resolution that sounds identical to the one passed yesterday.

Vote on Israel could spur further action – or trouble for UN

In this photo provided by the United Nations, Samantha Power, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, addresses the United Nations Security Council, after the council voted on condemning Israel’s settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, Friday, Dec. 23, 2016 at United Nations Headquarters. In a striking rupture with past practice, the United States allowed the U.N. Security Council on Friday to condemn Israel.

Vote on Israel could spur further action a ” or trouble for UN

The U.S. green light that allowed the U.N. Security Council to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem could spur moves toward new terms to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But it also poses dangers for the United Nations with the incoming Trump administration and may harden Israel’s attitude toward concessions.

Obama accused of collaborating with Palestine as U.S. declines to veto anti-Israel resolution at UN

Members of the United Nations Security council vote at the United Nations headquarters on Friday, Dec. 23, 2016, in favour of condemning Israel for its practice of establishing settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. Samantha Power, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, addresses the United Nations Security Council, after the council voted on condemning Israel’s settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, Friday, Dec. 23, 2016 at United Nations Headquarters.

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 accuses Obama of anti-Israeli ‘shameful move’ at UN

An Israeli official on Friday accused President Barack Obama of colluding with the Palestinians in a “shameful move against Israel at the U.N.” after learning the White House did not intend to veto a Security Council resolution condemning settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem the day before. “President Obama and Secretary Kerry are behind this shameful move against Israel at the U.N.,” the official said.

“President”Trump On Israel

During the past few years the Israel Ambassador to the US, Ron Dermer, has met with Republican leaders, interfered with the American conduct of policy in the Middle East on ground that he, and Prime Minister Netanyahu, believe President Obama hates Jews and hates Israel. Under the administration of Barack Obama the nation of Israel has been provided over SIXTEEN BILLION DOLLARS worth of military assistance, plus money to build a defensive shield against missiles.

5 things to know about Syriaa s Aleppo

Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces and years of fighting have laid waste to much of the city of Aleppo, but he has won it back after nearly six years of war. The president now looks more secure than ever since the 2011 uprising against his family’s four-decade rule.

UN Security Council delays vote on Israeli settlements

The UN Security Council on Thursday delayed a contentious vote on a draft resolution demanding that Israel halt settlements as President-elect Donald Trump weighed in and said the United States should veto the measure. Egypt requested that the vote be postponed, one day after submitting the draft text to the council, a move that triggered immediate calls from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a US veto to block the resolution.

Under Israeli pressure, UN vote on settlements postponed

Under heavy Israeli pressure, Egypt on Thursday indefinitely postponed a planned U.N. vote on a proposed Security Council resolution that sought to condemn Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, diplomats and Western officials said, just a few hours before the vote was set to take place. The vote would have been one of the last opportunities for President Barack Obama to take a stand against Israeli settlement building after years of failed peace efforts, but doing so could re-ignite a dispute with a close ally in the waning days of his tenure.

Israeli leader urges US to veto UN settlement resolution

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the U.S. on Thursday to veto a draft United Nations resolution demanding a halt to Israeli settlement activities in the West Bank. The vote, expected Thursday, provides one of the last opportunities for President Barack Obama to take a stand against Israeli settlement building after years of failed peace efforts, but doing so could re-ignite a dispute with a close ally in the waning days of his tenure.

Donald Trump calls Berlin terror strike ‘an attack on humanity’

Trump calls Berlin terror strike ‘an attack on humanity’ as he distances himself from Monday statement about Muslims targeting Christians Asked about his claim Monday that the Berlin attack on a Christmas market was part of a ‘global jihad,’ he tacked to saying it was ‘an attack on humanity’ On Wednesday he revealed that he hasn’t spoken to President Barack Obama since the Berlin attack and the assassination of a Russian diplomat in Turkey Donald Trump has called Monday’s deadly strike on a Berlin Christmas market ‘an attack on humanity,’ saying Wednesday that the rise of Islamic terrorism in the West ‘is disgraceful.’ ‘It’s an attack on humanity.

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Donald Trump has won the presidency after narrowly carrying a few states to put him above 270 electoral votes.But according… Senate Republicans refused to give President Obama’s pick to replace Supreme Court Justice Scalia even the courtesy of a… Donald Trump has been steadfastly unwilling to divest himself from his business empire, and indeed has continued to use his status as candidate and now president-elect to funnel money to that empire. It runs the gamut from using Trump-owned venues for meetings and fundraisers to serving Trump-branded bottled water to renting out floors of Trump Tower to the government agency assigned to protect him.

After violence abroad, Trump meeting with security adviser

President-elect Donald Trump is planning to meet with his incoming national security adviser in the aftermath of a rattling day of violence around the world. Trump appeared to jump ahead of investigators in blaming Islamic terrorists for deadly incidents Monday in Turkey and Germany and vowing anew to eradicate their regional and global networks.

Bank Mergers Spread in Mideast as Low Oil Signals Boom Days Over

Oil’s more than 50 percent plunge over the past two years is forcing countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to cut state spending, tap reserves and combine some of their largest banks to reduce costs and duplication. International Bank of Qatar QSC said this week they are in talks to create the country’s largest sharia-compliant bank and the third-largest such lender in the Middle East, with assets worth more than 160 billion riyals . Talks are at an early stage, according to the banks, which didn’t give details on the structure of the possible deal.

The Latest: Trump says UN vote on Israel complicates peace

A sinkhole forming north of Detroit forced the Christmas Eve evacuations of more than a dozen homes and the closure of a busy roadway that was expected to collapse due to a possible sewer problem. Tens of thousands of children from around the world plan to call the North American Aerospace Defense Command to ask where Santa is, and starting Saturday they will get a cheery answer about the mythical route from… Children from around the world are calling the North American Aerospace Defense Command to ask where Santa is, and they’re getting a cheery answer about the mythical route.