Category: Israel

Minister: Israel expects Trump to keep promise to move Embassy to Jerusalem

Every US president in recent memory has committed during electoral campaigns to moving the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem only to relent on the promise when taking office. “The government expects President Trump will meet his obligations to his voters and move the [US] embassy to Jerusalem,” Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked told the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations on Monday.

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.

Lawmakers push for answers on Trump teama s Russia ties

A crisis over the relationship between President Donald Trump’s aides and Russia deepened as a growing number of Trump’s fellow Republicans demanded expanded congressional inquiries into the matter. Trump sought to focus attention on what he called criminal intelligence leaks about his ousted national security adviser, Michael Flynn.

Trump charts new Mideast course; maybe no separate Palestine

President Donald Trump listens as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during their joint news conference Wednesday in the East Room of the White House. WASHINGTON – Charting a striking new course for the Middle East, President Donald Trump on Wednesday withheld clear support for an independent Palestine and declared he could endorse a one-nation solution to the long and deep dispute between Palestinians and Israel.

There Will Be No Palestinian State Under Netanyahu’s Watch

President Trump should not be swayed by Netanyahu’s duplicitous argument, however convincing it might sound, that he is committed to a two-state solution when in fact he has opposed and will continue to reject in principle the creation of an independent Palestinian state under any circumstances. Netanyahu’s repeated assertions that he is ready to negotiate with the Palestinians unconditionally is hollow because he knows that President Abbas will not enter into negotiations unless Israel suspends the continuing expansion of settlements and the creeping annexation of Palestinian land, which prevents the Palestinians from establishing their own viable state.

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.

Netanyahu lands in Washington

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu landed on Monday night in Washington, ahead of his meeting with President Donald Trump on Wednesday. A diplomatic source accompanying the prime minister’s entourage spoke of the visit on Monday night, saying, “We came to hear the new administration and not as much to be heard.

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.

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A migration expert warns that there are more than 50 million Muslims willing to accept violence and support those who carry out terror attacks to defend their religion. Professor Ruud Koopmans of the Netherlands warned the EU on Monday to block the entry of any refugees whose identity cannot be categorically confirmed.

Hamas names top militant as new leader in Gaza

In this Friday, Oct. 21, 2011, file photo, freed Palestinian prisoner Yehiya Sinwar, a founder of Hamas’ military wing, talks during a rally in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip. A senior Hamas official says the top member of the group’s armed wing has been chosen as its new leader in the Gaza Strip.

UPDATE 1-Chipmaker TowerJazz sees further growth in 2017 after record 2016

JERUSALEM, Feb 13 Israeli chipmaker TowerJazz projected further growth in revenue and profit in 2017 after posting a record fourth quarter and 2016 as a whole, boosted by robust demand from existing and new customers. TowerJazz, which makes chips for smartphones, battery chargers, AC/DC adapters and image sensors, said it earned 52 cents per fully diluted share, excluding one-off items, in the fourth quarter, up from 27 cents a share a year earlier.

Senate panel books hearing for Trump Israel envoy pick this week

Donald Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Israel will be grilled by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Thursday, when he will likely face questions from lawmakers on past controversial statements and his reported support for Israeli settlement building. The nomination hearing for David Friedman will place him among the first non-cabinet level nominees to commence the confirmation process.

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.

UN chief defends choice of PA leader as Libya envoy

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday defended his choice of former Palestinian Authority leader Salam Fayyad to be the UN peace envoy to Libya, after the United States blocked the appointment. Guterres nominated Fayyad to the post on Wednesday and the Security Council had been expected to approve his appointment without objections.

Dominican paper apologizes for using Baldwin photo for Trump

This screen grab of the Friday, Feb. 10, 2017 digitized version of Dominican Republic’s El Nacional print edition shows comedian Alec Baldwin doing his impression of President Donald Trump on “Saturday Night Live,” next to a photo of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the paper’s international page with the Spanish headline: “Trump says settlements in Israel don’t favor peace.” The Spanish caption under Baldwin’s photo reads: “Donald Trump, president of U.S.” The newspaper published an apology on Saturday.

Ambassador Haley opposed Palestinian UN appointment; Sweden calls pick ‘excellent’

The United States’ decision to try to block the appointment of a former Palestinian prime minister to lead the United Nations political mission in Libya was not supported Saturday by Sweden. U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said Friday that the Trump administration was “disappointed” to see that U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had sent a letter to the Security Council indicating his intention to appoint Salam Fayyad as the next U.N. special representative to Libya.

US opposes Palestinian’s appointment to top UN post

The Trump administration opposed the appointment of a senior Palestinian leader for a top United Nations post Friday over concern that the move would boost the Palestinian cause at the world body. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres sent a letter to the Ukraine ambassador, who serves as president of the Security Council, informing the council of his intention to appoint former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad to be his special representative for Libya, according a copy of the letter shown to CNN.

Israeli Paper: Trump Says Settlements Don’t Advance Peace

An Israeli newspaper is quoting President Donald Trump as saying that settlement expansion in land claimed by the Palestinians does not benefit peace. The remarks came in a Trump interview with Yisrael Hayom, a pro-Benjamin Netanyahu paper, just days before the Israeli prime minister is to visit the White House.

PA intelligence chief meets American officials

The Palestinian Authority intelligence chief, Majed Faraj, has met with U.S. security officials in the first meetings between the PA and the Trump administration, an official told The Associated Press on Thursday. The official told the news agency that Faraj met with U.S. security and intelligence officials in Washington over the past two days.