Category: Middle East

Israel well aware of UN resolution: Murray McCully

Foreign Minister Murray McCully says the United Nations resolution criticising Israeli settlements in occupied territories should not have been a surprise to Israel. He issued a statement after Israel withdrew its ambassador to Wellington after the Government co-sponsored a controversial UN resolution criticising settlements in the occupied territories.

Israel to do ‘all it takes’ to emerge unharmed by UN vote

Israel pressed forward with promises of retaliation and damage control Sunday following a U.N. vote last week on an anti-settlement resolution that passed thanks to an abstention by the U.S., Israel’s close ally. Israel’s Foreign Ministry said it began summoning the ambassadors of countries who voted in favor of the resolution, including those from the permanent members of the Security Council _ Russia, China, the U.K. and France.

Abbas welcomes UN resolution, calls on Israel to talk peace

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas congratulates Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa , apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, during the Christmas Midnight Mass in Saint Catherine’s Church at the Church of the Nativity, on December 25, 2016 in Bethlehem, West Bank Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday night that the UN Security Council’s resolution condemning Israeli settlements was a step in the right direction for his people, asserting that it posited the “legal basics” for a two-state solution to the conflict and appealing to Israel to make peace.

Enhanced Energy: ONR Global Seeks More Powerful Electronic Devices

Washington, DC – Groundbreaking energy research from the United Arab Emirates, sponsored by the Office of Naval Research Global , is the focus of an article published this week in the acclaimed Nature Magazine journal “Scientific Reports.” Dr. Ammar Nayfeh’s article reveals unique use of zinc oxide to improve semiconductors and energy output in electronic devices.

Faithful celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem

Thousands of pilgrims and tourists from around the world together with local Christians gathered in the biblical town of Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas Eve in the traditional birthplace of Jesus, with spirits lifted by a slowdown in recent violence and cool, clear weather. Security was tight in Bethlehem after recent deadly attacks on Christian targets in neighboring Egypt and Jordan by Islamic extremists.

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.

Thousands of faithful celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem

To continue reading up to 10 premium articles, you must register , or sign up and take advantage of this exclusive offer: A Palestinian dressed as Santa Claus takes a picture on Christmas Eve in Manger Square, outside the Church of the Nativity, built atop the site where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2016. BETHLEHEM, West Bank – Thousands of pilgrims and tourists from around the world together with local Christians gathered in the biblical town of Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas Eve in the traditional birthplace of Jesus, with spirits lifted by a slowdown in recent violence and cool, clear weather.

Analysis: Egypt’s hasty retreat on its UN settlements resolution

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas in the Egyptian capital Cairo on November 8. Consistency was not Egypt’s strong point in deliberations on the UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlement activity. But Cairo got through it with its relationship with the incoming Trump administration intact, and only short-term damage to its credibility.

The Latest: Trump says UN vote on Israel complicates peace

President-elect Donald Trump takes a question from a member of the media at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Fla., Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2016. Trump on Thursday abruptly called for the United States to “greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability” until the rest of the world “comes to its senses” regarding nuclear weapons.

Roxy Jacenko puts on a domestic display as she washes dishes on Christmas Day

‘Their courage allows us to enjoy the season’: The Obamas honor the military in their last holiday message from the White House Fans of Ivanka Trump flood the Amazon book page of Clinton supporter with one-star reviews after his husband ‘accosted’ the future first daughter on a JetBlue flight I MIGHT be home for Christmas? Wintry weather makes for stressful travel as 100million Americans hit the roads and airports for the holidays ‘There is one president at a time’: Obama Administration dismisses Trump’s criticism after U.S. abstains from UN Israel vote ‘Can you bring my daddy home?’: Military dad surprises his little girls just moments after one of them asks Santa for a Christmas miracle Carrie Fisher’s daughter rushes to mom’s intensive care bedside with her beloved dog, as pilot call reveals actress, 60, suffered a major heart attack on flight and ‘stopped breathing for 10 minutes’ ‘I … (more)

Top StoryThe top international stories of 2016

In this image made from video and posted online by Validated UGC on Thursday, April 28, 2016, a civil defense worker carries a child after airstrikes hit Aleppo, Syria. In 2016, repeated cease-fire negotiations failed to halt relentless warfare among multiple factions.

Thousands of faithful gather in biblical town of Bethlehem for Christmas Eve

BETHLEHEM, West Bank — Thousands of pilgrims and tourists from around the world together with local Christians gathered in the biblical town of Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas Eve in the traditional birthplace of Jesus, with spirits lifted by a slowdown in recent violence and cool, clear weather. Security was tight in Bethlehem after recent deadly attacks on Christian targets in neighboring Egypt and Jordan by Islamic extremists.

U.S. troops join displaced Iraqi Christians for Christmas Eve Mass

BARTELLA, Iraq — For the 300 Christians who braved rain and wind to attend Christmas’s Eve Mass in their hometown, the ceremony evoked both holiday cheer and grim reminders of the war raging around their northern Iraqi town, and the distant prospect of moving back home. Displaced when the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria seized their town, Bartella, in August 2014, the Christians were bused into town from Irbil, capital of the self-ruled Kurdish region where they have lived for more than two years, to attend the lunchtime service in the Assyrian Orthodox church of Mart Shmoni.

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.

All bets are off after UN infamy Jack Engelhard

Jack Engelhard’s classic international bestselling novel Indecent Proposal, which later became a worldwide hit movie, has been republished to meet readers’ demands. His other major works include Compulsive: A Novel, his award-winning post-Holocaust Montreal memoir Escape from Mount Moriah, plus Slot Attendant: A Novel About A Novelist.

Rebels supported by Turkish troops have laid siege to the IS-held town for weeks.

A Syrian man gestures in the former rebel-held Salaheddin district in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on December 23, 2016 after Syrian government forces retook control of the whole embattled city. Photo – AFP A Syrian man gestures in the former rebel-held Salaheddin district in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on December 23, 2016 after Syrian government forces retook control of the whole embattled city.

Why Obama Broke with Israel at UN

Jordan Fabian, The Hill: The White House’s decision to break with decades of U.S. policy and allow the U.N. Security Council to condemn Israeli settlements is the culmination of years of bad blood between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. … Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser, said the rapid expansion of settlement activity under Netanyahu had put the possibility of a future peace agreement at risk.

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.

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.

Fight to restore DST goes on

Turkish Cypriot Teachers’ union boss Sener Elcil said he will continue to fight until the re-introduction of Daylight Saving Time and three senior members of the coalition are dismissed. “The separatist political regime created by Turkey in the north of our island is regulated by commands coming from Turkey,” Elcil told the Cyprus Weekly.

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Winnersa Elections around the world have a single characteristic: they declare winners and losers. In Cyprus, though, elections have a unique outcome: only winners emerge from the ballot boxes.

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Winnersa Elections around the world have a single characteristic: they declare winners and losers. In Cyprus, though, elections have a unique outcome: only winners emerge from the ballot boxes.

Reaction to US Vote at UN Security Council is Swift, Mixed

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement in the Jewish settlement known to Israelis as Har Homa and to Palestinians as Jabal Abu Ghneim, in an area of the West Bank that Israel captured in 1967. The United States abstained from voting Friday at the U.N. Security Council on a resolution calling for Israel to stop its “settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory.”

Reaction to US Vote at UN Security Council is Swift, Mixed

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement in the Jewish settlement known to Israelis as Har Homa and to Palestinians as Jabal Abu Ghneim, in an area of the West Bank that Israel captured in 1967. The United States abstained from voting Friday at the U.N. Security Council on a resolution calling for Israel to stop its “settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory.”

ZOA Condemns Obama/Kerry/Power For Enabling Passage of Anti-Semitic…

We are outraged – but not surprised – that President Barack Hussein Obama and U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power enabled the passage of an extraordinary, racist, anti-Semitic, anti-Israel UN Security Counsel resolution this afternoon. Obama and Kerry’s phony claim that they allowed this Resolution because Jews living in Judea/Samaria eastern Jerusalem would prevent a Palestinian State is a canard.The fact is that almost all Jews living in these very small areas are areas that would never be given away or prevent a State.

U.N. condemns Israeli settlements as Obama declines to veto

In a striking rupture with past practice, the United States allowed the U.N. Security Council on Friday to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem as a “flagrant violation” of international law. In doing so, the outgoing Obama administration brushed aside Donald Trump’s demands that the U.S. exercise its veto and provided a climax to years of icy relations with Israel’s leadership.

Netanyahu Attacks Obama Over U.N. Resolution Hea s looking forward to working with Trump.

Three days have passed since United Nations Security Council voted 14-0 to adopt a resolution demanding an end to Israel’s building of settlements in the West Bank, and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains very, very angry about it. Over the weekend, Netanyahu canceled monetary contributions to five U.N. agencies and suspended business with the embassies of 12 of the nations that approved the resolution: the U.K., France, Russia, China, Japan, Ukraine, Angola, Egypt, Uruguay, Spain, Senegal, and New Zealand .

A look at key events in Syriaa s Aleppo since March 2011

After the government’s capture of the rebel-held east of the city, here’s a look at key events in Aleppo since the start of Syria’s uprising nearly six years ago: – March 2011: Protests erupt in the southern city of Daraa over the detention of a group of boys accused of painting anti-government graffiti on a school wall. On March 18, security forces fire on a protest in Daraa, killing four people in what activists regard as the first deaths of the uprising.

editorial | Goodbye and good riddance to 2016

Terrorism shows no signs of abating, with Islamic State taking credit for a string of shocking attacks, from Brussels Airport in March, to the Bastille Day horror in Nice, France, to this week’s truck plowing into a crowd of holiday shoppers at a Berlin market. Closer to home, tragedy struck the LGBT community with the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando in June, and in the Bay Area, the horrific Ghost Ship fire broke all of our hearts.

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.

Donald Trump, Rep. Ted Deutch in rare agreement on UN Israel resolution

But part-time Palm Beacher Trump and Deutch both released statements today calling for the U.S. to use its veto power in the United Nations Security Council to nix a resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The U.S. has traditionally vetoed such measures, but President Barack Obama ‘s position on the current measure was in doubt before the UN postponed consideration of the resolution today.

Israeli court delays demolition of West bank outpost

Israel’s Supreme Court has postponed the imminent demolition of a Jewish outpost in the West Bank until next year. The court ruled in 2014 that it was built on private Palestinian land and must be demolished by Dec. 25. Residents accepted a government plan this week to leave the outpost peacefully and move to neighboring land, but Israel says it now appears it will not be able to move the settlers to one of the planned areas.