Live updates on Israel, regional security, U.S.–Israel relations, and developments affecting the Body of Christ in the Middle East.
Marathon Talks Off and Running
Posted on Monday, August 27, 2001
After Prime Minister Ehud Barak gave his approval, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators launched an intense round of peace talks in Sinai on Sunday to try to reach a framework agreement before the February 6 election in Israel. Barak…
Hamas Films Ambush on IDF Tank in Gaza
Posted on Monday, August 27, 2001
Hamas staged a roadside bombing in Gaza on Monday that harkened back to the IDF's long fight against Hizb'Allah in Lebanon, while the Arab woman believed to be part of a Fatah terrorist cell that lured Jewish teenager…
WAQF Still Churning Up Temple Mount
Posted on Monday, August 27, 2001
In a serious replay of past "archaeological crimes," the Muslim Waqf on the Temple Mount has once again recklessly dug in areas rich with ancient artifacts, this time on the raised platform around the Dome of the Rock,…
Israeli-Palestinian clashes center on holy sites
Posted on Monday, August 27, 2001
JERUSALEM, Israel, 11 October 2000 (Newsroom) -- With more than 90 deaths and the destruction of synagogues and mosques, observers increasingly are describing the recent strife between Palestinians and Israelis as a religious war.
Israel Suspends Contact with Mitchell Committee
Posted on Monday, August 27, 2001
Israel has frozen cooperation with the Mitchell Committee appointed to investigate the causes of the current violence, following an unauthorized visit by the committee's technical team to the Temple Mount last week.
Two More Israelis Fail To Return From PA-Rules Areas
Posted on Monday, August 27, 2001
In the latest instance of Israelis being brutally murdered in Palestinian areas, masked Arab gunmen grabbed two owners of a Tel Aviv restaurant who were shopping in Tulkarm on Tuesday and executed them on the edge of town.
Bush Shuts Office of Special Mideast Envoy
Posted on Monday, August 27, 2001
US Secretary of State Colin Powell revealed on Tuesday the Bush Administration will not appoint a new Middle East peace envoy to replace Dennis Ross, signaling that America will play a less active role in the peace process…
Sharon Rapped for Contacts with Arafat Crony
Posted on Monday, August 27, 2001
A new political tempest erupted in Israel after it was learned that representatives of Likud prime ministerial candidate Ariel Sharon secretly met in Vienna on Thursday with a key economic adviser to PLO chief Yasser Arafat, raising the…
Oslo On the Line at Sharm E-Sheikh Summit Tomorrow
Posted on Monday, August 27, 2001
In a decisive showdown in the Sinai on Monday, key regional and world leaders will goad Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and PLO chief Yasser Arafat to meet face-to-face to discuss terms for ending the lethal Palestinian uprising…
Barak Re-Connects With the Temple Mount
Posted on Monday, August 27, 2001
In his first official communication with new US President George W. Bush on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak declared that handing over the Temple Mount to the Palestinians would be an act of "betrayal."
Palestinian Violence Still Hampering Tourism to Israel
Posted on Monday, August 27, 2001
This past weekend, the last open hotel in the town of Nazareth, an important place of Christian pilgrimage, closed its door, a sign of the sagging fortunes of the tourism business in Israel since the outbreak of the…
Arafat’s Davos Speech Nixes Positive Election Spin Out of Taba
Posted on Monday, August 27, 2001
The week-long Taba peace talks concluded on Saturday with an upbeat assessment from Israeli negotiators - backed up by a joint statement with the Palestinians - that the two sides were "closer than ever" to a final agreement,…
IDF Intercepts Terrorists Inside Northern Border
Posted on Monday, August 27, 2001
There has been a marked increase in Palestinian attacks following the premature break-up of peace talks in Taba on Saturday evening, while the IDF managed to intercept an armed Palestinian squad infiltrating from Lebanon, leaving two terrorists dead.
Another Lethal Attack Leads Back to Arafat’s Bodyguards
Posted on Monday, August 27, 2001
Palestinian gunmen shot dead an Israeli motorist near Ramallah on Monday in what security sources believe may have been the latest attack traceable to Force 17, an elite commando unit that guards PLO chief Yasser Arafat.
Palestinian Violence Dogs Barak’s Final Days
Posted on Monday, August 27, 2001
The four-month-old Palestinian intifada that has slowly toppled Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak from power, plagued him right up to the eve of the election, which promises to be yet another "day of rage."
No Pre-Election Deal with Hizb’allah
Posted on Monday, August 27, 2001
Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh dismissed weekend reports of an imminent prisoner swap with Hizb'Allah as disinformation on Sunday, quashing rumors of an election eve surprise.
PA Police Face Charges for Ramallah Lynchings
Posted on Monday, August 27, 2001
A Palestinian policeman was to be charged by an Israeli military court on Monday with intentional manslaughter for his part in the lynching of two IDF reservists in Ramallah last October.
Agreement Reported at Sharm Summit
Posted on Monday, August 27, 2001
US President Bill Clinton announced at the summit's close this afternoon that a ceasefire agreement had been reached between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The major points are as follows:
Initifada Claims Arab Christian Soldier on Election Eve
Posted on Monday, August 27, 2001
Only hours before the Israeli Arab sector's almost blanket boycott of the election for prime minister, an Arab Christian from Galilee was shot by Palestinian terrorists while serving in an IDF unit in southern Gaza.
