Trump: US troops remain in Mideast because of Israel
US President Donald Trump told The Washington Post on Tuesday that Israel is the reason behind US Military’s prolonged stay in the Middle East.
Israel
Iran’s parliament speaker says US peace plan a ‘plot’ to strengthen Israel
Iran is determined to fight against US President Donald Trump’s anticipated Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, parliament speaker Ali Larijani said Tuesday, according to the semi-official news agency ISNA.
US lobbies Europe to back United Nations vote on condemning Hamas
The United States is leading a push at the United Nations to win crucial backing from European countries for a resolution condemning Hamas, the Israeli ambassador said Tuesday.
UN envoy: Trump peace plan ‘completed,’ to be unveiled in early 2019
US President Donald Trump’s administration has told Israel that it will present its long-awaited Israeli-Palestinian peace plan early next year, Israel’s envoy to the United Nations said Tuesday.
US condemns ‘outrageous’ Rouhani ‘cancer’ snipe as Iran continues to bash Israel
The United States on Monday joined the European Union in denouncing remarks by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who, on Saturday, called Israel a ‘cancerous tumor’ established by Western countries to advance their interests in the Middle East.
Friedman says peace U.S. plan will be released when ‘time is ripe’
The US ‘remains committed to sharing its vision for peace with Israel, the Palestinians and other regional and international stakeholders at the appropriate time,’ US Ambassador David Friedman said on Monday.
Iran Had Secret Plans to Build Five Nuclear Warheads
A new bombshell report based on a secret trove of seized Iranian nuclear documents shows the Islamic Republic had concrete plans to manufacture and build at least five nuclear weapons and that it was much further along in this scheme than previously known by the international community.
‘Gaza problem won’t go away until we destroy Hamas’ terror network’
The cycle of escalating violence across the Israel-Gaza border will not be resolved until Israel completely destroys Hamas’ and Islamic Jihad’s terrorist infrastructure in the coastal enclave, Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman MK Avi Dichter (Likud) told Israel Hayom over the weekend.
Khamenei: America targets the Middle East in fear of Islamic ‘awakening’
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei slammed the US and Israel in a speech to Muslim leaders on Sunday at an international conference in Tehran. He accused the ‘world’s arrogant powers’ – which he said are led by ‘the Great Satan’ – of wilting in the face of a rising Islamic awakening in the Middle East. ‘The Zionist regime is much weaker than before,’ he claimed, pointing to what he said were Israeli defeats at the hands of Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2006 and Palestinians in Gaza in 2009.
Russia offers to mediate between Israel and the Palestinians
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday said that Russia was willing to mediate between Israel and the Palestinians, and that stability in the region could not be reached until the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was resolved.
Iran’s Rouhani calls Israel a ‘cancerous tumor’ established by West
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday called Israel a ‘cancerous tumor’ established by Western countries to advance their interests in the Middle East.
Dutch Christian boatmaker aims to sail his exact replica of Noah’s Ark to Israel
For two years, the world’s only seaworthy life-size replica of Noah’s Ark has been wowing passengers traveling along Holland’s Maas River.
IDF commando units train for two-front war in 10-day drill
Commando units of the military are currently in a 10-day-long drill to improve their preparedness for a two-front war, the IDF’s Spokesperson’s Unit announced Saturday night.
PA court sentences Palestinians to 15 years hard labor for selling land to Jews
A Palestinian Authority court in Qalqilya on Wednesday sentenced two Palestinians convicted of selling land to Israeli Jews to 15 years of hard labor.
Iran says US bases in Middle East within reach of missiles
A top Iranian general claimed US military personnel and assets in the Middle East were within range of his country’s missiles Wednesday, amid ongoing tensions between Tehran and Washington.
Justice minister says Trump’s peace plan is ‘a waste of time’
Amid speculation that US President Donald Trump is looking to roll out his administration’s peace plan for Israelis and Palestinians in February, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said Wednesday that she would counsel the American leader that any such proposal was ‘a waste of time.’
Citing ‘US, Israeli interests,’ Trump balks at punishing Saudis over Khashoggi
US President Donald Trump said Tuesday the brutal murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi operatives will not derail the US-Saudi relationship, in a move the American leader suggested also benefited Israel.
Netanyahu’s narrow coalition suffers first Knesset defeat
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s one-vote majority coalition government faced its first defeat in the Knesset on Monday after the opposition was able to prevent an amendment to the Israel Lands Law from passing, after going back on an agreement made ahead of the vote.
Abbas rejected billions of dollars in return for concessions on Jerusalem
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas turned down an offer of billions of dollars in return for making concessions on Jerusalem and accepting the city as the united capital of Israel, Mahmoud Habbash, a senior adviser to the PA president, said on Monday.
Netanyahu said worried Trump peace plan could hurt Likud in elections
With the Trump administration’s plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace expected to be rolled out in the coming months, there is growing concern in the Prime Minister’s Office that its release could hurt the ruling Likud party’s electoral prospects in the upcoming national elections, Israeli TV reported Saturday.