Netanyahu: Russia shares goal of removing all foreign troops from Syria
Russia and Israel share the goal of removing all foreign troops from Syria, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday at the weekly cabinet meeting.
Jerusalem
US closes Jerusalem consulate, demoting Palestinian mission
The United States officially shuttered its consulate in Jerusalem on Monday, downgrading the status of its main diplomatic mission to the Palestinians by folding it into the US Embassy to Israel.
Erdogan to push Mideast plan
White House adviser Jared Kushner continued a whirlwind overseas trip Wednesday aimed at rallying U.S. allies to support his still-unannounced Mideast peace plan.
Turkey launches ‘Blue Homeland’ naval drill
Turkey has launched the largest maritime drill in the country’s history, testing its war fighting capabilities in the Black Sea, Aegean Sea, and eastern Mediterranean simultaneously.
PA: Hamas, Islamic Jihad behind anti-Abbas protests
The Palestinian Authority and its ruling Fatah faction have begun organizing rallies throughout the West Bank in support of PA President Mahmoud Abbas. The move came in response to recent demonstrations in the Gaza Strip during which protesters condemned Abbas and called for his removal from power.
Kushner: Trump’s peace plan will focus on drawing the borders of Israel
US special envoy Jared Kushner was interviewed on Monday on Sky News in Arabic, saying that ‘the American peace plan is very detailed and will focus on drawing the border and resolving the core issues.’
Locust Swarms Imminent In Egypt, Saudi Arabia
The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned that an infestation of desert locusts in Sudan and Eritrea is rapidly spreading along both sides of the Red Sea towards Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Police arrest head of Waqf following Temple Mount riots
The two senior Waqf officials were arrested on Sunday in a follow-up to Friday’s riots on the Temple Mount in which thousands of Palestinians stormed the Golden Gate, which had been closed by a court order since 2003.
Waqf: Temple Mount site will remain open despite Israeli crackdown
The Jerusalem Wakf Council announced on Sunday that a section of the Temple Mount that was closed by Israel in 2003 will remain open, even after the arrest of two of its senior officials.
Netanyahu, Putin to meet in Moscow next Wednesday after postponement
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin next Wednesday, his office said Thursday.
Putin warns U.S. of renewed Cuban Missile crisis, says Russia has edge
President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia is militarily ready for a Cuban Missile-style crisis if the United States wanted one, and that his country currently has the edge when it comes to a first nuclear strike.
Palestinians, Jordanians expand alliance to torpedo Trump’s peace plan
The Palestinians and the Jordanians have set up a joint council for the administration of the Temple Mount and other Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem in an effort to preemptively torpedo the advancement of US President Donald Trump’s regional peace plan.
Israel unveils Rafael’s new advanced bunker buster missile, ‘Rocks’
With tensions still high between Israel and Iran a new air-to-surface long-range missile designed to destroy targets deep underground in heavily defended areas has been developed by Israeli defense giant Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.
US Palestinian mission to merge with Israeli embassy next month
The United States Consulate General in Jerusalem, which serves Palestinians, will be absorbed into the new US Embassy to Israel in March, a US official said on Tuesday, giving a date for a merger that has been condemned by Palestinians.
Palestinians clash with police on Temple Mount amid efforts to end crisis
Dozens of Palestinians tried to force their way into the Golden Gate site on the Temple Mount on Tuesday, triggering scuffles with police officers, eyewitnesses said.
19 Palestinians arrested in fresh Temple Mount clashes
Palestinian worshipers clashed with Israeli police on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount on Tuesday, trying to force their way into an area of the flash-point holy compound that has been closed for years. Police said 19 Palestinians were arrested.
U.S. and China to begin new talks to resolve trade war
A new round of talks between the United States and China to resolve their trade war will take place in Washington on Tuesday, with follow-up sessions at a higher level later in the week, the White House said on Monday.
Netanyahu: Israeli-Arab ties advance, but full peace unattainable now
Israel can advance normalized ties with the Arab world without resolving the Israeli-Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but won’t be able to fully make peace with those countries, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday.
Pence calls on EU to withdraw from Iran nuclear deal
US Vice President Mike Pence accused Washington’s European allies of trying to break US sanctions against Tehran and called on them to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, during the Warsaw ministerial conference on Thursday.
Iran could get nuclear weapon within two years, intel assessments find
Iran is capable of producing a nuclear weapon within two years, if it steps up work on its nuclear program and violates the 2015 deal with the West, according to a recent Israeli intelligence assessment.