Abbas meets Hamas, Islamic Jihad terror heads, says he won’t engage with US plan
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas hosted a meeting in Ramallah Thursday night which included the leaders of terror groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
Israel
Abbas urges Arabs not to normalize ties with Israel
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday called on the Arab countries to abide by the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative and refrain from normalizing their relations with Israel.
Israel’s Ben Gurion airport to have COVID-19 screening lab
Israel’s Ministry of Transport announced Monday that a COVID-19 screening lab is to be opened at Ben Gurion airport, to test passengers flying in and out of the country, i24 News reports. The lab will be run by the Omega Institute for Modern Learning in collaboration with Rambam Medical Center and is expected to be functioning by mid-October.
Kushner says Trump and Netanyahu will discuss US sale of advanced fighter jets to UAE
US President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner said Monday that the President and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will at some stage discuss the sale of American F-35 advanced fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates, the Jewish Press reports. The prospect of such a sale has caused speculation in some quarters about whether it would alter the very longstanding US-supported doctrine that, for security purposes, Israel must retain technological military superiority over all other Middle Eastern countries.
Hezbollah in hot water after Beirut explosion
There are no confirmed ties between Iran-backed Lebanese terror organization Hezbollah and the August 4 explosion in Beirut so far, but the group has found itself coming under fire in the wake of the disaster, the Jewish National Syndicate (JNS) reported Tuesday.
Qatar to Kushner: Two states needed to end Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Qatar’s ruler Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani told White House adviser Jared Kushner on Wednesday that Doha supports a two-state solution, with East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state, to end the conflict with Israel, his cabinet said.
Front page of UAE newspaper carries headline: “Salam, Shalom”
Following the recent peace agreement between Israel and the UAE, a major UAE English-language daily newspaper carried the words “Salam, Shalom” (“Peace” in Arabic and Hebrew) on its front page Tuesday, Israel National News reports.
The Netanyahu Doctrine Is Bringing Middle East Peace
The historic formal full peace and normalization between Israel and the United Arab Emirates represents the realization of the Netanyahu Doctrine, which is heralding a new era of peace in the Middle East.
Senior UAE official: We got US assurances annexation won’t happen
As an Israeli delegation prepared to depart the United Arab Emirates Tuesday after completing a first official visit, a senior Emirati official said that his government had received “assurances” that Israel will not advance its plan to annex large parts of the West Bank.
Hamas announces ceasefire with Israel
Hamas and Israel reached a ceasefire agreement, ending two weeks of rising tensions between the two entities.
IDF strikes Hamas targets amid continued tensions
The Israeli military (IDF) has confirmed in a statement that it struck Hamas terrorist group targets in Gaza early Friday morning, in response to six rockets fired from the Strip toward southern Israel during the night, the Jerusalem Post reports. The IDF confirmed that tanks and IAF aircraft struck underground Hamas infrastructure and militia posts early Friday.
Netanyahu: ‘Many more’ secret talks with Arab nations after US-brokered UAE agreement
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that there are “many more unpublicized meetings with Arab and Muslim leaders to normalize relations with the state of Israel” following its historic peace agreement with the United Arab Emirates brokered by the United States earlier this month.
In Israel, Kushner says ‘stage is set’ for Mideast progress
White House adviser Jared Kushner on Sunday trumpeted the recent agreement by Israel and the United Arab Emirates to establish diplomatic relations as a historic breakthrough and said “the stage is now set” for other Arab states to follow suit, but he gave no indication that any new deals were imminent.
Hundreds of anti-Netanyahu protesters block roads in Tel Aviv and Haifa
Hundreds of Israelis blocked roads at simultaneous demonstrations calling for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s resignation in Tel Aviv and Haifa on Thursday night.
IDF strikes Hezbollah targets following shots fired at IDF position
Israeli attack helicopters and fighter jets struck posts belonging to Hezbollah along the Lebanese border early Wednesday morning after IDF troops were fired upon near Kibbutz Menara in the Upper Galilee.
Israeli aircraft strike Hezbollah posts after shots fired at troops
Israeli aircraft bombed several Hezbollah observation posts along Israel’s northern border early Wednesday after shots were fired from Lebanon toward Israel Defense Force soldiers, the army said.
Iran to let IAEA into 2 suspected nuke sites, one of them flagged by Netanyahu
Iran has agreed to allow inspectors into two sites where the country is suspected of having stored or used undeclared nuclear material, the UN atomic watchdog agency said Wednesday.
US Top Diplomat Pompeo Visits Bahrain, UAE
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he spoke Wednesday with officials in Bahrain about “the importance of Gulf unity and countering Iran’s malign influence in the region.”
National Security Adviser to lead Israeli delegation to UAE next week
An official Israeli delegation led by National Security Adviser Meir Ben Shabbat is set to travel to Abu Dhabi next Monday, following the announcement of normalization between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
Abbas: Normalization between Arabs, Israel won’t achieve peace
Normalization of relations between Israel and the Arab countries will not achieve peace and stability in the region, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday.