Putin holds summit with Turkey, Iran to discuss Syria peace deal
Russian President Vladimir Putin is in talks with leaders of Turkey and Iran to end the civil war in Syria that has been raging since 2011.
Israel
US investigator Mueller probing Kushner’s contacts with Israelis — report
US special counsel Robert Mueller’s team is investigating senior White House adviser Jared Kushner over contacts with Israeli officials, according to a Wall Street Journal report Tuesday.
Netanyahu presses Putin on keeping Iran out of Syria
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone about a ceasefire deal in the Syrian civil war and Iranian presence near Israel’s borders with the war-torn country, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
Hamas rejects Arab League labeling of Hezbollah as ‘terrorists’
The Palestinian terror group Hamas rejected on Monday an Arab League resolution labeling Lebanon’s Hezbollah a terrorist organisation.
Lebanon under ‘total control’ of Hezbollah, Bahrain says
Saudi Arabia warned Sunday that it would not stand idly by in the face of Iranian ‘aggression,’ as Bahrain said the Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah was “in total control” of Lebanon.
Yellen to step down from Federal Reserve board
Janet Yellen on Monday submitted her resignation from the Federal Reserve board to US President Donald Trump, announcing that she will leave the board when her successor is sworn in as Fed chairman.
German coalition talks break down, raising prospect of new election
High-stakes talks to form a new German government collapsed Sunday as the pro-business FDP party walked out, plunging Europe’s biggest economy into a political crisis and potentially precipitating the end of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s career.
Israeli minister reveals covert contacts with Saudi Arabia
An Israeli cabinet minister said on Sunday that Israel has had covert contacts with Saudi Arabia amid common concerns over Iran, a first disclosure by a senior Israeli official of such contacts.
IDF fires at Syrian army position in Golan
Israeli tank units in the Golan Heights fired a warning shot at a Syrian army position inside a no-man’s land along the Israeli-Syrian frontier Sunday evening.
Medics: Two injured, one seriously, in West Bank car ramming; terrorist shot
A Palestinian terrorist rammed his car into two people, seriously injuring one of them, before getting shot while trying to stab soldiers in the central West Bank on Friday morning, the army said.
IDF Chief of Staff: Israel willing to share intelligence with Saudis
Gadi Eisenkot has offered to share Israeli intelligence about Iran with Saudi Arabia, in remarks published in a rare interview with a Saudi newspaper published in London.
US, Russia headed for showdown over Syria chemical weapons probe
Russia and the United States were on a collision course ahead of a UN Security Council vote Thursday on the fate of a UN-led probe to determine who is behind chemical attacks in Syria’s six-year war.
UN envoy: Military conflict in Gaza could destroy Fatah-Hamas deal
An outbreak of violence between Israel and extremist groups in Gaza could destroy the fledgling agreement to end the 10-year rift between Fatah and Hamas, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov told The Jerusalem Post.
PA: Riyadh won’t normalize ties with Israel before Palestinian peace deal
The Palestinian Authority is pushing back against reports that its being pressured by Saudi Arabia into agreeing to accept terms for peace with Israel.
Iron Dome battery placed near Tel Aviv
One of the Iron Dome batteries recently deployed in the center of the country in response to rising tensions with terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip was placed in the Dan region, which includes Tel Aviv, the IDF cleared for publication Tuesday.
Amid increased tensions, Iron Dome batteries now deployed in central Israel
Amid increased tension on both its northern and southern borders, Israel has deployed Iron Dome batteries in the Gush Dan region in central Israel, it was cleared for publication on Tuesday.
Report: Islamic Jihad raises state of readiness to ‘highest level’
Amid increasing tensions between Israel and Islamic Jihad, the militant group has raised its state of readiness to its ‘highest level,’ according to a report in the London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat.
Pro-Hizbullah newspaper reports Saudis could embrace Trump’s Arab-Israel peace plan
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister has called on Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman to normalize relations between the kingdom and Israel, a report said.
IDF deploys Iron Dome, raises alert amid Gaza terror threat
A number of Iron Dome missile defense batteries were deployed in central Israel on Monday, the military said, amid heightened tensions with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad since the army demolished the terrorist group’s border-crossing attack tunnel last month.
Trump to Netanyahu: We will take on Iran together
President Donald Trump penned a letter to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu recently, thanking him for his support following Trump’s United Nations address in September, and pledging to work together with Israel to confront Iran over its nuclear program.