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.
Israel
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.
Iranians built new military base in Syria
Iran is building a new military facility in Syria, the BBC has reported based on a Western intelligence source.
Abbas: PA could move to back one-state solution if two states fail
If the two-state solution fails, Palestinians will back a one-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with full rights for all citizens, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday.
Saudis told Abbas to accept Trump peace plan or resign — report
Saudi Arabia last week ordered Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to either accept an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal being put together by the Trump administration, or resign, according to an Israeli report Sunday.
Will Trump bring peace to the Middle East?
US President Donald Trump and his advisors have begun formulating a new peace plan that is set to surpass in scale prior Israeli-Palestinian peace-making initiatives, the New York Times reported Saturday.
Hamas slams PA resumption of security coordination with Israel
A Hamas spokesman on Thursday expressed disapproval of a Palestinian Authority official’s announcement that the PA has resumed full security coordination with Israel.
Why Abbas Was Secretly Summoned To Saudi Arabia
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was unexpectedly summoned this week to Saudi Arabia for impromptu meetings with King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed. The Palestinian leader received the call while in Egypt, where he discussed with his counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi efforts to jump-start peace negotiations with Israel as well as the unity deal recently forged between Abbas’ Fatah faction and Hamas, which was brokered by Cairo.
US, Russia nearing agreement on resolving Syrian civil war
The United States and Russia are nearing an agreement on Syria for how they hope to resolve the Arab country’s civil war once the Islamic State group is defeated, officials said Thursday.
Israel hosts its largest aerial exercise in history
The largest seen aerial exercise in Israel began on Thursday and is to continue for the next two weeks. 1,000 highly-trained fighter pilots from eight different countries opened the “Blue Flag” exercise, which includes roughly 100 of fighter jets, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). It is the most immense military drill to take place so far this year.
Saudi Arabia orders citizens to leave Lebanon as tensions rise
Saudi Arabia has ordered its citizens to leave Lebanon immediately, escalating a regional standoff with Iran centred on the fragile state, which it claims is being run by Tehran’s proxy, Hezbollah.
Abbas discusses US peace efforts, reconciliation with Saudi crown prince
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman on Wednesday about American peace efforts and reconciliation, the official PA news website Wafa reported.