Palestinian Authority mulls establishing own Jerusalem municipal council
The Palestinian Authority is considering a proposal to create a municipal council in east Jerusalem.
Israel
Russia, not Hezbollah, sent drone into Israel
A drone that crossed into northern Israel last month belonged to Russia — not Hezbollah, as was initially suspected — the Haaretz newspaper reported Sunday.
Netanyahu rejects Obama’s assertion that Israel now supports Iran accord
Israel on Friday firmly rejected US President Barack Obama’s claim that its officials now support last year’s nuclear deal with Iran. Far from accepting Obama’s assertion, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s stance had not changed, while the Israeli Defense Ministry compared the accord to the Munich Agreement signed by the European powers with Nazi Germany in 1938.
Top Israel, US military brass to meet in Washington on security, cooperation
Israeli Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot arrived in the US on Sunday for an ‘official work visit’ with his American counterpart, Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff Joseph Dunford, the IDF said in a statement.
State Dept. criticizes Israeli settlement expansion, demolitions
The Israeli government’s plans to build new units in Jewish settlements in the West Bank and a spate of home demolitions in Palestinian areas over the past week have drawn sharp criticism from the Obama administration.
Israeli forces nab terror cell, kill member responsible for death of W.Bank rabbi
A Palestinian involved in a Hamas terror cell implicated in the death Rabbi Michael Mark of was killed during an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) operation overnight near the West Bank city of Hebron, Israel’s Channel 2 news reports.
Netanyahu says he’ll quit soon… as foreign minister
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that he intended to give up some of the four additional ministerial posts he currently holds, including that of foreign minister. But he didn’t say when.
Netanyahu Likely to Accept U.S. Defense Aid Conditions as Talks Enter Final Round
Acting National Security Adviser Jacob Nagel is expected to take part in a decisive round of talks in Washington this week on a military aid deal with the United States. Haaretz has learned that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is leaning toward giving in on a good many of his demands and accepting most of the American terms. These include a gradual phasing out of Israel’s spending of one-fourth of the American aid on purchases from Israeli defense contractors.
Ten years after last Lebanon war, Israel warns next one will be far worse
When Israeli army commanders describe how the next war against Hezbollah could unfold, they often search for words not used in military manuals. The future conflict, they warn, will be “ferocious” and “terrible.”
Israeli Jet Reportedly Strikes Syrian Army Near Golan, Rebels Say
An air strike said to have been carried out by an Israeli jet hit a Syrian army post near the Syrian side of Golan Heights on Wednesday, two Syrian rebel sources told Reuters.
Abbas urges African Union to back French peace push on Mideast conflict
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas urged members of the continental African Union to back a French-led initiative to hold an international summit on relaunching negotiations on the decades-long Middle East conflict.
EU UNESCO draft also disregards Jewish connection to Temple Mount
The Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem is fuming over a draft decision distributed on Thursday by representatives of the European Union at meetings of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee in Istanbul on the subject of the Israeli capital’s Old City that completely ignores the Jewish connection to the site.
Hamas-built underground tunnels from Gaza to Israel spark fear of new war
It has been two years since the July 2014 Gaza War, which killed over 2,000 Palestinians and 70 Israelis.
GOP moves to the right on Israel
A push to move the GOP to the right on Israel scored a preliminary victory Monday in Cleveland.
Iranian commander: Missiles ready for the ‘annihilation’ of Israel
The deputy commander of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard said the country has over 100,000 missiles in Lebanon alone readied for the “annihilation” of Israel.
Israel, US syncing missile defense systems for joint response to future attacks
In face of the increasing missile threat to Israel, the Defense Ministry and the US Missile Defense Agency completed a test in recent days aimed at synching Israeli and American air defense systems so they can operate cooperatively in a future war.
Netanyahu kicks off whirlwind Africa tour with historic 8-nation summit
Jerusalem could not have anticipated such a strong and positive beginning to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s historic whirlwind African tour.
Iranian military official: We have 100,000 missiles in Lebanon ready to hit Israel
Speaking on the occasion of al-Quds Day, Iran’s annual commemorat al-Quds Day, Iran’s annual commemoration of the country’s solidarity with the Palestinian people, the Deputy Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard said Friday that Lebanon has 100,000 missiles ready to annihilate Israel.
Quartet draft report: Israel should stop settlements, denying Palestinian development
Israel should stop building settlements, denying Palestinian development and designating land for exclusive Israeli use that Palestinians seek for a future state, the Middle East peace “Quartet” recommended in a draft of an eagerly awaited report seen by Reuters.
Israel wants to keep Quartet report from becoming basis for new UN resolution
Amid Israeli concern that a Middle East report by the Quartet could serve as the basis for a new Security Council resolution underpinning the peace process, UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday a political horizon was one of the keys to neutralizing the “underlying causes of the cycles of violence.”