Tag Archives: Israel

Israel’s annexation of the West Bank could push it down a path that challenges its Jewish and democratic character. The agreement establishing the current Israeli coalition government has set July 1 as the target date to begin consideration of the annexation in the West Bank. As this self-imposed deadline approaches, there …

Egypt on Friday called on the United Nations Security Council to intervene to restart talks on the $4 billion hydroelectric dam being built by Ethiopia on the Blue Nile near the border with Sudan. Talks over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam were halted once again this week, this time only …

Every day Ammar Abu Shamalla adds a little colour to drab routine life in Gaza, loading up his camper van with pictures he displays and sells in the Palestinian territory’s streets and markets. He and wife Arwa, both jobless college graduates, did painting in their spare time before coming up …

Turkey may begin oil exploration in the eastern Mediterranean within three or four months under a deal it signed with Libya that was condemned by others in the region including Greece, Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said on Friday. Libya’s internationally-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) signed the maritime delimitation deal …

Unconfirmed reports on social media say that the vicinity of the Artillery College in Ramouse, south of Aleppo, was targeted. An explosion has been heard in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, a SANA news agency correspondent said on early Saturday. There has been no confirmed information so far concerning possible …

The Trump administration’s decision to withdraw Patriot anti-missile defense batteries from Saudi Arabia is likely to fuel an already brewing arms race as the kingdom attempts to catch-up with Iran’s nuclear development as well as its space, ballistic missile, and drone capabilities. By James M. Dorsey One thing is certain, …

The two million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip face insurmountable obstacles in attempting to prevent the novel coronavirus from spreading throughout the isolated enclave. Israel’s continued siege and blockade severely limits their ability to test for the virus and provide healthcare to those who become infected. By Zaha Hassan …

By James M. Dorsey A podcast version of this story is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, Spreaker, Pocket Casts, Tumblr, Podbean, Audecibel, Patreon and Castbox. Populated by fluent Hebrew speakers, the Israel desk of Armenia’s foreign ministry waited back in 1991 in the wake of the collapse of …

Israel called on Tuesday for the immediate resumption of indirect talks on the return of two Israeli civilians and the remains of two soldiers held for years in Gaza, but the territory’s Islamist rulers Hamas dismissed the overture. The Israeli appeal came in a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s …

Lebanon’s search for offshore oil and gas will begin on Thursday, President Michel Aoun said, as the country grapples with an unprecedented financial crisis. The results from the first exploratory well are expected in the next two months, the chairman of the Lebanese Petroleum Administration (LPA) said earlier on Wednesday. …

Egypt is considering exporting gas to Lebanon using an offshore pipeline, Egyptian Petrol Minister Tarek al-Molla told Al-Arabiya in an interview published Monday. “Unfortunately, the pipeline for importing Egyptian gas to Lebanon passes through Syria. The current circumstances in Syria mean we cannot deliver gas,” Molla said on the sidelines …

Turkey called on Sunday for the European Union to end what it said was the bloc’s prejudice against Turkish Cypriots, defending its launch of a fresh round of hydrocarbons drilling off the Mediterranean island. Turkey began drilling for oil and gas near Cyprus last year despite warnings from the EU, …

1 – What do you associate with the presence of the States in Iraq? And why is Washington not taking serious steps to destroy the remnants of takfiri in northwestern Iraq? According to the confessions issued by the most important personalities in the United States, including President Trump that America …

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other senior members of Congress held talks in Jordan on Saturday with King Abdullah II and other top Jordanian officials. Pelosi said in a statement the visit was at “a critical time for the security and stability of the region… With the deepening crisis …

By Dr. Aqel Salah*     This study discusses the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip and the continuing Israeli war by all means against Hamas. The study is based on a fundamental question: Is the war on Gaza aimed at rocket warheads or the head of Hamas? In order …

Greece, Israel, Cyprus and the United States agreed to enhance cooperation in energy, cyber and infrastructure security, Greek Energy Minister Kostis Hatzidakis said on Wednesday after ministers of the four countries met in Athens. Natural gas discoveries in the Eastern Mediterranean in the past decade have rendered the region a …

Facebook Inc on Wednesday defeated an appeal by American victims of Hamas attacks in Israel, who sought to hold the company liable for providing the group a social media platform to further its goals. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said the Communications Decency Act, a 1996 …

Lebanon’s heavily armed, Iran-backed Hezbollah group on Friday denied using Beirut’s sea port to import arms in response to an accusation by Israel’s United Nations envoy this week. “I completely deny the claim of the Israeli representative in the Security Council that Hezbollah uses the Beirut port to transfer weapons …

The National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements said in his latest weekly report , that the Israeli Occupation Authorities continue the ethnic cleansing policy, especially in Jerusalem and its surroundings, ignoring the UNs and Human Rights Organizations’ warnings, and insists the demolishing of about 100 apartments and displacing …

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that he informed U.S. President Donald Trump in advance of what Israel has described as a spy mission in Tehran last year to capture a secret Iranian nuclear archive. Netanyahu said in April 2018 that Mossad operatives had spirited thousands of hidden …

Israel’s financial system faces significant risks from falling U.S. bond yields and high global debt levels, the Bank of Israel said on Sunday in a semi-annual financial stability report. The central bank noted that global growth and rate forecasts continued to moderate in the first half of 2019, while major …

The National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements said in his latest weekly report , that the Israeli occupation government proceeds with its settlement plans in the West Bank and works day and night to seize more lands. The percentage of confiscated land has increased to a high degree …

Palestinians urged Egypt and Jordan on Wednesday to reconsider their attendance at a U.S.-led conference on June 25-26 in Bahrain, voicing concern it would weaken any Arab opposition to Washington’s coming peace plan. The United States has billed the gathering as a workshop to boost the Palestinian economy as part …

The National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements said in his latest weekly report , that the occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights following the 6-Day War in 1967, changed the face of the Palestinian territories due to …

By Graham E. Fuller  (grahamefuller.com) 6 June 2019 The “Deal of the Century”—Trump’s modestly named new proposal for peace  between Israel and the Palestinians—has long been said to be nearing completion. Ongoing turmoil in Israeli politics makes that presumed launch date  less certain. But whether or not Bibi Netanyahu will …

By Firas Samuri*   On June 2, Syrian Arab News Agency reported on Israeli aggression on the T4 airbase, located in the eastern countryside of Homs province. It’s recognized that the Syrian Air Defense System managed to destroy two missiles. The remaining rockets hit targets on the territory of the …

The National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements said in his latest weekly report , that the Israeli ignores of the international law and international legitimacy resolutions through annexing more occupied Arab territories, as the US President Trump’s Adviser, Jared Kouchner on Thursday handed over a new map to …

The Israeli military said its aircraft struck Syrian army targets on Sunday after rockets were fired at the Golan Heights, and Syria’s state media said three soldiers were killed in the second such flare-up in a week. Syrian television reported big explosions near Damascus before dawn and said air defences …

The Palestinian cause represents a core issue for the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Saudi King Salman said in his speech during to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Mecca on Saturday, adding the kingdom “refuse any measures that touch the historical and legal position of East Jerusalem”. (This …

Israeli lawmakers voted to dissolve parliament on Thursday, paving the way for a new election after veteran Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a coalition government before a midnight deadline. Netanyahu preferred a new ballot, set for Sept. 17, to the alternative, under which Israeli President Reuven Rivlin could …

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, has reached a plea bargain in a fraud case over allegedly misusing state funds to order catered meals, Israel Radio said on Wednesday. Under the agreement, she will pay the state 45,000 shekels ($12,400) in reimbursement and a 10,000-shekel fine while admitting a lesser …

By Emad El-Din Aysha, PhD     It’s the Ramadan, the holy month of fasting, not exactly the best time of the year to exercise your synapses. Nonetheless, I found myself doing exactly that on Sunday 12 May 2019 when I attended a lecture organised by the American University in …

By Emad El-Din Aysha, PhD   What can I say about Ammar Al-Masry’s Throne of Atlantis, the long awaited sequel to Shadows of Atlantis? It’s a mind-boggling treat! To remind those who have forgotten, myself included, here is a summary. In Shadows of Atlantis you have a near perfect world …

by Areej Zaher*   President Trump has announced recently his intention of withdrawing US troops, estimated at about 2000, from Syria. This put him under the mercy of criticism by his own administration. This announcement came as he asserted the defeat of Islamic State. This led to a dispute among …

By Emad El-Din Aysha, PhD   Typically for me, after watching and debunking The Angel (2018), I couldn’t help but watch 7 Days in Entebbe (2018) by a director I really do not like, José Padilha, on account of the mess he made with the Robocop (2014) remake. I thought, …

Israeli defense contractor Elbit Systems (ESLT.TA) said on Sunday it completed a $500 million deal to buy state-owned rival IMI Systems after receiving government approval for the privatization of IMI last week. Elbit (ESLT.O) paid $495 million for IMI, with an additional payment of $27 million contingent on IMI meeting …

An Israeli-American man was sentenced to 10 years in prison in Israel on Thursday for making about 2,000 hoax bomb threats that forced evacuations of U.S. Jewish community centers and planes to make emergency landings. The threats, by phone and email were made in 2016 and 2017, and raised concern …

Home-renting company Airbnb Inc <AirBnB Inc> said on Monday it would remove listings in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, a move Israel called a “wretched capitulation” to boycotters and Palestinians hailed as a step towards peace. The decision, affecting some 200 listings, would take effect in the coming days, Airbnb said. Israel captured the West Bank in a 1967 …

Think Tanks Activity Summary (For further details, scroll down to the PUBLICATIONS section) The American Foreign Policy Council looks at Trump’s Iran policy.  They note, “Even more important, however, is the current tug-of-war taking place over Iran’s banking sector. The Nov. 7 sanctions round is aimed in large part at …

The United States said it would oppose on Friday for the first time an annual resolution at the United Nations calling on Israel to rescind its authority in the occupied Golan Heights, drawing praise from Israeli officials. The Golan Heights form a buffer between Israel and Syria of about 1,200 …

Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced his resignation on Wednesday in protest at a Gaza ceasefire that he called a “capitulation to terror”, weakening Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conservative coalition government. “Were I to stay in office, I would not be able to look southern residents in the eye,” Lieberman …

In a clear violation of all laws and human rights principles, including the right to education and access to educational institutions, many Palestinian schools in the countryside and Bedouin communities are attacked by Israeli soldiers and settlers against the Oref and Luban Sharqeia’s schools south of Nablus, 7 students were …

Palestinian militant groups in Gaza said on Tuesday they would halt cross-border attacks immediately if Israel did the same after the most serious exchanges of aerial fire since a seven-week war in 2014. An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, responded by putting the onus on the Palestinians to …

The Israel-Gaza border fell quiet on Monday after a botched Israeli undercover operation in the Gaza Strip led to fighting that killed a Hamas commander, six other Palestinian militants and an Israeli colonel. Palestinians fired 17 rockets into southern Israel late on Sunday in response to the incursion and air …