Palestinian leader’s anti-American rant gives Trump cause to cut funding

By Caroline Glick— For decades, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas has been touted by American leaders as a moderate man of peace. U.S. leaders from George W. Bush to Barack Obama, and from Condoleezza Rice to John Kerry, all insisted that Abbas is the Palestinian leader who will make an historic deal with Israel. President…

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Abbas has opened the door to Israel-Jordan negotiations

By David Singer, Arutz 7— The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) threat to refuse to negotiate with Israel unless President Trump withdraws his recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel could see Jordan replacing the PLO as Israel’s negotiating partner to end the 100 years-old Arab-Jewish conflict. This threat – unless unconditionally revoked – would…

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Trump Rebuffs Netanyahu, Says Embassy Won’t Move This Year

By Israel Today— US President Donald Trump poured cold water on his friend and ally, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Wednesday by rejecting the notion that America’s embassy could move to Jerusalem by the end of 2018. A day earlier, Netanyahu had gleefully told reporters during his ongoing visit to India that the relocation of…

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The Church Has ‘Fundamentally Failed’ on Religious Freedom, Frank Wolf Says

By Samuel Smith, Christian Post— As the United States celebrated National Religious Freedom Day Tuesday, former Congressman Frank Wolf, the original author of the International Religious Freedom Act, offered a very pessimistic view about the future of religious freedom in America and around the globe. And he believes the Church has done very little to…

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Abbas couldn’t make peace with the Jews; he believes his own lies about us

By David Horovitz, Times of Israel— Almost a decade ago, in the dying months of his premiership, Ehud Olmert offered Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas pretty much everything the Palestinians ostensibly seek from Israel. Hosting Abbas at the Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem on September 16, 2008, Olmert took out a large map and specified…

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Abbas: Jerusalem can be gate for peace or war, Trump must choose

By Elior Levy, YNetnews.com— Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asserted Wednesday that “Jerusalem would be a gate for peace only when it’s the capital of Palestine.” “But it is also a gate for war, insecurity and instability if it isn’t (the capital of Palestine). (US President) Trump has to choose,” Abbas stressed during a speech at…

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Washington’s Paradigm Shift on the Israel-Palestinian Conflict

By JNS— The Trump administration’s approach to the Palestinians represents what Mideast experts and Israel advocates are describing as a paradigm shift in Washington, D.C.—acknowledging that Palestinian rejectionism lies at the root of the Arab-Israeli conflict, rather than reflexively blaming the Jewish state for the impasse in negotiations. The purported paradigm shift comes as the…

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Netanyahu says U.S. likely to move Embassy ‘much sooner than you think’

By Herb Keinon, JPost— Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said that the United States will likely move the embassy “much sooner than you think,” likely within the year. Netanyahu’s comments came as he was flying from New Delhi to the next leg of his India trip, to the state of Gujarat. Netanyahu said that…

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99% of ‘Palestine refugees’ are fake

By Daniel Pipes, Middle East Forum— In the words of a veteran Washington hand, the problem of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the main U.N. agency dealing with Palestinians, is always important but never urgent. Well, it just became urgent. That’s because President Donald Trump tweeted, “With the Palestinians no longer willing to…

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It’s official: US withholds $65 million in Palestinian aid, demands UN re-examination

By World Israel News— In a letter, the State Department notified the U.N. Relief and Works Agency that the U.S. is withholding $65 million of a planned $125 million funding installment to the body. The letter also makes clear that additional U.S. donations will be contingent on major changes by UNRWA, which has been heavily…

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Netanyahu: Abbas’ speech exposed his true colors

By Israel Hayom— Israeli officials on Monday leveled harsh criticism at Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for his speech on Sunday in which he railed against U.S. President Donald Trump, rebuking him for his Dec. 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and for “mistreating” the Palestinians. Using particularly jarring language, Abbas said, “Trump, ‘ikhrab…

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US set to cut UN funds for Palestinian refugees

By Elior Levy, YNetnews— The Trump administration is preparing to withhold tens of millions of dollars from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, cutting the year’s first contribution by more than half or perhaps entirely, and making additional donations contingent on major changes to the organization, according to US officials. President Donald Trump hasn’t made…

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The faded Palestinian issue

By Victor Davis Hanson, Washington Times— President Trump set off another Twitter firestorm last week when he hinted that he may be considering cutting off hundreds of millions of dollars in annual U.S. aid to the Palestinians. Mr. Trump was angered over Palestinian unwillingness to engage in peace talks with Israel after the Trump administration…

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Kahlon: It’s time to annex West Bank settlement blocs

By Itamar Eichner, Ynetnews— Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon surprised fellow government ministers on Sunday by proposing to annex the main Israeli settlement blocs in the West Bank in light of the freeze in the peace process. “I think it’s time to annex the settlement blocs,” Kahlon said during the weekly government meeting. Education Minister Naftali…

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