Palestinians: We Do Not Trust The Americans

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH, GATESTONE— “We want the Americans to be involved in the peace process. But the U.S. should focus its pressure on the Israelis and not on us. We want the Americans to force Israel to accept the two-state solution and dismantle all the illegal settlements.” — Senior aide to Palestinian Authority’s Mahmoud…

Details

Behind the scenes of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks

By ELIOR LEVY, YNET— US Secretary of State John Kerry is arriving in Israel on Tuesday as tensions surrounding peace talks reach boiling point. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas recently told Fatah officials that there has been no progress in the negotiations and warned talks could break down. He pointed a finger at Israel for linking…

Details

Netanyahu: PA Creating ‘Artificial Crisis’

By GIL RONEN, ARUTZ 7— Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has rejected the Palestinian Authority (PA) contention, that recent decisions on construction in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria contravene agreements reached at the outset of negotiations between Israel and the PA, three months ago. He said that the Palestinians knew full well when the talks began that…

Details

Mystery explosion at Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor

By DEBKAFILE— Tehran did its utmost to conceal the mystery blast which last week struck the heavy water reactor under construction at Arak in western Iran. It is revealed here for the first time by debkafile’s intelligence and Iranian sources.  The explosion, whether accidental or not, will delay for a second time the reactor’s first…

Details

Khamenei’s offensive charm: Calls Israel ‘bastard regime’

By ISRAEL HAYOM— Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei described arch-foe Israel as an “illegitimate and bastard” regime on Sunday, as he hit out at its alliance with the United States. “The Zionist regime is an illegitimate and bastard regime,” Khamenei said in remarks carried by his website. “The Americans have the highest indulgence towards…

Details

Rabbis Call for Prayers Against Dividing Land of Israel

By RYAN JONES, ISRAEL TODAY— Earlier this month a group of prominent Israeli rabbis issued a call for earnest prayers against the division of the Land of Israel, as currently being negotiated by Israeli, American and Palestinian officials. “For the past several months there have been ongoing diplomatic negotiations centering on the demand to give…

Details

‘White House official confirms Israeli attack on Syrian missile site’

By ARIEL BEN SOLOMON, JPOST— Israel conducted air raids against a Syrian missile base near the port city of Latakia early on Thursday, according to an anonymous US administration official. The official, speaking to CNN, said Israel targeted missiles and related equipment out of concern that they would be transferred to Hezbollah. It is unclear…

Details

Lowering the Iron Curtain on the Middle East

By RON JAGER— “We’re eyeball to eyeball, and I think the other fellow just blinked,” Secretary of State Dean Rusk famously said during the Cuban missile crisis. In global strategic diplomacy, rule number one has always been; don’t blink. In recent months President Obama has been doing a lot of blinking, forfeiting hard gained leverage…

Details

The Arab Israeli peace process is over. Enter the era of chaos

By LEE SMITH, TABLET— This past weekend the White House clarified yet again what’s been apparent to everyone in the Middle East for quite a while now: The United States wants out, for real. “There’s a whole world out there,” National Security Adviser Susan Rice told the New York Times, “and we’ve got interests and…

Details