The monstrous charge of illegality

by David Isaac, ShmuelKatz.com “The EU position on settlements is clear: They are illegal under international law and an obstacle to peace. Recent settlement-related developments, including in east Jerusalem, contradict efforts by the international community for successful negotiations,” said Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign policy chief, on Dec. 9, after Israel refused to halt building…

The Audacity of Nope

by Ilan Berman, Forbes.com How do you say “chutzpah” in Farsi? That’s the question many observers of Iranian politics must be asking in the wake of the latest, hollow round of international diplomacy over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. The two-day meeting which took place between Tehran and Western powers in Geneva in early December…

Placing the blame

BY SHELLEY NEESE— Nearly nine years ago, on 10 May, a thirty-nine day terrorist-takeover of the Church of the Nativity ended.  The siege began when a gunbattle broke out in the Streets of Bethlehem between the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Palestinian terrorists.  Over two-hundred Palestinians stormed the Church compound.  Knowing many highly wanted terrorists were inside…

Israel asks its embassies to thwart PA unilateralism

by Khaled Abu Toameh and Tovah Lazaroff, Jpost The Foreign Ministry on Monday sent a cable to its embassies abroad instructing its diplomats to thwart Palestinian moves to seek unilateral recognition of statehood particularly at the UN, according to diplomatic sources. “There is no substitute for direct negotiations,” said Foreign Ministry Hebrew spokesman Yossi Levy. Establishing…

IAF strikes 7 targets in Gaza

by JPost Staff The IAF stuck seven terror targets early Tuesday morning following 10 mortar attacks into Israeli territory on Monday. The IDF spokesperson’s office said that the Air Force hit three terror tunnels in the northern Strip and a terror tunnel in southern Gaza. Palestinians claimed the IAF struck several targets in the Gaza…