What's your L.O.T.I.L?

BY SHELLEY NEESE— Ever heard of a L.O.T.I.L?  It stands for a “List Of Things I Love.”  What’s your L.O.T.I.L for traveling in Israel?  I know some of you may have just returned from the Feast of Tabernacles in Israel.  We would love to hear about your highlights.  Here’s my L.O.T.I.L for Israel: 1- People…

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Explaining Iran's approach towards the Middle East

BY AYMENN JAWAD AL-TAMIMI, JPOST— What drives Iran’s ambition to become the dominant power in the Middle East at the expense of the Sunni Arab Gulf states like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)? Is it solely an issue of Iran’s Shi’ite Islamist ideology? It is worth recalling that many of Iran’s…

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Statement by Israeli Amb Prosor to the UN Security Council

Thank you, Mr. President. At the outset, I would like to extend my condolences to the people of Turkey following yesterday’s tragic earthquake. Let me begin by reminding this Council that the name of today’s debate is the “Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question” – and not vice versa. This morning I’d…

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Pessimism ahead of Quartet visit

BY ATTILA SOMFALVI, YNET— Western diplomats said on Monday that nothing short of a political miracle was needed to see the stalemate plaguing the Israeli-Palestinian peace process dissipating. The statement was made ahead of the Middle East Quartet meetings scheduled for later this week. The Quartet’s proposal to renew negotiations came on the heels of…

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Palestinian prisoners warned against returning to terror

BY YAAKOV LAPIN, JPOST— Palestinian security prisoners freed last week as part of the exchange with Hamas to release Gilad Schalit were “personally informed of the consequences of returning to terrorism,” The Jerusalem Post has learned. Security officials read out statements to the prisoners in the Ktziot prison in the south and the Hasharon prison…

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Netanyahu Offers to Freeze Government Construction in West Bank

BY THE ISRAEL PROJECT— The Quartet on the Middle East will hold separate talks with Israelis and Palestinians this week as part of another push for peace. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said Israel is willing to enter into negotiations “anytime, anywhere,” while Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has set preconditions on entering…

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Walter Pincus says defense aid to Israel should be slashed

BY AMOS HAREL— Veteran Washington Post columnist Walter Pincus has urged the U.S. administration to reevaluate the extent of the defense aid that the United States provides to Israel. Pincus, who has been reporting on intelligence, defense and foreign policy for the Washington Post for 45 years, says the change in U.S. policy that he…

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Barak Admits: We Didn't Know Where Shalit Was

BY ELAD BENARI, ARUTZ 7— Defense Minister Ehud Barak admitted on Sunday that Israel did not know the exact location in Gaza where Gilad Shalit was held by Hamas for more than five years. “Gilad was in southern Gaza somewhere,” Barak told Israel’s Channel 10 News. “We still do not know the exact place and…

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Spot Report: Discerning the Signs of the Times

Think on this!  “You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.”… “But we would be like the men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do.” … “Yahweh has established his throne in heaven and his kingdom rules over all.” …

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Schalit deal may boost Fatah-Hamas unity

BY JONATHAN SCHANZER, JPOST— Pundits are painting news of Gilad Schalit’s dramatic release as a blow to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who watched from the sidelines, and a win for the rival Hamas faction, which negotiated the release of more than 1,000 Palestinians in exchange for just one captured soldier. But rather than stoking…

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Wish I'd Said That

“In Israel, there is more courage in one square mile than in all of Europe. In Israel, there is more courage in one Israeli soldier than in the combined and cold hearts of every bureaucrat at the United Nations. In Israel, you can find people who will stand against incredible odds, against the entire tide…

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