Why Did U.S. Peace Process Diplomacy Fail; What Happens Next?

by Barry Rubin, GLORIA Center I think this lead from Jackson Diehl’s Washington Post article says it all: “The latest collapse of the Middle East peace process has underlined a reality that the Obama administration has resisted since it took office–that neither the current Israeli government nor the Palestinian Authority shares its passion for moving quickly…

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US drops Palestinian-Israeli track, formulates new Turkey-Iran deal

by Debkafile US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had the thankless task of writing finis on the Obama administration’s intense two-year effort to persuade Israelis and Palestinians to discuss peace. Her speech to the Saban Forum early Saturday, Dec. 11 was much awaited as Washington’s first comment on the deadlock caused by Israel’s refusal to…

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Hanukah For Jews and Christians

by Michael Zimmerman, American Thinker Hanuka celebrates a spiritual and military victory in Israel nearly 2,200 years ago that has inspired generations of Jews and many Gentiles. A few faithful Jews were victorious over their assimiliationist brethren and the Hellenist Syrians of the Greek-founded Seleucid Empire. The events commemorated by Hanuka were necessary for the…

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Palestinians make non-compliance official

by Israel Today Ever since signing the so-called “Oslo” accords with Israel 15 years ago, the Palestinians have failed to fulfill even their most basic peace obligations, and in most cases have openly violated their commitments. Now the Palestinian Authority is threatening to make its non-compliance official by abrogating the entire peace process. Palestinian official…

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Why Latin America turned

by Caroline Glick, JPost Israelis can be excused for wondering what happened that Brazil and Argentina unexpectedly announced they recognize an independent Palestinian state with its capital city in Israel’s capital city. Israelis can be forgiven for being taken by surprise by their move and by the prospect that Uruguay, and perhaps Paraguay, Chile, Peru,…

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WikiLeaks exposes Obama

by Yoram Ettinger While reaffirming a 1,400 years old Muslim track record, the documents refute Obama’s fundamental assumptions, which have shaped his counter-terrorism policy: that the Palestinian issue is a root cause of Middle East turbulence and anti-Western terrorism; that Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are allies of the US; that there is no Islamic terrorism…

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Go East beyond the River Jordan

by Victor Sharpe The phrase “Two State Solution” has been embraced by politicians and journalists alike, repeated endlessly, and touted as the panacea for a “just and equitable” solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. It has assumed the repetitious role of a muezzin’s call to Islamic prayer. But it is based on erroneous geography and history;…

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Hanuka For Jews and Christians

by Michael Zimmerman, American Thinker Hanuka celebrates a spiritual and military victory in Israel nearly 2,200 years ago that has inspired generations of Jews and many Gentiles. A few faithful Jews were victorious over their assimiliationist brethren and the Hellenist Syrians of the Greek-founded Seleucid Empire. The events commemorated by Hanuka were necessary for the…

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US drops push for Israel settlement freeze

by Allyn Fisher-Ilan, Reuters The United States on Tuesday abandoned its effort to persuade Israel to freeze construction of Jewish settlements, officials said, dealing a blow to efforts to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. President Barack Obama brokered the direct talks that were relaunched in September but broke down over the issue of settlements built on…

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Obama’s Settlements Freeze Fold Is Blow to President, Not to Peace

by Jonathan S. Tobin, Commentary On a day when President Obama was forced to acknowledge his defeat at the hands of congressional Republicans on the issue of tax cuts, it appears that he was also bested by another opponent: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The announcement today that the Obama administration has given up on its…

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The Jordanian Initiative

by Ido Patcher, The Israel Initiative An article published in the weekend edition of “Makor Rishon” reveals quiet diplomatic activities that match the Israeli Initiative’s vision. Writer Assaf Gibor interviewed Ahmed Abu-Mashour, a Sheik from the Beduin tribe of Jahelin, whose population is spread from Jerusalem to eastern Jordan. Mashour said he is disappointed with…

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Yishai refused fire truck donations from Christian Group

by Gil Shefler and Gil Hoffman, JPost Israeli firefighters could have received a shipment of brand new fire trucks that would have helped quell the fires that raged over the weekend on Mount Carmel, killing 41 people and turning tens of thousands of dunams into an ashen wasteland. Instead, a charity group charged Sunday, Interior…

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South American countries recognize PA as a state

by Elad Benari, Israel national news Argentina announced on Monday that it recognizes a Palestinian state, calling Palestine “a free and independent state within its 1967 borders,” The Associated Press reported. According to the report, Argentina said the announcement reflects its frustration at the slow progress of peace talks with Israel. Argentinean President Cristina Kirchner…

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