Trump administration says Israel’s West Bank settlements do not violate international law

By Karen DeYoung, Steve Hendrix and John Hudson, The Washington Post—- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday that the Trump administration had determined that Israel’s West Bank settlements do not violate international law, a decision he said had “increased the likelihood” of a Middle East peace settlement. Pompeo said the Trump administration, as it…

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Israel in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) advances US interest

By Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, Ettinger Report— The US position on the future of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) should be based on US interests in the context of a violent, volcanic, uncontrollable and unpredictable Middle East. On September 18, 1970, the pro-USSR Syrian military invaded Jordan in an attempt to topple the pro-US…

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PA’s corruption dooms chances for peace

By Ken Cohen, Israel Hayom— The Palestinian Authority has been a hotbed of corruption and financial mismanagement since its birth in 1993 under Yasser Arafat. This has been an impediment both to Palestinian self-rule and to peace with Israel. Arafat’s successor, PA President Mahmoud Abbas – now serving the fifteenth year of his four-year term…

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Lieberman gives up on unity government, says Israel on ‘sure path to third election’

By Israel Hayom—- Yisrael Beytenu’s Avigdor Lieberman was not in good spirits Wednesday afternoon when he predicted that Israel was likely on its way to a third election, just two months after Israelis went to the polls in what was in an of itself a revote. Speaking at a press conference, Lieberman ruled out joining…

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Netanyahu Fast Tracks Bill to Conquer Greater Jericho: “Gateway to Redemption”

By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz, Breaking Israel News— While much of the world screamed at the Trump administration’s announcement that international law does indeed grant Israel the right to Judea and Samaria, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the opportunity to move forward towards redemption. U.S. Opens the Door and Netanyahu Jumps Right In On Monday,…

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Barkat: US may adopt West Bank plan for 250,000 Palestinian jobs, Bible tourism

By David Horovitz, Times of Israel— Israel has presented to senior members of the Trump administration a major, long-term economic proposal to employ a quarter of a million Palestinians in Israeli-run West Bank industrial zones, and to develop up to two dozen major West Bank Biblical tourism sites with a focus on Evangelical Christian visitors,…

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West Bank settlements not illegal, Pompeo announces in historic shift

By Yaakov Katz, JPost— In a historic reversal of US policy, the Trump administration announced on Monday that it does not view Israeli settlements in the West Bank as illegal. The policy change was announced by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington. “After carefully studying all sides of the legal debate, this administration agrees…

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Iran’s Palestinian Proxies: United Against Israel

By Khaled Abu Toameh, Gatestone— Iran’s Palestinian proxies, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), after last week’s round of aggression towards Israel, are said to be at odds with each other. PIJ is reportedly disturbed that Hamas did not join in firing rockets at Israel in retaliation for Israel’s assassination of senior PIJ commander Bahaa…

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Enriching the Landscape of Jewish Memory

By Inna Rogatchi, Times of Israel—- Genius & Anxiety. How Jews Changed the World, 1847-1947 by NORMAN LEBRECHT, Oneworld, 2019, 442 pages. This book is a joy. Concise, vivid, well-written, in clear antithesis to banality, it is a fine journey throughout most eventful century of modern history viewed in original detail. It also vividly portrays…

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The Road to an Iranian Attack on Israel

By Prof. Eytan Gilboa, BESA Center— Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu recently warned that increasing Iranian provocations and the absence of a US response could lead to a dangerous military confrontation between Israel and Iran. This warning is perceived by some as mere fear-mongering in the wake of two non-conclusive elections. Neither of the two leading…

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From the Ocean of Hate to the Ocean of Love: Sharansky Story

By Inna Rogatchi, Times of Israel— I always thought that it is impossible to explain our life to anyone who did not live through it. When I wrote my books on Soviet realities, taught the contemporary Soviet history in several Western universities, authored numerous columns and articles on what we lived through, was given hundreds…

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Fact Sheet: The Gaza–Israel Escalation

By Emet— BAHA ABU AL-ATA AND THE ISLAMIC JIHAD On November 12, 2019 at 4:00am (Israel Time) the Israeli Air Force conducted a surgical airstrike against Baha Abu Al-Ata. The Israeli Security Cabinet authorized over a week ago, in accordance to the recommendation of the Israeli military, secret service, and intelligence community, to eliminate Al-Ata…

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Rocket fire rattles fragile truce, IDF strikes Islamic Jihad posts in Gaza

by Gadi Golan , Lilach Shoval , News Agencies , Israel Hayom Staff—- The Israeli Air Force struck several Islamic Jihad targets in the Gaza Strip in the predawn hours of Friday morning in response to four rocket attacks by the Iranian-backed terrorist group, which violated a ceasefire announced on Thursday. According to the military,…

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