By LEA SPEYER, BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS— Palestinian officials have confirmed that rival leaders from the West Bank and Gaza Strip have agreed to form a national unity government within the “next five weeks.” Following talks in Gaza City on Tuesday evening between officials of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and Hamas, an agreement was reached…
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…
By YUVAL STEINITZ, NY TIMES— On Sept. 26, the Palestinian Authority’s president, Mahmoud Abbas, told the United Nations General Assembly that the Palestinians “keep reaching out to the Israelis saying: let us work to make the culture of peace reign.” Honorable sentiments, to be sure, but sadly not free of hypocrisy. Just after returning from…
By ISRAEL TODAY— Over the past four years, the Palestinian Authority has managed to “lose” well nearly $3 billion in financial aid from Europe, according to a report by the European Court of Auditors that was leaked to Britain’s Sunday Times. The news comes just days after Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas publicly blamed Israel for…
By ELLIOTT ABRAMS, PRESSURE POINTS— The Government of Israel has announced that it will release 104 “security prisoners” in an effort to induce the PLO to return to the negotiating table. This was a PLO demand that was backed by the United States, as part of Secretary Kerry’s efforts to get talks restarted. Put aside…
By EARL COX, JPOST— A popular definition of insanity is to keep doing the same things over and over expecting different results. Others call this perseverance. Either way, those who try to solve the same problem using the same method that always ends in failure are left frustrated and unsatisfied; the problem remains unsolved. The…
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH, GATESTONE— “We will approve the meeting on condition there are no Jews.” This is what you are likely to hear these days if you request a meeting with any senior Palestinian Authority official in the West Bank. Palestinian journalists who try to arrange meetings or interviews with Palestinian Authority representatives for…
By MICHAEL FREUND— Israeli President Shimon Peres created a stir on Monday when he delivered a speech at the World Economic Forum in Jordan that strayed far beyond his circumscribed presidential mandate. In a short and somewhat rambling address, and in remarks to reporters afterwards, the 89- year-old head of state made a number of…
by KHALED ABU TOAMEH, GATESTONE— The Fatah leaders are yearning for the days of Yasser Arafat, when they were able to steal international aid earmarked for helping Palestinians. The Palestinians’ problem with Fayyad is that he did not sit even one day on an Israeli prison. For them, graduating from an Israeli prisons even more…
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH, GATESTONE— It is hard to find one Palestinian who believes that US President Barack Obama’s upcoming visit to the region will lead to a breakthrough in the Middle East “peace process.” Palestinian Authority officials in Ramallah said they too are not pinning any hopes on Obama’s visit. “The situation is much…