Tag Archive for State Department

| October 15, 2015
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Jerusalem outraged at State Dept.’concern’ about disproportionate force against armed attackers

 

Israel’s Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan: “The comments by the US State Department spokesman are so crazy, deceitful & baseless, that I expect President Obama & US Secretary of State Kerry to distance themselves from them, and to clarify the US position today.”

By HERB KEINON

 

Jerusalem reacted furiously Thursday to State Department spokesman John Kirby’s statement that Jerusalem was not maintaining the status quo on the Temple Mount and accused it of using proportionate force to stop the wave of stabbing attacks.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu listens to Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan (R) during a press conference in Jerusalem.

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Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , , ,
| July 17, 2015
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US warns Israel against demolishing illegal Palestinian ramshackle structures

US State Department says carrying out Israeli court order to demolish the illegal encampment of Sussiya could have ‘negative impact on the region’

By i24news

 

The United States cautioned Israel against plans to demolish a Palestinian village in the West Bank, warning that such action could have a negative impact on the region.

View of the ramshackle village of Susya on state land near the West Bank town of Hebron – Photo: Hazem Bader/AFP

Israel’s military ruling authority in the West Bank claims the Palestinians built their homes in the village of Sussiya without permission and lack necessary infrastructure.

Residents of the village in the south Hebron Hills insist that they have been forced to build illegally because permits are never granted and they accuse the Israeli authorities of deliberately denying them access to facilities. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| June 19, 2015
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New Washington Report Lists Terror Proxies Funded by Iran That Targets Israel

New State Department report calls Israel a “committed counter-terrorism partner” throughout 2014, detailing operations taken by the Israeli Navy and IDF.

By MICHAEL WILNER

 

WASHINGTON — Despite facing costly obstacles from the Syrian civil war, Iran continued its arming and funding of terror proxies targeting Israel throughout 2014 largely unabated, the US government found in a report released on Friday.

Iranian navy ship. – Photo: REUTERS

The State Department report— an annual accounting of organized terrorism worldwide— asserts that Iran has continued, if not expanded, its operations beyond its historical focus on Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, to a limited number of operations in Africa, Asia and Latin America, as well as to “various groups throughout the Middle East.” Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , ,
| July 1, 2014
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Obama condemns killing of Israeli youths, calling parties to exercise restraint

Reiterating Obama, the State Department urges restraint on both sides.

Chairman of House Foreign Relations C’tee  says US should be under no illusion that unity gov’t wants peace.

By JPOST.COM STAFF, MICHAEL WILNER

 

NEW YORK — The United States issued a measured response to the murder of three Israeli teenage boys on Monday, two weeks after the students first gripped the heart of the Jewish nation, and hours after Israel Defense Forces found the missing – Naftali Fraenkel, Eyal Yifrah and Gil-Ad Shaer – dead in an open field.
obama

US President Barack Obama – Photo: REUTERS

In a statement issued to the press, US President Barack Obama balanced a message of empathy as a father with a call for restraint from a leader familiar with spiraling conflicts in the Middle East.

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Category: The Diaspora | Tags: , ,
| April 22, 2014
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US to Abbas: Dissolving the PA may end financial assistance

 

State Department spokeswoman Psaki warns Abbas that ‘dissolving the PA is not in interest of Palestinians’ and his proposal would have implications for US relations & US aid.

By Yitzhak Benhorin

 

WASHINGTON – The US administration warned the Palestinian leadership Monday night not to proceed with a proposal to dismantle the Palestinian Authority – or risk damaging their ties to Washington.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki (Photo: AFP)

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki – Photo: AFP

“Those kinds of extreme measures would have grave implications,” said State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki. The harsh American threat to the PA followed Yedioth Ahronoth’s report that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was considering shuttering the PA’s government if the peace process did not yield results. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| February 20, 2014
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U.S. St. Dept.: Saeb Erekat’s threats aimed at Israel are detrimental to negotiations

 

 

US State Dept. officials disappointed with chief Palestinian negotiator’s recent comments that the Palestinians will seek global economic boycott of Israel if peace talks should flounder.

By Yitzhak Benhorin

 

US government officials expressed concern over comments made by Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian Authority’s chief negotiator, who recently threatened to promote economic boycott on Israel.

Saeb Erekat – Photo: AFP

“We are of course concerned about the recent comments by Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat,” said State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf.

US officials hinted that Kerry is to raise the issue of Erekat’s comments during his meeting in Paris with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| August 18, 2013
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U.S. to Israel: Free murdering terrorists, but not killers of Americans

After capitulating to unknown pressure on PM Netanyahu to take steps that would brings Arabs to peace-table, the U.S. State Department was very concerned and opposed of Israel releasing a terrorist who murdered former U.S. Marine in Israel.

By Maayana Miskin

 

Israel’s decision to release terrorist prisoners as a “gesture” to the Palestinian Authority led some Israeli MKs to criticize the United States for allegedly pushing the release. MK Ayelet Shaked (Bayit Yehudi) even wrote a strongly critical letter to Secretary of State John Kerry in which she accused him of “forcing Israel to capitulate to terrorism.”

Abbas welcomes freed terrorists – Reuters

Arutz Sheva posted an article by David Bedein on Monday, August 12 – before the prisoner release – that exposed the fact that terror victim Frederick Rosenfeld, whose murderer was to be released, was an American citizen, and told the tragic story. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
| June 16, 2013
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Covert Armed American Security for UN Personnel in Judea

Video shows armed Americans providing security for UN vehicle that was on an unknown assignment in the Arab village of Walajeh, near Bethlehem . A new phenomenon?

By Gil Ronen

 

Armed American guards provided security for a UN vehicle that was on an unknown assignment in the Arab village of Walajeh, near Bethlehem, several days ago.

Screenshot

Screenshot

 

A Jewish man – a senior officer in the IDF reserves – noticed the unusual sight and got out of his car to videotape it. He did not receive clear answers regarding the identity of the security men.

The security detail used impressive bulletproofed black SUVs that caught the reserve officer’s attention. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| May 30, 2013
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Washington tells Hezbollah to leave Syria

U.S. St. Dept says Hezbollah involvement  broadens Syrian unrest and is an “unacceptable & extremely dangerous escalation”.

US went on to affirms Washington’s continuing efforts to aid & support Syrian opposition.

By REUTERS

 

 

WASHINGTON – The US State Department called on Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia on Wednesday to withdraw its fighters from Syria immediately, saying their involvement on the side of Syrian President Bashar Assad signaled a dangerous broadening of the war.

Hezbollah terrorists - Photo by EPA

Hezbollah terrorists – Photo by EPA

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki condemned the declaration last weekend by the leader of the Lebanese guerrilla movement, Hasran Nasrallah. He confirmed his combatants were in Syria and vowed they would stay in the war “to the end of the road.”

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Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| December 19, 2012
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U.S. St. Dept: ‘EU will soon designate Hezbollah as terrorist group’

U.S. St. Dept’s Daniel Benjamin reports that the US has shared intel with Europeans on Hezbollah’s increased activities in their countries.

 

WASHINGTON – The US State Department indicated Tuesday that it expected the EU to finally designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, following an intensive US lobbying campaign and suspected Hezbollah plots on European soil.

Hezbollah supporters in Beirut [file] - Photo: REUTERS

Hezbollah supporters in Beirut [file] – Photo: REUTERS


“We’ve been engaging with our partners in Europe and we are cautiously optimistic – at last – about the prospects for an EU designation of the group,” Daniel Benjamin, the State Department’s coordinator for counterterrorism, said during an address at the Brookings Institution. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| April 25, 2012
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State Dept. Refuses to Stand Up For Israel on Summit

State Dept. refuses to stand up for Israel against a Turkish statement that it vetoed Israel’s participation in a NATO summit.

The U.S. State Dept. refused on Monday to stand up for Israel against a Turkish statement that it vetoed Israel’s participation in a NATO summit.

Hillary Clinton at press conference at NATO

Hillary Clinton at press conference at NATO - Photo by Reuters

State Dept. spokeswoman Victoria Nuland fended off a round of questions on the Obama administration’s support of Israel by a persistent Associated Press reporter  who went so far as to tell Nuland, I’m trying to help you out here, because you’re going to get absolutely slammed for not backing Israel.. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| March 24, 2012
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US Blames Israel for Endangered Americans in PA

The US blamed Israel for endangered American citizens in the PA-controlled areas of Judea and Samaria in a travel warning issued Friday.

The United States bluntly told its citizens it is risky to travel to “Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip,” citing “threats to themselves and the U.S. interests in those locations.”

Although the U.S. trained and equipped the Palestinian Authority’s military police force several years ago – which “resulted in a marked decrease in violence in recent years” – the State Department nevertheless warned that Americans would still not be safe there.

One year ago, PA police gunned down a group of Israelis who were visiting the Tomb of the Prophet Joseph near Shechem, killing one and wounding four others. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,