Archive for Mid-East News

| October 9, 2018
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Arab States ask Azerbaijan’s President how he balances ties with Israel

The Azerbaijani leader reveled to a visiting American Rabbi that officials from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Afghanistan “are looking for his guidance on how to navigate being a Muslim country committed to Islam, and at the same time reaching out and supporting Israel.”

By HERB KEINON

 

Saudi, Pakistani, Afghani and Emirati officials are asking Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev about how to balance their identities as Muslim countries with a relationship with Israel, the Azerbaijani leader told an American rabbi on Monday.

Rabbi Marc Schneier , who met with Aliyev in Baku, said the Azerbaijani leader told him – without going into names – that officials from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan and Pakistan “are looking for his guidance on how to navigate being a Muslim country committed to Islam, and at the same time reaching out and supporting Israel.” Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: , , , ,
| October 8, 2018
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Egyptian & PA officials accuse Palestinian autocrat for escalating Gaza crisis

The Palestinian Authority’s kleptocratic leader, Mahmoud Abbas recently blocked Qatari-funded fuel from reaching electricity-starved Gaza. Abbas “is doing everything in his ‎power to escalate the crisis in Gaza and prevent ‎Hamas from marking any diplomatic achievement,” an ‎Egyptian source said.

By Daniel Siryoti and Israel Hayom Staff

 

Egyptian‏ ‏and Palestinian officials on Sunday accused ‎Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas of ‎actively escalating the crisis in the Gaza Strip in ‎hopes that it will force rival Palestinian faction ‎Hamas to hand over control of the coastal enclave. ‎

Hamas, designated as a terrorist group by the EU, ‎‎U.S., Israel and several other countries, ousted ‎Abbas’ Fatah-led government from ‎‎Gaza in a military ‎coup in 2007, ‎‎‎effectively ‎splitting the Palestinian ‎Authority into two ‎‎political ‎‎entities. Continue Reading »

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| October 4, 2018
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Mysterious WhatsApp message warns Beirut residents of weapon caches

Lebanese newspaper attributes to Israel how thousands of residents from the Dahieh suburb of Beirut received WhatsApp messages on their mobile phones, warning them that the Iranian proxy, Hezbollah, has weapons storage facilities in their area, suggesting residents ‘proceed with caution’.

By Daniel Salami

 

Thousands of residents of the Dahieh suburb south of Beirut, an area controlled by Hezbollah, received anonymous mobile phone notifications warning them they live in close proximity to a weapons storage compound that has the potential of exploding at any moment, the Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reported on Wednesday, implying Israel is responsible for incident.

Mysterious Whatsapp message warning Beirut residents

“Important message, near your home, a Hezbollah site has been established, proceed with caution,” read the mysterious Whatsapp message. Continue Reading »

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| October 3, 2018
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Russia’s S-300 surface-to-air missile defense system arrives in Syria

Moscow’s decision to send the S-300 missile defense system came after a Russian plane was mistakenly downed by Syrian air defense, killing 15 Russian serviceman on board, during an Israeli air strike in Latakia.

By i24NEWS

 

Russia has delivered its S-300 missile defense system to Syria as promised, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.

“We have completed the delivery of the S-300 system,” Shoigu said according to Russia Today (RT) adding that the system consisted of 49 pieces of military equipment, such as radars, control vehicles and four launchers.

Israel’s Defense Minister Liberman meets with Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu, to discuss planned S-300 missiles shipments to Syria.

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| October 2, 2018
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IAEA unimpressed with Netanyahu’s exposure of secret Iranian nuke facility

Refusing to accept Israel’s intel evaluation, the IAEA responded saying, “All information obtained, including from third parties [Israel], is subject to rigorous review and assessed together with other [Iran’s] available information.”
WATCH: Israel’s PM Netanyahu exposes Iranian fraud to UN General Assembly.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF

 

Despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s call to inspect Iran’s nuclear program, the International Atomic Energy Agency fired back in a statement on Tuesday, saying that they use all relevant information available and do not take any information at face value.

“All information obtained, including from third parties, is subject to rigorous review and assessed together with other available information to arrive at an independent assessment based on the Agency’s own expertise,” the statement said. Continue Reading »

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| September 30, 2018
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Palestinians sue the U.S. for relocating embassy to Jerusalem

Faltering Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas directs the PA to file superfluous charges at the International Court of Justice asserting President Trump’s order to relocate the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem was violating international law.

By Elad Benari

 

The Palestinian Authority (PA) on Friday filed a case with the Hague-based International Court of Justice, asking its judges to order Washington to remove the recently relocated US embassy from Jerusalem, The Associated Press reported.

The court said that the PA’s case asks its judges “to order the United States of America to withdraw the diplomatic mission from the Holy City of Jerusalem.”

Special advisor to President Trump, Jared Kushner participated at the dedication of of the new United States Embassy in Jerusalem – the capital of Israel.

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| September 29, 2018
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Iranian mayor apologizes for featuring Israeli soldiers on city’s billboard

Mayor of Shiraz, Iran apologizes for mistakenly featuring IDF soldiers on billboard meant to remember the 8 year old Iran–Iraq War.

By Ben Ariel

 

An Iranian mayor on Friday apologized for a billboard which mistakenly featured Israeli soldiers although it was meant to mark the Iran-Iraq war, AFP reports.

Mayor of Shiraz, Iran apologizes for mistakenly featuring IDF soldiers on Billboard. – Twitter

“The billboard was installed in Shiraz showing three male soldiers standing on a rocky outcrop” next to a quote from an epic Persian poem, wrote the Iranian Tasnim news agency.

However, the shot was actually a photoshopped picture of Israel Defense Forces, according to Tasnim, with a female soldier from the original picture having been cropped out. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| September 18, 2018
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Israel, Assad quiet as 2nd weapons depot in Syria attacked in 3 days

Syrian human rights NGO reports the missiles attacked more ammunition depots, this time at the technical industry institution located in the eastern outskirts of Latakia.

By Daniel Salami, Liad Osmo and Reuter

 

Missiles targeted several locations in the Syrian coastal city of Latakia on Monday but were intercepted and downed by air defenses, Syrian state media said.The official SANA news agency said state technical industry institutions in Latakia had been targeted, adding they are likely the result of Israeli strikes on a state technical company.

Israel has yet to comment on the incident.

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“Air defenses have confronted enemy missiles coming from the sea in the direction of Latakia, and intercepted a number of them,” SANA quoted a military source as saying. Continue Reading »

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| September 17, 2018
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Ignored by the Arab world, Abbas finally gets it: Fighting Trump was a mistake

PA officials in Ramallah tick off long list of US actions taken in response to Abbas’ intransigent posture. Abbas tells underlings to end attacks on Trump administration, shelves a speech criticizing anti-Palestinian acts by Trump administration, for upcoming U.N. General Assembly.

By Daniel Siryoti

 

A series of recent U.S. steps against the Palestinian Authority have infuriated the Palestinian leadership, but the outrage directed at the U.S. administration has been amplified by growing criticism directed at Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who has made “every possible mistake” since President Donald Trump entered the White House, according to a senior Palestinian official who spoke to Israel Hayom. Continue Reading »

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| September 16, 2018
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Damascus arms depot hit after weapons recently arrived for Hezbollah

Britain-based Human Rights NGO in Syria reports missile attack targeted an arms depot near Damascus airport where recently arrived weapons were stored for the Iranians or Hezbollah.
– IDF: ‘Israel does not comment on foreign reports’

By Daniel Salami

 

Syria’s state media says Israel has launched a missile attack on Damascus International Airport Saturday, adding that Syrian air defenses shot down some of them.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said Israel does not comment on foreign reports.

The Saturday night attack shook the capital Damascus as blasts were heard in the city. Syrian media quoted an unnamed military official without giving further details. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| September 14, 2018
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Lebanese PM rebukes possibility of citizenship to ‘Palestinian refugees’

Responding to reports that the Trump peace initiative has the hosting mid-East countries granting their so-called “Palestinian refugees” citizenship, Lebanon’s Foreign Minister says his country will never agree.
– UNRWA accepts donations to aid  449,957 “Palestinian refugees” in Lebanon, but official Lebanese count stands at 174,422.

By Dalit Halevi

 

Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil says his country will never agree to grant Lebanese citizenship to so-called “Palestinian refugees”, in response to reports that the US government would like the countries hosting the “refugees” to grant them citizenship.

“Even if the entire world agrees to naturalization, we will never agree to that, and just as we defeated Israel by removing its occupation [from Lebanon in 2000], we will defeat it with regard to the naturalization plan and the right of return that will remain sacred,” Bassil said in an interview with Lebanese newspaper Al Joumhouria. Continue Reading »

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| September 2, 2018
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Abbas tells visiting activists US proposed Palestinian-Jordanian confederation

According to Israel’s left-wing daily, Palestinian Authority kleptocrat Mahmoud Abbas related to visiting Israeli lawmakers & peace activists that he responded positively to Trump’s peace-team suggestion that the PA join a confederation with Jordan.

By i24NEWS

 

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday told Israeli lawmakers and peace activists that US President Donald Trump’s team of peace negotiators proposed that Palestinians join a confederation with Jordan, according to Israeli media reports.

“I was asked if I believe in a federation with Jordan,” Abbas said of talks held with White House senior adviser Jared Kushner and Middle East peace envoy Jason Greenblatt, according to Haaretz newspaper. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| September 2, 2018
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Syrian air base explodes, controversy over cause, Israel or “short circuit”

A Lebanon news channel and the Syrian Observatory for Human Right both blamed Israel for the alleged overnight missile strike that reportedly left people killed & wounded at a Damascus airbase, but Syrian military source says ‘short circuit’ caused massive explosions at its weapons depot.

By Daniel Salami and news agencies

 

Syrian state media said loud blasts coming from an airbase early on Sunday were from an explosion at an ammunitions dump caused by an electrical problem, but an official in the regional alliance backing Damascus said they were from Israeli strikes.

Opposition leaders claimed that a weapons depot situated in the Mezzeh airbase in the capital belonging to Syrian President Bashar Assad’s army was the target of the the attack. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| September 2, 2018
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Analysis: Abbas struggling to survive, convinced world conspiring against him

The aging Palestinian president, whose 4-year-term ended January 2009, is convinced that the whole world is conspiring against him – the Israelis, the Americans, Egypt, among several Arab countries, some Europeans, the special UN coordinator and many, many, Palestinians.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

 

It’s hard to believe that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas enjoyed last week’s Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha – a holiday he often loves to spend with his family, especially the grandchildren.

Just before the feast began, the first reports about an imminent truce agreement between Abbas’s rivals in Hamas and Israel started appearing in various Arab media outlets. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , , ,
| August 30, 2018
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REPORT: Abbas works 2hrs daily, doesn’t recognize those around him

Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority kleptocrat who threatened to resign 7 times in the past, is reportedly suffering from severe memory problems and is refusing to appoint a successor to replace him.

By Elad Benari

 

Palestinian Arab officials close to Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas claim that his health is worsening, Channel 10 Newsreported on Wednesday.

According to the report, Abbas is suffering from severe memory problems and at times does not recognize those around him.

His associates say that he holds meetings for a maximum of two hours a day, and even then he is distracted at times. Continue Reading »

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