Archive for Mid-East News

| June 27, 2018
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Abbas & Co. reject U.S. and Israeli attempts to alleviate suffering in Gaza

With Palestinian protesters demanding the end of punitive measures from Abbas’ PA gov’t on Hamas and Gaza, an unprecedented wave of anti-Abbas protesters are taking to the streets in the West Bank.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

 

The Palestinian Authority on Tuesday expressed fear that the talk about easing restrictions on the Gaza Strip was part of an Israeli-Palestinian “conspiracy” to transform the Palestinian cause into a “humanitarian issue.”

The PA, which has been imposing its own financial sanctions on the Gaza Strip, also expressed fear that the easing of restrictions would embolden Hamas and tighten its grip over the coastal enclave. Continue Reading »

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| June 24, 2018
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REVEALED: White House freezes all U.S. aid to Palestinian projects

Pending review, the United States has quietly frozen all American aid for projects designed to boost the Palestinian economy, develop infrastructure, and boost institutional capacity among other goals, until four anti-terrorism conditions are met – unless the Secretary of State certifies an exception.

By Eylon Aslan-Levy

 

The United States has quietly frozen its aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) pending review,i24NEWS has learned. The move comes two months after Congress passed the Taylor Force Act, which aimed to force the PA to terminate its “pay-for-slay” policies of paying stipends to convicted terrorists in Israeli jails and to the families of dead terrorists. Continue Reading »

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| June 24, 2018
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Palestinian official decries U.S. for rendering UNRWA irrelevant with direct aid

PLO fabulist Saeb Erekat denounces the Trump initiated peace plan as attempt to undermine Palestinian Authority and make UNRWA extraneous, by funneling aid directly into humanitarian projects.

By Arutz Sheva Staff

 

Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) official Saeb Erekat on Saturday told the Voice of Palestine that the US is trying to “bring down the Palestinian Authority (PA)” in Judea and Samaria, Wafa reported.

“The goal behind this is to sustain the coup and keep Gaza separated from the West Bank on the way to creating a mini-state in Gaza while bringing down the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank,” he said, blaming the US for “destabilizing” and “creating confusion” in the PA. Continue Reading »

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| June 10, 2018
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Hamas to begin regular protests against Abbas’ PA – in his capital, Ramallah

Hamas journalist says Hamas has organized protests to begin Sunday in Ramallah, demanding Mahmoud Abbas’ Palestinian Authority ‘protect Gazans from PA’s punishments’ i.e. reinitiate salaries & fuel costs for electricity and prepare the West Bank for a Hamas takeover of both PA and PLO institutions.

By Dalit Halevi

 

Hamas journalist Muhammad al-Qiq said that a protest against the Palestinian Authority (PA) will be held on Sunday in Ramallah.

The protest aims to push the PA into ceasing its punishments of Gaza.

Past protests against autocrat Abbas in Ramallah – Photo: AFP

Speaking with Hamas newspaper Al-Risala, al-Qiw said Gaza has taught Israel and its allies a lesson about military and lone-wolf terror, and that the protest was aimed at the PA leadership, which has taken steps against Gaza. Continue Reading »

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| June 6, 2018
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ANALYSIS: Saudi’s attitude changing with grandiose plans for Israel

 

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince has a $500 billion plan for the construction of Neom, a new city that includes hydro-agriculture projects, which will be reportedly realized, with Israel’s help.
– With the Saudis moving closer and closer to Israel, the entrenched, uncompromising Palestinian are losing a major supporter and benefactor.

By Yochanan Visser

 

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is known for his out of the box thinking and his ambitious sweeping reforms in Saudi Arabia where he has made many enemies during a purge which robbed elites, including members of the royal family, of their illegally obtained wealth last year. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| June 2, 2018
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PA Leader Abbas Turned Away US Congressional Democratic Delegation

Still fuming over President Trump’s  Jerusalem recognition, the PA autocrat refused to meet with a U.S. delegation of 11 Democratic representatives, despite their lack of allegiance to, and continued criticism of, the US president.

By Arutz Sheva North America Staff,

 

Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas refused to meet with a delegation of Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives that visited Israel two months ago, in protest of the Trump administration’s policies toward Israel, Haaretz revealed.

According to the newspaper, Abbas’ refusal to meet the delegation caught its members by surprise, because many of them are constant critics of the Trump administration and were hoping to hear Abbas’ point of view about Trump’s policies while visiting the region. Continue Reading »

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| June 1, 2018
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Saudi TV commentator calls for peace with Israel, embassy in Jerusalem

Highlighting common interests with Israel, Saudi commentator Abdulhameed AlHakeem says Saudi Arabia needs to “eradicate the culture of hatred for Jews in the Arab world,” by establishing full ‎diplomatic ties with Israel, leading to the opening of embassies in Riyadh and ‎Jerusalem.

By Israel Hayom Staff

 

A senior Saudi commentator has called for establishing “peace with ‎Israel” and ending the hatred ‎of Jews in the Arab world, the Middle ‎East Media Research Institute reported Thursday.‎

In a series of recent tweets, Abdulhameed AlHakeem, until recently ‎the director of the Middle East Center for Strategic and Legal ‎Studies in the Saudi port city of Jeddah, expressed support for Israel’s ‎right to exist, ‎ congratulated the Jewish state on its 70th ‎anniversary and acknowledged Israel’s historical link to Jerusalem. Continue Reading »

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| June 1, 2018
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Syrian NGO: Iran, Hezbollah troops preparing to withdraw from southern Syria

Just a day after Russian FM Sergei Lavrov said that Iranian and allied forces should withdraw from the Southern Syria “soon,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported [Thursday] that Iran & Hezbollah are preparing to withdraw their troops from Syrian areas close to the Israeli border.

By i24NEWS

 

Iran and Hezbollah are preparing to withdraw troops from a southern Syria region close to the Israeli border after Russian intervention, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Thursday.

Citing “a number of reliable sources” the war monitor said that Iranian advisers and Hezbollah fighters will vacate from two provinces in the area of Daraa and Quneitra near to the Israeli party of the Golan Heights. Continue Reading »

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| May 30, 2018
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Swiss FM mulls continued funding of UNRWA, ‘part of the problem’

Switzerland’s new foreign minister said UNRWA “worked as a solution for a long time, but today it has become part of the problem.” Adding that, “it provides ammunition to continue the conflict.”

By i24NEWS

 

Switzerland’s new foreign minister Ignazio Cassis on Wednesday questioned the role of the United Nations refugee agency agency for Palestinians and its ability to assist its beneficiaries, casting doubt on whether the Swiss government would continue funding the organization.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), was established after the war surrounding Israel’s creation in 1948, when around 700,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled.

Switzerland’s new foreign minister Ignazio Cassis said, ‘UNRWA is part of the problem in the Middle East.’

Continue Reading »
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| May 29, 2018
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REPORT: Hezbollah chief, Nasrallah worth $250 million – from illegal drugs

Al-Ittihad, an Arabic language newspaper published in the UAE, reported that Sheik Hassan Nasrallah has amassed a net personal worth of around $250 million from Hezbollah, his terrorist organization’s illegal drug operations in the U.S. and Europe.

By Daniel Siryoti and Israel Hayom Staff

 

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has amassed a net personal worth of around $250 million due to his organization’s illegal drug smuggling operations, Al-Ittihad, an Arabic language newspaper published in the United Arab Emirates, reported on Monday.

According to the report, which relies on senior Lebanese government sources, the scope of Nasrallah’s fortune was discovered within the framework of a U.S. Continue Reading »

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| May 20, 2018
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Palestinian autocrat hospitalized for 3rd time in a week

Is Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority despot finally reaching the end of his 4-year term, that he was elected to in 2005?

By i24NEWS

 

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was hospitalized for the third time in a week on Sunday, although a medical official said the health of the ageing leader was “reassuring.”

It was not immediately known what prompted 82-year-old Abbas to be taken to Istishari Arab Hospital in Ramallah, the PA’s seat of power in the West Bank. A source told AFP that the Palestinian leader was suffering from a high fever.

The indignant Palestinian Authority autocrat, Mahmoud Abbas.

Continue Reading »
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| May 17, 2018
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UAE intercepts sophisticated Israeli electronics sold to Turkey, rerouted to Iran

In contravention of UN Security Council resolution 2231, Turkey, who purchased advanced electronic capacitors made by a Jerusalem-based company, is said to have sold them to Iran for use in its nuclear program.
– Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan suspected of circumventing UNSC Resolution 2231
– Special Counsel Robert Mueller investigates Michael Flynn, Erdoğan connection.

By Itamar Eichner

 

The United Nations (UN) has opened an investigation into Turkey allegedly selling electronic equipment to Iran included in a list of items banned for export to the Islamic republic, thereby violating a Security Council resolution on the matter.

The UN also contacted Israel seeking it open its own inquiry into the matter, after it was discovered the equipment sold by Turkey to Iran was manufactured by a Jerusalem-based Israeli company, considered a major manufacturer of electronic capacitors. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , , ,
| May 10, 2018
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RUSSIA: Israel retaliated with 28 planes, shooting 60 missiles at Iranian targets

– Russian Defense Ministry: Israeli jets struck Iranian targets with at least 28 planes that fired some 60 missiles.
– Israel: Israel Air Force attacked nearly all of Iran’s military infrastructure in Syria.

By Reuters, Alexandra Lukash, Elior Levy

 

Russia’s defense ministry said on Thursday that Syria had shot down more than half of the missiles fired at it overnight by Israel, RIA news agency reported.According to the report, the Israeli strike was carried out by 28 planes which fired at least 60 missiles, including 10 surface-to-surface missiles.

Iranian forces in Syria launched a rocket attack on Israeli army bases in the Golan Heights early on Thursday, Israel said, prompting one of the heaviest Israeli barrages against Syria since the conflict there began in 2011. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: , , , , , ,
| April 26, 2018
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REPORT: Jordanian King Revokes Palestinian Leadership’s Citizenship

According to the Arabic language newspaper, the top Palestinian officials who will lose their Jordanian citizenship included Palestinian autocrat Mahmoud Abbas, Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat and PA official Ahmed Qurei.

By JULIANE HELMHOLD

 

The Kingdom of Jordan began the process of revoking the Jordanian citizenship of about 30 Palestinian Authority and Fatah officials and their families, London-based Arabic language newspaper Raialyoum reported Wednesday.

The officials who are slated to lose their citizenship include Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat and Palestinian Authority negotiator Ahmed Qurei (“Abu Alaa”).

Fabulist Erekat, Autocrat Abbas, Abu Alaa to loose Jordanian citizenship

The also stated that there would be major changes in the visa arrangements for entry into Jordan of the senior officials, granting them only temporary visitor’s rights. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| April 23, 2018
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Images released of Hamas rocket-designer’s assassins

Just like when the previous rocket designer for Hamas was assassinated, Gaza’s rulers finger the Mossad for assassinating fellow group member Fadi al-Batsh, in Malaysia.

By YONAH JEREMY BOB, REUTERS

 

Malaysian police on Monday released computer generated photographs of two men suspected of gunning down a Palestinian Hamas weapons engineer on Saturday in Kuala Lumpur.

Two men on a motorcycle fired at least 14 shots at Fadi al-Batsh, an engineering lecturer, but also a Hamas drones and rockets expert, killing him on the spot.

Police Chief Mohamad Fuzi Bin Harun did highlight Batsh’s international and Palestinian-related activities, seemingly de-emphasizing his identity as an average Malaysian resident of international origin. Continue Reading »

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