Archive for Mid-East News

| April 29, 2014
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Surprise! Hamas Refuses to Recognize Israel….Yet Alone a ‘Jewish’ State

 

Actually, no one really believed Mahmoud Abbas’ declaration that Hamas would recognize Israel, because of course, Hamas again rejects recognizing Israel’s right to exist.

By Ryan Jones

 

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas tried to soften the impact of his reconciliation with Hamas by insisting that the unrepentant terror group would “recognize Israel” upon joining his government. But, leave it to Hamas, the group is now setting the record straight, saying Abbas is dead wrong on that score.

Recognize Israel? Ismail Haniyeh (R) with Hamas chief Khaled Mashaa (L) – Reuters

In fact, Hamas spokesman Taher Nunu is threatening to sue The Washington Post for quoting him as being far more conciliatory toward Israel than he was. Continue Reading »

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| April 29, 2014
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Erdoğan: Agreement with Israel almost reached; normalization a matter of days, weeks

Turkish PM says in an exclusive interview with American journalist Charlie Rose, the only delay to assigning ambassadors & resuming diplomatic relations is final agreement on Turkish aide to Palestinians.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
 

 

In an exclusive interview with American journalist Charlie Rose on Tuesday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that an agreement on compensation between Turkey and Israel had been reached and that normalization between the two countries was, “a matter of days, weeks” away. However, he also stated that discussions about Turkish humanitarian aide to Palestinians was holding up a finalization of the agreement.

Turkish PM Erdogan

Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan addresses members of the parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara on January 28, 2014 – Photo: Adem Altan /AFP

Israeli diplomatic officials disputed assertions by the Turkish media on Monday that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was delaying approval of a compensation agreement with Turkey that would bring to an end the Mavi Marmara saga. Continue Reading »

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| April 29, 2014
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Rand Paul: Stop Palestinian aid unless they recognize Israel as Jewish state

 

Paul, a likely candidate for the Republican presidential campaign in 2016, said introducing law to stop the aid was needed because of the Fatah-Hamas unity agreement.

By JTA

 

 
WASHINGTON  — US Sen. Rand Paul said he will introduce legislation that would cut US funding to the Palestinian Authority unless its government recognized Israel as a Jewish state.
US Senator Rand Paul

US Senator Rand Paul – Photo: Mike Segar / Reuters

Paul (R-Ky.), a likely contender for the Republican presidential nod in 2016, said the law was needed because of the interim governance agreement last week between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.

He said he would introduce the legislation this week if there is no such statement after five weeks — the deadline set by Hamas and the Fatah faction to establish an interim government that would lay the ground for elections.

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| April 27, 2014
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An Unlikely Holocaust Professor

 

Interview with the al-Quds University professor who caused an uproar by taking a group of Palestinian students to Auschwitz.

By Ron Friedman

 

Few people who visit Auschwitz are unmoved by evidence of the Nazi killing machine that so efficiently murdered some one million people during World War II.

Professor Mohammed Dajani is no exception.

Professor Mohammed Dajani at the entrance to Auschwitz ( Courtesy )

Despite having grown up in a Palestinian society rife with Holocaust denial, where many believe that acknowledging the Jewish tragedy means surrendering their own narrative of victimhood, a visit to the Polish* death camp (It was NOT a ‘Polish camp’, it was a NAZI Death Camp established by the German Nazis in Poland – correction by IsraelandStuff) in 2011 set him on the path to championing Holocaust education.

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Category: Mid-East News |
| April 25, 2014
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Obama: Neither side has shown the political will for peace

 

In the U.S. president’s 1st public comment on the Hamas-Fatah unity deal, Obama suggests pause in peace talks may be needed so get both sides back on track.

By The Associated Press

 

President Barack Obama says the halt in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians underscore how neither side has shown the political will to make tough decisions that would sustain Mideast peace talks.

Mahmoud Abbas & Barack Obama at White House on 17 March 2014 – Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP

Obama says reconciliation agreement between the Palestinian Authority and the militant group Hamas is the latest example of, quote, “unhelpful” steps that have undermined discussions. Continue Reading »

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| April 25, 2014
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US Congresswoman Lowey plans to stop funding Palestinians

Rep. Nita Lowey said she is ready to launch steps to stop the $400 million the Palestinians receive annually.

It would be illegal to fund Hamas, a designated terrorist group.

By JTA

 

WASHINGTON — Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), a top congressional appropriator, said she is ready to launch steps to defund the Palestinian Authority in the wake of its unity agreement with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) - Photo: NY Daily News

Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) – Photo: NY Daily News

“I’ll be working with the State Department on the logistics of suspending assistance,” Lowey told JTA on Thursday, after the Israeli government said it was formally suspending peace talks because of the agreement.

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| April 24, 2014
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Possible deadly pandemic from Saudi Arabia threatens the planet

With no vaccine or anti-viral treatment for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS),  Saudi health authorities say the disease, which originated in camels, may simply die out.

By

 

A deadly virus that is spreading at record speed through Saudi Arabia could go global later this year when the 2014 haj (Muslim pilgrimage) begins, according to an article published by BuzzFeed.

Health workers

Health workers wear face masks at the General Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, this week. – Photo: AFP

The total number of confirmed infections of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) has jumped by a third in the kingdom in the past week. Continue Reading »

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| April 24, 2014
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US to provide Cairo with 10 Apache helicopters

 

 

Egypt’s foreign minister Nabil Fahmy was traveling to the United States on Wednesday, his ministry said, a day after Washington decided to provide Cairo with 10 Apache military helicopters.

Washington had imposed a temporary freeze on the delivery of major weapons to Egypt, including the Apaches, following the military-installed authorities’ brutal crackdown on supporters of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi since his ouster last July.

Fahmy is expected to meet officials in Washington and UN chief Ban Ki-moon during his visit.

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| April 23, 2014
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Was Tony Blair’s speech: ‘Why the Middle East matters’, written by Netanyahu?

 

Full text of Blair’s speech to Bloomberg London headquarters on April 23, 2014.

This will of course be seen as great news in the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem.


 

The inescapable conclusion from reading the text of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s speech on Islamic extremism on Wednesday in London is that it could have been an address by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Tony Blair

Tony Blair. – Photo: Bloomberg

 

Text of speech Tony Blair to be deliver at Bloomberg London HQ on April 23, 2014

From The Office of Tony Blair:

It is unsurprising that public opinion in the UK and elsewhere, resents the notion that we should engage with the politics of the Middle East and beyond.

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Category: Mid-East News | Tags:
| April 23, 2014
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Palestinians Livid With Their Minister’s Condemnation of Terror Attack

 

 

PA Religious Affairs Minister faces serious backlash after publicly expressing sorrow over terrorist murder of Jewish man on Passover Eve

By Israel Today Staff

 

A senior Palestinian Authority (PA) government official is facing a fierce public backlash after condemning last week’s terrorist murder of 47-year-old Baruch Mizrahi as he was driving to the Passover Seder with his family.

PA Endowments Minister Mahmoud El Habash told a reporter with Israel’s Army Radio that he was “pained” by the slaying of Mizrahi and the wounding of his pregnant wife and young son.

“We condemn the killing of all people irrespective of their background,” El Habash went on to say. Continue Reading »

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| April 22, 2014
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Abbas: Borders outline, Jewish homes freeze & release prisoners or talks ended

 

‘If Israel believes in the 2-state solution, then let’s talk borders,’ PA head says in 1st public comments regarding possibility of extending peace talks.

By Elior Levy

 

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for the first time spoke about the Palestinian demands for extending peace talks: A three months freeze in settlement construction during which time talks would focus on delineating the border of the future Palestinian state.

“If Israel believes in the two state solution… let us define the borders – where Israel will be and where Palestine will be,” he said in a special press conference to Israel journalists covering peace talks Tuesday. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| April 22, 2014
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Palestinian lead negotiator says Abbas has no intention of dismantling PA

 

Palestinian head negotiator Erekat, says that while Palestinians aren’t interested in dissolving the Palestinian Authority, Israel’s actions ‘have annulled all political, legal, economic, security & operational aspects of the PA.’

By AFP

 

RAMALLAH – The Palestinians have no intention to dismantle the Palestinian Authority, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Tuesday.

 

“No Palestinian is speaking of an initiative to dismantle the Palestinian Authority,” Erekat told AFP.

“But Israel’s actions have annulled all the legal, political, security, economic and operational aspects of the prerogatives of the Palestinian Authority,” said Erekat.

The Palestinian negotiating team reportedly warned US mediator Martin Indyk last week that they may decide to dismantle the Authority headed by President Mahmoud Abbas, in order to shift responsibility of governing the Palestinian territory and its 2.5 million residents to Israel, should peace talks fail. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | 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: , , ,
| April 22, 2014
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Jordan Condemns Israel Over Temple Mount Restrictions

Jordanian officials summoned Israel’s Ambassador to the country to protest ‘Israeli provocations’ on the Temple Mount.

By Moshe Cohen

 

Jordan’s government-controlled Petra news agency said Monday that government officials had called in the Israeli Ambassador to the country to protest the “Israeli provocations” on the Temple Mount Sunday. Israel closed the Mount to members of the Waqf after Arab youths rioted again Sunday, throwing rocks and stones at Israeli police.

Hamas flags, Muslim Brotherhood symbols on Temple Mount – Photo: Yehuda Glick

The riots were a continuation of unrest that has been going on for several days at Judaism’s holiest site. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| April 21, 2014
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U.S. (Mostly) & E.U. Taxes Fund Palestinian Terrorism

The Palestinian Authority [PA] pays high salaries/pensions with additional financial benefits to convicted terrorists incarcerated in Israeli prisons. 

The more horrific the crime & the more Israelis and/or Americans murdered, the higher the salary/pension and the more generous the added benefits.  

By StandWithUs

But where does the cash-strapped PA get the money for terrorists? 

Much of it comes from your tax dollars. The PA budget is heavily dependent on foreign aid—and the U.S. is the PA’s largest single country donor.  

Monthly salary or pension

Monthly salary or pension to entice acts of terrorism

Facts about the Palestinian Terrorism Industry

Palestinian terrorists killed or wounded thousands of Israeli and American civilians between 1993 and 2014.

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