CIA chief visits Ramallah day after Trump’s ‘Deal of the Century’ debut

According to Israel’s TV11 news, the day following President Trump’s announcement in the White House of his administration’s “Deal of the Century”, CIA Director Gina Haspel, had a secret meeting with Abbas’ intelligence director, Majid Faraj in Ramallah.

By Arutz Sheva Staff

 

CIA Director Gina Cheri Haspel paid a secret visit to Ramallah one day after US President Donald Trump presented the “deal of the century” peace plan, reports said.

According to Kan, Haspel met senior Palestinian Authority (PA) officials, and was told of the PA threat to cut security ties with both Israel and the US.

Chief of the Palestinian Authority (PA) Intelligence Services Majid Faraj- Photo: Twitter

Haspel did not meet with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas during her visit, but with his intelligence director, Majid Faraj. Continue Reading »

Palestinian Leadership Declares War on America

In more open displays of ‘rage’, Palestinian leaders engage in public bravado and muster West Bank Arabs to protest and burn a Trump effigy over his administration’s peace plan. But will they dare go any further?

By Ryan Jones

 

If the Palestinians didn’t like the Trump Administration before, Tuesday’s publication of the “Deal of the Century” has made them completely lose their minds.

Having long ago failed in their efforts to militarily defeat Israel, a body that represents the various different Palestinian factions has now effectively declared war on America.

Doesn’t make much sense, I know. But welcome to the Middle East conflict. Continue Reading »

Jimmy Carter urges United Nations to stop Trump peace plan

U.S. President Trump’s Deal of the Century “undercuts prospects for a just peace between Israelis and Palestinians,” said former US president Jimmy Carter, 95, in a statement.

By i24NEWS, AFP

 

Former US president Jimmy Carter denounced the Trump administration’s vision for Middle East peace on Friday while urging the United Nations Security Council to uphold international law and stop Israel from annexing West Bank territory.

“The new US plan undercuts prospects for a just peace between Israelis and Palestinians,” Carter, 95, said in a statement.

Jimmy Carter with good Palestinian friends Arafat & Abbas

“If implemented, the plan will doom the only viable solution to this long-running conflict, the two-state solution,” said Carter, who brokered the landmark 1978 Camp David Accords that brought peace between Israel and Egypt. Continue Reading »

Trump called the Palestinians’ bluff

President Trump is basically telling the Palestinian leadership to ‘suck it up’ or maybe lose everything, because finally, the Israelis are going to get what they need to survive.

 The Palestinians’ bluff has been called By Melanie Phillips, JNS.org.

 

US President Donald Trump’s Middle East “Deal of the Century” offers the Palestinians a state. They have rejected it and threatened instead to ramp up violence against Israel.

No one can be surprised. They have rejected every offer of a state previously made to them in 1937, 1947, 2000, 2008 and 2014.

NO negotiations, NO compromise, NO Peace.

Continue Reading »

US Peace proposal spurs Palestinians to violence and rocket attacks

Iron Dome neutralizes Gaza rocket fired at civilian communities in southern Israel just hours after three mortars were first fired.

By

 

At least two rockets fired from the Gaza Strip struck southern Israel on Friday night hours as tensions remain high over the release of US President Donald Trump’s “Deal of the Century.”

Incoming rocket sirens were activated in the communities of Sufa and Nir Yizhak and a statement by the Eshkol Regional Council said that the rocket landed in an open area causing no damage or injuries.

Iron Dome goes after projectiles fired from Gaza, – Screenshot: Twitter

Two hours earlier sirens sounded in the town of Sderot. Continue Reading »

Israeli Arabs vow to fight the Nakba of being turned into ‘Palestinians’

The Green LIne, current boundary of the disputed territories, is marked in black on the Google Satellite image. The red line contains the Arab towns in Wadi Ara proposed for inclusion in a future Palestinian state.

Ten Israeli Arab communities, which largely self-identify as Palestinian and were originally designated to fall under Jordanian control during the negotiations of the Armistice Line of 1949, now absolutely refuse to be part of a future State of Palestine.
– “The plan is delusional…there will not be another Nakba.” says Arab mayor of Taibeh.

By Hassan Shaalan

 

Israeli Arabs in what is commonly known as the Triangle of Arab communities have slammed U.S. President Donald Trump’s newly unveiled Mideast peace plan, under which their communities face being transferred to a future Palestinian state.

In its section on borders, the U.S. Continue Reading »

IDF tanks, jets target Hamas surveillance posts after IED balloon launches

Following further terror-balloons released with improvised explosive devices attached to explode in southern Israel, the IDF targeted Hamas surveillance positions.

By i24NEWS

 

IDF tanks and jets struck a number of Hamas surveillance assets in Gaza Strip, the Army’s spokesperson said Thursday.

The strikes were launched in retaliation for incendiary balloon launches from the restive Palestinian enclaves.

Earlier in the day, red alert sirens went off in a Gaza border community in Israel’s south, with the IDF saying that the alert had not been triggered by incoming projectiles. Continue Reading »

REPORT: Uganda to move its embassy to Jerusalem next week

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to travel to Uganda on Monday and sources close to the Ugandan president and the Ugandan Christian community have said that the embassy move has been in the works for three years.

By MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMAN

 

Uganda is reportedly planning to announce that it is moving its embassy to Jerusalem next week, sources close to the Ugandan president and the Ugandan Christian community told The Jerusalem Post.

A spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry could not confirm the report.

The Hebrew website Ynet reported on Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to travel to Uganda on Monday, but did not cite a reason for the visit. Continue Reading »

‘Deal of the Century’ may spur ICC case on Jewish settlements

Analysis: With the Trump State Department’s policy on Jewish settlements a direct contradiction to previous administrations, Israeli leaders may find themselves facing an ICC prosecutor who contends there’s a ‘reasonable basis’ to believe building Jewish neighborhoods is a war crime.

By the Associated Press

 

Emboldened by a supportive White House, Israel appears to be barreling toward a showdown with the international community over its half-century-old settlement enterprise in the West Bank.

With the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court poised to launch a war crimes probe of Israel’s settlement policies, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday announced plans to move ahead with the potentially explosive annexation of large parts of the West Bank, including dozens of settlements. Continue Reading »

Netanyahu to move on Israeli sovereignty for Jewish towns in West Bank

PM Netanyahu said Israel will begin implementing its laws for all settlements in Judea & Samaria and the Jordan Valley in a cabinet vote on Sunday; Opposition leader, Benny Gantz, throws his support behind the U.S. plan.
– Watch PM Netanyahu & President Trump unveil Mideast peace plan at the White House.

By Ynet, News Agencies

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he intends to bring a proposal for applying Israeli jurisdiction to the Jordan Valley, the northern Dead Sea and the West Bank settlements to a cabinet vote “presumably on Sunday.”

Benjamin Netanyahu with Donald Trump as the U.S.

Continue Reading »

Palestinians say ‘NO’ for 8th time to peace, threaten riots over Trump Deal

Fraught with excuses to say ‘no’ to the 3rd American President’s peace offer, the Palestinian leadership warns of ‘serious consequences’ for the region if the “Deal of the Century” is implemented, even though they have yet to learn all it entails.

By Elior Levy

 

Palestinian lawmakers backed by President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party, said Sunday that the day U.S. President Donald Trump presents his Middle East peace plan would be a “Day of Rage” with riots and protests in the West Bank.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue & White party leader Benny Gantz flew to Washington earlier Sunday for the presentation of what Trump himself has dubbed the “Deal of the Century” – his administration’s outline for peace between Israel and the Palestinians – and talks with the American administration. Continue Reading »

HISTORIC: Saudi Arabia permits Israelis to enter

Baby Steps‘: With unofficial ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel expedited since President Trump’s inauguration, Israelis are now being allowed limited visits to Saudi Arabia ‘under certain conditions’.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF, REUTERS

 

Interior Minister Arye Deri on Sunday authorized a select number of Israelis to be the first with permission to visit Saudi Arabia, under certain conditions that include Israeli entrepreneurs seeking investments, in a sign of warming ties.

After consulting the country’s security establishment, Deri issued a statement saying that Israelis would be allowed to travel to Saudi Arabia under two circumstances: for religious reasons on pilgrimage for the haj, or for up to nine days for business reasons such as investment or meetings. Continue Reading »

British Jews outraged over BBC report tying Holocaust to Palestinian conflict

Gideon Falter, chief executive of the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism, who is seeking an apology from the BBC said, “It was appalling to watch Orla Guerin hijack a segment dedicated to remembering 6 million murdered Jews and use it to desecrate the memory of the Holocaust with her hatred of the Jewish state.”

By  JNS, Israel Hayom Staff

 

The Board of Deputies of British Jewry said that the BBC should apologize for a report on Wednesday evening about International Holocaust Remembrance Day that linked the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the Holocaust.

In a report broadcast on BBC News, international correspondent Orla Guerin described Israeli soldiers entering Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and museum to “share in the binding tragedy of the Jewish people.” Continue Reading »

Sidelined & segregated, Palestinians disappointed in int’l community

Despite scores of world leaders attending the World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem this week, a very few made an effort to meet with the Palestinian autocrat, Mahmoud Abbas, raising concerns as his popularity plummets due to his intransigence regarding the peace process.

By Mohammad Al-Kassim, The Media Line

 

As dozens of world leaders converged on Israel for the Fifth World Holocaust Forum 2020, some Palestinians expressed frustration that only a few of these leaders would be visiting the Palestinian territories for a one-on-one meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Among those who attended the forum in Jerusalem were U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and the presidents of Russia, Germany, France, Italy and Austria. Continue Reading »

Palestinians livid Trump invites Israelis to discuss peace plan at White House

Having rejected all overtures from Trump White House to engage in the ‘Deal of the Century’, Palestinian Authority warns Israelis and the U.S. not to cross their ‘red lines’ after PM Netanyahu, and even opposition leader Gantz receive invitation to the White House.

By Dalit Halevy

 

The Palestinian Authority reacted angrily to the invitation the Trump Administration extended to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader MK Benny Gantz to the White House next week to discuss the administration’s peace plan.

Screenshot – Twitter

Nabil Abu Roudina, spokesman for PA president Mahmoud Abbas emphasized the PA’s “total opposition” to US resolutions which, among other things, recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Continue Reading »