Tag Archive for U.S. State Department

| January 27, 2021
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Biden puts hold on F-35 sale to UAE that’s intended to counter Iranian threat

Although Israel agreed with sale, Biden’s State Dept. calls decision to freeze the $23 billion UAE deal a ‘routine action’ that new administrations can take on large-scale foreign arms sales, but declined to say if halt is permanent.
– Was this Biden’s payoff to entice Ayatollah Khamenei’s good favor?

By the Associated Press

 

The Biden administration has put a temporary hold on several major foreign arms sales initiated by former president Donald Trump, with officials saying that includes a massive $23 billion transfer of stealth F-35 fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates.

That sale and several other massive purchases of U.S. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| January 3, 2019
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Israel caught between Pompeo’s ‘no’ and Croatia’s deadline on F-16 jets sale

U.S. demands Israel remove all its sophisticated electronics and radar system avionics it added to the US made F-16 fighter jets it bought from Washington some 30 years ago, but the Israeli technological upgrades were crucial in Croatia’s decision to purchase the fighters from Israel over models directly from the U.S.

By Associated Press

 

Croatia on Thursday urged Israel to overcome a rare disagreement with the U.S. and confirm whether it can carry through on a deal to sell 12 used F-16 fighter jets, adding that otherwise the purchase will be annulled.

Croatia’s Defense Ministry said it needs an answer from Israel by January 11. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
| September 13, 2018
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US Education Dept targets anti-Israel BDS activities on university campuses

Vacating a 2014 decision by the Obama administration, the U.S. Education Department decided to adopt the international definition of anti-Semitism that recognizes how Jew-hatred can be camouflaged as anti-Zionism or anti-Israel bias.

By Israel Hayom Staff

 

The U.S. Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights has decided to adopt the international definition of anti-Semitism, which defines Judaism not only as a religion but also an ethnicity and includes holding Jews responsible for Israel’s actions as a form of anti-Semitism, Israel Hayom learned Wednesday.

According to a letter written by Assistant Education Secretary for Civil Rights Kenneth L. Marcus to the Zionist Organization of America, anyone who acts “to deny the right of the Jewish people to self-determination, on the grounds that the State of Israel’s existence is a racist endeavor” or applies double standards to Israel that it does not apply to any other democratic country will be deemed an anti-Semite. Continue Reading »

Category: The Diaspora | Tags: , , , , ,
| September 12, 2018
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PLO Washington Office Closed By Trump White House

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, announced that PLO mission office in Washington was officially closed due to Palestinian entrenchment over the past 10 months in refusing to engage in peace talks.

By The Associated Press

 

The Trump administration ordered the closure of the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Washington on Monday, citing the refusal of Palestinian leaders to enter into peace talks with Israel, prompting the Palestinians to accuse the administration of dismantling decades of US engagement with them.

The State Department said the US step—the latest in a series targeting the Palestinians—came after a review of the office of the Palestine Liberation Organization centered on the fact that no “direct and meaningful negotiations with Israel” are underway despite previous warnings. Continue Reading »

Category: The Diaspora | Tags: , , , ,
| July 30, 2018
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US lawmakers introduce new legislation to seriously reduce funding to UNRWA

Palestinian Leaders In A Panic:

U.S. congressmen seek to penalize U.N. agency that was specifically tailored to maintain & support refugees for generations by intentionally inflating the number of actual Palestinian refugees from a modest 20,000 to a whooping 5.2 million.
• Trump administration likely to release classified Obama report on UNRWA within a few weeks.
• WATCH:  U.S. Amb. to UN Nikki Haley lambasts Arab member states of the United Nations.

By Ariel Kahana

 

U.S. lawmakers have introduced a new piece of legislation that would drastically reduce U.S. funding for the United Nations relief agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA. Continue Reading »

Category: The Diaspora, Video's worth Viewing | Tags: , , , , ,
| July 18, 2018
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Obama administration report identified only 20,000 Palestinian refugees

Joining U.S. lawmakers to pressure the State Department to declassify an Obama-era report, Republican Senator Ted Cruz asserts,  ‘Access to report will help Americans have a transparent debate on U.S. funding of UNRWA.’

By Ariel Kahana

 

Members of the U.S. Congress are demanding the State Department make public a key report that includes precise figures on the number of people who became refugees in the 1948 War of Independence.

The existence of the State Department assessment, compiled and classified under the Obama administration, was first disclosed by the Washington Free Beacon six months ago.

Lawmakers say the report could impact how the U.S. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| 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 »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , ,
| February 1, 2018
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Finally: Trump’s Administration Puts Hamas Leader on Terrorist Blacklist

The U.S. State Department announced the inclusion of Hamas’ political bureau chief, Ismail Haniyeh on its international terrorist blacklist.
– Secretary of State Tillerson: Since billionaire Haniyeh threatens the stability of the Middle East, he will be levied with sanctions, including having his assets frozen.

By AFP

 

The United States on Wednesday put the head of the Hamas terrorist organization Ismail Haniyeh on its terror blacklist and slapped him with sanctions.

Responding to the decision, Hamas said it was “a failed attempt to pressure the resistance. This decision will not deter us from continuing the resistance option to expel the occupation.” Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , ,
| January 19, 2018
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US State Dept refuses to declassify UNRWA report asserting agency inflates numbers

Classified by the Obama White House, State Department hold-outs  refuse to turn over ‘unclassified version’ to Congress, knowing report would expose Palestinian myth of the actual number of refugees, lowering ‘official’ 5 million, to mere 10’s of thousands.

By: Adam Kredo

 

The State Department is hiding a classified report on Palestinian refugees that insiders say could be a game changer in how the United States approaches the situation and allocates millions in taxpayer funds to a key United Nations agency, according to multiple sources briefed on the situation.

As the United States moves forward with a decision to slash funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the agency responsible for providing education and support to some five million Palestinian refugees, officials on Capitol Hill and elsewhere have been pressuring the State Department to declassify a report that is believed to show the actual number of refugees is far fewer than the U.N. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| January 19, 2018
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U.S. State Dept. withholds additional $45 million pledged for Palestinian aid

Last month he United States pledged $45 million to the West Bank/Gaza Emergency Appeal, led by the the UN agency in charge of assisting exclusively Palestinian refugees, which just had $65 million withheld from their coffers.

By Reuters & Israel Hayom Staff

 

The United States will not provide $45 million in food aid for Palestinians that it pledged last month as part of the West Bank/Gaza Emergency Appeal led by the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, the U.S. State Department said Thursday.

Earlier this week, the State Department said that Washington would withhold a separate $65 million it had planned to hand over to the U.N. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , , ,
| November 25, 2017
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US State Department decides to allow PLO DC office to remain open, but conditionally

With the Palestinians rescinding its directive to charge Israelis in the ICC, a US St. Dept. official relayed an updated decision allowing the PLO’s Washington DC office to remain open, but “within limitations.”

By i24NEWS

 

The administration of US President Donald Trump on Friday backtracked on its vow to close the Washington DC office of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), saying it could remain open “within limitations.”

A State Department official said the bureau is advised to “limit its activities to those related to achieving a lasting, comprehensive peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.”

Rex Tillerson with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – Photo: Courtesy of U.S.

Continue Reading »
Category: Mid-East News, Video's worth Viewing | Tags: , , ,
| June 30, 2017
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U.S. envoy to the U.N. Nikki Haley vows to keep Palestinians from key U.N. positions

U.S. State Department backs Nikki Haley’s remarks, showing concern of Palestinian efforts to exploit UN leadership positions for a de facto appearance, or even recognition as an independent state, when if fact they are not.

By Reuters and Israel Hayom Staff

 

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley on Tuesday took some lawmakers by surprise when she seemed to assert that the Trump administration’s policy was to prevent any Palestinians from serving in U.N. positions unless and until the U.S. recognizes an independent Palestinian state.

Haley made the comments during two days of testimony before a pair of committees in the House of Representatives. Continue Reading »

Category: The Diaspora | Tags: , , ,
| January 27, 2017
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REPORT: Trump’s State Dept thwart Obama’s devious attempt to transfer $221 million to Palestinians

 

The State Department is reviewing a last-minute decision by former Sec. of State John Kerry to send $221 million to the Palestinians, funds Obama had for some time been pressing to release, and was to be sent directly to the West Bank & Gaza.

By Alex Lockie and Associated Press

 

The State Department is reviewing a last-minute decision by former Secretary of State John Kerry to send $221 million dollars to the Palestinians late last week over the objections of congressional Republicans.

The department said Tuesday it would look at the payment, one of the Obama administration’s final acts in office, and might make adjustments to ensure it comports with the Trump administration’s priorities. Continue Reading »

Category: The Diaspora | Tags: , , , , , ,
| January 1, 2017
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State Department taken aback by May’s reprimand to US over SOS Kerry’s speech

 

U.S. St Dept was “surprised” Friday after British Prime Minister lavished harsh criticism of Kerry’s televised anti-Israel speech, pointing out, “The settlements are far from the only problem” in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
• Australian PM: Security Council vote “unsettling.”

By Eli Leon, News Agencies, and Israel Hayom Staff

 

The U.S. State Department was “surprised” Friday after the British prime minister leveled harsh criticism at Secretary of State John Kerry speech, detailing his vision for the Middle East and Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Britain scolded Kerry for describing the Israeli government as “the most right-wing in Israeli history, with an agenda driven by its most extreme elements.” Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , ,
| November 3, 2016
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U.S. State Department condemns new home construction in Jerusalem

 

State Department reiterated condescendingly saying White House is strongly opposed to “settlement activity,” in response to Israel’s approval of new home construction in Jerusalem’s Gilo neighborhood.

By Elad Benari

 

The State Department on Wednesday issued a scathing condemnation of Israel after it issued building permits for 181 new homes in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo, located in the southern part of the city.

Jerusalem spokeswoman Brachie Sprung said plans in Gilo were first approved in 2012 and that Wednesday’s approvals were for “technical details of plot distribution,” reported The Associated Press.

Contrary to US, EU & UN opinions, Jerusalem is not a 'settlement'

Contrary to US, EU & UN opinions, Jerusalem is not a ‘settlement’

She said more detailed building permits will be required before the units are built. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
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