Tag Archive for US State Department

Israel’s Foreign Minister and Bahraini counterpart meet in Washington

The publicly scheduled meeting in Washington with Israel’s Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz and Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifaand was hosted by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

By Nitsan Keidar

 

Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz, who is visiting Washington, held a first public meeting with Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa.

The public meeting and a joint photo of the two were coordinated behind the scenes by US State Department officials as part of a conference on religious freedom in Washington hosted by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz in Abu Dhabi.

Continue Reading »

REPORT: US dubs Golan as “Israeli controlled” instead of ‘occupied’

In its annual global human rights report dealing with the Golan Heights, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, for the first time ever, the US State Department referred to the ‘disputed territories’ as “Israeli controlled” instead of Israel “occupied.”

By i24NEWS

 

For the first time, the US State Department on Wednesday referred to the disputed Golan Heights as “Israeli controlled” instead of Israel “occupied” as well as dropping the phrases “occupied territories” and “under occupation” from the sections of its annual global human rights report dealing with the Golan Heights, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

In the case of the Golan Heights, captured by Israel in the 1967 war, the report classifies the mountainous region on the border between Israel and Syria as “Israeli-controlled” instead of “Israeli-occupied,” as it has read in past years. Continue Reading »

President Trump picks Heather Nauert as Nikki Haley’s replacement to UN

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, who just 18 months ago was a Fox News anchor, is President Trump’s choice to replace Nikki Haley as the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, if confirmed by the Senate.

By News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff

 

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to announce he will nominate State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, officials familiar with the plans said Thursday.

Two administration officials confirmed Trump’s plans. A Republican congressional aide said the president was expected to announce his decision by tweet on Friday morning. Continue Reading »

REPORT: U.S. State Dept. occludes law that compensates victims of terrorism

In an uncharacteristic move for the most pro-Israel administration, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appears to be working hard to obstruct an October law that would compensate families of American victims of Palestinian terrorism, according to web-based political journalism website Talking Points Memo.

By YONAH JEREMY BOB

 

If the Trump administration is viewed as one of the most pro-Israel administrations ever, why would it reportedly bend over backward to block a new law that would advance compensating the families of American victims of Palestinian terrorism from the Second Intifada?

Last week, Matt Lee of Talking Points Memo reported that the Trump administration, led by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, is working hard to repeal, delay or amend an October law on the issue. Continue Reading »

U.S. Dept of State blacklists Nasrallah’s son as “Global Terrorist”

The U.S. Dept of State has designated Hezbollah leader’s son, Jawad Nasrallah and the Al-Mujahidin Brigades as “Specially Designated Global Terrorists” which imposes sanctions on foreign persons who have committed acts of terrorism that threaten the security of U.S.

By Elad Benari

 

The US State Department on Tuesday designated Jawad Nasrallah, son of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, a terrorist and accused him of carrying out attacks against Israel, Reuters reported.

The State Department also blacklisted Al-Mujahidin Brigades (AMB), which it said had links to Hezbollah and had plotted a number of attacks against Israeli targets from a base in Palestinian Authority-assigned areas of Judea and Samaria. Continue Reading »

Palestinian Security arrest Palestinian-American for selling house to Jews

A family member sought the help of the U.S. State Department when his Palestinian-American relative was arrested by Mahmoud Abbas’ PA for suspicion of receiving $25,000 in the sale of a house in east Jerusalem to Jews.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

 

Palestinian Authority security forces have arrested a Palestinian-American citizen on suspicion of involvement in a real estate transaction with Jews in east Jerusalem, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

The man’s family has notified the US State Department of his arrest.

Palestinian sources said that the man, a resident of Bethlehem, had worked for the PA Ministry for Local Government. Continue Reading »

Trump’s Ambassador to Israel calls on US State Department to stop using term ‘occupation’

President Trump’s Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, reportedly calls on the State Department to stop referring to Judea and Samaria [West Bank] as ‘occupied’ territory.

By Gary Willig

 

US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman recently asked the State Department to cease using the term ‘occupation’ to describe Israel’s presence in Judea, Samaria, and eastern Jerusalem, according a report by Kan, the Israel Broadcasting Corporation.

According to the report, the State Department objected to the request, but eventually agreed to discuss the matter.

Ambassador David Friedman – Photo: Arutz Sheva

Ambassador Friedman described Judea and Samaria as being under an “alleged occupation” in an interview with the Jerusalem Post in September. Continue Reading »

US St Dept details Hezbollah’s terror in int’l arena, offers $12 million to capture leaders

Watch short State Department briefing detailing Shiite group’s history in terror throughout Europe, Asia, South America, offerings $12 million for information leading to the capture of two of their senior operatives, as Hezbollah is determined to give itself an option to attack on American soil.

By Elad Benari

 

The United States on Tuesday announced multi-million dollar rewards for two senior members of the Hezbollah terrorist group.

Reports earlier this week said the State Department would offer a reward of $12 million to anyone with information leading to the discovery, arrest, or charge of the two, but the State Department would not confirm the reports until Tuesday’s official announcement. Continue Reading »

US State Dept. Report Places Blame on Israel for Terrorism, Praised Autocrat Abbas, PA

While the lopsided report was based in part on work done during the Obama administration, much was added by department officials since Sec. of State Tillerson took charge.
– The ZOA lambasted Secretary Tillerson over the report, demanding his resignation.
– Illinois congressman slam State Department report for whitewashing, ignoring PA incitement.

By David Rosenberg

 

A new report published by the US State Department criticizing Israel and largely ignoring the Palestinian Authority’s financial support for terrorists sparked a bitter backlash, with some characterizing the document as “anti-Semitic”.

The State Department’s annual Country Reports on Terrorism for 2016, published last Wednesday, laid the blame for violence against Israelis at the feet of the Jewish state, while praising the Palestinian Authority for rarely making “explicit calls for violence against Israelis”. Continue Reading »

WATCH: St Dept Spokeswoman omits superfluous condemnation of planned Jewish construction

 

Breaking away from 50 years of the same ineffectual response to Jewish homes being built in Israel, the current State Department had no condemnation for Jerusalem’s approval of 2,600 new homes planned in Judea and Samaria – effectually ending a redundant White House policy.

By David Rosenberg

 

The Trump administration refrained from condemning Israel’s approval for 2,600 new housing units in Judea and Samaria this week, signaling a significant policy shift in Washington.

While every administration over the past half a century, from Lyndon Johnson through Barack Obama, has chastised Israel for the construction of civilian housing units in Judea and Samaria, the Trump White House made no comment as the first housing permits issued since the January 20th inauguration were approved. Continue Reading »

US Treasury, St Dept. impose sanctions on Hezbollah commanders, financiers

 

Hezbollah gets hit twice; the US State Department adds Hezbollah operatives to its global terrorist list and the US Treasury sanctions Hezbollah individuals in a joint action with Saudi Arabia, aimed at “disrupting Hezbollah’s worldwide commercial & financial infrastructure.”

By The Associated Press

 

The US government on Thursday sanctioned a Hezbollah commander and a number of other operatives and financiers linked to the militant group who it said were working to destabilize the Middle East.

“Nazi-like’ Hezbollah fighters take an oath during a parade. – Photo AP/Hussein Malla

The US State Department, headed by Secretary John Kerry, added Hezbollah commander Haytham Ali Tabatabai to its Specially Designated Global Terrorist list, which “imposes sanctions on foreign persons determined to have committed, or pose a serious risk of committing acts of terrorism.” Continue Reading »

Palestinian terrorist still held in US lock-down 2 years after prison ‘release’

Because U.S. gov’t says Jordanian-born Mohammed Rashed is still a threat & should remain in custody, he’s been remanded to immigration’s custody since finishing his prison sentence in 2013, for the 1982 airliner bombing.

By the Associated Press and Israel Hayom Staff

 

The U.S. has a “concrete plan” to deport a Jordanian-born Palestinian who put a bomb on a passenger flight in 1982, a government lawyer said Tuesday, arguing that the man should stay in custody until his deportation because he remains a terrorist threat.

Mohammed Rashed during an appeals court hearing in Athens in 1991 [Archive] – Photo: AP

However, an attorney for Mohammed Rashed called the claim “another in a long line of delay tactics” by the government and argued for Rashed’s immediate release from immigration custody, where he has been held finishing a prison sentence in early 2013. Continue Reading »

US voices opposition to Israel destroying illegal EU construction of Palestinian homes

 

view videoCompletely ignoring said structures were illegally constructed, without proper license and placed on state or public land, a U.S. State Department spokesperson voiced concern the demolitions of EU constructed Palestinian homes in the West Bank by Israeli authorities ‘undermine the possibility of a 2-state solution.’

By Reuters

 

The United States is “concerned” about Israel’s demolition of Arab buildings in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, a State Department spokeswoman said on Friday, adding that it raised questions about Israel’s commitment to a two-state political solution to the Palestinian conflict.

Israeli forces bulldozed a school in the Bedouin village of Khirbet Tana in the West Bank early in March, leaving 23 children with nowhere to study in the community overlooking the Jordan valley. Continue Reading »

US to disregard UNHRC resolution to blacklist companies working with settlements

 

US State Department spokesman John Kirby said the US is opposed to the resolution on West Bank settlements the UNHRC approved last week in Geneva under the highly anti-Israel Agenda Item 7.

By TOVAH LAZAROFF

 

The United States does not intend to provide the United Nations Human Rights Council with information for its new blacklist of companies doing business with West Bank settlements, US State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters in Washington on Wednesday.

The United Nations headquarters. – Photo: REUTERS

The Obama administration, he said, is opposed to the resolution on West Bank settlements the UNHRC approved last week in Geneva, as it wrapped up its 31st session. Continue Reading »

U.S. State Dept. condemns the UNHRC for seeking to ‘blacklist’ Israeli companies

 

Once again the U.S. exposes the UNHRC, calling it biased against Israel, and condemns their resolution calling for a blacklist of businesses operating in Judea and Samaria.

By Ben Ariel

 

The United States on Wednesday condemned last week’s United Nations Human Rights Council resolution that calls for setting up a blacklist of businesses operating in Judea and Samaria.

UN Human Rights Council – Photo: Reuters

Speaking to reporters at his daily briefing and quoted by Reuters, State Department spokesman John Kirby criticized the motion.

“We continue to unequivocally oppose the very existence of that agenda item and therefore any resolutions … that come from it,” he said, accusing the body of “bias against Israel.” Continue Reading »