Author: admin

The United Nations will cut its budget for only the second time in 50 years – by some $260 million dollars. An accord struck at dawn on Saturday by the 193-member body saw the 2012-13 budget set at $5.15 billion, down from $5.41 billion in 2010-11. The United States and European countries grappling with a sovereign…

The United States has posted a $10 million reward for information leading to the location of Syrian-born Al Qaeda terrorist now based in Iran. “Ezedin Abdel Aziz Khalil, more commonly known as Yasin al-Suri, moves money and recruits from across the Middle East into Iran, and then on to Pakistan, to support Al Qaeda’s senior…

Israeli experts note a “change in the music” coming from Washington regarding the possibility that the U.S. will attack Iran militarily to prevent its acquiring nuclear weapons. The latest chord in this new tune comes from Matthew Kroenig, a nuclear security expert on the Council on Foreign Relations who served in the Obama administration’s Defense…

The Islamist sect Boko Haram claimed responsibility for five church bombings in Nigeria on Monday. An explosion at the St. Theresa Roman Catholic church near the Nigerian capital Abuja during Christmas morning mass killed at least 27 people.  A second explosion in the central city of Jos near another church was heard. Boko Haram said it…

War scares are running high in Great Britain, while the British Foreign Ministry is trying to cool down tensions with Argentina. At the same time Britain is attempting to demonstrate that it has no intention of abandoning the Falkland Islands claimed by Argentina. Prime Minister David Cameron, in his broadcast on Saturday, pledged to the Falklanders “We will always…

Terrorists fired two Qassam rockets from Gaza at the western Negev on Saturday evening. One rocket exploded in an open area in the Ashkelon Coast Regional Council and the other, which was fired from northern Gaza, exploded in an open area in the Sha’ar Negev Regional Council. In both cases there were no physical injuries…

If Russian President Dmitry Medvedev believed that his reform package was going to assuage the protest movement, then the more powerful demonstrations throughout Russia today should have disabused him. The reform package proposed by Medvedev was extensive: It included restoring directly elected governors (currently appointed by the Kremlin), allowing them to acquire an independent power…

An Israeli vehicle was fired upon when leaving the community of Maale Shomron in Samaria (Shomron) on Saturday. Maale Shomron is a mixed secular and religious community, which allows driving in the town on Shabbat except for the area of the synagogue.  No physical injuries were reported, but the car sustained bullet damage. Security forces responded…

In what some may see as an ironic twist of fate a Hamas security officer who was grabbed by Israeli intelligence in the Sinai and transferred to Eilat three weeks ago was planning to kidnap Israelis. According to a Friday report in Asharq al-Aswat Taher Atwa, whose family lives in the Zeitun neighborhood of Gaza…

Yemen’s elite Republican Guard forces fired rifles, tear gas, and water cannons on over 100,000 marchers on a road leading to the capital of Sanaa, killing at least 9 and wounding at least 90. Participants in the so-called “March of Life” followed a 270-kilometre route from the southern city of Taez, a major opposition stronghold.…

Israeli forces closed all the entrances to the Arab village of Azzun near Keddumim in Samaria (Shomron)  while pursuing a terrorist on Saturday. According to the PA-affiliated and Bethlehem-based Maan News Agency, locals reported that a large IDF force stormed the village in the late morning. The soldiers were pursuing a shotgun wielding terrorist who opened…

Security forces in Bahrain stormed the headquarters of the country’s largest opposition party on Friday – firing tear gas and rubber bullets. Police also used tear gas to disperse hundreds of opposition supporters attempting to protest elsewhere in the capital. The raid on the Al Wafeq party compound comes just one month after Bahrain’s government…

Hamas and Fatah are preparing to release the lion’s share of their respective ‘political prisoners’ by the end of the year. “By the end of the year, all political detainees will be released except those who wish to remain in custody for special reasons related to their security both in the West Bank and in…

Hizbullah on Saturday blamed the United States for Friday’s twin car bombings in Damascus that killed at least 44 and wounded at least 100, saying Washington was the “mother of terrorism.” “These bombings which resulted in the death and injury of dozens of people, mostly women and children, are the specialty of the United States,…

Police in Germany believe that a young Israeli-Arab woman who was found dead on Wednesday in the University of Göttingen was murdered for nationalistic reasons, Channel 2 News reported on Friday. The woman is 26-year-old Souad Hamza who was found dead in the German university’s dormitories. She had been a student of medicine at the…

At least 40 people are dead after two suicide car bombers struck two security facilities in Damascus on Friday, Al-Jazeera reported. Faisal Mukdad, Syria’s deputy foreign minister, told the network most of the dead are civilians. He added at least 100 other people were wounded in Friday’s attack in the Kfar Sousa district. State media…

Hamas will focus on holding Arab Spring-style mass protests against Israel but is not renouncing the use of violence against the Jewish state, leader Khaled Mashaal told The Associated Press late Thursday. Mashaal told the news agency that popular protests have “the power of a tsunami,” pointing to the recent waves of demonstrations across the…

Terrorists in Gaza fired two mortar shells at the Eshkol Regional Council on Friday afternoon, Channel 2 News reported. Both shells exploded in open areas and it is believed one landed within Gaza itself. There were no physical injuries or damages. Channel 2 reported that the mortars were likely aimed at IDF soldiers who were…

The Ministry of Defense said on Friday that it is looking into a report that Israeli-made internet-monitoring software was being used in Iran. Channel 10 News quoted the Defense Ministry as having said that the appropriate course of action will be decided upon based on the findings of the investigation. Earlier on Friday, Bloomberg reported…

The Dutch government will appoint a commission to study new tightened rules for ritual slaughter, the European Jewish Press reported on Thursday. The commission will attempt to satisfy animal rights activists without infringing on Jewish and Muslim traditions. The announcement came as the leader of the Dutch small Animal Rights Party, Marianne Thieme, decided to…

The success of Islamist parties in North Africa during the Arab Spring has inspired the Hamas terror organization to rebrand itself as ‘pragmatic.’ Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since seizing the coastal enclave in a bloody 2007 putsch, is now jockeying to reposition itself amid the shifting terrain of the Arab world. Hamas is reported…

Internet-monitoring software produced in Israel is being used by the Islamic Republic of Iran, Bloomberg reported on Friday. According to the report, software distributor RanTek in Denmark has been stripping away packaging and labels from products produced by the Israeli company Allot and then re-selling the software to Iran. Israeli officials say their they were…

A series of deadly bombings killed at least 69 people in the capital Baghdad on Thursday in what officials described as a “political message.” The blasts mark the first major attack following a sectarian crisis in the Iraqi government which sidelined Sunni political rivals to Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki. At least 18 people were…

President Michel Sleiman of Lebanon said Thursday that terror attacks targeting UNIFIL were aimed at forcing UN peacekeepers out of Israel’s northern neighbor. Sleiman also condemned the firing of rockets from south Lebanon toward Israel, saying such attacks harmed the country’s security and stability and called for the arrest of the culprits. The remarks were…

The Defense Ministry has ordered Israel Aerospace Industries and Elbit Systems Ltd. to cancel the sale of advanced intelligence equipment to Turkey, Channel 10 News reported on Thursday. According to the report the canceled deal, which was signed in 2009 and is worth $140 million, was for the sale of an advanced infrared camera and…

As the civil war in Syria continues and the ethnic tension is rising, the country’s Sunnis are threatening the Alawite minority against their continued support of President Bashar Assad, who is an Alawite himself. Mamoun al-Homsy, a former Syrian MP and one of the country’s opposition leaders, has reportedly recently distributed a recorded message to…

The Hizbullah terror group on Thursday denied charges by the United States that it was involved in drug trafficking and money laundering schemes to fund its activities. The group said in a statement quoted by AFP, “The United States’ allegations that Hizbullah is funding its activities illegitimately is merely another attempt to tarnish the image…

Ahmet Davutgolu, Turkish Foreign Minister and the architect of his country’s neo-Ottoman foreign policy, bragged about bringing Israel to its knees. Turkey is not down on its knees but has been experiencing a few setbacks. The French National Assembly disregarded Turkish threats and voted in favor of a law criminalizing denial of the Armenian genocide.…

The United States will double the special aid it gives Israel for the development and implementation of anti-missile systems, the Globes financial newspaper reported on Thursday. According to the report, the House and Senate’s Committees on Appropriations approved the aid following a request by the U.S. Administration to approve aid totaling $106.1 million for the…

Palestinian Authority officials kept up their mantra of abrogating all bilateral accords with Israel on Thursday saying it would seek territorial redress in international courts. “We are studying currently total termination of all kind of dealings with the Israeli courts which basically belong to the occupier and never delivered the Palestinians with fair verdicts,” Palestinian…

Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said Thursday that naval maneuvers dubbed Velayat 90 will start on Saturday in an area ranging from the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Aden. According to Sayyari, this is the first time that Iran’s Navy will have carried out naval drills in…

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat is promoting a plan for new municipal boundaries that would swap land, leaving some Arab neighborhoods outside the city. Barkat met with senior religious Zionist figures in an attempt to persuade them to support the plan, which includes a new security fence and abandoning the land on the other side of…

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Thursday that he would cancel all political, economic and military meetings between representatives of Turkey and France. He also forbade French aircraft from landing in Turkey and said French ships were no longer welcome in Turkey’s ports. Turkish television reported earlier that Ankara would call back its ambassador…

Former US President Bill Clinton says Iran is more likely to have terrorists do its dirty work than to launch a nuclear war itself. Clinton offered the assessment during an interview with Fox News journalist Bill O’Reilly Wednesday on the Fox television network to promote his latest book, “Back to Work.” Although not present at security…

Israel and Turkey are reactivating their military ties, beginning with a coordination mechanism between the two air forces. The link exists to prevent aerial mishaps and potential disasters between aircraft from the two nations over the Mediterranean Sea. The coordination mechanism was recently reactivated, a senior IAF officer said, as part of the effort on both…

The Arab League has sent a 10-member advance team to Syria to ensure that monitors will have free access across the country. The Arab League has sent an advance team to Syria to prepare for the arrival of observers who will monitor the compliance of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime with the League’s demand to end…

A New York State resident has filed a $10 million lawsuit against Delta Airlines and Air France for failing to stop a terrorist from getting on a plane in 2009. The terrorist in question is the infamous “underwear bomber,” who tried to blow up a plane bound for Detroit in 2009 using a bomb hidden…

The Hamas terror group on Thursday signed a deal with the Fatah terror group that would unify both “wings” of Palestinian Authority terror under the banner of the Palestine Liberation Organization. Hamas top terrorist Khaled Mashaal signed the deal with Fatah’s terror leader and PA chief, Mahmoud Abbas. Mashaal on Thursday agreed to join a…

The Hamas terrorist organization has agreed to join the Palestine Liberation Organization, according to the Associated Press. The decision came during two days after a meeting in Cairo between Palestinian Authority Chairman and PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas, Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal and Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Shalah. The gathering, which constitutes a gathering of…

As part of the recent celebration of its 24th anniversary, Hamas held a mass rally in Gaza in which the terror group expressed an intransigent commitment to the jihad against Israel. In his speech at the rally, Hamas’ Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh called for the establishment of “the al-Quds Army for the liberation of Palestine.”…

Graves belonging to Jews were recently found in a cemetery in Gaza, according to a Channel 10 News report on Wednesday. According to the report, the cemetery in question is the British cemetery located in central Gaza. The cemetery sustained damage in the IDF’s Operation Cast Lead in early 2009, and has undergone renovations. It…

Dennis Ross, President Barack Obama’s former Middle East advisor, said on Wednesday that the Obama administration is determined to prevent Iran from achieving a nuclear weapon and would certainly consider military action against the Islamic Republic. In an interview with Israel’s Channel 10 News, Ross said that the recent public statements by Defense Secretary Leon…

Iran will be able to produce a first core for a nuclear bomb in about one year’s time, according to Dr. Efraim Askolai, a former member of the Israeli Atomic Energy Committee. Askolai’s estimate jibes with similar ones made recently by US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and correlates with an estimate by his Israeli counterpart,…

The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) announced Wednesday it is reviewing whether to downgrade ties with Israel and halt security cooperation in light of the moribund peace process “This is the current Palestinian move as the Israeli government stalled the peace process and completely locked the political horizon,” PLO executive committee member Wasel Abu Yousuf said…

Kuwait officials denied reports on Wednesday they had agreed to release two Iranians convicted by  Kuwait on espionage charges after Iran released two two Kuwaitis it detained for 36 days to go home. Tehran on Sunday released two Kuwaiti nationals, Adel Al Yahya, a lawyer and journalist, and Raed Al Majid, a television cameraman, which…

Gulf Arab leaders Tuesday rallied behind Saudi King Abdullah’s call to form a “single entity” in their ongoing move to form a strategic bulwark against their increasingly aggressive rival Iran. King Abdullah said Monday the security of Saudi Arabia and its Arab neighbors was being targeted, in an apparent reference to Iran, and called on…

According to the London-based al Hayat newspaper, Jordan is leading secret talks with several nations to find a home for Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal. The report comes as tensions between the Hamas terror organization, which openly seeks the destruction of Israel, and Syrian authorities become increasingly strained over Hamas’ support for anti-regime protesters in…

At least 675 Pakistani women and girls were murdered during the first nine months of 2011 for allegedly defaming their family’s honor, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan report said Tuesday. “A total of 675 women and girls were killed in the name of honor across Pakistan from January to September,” a senior official with…

Israel sharply criticized European members of the UN Security Council on Wednesday. The criticism came following a condemnation of Israel by UN Security Council members on Tuesday over the planned Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria as well as for ‘price tag’ vandalism. The condemnation was led by Britain, France, Germany and Portugal. “[The European…

Some 10,000 women marched Tuesday from Cairo’s Tahrir Square to the nearby Press Syndicate building chanting “Egyptian women are the red line,” according to local media reporting on military brutality against female protesters. The protest was provoked by an image published in media around the world of soldiers violently stripping a Muslim woman during protests…

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel offered his best wishes to downtown Chabad-Lubavitch emissary Rabbi Meir Chai Benhiyoun and his family prior to the celebration of the public celebration of the first night of Chanukah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, but skipped attending the lighting of the first candle of the public menorah that always takes place…

Death threats, apparently from Arabs, appeared on Facebook pages of Knesset Member Anastassia Michaeli, after she submitted a bill to stop noise pollution from mosques. She has filed a complaint with police. MK Michaeli, a member of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, has approximately 20,000 “friends” on her Facebook account, and after she wrote them asking…

The head of the Egypt’s Salafi movement says the party will honor the country’s 1979 peace treaty with Israel. The top two Islamist parties in Egypt won an overwhelming majority in the first two phases of the country’s parliamentary elections. The Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party is in the lead, but the Salafi al-Nour…

Five Iranian technicians have been kidnapped by unidentified gunmen in the central Syrian city of Homs. The technicians, who are all electrical engineers, were part of a group of eight who were abducted while working on the city’s power plant. It is not clear who was behind the kidnappings, nor did the the semi-official Iranian Press…

The roads of Samaria (Shomron), so often poorly lit throughout the year, will glow this week with the giant public Jewish menorahs used for the Festival of Lights. The Samaria Regional Council has erected the giant candelabras for the Hanukkah holiday all along the part of Highway 60 that goes through Judea and Samaria, to publicize the miracle that…

UN Security Council members condemned Israel on Tuesday for the planned Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria as well as for ‘price tag’ vandalism. According to a report by AFP, the condemnation was led by Britain, France, Germany and Portugal. The four said in a joint statement after a council meeting on the Middle East…

Kadima MK Otniel Schneller was a victim of Arab terrorism on Tuesday, when his car was firebombed twice as he was driving near the Binaymin community of Ofra, on his way to Hanukkah candle lighting at his daughter’s home in Neve Tzuf, northeast of the city of Modiin. Schneller’s wife and two of his grandchildren were in…

The Mercosur trade group of four South American countries signed a free trade agreement with the Palestinian Authority on Tuesday. AFP reported that the PA’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Riyad Al Maliki, signed the agreement with the foreign ministers of each of the core Mercosur nations — Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Diplomats have been negotiating…

Convicted Nazi war criminal John Demjanjuk’s bid to regain his U.S. citizenship was denied on Tuesday, The Associated Press reported. According to the report, U.S. District Judge Dan Aaron Polster said Demjanjuk had lied about where he was during World War II. Polster rejected the retired autoworker’s citizenship claim, which was based on newly discovered…

The European Union received two items of bad news: The first was the return from the cold of former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn who has been on ice since he was implicated – and cleared – in a sex scandal; the second was a failure by the EU to come up with €200 billion in pledges to…

Chief Rabbis of Israel and Education Minister attended the Western Wall lighting of the menorah on the first night of Hanukkah.

Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey said Tuesday that the United States can successfully attack Iran, if necessary. His biggest worry is that Iran will “miscalculate our resolve. Dempsey, speaking to CNN during a worldwide tour, spoke one day after Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta warned that the American government will…

Iran has moved most of its government websites from foreign-based hosting companies to new computer facilities inside the country to protect them against cyber attacks, Reuters reported on Tuesday. A senior official in the Islamic Republic was quoted as having told the official IRNA news agency, “The location of the hosts of more than 90…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barack on Teusday visited the Ephraim Brigade headquarters in Samaria to light the first Hannukah candle this year. During the visit Barak and Netanyahu were accompanied by Judea and Samaria Battalion commander Shai Avital and Ephraim Brigade commander Colonel Ron Kahane. The event – staged for the…

State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss slammed the Israel’s top security officials on Tuesday saying Israel is short on bomb shelters and ill-prepared to defend its citizenry should war break out. The state comptroller’s annual report, published in part on Tuesday, blasted officials saying Israel “has not learned the lessons from the 2006 Lebanon war.” During that…

Amid the Islamic tsunami sweeping Egypt’s parliamentary elections the ultra-conservative Salafist Nour party says it is willing to hold talks with Israel. Salafi al-Nour Party spokesman Yousri Hammad told Egypt’s daily al-Arabia that reports party chairman Emad Abdul Ghafour was willing to maintain contacts with Israel were true – and added doing so did not…

Did the Prime Minister hint, in a Cabinet meeting earlier this week, that he wants Tel Aviv’s future subway stations to double as mass emergency shelters? If he did – IDF Radio seems to have had no compunctions about leaking and broadcasting the matter. The military radio station’s website reported Tuesday that Prime Minister Binyamin…

Lebanon said Monday it knows who is behind rocket attacks on Israel but won’t say. Later, it revealed the secret: Israel – of course. Lebanese Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn Monday reasoned that Israel is behind missile attacks on its own citizens because it is trying “to undermine security and stability in south Lebanon,” The Beirut…

While the death of North Korea’s leader in the past 17 years, Kim Jong Il, may seem like it is not connected to Israel, Attorney Nitzana Darshan-Leitner who heads the Shurat HaDin organization, reminded on Monday of the connection between North Korea and terrorism in the Middle East. “North Korea has been involved in the…

Protesters rioted in Bahrain for a third day as minority Shi’ites demanded more rights from the Sunni monarchy in renewed unrest. Riots have erupted regularly over the year since the advent of the Arab Spring uprisings across the region. Bahrain’s King Hamad last Tuesday charged Syria with training opposition figures and provocateurs in his tiny…

The Indian press fussed about an editorial in the Chinese Communist Party organ, the People’s Daily, that expressed concern over the forthcoming February launch of India’s new Agni-V missile. This missile with a 6000 km range has MIRV capability, meaning that it can carry multiple warheads. According to the Chinese daily, the launch reflected India’s…

Tunisia’s newly elected president on Monday called the country’s Jewish population to return to his country, The Associated Press reported. During a meeting with the country’s Grand Rabbi Haim Bittan, President Moncef Marzouki said that Tunisia’s Jews are full-fledged citizens and those who had left the country were welcome to return. Today, Tunisia has a…

Iran is a year or less from “N-Day,” but the United States will stop it – no matter what, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told CBS Monday night. His comments were far stronger than those of President Barack Obama, who has said that Iran must not reach nuclear capability but has not categorically stated that his…

A wealthy Saudi Prince has bought three percent of Twitter, the latest of Arab world investments that are making inroads on Western-based companies. Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who heads the Kingdom Holding Company and who has been rated as the world’s richest Arab,  announced Monday  the $300 million purchase of Twitter shares, the Dow…

The Rebbe of the Satmar Hassidic movement, Grand Rabbi Aron Teitelbaum, spoke out Saturday night against Jews who oppose U.S. President Barack Obama. The Rebbe, who lives in the New York State Hassidic town of Kiryas Yoel, made his remarks during a speech delivered during the sect’s annual dinner commemorating the 67th anniversary of the miraculous…

South Korean president Lee Myung-Bak learned North Korean despot Kim John Ill died of a heart attack from the North’s state-run TV on Saturday morning. Defense Minister Kim Kwan-Jin was briefing legislators in parliament on a defense reform bill when Pyongyang dropped its bombshell. He rushed back to his ministry. The chairman of the Joint…

Germany called on Israel to refrain from publishing construction tenders in Judea, Samaria, and Jerusalem saying it sends a “devastating message” for peace efforts. “The Israeli government must be aware that the continuous announcements of new settlements convey a devastating message with a view to the current efforts and resumption of peace negotiations,” government spokesman…

The Lebanese army discovered four Katyusha rockets ready for launch at Israel Monday, while government officials said they know who fired at Israel earlier this month. The rockets were discovered on launching pads in southeast Lebanon, according to the Beirut Daily Star. Terrorists in Lebanon fired four rockets on northern Israel in late November in…

Troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad continued to kill opponents Monday while he agreed to sign an Arab League proposal for sending observers. The document was signed by the Syrian foreign minister, who has arrived in Cairo. The question remains whether Assad will honor his signature. Syria’s deputy foreign minister Faisal Mekdad has arrived…

A British legislator in Cameron’s government has lost a key post and is under probe for celebrating at a Nazi costume stag party. Conservative party Member of Parliament Aidan Burley was photographed next to a Nazi-uniformed bachelor at a stag party where guests raised their glasses to toast the third Reich. Burely was wearing regular…

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, head of the Yisrael Beitenu faction, said Monday that the attacks against Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria (Yehuda and Shomron, or Yesha) are wrong and hypocritical. “There is no justification, and no excuse can be accepted with regard to hurting IDF soldiers,” he said, in reference to the incident a…

An alleged CIA agent being held in Tehran was shown on Iranian state television on Sunday. The channel named the man as Amir Mirzai Hekmati and said he was an American of Iranian descent born in Arizona. The report showed Hekmati confessing to his “mission” to infiltrate the intelligence ministry, AFP said. The Iranian channel…

Now that the second phase of the Shalit deal has been implemented and 550 terrorist prisoners have been released, the Hamas terror group is already planning the next kidnapping. In a press briefing held on Sunday evening, the spokesman of Hamas’s military wing, Abu Obeida, welcomed the Shalit deal and called it “an achievement of…

Israel has offered to export natural gas to India, The Times of India is reporting. According to the report, the offer was made by Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz to the Indian government during his visit to the country last week. The report said that in his conversations with his Indian counterpart, Pranab Mukherjee, and…

He is still president for another few months, but Dmitry Medvedev has become Russia’s almost forgotten man. At Vladimir Putin’s four and a half hour call-in show last week he received precisely one mention. This is a far cry from the glory days of the tandem and Medvedev as Putin’s protégé’. Unless you are a…

Egypt’s two leading Islamist parties said on Sunday their parties have secured about three-quarters of votes cast in the second round of a parliamentary election, Reuters reported. A source from the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) told Reuters the party was on track to win about 40 percent of votes for party lists,…

An IDF soldier was lightly wounded Sunday from rocks thrown by an Arab mob north of Jerusalem. The riot took place near the Bitunia checkpoint, not far from Beit El. The soldier received initial medical treatment on the spot. The Arabs reportedly numbered about 400. They burned tires, threw fire bombs and hurled rocks at…

The Israel Electric Company has just signed an $8 billion deal to buy natural gas from the Noble Energy-led group developing the Tamar gas field off the coast of Haifa. The company will purchase an estimated 3 billion cubic meters of gas per year, starting in mid-2013, for the next 15 years, IEC officials said…

Egyptians on Sunday entered a third day of deadly clashes between protesters and government forces on a street close to Cairo’s Tahrir Square, and home to a campus of the American University. One of the university’s research centers was gutted by a blaze during the clashes on Saturday. At least 10 people have been killed…

At least 650 people are dead, and some 800 others are still missing on the southern island of Mindanao after Tropical Storm Washi struck the Philippines on Friday. Entire villages were swept away in the storm. The two port cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan were also badly damaged Friday night, with hundreds of…

A video uploaded to YouTube on Saturday reveals an Arab attempt to lynch a Jew near the village of Asira al-Qibliya in Shomron. The video, which was filmed by the Arabs, shows a group of Arabs surrounding the Jewish man and begin to pelt him with rocks. The Jew is shown tripping and falling on…

It is worth reviewing the lecture by David Richards to the Royal United Services Institute for an inkling about the changing balance of power. On the one hand, the top British General  claimed that Britain would remain more powerful than its European allies, but he could only envy the Afghan army in terms of men…

Iran’s Intelligence Ministry said Saturday that its agents have arrested a person of Iranian origin on suspicion of spying for the United States, the Associated Press said. Iran’s Foreign Ministry taunted the US Saturday, saying any espionage activity against his country would lead to humiliation. In a statement broadcast on state TV, the ministry said…

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Thursday that he would battle the recently proposed legislation that would change the way judges are elected to Israel’s Supreme Court and restrict the foreign funding received by Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). Speaking at the Union for Reform Judaism Biennial in Washington, DC, Barak said, “As the Defense Minister of…

A man who witnesses said appeared to be an Arab stabbed and lightly wounded a security guard at the entrance to Maaleh Adumim Saturday. The stabber escaped. The guard, aged about 50, was evacuated so that he could receive medical attention. The stabber is believed to have escaped into one of the adjacent villages, east…

Video shot Saturday shows Egyptian soldiers administering savage beatings to protesters in Tahrir Square. Al Jazeera reported nine people had died in two days of violence. Prime Minister Kamal Ganzouri accused the demonstrators of mounting “an attack against the revolution.” According to the BBC, the demonstrators had staged a sit-in Friday near the cabinet building…

Recent violent incidents ascribed to right-wingers may have rattled the government enough to cause it to reappraise its attitude toward leftist and Arab violence, too. Government Secretary Tzvi Hauser told Channel 2 that “whoever burns a mosque and damages a site that is holy to others disgraces this nation and causes it to be slandered,”…

A senior Hamas official has warned that a new Arab intifada could start due to the recent torching of mosques in Judea and Samaria. The terror group on Thursday condemned the arsons and called on the “Palestinian people” to act as one against the “Zionist attacks.” Hamas also called on the Arab League and on…

Syrian security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters after prayers at several locations around the country on Friday, The Associated Press report. At the same time, the report said, the army sent reinforcements into a southern area where military defectors recently launched deadly attacks on regime troops. According to two local human rights groups, the…

Two protesters have been killed by gunfire in clashes that broke out on Friday between Egyptian soldiers and anti-military protesters. A youth activist told The Associated Press that she saw the bodies of the two protesters and accompanied them to the morgue at a Cairo hospital. She claimed that both had gunshot wounds. According to…

A proposal released Thursday would see the U.S. Congress allowing American economic aid to the Palestinian Authority to continue next year, so long as the entity is not admitted as a state to any more United Nations organizations. Reuters reported that the measure also says that the PA mission in Washington can remain open, so long…

Russia surprised Western diplomats on Thursday when it put forth a draft resolution in the United Nations Security Council taking a harder line on violence in Syria. Moscow, which has billions of dollars of contracts and investments tied to the regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, has thus far been an obstacle to Western attempts…

A city in western China is trying reduce religious fervor by prohibiting people from wearing veils, traditional Arab dress, or growing long beards, Associated Press reports. “Dilute religious consciousness, advocate a civilized healthy life style,” the notice in the Dunmaili district of Yining in China’s heavily Muslim western reaches read. The notice added the campaign’s…

A senior leader of Canada’s Muslim community compared a recent policy requiring no face-coverings be worn when new immigrants take the citizenship oath to the dire oppression of Jews in Nazi Germany. Imam Sayed Soharwardy, a Canadian of Pakistani descent who serves as president of the Supreme Muslim Council of Canada, made his comparison on…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu promised his supporters in Likud Thursday that “whoever dares raise his hand against soldiers or police will pay a heavy price for it.” Regarding the recent riot in an army base, he said: “We will arrest the rioters, we will distance them and we will try them. There will be no…

A verbal confrontation broke out on Thursday between MK Ahmed Tibi (Raam-Taal) and the head of the Manhigut Yehudit faction in the Likud, Moshe Feiglin. The argument took place when both were interviewed on a Channel 2 News program. The issue at hand was the ‘price tag’ operations and specifically the latest torching of mosques…

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said this week that Turkey’s recent polices in the Middle East “have made Israel kneel down” in front of Turkey and isolated the Jewish State in the region. The Turkey-based Today’s Zaman reported that Davutoğlu made the comments in remarks he made during budget talks in the Turkish Parliament on…

Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky has called for the immediate release of Jonathan Pollard. Sharansky made the comments in a speech he gave on Wednesday at the Union for Reform Judaism Biennial in Washington, DC. “As someone who has brought up the subject with White House and cabinet officials in Washington, I realize that this…

Several Lebanese financial institutions with alleged ties to the Hizbullah terror organization were part of a massive scheme that funneled hundreds of millions of dollars in criminal proceeds through the United States, prosecutors charged on Thursday. AFP reported that a criminal complaint in a New York federal court targeted the Lebanese Canadian Bank and two…

Just 20 days before the Iowa caucus begins Mitt Romney came out swinging at front-runner Newt Gingrich, saying “Zany is not what we need in a president.” “Zany is great in a campaign. It’s great on talk radio. It’s great in print, it makes for fun reading,” Mr. Romney told The New York Times. “But…

Another day, another barrage of mortar fire from Gaza disrupting life for residents of communities in southern Israel. People living in the western Negev were forced to make a run for it Thursday afternoon when the Color Red rocket alert siren activated across the region. Civilians were told to remain in their shelters as security officials…

The United States declares a formal end to the Iraq War Thursday in Baghdad, with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta arriving in the Iraqi capital to attend the ceremony that will wrap up the 8 1/2 year mission. Under the terms of the security agreement signed between the U.S. and Iraq in 2008, American troops were required…

Palestinian Authority Arabs targeted motorists Thursday afternoon in what is starting to again become a common phenomenon on the roads of Judea and Samaria, as it was in the days of the 2002 Second Intifada. In September of this year, in fact, the number of such attacks had more than doubled in comparison to the figures for…

The Vatican’s former foreign minister asked to place some Israeli holy places under Vatican authority, alluding to the Cenacle on Mount Zion and the garden of Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. The first site also houses what is referred to as King David’s tomb.  “There will not be peace if the question…

Egyptian navy ships were on their way to the waters off Turkey Thursday afternoon, where they will rendezvous with Turkish navy vessels for a joint exercise. Egypt’s top naval commander, Muhav Mamish, said in an interview that the the exercise is “not directed against any specific country, and is designed to strengthen ties and exchange…

As diplomacy begins to thaw between India and Pakistan a wandering primate who strayed across a disputed border region into Pakistan has sparked a media firestorm. The monkey, who remains unnamed, was found by members of a paramilitary ranger unit in Pakistan’s desert region of Rahim Yar Khan on November 19. They packed him off…

The rumors of an imminent destruction of a Jewish community came true early Thursday morning as Border Police officers arrived without warning in large numbers in the outpost of Mitzpe Yitzhar in the Shomron and destroyed two buildings. Local residents reported that the troops had entered the community through a nearby Arab village instead of the…

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday endorsed harsher sanctions on Iran, as part of U.S. attempts to weaken Tehran economically and derail its pursuit of nuclear weapons. The Associated Press reported that House lawmakers voted for two bills that would strengthen current sanctions, while expanding the list of companies and individuals subject to penalties.…

A former top Pentagon official said that the drone Iran exhibited last week “appears to be a fake,” USA Today reported Thursday. The official requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press on the issue of the downed drone. Last week, Iran said it had seized an American RQ-170 Sentinel drone…

Syrian army defectors killed at least 27 soldiers and government personnel early Thursday. The deaths came in three separate clashes at dawn in the southern province of Dara’a, where the uprising began against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. According to a report released Thursday by the New York-based Human Rights Watch group, Syrian military…

Iran’s intelligence chief visited Riyadh for talks with Saudi Arabia’s top security officials on Monday amid continued tensions between the Persian Gulf rivals. Iranian Intelligence Minister Haidar Moslehi met with Saudi Crown Prince Nayef Bin Abdul Aziz, who is also the Saudi interior minister; Saudi intelligence director Prince Muqrin; and other top Saudi royals, Saudi…

A proposal bill to ban Jewish kosher slaughter of animals in Holland was rejected late Tuesday by the upper house of the Parliament on the ground that it violates freedom of religion, the European Jewish Press reported. The bill, which was presented by the small Animal Rights Party earlier this year, called for a total…

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday said that Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich’s remarks about Palestinian Authority Arabs were “unhelpful.” Gingrich told The Jewish Channel last week that the claim of Palestinian Authority Arabs to be “a people” is not legitimate. The former Speaker of the House of Representatives said in the interview, “Remember, there was…

The Israel Prison Service (IPS) uploaded the list of prisoners designated to be released in the second stage of the Gilad Shalit deal to its website on Wednesday. From the time it was posted, there are 48 hours in which motions may be filed. The list includes the names of 550 terrorists. Israel agreed to…

The United States predicted on Wednesday that the downfall of Syrian President Bashar Assad is imminent, The Associated Press reported. According to the report Frederic Hof, a senior official in the State Department, likened Assad’s regime to a “dead man walking” over its brutal crackdown on pro-reform demonstrators and its increasing international isolation. Hof told…

The United Nations has been warned — Syrian citizens are dying by the thousands, with the death toll in Syria rising by at least 1,000 in the past 10 days — and more losing their lives in the daily bloodbath that comes with each clash between loyalist troops and opposition forces. The figures reflect the…

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday accepted the recommendations of Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch and Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman for dealing with disturbances in Judea and Samaria.  The ministers formulated the recommendations after meeting with ISA, IDF, Israel Police and State Attorney’s Office teams, which were: The immediate issuing of administrative detention orders against…

Cal State has joined the Ivy League and New York State University in rescinding a ban on its students studying in Israeli universities after 9 years. The California State University system (CSU or Cal State), which has 23 campuses and some 420,000 students, shut down its Study Abroad program in Israel during the height of…

Even as Yemen swears in its interim government and prepares to say goodbye to outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh, terrorists from Al Qaeda continue to grab headlines in the teetering Gulf country. At least 13 Al Qaeda-linked terrorists escaped earlier this week from a prison facility in the southern port city of Aden, a source…

Egyptians are heading to the polls for round two of their parliamentary elections. The selection of a new parliament in Egypt is a three-stage process, with the second round taking place in Giza, Luxor, Aswan and Ismaila. In Giza, as in last month’s election, about 100 people were waiting to cast their ballots — and…

The Hamas rulers of Gaza are celebrating their 24th anniversary since the terrorist group was founded. Tens of thousands of their supporters joined in the celebrations Wednesday, waving the signature green flags of Hamas and honking vehicle horns in the streets. For its annual rally to celebrate the occasion, a huge stage formed in the…

Police pounced on expelled Yesha residents in Jerusalem’s Kiryat Moshe neighborhood Wednesday afternoon, throwing some of them out of windows, an eyewitness said. Protesters fought police, and three of them were injured in the fracas. Six people were arrested. Authorities have not said if there is a link between the police action and the infiltration…

According to the Swiss paper Tagesanzeiger authorities in Germany and Switzerland are investigating possible links between the 2001 murder of an Israeli-born rabbi in Zurich and a series of murders perpetrated by neo-Nazis. Rabbi Abraham Grunbaum, 70, was shot and killed on June 7, 2001 in the Agudas Achim synagogue in Switzerland. According to the…

Religious students from the Beit Yatir pre-military academy located in the Hevron Hills in Judea held a demonstration on Tuesday evening in support and solidarity with Israeli soldiers. The demonstration of support was held at the entrance to the base of the IDF’s Judea Brigade. The students, who were accompanied by the academy’s Dean, Rabbi Moshe…

Police suspect that arsonists attacked an unused mosque near downtown Jerusalem in the pre-dawn hours Wednesday. Investigators found slogans against Muslims and the words “price tag” spray-painted on the walls of the mosque on Strauss Street. Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire after receiving reports that smoke was seen pouring out of the mosque. Damage was limited,…

Iran’s supreme Muslim leader, Ali Khamenei, has ordered the arrest of several Revolutionary Guards, along with one of his sons, suspected of plotting to assassinate him, the Jordan-based Al Bawaba website reported. Sources said that some of Khamenei’s own bodyguards are among those suspected in the plot. Other prominent members of the Guards, Iran’s elite force…

Relatives of more than 14,000 Jews and others massacred by the Nazis in the Ukrainian city of Simferopol 70 years ago gathered Sunday to remember the horror. They observed a moment of silence, held a march and erected a monument in memory of the victims, as reported on the Arutz Sheva Russian site. The Nazi…

The National Conference on Jewish Affairs (NCJA), a coalition of Jewish leaders and heads of Jewish, pro-Israel, pro-America organizations in America and abroad, welcomed on Tuesday recent comments by Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich, who last week told The Jewish Channel that the claim of Palestinian Authority Arabs to be “a people” is not legitimate.…

Religious students from the Beit Yatir pre-military academy located in the Hevron Hills in Judea held a demonstration on Tuesday evening in support and solidarity with Israeli soldiers. The demonstration of support was held at the entrance to the base of the IDF’s Judea Brigade. The students, who were accompanied by the academy’s Dean, Rabbi Moshe…

A former top advisor to U.S. President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that there is still time to stop Iran’s nuclear program using economic and political pressure. Dennis Ross, Obama’s former Middle East advisor, said that the Obama administration is committed to preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear arms as a “vital national security interest,” according…

A key U.S. lawmaker denied on Tuesday Iran’s claims that its military brought down a U.S. drone last week, and said technical problems pulled the UAV from the sky and into Tehran’s hands. “I will say without hesitation that this is not something that anyone had anything to do with coming down with, other than…

Bahrain’s King Hamad on Tuesday charged Syria with training opposition figures and provocateurs in his tiny island kingdom. King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa told Britain’s Daily Telegraph, “We have evidence that a number of Bahrainis who oppose our government are being trained in Syria …. I have seen the files and we have notified the…

Israel is about to find itself in the thick of the fierce competition between Apple and the companies that make Android-platform smartphones – and specifically Samsung. According to a report in Calcalist, Apple is interested in spending between $400 and $500 million for Israeli startup Anobit, a maker of improved flash memory for cellphones and…

Iran is taking revenge on Israel with an “Attack on Tel Aviv” game for EA’s Battlefield 3 computer game that features U.S. soldiers in Tehran. Battlefield 3 has been a sensation worldwide – except in Iran, where the Ahmadinejad regime is not thrilled with the game’s setting in Tehran, where a U.S. military raid on Tehran is…

A hand grenade attack in the eastern Belgian city of Liege on Tuesday killed 4 and injured 64. A two-year-old child is reportedly fighting for life in hospital. Six of other victims are said to be gravely injured. Initial new reports said that around 12:30 local time a man lobbed several grenades at a bus…

The deputy commander of the IDF Southern Command said Tuesday a major incursion into Gaza is becoming inevitable. “I think we can’t avoid another confrontation; there’s a lot of weapons in the Gaza Strip, a lot of terror groups,” Col. Jonathan Bransky told reporters during a tour of the border area. The terrorists “try to…

  Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu instructed senior security officials to prepare an emergency plan to deal with settler violence against the IDF during an ’emergency session’ of the cabinet on Tuesday. The meeting was held the morning after a night raid by scores of angry youth on an IDF base in Samaria who were angry…

Iran is having a field day over the latest downed Drone, saying that President Barack Obama “begs to give him back his toy plane.” “Obama is hoping that the Iranian government is in a Christmas mood because he has asked Tehran to send him his Christmas preseIran Mocks Obama Who ‘Begged; for Dronent back,” chided…

UN human rights chief Navi Pillay told the Security Council on Monday that the death toll in Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s nine month crackdown on anti-regime protesters has surpassed 5,000. The figure represents a sharp increase over the 4 000 that she cited just 10 days ago. “Today I have reported that the figure exceeds…

Pakistani police rescued 45 brutalized students found chained in the basement during a raid late Monday on an Islamic seminary in the southern port city of Karachi. Officers also arrested two clerics at the Madrassa Zakarya in Karachi’s central Sohrab Goth area, but the head of the seminary managed to escape, police official Mukhtiar Khaskheli…

The Sentinel drone that was downed or malfunctioned over Iran has become a topic of political controversy. Former U.S. Vice President and Defense Secretary Dick Cheney attacked President Obama for failing to protect American technology that was part of the drone downed in Iran.  In an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett, Mr. Cheney said the drone, should never have been allowed…

Dozens of youths from Judea and Samaria entered an IDF base in Samaria late Monday night following rumors of an imminent destruction of a Jewish community. Several were arrested. Clashes broke out between soldiers and the protesters, who burned tires and damaged some military vehicles. Police reinforcements helped chase the youth from the base while…

An explosion ripped through a gas pipeline near the town of Rastan in the central Syrian province of Homs on Monday, according to a report by the Reuters news agency. An eyewitness told the news agency that flames had been seen rising from the site. It was the second reported blast at an energy pipeline…

On Monday, the exhibit “Revealing the Operation to Capture Eichmann”, which marks the 50th anniversary of the trial of Adolf Eichmann, opened in the Knesset. The exhibit presents documents from the State Archives and materials revealed by the Mossad for the first time regarding the operation to capture Eichmann in Argentina and bring him to…

The Palestinian Authority (PA) is making inroads into Israel by signing an exchange pact with Nazareth, an Israeli Arab city in the Galilee. The official PA website WAFA calls the pact “an important cooperation agreement [which] will strengthen the bonds of love and social ties between the cities of Ramallah and Nazareth.” WAFA’s report reveals…

Holland is reviewing its policy of funding the UNRWA agency for Arab ”refugees,” which treats them differently from other refugees. In reply to a question from Speaker of the legislature Hans Ten Broke, Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal said the government will “thoroughly review” its annual contribution of approximately $30 million, according to the European Jewish…

Although it has always been the policy of right leaning American Jewish Zionist groups to avoid criticizing Israeli government policy in public, it seems that recent actions by the Netanyahu government are beginning to erode that policy, already severely shaken by the Gush Katif disengagement during PM Ariel Sharon’s term of office. On Sunday morning,…

Middle East expert Professor Eyal Zisser warned on Monday against a possible Syrian attack on Israel, if President Bashar Assad feels threatened by the anti-regime protesters. In an interview with Arutz Sheva, Zisser said that in the short term there is no reason for particular concern, because a situation which is bad for Assad is…

The Central Bureau of Statistics released a population forecast on Monday which predicts a significant rise in Israel’s hareidi-religious population by the year 2059. The forecast was prepared at the request of the Finance Ministry’s Budget Division, which had sought a long-term forecast of Israel’s population for the coming fifty years. The forecast was divided…

America’s Voices in Israel is hosting this week a delegation of Hollywood celebrities. During the week-long visit, the delegation experiences Israel in a tailor-made tour that is both high impact and tailored to the group’s interests. The stars include mega-hit TV show “24” co-star Mary Lynn Rajskub; Greg Grunberg, co-star of the world wide TV…

An attempt by Palestinian Authority Arab teenagers to carry out a terrorist attack on Israeli citizens was foiled late Monday afternoon by Israeli soldiers and police. The three would-be terrorists were tracked down and arrested in the Samaria (Shomron) region, in an area between Beit Soreq and the Jewish town of Itamar. The teens were…

Hizbullah launched a furious media salvo at Military Appeals Court presiding Judge Alice Shabtini  for releasing four members of the Al-Alam family convicted of collaboration with Israel. “Some members of the Lebanese judiciary committed a dangerous precedent by releasing a group of hardcore Israeli agents who spent only a year and a few months [in…

Arab terrorists in Hamas-run Gaza resumed rocket attacks on Israel Monday evening, launching a short-range Qassam rocket at southern Israeli communities in the western Negev. The rocket exploded in an open field in the Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council district at about 8:15 p.m., triggering anxiety attacks in some people but causing no physical wounds. Those…

Publication of routine tenders for construction of 40 new homes approved last spring has been labeled a “provocative action” by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The minute expansion is seen as a drop in the bucket in the vibrant, popular city close to Jerusalem where numerous potential residents have been turned away, and even new immigrants have reconsidered their plans…

Government forces set out after dark Monday night to destroy five budding Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. Residents of the central Samaria outpost of Ramat Gilad received a message late in the evening that Israel Police officers and IDF soldiers were “on the way” to their location first. The residents told Arutz Sheva they…

Seven people, including foreign nationals, were killed, and more than a dozen wounded in another blast in Iran, this time at a steel plant. It is not known if the factory has any connection with Iran’s nuclear facilities, but Iran recently imported special steel from North Korea, possibly for use in missile engines or enrichment…

Bill Clinton might have freed Jonathan Pollard in 2000 if Jewish Senators had stood up for him, civil rights lawyer Prof. Alan Dershowitz said Monday. Asked about the matter at the annual Israel Business Forum on Monday, Dershowitz said Pollard has not been freed “because of Jewish senators.” The renowned lawyer and Harvard professor said…

A senior commander from Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said Sunday that his country will not return an American surveillance drone captured by Iranian armed forces. However, he also indicated willingness to reach a deal, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. In remarks broadcast on Iranian state television, General Hossein Salami said the violation…

Syrians went out to vote in municipal elections Monday despite the battles that raged in the streets between government troops and army defectors, and a feeling by some that in any case, the effort was useless. More than 17,000 seats on local councils across the country’s 14 provinces are up for grabs, but turnout was…

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood said Monday it will not “act unilaterally” when reviewing the 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty. The Brotherhood, set to control Egypt’s parliament following the current election cycle, ignited a political firestorm when it said it would reconsider peace with Israel. “A decision on such a national issue will be taken jointly by parliament,…

A Saudi woman was beheaded Monday after being convicted of practicing sorcery, which is banned in the ultra-conservative kingdom, the Interior Ministry said. Amina Bint Abdulhalim Nassar was executed in the northern province of Jawf for “practicing witchcraft and sorcery,” the ministry said in a statement carried by SPA state news agency. Bin Salim was…

Terrorists north of the border fired a Katyusha rocket at Israel late Sunday night but it failed to reach Israel and instead injured a Lebanese woman. The attack was staged from the area of Bint Jbil, where Hizbullah terrorists and the IDF fought a bloody battle in the Second Lebanon War in the summer of…

The opposition in Syria staged a general strike on Sunday in Damascus, the stronghold of President Bashar Assad, as battles raging throughout the country left at least 100 dead and scores wounded. The capital is the home of tens of thousands of government employees, who generally have been loyal to Assad during the nine-month Arab…

Activists for Neighborhood Watch, a group of nationalists headed by MK Dr. Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) and the chairman of the Our Land of Israel movement, Baruch Marzel, held a demonstration on Sunday evening at the Levinsky Park in Tel Aviv. The group was demonstrating against the massive infiltration of immigrants from Sudan. The infiltrators enter…

Turkish president Abdullah Gul on Sunday said Israel should take advantage of the changes in the Middle East to achieve peace with the Palestinian Authority and the entire Arab world, the Turkey-based Today’s Zaman reported. Speaking upon his return from Vienna, where he snubbed an official lunch on Friday because of the presence of Defense…

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Ron Prosor, spoke at a recent event of Maagalim, an organization that helps disadvantaged youths. During his talk, Prosor spoke about the challenges Israel currently faces, as well as about the difficulty of being an Israeli ambassador in the UN. “Coming to the United Nations you really feel sometimes…

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Sunday that the downfall of Syrian President Bashar Assad would be a “blessing to the Middle East.” In a speech at the World Policy Conference in Vienna, Barak predicted that the Assad regime will fall within weeks. “We are witnessing the last days of fighting between forces loyal to…

Russia launched two satellites on Sunday, one of them designed by Israel and carrying sophisticated communications systems. A Proton-M carrier rocket blasted off from the Kazakhstan space center carrying Russia’s Luch-5A spacecraft and the Amos-5 satellite. Israel’s satellite, which was manufactured in Russia, will join the satellite grouping of Amos-2 and Amos-3 to provide various…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu opened the weekly cabinet meeting Sunday with praise for Israel’s newest Nobel Prize laureate, chemist Prof. Dan Schechtman. Netanyahu pointed to the pattern on his tie and said: “Do you see this necktie?  These are Prof. Dan Shechtman’s quasi-crystals. Ten years ago, he discovered something that was apparently impossible, clung to…

Defense Minister Ehud Barak alluded to the 2005 Disengagement from Gaza Sunday as he warned that Israel would strike back at terrorists there. “Since Friday, about 36 missiles have been fired from Gaza at Israeli communities,” he said in a speech at the World Policy Conference in Vienna. “Israel will know how to defend itself…

Iran has discovered a vast new natural gas field in the depths of the Caspian Sea, its Petroleum Minister Rostam Qasemi announced Sunday. The news was posted on the Iranian Ministry of Petroleum’s news website, Shana. Qasemi told journalists at a news conference in Tehran the gas reserves were located at a depth of 700…

President Shimon Peres challenged presidents Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy Sunday to back up their vows not let Iran go nuclear. “I want to see actual results,” the Israeli president said. Speaking at the opening session of the annual Israel Business Conference, President Peres declared to a CNN reporter, “Iran is the center of all…

A slick little attempt by the Palestinian Authority to gain statehood recognition — at least on paper — in a listing at a United Nations convention on climate change was stymied over the weekend by the United States and Israel. Israeli envoys to the conference, held in Durban, South Africa, discovered upon their arrival that…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu declared war on illegal infiltrators at the weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday and said he will fly to Africa to discuss sending them back home. The Cabinet unanimously approved a government program to deal with the illegal immigrants, whose numbers have reached tens of thousands and present a clear and present danger…

Army defectors squared off against their former compatriots Sunday in one of the fiercest battles to wrack the country in Syria’s emerging civil war. Loyalist forces backed by tanks clashed with hundreds of army defectors in southern Syria, not far from the northern border of Jordan. The troops were mainly from the 12th Armored Brigade based…

The downing of an American stealth RQ-170 Sentinel drone last week has caused consternation in the United States, who didn’t believe Iran capable of such an electronic or other military attack. On Thursday, the Islamic Republic aired footage of the missing drone, which appeared to have suffered only minimal damage. Both current and former U.S.…

Israel’s new ambassador to Egypt is expected to depart for Cairo on Monday, the Foreign Ministry announced Saturday evening. But because no secure embassy building yet exists for Israel in the Egyptian capital, Yaakov Amitai will temporarily operate from his residence. Foreign Ministry officials said they have not yet found a new building in which…

Some of the participants in the 2011 Pan Arab Games, taking place in Qatar, were upset this weekend after discovering that a map showing “Palestine” presented its boundaries as only included Judea, Samaria and Gaza. The map was presented, along with the maps of other participating countries, at the opening ceremony of the games in…

The IDF retaliated once again for a barrage of rocket fire aimed at southern Israel overnight Saturday. According to a statement by the IDF Spokesman, IAF aircraft struck a weapons manufacturing site in northern Gaza. The statement said that the aircraft directly hit their targets and added that several secondary explosions were detected. All Israeli…

Gilad Shalit, who was freed in October after five and a half years in Hamas captivity, thanked on Saturday the many activists who had worked to secure his release. The Shalit family held a special thank you dinner for the activists in Kibbutz Shefayim in central Israel on Saturday evening. Gilad himself did not attend…

Israeli fighter pilots attacked terrorist targets in southern Gaza late Friday night in retalation for a barrage of rocket fire aimed at southern Israel earlier in the day. According to a statement from the IDF Spokesperson’s office, a terror-affiliated site in the southern part of Gaza was targeted, and a direct hit was confirmed. There was…

Terrorists resumed their rocket fire on southern Israeli communities early Saturday morning. Two Grad Katyusha rockets slammed into the Asheklon Coastal Region, both exploding in open areas of the district. Earlier in the morning, two short-range Qassam rockets were launched at the Eshkol Regional Council District at about 7:30 a.m. Both exploded on open fields, causing no…

In the biggest protests since the fall of the Soviet Union, some 50,000 people approached the Kremlin to protest the rule of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Demonstrators claimed in a rally Saturday that last Sunday’s parliamentary elections were rigged, and demanded a new poll be taken. The rally had been permitted by authorities, as long…

  Former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, currently mayor of Chicago, says the bond between the United States and Israel is “rock solid.” In a televised interview with journalist Dana Weiss on “Meet the Press” at the Saban Forum in Washington D.C. over the weekend, Emanuel was emphatic that President Barack Obama has…

GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich has gotten himself into hot water with the Arab world, and with the Palestinian Authority over an interview he gave to The Jewish Channel. Gingrich last week told the Jewish cable television station that the claim of Palestinian Authority Arabs to be “a people” is not legitimate, and that diplomatic…

The Washington Post castigated President Barack Obama in an editorial Friday for sending Iran “the wrong signals” in the showdown over its nuclear weapons program. “Iran has been showing signs of increasing nervousness about the possibility that its nuclear program will come under attack by Israel or the United States,” the editorial opined. “From the…

The rockets and missiles from Gaza continued to fly on Friday afternoon and early evening (Israel time), as it became clear that residents of southern Israel will have to spend their Sabbath in protected spaces and shelters. Shortly before 8:00 p.m. (Israel time), terrorists fired two Grad missiles from Gaza at the city of Ashdod.…

Jordan’s foreign minister warned Israel on Friday not to demolish the Mughrabi Bridge which links the Western Wall to the Temple Mount. Speaking in an interview on the Arabic-language Al-Rai network, Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said, “Jordan rejects any Israeli attempt to influence the holy sites in Jerusalem and the character and heritage of the…

The violence in Syria continued on Friday, and at least 30 people were killed in renewed anti-government protests across the country. According to a report by the BBC, the Syrian Local Co-ordination Committees (LCC) put Friday’s death toll at 35. At least 11 of the deaths were in and around the city of Homs, according…

A terrorist rocket struck Israel Friday morning, in the general area of Sderot. No one was hurt and no damage was caused. Arabs in terrorist controlled Gaza say that one person was killed and 20 were wounded in IDF air strikes overnight. The IDF reportedly struck three different targets, including Hamas training camps in Gaza.…

In a move that is sure to fuel the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the United Nations’ cultural agency plans to fly the PLO flag at its Paris headquarters next week. In a statement it released on Wednesday, the United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said it plans to raise the…

MK Aryeh Eldad said Thursday that Israel had failed to think outside the box in trying to bring home abducted soldier Gilad Shalit. He spoke at a conference hosted by the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center. “Israel had a problem in that it gave up on thinking outside the box, about ways of action that are neither…

The IDF detained on Thursday one of the prisoners who was released in exchange for Gilad Shalit, the “ministry of prisoners’ affairs” in the Palestinian Authority (PA) told the Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency. The ministry said soldiers detained Ayed Muhammad Khalil from the village of Qaffin in Samaria (Shomron) along with his brother and sister…

As it had promised to do, Iran presented on Thursday video footage of the U.S. drone it shot down earlier this week. The footage presents the UAV, with a commentator explaining that its length is seven meters and its height is 85 cm. He adds that it is equipped with highly advanced surveillance systems, electronic…

IAF aircraft struck two centers of terrorist activity in southern and northern Gaza overnight Thursday, according to a statement by the IDF Spokesperson. Direct hits were identified and all aircraft returned to their bases safely, the statement said. The air strikes came in response to the latest firing of rockets and missiles from Gaza towards…

Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich said on Thursday that if he is elected President, he would consider freeing Jonathan Pollard. In an interview with CNN, Gingrich said, “I’m prepared to say my bias is towards clemency and I would like to review it. He’s been in [prison] a very long time, but we’re pretty tough…

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood said Thursday it would shun a new council set up by Cairo’s caretaker junta to help oversee the drafting of a constitution. The popular Islamist group – backed by hard-line Salafi allies – said it feared the civilian body, which brings together politicians, presidential candidates and youth representatives, would usurp the authority…

Drawing yet another political line in the sand, former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri said Thursday that he “openly and proudly” supports the uprising of the Syrian people. Hariri’s declaration came one day after Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah repeated his support for the Syrian regime. “If Hizbullah openly supports the Syrian regime, we openly…

The rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel continues, and terrorists fired several Qassam rockets shortly before midnight (Israel time) on Thursday. The rockets exploded in open areas in the Ashkelon Coast Regional Council. There were no reports of physical injuries or damage. Prior to that, a Grad missile was launched from Gaza and exploded…

It was revealed Wednesday that French President Nicholas Sarkozy doesn’t necessarily think that Binyamin Netanyahu is an actual “liar,” even though he called the Prime Minister one last month. What Netanyahu did was perhaps worse – violating “French pride,” so Sarkozy said to members of the Jewish community when he met with them several weeks…

Hundreds of imprisoned Palestinian Authority terrorists are scheduled to be freed later this month in order to fulfill the second stage of the prisoner exchange deal with the Hamas terrorist rulers of Gaza. In the first stage of the deal, kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit was returned to Israel in exchange for 477 Hamas terrorists…

A new Knesset exhibition will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the verdict against Adolf Eichmann, who was instrumental in the planning and execution of Nazi Germany’s “final solution,” the direct result of which was the murder of over 6 million Jews during the Holocaust. Among the items to be displayed will be the infamous “glass…

A Home Front Command drill testing air raid sirens in the north on Thursday panicked students who were unaware the test was taking place. The practice has become routine as Home Front Command continues its efforts to prepare Israel’s citizens for whatever may soon come their way from surrounding Arab nations, as well as from…

In the latest instance of illegal Arab takeover of public lands in Jerusalem, observers and witnesses said that Arabs have begun moving to claim a national historic site – the Ophel Corner (Keren Ophel), along the southeast corner of the Temple Mount. The area around the Temple Mount is all considered a national historic and…

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman met with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday. After the meeting, Lieberman told reporters that Russia’s positions on the Middle East “were not helpful.” “Israel and Russia differ on a number of issues regarding relations between Israel and the Palestinians, and events in the Middle East,” Lieberman said.…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s plan for dealing with illegal work infiltrators will be submitted for Cabinet approval on Sunday, December 12. The plan, the details of which were revealed by Netanyahu’s office on Wednesday, is composed of several parallel stages: In the first stage, the Egypt-Eilat border fence will be completed, with 280 million shekels…

GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich promised Republican Jewish activists on Wednesday that, if elected President, he would move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The Washington Post reported that Gingrich also promised to use U.S. dollars to fund “every dissident group” in Iran and said he would appoint former UN Ambassador John Bolton,…

The Jerusalem municipality’s local planning committee approved on Wednesday a new housing complex in the Ras Al-Amud neighborhood in the eastern part of the city. According to report on Channel 10 News, the complex will be called Ma’aleh David and will contain 17 new residential units for new Jewish families. The report noted that the…

Mexico foiled an attempt by one of toppled Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi’s sons to smuggle himself and his family into the country, Mexican authorities said Wednesday. The Mexican government’s Secretary Alejandro Poire told AFP that intelligence officials uncovered an elaborate plan, at the height of pro-democracy protests in Libya, to bring Saadi Qaddafi and other relatives…

Syria’s Foreign Ministry is backpedaling fast after President Bashar al-Assad bluntly refused in American television interview to take responsibility for ordering his forces to crack down on anti-government protesters over the past nine months. According to the English-language Al Arabiya news service, Syria’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying, “A U.S. State Department spokesman has…

The leader of the Syrian National Council warned Iran against protecting President Bashar al-Assad – and accused Lebanon’s Hizbullah on Tuesday of letting down the Syrian opposition. Iran is “participating in suppressing the Syrian people” by backing Assad during a nine-month crackdown that has killed over 4,000 civilians and sent Syria spiraling into civil war,…

Americans can be thankful President Barack Obama never pursued a career as an investment banker. The Obama administration spent some $200 million backing liberal and pro-Western political parties in Egypt’s elections. But with 65 percent of the vote going to Islamist parties – including the Muslim Brotherhood – it looks like a poor investment. According…

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev called on Russian authorities Wednesday to annul the disputed results of Russia’s parliamentary elections and hold a new poll as anger grows over allegations of election fraud. Gorbachev told the Interfax news agency that “authorities must hold a fresh election or deal with a rising tide of discontent” following protests…

Home Front Defense Minister Matan Vilnai said on Tuesday that Israel is considering deploying the Iron Dome anti-missile system in the northern city of Haifa. Vilnai made the comments during a meeting with the CEO of Oil Refineries Limited, Pinchas Buchris, and company chairman Yossi Rosen. During the meeting, the three discussed the issue of…

The British Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned the Palestinian Authority’s diplomatic mission from using a map showing all of Israel as “Palestine. The “Discover Palestine” map showed Israel – from the Lebanese border to the Egyptian border – in the colors of the Palestinian Authority flag and included tourism links without referring to the…

Israeli-based Elbit System has won contracts worth nearly $60 million to help arm the U.S., Israel and Europe. The company, traded on the NASDAQ exchange, announced Wednesday that it will upgrade the IDF’s lightweight weapons arsenal. The $11 million contract involves weapons stations mounted on Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) and Armored Fighting Vehicles (AFVs). Elbit…

The Quartet continues to go through the motions of “peace talks” even though Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has publicly dismissed them as being irrelevant. Foreign media for years have adopted the U.S. State Department line of pushing Israel to make constant concessions to Abbas, but they recently have given up the ghost on the…

A female Palestinian Authority Arab terrorist failed in her mission Wednesday when she tried to attack an Israeli soldier on duty near Hevron in Judea. The terrorist, who tried to stab a Border Guard officer working at a checkpoint near the ancient Jewish city of Hevron, was stopped by other Israeli security forces and arrested…

The residents of Kiryat Arba have renewed the work of the local civilian patrol of area roads and are working to protect one another from terrorist attacks. Rabbi Shimon Ben-Zion, a resident of Kiryat Arba who is organizing the effort, said on Tuesday that the civilian patrol force, which was established after the murder of…

IAF aircraft attacked two terrorist cells in northern Gaza overnight Tuesday, foiling an attempt to launch rockets at IDF forces. A statement from the IDF Spokesperson said that in both cases, the terrorists had been engaged in final preparations for firing rockets at IDF forces. The statement said that direct targets were hit and all…

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is promising to bolster the United States’ ties with Israel if he becomes the Republican presidential nominee. According to a report on Tuesday by the Reuters news agency, Romney intends to promise Jewish Republicans that Israel will be his first foreign stop if he becomes the Republican presidential nominee and…

Defense Minister Ehud Barak and IDF chief of staff Benny Gantz stepped on a political landmine Tuesday when they were caught joking while female soldiers sang at a social event. Barak: “Who are these girls? From the battalion? The brigade? The division? Gantz: “They sing on breaks.” Barak: “There is Dana from the Minister’s office.…

Twin bomb attacks in Afghanistan killed at least 58 people at Shiite shrines and wounded at least 150 more on the Islamic observance of Ashura. According to the Kabul Press, the first blast tore through a crowd of worshippers at the entrance to a riverside shrine in central Kabul, where hundreds of  Shiite Muslims had…

Former chief of staff for Israel’s Prison Service Shlomo Twizer told Arutz Sheva on Tuesday that the entry of former President Moshe Katsav into prison on 7 December will be “a black day for Israel.” Twizer lamented, “Imagine the guards, who until a few years ago stood at attention in front of President Katsav when…

Future Movement Secretary-general Ahmad Hariri said Tuesday the March 14 coalition will challenge Hizbullah on the divisive issue of “false witnesses” in the case of the 2005 assassination of late Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. “The Future Movement and March 14 forces are ready to go with the so-called false witnesses’ file to the very end,”…

Saudi Arabia plans to obtain nuclear weapons, but its nuclear power will be only for “peaceful use,” a former intelligence official said Monday told a security conference on Monday. “Our efforts and those of the world have failed to convince Israel to abandon its weapons of mass destruction, as well as Iran… therefore it is…

IDF Spokesman Brigadier General Yoav Mordechai denied Tuesday morning that there has been a spike in the number of terror alerts regarding Israel’s southern border with Egypt. While the Ministry of Education reported that it had canceled planned field trips to the region due to increased tension, the IDF Spokesman said that on the contrary,…

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Monday that recent Syrian maneuvers that included missile launches were a sign that fear is gripping the regime of Bashar el-Assad. Barak, who was conducting a tour in the northern part of Israel, said: “We are here in the Golan Heights; right now it is quiet, but just a…

An evangelical Christian movie, released last year, leans on an interview with Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah and shows a picture of Jesus on the security wall. The “Little Town of Bethlehem” movie, financed by a U.S. Christian millionaire, links the Arab-Israeli struggle with the American civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s to show…

Hizbullah leader Nasrallah, who stays in hiding so Israel won’t target him, made a rare public appearance Tuesday and asked to be martyred. He showed up in public for the first in more than three years, in the southern suburbs of Beirut Tuesday at a mourning ceremony on Ashura, when Shiite Muslims mark the anniversary…

The IDF Civil Administration tore down structures near Givat Ze’ev, northwest of Jerusalem, on Tuesday. The structures were built by Arabs and served for commercial purposes. The demolition was carried out at the insistence of Regavim, a grassroots NGO that receives support from the Independent Israel Fund and struggles to preserve Israel’s land and national…

The Jerusalem District Court sentenced David Mizrachi of Kiryat Arba to three months’ community service for running over a terrorist who stabbed his wife. Mizrachi, 57, was convicted in June of serious assault as part of a plea bargain, and the sentence was handed down Tuesday. The incident took place at the gas station at…

Rifaat al-Assad, uncle of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, called on his nephew to step down in a recent interview on Al-Arabiya TV. The interview took place on December 2 and was translated and presented on the website of the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). During the interview, the former Syrian Vice President who was…

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have raised their operational readiness and are preparing for war, according to a report in the British Telegraph. The report indicated that an order from General Mohammed Ali Jaafari, the commander of the guards, has initiated preparations for potential external strikes and covert attacks. Western intelligence officials told the Telegraph that the…

The United States admitted on Monday that one of its drones is in Iranian possession. A senior U.S. military source told Fox News that the Lockheed Martin RQ-170 stealth unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which Iran said it downed on Sunday, likely “wandered” into Iranian air space after losing contact with its handlers. The source said…

Lebanon filed a complaint Monday against Israel at the United Nations for firing “missiles” into southern Lebanon on November 29. On November 29 the Abullah Azzam Shaheed Brigades fired four Katyusha rockets at communities in northern Israel, destroying a chicken coop and causing a fire when gas tanks were hit. IDF forces immediately responded by firing six…

Noam Shalit, father of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit who was recently released over five years in Hamas captivity, updated reporters on Monday about his son’s condition. “Gilad is fine,” Shalit told reporters. “He is in much better condition than when he was returned to us. He is recovering from surgery, going through physical therapy, and…

At least three firebombs were thrown at vehicles passing near the city of Shechem, north of the Jewish community of Yitzhar. No one was physically hurt in any of the attacks. IDF soldiers launched a search for the attackers. Firebomb attacks on Israeli motorists by Arab terrorists have become more frequent in recent months, as…

The huge explosion that destroyed a major missile-testing site near Tehran three weeks ago was “a major setback for Iran’s most advanced long-range missile program,” according to “current and former” US and Israeli intelligence officials and missile technology experts quoted by the New York Times Monday. The experts said surveillance photos showed that the Iranian…

Iran is trying to spread its international terrorist axis by luring Argentina to join Venezuela in a trans-Atlantic terror axis, diplomats told Reuters. The Latin American country’s links with Iran have been suspected ever since 1992, when Hizbullah claimed responsibility for killing 29 people in a bombing at the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires. Two…

Syria is showing its muscle Monday with war games, and Israeli Knesset Member Shaul Mofaz (Kadima), a former IDF Chief of Staff, said that the closer Syrian President Bashar Assad comes to his demise, the greater the threat to Israel. “There is a reasonable possibility that in the twilight window of his regime, Assad will…

A former Muslim Brotherhood leader spells out its ideology: Muslims “are masters of the world” and Jihad should be waged against the “thieving gangs of Zion,” according to a Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) translation of the book by Mustafa Mashur, “Jihad is the Way.” He was the official leader of the Muslim Brotherhood from 1996…

Intelligence officials have raised a major terror alert in southern Israel and warned all hikers to leave the area immediately. The order does not affect trips within the city of Eilat, which borders Egypt. All school tours in the area have been abruptly halted, and schoolchildren were bused outside of the south. Speculation was raised that…

A senior U.S. State Department official said Monday that “strong steps” need to be taken against Iran’s nuclear program urgently. The statement is arguably the toughest yet made by the Obama administration on the subject. “Iran is violating international obligations and norms. It is becoming a pariah state,” Robert Einhorn, the State Department senior adviser…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu decided on Sunday to hold the primaries in his Likud party earlier than scheduled, on January 31, 2012. Prior to announcing his decision, Netanyahu held telephone conversations with ministers from his party and informed them of the decision. The Likud primaries were to take place several months before the elections (which…

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did not only criticize what she claimed are Israel’s “anti-democratic” proposals in her address to the Saban Forum in Washington, but also criticized Israel’s foreign relations, Channel 10 reported on Sunday. According to the report, Clinton said in her remarks on Saturday that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu had been…

Syria said Sunday it is still negotiating with the Arab League over its request to send observers into the country, The Associated Press reported. A Foreign Ministry spokesman was quoted by AP as saying some headway had been made, but there was no official announcement on whether Syria would sign the agreement. Sunday was the…

Norway is suffering from an unprecedented wave of rapes that are largely being perpetrated by Muslim immigrants against local women, according to Yehuda Bello, an acclaimed Israeli blogger whose special interests include Norway. Bello, who understands Norwegian and has Norwegian contacts, reported that from January to late October, 48 rapes were confirmed to have been…

The IAF’s use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has increased dramatically in recent years, the IDF website reported Sunday. It quoted Lieutenant Colonel Amir Weiss, of the IAF’s UAV department, as saying that UAVs now conduct more than 50% of the Israel Air Force’s flight hours. Weiss spoke at the 2011 Aerospace Conference last week.…

The official Iranian news agency IRNA reported Sunday that national military forces have brought down a US Lockheed Martin RQ-170 stealth unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The aircraft sustained “little damage” and is in the possession of the Iranian military, IRNA reported. Iran’s Arabic-language Al Alam state television network quoted an unnamed source as saying the…

Attorneys for the convicted Arab murderer of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy say he is innocent and hope to set him free. William F. Pepper and Laurie Dusek have filed another in a series of countless such appeals, this one claiming that Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, an immigrant to the United States born in British Mandate Jerusalem…

Iran pulled out its “oil card” Sunday, warning the West that blockading Iranian crude will result in sky-high prices at the pump. Iranian Foreign Ministry official Ramin Mehmanparast told the reformist daily Sharq, “The oil price would soar to above $250 a barrel” if Western nations were to stop Iran’s oil-exporting capabilities through sanctions or…

In a further sign of deteriorating relations, Pakistan has ordered the US to leave a strategic airbase after 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed in a cross-border NATO air strike on two army posts. The U.S. was told to evacuate its personnel from the Shamsi air base, from where CIA drones reportedly fly missions against terrorist…

Tunisians are out in the streets for a fourth day of protests as a new constitution is being drafted for the nation. Although national elections have already been held, calm has not yet returned to the nation that ignited the “Arab Spring” across the Middle East. Former long-time President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled…

Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel approved the sale of a Dolphin-style military submarine U-boat to Israel last week on condition that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu unfreeze taxes collected for the Palestinian Authority, Die Welt reported Sunday. The Prime Minister ostensibly freed the taxes, which were frozen in retaliation for the PA’s unilateral bid for United Nations…

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad appears to be ignoring an ultimatum by his fellow Arab leaders, and what may have been their final attempt to toss out a life preserver before abandoning him to the fate of his late friend, Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi. Sunday was the deadline for Syria to agree to a final invitation…

An El Al plane nearly hit another plane on the ground in Zurich earlier this week – but miraculously was able to avoid the other plane. On the plane was Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin. According to reports, the pilots of both planes – one of them an El Al plane and the other a Swiss…

South Carolina Representative Alan Clemmons visited on Friday the community of Netzer, between Elazar and Alon Shvut. During the visit, Clemmons was given a tour by the leader of the Women in Green movement, who explained about local residents’ daily struggle to safeguard state lands from Arab encroachment. Clemmons, a Christian friend of Israel, is…

An Arab League ministerial committee has presented Damascus with yet another ultimatum to accept observers to monitor the unrest in the country, Al-Jazeera is reporting. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al-Thani announced the new deadline for Syria to avoid sanctions following a meeting in Doha on Saturday, to discuss the measures decided against…

Following its big win in the first round of parliamentary elections, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood is seeking to reassure Egyptians that it would not sacrifice personal freedoms in promoting Islamic law. Speaking to The Associated Press, the deputy head of the Brotherhood’s new political party, Essam el-Erian, said the group is not interested in imposing Islamic…

An Arab organization opposed to the Jewish presence in Jerusalem over the weekend proclaimed that Israel’s plans to expand the prayer area for women at the Kotel was “very dangerous.” The Islamic-Christian Council for Support of Al-Quds and the Holy Places, as the organization is known, said that Jews did not have a right to…

With his boss, U.S. President Barack H. Obama, doing poorly in the polls less than a year before the 2012 election, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta lashed out at Israel Friday, demanding that Israel “just get to the damn table” and negotiate with the PA. Ignoring Israel’s ongoing and constant appeals to Palestinian Authority chief…

The recent explosions in Iran – possibly affecting that country’s nuclear facilities, according to some reports – were not part of a “shadow war” against Iran’s nuclear program, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Saturday night. In an interview on Channel Two Saturday night, Barak said that “Iran’s nuclear program must be fought with all means…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu personally intervened over the weekend to halt an ad campaign aimed at Israeli yordim (former Israelis) living in the United States encouraging them to consider returning to Israel. The campaign was cancelled after Israelis living in the U.S. and American Jews complained that the campaign was “insulting and hurtful.” The campaign,…

Israel’s worst fears regarding its relationship with the Arab world – and with Egypt in particular – are coming true before its eyes, Middle East expert Dr. David Buk’i told Arutz 7 in an interview Saturday night. “The rise of the Islamists in Egypt means the end of the peace treaty with Egypt and the…

Millions of dollars have been deposited suspiciously into the bank accounts of 15 Kuwaiti MPs suspected of money laundering, Kuwait’s al Jarida newspaper reported on Wednesday. Kuwait’s central bank informed prosecutors that bank accounts held by the 15 lawmakers “have received suspicious deposits and the anti-money laundering law applies to them.” But the central bank…

An explosion was heard on Friday in the southern Lebanon towns of Srifa and Deir Kifa, the Beirut-based Daily Star reported. According to the report, there was conflicting information regarding the explosion, with some sources speculating that it was a result of a cluster bomb and others saying it may have been caused by an…

The United Nations’ human rights chief called on the international community to protect Syrian civilians on Friday, as violence surged across the country. The UN estimates that more than 4,000 people have been killed since the uprising in Syria began in the middle of March. The Associated Press reported on Friday that November was the…

The head of Egypt’s election commission announced on Friday that 62 percent of eligible voters took part in the initial round of Egypt’s first parliamentary elections since Hosni Mubarak’s ouster, The Associated Press reported. The head of the election commission, Abdel-Mooaez Ibrahim, who said the turnout was “the highest since the time of pharaohs,” did…