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According to reports in Israel’s Hebrew-language media, the IDF is expected to recommend Israel make ‘gestures’ to the Palestinian Authority in order to bolster its stature following last week’s deal with Hamas to free 1,027 terrorists for Gilad Shalit. The Shalit deal was widely hailed as a stunning victory for Gaza’s ruling Hamas terror organization,…

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was in Jerusalem on Sunday, where he inaugurated the city’s new Magen David Adom station. The station is named after Bloomberg’s father, the late William Henry Bloomberg. The new station was partly funded by Bloomberg’s personal fortune, along with generous donations of the American Friends of Magen David Adom…

An officer in an elite IDF unit  told Arutz Sheva on Sunday that he and other members of his unit are upset over deal to release Gilad Shalit. Last week, Israel released 477 terrorists in exchange for Shalit, who was held hostage for more than five years by the Hamas terrorist rulers of Gaza. Another 550 terrorists…

A failed suicide bomb terrorist, freed in the trade for Shalit, urges schoolchildren to succeed where she failed and become martyrs. Gaza Arabs jubilantly welcomed 26-year-old Wafa al-Biss along with other terrorists freed by Israel for the return of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit last week. Arutz Sheva has learned that unlike previous releases of terrorists,…

Hundreds of IDF officers have signed a petition protesting the use of petitions signed by officers like them for furthering political causes. The officers are angry at a recent document called “the Officers’ Letter” that features demands by IDF officers that the government act to release IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. In a democracy, the anti-petition…

Israel is ready to provide whatever assistance Turkey needs in light of a deadly earthquake that struck the country Sunday morning, President Shimon Peres has declared. “At this difficult time, the state of Israel is willing to give whatever is necessary, in any part of Turkey, at any time,” Peres told his Turkish counterpart Abdullah…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke on Sunday at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting. In his remarks, Netanyahu addressed last week’s return of Gilad Shalit, as well as the other challenges facing the Israeli Government today. “Last week, we brought Gilad Shalit, alive and well, back to the State of Israel,” Netanyahu said. “I…

A makeshift memorial to a young father and son murdered by Palestinian Authority terrorists was defaced overnight. The memorial was covered with Arabic writing, and with a picture of a terrorist recently set free in the Shalit deal. Israeli media outlets which have given significant coverage to recent Jewish “price tag” activity, particularly a terror…

Gaza continues to receive hundreds of tons of humanitarian goods via Israel’s land crossings each month — even as de facto Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh allocates thousands of dollars to pay rewards to freed terrorist murderers and grants them holidays at a luxury hotel. Despite indications from the United Nations that there is no…

The largest Jewish community in Samaria, Ariel, has a population of 20,000 – but this number increased by about 50% Sunday as 12,000 students from all over Israel began their studies for the fall and winter term at the Ariel University Center (AUC). The university center is very well known for its engineering, communications, and…

Egypt sees reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah as a “top priority,” Egyptian ambassador to the Palestinian Authority (PA) Yasser Othman said Sunday. Egypt brokered a deal between the rival groups, but its terms have yet to be carried out. Hamas calls openly to force all Jews to convert to Islam or be murdered; the group split…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu received a pleasant surprise at work on Sunday – a birthday party complete with a cake and candles. His wife and children appeared in his office for the festivities. The party, organized by Netanyahu’s staff, was also attended by several top ministers. Even political rivals took the time to stop in…

An Egyptian man has been jailed for three years with hard labor, for insulting Islam in posts made on his personal Facebook page. The verdict has caused concern among those who hoped that the ouster of president Hosni Mubarak earlier this year would lead to increased personal freedom. The prisoner was identified by the government-linked…

Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin is recommending that Israel not set into law its terms for negotiating with terrorists. The MK said Sunday that subjecting such terms to a law would limit the government’s ability to negotiate with terrorists. The government should be able to use its judgment in dealing with such issues, said Rivlin, who…

The nation whose “Jasmine Revolution” launched the Arab Spring in the Middle East is holding its first free national elections. The polls come less than a year after a desperate produce vendor torched himself in a marketplace as a last act of protest against a government that wouldn’t allow him to make a living. The…

Border Police foiled a possibly fatal terrorist attack at the Patriarchs’ Cave in Hevron Sunday morning and arrested the young knife-wielding attacker. The terrorist was carrying a 6-inch long knife and admitted he intended to stab Jews. Police confiscated the knife and arrested the youth for questioning. Four days ago, a Palestinian Authority woman tried…

“Many people” were killed in a powerful earthquake that struck eastern Turkey Sunday morning, according to a local mayor “There are so many dead. Several buildings have collapsed; there is too much destruction,” Ercis mayor Zulfikar Arapoglu told NTV television, the Associated Press reported. “We need urgent aid, we need medics,” he added. One person…

An IDF reservists’ group called “My Israel” is calling on soldiers to sign a petition not to participate in future terrorist swaps that would free murderers with blood on their hands. The move comes following the release of 477 terrorists, including many fulfilling exactly such criteria, as part of a prisoner exchange deal to free…

Former leader of the leftist Meretz Party and former Labor Deputy Justice Minister Yossi Beilin has called on Israel to immediately release arch-terrorist Marwan Barghouti. Barghouti is serving five life terms in an Israeli prison for his masterminding and  involvement in deadly terror attacks against Israelis. He was one of several arch-terrorists whom Prime MInister Netanyahu…

Police suspect that nearly 40 forest fires that broke out in the Galilee region over the weekend were intentionally started by Arab terrorists. One of the fires started on Friday afternoon on the outskirts of the towns of Ahihud and Yasur, east of Akko. Three local residents who suffered from smoke inhalation, as well as…

Meir Indor, head of the Almagor Terror Victims’ Association, called on Israel Security Agency (ISA) Chief Yoram Cohen to apologize to the family of the teen who was stabbed by an Arab terrorist on Shabbat. In a statement, Indor said that Israel’s deal with Hamas, which saw the release of 477 terrorists in exchange for…

Aharon Rabin, an eyewitness to the terrorist stabbing that left 17-year-old Yehuda Ne’emad bleeding on a street in the quiet Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramot on Sabbath afternoon, spoke with Arutz Sheva TV Saturday night about the incident. “I heard shouts,” he said. “The victim’s brother ran and told me that an Arab had stabbed his brother.…

When driving the suicide bomber to his murderous operation at the Sbarro pizza restaurant in Jerusalem on August 9, 2001, Ahlam Tamimi was deliberately selective. She targeted the popular eatery because it was frequented by “religious Jews,” she told an interviewer from the Center for Near East Policy Research, headed by investigative journalist David Bedein.…

Libya’s National Transitional Council is set to formally declare liberation on Sunday. The move comes in the wake of the death of former dictator Muammar Qaddafi, who was killed last week following a NATO air strike on a convoy leaving the strongman’s hometown of Sirte. The declaration of liberation officially will start the clock for…

A large force of IDF soldiers has entered the Palestinian Authority Arab village of Beit Iska, in Area B, to search for the terrorist who stabbed 17-year-old Jerusalem yeshiva student Yehuda Ne’emad at about 3:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon. Doctors at Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center who treated the teen on Saturday night told Arutz Sheva that…

Police arrested on Friday a 17-year-old on suspicion of involvement in the October 3 arson of the mosque in the Bedouin village of Tuba Zangriya. The suspect is reportedly denying any connection to the incident. Last week, the Petach Tikva Magistrates’ Court released one of the two suspects that had been previously arrested in the…

An 18-year-old boy was stabbed on Saturday afternoon by a terrorist in Jerusalem’s Ramot neighborhood. Medics from the Magen David Adom emergency rescue service treated the youth at the scene before rushing him to Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center in the capital city. The youth was stabbed twice, in the stomach and back. He is currently…

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz al Saud, 86, is dead. Abdulaziz, who also served as the Saudi defense minister, died Friday of colon cancer at New York Presbyterian Hospital. His death was announced Saturday on Saudi state television, with the funeral for the Crown Prince scheduled for Tuesday, according to the Saudi Press…

Israel Police and IDF soldiers have joined forces to hunt in the Arab village of Beit Iksa for the terrorist who stabbed 17-year-old Yehuda Ne’emad in Jerusalem’s Ramot neighborhood Saturday afternoon. A house-by-house search for the suspect was underway in the village, which is located barely a half kilometer from the Ramot neighborhood. It is believed…

In 1995, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote in his book “A Place in the Sun,” that the release of terrorists is “a mistake the Israeli government repeats time and time again.” “From the beginning,” he wrote, “I saw the Jibril deal [an earlier disproportionate swap that led to recidivist terror, ed.] a fatal blow to…

According to Bloodberg, A shuffle of the 15-member United Nations Security Council could impact Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ statehood bid at the world body. PA officials have said at least eight council members – Russia, China, Gabon, Nigeria, South Africa, Brazil, Lebanon and India – will vote “Yes.” Nine votes – including positive recommendations…

Calling the Palestinian Authority statehood bid at the United Nations a “travesty,” Texas Governor Rick Perry has called for the United States to reconsider funding the world body. The United States currently underwrites 22% of the United Nation’s annual budget, and 27% of its so-called peace keeping operations. “I think it’s time not only to…

Dozens of Arab citizens of Israel held a demonstration Thursday in which they called to kidnap IDF soldiers in order to free more of the terrorists in Israel’s prisons. The protest took place outside Sharon prison. The protesters waved PLO flags. Twelve were arrested after refusing to clear the area. Several Israeli Arab terrorists were…

The death of dictator Muammar Qaddafi was not intentional, leaders of Libya’s rebel movement have announced. Spokesmen for the National Transitional Council said Qaddafi was not assassinated, but rather caught in the crossfire between rebels and his loyalists. Earlier, the prime minister of Libya’s interim government said of Qaddafi’s death, “We have been waiting for…

Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is occasionally awake and responds to speech, his son Gilad claimed Thursday in an interview with the New York Times. “He looks at me and moves fingers when I ask him to,” Gilad said, “I am sure he hears me.” Gilad Sharon admitted that doctors said his father had no…

In August, police handed out administrative restraining orders against several men from Yitzhar, banishing them from their Shomron (Samaria) hometown. Now, more than two months later, one expellee tells Arutz Sheva that far from putting a stop to his activities, the order has just increased his work on behalf of Jewish settlement. After a difficult…

Days after the mass release of hundreds of terrorists in exchange for Gilad Shalit, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has released a surprise demand, and is calling on Israel to release 1,000 more. Abbas claims that former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert promised him that if Israel were to free Hamas terrorists in exchange for Shalit,…

“Don’t shoot, don’t shoot,” may have been fugitive Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi’s final words, Reuters reports. “Qaddafi’s body is with our unit in a car and we are taking the body to a secret place for security reasons,” Mohamed Abdel Kafi, a National Transitional Council official in the city of Misrata, told the wire service.…

Harvey Schwartz, Chair of the American Israeli Action Coalition, participated this week in the Jerusalem Conference for English speakers, which was held in the Jerusalem Great Synagogue. Schwartz discussed the case of a Jerusalem-born U.S. citizen who is asking to have the country Israel put on his passport. “As of now, the United States policy…

  Terror victims’ group Almagor demanded Thursday that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak immediately publish the conclusions of the Shamgar Committee, which was appointed to set rules for cases in which soldiers and/or civilian citizens are abducted by the enemy. Its conclusions have not yet been made public because the committee met after the…

Noam Shalit, father of Gilad Shalit, hinted Thursday evening in a news conference that his son had been abused during his captivity. “He underwent harsh things during his captivity and when the time comes we will elaborate,” said Shalit, who spoke to reporters at Mitzpe Hila, where the family lives.   “Gilad feels good overall,”…

The Hamas terror organization has decided to reward the terrorists who were released as part of the deal to release Gilad Shalit. Israel’s Channel 10 News reported on Wednesday that Hamas’ government in Gaza, headed by Ismail Haniyeh, has decided to reward each terrorist who will be freed to Gaza with a sum of $2,000.…

  Muckraking journalist Raviv Drucker said Wednesday the conduct of Israel’s media in terms of Gilad Shalit was a model of surrender to emotions – which has caused tangible damage to the nation. Drucker told Israel’s Hebrew-language Marker, “The media went bankrupt. It behaved emotionally, crazily and irrationally. This included Channel 10. It was psychosis.…

The eight day festival that consists of Sukkot and Shmini Atzeret/Simchat Torah comes to an end Thursday night, bringing an end to the holiday season and starting the regular year. In Israel, a popular expression is “Acharei Hachagim” – lets’ wait till after the holidays –  as the entire country seems to put off whatever it can from…

A female Palestinian Authority Arab terrorist tried to stab an Israeli at the Gush Etzion junction on Wednesday afternoon. Soldiers from the IDF’s Kfir Brigade who were on hand stopped the terrorist, captured and arrested her. No one was hurt in the incident. The attempted attack came just one day after Israel released 477 terrorist…

Israel’s General Security Services (GSS) said Wednesday they had yet to debrief Gilad Shalit on his five years in the hands of the Hamas terror organization, but were able to draw some conclusions about his captivity based on statements he made before returning home. Security officials say they believe Shalit was held in southern Gaza,…

A group of IDF physicians and psychologists arrived Wednesday morning at the Shalit home in Mitzpe Hila to further assess the condition of Gilad Shalit. On Tuesday doctors at the Tel Nof Air Force base in Rehovot had reported Shalit’s pallor was poor, that he had excessive weight-loss, persistent injuries, and moved with a limp.…

11 of the terrorists who were freed from Israeli prisons as part of the Gilad Shalit deal landed late Tuesday night in Turkey, Israel’s Channel 10 News reported. The terrorists were flown on a special plane from Cairo to Ankara, after Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu confirmed that Turkey will be accepting them. On Monday,…

Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons is suffering from production and engineering troubles, Fox News reported on Tuesday. Two new reports from the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) have found that output has slowed dramatically at Iran’s main nuclear facility in Natanz, where centrifuges required to make the enriched uranium needed for nuclear weapons…

The Hevron area town of Negohot continues to grow with a new neighborhood and synagogue. More than 1,000 people came out Sunday to an event celebrating the new projects. David Yeberbaum laid the cornerstone for the synagogue, which is to replace the temporary structures that have served as prayer halls until now. Yeberbaum is the…

Nearly ten years after his wife and three children were murdered in a terror attack in Itamar, Boaz Shabo said on Tuesday that he has mixed feelings over Gilad Shalit’s return from captivity. Shabo lost his wife and three of his seven children in a terrorist attack on June 20, 2002. A Palestinian Authority Arab…

Now that Gilad Shalit has returned home, he will need much assistance and support, an ex-POW told Arutz Sheva on Tuesday. Uri Shahak was an IDF pilot who was captured by the Syrians during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Today, he heads an organization named Erim Balaila (meaning Awake at night in Hebrew), which accompanies…

Haim Avraham, father of kidnapped soldier Benny Avraham, whose body was returned to Israel along with the bodies of fellow soldiers Adi Avitan and Omar Sawaid in a prisoner exchange with Hizbullah, said Tuesday that he shares the Shalit family’s joy. “I am delighted that Israel reached a decision to bring him home but sad…

Hamas terrorists in Gaza promised that there would be more kidnappings of IDF soldiers, given the success they realized by nabbing Gilad Shalit five years ago. Hamas held a huge rally in Gaza Tuesday night, with tens of thousands calling for the destruction of Israel and for freedom for all terrorists still in Israeli prisons.…

Beirut has released a detailed report implicating the Syrian Embassy, Hizbullah-linked members of its own Internal Security Forces, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in the kidnappings of Syrian opposition figures in Lebanon. According to Lebanon’s Daily Star, the report released publicly by Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi on Tuesday, was previously…

Israel was concerned Tuesday night that the United Nations would encourage terrorists who are supposed to remain outside Israel and Gaza to return to their families, after UN Human Rights Council head Navi Pillay said that requiring the terrorists to relocate from their original homes was against international law. Pillay said that the Council may…

When rumors that a deal that would Gilad Shalit home to Israel in exchange for over 1,000 terrorists turned into reality, Israel’s media outlets – along with several foreign ones – began jockeying for the rights to conduct the first interview with Gilad after he returned home. But they were all trumped by Egypt’s state-controlled…

The French Ambassador to Israel, Cristophe Bigot, met on Tuesday night with Gilad Shalit and his family. Bigot presented a letter to Shalit from French President Nicholas Sarkozy, whom the ambassador said was “overjoyed” at the release of Shalit, who is a dual Israeli-French citizen. In the letter, Sarkozy wrote to Shalit that he “saluted…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu welcomed Shalit back home from captivity Tuesday and vowed, “We will continue to fight terror. Every terrorist who returns to terror will have a price on his head.” He added, “Gilad has returned home and is back with his family, his people and his country,” the Prime Minister stated. After meeting…

Gilad Shalit briefly fainted on the helicopter to the Tel Nof Air Force base, but doctors said he can fly to his family home in northern Israel Tuesday. Outwardly, the soldier appeared well after suffering more than five years in the captivity of Gaza terrorists who kidnapped him, after killing two of his comrades in an…

The British Telegraph has been comparably favorable to Israel but a perusal of its extensive coverage on the ransom paid for Gilad Shalit to the Hamas should help to illustrate the international pitfalls generated by the Israeli government’s decision . One notion that will be hard to dispel is that if Israel could reach a…

Terrorist Amana Jawad Mona, described as an “Al Capone” who ruled over fellow inmates, chooses deportation out of fear of revenge in Gaza. She tempted an Israeli youth over the Internet to meet her, and the victim, was Ofir Rahum, was subsequently shot and killed. After her conviction and imprisonment, supposedly for life, she turned…

Gilad Shalit has spoken with his family for the first time since he was kidnapped at the same spot 1,941 days ago and has been flown by helicopter to the Kerem Shalom crossing, the first time he has been in Israeli territory since he was captured. Israel officials dressed him in an IDF uniform after he…

On December 31, 2000, terrorist Mustafa Muslimani murdered Binyamin and Talia Kahane. Today, he is free as part of the Shalit deal, but friends and supporters of Kahane have put a price on his head. Binyamin Kahane was the son of slain nationalist leader Rabbi Meir Kahane and a leader in his own right. He…

MK Prof. Aryeh Eldad (National Union) protested outside Ofer Prison Tuesday morning, where 16 terrorists were about to go free as part of the Shalit deal. “Everyone is busy talking about the helicopter that has taken off or landed and is reporting every movement being made [around the Shalit transfer] today,” he said, “but I…

Gilad Shalit told Egyptian media he was told a week ago he would be freed. “I was happy to hear it, but I was suspicious,” he said. “I waited years, but I believed I would find myself free.” He said the first thing he wants to do when he gets home is to “be with…

Hundreds of Palestinian Authority Arabs threw rocks at Israeli soldiers as terrorists were freed at the Betunia checkpoint. The IDF fired stun grenades, tear gas and smoke bombs to disperse the rioters. Most of the rioters carried Hamas and Islamic Jihad banners and arrived at the checkpoint to welcome approximately 100 terrorists and security prisoners…

On the eve of the terrorist prisoner exchange that will bring home kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, Arab terrorists are gaining confidence and becoming inspired to increase attacks on the road and in Israeli cities.  In at least two locations on Highway 60 in Judea, Palestinian Authority Arabs terrorists attacked Israeli travelers. At about 8:30…

Israel’s Supreme Court rejected on Monday evening the petitions that had been filed by families of terror victims against the exchange of 1,027 terrorists held by Israel in exchange for abducted soldier Gilad Shalit. The three judges, Dorit Beinisch, Hanan Meltzer, and Eliezer Rivlin, wrote in their ruling that the decision on questions of security…

The terrorists who held kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit for over five years will take center stage alongside Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal in Cairo when he greets the first 477 of 1,027 terrorists being traded for Shalit’s release. Some observers, who noted Israel only promised not to pursue the freed terrorists on condition they do not…

Six Israeli Arab terrorists will be the first to be freed by the prisoner swap deal for kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.  A total of 1,027 Palestinian Authority Arab prisoners, including hundreds of multiple murderers with Jewish blood on their hands, are to be freed in the deal. On Tuesday, an initial group of 477…

Qatar and Turkey have agreed to accept the Palestinian Authority Arab terrorists to be deported under the prisoner swap deal to free IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. Moussa Abu Marzouk, deputy politburo chief of the Hamas terrorist organization that held Shalit hostage since June 2006, praised Egypt for its part in mediating the deal. The Hamas official…

The trademark green Hamas flags flew over homes in Issawiya, located across the French Hill in Jerusalem this morning. Residents of Issawiya were asked to remove the flags, which apparently had been placed in connect to the Shalit prisoner exchange. A correspondent told Arutz Sheva that a complaint had been filed with the police regarding…

Palestinian Authority Arabs showed up at the Jewish village of Adei Ad on Monday to harvest olives – olives from trees that were planted and nurtured by local Jewish farmers. The PA group was accompanied by PA police, who stood watch as the harvesters gathered Adei Ad’s produce. Residents of Adei Ad explained that the…

Representatives of the bereaved families of terror victims met with President Shimon Peres on Monday to express their opposition to releasing the terrorists with blood on their hands in exchange for kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. The meeting with Peres comes at the families’ request. “The President is attentive and open to all citizens of Israel and…

Israel’s High Court of Justice is expected to issue a ruling on petitions filed by families of terror victims against the exchange of 1,027 security prisoners held by Israel in exchange for kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. The court heard arguments pertaining to the petitions on Monday afternoon. In addition to the petitions filed by bereaved…

Alleged spy Ilan Grapel may be exchanged for all 81 Egyptians held in Israel’s prisons as early as Tuedsay, Army radio reported on Monday. Egyptian security officials say the exchange could happen as early as Teusday at the Taba border crossing on the Israel-Egypt border. “I can only hope that, just as we released Gilad…

The murderer of Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) officer Noam Cohen will be released in the Gilad Shalit exchange deal. Cohen, a resident of the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood in Jerusalem, left his home to conduct a security operation with fellow officers in Ramallah on February 13, 1994. At least three terrorists opened fire with automatic…

Meir Schijveschuurder, who lost his parents and three of his siblings in the suicide bombing in the Sbarro restaurant in Jerusalem in 2001, appealed to the Supreme Court on Sunday in an attempt to prevent the release of Ahlam Tamimi, the female terrorist who drove the suicide bomber to the scene of the attack. Tamimi…

A group of family and friends of a Border Police officer currently serving a prison sentence for killing an Arab protested on Sunday evening outside the home of Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman. Dennis Alhazov was convicted in 2009 of killing an Arab in revenge for the 2002 killing by terrorists of the IDF’s Hevron Brigade…

The deal between Israel and Hamas for the release of Gilad Shalit has heightened the tensions between Hamas and Fatah, it was reported on Sunday. The Fatah movement, which is headed by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, is reportedly deeply disappointed with the treatment it received in the deal from Hamas, which conducted the negotiations with…

  The families of two terror victims have filed legal motions against the release of their loved ones’ murderers. The motions join the collective ones filed by terror victims’ groups against the Shalit deal. The Shorhsan family has filed a motion demanding that the terrorists who murdered Doron Shorshan of Kfar Darom remain behind bars.…

The mother of Kinneret Mandel, who was killed in a drive-by shooting attack at the Gush Etzion Junction on October 16, 2005, is demanding that Kinneret’s killers remain in the country.  Mandel submitted a damages claim to a Petah Tikva court this Monday morning against the three terrorists who murdered her daughter and are scheduled…

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov last week blamed US policies in the war on terror for aggravating the HIV/Aids problem in Russia and the West, Reuters reports. Lavrov made Russia’s persistent case for poppy crop eradication by US and NATO forces in Afghanistan at a conference on communicable diseases in the Eastern Europe and Central…

Orphans whose parents and sibling were murdered by terrorists say nobody called from the Justice Ministry this week to tell them the killers would be walking free in exchange for kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. “We got all our information from the internet,” Didi Dickstein told Arutz Sheva. The Dickstein children’s complaint follows similar allegations…

The family of Gilad Shalit responded Sunday to emergency lawsuits filed against the plan to release more than 1,000 terrorists, hundreds of them murderers, in exchange for their son. Parents Noam and Aviva called on the Supreme Court not to intervene. Even a temporary delay could be deadly, the parents argued through their attorney. “In…

The United States is conducting a week-long large-scale aerial exercise in Israel and Saudi Arabia as a navy fleet sails to the Mediterranean in preparation for any surprise flare-ups in the Middle East as Israel and frees 1,027 terrorists and security prisoners in exchange for kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. Intelligence officials have said that terrorist…

The parents of a teenage victim of the Sbarro Restaurant suicide bombing have launched a last-minute petition to convince the government to keep the terrorist in jail. Arnold and Frimet Roth lost their daughter Malki in the attack in the center of Jerusalem, where 15 others lost their lives and dozens of others were wounded.…

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon criticized Israel on Friday over reports it plans to build a new community at Givat HaMatos in southern Jerusalem, saying further Israeli construction was “unacceptable.” “The Secretary-General is deeply concerned at continued efforts to advance planning for new Israeli settlements in occupied East Jerusalem,” Ban’s office said in a statement. “Recent…

Arab foreign ministers are slated to discuss suspending Syria’s membership in the Arab League at an emergency meeting due to be held in Cairo on Sunday, Egypt’s semi-official newspaper Al Ahram reported. The report, quoting diplomatic sources, said ministers may also consider the possibility of recognizing the newly-formed opposition Syrian National Council. Sunday’s meeting is…

The first list of 477 terrorists to be freed Tuesday for kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit includes dozens serving 924 ”life sentences” for murdering or organizing the murder of Jews. The other terrorists were sentenced to a collective total of hundreds of years in jail, but all of them will see the light of day on…

Hamas sources Saturday evening said kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit will not be able to identify his captors because he never saw their faces during nearly six years in captivity. “His captors were careful to always be masked,” said the source. Hamas also claimed Shalit will not be able to identify the place where he held prisoner.…

Noam Shalit, father of captive soldier Gilad Shalit, says he has had no word from the government on what is happening with his son and will not rejoice until his son is on the steps of their home, Israel Radio reported. “I hope it will go smoothly,” Noam Shalit told reporters from the Hebrew-media who…

Arab policemen arrested two Jews, including a prominent spokesman in Samaria, for allegedly bowing down and praying on the Temple Mount Sunday morning. Shomron (Samaria) Liaison Spokesman David Ha’Ivri told Arutz Sheva, “We were in a group of 25 men performing the mitzvah of being seen on the Temple Mount during the Sukkot holiday. “Suddenly,…

The Israel Prison Service has published on its website the full list of terrorists who will be released as part of the deal made with Hamas to free kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. The list, which was published shortly after midnight (Israel time) includes 450 prisoners, 280 of which were given life sentences, and 27 female…

A commotion broke out on Saturday evening outside the home of Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman. The disturbance occurred when a group of nationalists demonstrated outside the house, calling for Jewish security prisoners to be released in place of the Arab terrorists that are to be released as part of the Shalit deal. The police dispersed…

Attorney Ami Palmor, Head of Pardons Department in the Justice Ministry, arrived at the President’s Residence Saturday evening and delivered the files concerning the terrorists that are to be pardoned in the first part of the Shalit deal. Peres will attach a letter to the pardons, as he did when he pardoned child-murderer Samir Kuntar…

The Ministry of Justice is set to publish the list of names of terror prisoners who will be released in the first part of the Shalit deal. Families of people murdered by the terrorists will have 48 hours to file motions against the release. The High Court is expected to reject the appeals, however. Among…

Hamas has made additional last minute demands of Israel in return for freeing abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. Analysts say the demands could imperil the deal or postpone its implementation. While Hamas kingpin Khaled Mashaal has boasted that all Palestinian Authority (PA) female terrorist prisoners will be freed, his organization appears to have discovered at…

Saudi Arabia on Thursday said it was ‘weighing its response’ to an Iranian plot to assassinate its ambassador in Washington, the Kingdom’s official SPA news agency reported. “The kingdom, for its part, is considering decisive measures and steps it would take in this regard to stop these criminal actions…” SPA quoted security sources as saying…

Hamas leaders are telling Arabic media that Israel agreed to release terrorists in exchange for Gilad Shalit without a commitment from the terrorist group to stop kidnapping soldiers. Israel tried to get a commitment, but agreed to go ahead without one, according to sources quoted by the pan-Arabic paper Al-Hayat. Hamas also claimed that they…

Hamas has published a partial list of terrorists who are expected to be released in exchange for kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. On the list are many who took part in previous kidnappings of Israeli civilians. One is Amana Mouna, who took part in the kidnapping and murder of 16-year-old Ofir Rachum. Others include Yahye…

Relatives of victims of terrorist attacks have filed an emergency lawsuit against the release of terrorists in exchange for kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. The suit was filed with the help of the Almagor organization for victims of terror. The government has agreed to release more than 1,000 terrorists in exchange for Shalit, including murderers…

Egyptian daily Al-Masri Al-Youm reported late Wednesday that Hamas handed captive IDF soldier Gilad Shalit over to Egypt pursuant to the deal brokered with Israel for his release. Egyptian officials reportedly told the newspaper Shalit was transferred to Egypt through the Rafiah crossing. According to eyewitnesses, Shalit was driven through the Rafah crossing in a black car that has not undergone any inspection – a common procedure used when moving senior Hamas officials.…

Active duty and reserve soldiers from elite counter-terrorism units who risked their lives during previous missions to capture terrorists submitted a petition to the Netanyahu government protesting the wholesale release of terrorists in exchange for the release of kidnapped Gilad Shalit after six years in Hamas captivity. The organizers write, “We, soldiers past and present,…

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday to congratulate him on his deal with Hamas for the release of Gilad Shalit. Clinton reportedly told Netanyahu the decision took “courage and leadership.” For his part Netanyahu thanked Clinton for her well-wishes and said that it was a difficult decision for…

Interior Minister Eli Yishai (Shas) is advocating the release of 12 Jewish security prisoners convicted of “terrorism related activities,” Arutz Sheva learned. Before the cabinet vote on Tuesday to approve the release of 1,027 terrorists for kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit, Shmuel Medad presented Yishai with a list of Jewish security prisoners currently held in Israeli…

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategic Affairs Moshe (Bogie) Ya’alon slammed the cabinet’s decision to release 1,027 terrorists in exchange for kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. “I am stunned because we are dealing with cases involving murder,” Yaalon told Channel 10 on Thursday.  “My heart says yes, but my head says no. In this discussion…

Palestinian Authority chief negotiator Saeb Erekat denied on Thursday that PA and Israeli representatives would meet in Jordan to discuss restarting peace talks on October 23. “It was said that there are meetings and calls for meetings in Jordan between an Israeli and a Palestinian delegation with the Quartet. This talk is not true. We…

  Comments made by Judea and Samaria brigade commander Nitzan Alon to the New York Times on Tuesday have raised the ire of Jewish residents who rely on him to ensure their lives. In a wide-ranging interview, Alon expressed concern over “increasing violence”  by radical Israeli settlers, colloquially called ‘price tag’ operations, which he called…

  Fatah leader Azzam al-Ahmad said Wednesday that impromptu talks with Hamas chief Khalid Mashaal in Cairo led him to believe “reconciliation talks” would begin “soon.” Al-Ahmad, who heads the Fatah delegation in talks with Hamas, told reporters after the meeting was arranged at the last minute as the officials happened to be in the…

More than a year after leaving their home and marching to Jerusalem to protest for their son’s return, Aviva and Noam Shalit, Gilad Shalit’s parents, returned to their home in Mitzpe Hila on Wednesday. Israel’s Channel 10 News reported that the Shalits were greeted by hundreds of people, but asked that everyone keep their cool…

In the wake of the deal to free kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, Egyptian media outlets reported on Wednesday that Ilan Grapel, the Israeli being held in Egypt on spying charges, will soon be released as well. Israel’s Channel 10 News cited a report in an Egyptian newspaper which said that based on understandings between…

A senior security official with the IDF, who was involved in the capture of many terrorists over the years, said on Wednesday that the deal to bring back Gilad Shalit is dangerous to Israel. “As part of the deal we will be releasing 1,000 murderers in exchange for one soldier who is very important and…

The deal between Israel and Hamas to release terrorists in exchange for Gilad Shalit will be implemented within 48 hours, the Cairo-based Al-Ahram newspaper reported on Wednesday. According to the report, which was unconfirmed elsewhere, the exchange will take place in Cairo or somewhere between Cairo and Berlin. A senior Egyptian security source told Al-Ahram…

The full list of terrorists that are to be released in exchange for kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is expected to be made public by Sunday. The Justice Ministry, led by Director General Dr. Guy Rotkopf, held a meeting on the issue on Wednesday afternoon. The Ministry said in a statement that the meeting dealt…

President Shimon Peres met on Wednesday with the Israeli team that led the negotiations to free Gilad Shalit, headed by David Meidan. During the meeting, Peres told the team, “I want to thank you on behalf of the entire nation for bringing an end to such a serious and sensitive time period for the State…

Vandals, apparently Arabs, scrawled ”death to Jews” on four synagogues in Tzfat (Safed) Tuesday night, the latest desecration of holy sites that has plagued Israel in recent weeks. Tzfat’s Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu told Arutz Sheva he expects Muslim clerics to denounce the desecration and hate messages, but no condemnation has been issued as of…

Columbian president Juan Manuel Santos on Tuesday rebuffed Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas who had travelled to Bogotá to secure support of his unilateral statehood bid at the United Nations. “We want the Palestinian state to exist. But this can only come as the result of a (UN) vote or resolution. It must be the…

The week-long Jewish festival of Sukkot, commemorating G-d’s protection of the Jews during their 40-year sojourn prior to entering the Promised Land, begins Wednesday evening. On this holiday, Jews build, eat, relax and many even sleep in temporary booth-type structures, sukkot, reminding them of their desert dwellings and of the Clouds of Glory that protected them during that…

The mother of a victim of the Sbarro bomb massacre, one of whose terrorists is to be freed, says, “This ongoing war is killing us.”  Malka Chana (Malki) Roth, 15, from Jerusalem and originally from Melbourne, was one of 15 people murdered in the bombing of the restaurant in the center of Jerusalem in August…

Israel Security Agency chief Yoram Cohen reluctantly told reporters the terms approved by the cabinet for the release of Gilad Shalit “is the best deal possible.” Under the first stage of the agreement – expected to take place next week – Israel will release 450 terrorists in exchange for the freedom of kidnapped soldier Gilad…

While specific details of the deal to release Gilad Shalit have not yet been released, the general terms of the deal Hamas demands have been known for years. Hamas has made no secret of the fact that it was demanding that Israel free a host of arch-terrorists that were involved in multiple terrorist attacks and serving life…

While activists who have been demanding freedom for kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit expressed joy at the prospect of Gilad’s returning home, another group of Israelis – the families of the victims of terror attacks undertaken by the terrorists who will be released in exchange for Shalit – expressed, in many cases, anger at the…

The Israeli cabinet voted late Tuesday night on the deal to release kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. The vote came following a stormy meeting. 26 ministers supported the deal with only three – Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Infrastructures Minister Uzi Landau, and Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya’alon – voting against the deal. As part of…

Khaled Meshaal, the head of Hamas’ political bureau in Damascus, said on Tuesday that the terrorists who will be released in the Gilad Shalit deal will “return to the struggle.” Meshaal said that as part of the deal with Israel, Hamas gave priority to the release of “heavy” prisoners, including ones from Judea and Samaria,…

International mediators have set October 23rd as the date for officials from Jerusalem and Ramallah to resume negotiations, the Associated Press reported Monday. The move, seen by many as putting the diplomatic cart before the real politick horse, comes as Palestinian Authority officials continue to insist Israel stop construction in the ‘disputed territories’ – Judea,…

Egypt, like Turkey, has shot itself in the foot, losing millions of dollars in tourism because of rabid anti-Israeli sentiment. In addition, the National Security Council Counter-Terrorism Bureau issued a severe warning against travel to the Sinai Peninsula as the Sukkot holiday approaches. The council called on all Israelis there now to leave at once…

The European Union has just received an in-your-face verdict from Kiev as a court convicted former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko of abusing her office when she signed a gas deal with the Russians in 2009. She has been sentenced to seven years and a fine of no less than 187 million dollars. The EU has…

A deal for the release of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit has been worked out with Hamas, reports in Israeli media and Arab satellite television station Al-Arabiya said Tuesday night. The government is meeting as this article is going to press, and government sources said that the deal is expected to be approved. Official details have…

Military prosecutors indicted four terrorists on Tuesday for the 23 March 2011 bus bombing in Jerusalem. Members of the cell recruited the terrorist who executed the attack, by leaving the explosive device in a bus station after noticing a gathering on the premises, walking away and detonating the device.  The IDF spokesperson’s office declined to…

A fraudulent vaccination campaign orchestrated by the CIA in its quest to find and kill Al Qaeda arch-terrorist Osama Bin Laden has undercut Western-backed Immunization drives against polio and other diseases. It has also put the Pakistani doctor who aided the CIA in carrying out the program in the Pakistani government’s crosshairs. According to the…

In an escalation of a trend that has left officials in Beirut on edge, Syrian forces crossed into Lebanon and shot dead a Syrian man in the eastern Bekaa Valley, security sources told Reuters on Friday. The sources said the shooting occurred Thursday as Syrian soldiers pursued dissident Ali Al Khatib near the village of…

The head of the Yesha Council, an umbrella group of settlement leaders in Judea and Samaria, is calling upon ministers and Knesset members to intervene immediately to prevent mass demolition of Jewish homes in the mountainous Israeli heartland. The alternative, he warns, “will throw us all into a whirlpool with unknown consequences.” Yesha Council Chairman…

“Joe the Plumber,” who covered rocket attacks on Israel for the conservative Pajamas Media outlet, now wants to be “Joe the Congressman.” Joe Wurzelbacher has filed with the Federal Election Commission to run as a Republican candidate in Ohio’s 9th Congressional District but told reporters he would not make a final decision until later this month.…

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad’s upcoming speech to a top US-Arab group may be a move to use the United States as a stage against Israel as he implies a ”one-state” solution in his recent “Berlin Wall” remark. The American Task Force on Palestine has invited Fayyad to speak later this month at a gala…

Pakistan’s Taliban movement intimated Monday it would consider peace talks with the US-backed Islamabad government, a local paper reported. “Our shura [council] will decide whether and when we can enter into talks with the government, with the military,” the Express Tribune quoted Maulvi Wali-ur-Rahman Mehsud, deputy leader of the Pakistani Taliban, as saying. “But I…

Senior members of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s government and dozens of Knesset Members – 38 in all – sent a letter to Netanyahu Tuesday demanding that he reverse his policy, according to which Jewish houses built on privately owned land in Judea and Samaria will be razed. The Supreme Court under President Dorit Beinisch determined…

Knesset House Committee Chairman MK Yariv Levin used unusually direct words to blast the Supreme Court, in an interview for the Our Land of Israel weekly brochure.  “It is no secret that the legal system and especially the Supreme Court have been taken over by a minority ultra-leftist group that tries to dictate its values…

Likud MK Haim Katz, Chairman of the Knesset’s Labor, Welfare and Health Committee and one of the strongest member of Likud in terms of political clout, toured Samaria Monday and came out roundly against the intention to demolish numerous Jewish homes after the holidays.   Katz is also the longtime chairman of the Israel Aerospace…

Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin told members of the European Union Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee Tuesday that the Oslo Accords proved that forcing an agreement on Israel and the Palestinian Authority is an illusion that won’t work. “There will not be peace if there is no security for Israel. Oslo proved it,” he said in his…

Jerusalem Police detectives arrested over the last 24 hours a group of Arabs who hurled rocks at Jews in Beit Hanina on Yom Kippur. Aryeh Orange, a resident of Pisgat Ze’ev, told Arutz Sheva Tuesday morning that the Jews were headed for a special minyan – prayer quorum – that they conduct annually on Yom…

Dissident Yemeni General Ali Mohsin Al Ahmar asserted on Sunday that embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh rigged the 2006 presidential election to stay in power, AFP reports. Al Ahmar said opposition candidate Faisal Bin Shamlan was the actual winner at a press conference. Al Ahmar, a central figure in Saleh’s regime before defecting with the…

The world may finally soon know exactly what most concerns the  United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency about Iranian nuclear development. The international atomic watchdog agency is expected to explain – in a detailed report – exactly why it believes Iran may be developing a nuclear weapon of mass destruction. The report is being prepared…

Syria’s crackdown on protesters across the country is continuing, but opposition activists are beginning to fight back. At least 31 people died Monday in clashes between protesters and Syrian soldiers. However, among the dead were 17 members of the Syrian army, as well as 14 civilian protesters, according to eyewitnesses quoted by human rights activists.…

A Lebanese strategic analyst close to Hizbullah warned on Monday the terror group will strike Israeli gas-exploration interests if Tel Aviv continues drilling in the Tamar and Leviathan gas fields. “In case the enemy steals Lebanon’s oil, Hezbollah will have the right to strike its oil installations and facilities,” Feisal Abdossater told Iran’s semi-official Fars…

Leaks regarding a secret legal memorandum on the targeted killing of Anwar Al Awaki shed light on the Obama administration’s decision to authorize the killing of a US citizen without trial, the New York Times reports. Al Awlawki, a radical muslim cleric born in the United States was hiding in Yemen when he was targeted…

The PLO reiterated Monday that Quartet for Middle East Peace spokesman Tony Blair was “unwelcome” in enclaves it administers via the Palestinian Authority. “Blair is unwelcome because he violated his mission as neutral envoy of an international committee that aims at achieving just peace in the region,” a PLO statement read. The Quartet appointed Blair, Britain’s former…

A resident of the Samaria Jewish community of Karnei Shomron was arrested Monday afternoon in what appears to be another case of incitement by Palestinian Authority Arabs. The Arabs entered the security zone of the community ostensibly to harvest their olives, under the protection of the IDF, but reportedly used the opportunity instead to attack…

An imprisoned Iranian student who “insulted” President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad received 74 lashes before being allowed to go free on Sunday after completing his 11-month sentence in prison.  The student, Peyman Aref, is majoring in political science at Tehran University. He was convicted on charges of spreading propaganda against the regime. Aref is not the first such…

The Palestinian Authority plans to use membership in the United Nations’ UNESCO cultural committee to lay claims to Jewish holy sites, PA ministers said Monday, speaking to Reuters. PA Minister of Culture Hamdan Taha said the PA would seek World Heritage status for several sites, beginning with Bethlehem. The PA has already had some success…

The average salary for state workers rose by 6.89% in 2010, according to a report submitted Monday by Finance Ministry wages director Ilan Levine. The average salary now stands at 13,630 shekels a month, compared to 12,752 in 2009. Levine submitted reports on salaries in the public sector and the security sector in 2010, and…

The Quartet for Middle East Peace is expected to invite negotiators from Israel and the Palestinian Authority to Brussels in the “coming days,” the Associated Press reported Sunday. After Sunday’s meeting Quartet spokesman Tony Blair told reporters, “We look forward to meeting with the parties shortly. This provides us with the opportunity to explore grounds…

The Hamas terrorist rulers of Gaza have issued new regulations for visitors who intend to visit the region. According to an announcement posted on a Hamas website late Sunday, beginning Tuesday foreigners must obtain a visa to enter the territory. Applications must be submitted via the Internet, or through a local sponsor at least one…

Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat says that following her request, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has instructed the Minister of Justice to find ways of setting up a legal team that will suggest means of giving a legal stamp of approval to Jewish outposts in Judea and Samaria. The team should be professional and made…

The IDF spokesperson’s office announced Monday that an explosive device detonated in northern Gaza, killing a terrorist who was trying to plant a bomb near the security fence separating Israel’s southern communities from Hamas-ruled Gaza. The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine’s military wing claimed the man killed was one of two members of…

MK Yariv Levin (Likud) announced on Sunday that he intends to submit a bill to the Knesset which will fight the planned demolitions of Jewish homes in places such as Givat Assaf and Beit El. Levin told Arutz Sheva that his bill would deal with issues of Arab landowners claiming that Jewish lands are theirs,…

Due to the onset of Yom Kippur, Mitt Romney’s Friday speech at the Citadel College – a military academy in South Carolina — did not receive the attention it merited. The Citadel is located in South Carolina, a key early primary state where Romney was given no chance. Now, with Rick Perry’s campaign in the doldrums, Romney…

A Kurdish activist from Iraq, who was formerly a prisoner in a Syrian jail, told journalists that he had apparently been in the same prison cell that once held Israeli hero Eli Cohen – and that he had seen a sort of last will and testament by Cohen scrawled on the wall of the cell.…

Official PA news agency WAFA earlier quoted a group called the National Campaign to Recover Bodies of Martyrs as saying that the remains would be transferred to the PA at a Qalqilia checkpoint.  Abu Zant, who was born in 1954 in the city of Shechem, was part of an armed DFLP terror group when he…

Security services estimate that about 2,000 Islamists based in Britain “are actively planning terrorist activity of some kind.” The warning comes as Britain begins preparations for next year’s 2012 Olympic Games, which has been described by intelligence agency MI5 as the biggest security operation in the country’s history. Six men from Birmingham were arrested two…

By destroying Jewish homes in Judea and Samaria, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is ultimately destroying the foundations of his own Likud party, MK Tzipi Hotovely, also of Likud, warned Sunday. Hotovely wrote a letter to Netanyahu reminding him that not all Likud lawmakers support the demolitions – and warning that further destruction could mean a…

The Arab Spring is turning into an Arab Winter for Israeli and Diaspora Jews. For the first time in recent history, Egypt has decided to completely bar Jews from visiting the tomb of Rabbi Yaakov Abuhatzeira, head of the dynasty that included Rabbi Yisrael Abuhatzeira, the famed “Baba Sali.” The decision, issued by regional ruler…

Iran has issued a warning to Turkey that its trade ties will be in jeopardy if Ankara does not change its policies towards Syria, Muslim secularism and the NATO anti-missile shield. The military adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini, Maj.-Gen. Yahya Rahim-Safavi, claimed in an interview on Saturday that Turkey will face trouble…

Itamar residents were shocked to see local arabs, some from the Awwad family that brutally murdered five members of the Fogel family, entering the confines of the communityf’s security zone barely half a year after the Friday night massacre. The PA village of Awarta’s residents were allowed in to harvest olives by Israeli Civil Administration but the Shomron (Samaria) Residents Committee reports…

Libyan rebels are launching their “final assault” on former dictator Muammar Qaddafi’s hometown of Sirte – but it’s not over yet. National Transitional Council loyalists are facing a fierce battle, said NTC head Mustafa Abdel-Jalil. He told reporters at a joint news conference in Tripoli late Saturday with visiting British Defense Secretary Liam Fox, and…

Damascus has ordered cuts in oil production as it begins to find it cannot export its crude due to economic sanctions by the United States and by the European Union.  Gulfsands Petroleum has told United Press International that it was ordered by the Syrian Oil Ministry last month to reduce its production. The reason given,…

Cairo is demanding that Israel free 81 Egyptian prisoners in exchange for the freedom of an American-Israeli student accused of “spying.” The demand was presented during the visit of U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who traveled to Cairo partly with the intention of bringing Ilan Grapel back with him to the U.S. with him following…

The Quartet on Sunday will discuss the negotiation deal it offered Israel and the Palestinian Authority last month, in light of the PA’s rejection of the proposal. The Quartet group, consisting of the United States and Russia, and a delegation from the EU and the UN, will discuss ways to push the PA to agree…

Preparations are now afoot for Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, which begins Wednesday evening. Two cemeteries in Yafo were vandalized on the eve of Yom Kippur – one Christian, the other Muslim. Graffiti said “death to Arabs” and “price tag.” There have been no arrests of suspects as of yet. Border crossings were closed on…

Attackers set fire to a synagogue in Yafo on Saturday night. The building suffered light damage. The attack came hours after reports of vandalism in local Christian and Muslim cemeteries. The vandals painted slogans including, “Price tag,” and “death to Arabs.” Also on Saturday evening, Arab residents of Yafo took to the streets to protest…

Palestinian Authority terrorists continued their attacks on innocent Jewish motorists over Yom Kippur, this time attacking a woman in labor and her husband as they rushed to the hospital. The husband, Ariel Goldman of Pnei Kedem, told Arutz Sheva that the two were lucky to escape with their lives. Their ordeal began near Har Homa…

The northern Shomron (Samaria) town of Homesh, destroyed in the 2005 “Disengagement,” continues to be rebuilt despite repeated efforts to shut it down. On Yom Kippur, the town was the site of prayer services that drew a wide variety of people from across the country. Among those present were rabbis, academics, and members of Galilee…

Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Friday warned Washington’s decision to suspend financial aid to the PA is detrimental to the peace process, the Associated Press reports. US lawmakers suspended a bloc of $200 million in aid to the PA in reaction to Abbas insistence at pursuing a unilateral bid for statehood at the United…

Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement –  holds a special poignancy and power. “Seek God when He is to be found,” the Prophet Isaiah (55:6) says and he can be found, the sages said, during the High Holydays. The evening and day of Yom Kippur are traditionally set aside for public and private petitions…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu praised on Thursday the Israel Security Agency (ISA), IDF and the police for capturing the terrorists who murdered Asher Palmer and his infant son Yonatan. “While one of our hands is outstretched in peace, our other hand will continue to protect the security of Israeli citizens,” Netanyahu said. The capture of…

Authorities in Egypt are concerned that riots may break out in Tahrir Square after the Friday prayers.  A group known as the “Egyptian Revolutionary Coalition” published a call Thursday to Egyptians to rally en masse at Tahrir Square in order “to express anger at the continued deterioration of the economic situation and the social exploitation,…

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Thursday his government would provide safe-haven for Syrian refugees fleeting unrest. “My approach to these refugees coming to Lebanon is purely humanitarian,” Mikati told AFP, estimating their number at 5,000. “We are assisting these people … providing them with medical assistance, schooling and shelter.” Mikati’s comments were in response…

It was cleared for publication on Thursday that the Israel Security Agency (ISA) and the IDF have arrested two Arab terrorists from the Halhoul area, north of Hevron, who admitted to having thrown the rock at the vehicle driven by Asher Palmer on September 23. The car overturned from the impact of the rock, killing…

According to the oft-controversial French magazine Le Canard Enchaîne, President Nicolas Sarkozy thinks the idea of a Jewish state is “silly.” “It is silly to talk about a Jewish state,” Sarkozy said in reference to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s assertion no true peace could be made until officials in Ramallah accepted Israel’s essential Jewish identity.…

The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on Thursday blasted Tehran for sowing instability by inciting Shiite minorities in predominantly Sunni countries, Gulf News reports. The statement is primarily seen as a reaction to to Monday night’s riots in Saudi Arabia’s Shiite-dominated eastern province of Qatif, where riots erupted in Awamiya city. During the riots 14…

Senior Iranian Army officials announced Thursday that Tehran is prepared to dispatch troops to crisis-stricken regions at the request of the UN to conduct peacekeeping missions. “Undertaking peacekeeping missions by the Iranian forces indicates the power and strength of Iran’s Armed Forces,” Iranian Army Ground Force Commander Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan told the semi-official…

In a four minute speech to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg, MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union) told delegates that they were not doing the PA, Israel, or the peace process a favor by accepting the PLO as, of all things, a “Partner in Democracy.” Speaking to delegates, Eldad said…

The death toll in Syria has risen to 2,900 since the start of the anti-government grassroots uprising seven months ago, the United Nations Human Rights office reports. The figures, which are solely based on the names of those whose deaths have been confirmed, do not include those who are unaccounted for, or those who have…

Minister of Strategic Affairs Moshe Ya’alon warned on Wednesday that the problem Israel has with infiltrators is “undoubtedly a social, national, and security time bomb which must be dealt with most urgently.” Channel 2 News reported that Ya’alon made the comments during a tour of the central bus station in southern Tel Aviv, where many…

Although its Security Council statehood bid is stalled, the Palestinian Authority is set to receive another important UN posting – membership in UNESCO, the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The UNESCO board voted Wednesday to put the PA’s prospective membership in the U.N. culture organization up for a vote at the next UNESCO General…

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday that the United Nations Education Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO) should re-think its plans to vote on allowing the Palestinian Authority full membership. Reuters reported that Clinton noted that such a move by UNESCO could cause the United States to cut funds for the organization. Speaking…

U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden has reportedly agreed to meet with a “small group” of American Jewish leaders about the case of Jonathan Pollard. Last month Biden met with a group of 15 rabbis in Florida, and told them that although President Barack Obama had considered the possibility of granting clemency to Pollard, he personally…

A top Hamas terrorist on Wednesday threatened to carry out terror attacks in the heart of Israel’s biggest population centers in order to force Israel to release thousands of terrorists in Israeli prisons. Halil al-Hiya said that “the time has come to strike at the heart of the enemy’s territory so that our prisoners do…

Arabs have once again desecrated the Tomb of Joseph in Shechem, daubing the structure with anti-Israel and anti-Semitic graffiti, swastikas, and other symbols of hatred. Shocked visitors to the site said that it was simply an act of barbarism, that clearly showed what the fate of Jews would be if the Arabs ever do wrest…

Officials in Ramallah on Tuesday tacitly admitted their claims the Palestinian Authority would provide a solvent state for residents in its enclaves without US aid or Israeli cooperation were false. With international donors reneging on aid pledges the cash-strapped PA has been unable to pay its salaries and bills, a situation now acute amid repercussions…

Is Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas a Zionist quisling? Senior Iranian legislator Seyed Mohammad Javad Abtahi said Wednesday the answer was “yes” when he accused Abbas of advancing “Israel’s plots” to disintigrate the PA and undermine the so-called ‘Arab Spring.’ “The game Abbas has started is a part of Israelis’ plots to curb Intifada and…

The Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, USA, has put on display a rare letter signed by Adolf Hitler in 1919 that calls for the “removal of the Jews.”.

More than 10,000 people accompanied Rabbi Hanan Porat, 67, to his final resting place Wednesday, after his death Tuesday following a long struggle with cancer. The MK, who served nearly 20 years as a lawmaker, was described by Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin as “a teacher and rabbi, visionary and activist, poet and warrior” in his…

The Palestinian Authority is losing no time is pushing its agenda of gaining diplomatic ground as a full member in as many United Nations committees and agencies as possible, in the context of gaining statehood via the international body, rather than negotiations with Israel. Three diplomats speaking on condition of anonymity told the Associated Press…

A senior Fatah official and confidant of Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas called Wednesday for Tony Blair to be replaced as international Middle East envoy. Mohammed Shtayyeh, a Fatah Central Committee member, told Voice of Palestine radio that Blair was “no longer trusted to be an impartial mediator” and was of “no use at all.”…

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that Israel is a “threat” to the Mideast because it possesses nuclear weapons, AFP reports. “I right now see Israel as a threat for its region, because it has the atomic bomb,” Erdogan said in a foreign policy speech during an official visit to South Africa. He…

The prosecution does not plan on asking for a death sentence for Amjad Awad, who pleaded guilty on Tuesday to the horrific murders of five members of the Fogel family in Itamar last March. According to a report on Israel’s Channel 10 News, the military prosecution and the defense have reached an agreement, according to…

Jewish Home chairman MK Rabbi Prof. Daniel Hershkowitz visited the Binyamin hilltop community of Givat Assaf, which is under threat of an expulsion. Joining Hershkowitz on the tour was National Union chairman MK Yaakov “Ketzaleh” Katz. The two met local residents who told them that since the decision to demolish homes in Givat Assaf is…

Mainstream Arab violence is escalating in Israel. Two young Arab Israeli men from the Lower Galilee town of Kfar Yafia, a suburb of Nazareth allegedly opened fire at police Wednesday during an early morning chase. They allegedly attacked after police saw them firing in the air, and ordered them to stop. Police returned fire, and arrested…

Palestinian Officials in Ramallah blasted Tuesday a decision by US lawmakers to freeze a bloc of $200 million in aid to their fiscally teetering apparatus. The officials’ angry rhetoric came amid a hail of shoes and anti-American slogans on the streets of Ramallah by demonstrators who wished to vent their fury on American diplomats visiting…

The “Arab Spring” may yet yield a winter of discontent, says Mohammed el-Baradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and current candidate for the presidency of Egypt. Speaking Monday, El-Baradei said that the country could go bankrupt by next March, unless something was done to stop the flow of foreign currency…

Iran’s Fars news service quoted what it said was a conversation between Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, in which Assad threatened to “shower Israel with rockets” if NATO or the U.S. attacks Syria. The conversation, says the report, took place in recent days. According to the report, Assad told Davutoglu…

Iranians who fled their country after converting to Christianity have received death threats in their new homes overseas, according to the religious rights group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW). At least eleven Iranian Christians reported receiving emails in September calling on them to “repent and ask forgiveness from the presence of the Hidden Imam,” and warning…

European nations are calling for a vote on a UN resolution that would consider sanctions against Syria if President Bashar Assad’s government does not immediately halt its military crackdown against civilians. Diplomats told The Associated Press on Monday that it was unclear whether Russia, which opposes even mentioning the possibility of sanctions against Assad’s regime,…

Nobel Peace Prizes have lately been awarded with a view to providing encouragement rather than necessarily recognizing something accomplished. Although the Arab Spring is a work in the making it is a favorite topic in Norway that awards the prize. Social Democratic Party politician and Nobel Committee chairman, Thorbjoern Jagland, said last week that ”it…

Amjad Awad on Tuesday pleaded guilty to the horrific slaying of five members of the Fogel family in Itamar on March 11. Amjad, 19, who perpetrated the mass murder with his cousin, Hakim, is said by IDF prosecutors to have been the mastermind behind the attack. Together the cousins broke into the Fogel home and…

The Jewish community of Shvut Rachel, located 30 miles north of Jerusalem, will reportedly receive final state approval. The State told the High Court of Justice in a brief that the 15-year-old community is nearing completion of the process to regulate its zoning status and construction. The brief was filed in response to a March 2011…

After Sunday’s report that Egypt is set to release dual U.S.-Israeli citizen Ilan Grapel after nearly four months, another report released on Monday sheds some more light on the deal that was reached to secure his release. According to the Israeli Ma’ariv newspaper, Israel has agreed to release 25 Egyptian security prisoners currently serving sentences…

The Obama administration is lobbying Congress to unblock $200 million in aid for the Palestinian Authority that was frozen because of its statehood bid in the United Nations, Reuters reported on Monday. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland was quoted as having said that the administration was in “intensive” discussions with key lawmakers who had put…

The Palestinian Authority’s minister for prisoner affairs said on Monday that hundreds of PA Arabs in Israeli jails have joined a hunger strike to protest against worsening their prison conditions, which have been described as a “summer camp” by irate Israelis. In contrast, kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit has been held incommunicado by Hamas for more than…

Former IDF soldiers may find themselves called back to duty more frequently this year as the IDF responds to growing terrorist threats from Sinai. Following the deadly attacks near Eilat several weeks ago, in which Gaza terrorists infiltrated Israel through Sinai, the IDF has decided to station many more soldiers along the 230-kilometer/150-mile Egyptian border.…

The United States has imposed additional sanctions on Syria after a particularly violent weekend. The Treasury Department announced Monday that it will prohibit American companies from selling telecommunications equipment to the Syrian government, but not to all private firms. The sanctions include sales of telecom equipment or technology, including “satellite or terrestrial network connectivity.” The order,…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met on Monday with United States Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta in Jerusalem. Netanyahu thanked Panetta for coming to Jerusalem and told him, “You’re coming to the Middle East at a time when it’s undergoing a tremendous convulsion. Probably nothing on this scale happened since the end of World War I,…

Egypt, which currently provides about 40 percent of Israel’s natural gas through its Sinai Peninsula pipeline, has reportedly agreed to halt sales to the Jewish State during a conference in Tehran, according to the Iranian FARS news agency. So has Qatar, which in the past has expressed its willingness to sell gas to Israel if…

A telecom employee arrested last year for allegedly being part of a network of Israeli spies in Lebanon began a hunger strike on Monday to protest his continued incarceration. Tareq Rabaa, a former technician at Alfa – one of Lebanon’s two cellular operators – was arrested in July 2010, on suspicion of collaborating with another…

An Iraqi poet who converted from Islam to Christianity, and who expressed pain over the loss of six million Jews in the Nazi Holocaust, has paid the price for his beliefs. Over a month has passed since Alaa Alsaegh was attacked over his Arabic-language poem, “Tears at the Heart of the Holocaust,”featured on the “Arabs…

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned Sunday that Israel is becoming increasingly isolated in the Middle East, The Associated Press reported. Panetta added Israel must restart negotiations with the Palestinian Authority and work to restore relations with Egypt and Turkey. Panetta made the comments as he was traveling to Israel, saying the ongoing upheaval in…

The chairman of the community administration in Jerusalem’s Gilo neighborhood, Moshe Ben Shushan, expressed his disbelief on Sunday over the worldwide condemnation of the Israeli decision to build 1,100 new homes in his neighborhood. “It makes all the residents here angry that the world intervenes,” Ben Shushan told Arutz Sheva. “I do not know of any…

After an apparent arson attack on a mosque in the Bedouin Arab village of Tuba, about 300 people began marching from Tuba toward Rosh Pina Monday morning. They have been throwing rocks at police and burning tires. Police reportedly had pushed them back into the village by 9:00 a.m.. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu called the…

Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon reacted Sunday to the statement by a senior Fatah man that exposes the organization’s plan to destroy Israel in stages, while pretending to seek a peaceful compromise.  “As I have said on many occasions,” said Ayalon, “here is further proof that the conflict is not about territory. The Palestinians have…

When addressing the United Nations, Palestinian Authority (PA) representatives speak of the 1967 “borders” – a reference not to  borders recognized internationally in 1967, but to their hope to build an Arab state on all land east of the indefensible 1949 armistice line between Israel and Jordan. However, maps used within the PA tell a different…

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad laid blame for the untimely deaths of top Iranian nuclear scientists directly at Israel’s doorstep Sunday. Ahmadinejad said after the death of a scientist last year that the killers had used “Zionist methods” but the latest statement, accusing Israel of “conducting terror against our nuclear scientists,” named Israel more explicitly. In…

Egyptian officials are expressing fears that Israel may seize control over the Sinai Peninsula. The warning came from Egyptian Ambassador Yasser Othman, Cairo’s representative to Ramallah, who told the Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency that recent remarks by Jerusalem officials indicate “the presence of an Israeli plan aimed at controlling the Sinai.” Othman added, “We should…

A senior member of the Fatah Central Committee led by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in an interview referred to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and U.S. President Barack Obama, as “dirtbags,” and explained how causing Israel to leave Judea and Samaria would spell its doom. Abbas Zaki told the interviewer that any final status…

Britain may compensate Israeli hate preacher Sheikh Raed Salah due to immigration officers’ failure to immediately translate a deportation order into Arabic for him. Salah was detained in Britain after violating an order prohibiting his entrance to the country. The reason for his detention was explained in Arabic only 34 hours after his arrest. Salah…

Evidence is growing that U.S. President Joseph Biden deliberately “took the hit” in a political move for his boss, President Barack Obama, last week over the painful issue of freedom for long-time imprisoned Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard. Obama’s unwillingness to grant clemency to Pollard, long a sore point for the American Jewish community,  was one that Israeli…

Egypt is back to “business as usual” with the Islamic majority harassing and attacking its Christian minority. A group of Muslims burnt down part of a church Friday – the Islamic Sabbath – in the village of Marinab, according to a report published in the daily Al Masry Al Youm. The village, situated close to the…

Egypt has agreed to release dual U.S.-Israeli citizen Ilan Grapel on Tuesday, according to a report published in the London-based pan-Arabic daily newspaper Al-Hayat. After nearly four months, Egyptian sources quoted in the report said authorities decided that Grapel did not spy for Israel or the U.S. Grapel, 27, was arrested nearly four months on charges…

The State of Israel on Sunday officially accepted a plan by the Quartet of peacekeeping nations to restart final status talks with the Palestinian Authority. The Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement issued Sunday that Israel “welcomes the Quartet’s call for direct negotiations between the parties without preconditions, as called for by both President…

U.S. President Barack Obama was set to release Jonathan Pollard but his vice president thwarted the move, The New York Times has reported. According to the report, Vice President Joe Biden met last week with 15 rabbis in Boca Raton, Florida, when he was asked by one of them why Pollard, who was convicted in…

An official Egyptian news agency has reported that the country’s temporary government is considering releasing Ilan Grapel, a young American-Israeli man detained for months and accused of spying for Israel. The MENA news agency said the move was being considered following United States intervention. The Obama administration has indicated that it will increase its political…

The IDF successfully hit a Gaza terrorist cell on Saturday night as the cell prepared to launch rockets at southern Israel. Reports from Gaza stated that the incident took place near Beit Hanun. Gaza sources stated that three terrorists were wounded in the incident. At least one is in serious condition. IDF sources said the…

By Associated Press TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s supreme leader assailed a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians on Saturday, saying the Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations is doomed to fail. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the Palestinians should not limit themselves to seeking a country within the West Bank, east Jerusalem and…

By DPA A senior aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday said that former British premier and current Mideast Quartet representative Tony Blair was “useless.” “Lately, he (Blair) talks like an Israeli diplomat, selling their policies,” Nabil Shaath told reporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah. “Therefore, he is useless to us.” Shaath…

Speaking at the retirement ceremony of Adm. Mike Mullen, President Barack Obama said Friday that the killing of American born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen is a major blow to al-Qaida.

(AP) RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Palestinians can’t resume negotiations with Israel under current conditions and will pursue their bid to win U.N. recognition, a top Palestinian official said Thursday, after President Mahmoud Abbas and senior officials reviewed the latest appeal from Mideast mediators to restart talks and reach a deal within a year. Last…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu rejected on Wednesday the condemnations of Israel over the decision to build 1,100 new housing units in Jerusalem’s Gilo neighborhood. “Gilo isn’t a settlement, but a Jerusalem neighborhood, 5 minutes away from the city center,” Netanyahu posted on his Twitter account. “All Israeli governments have built there.” The plan, which was…

Thousands of Palestinian Authority terrorists in Israeli jails launched a hunger strike on Wednesday, AFP reported. The French news agency quoted the PA’s minister for prisoners, Issa Qaraqa, as having told reporters in Ramallah, “I can confirm that all the prisoners in Israeli prisons have begun a three-day hunger strike, which could be increased, as…

Israel’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Strategic Affairs, Moshe Ya’alon, gave a special interview to Arutz Sheva on Wednesday for Rosh Hashanah. During the interview Ya’alon summed up last week’s events in the United Nations and said that Israel should not conduct negotiations with the Palestinian Authority as long as its current leadership remains…

More than a third of Egyptians support the extreme Muslim Brotherhood movement, according to a new survey conducted by the Egyptian government’s media and decision-making support center. The survey, the results of which were reported by the pan-Arab daily A-Sharq Al-Awsat on Wednesday, revealed that 35% of citizens support the Muslim Brotherhood while only 21%…

MK Yaakov “Ketzaleh” Katz (National Union) responded on Wednesday to the reports that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has agreed to the Quartet’s proposal for renewed talks with the Palestinian Authority. “There is actually one advantage to the fact that Prime Minister Netanyahu tends to adopt the Quartet’s position of a withdrawal to 1949 armistice lines…

The Palestinian Authority’s request for statehood at the United Nations moved to the next level on Wednesday, after the UN Security Council unanimously approved to transfer the request to a sub-committee for further examination. According to a report on Israel’s Channel 10 News, the sub-committee will be made up of representatives from the 15 members…