Category: News

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu sent a letter of condolence on Tuesday evening to French President Francois Hollande, following the crash of the Germanwings Airbus A320 airliner in the French Alps, in which all 150 persons on board died. Netanyahu also spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy following the terrible…

The Palestinian Authority is far more confident than it was just a few short weeks ago about its diplomatic offensive. With tensions at a purportedly unprecedented level between Jerusalem and Washington, Mahmoud Abbas might think he will get a silent or even overt go-ahead from the United States to pursue its recognition campaign. But the…

Just a week before Pesach, 110 new olim from Ukraine arrived at Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport Tuesday morning to start their new lives in the Jewish state. The majority of the arrivals are refugees who fled deadly clashes in eastern Ukraine between government forces and pro-Russian separatists. Among them is the husband of the late Irina Shelkayeba, who…

An anonymous attacker hurled a Molotov cocktail from a window in the Har Nof neighborhood of Jerusalem at a support rally for Yachad – Ha’am Itanu chairperson Eli Yishai on Tuesday night, which took place outside Yishai’s home in the western neighborhood of the capital. Fortunately there were no wounds or damage inflicted by the firebomb…

US President Barack Obama said Tuesday that his disagreement with Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu over how to pursue a Middle East peace deal was substantive, not personal. “I have a very business-like relationship with the prime minister,” Obama told reporters at a joint White House news conference with Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani. “He’s representing his…

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) was forced to apologize on Tuesday, after attacking a political opponent for being an “Orthodox Jew” at a radical leftist J Street conference. At the conference, Schakowsky negatively painted Joel Pollak, her opponent in 2010 elections, by highlighting the fact that he is a religious Jew – a choice of words that the…

The Foreign Ministry has confirmed reports that 39-year-old Eyal Baum, an Israeli citizen, was on the Germanwings Airbus A320 airliner that crashed in the French Alps between Barcelonnette and Digne on Tuesday. All 150 persons on board apparently died in the tragic aeronautical disaster. The family of Baum earlier contacted the Foreign Ministry, reporting that he was supposed…

Israel’s intelligence minister on Tuesday wrapped up a two-day European diplomatic offensive against making concessions to Iran in nuclear negotiations with world powers, his spokesman said. “Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz completed two days of intensive discussion in Paris and London,” a statement from Eyal Basson said, adding that the minister was accompanied by National Security…

The US administration will continue to brief Israel on its secret nuclear negotiations with Iran, US officials said Tuesday, despite allegations the Jewish state has been spying on the talks. “We’ve spoken in the past to our concern… about leaks of certain sensitive information. And obviously, we’ve taken steps to ensure that the negotiations remain…

Among elephant remains some 500,000 years old at a Lower Paleolithic site in Revadim, in southern Israel, Prof. Ran Barkai and his graduate students Natasha Solodenko and Andrea Zupanchich of Tel Aviv University’s Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures recently analyzed “handaxes” and “scrapers,” universally shaped and sized prehistoric stone tools, replete with…

US President Barack Obama’s approval ratings stand at about 45%, according to the latest Gallup poll – but most Americans prefer even television presidents over their real-life Commander-in-Chief. Reuters reports Tuesday that, by its own poll, 54% of Americans disapprove of Obama, versus just 46% who approve.  In contrast, 89% of respondents were favorable toward “24”‘s…

The shekel continued to strengthen against the major currencies Tuesday morning, following the Bank of Israel’s surprise announcement Monday that its interest rate would not change in April, and remain at its current level of 0.1%. The shekel-dollar rate is currently 2.1% below yesterday’s representative rate, at NIS 3.939/$, and the shekel-euro rate is down…

Morton Klein is not just relieved, but proud that Israelis came through in the end to choose a Likud-led administration. “Israelis understood peace with the Palestinian Authority was not realistic,” says Klein, President of the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA). “I’m very proud of Israelis for choosing reality and security over fantasy. Herzog and Livni are living in…

Israel has held the district semifinals for its annual Zionist Quiz this week – with semifinalists being chosen in the Sharon area, the Coastal region, the Center, Haifa, Jerusalem, the Negev, the Galilee, and Judea-Samaria.  The contest is an initiative of the World Zionist Organization (WZO) and the Zionist Council in Israel, with the final competition…

Two months after making its first investment in Israel, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is partnering with venture capital firm JVP (Jerusalem Venture Partners) to invest in promising startups. The amount of money involved was not disclosed. An Alibaba spokesperson told TechCrunch “the JVP investment is in line with our mission of supporting innovation and startups,”…

The Lebanon-Israel border has been relatively quiet over the past several months, with no incidents recorded since January.  But another war could be on the way – and it will cost billions of shekels, experts say.  Military Intelligence officials, the IDF, and the defense establishment are all preparing for an inevitable full-fledged war with Hezbollah,…

Europe might be a riper fruit to pick for Israel than most people think. For all the threats of sanctions and leaked reports recommending punishing Jerusalem for, well, building in Jerusalem, it is far less likely the European Union will achieve a consensus to implement anything. The reason? That emerging consensus is now eroding. Counterintuitively, it might be…

A Palestinian chemical engineer from eastern Jerusalem has just been awarded the position of deputy chief scientist at the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Space, Haaretz reported.  Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed, 42 and a resident of Sur Bahir, will become, upon his appointment, the eastern Jerusalem Palestinian with the most senior position in any of Israel’s ministries.  Abu…

The US’s silence during the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)’s annual debate on violations committed in the Palestinian territories was not a form of backlash against Israel, contrary to a Reuters report released earlier Monday. It was a show of support.  “Today the United States, in support of Israel, made no statement at the United Nations Human Rights…

An Israeli court sentenced an Arab citizen on Monday to 11 months in prison for traveling to fight alongside Syrian rebels in the Jewish state’s war-torn neighbor, AFP reported.  Several Arab Israelis have been arrested after returning from Syria, where armed opposition to President Bashar al-Assad is now dominated by jihadists, including the terror group Islamic State (ISIS). Yusef Nasrallah travelled via Jordan…

A fight over the defense and foreign affairs portfolio began days ago, and it looks as if the education portfolio is now entering the fray.  The education portfolio has come to be viewed as the lifeblood of religious Zionism and was consistently desirable for MKs from the National Religious Party (Mafdal – ed.) – a disbanded party that…

A British university will host in April a conference, organized in part by a well-known Israeli-born professor, which will examine the “legitimacy” of Israel’s existence. The conference, scheduled for April 17-19 at the University of Southampton, is titled “International Law and the State of Israel: Legitimacy, Responsibility, and Exceptionalism.” According to the university’s website, the conference will discuss…

Former Science and Technology Minister Yaakov Perry (Yesh Atid) is likely to bow out of the 20th Knesset, Channel 2 reports Monday – allowing former Hatnua MK Elazar Stern to take his place. Perry, who is #5 on Yesh Atid’s list, is expected to make the decision just days before the swearing-in ceremony for the 20th Knesset, which…

Associated Press reporter Matt Lee has never been shy of calling out US government spokespeople – often to hilariously cringeworthy effect. Last Friday, Lee was on-form again, grilling the US State Department over its strange, over-the-top series of condolence messages to the Iranian regime, following the death of President Hassan Rouhani’s mother. Watch: Upon hearing of the death, US…

The Vice President of the Haifa District Court has sentenced a terrorist to 12 years and 4 months in Israeli prison on Monday, on charges of attempting to kidnap Jews to use as bargaining chips between Israel and terror groups.  Hussein Murad, an illegal immigrant, wanted to kidnap Jews in order to secure the release…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu sent a condolence letter Monday to the Sassoon family, which tragically lost seven children in a deadly house fire over Shabbat.  Elian (16), David (12), Rivka (11), Yehoshua (10), Moshe (8), Sara (6), and Yaakov (5) Sassoon died after hot plate in their house in Flatbush, New York apparently malfunctioned. Following a funeral procession that began Sunday in…

The Ofer Military Court has begun the sentencing process of Maher Al-Hashalmoun, the Palestinian terrorist who murdered 26-year-old Dalia Lemkos as she waited at a bus stop in Gush Etzion. Dalia’s mother, Brenda Lemkos, has demanded that the court give Al-Hashalmoun the death penalty as a means of deterrence. ‘ “His life is not worth anything, he…

Hamas has launched a new propaganda campaign against Israel – this time, claiming with the support of Palestinian Arabs and “human rights” organizations that Gaza “is still under Israeli Occupation.”  In a broadcast on Hamas’s new website, former Hamas government head Ismail Haniyeh stated that Gaza was “liberated” from the “occupier,” and that the liberation…

Multiple incidents of voter fraud were reported during elections day last week – including several arrests in Arab communities.  Arutz Sheva spoke to Yisrael Zelkovitz, a volunteer who served as a member of a volunteer task force funded by the Samaria Residents’ Committee at polling stations tasked with uncovering and preventing voter fraud, to find out more…

Former president Moshe Katsav will be released from prison for a Passover holiday break of 72 hours.  The temporary release marks the first time Katsav will spend the Passover holiday his family at his home in Kiryat Malachi, since being imprisoned in the Maasiyahu Prison in Ramla in December 2011.  Katsav, who served as President…

As Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu faces ongoing criticism for week-old statements about Israeli Arabs, a member of his own Likud party alleges that Zionist Union (Labor-Hatnua – ed.) co-chairs Yitzhak Herzog and Tzipi Livni are the true racists.  According to MK Miri Regev, Livni and Herzog are no different than Amir Hetzroni, the provocative professor thrown out…

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, said on Monday that Iran should not be given “deals it does not deserve,” in reference to the looming nuclear agreement between Tehran and the major powers, Al Arabiya reports. Prince al-Faisal made the statement during a joint press conference with visiting British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond in Riyadh,…

MK Danny Danon (Likud) said on Monday that he is convinced that he will be a minister in the next government, despite the differences of opinion between he and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu fired Danon from his position as Deputy Defense Minister last summer, during Operation Protective Edge in Gaza, after Danon, who was…

The Joint Arab List announced on Monday evening that it had rejected Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s apology to Arab Israelis. Earlier, Netanyahu offered a public apology for saying on election day that “huge numbers of Arabs” were coming out to vote, adding that many were being brought to the polling booths by V-15 and other…

The Pentagon spent the weekend notifying service members who appeared on an Islamic State (ISIS) “hit list”, CBS News reported on Monday. Bases where these members are stationed have contacted local law enforcement agencies in an effort to increase police patrols in the neighborhoods where they live, according to the report. In addition, after being…

The United States will not take the floor at the main U.N. human rights forum on Monday during the annual debate on violations committed in the Palestinian territories, a US spokesman told Reuters. The step is unprecedented. The UNHRC is a notoriously anti-Israel forum where Washington has always defended Israel. The Obama administration has said in…

NGO Monitor points out that EWASH, a coalition of NGOs  and UN organizations, opposed a desalinization project in Gaza funded by the EU that would improve water supply, trying to justify their opposition by saying the project would “accommodate the occupation” and “legitimize Israeli actions.” A full 11 pieces of disinformation spread by NGOs regarding water are…

Moshe Kahlon’s Kulanu party has met with President Reuven Rivlin Monday in his residence, and recommended that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu form the next government. Kulanu’s 10 MKs give Netanyahu a 61-seat majority in the Knesset. Rivlin will meet Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu party later in the day. If it, too, recommends Netanyahu, he will…

The luxurious Jerusalem mansion of Guma Aguiar, the Jewish millionaire who went missing mysteriously in 2012 and has since been declared dead, was sold to a Russian Jewish tycoon for 15 million shekels (nearly $4 million). According to Yedioth Aharonoth, the sale of the two connected housing units in the exclusive Yemin Moshe neighborhood located…

The Jews are behind all that is wrong in the world, according to the host of a weekly Palestinian Authority TV program on Islam, cited by Palestinian Media Watch (PMW). Even when fish fight in the sea, “the Jews are behind it,” said the Muslim preacher and professor of Quranic Studies, Imad Hamato. To back…

The market is rebounding swiftly after Operation Protective Edge, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). From November 2014 to January 2015, there was a 5.8% rise in the annual calculation – compared to August-October 2014 – in the total proceeds of all sectors of the economy. The construction sector’s proceeds rose by 13%. Information and…

The heartbroken father of an Australian schoolboy who turned into a radical Islamist terrorist and is thought to have died committing a suicide bombing for Islamic State (ISIS) said Monday he felt “totally responsible” for failing to see that his son needed help. Melbourne teen Jake Bilardi, 18, is believed to have carried out the attack in Iraq earlier this month, after…

John McLaughlin, the Republican strategist hired by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in his successful reelection campaign, warned Sunday that US President Barack Obama went further than has been reported in meddling with Israel’s democracy. McLaughlin spoke on the New York AM 970 channel’s “The Cats Roundtable” radio show, which was cited by The Hill, in an interview roughly a week after the…

Seven children of the Sassoon family were being brought to rest Sunday afternoon, and Democratic New York State Assemblyman for Brooklyn, Dov Hikind, expressed his feelings about what many people in the Orthodox community in Brooklyn and around the world were experiencing. Hikind said he didn’t know the family directly, but knew friends of theirs, and…

Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz flew to France Sunday, where he will meet with European foreign ministers in the hope of influencing the deal that is being negotiated with Iran over its nuclear weapons program. There are only eight days left until the March 31 deadline for a framework agreement between the US and other powers…

The funeral has begun for seven children who died on Shabbat in a blaze at their home in Flatbush, New York. Elian (16), David (12), Rivka (11), Yehoshua (10), Moshe (8), Sara (6), and Yaakov (5) Sassoon died after hot plate apparently malfunctioned. Orthodox Jews leave hot plates on during Shabbat to keep food warm according to halakha (Jewish law…

Two days after performer and songwriter Yehonatan Geffen was assaulted, allegedly by someone who did not like his politics, singer Ahinoam Nini said that she, too, was targeted. Nini said that she was subjected to curses and insults as she landed at Ben Gurion Airport Sunday, returning from a trip abroad. “I came back to…

A group of British medical students of Sudanese origin who went missing after travelling to Turkey are feared to have crossed into Syria to join the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group as doctors, reports and sources said on Sunday. The families of the students have traveled to the Turkey-Syria border in a desperate appeal for…

President Barack Obama will not support an independent Palestinian diplomatic initiative to declare a state, but may try to advance a joint American-European initiative for a two-state solution, according to Israel’s Channel 1 television. The American-European initiative, which is to be presented to the UN Security Council, will provide the “contours” of any future agreement, according to…

Some 1,500 Israel-supporters from all over Britain are expected to take part Sunday in the country’s largest-ever grassroots conference on Israel. The ”We Believe in Israel” conference will cover dozens of subjects, including online activism, campus activity, and countering the boycott-Israel movement. The event is being held only hours after a group of thugs attempted…

The Palestinian Authority is determined to prosecute Israel in the International Criminal Court, no matter what, the PA’s United Nations representative, Riyadh Mansour, said Sunday. Speaking on NBC‘s Meet the Press, Mansour said that at this point, there was nothing that would stop the PA from trying to prosecute Israel in the ICC. The only…

One of the often overlooked parts of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the role that minorities play in Palestinian cities. Area A is made up of eight major cities, including: Ramallah, Hevron, Jenin, Shechem (Nablus), Qalqilya, Tulkarm and Jericho. The eighth is Bethlehem, whose significance to Christians is unforgettable for Westerners. The city had retained a…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu may not have done it with finesse, but his very public challenge to the viability of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has opened a major window according to David M. Weinberg of the Begin-Sadat Center for Security Studies. In Mr. Weinberg’s mind, whether or not it is fair, Israel…

Some 150 Arab bikers set out on Saturday night on a motorcycle journey to Jerusalem, as part of an initiative organized by a group calling itself “Youth for Al-Aqsa”, which works to strengthen the link between the Muslim citizens of Israel and the Islamic holy places in Jerusalem. The motorcycles left for the journey after…

The deputy chief of the Hamas politburo, Ismail Haniyeh, said on Sunday that his movement would continue to seek national unity and political partnership, the Ma’an news agency reported. Speaking at a news conference marking 11 years since the death of Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmad Yasin, who was eliminated by Israel, Haniyeh urged “all Palestinian…

The faculty of Sharia (Islamic law) at the Hamas-affiliated Islamic University in Gaza is preparing to hold an international conference in cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross on the subject of international humanitarian law in light of Islamic Sharia. The conference is scheduled to take place on October 13 and 14 this…

Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s top officer responsible for foreign operations, provides assistance in Iraq “whenever we need him,” Hadi al-Ameri, the commander of the Badr militia, said on Sunday. “He was giving very good advice. The battle ended now, and he returned to his operations headquarters,” Ameri told journalists close to the Al-Alam area north of…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s words are reverberating throughout the world, but thus far there has been less of an excited (or agitated) reaction to them as there has been in places like the White House. The head of the Arab League, Nabil El-Arabi, dismissed the comments as “electioneering.” The Egyptian government has been virtually silent.…

Islamist rebels captured four crew members of a regime helicopter which crashed in the Idlib province of northwest Syria on Sunday, while a fifth serviceman was killed, a monitor said, reported AFP. “A regime helicopter was forced to land in the region of Jabal al-Zawiya in the northwest, which is a bastion of (Al-Qaeda’s Syrian…

Controversial pop legend Justin Bieber is being sued for emotional distress, TMZ reported Friday, after he egged his Jewish neighbor’s home and taunted him repeatedly with anti-Semitic slurs.  Neighbor Jeff Schwartz’s home was egged in January 2014, after months of Bieber terrorizing his Calabasas neighborhood with wild parties and drag races.  In the highly publicized suit over…

The Brooklyn fire which killed seven members of the same Orthodox Jewish family has hit the Jewish community especially hard – particularly due to the gruesomeness of the scene, ZAKA International officials stated to Arutz Sheva on Sunday.  “We arrived at the scene and discovered a terrible sight here, seven bodies of small children,” ZAKA’s Lachish region commander,…

As Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu deals with trying to please possible coalition partners, he also faces the demands of non-Jewish community leaders.  Druze leaders will hold their first organized meeting Sunday to discuss sending an official petition to Netanyahu. They plan to request that the likely next prime minister of Israel appoint a non-Jewish minister to his new government.…

President Reuven Rivlin began consultations Sunday morning with the representatives of the ten parties elected to the 20th Knesset.  “In a democracy the majority decides – and the majority expressed its will clearly in these elections,” Rivlin told Likud representatives – the first to meet with him at his official residence Sunday at 10 a.m. “The role of…

Party heads primed to be part of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s next government are making their ministerial demands known and Likud is not happy about it.  Angered by the other parties’ so-called impudence, Energy and Water Minister Silvan Shalom argued Sunday that the defense, foreign affairs, and finance portfolios should remain in Likud.  Jewish Home Chairman Naftali Bennett…

Labor-Hatnua leader MK Yitzhak Herzog has not yet declared defeat, senior party officials confirmed Sunday – after reports in Maariv surfaced claiming Herzog has approached Kulanu party chairman Moshe Kahlon with a senior portfolio if he recommends him over Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. On Sunday, President Reuven Rivlin will begin the process of forming a government, approaching…

US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro did damage control for the White House on Sunday morning, stating to Israeli media that US President Barack Obama’s remarks indicating the drop of US support for Israel were due to the “confusing situation” of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s flip-flopping remarks on peace talks.   “This confusing situation raises doubts…

The elections were a “miracle” and the result of Divine intervention, Tzfat (Safed) city rabbi, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, stated Sunday.  “God had a positive effect in this election, it is a miracle and we have to thank Him for everything that happened,” Rabbi Eliyahu stated in a special Arutz Sheva interview. “It was the rescue of the settlement…

The Homefront Command is set to test its early warning system for attacks on Monday. Officials stressed that the tests had been scheduled “far in advance,” and were not being conducted in response to any specific situation. The exercise will be conducted in a cities in central Israel, including Rosh Ha’ayin, Elad, Petah Tikva, Lod,…

Texas Senator Ted Cruz, one of the most pro-Israel members of the U.S. Senate, is set to announce his candidacy for the Republican nomination for President in the 2016 elections, the Houston Chronicle reported Sunday. According to the paper, the Tea Party favorite is ready for the fray, and will be the first candidate to…

City fathers in the central Israeli city of Petah Tikva can hold their heads up proudly. A new survey by the Economy Ministry shows that the city, all by itself, is responsible for nearly one fifth of all of Israel’s exports. Following Petah Tikva’s 17.2% share of Israel’s exports is Haifa, which had a 15.6%…

Political comedian Bill Maher has weighed-in to Binyamin Netanyahu’s controversial remarks about Arab voters during last week’s general elections, brushing off claims of “racism” as hypocritical. In a last minute call for Likud supporters to come out and vote, Netanyahu claimed that Arab voters were coming out “en-masse” to the ballots – and in some cases…

Representatives of the Jewish Home party – including former Housing and Construction Minister Uri Ariel, MK Ayelet Shaked, and new MK Yinon Magal arrived at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem on Sunday, to recommend Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu be appointed as premier and be tasked with forming the new government.  “We are gathered here after…

Joint Arab List representatives met Sunday with President Reuven Rivlin as part of the President’s consultations with parties on who will form the next government.  The list – comprised of Balad, Hadash, and the United Arab List – expressed strong opposition to a coalition formed by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, claiming that a government under his leadership…

Hamas has pledged a takeover of Judea-Samaria Saturday, after one of its leaders declared “the liberation of all Palestine” – including the Palestinian Authority (PA) – a  strategic area of ​​utmost importance in implementing long-term objectives of the terror group.  Speaking from an event  to mark the release of terrorist Ismail al-Zahar from Israeli prison after a 12-year…

The terrorism-linked Islamic Movement in Israel group has responded to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s re-election as premier on Saturday, claiming that the move will “lead his people to real disaster.”  The Islamic Movement’s deputy leader, Kamal Khatib, quoted leader Sheikh Raed Salah as predicting doom for the Jewish people as a result of the victory…

Seven Jewish children from the same family died Saturday when their New York home was engulfed in flames after a portable cooker malfunctioned, authorities said. “This is the largest tragedy by fire that this city has had in seven years,” Nigro said in comments reported by The New York Times. “It’s a tragedy for this family, it’s a tragedy…

Middle East and Russian sources have confirmed that an Iranian ship has unloaded 185 tons of weapons at Yemen’s Port Saleef to the Houthis, Iran’s Shiite proxies in Yemen. Port Saleef connects directly with the capital, Sanaa, and is only about 500 miles – or 800 kilometers – south of Mecca, the holiest site in…

Yesh Atid chairman and former Finance Minister Yair Lapid called on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu not to appoint Shas chairman Aryeh Deri as a senior minister on Saturday, claiming Deri’s previous jail term for corruption charges makes him incapable of being placed in charge of a government portfolio. “Mr. Prime Minister, you won the big…

MK Shelly Yechimovich (Labor) has called on Labor to do some soul-searching following the 20th Knesset elections, after the party lost to Likud in a surprise win. Yechimovich, speaking to Israel Radio, would not discuss the failed campaign strategy that led to the loss, but suggested instead for the party to take a different worldview for…

The Brooklyn fire which killed an Orthodox Jewish family of 7 over Saturday (Shabbat) is an “unbelievable tragedy,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio stated after visiting the scene.  “It it unimaginable what you see in there,” he said. “You can literally see what was a home for a large and strong family, and now…

Chaos has descended on Jenin, Palestinian Arab news agency Safa implied Friday, after gunshots resumed in a “refugee camp” in the city between armed terrorists and Palestinian security forces Thursday night.  Eyewitnesses stated to the agency that “militants” opened fire on security forces as Palestinian Authority (PA) police patrols arrived to the camp, firing from several directions; many…

The Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership has taken steps to “punish” Israel for the results of the 20th Knesset elections, releasing a document condemning the results in general and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in particular.  On Thursday, the Palestine Liberation Organization (the terror group behind the PA; headed by Mahmoud Abbas – ed.) met in Ramallah and…

It was supposedly a move celebrating language and diversity, but reading the pledge of allegiance in Arabic at a US high school sparked a furious backlash in upstate New York given the wave of Islamist Arab terrorism rising worldwide in recent years. Wednesday’s incident at Pine Bush High School, 80 miles (128 kilometers) northwest of New York City, angered students,…

Iran’s President, Hassan Rouhani, on Saturday said that progress made in nuclear talks means a final deal can be reached, the BBC reported. “There is nothing that cannot be resolved,” although some differences still remain, Iranian state media quoted Rouhani as saying. Rouhani said that in the current round of talks in Lausanne, Switzerland, “shared…

Syria’s exiled opposition announced Saturday that it had declined an invitation from Russia to attend peace talks in Moscow with representatives of President Bashar Al-Assad’s government, AFP reported. A Russian foreign ministry spokesman said earlier this week that Syrian government and opposition representatives would meet for peace talks in Moscow on April 6. But the…

Massud Barzani, the president of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, vowed on Saturday to avenge three peshmerga fighters beheaded by the Islamic State (ISIS) jihadist group. “We promise the families of these martyrs that their blood will not be wasted and that we will avenge them,” Barzani said in an online statement quoted by AFP. “Those…

Just two days after President Barack Obama urged the Iranian people to take advantage of an “historic opportunity” to resolve the nuclear issue, an Iranian crowd on Saturday chanted “Death to America” – and the country’s Supreme Leader agreed. According to Reuters, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke in northeastern Iran, where he accused the U.S. of…

Rock musician Aviv Geffen on Saturday night responded for the first time to the assault on his father, author and songwriter Yehonatan Geffen, which took place Friday afternoon. Writing on Twitter, Geffen said that his father was in good condition and added, “It’s easy to hurt a person, but difficult to hurt an idea. Thanks…

US President Barack Obama has warned the White House was “evaluating its options” vis-a-vis imposing a two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, and specifically regarding the US’s commitment to veto unilateral Palestinian moves at the UN. Obama made the comments in a Huffington Post interview, late last week, in which he made his first direct response…

Four Argentines have been charged in an attack on Israeli tourists in a popular area of Patagonia, an owner of the hostel where the assault happened said Friday. Judge Guido Sebastian Otranto charged three men with assault, robbery and resisting arrest, hostel owner Yoav Pollac told The Associated Press. The fourth was charged with covering…

Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday not to appoint Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri to a senior ministerial position in the next government, citing the Shas leader’s conviction in 1999 of bribery. In a post on his Facebook page, Lapid wrote: “Mr. prime minister, you scored a big victory…

WASHINGTON – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continued to receive sharp criticism from the Obama administration on Friday over his pre-election comments that opposed to a Palestinian state, with White House spokesman Josh Earnest saying that the prime minister “indicated a weakness in his commitment to a two-state solution.” In doing so, Earnest continued, “he was…

At a time when US President Barack Obama’s administration has shown a softening stance vis-a-vis Iran, even considering an alliance against Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists in Iraq and Syria, former CIA head Gen. David Petraeus warned Iran is a greater danger than ISIS in Iraq. In an interview conducted in Iraq and posted by the Washington Post on Friday, Petraeus,…

When Arutz Sheva first spoke to Dr. Jonathan Rynhold on Thursday about the latest rift between the Prime Minister and the President, we did not anticipate having to return to ask follow-up questions upon Binyamin Netanyahu’s unexpected comments in which he seemingly retracted his opposition to a Two State Solution. Rynhold had predicted that if Bibi’s immediate concern…

Otzma Yehudit, which ran on a joint list with Yachad – Ha’am Itanu, is taking its petition claiming foul play in the vote Tuesday online, gathering details of those who voted for the party so as to cross-check and see how many votes were wrongly invalidated due to tampering. The joint list reached 125,106 votes in…

The Islamic State (ISIS) group claimed to have beheaded three Iraqi Kurdish fighters in an online video and threatened to murder more unless the Kurds stop bombardment of jihadist-controlled areas. Peshmerga forces from Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, backed by US-led air strikes, are battling ISIS in the country’s north and have pushed the jihadists back in Nineveh and Kirkuk…

Copenhagen police said on Friday they had arrested a fifth man suspected of being an accomplice of gunman Omar El-Hussein, who killed two people in deadly twin attacks last month. The man was “suspected of complicity in the perpetrator’s actions on February 14 and 15,” police said in a statement quoted by AFP. “Like yesterday,…

Republican House Speaker John Boehner will lead a group of Republican lawmakers on a visit to Israel to meet with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on March 31, The Hill reported on Friday. An Israeli government official confirmed the trip to CNN. The Haaretz newspaper reported that the lawmakers will arrive on March 31, which happens…

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday called Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and urged him to renew Israel’s commitment to a “two-state solution” to the Middle East conflict. “The secretary-general reiterated his view that the two-state solution was the only way forward and urged the prime minister to renew Israel’s commitment to that goal,” Ban’s spokesman…

A new European Union (EU) report says that Jerusalem is at a “boiling point” and recommends sanctions against Israel over the “polarization” in the capital. The report, obtained by the British Guardian on Friday, says that Jerusalem has reached a dangerous boiling point of “polarization and violence” not seen since the end of the second…

Israeli author, songwriter and playwright Yehonatan Geffen was assaulted on Friday afternoon outside his home near Netanya. Initial details indicate that the assailant arrived at Geffen’s home, knocked on the door and when he opened it, hit him in the face, shouted “leftist, traitor” and threw eggs at him. Police are investigating the incident. The…

The United Nations has found the greatest violator of women’s rights in the world – and it’s Israel for “violating the rights of Palestinian women.” That view is expressed in a report released by the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the UN’s top women’s rights body, and was detailed in an article on…

Three days after elections, Kulanu leader Moshe Kahlon on Friday hinted to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that he would not automatically join his coalition. “Kulanu is a party with a platform. The results of the elections are clear, but our platform was and will remain the essence,” he wrote on Facebook. “We intend to hold…

Rabbi Meir Mazuz, spiritual leader of outgoing MK Eli Yishai’s Yachad – Ha’am Itanu party, sharply criticized Shas and its chairman Aryeh Deri on Friday, blaming both for Yachad’s failure to make the Knesset threshold.  Rabbi Mazuz implied that Shas had caused Yachad’s loss by illegally tampering with elections.  “All things are allowed in politics,”…

A senior Israeli official said Friday that defense ties with the United States would remain “intensive” despite a deepening rift between US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. “The picture is clear – security relations are extremely strong,” the defense ministry’s strategic affairs director Amos Gilad told Israel public radio, hours after a frosty Thursday night phone conversation in which Obama congratulated Netanyahu…

A unique astronomical event is occurring on Friday, as the sun is due to come in for a total solar eclipse, a rare phenomenon that is sure to please skywatchers – as long as they take care not to damage their eyes from the sun rays. The eclipse is also to be visible in Israel,…

As Israel ramped up for elections, 1,200 Jews at the Crowne Plaza Times Square in downtown New York ramped up for their Aliyah (immigration to Israel), taking part in a Nefesh B’Nefesh (NBN) aliyah mega event. The NBN event, hosted together with The Jewish Agency for Israel, Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah and Immigrant Absorption, Keren Kayemeth…

Jewish Home’s Tekuma faction is not planning to reinvent the struggling Jewish Home from within, MK Bezalel Smotrich (Jewish Home) stated in a special Arutz Sheva interview Friday.  Channel 2 reported late Thursday that Tekuma faction members are planning to force outgoing Housing Minister and number two on the joint list Uri Ariel – the Tekuma faction leader…

General Khalifa Haftar, head of the Libyan army, warned that Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists running rampant in the north African state are set to infiltrate Europe and expand their reign of terror into the West. Haftar, who represents the army of Libya’s government that has received international recognition but was driven out of Tripoli by a…

The Palestinian National Council, the legislative body of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), held a meeting on Thursday in which it formulated a new economic plan to attack Israel and try to save the financially floundering Palestinian Authority (PA). PLO Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy Dr. Mohammed Mustafa revealed details of the…

The Danish editor who commissioned the caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed that sparked international protests was awarded a prize by Denmark’s national press club, AFP reported late Thursday,  Flemming Rose was the culture editor of daily Jyllands-Posten in 2005 when he published 12 satirical cartoons of the Islamic prophet, triggering deadly protests in some Muslim countries. The cartoons were also published…

President Barack Obama on Thursday finally called Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to congratulate him on his election win. Obama spoke to the Israeli leader “to congratulate him on his party’s success in winning a plurality of Knesset seats,” the White House said, according to AFP. “The president emphasized the importance the United States places on…

“A unique koach of Dirshu is that it not only gives a person Olam Habaah, it also gives a person phenomenal Olam Hazeh!” These were the powerful words of HaGaon HaRav Yechiel Michel Steinmetz, shlita, Skverer Dayan of Boro Park who encapsulated the feelings of the more than 1,000 participants at the Dirshu Convention celebrating…

The IDF Military Advocate General, Maj. Gen. Dani Efroni, has decided to launch criminal investigations on six anomalous cases that occurred during Operation Protective Edge against Hamas in Gaza last summer. The investigations including a strike on an UNRWA school in which 20 people were killed – a large number of them terrorists who were cynically…

Labor chairperson Yitzhak Herzog on Thursday tried to explain the failure of his Zionist Union joint list with Tzipi Livni’s Hatnua to defeat Likud, after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s party outpaced Labor by 30 to 24 mandates. With the ending of voting on Tuesday night at 10 p.m., exit polls were released showing a 27 mandate…

The White House on Thursday pointedly raised the prospect of withdrawing crucial diplomatic cover for Israel at the United Nations, following Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s decisive election victory. “Steps that the United States has taken at the United Nations had been predicated on this idea that the two-state solution is the best outcome,” said spokesman Josh Earnest. “Now our…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu suggested Thursday his country might accept Iran having a small number of centrifuges, but insisted world powers could strike a better nuclear deal with Tehran than one now under negotiation. “I think you can get a better deal. The one I would have is to reduce Iran’s nuclear capabilities so you…

French magazine Paris Match on Thursday published photos of the bodies of the two Muslim terrorist brothers behind the bloody January attack on the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris, saying the French “have the right” to see them. The three pictures showed the bodies of Cherif and Said Kouachi lying on the ground after being shot by police January 9 in front…

President Barack Obama is telling Iranians that this year is an “historic opportunity” to resolve the issue surrounding their country’s nuclear program. In a message to the people of Iran in honor of their New Year Nowruz, Obama said this is the “best opportunity in decades” to pursue a different relationship between the United States…

A bipartisan letter on Iran signed by 360 members of Congress will be sent to President Barack Obama, one of its House signers said on Thursday, according to The Hill. The letter, similar to the one 47 Senate Republicans recently sent to Tehran’s leaders, reminds the administration that permanent sanctions relief on Iran as part…

An Egyptian court on Thursday acquitted an interior minister of ousted president Hosni Mubarak of corruption charges, AFP reported. The former minister, Habib al-Adly, was cleared of illegally accumulating around 181 million Egyptian pounds ($25 million) and will be released, his lawyer Mohammed el-Gendy said. The court also lifted an asset freeze on the former…

MK Miri Regev (Likud) on Thursday rejected criticism by Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid over reported plans by the Likud to change the governance law, passed by the previous government, which reduces the number of ministers in the cabinet to 18. Speaking to Galey Yisrael radio, Regev, who ranked high on the Likud’s list in the…

For the second time in as many days, anti-Semitic comedian Dieudonne was on Thursday convicted for his controversial remarks. This time, a French court fined the comic 22,500 euros ($24,000) for anti-Semitic comments, reported AFP. If he fails to pay the entire fine for incitement to racial hatred, he faces a stretch in prison. In…

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday night joined the chorus of those calling on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s government to work towards the establishment of a Palestinian state. According to The Associated Press (AP), in a statement following Netanyahu’s landslide victory in Tuesday’s elections, Ban called on the Israeli Prime Minister to form a new…

The haredi parties Shas and United Torah Judaism are expected to present Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu with a list of demands in exchange for joining his new coalition, Channel 2 News reported on Wednesday. Final results from Tuesday’s election have yet to be officially announced, but both parties are expected to win seven seats. Netanyahu…

Iran’s Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, on Wednesday played down the chances of reaching a nuclear agreement during talks under way in Switzerland, AFP reported. Zarif, who has been in talks in Switzerland with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry since Monday, said other foreign ministers from world powers involved in the negotiations were unlikely…

France on Wednesday called for a re-launch of the Middle East process based on a two-state solution, after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu won the election. “Only the creation of viable sovereign Palestinian state… will ensure peace and prosperity in the Middle East,” French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said in a statement quoted by AFP. Fabius…

Daniella Weiss, co-founder of the NACHALA Land of Israel movement and one of the organizers of the nationalist rally that took place this week at the Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, said on Wednesday she was elated by the results of the elections. “I really wanted the right to win, I wanted Netanyahu to be…

The United States Defense Department confirmed on Wednesday that it has killed Adan Garar, a leader of the Somali terror group Al-Shabaab, the BBC reported. The Pentagon said Garar was hit by a drone equipped with Hellfire missiles in southern Somalia last Friday. Garar was a suspect in the 2013 Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s campaign did not kick into high gear until the final few days. It might be true that if not for the fall in the polls that occurred one week ago, Bibi would not have detected his slip among the electorate. His campaign before this week was perceived as very unfocused and…

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday congratulated his Israeli counterpart Binyamin Netanyahu for his victory in the elections – in both Hebrew and English. Modi tweeted two messages of congratulations to Netanyahu in both languages, noting that he remembered their meeting in New York last September. Modi has been touted as a staunch ally of…

After earlier reports said that the Palestinian Authority was considering suspending all security cooperation with Israel in the wake of Binyamin Netanyahu’s reelection, the PA officially announced Wednesday night that it was hoping to renew talks with Israel, regardless of who was Prime Minister. Nabil Abu-Rudeineh, the PA’s official spokesperson, said that the PA has…

As it becomes readily apparent that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will be the one to form the next government, Likud officials have already begun fighting for ministerial positions in the 20th Knesset.  Maariv reported Thursday morning that Netanyahu might offer the position of justice minister, formerly held by Tzipi Livni, to Likud candidate Benny Begin.  Begin,…

A week after a noted Hebrew University professor compared Im Tirtzu to Hitler Youth, the extra-parliamentary group is hit back hard.  Amiram Goldblum, a chemist and one of the founders of Peace Now, began torching the group on a Facebook discussion with law professor Alon Harel.  The discussion was part of a prelude to the Zionist Thought…

Meretz Chairwoman Zehava Galon will be returning as a parliamentarian to the 20th Knesset after all.  On Thursday morning, after the counting of 200,000 absentee ballots, media reported the left-wing Meretz party will almost definitely receive a fifth mandate. The extra seat came at the expense of the Joint Arab List which has dropped to 13.  As…

Jewish Home MK Ayelet Shaked said that her party expected to be an important partner in Binyamin Netanyahu’s new government, and that the party would seek the Public Security portfolio, among others. “It’s not a condition, it’s a demand,” Shaked told Army Radio Thursday. “Religious Zionists gave of their blood and guts to elect Netanyahu,”…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu may have just scored a large victory at home, but Israel’s relations with the United States could be on the brink.  The administration of President Barack Obama was particularly prickled by Netanyahu’s assertion on Monday that he no longer supports the two-state solution as well as continued building in Judea and Samaria.  Adding…

In an interview with Arutz Sheva, MK Yariv Levin, chairman of the outgoing Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, lauded his party’s victory in Tuesday’s elections, and said that it finally gave the Likud a clear mandate to rule Israel in the way the party felt it should be ruled. “This is a great accomplishment,…

Elections may be over but Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid is still finding things to gripe at Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu about.  Writing on Facebook Thursday morning, Lapid attacked Netanyahu after reports surfaced that the Prime Minister plans to increase the number of ministers serving in his next government.  “It’s forbidden to increase the government…

The joint Arab party list came in third place on elections Tuesday, scooping up 13 seats and taking the Arab Israeli parties to their single biggest election win yet. The list features overt supporters of Hamas, like MK Hanin Zoabi, and MK Ahmed Tibi, former adviser to arch terrorist Yasser Arafat – but just who is…

Days after a somewhat unexpected loss, Zionist Union Chairman Yitzhak Herzog has found a scapegoat for the party’s poor showing.  According to Herzog, Yair Garbuz – the now-infamous artist who said before elections that Israel was under the control of a cabal of “swindlers, molesters, and mezuzah kissers” – was the reason for the party’s big loss.  Speaking…

A British woman detained this week by Turkish police on suspicion of seeking to join Islamic State terrorists in Syria was sent to Istanbul Thursday to be deported to Britain, Anatolia news agency reported, according to AFP. The 21-year-old woman, identified as Jalila Nadra H., was detained on Monday at the bus station in Ankara. The woman travelled to Istanbul Thursday morning for deportation after being…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has been riding high after a triumphant reelection, but he faced sharp criticism from both the United States and the Palestinian Authority on Thursday.  After saying Monday that he longer believed in the viability of a two-state solution, the US responded with tepid acknowledgement to Netanyahu’s victory on Wednesday. President Barack Obama did not…

Despite receiving only six seats in the new Knesset, Yisrael Beytenu head and outgoing Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman is reportedly set to demand a high price for his joining Binyamin Netanyahu’s new coalition: an appointment as Defense Minister. According to the NRG news site, sources in the party said that Liberman was set to meet with…

Religious Zionist voters took on too many responsibilities, and that led to Jewish Home’s low seat count, candidate and Deputy Religious Affairs Minister Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan stated Wednesday.  “Religious Zionist voters were told that Yachad-Ha’am Itanu would not exceed the threshold, so thousands of voters went to save it,” Rabbi Ben-Dahan stated in a special Arutz…

If he hadn’t done so before, Zionist Union Chairman Yitzhak Herzog on Wednesday afternoon made it clear that he was not interested in joining a unity government with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in his new government. “The opposition is the only real option for us right now,” said Herzog at a meeting of the party…

In an interview Wednesday, Israeli television broadcast pioneer Uzi Peled advocated for an “investigation” into the results of the elections – because they did not match the television projections broadcast Tuesday night. Israeli election law prohibits the broadcast of any information about how the vote might be going while the polls are open, but once…

Iran dismissed Binyamin Netanyahu’s election victory Wednesday, saying it would have no effect on Palestinians or the Islamic world as all Israeli political parties are “the same to us,” according to AFP.  “For us, none of the parties or political groups of the Zionist regime are any different,” said foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham. “They all have an aggressive nature and…

Republicans were the first US politicians to publicly congratulate Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday for winning Israel’s closely-watched elections, weeks after the prime minister controversially addressed Congress at their invitation, AFP reports. “Congratulations to Prime Minister Netanyahu on his re-election. He’s a true leader who will continue to keep Israel strong and secure,” Jeb Bush, a Republican prospective frontrunner in the 2016 presidential race, said…

Haredi party United Torah Judaism (UTJ) has already made clear that it will not join a unity government between Likud and Labor leader Yitzhak Herzog, MK Meir Porush stated to Arutz Sheva Wednesday.  “Most commentators were right when they stated that [Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu would find a natural partner for a government in the nationalist camp,”…

With the election over, coalition negotiations are set to begin in earnest, and parties are laying down their conditions for joining the government that Binyamin Netanyahu will be looking to form. The Almagor terror victims group is calling on right-wing parties Jewish Home and Yisrael Beytenu to demand that the coalition support a law that…

Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas will work with any Israeli government that accepts the principle of a two-state solution, his spokesman said after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu won a surprise landslide reelection victory. “It doesn’t matter to us who the next prime minister of Israel is, what we expect from this government is to recognize the…

Yesh Atid is looking at the opposition right now as Binyamin Netanyahu looks to build a nationalist coalition with a much stronger Likud as its anchor. The biggest question of supporters for Yesh Atid is how the haredi parties will influence the coalition that is formed. Yesh Atid carried a resounding 19 seats in the last election,…

The controversial French comedian Dieudonne M’bala M’bala was on Wednesday found guilty of condoning terrorism, the BBC reported. He posted on Facebook “I feel like Charlie Coulibaly” just days after the Paris attacks in January. The post combined the “Je Suis Charlie” slogan with the name of Amedi Coulibaly, who carried out the attack at…

Among the most disappointed with the results of Tuesday’s elections are the activists of the V15 group – the organization that may or may not have been funded by American and European interests, but whose aim was to remove Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu from office. “A confusing night turned into a painful morning,” the group…

Negotiations for a coalition officially begin Sunday, the Government Press Office (GPO) revealed Wednesday night.  Israeli President Reuven Rivlin will hold a series of consultations with the parties elected to serve in the 20th Knesset on Sunday, the GPO added, at the President’s Residence.  A letter was sent Wednesday evening to the parties, by the Director General…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s victory in the Israeli election will not hamper US efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Iran, the State Department said Wednesday. The Israeli leader opposes any accommodation with Tehran and came to Washington during the campaign to address US lawmakers and denounce the agreement under negotiation as a “bad deal.” “We’ve been long familiar with…

Leaders of several global Jewish organizations congratulated Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, after the Likud party chairman was re-elected as premier during the 20th Knesset elections.  “Israel is one of the world’s great democracies and once again, its people have shown this through a free and open democratic election. Prime Minister Netanyahu has demonstrated…

Likud not only reversed expectations of upset, but earned the Israeli equivalent of a landslide. The win might be attributable to a Likud panic at the results of the final few polls published five days prior to the election that showed a 4-seat lead for the Zionist Camp. The final few days saw a dramatic attempt by the…

US warplanes have bombed a small drone used by Islamic State extremists in Iraq, marking the first time American-led forces had targeted an unmanned aircraft flown by the jihadists, officials said Wednesday. The strike took place on Tuesday near the western city of Fallujah, destroying “a remotely piloted aircraft” and a vehicle with the ISIS forces, according to a statement from the US…

An Israeli partner in the Tamar gas field announced Wednesday a deal to sell natural gas to an Egyptian company, as Cairo said it knew nothing of the deal, which it must approve. Delek said the partners would supply Dolphinus Holdings with at least five billion cubic meters (177 billion cubic feet) of gas over three years in a deal estimated…

“We’re here to stay,” said Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid on Tuesday night, after exit polls gave him double-digit figures in seats in the Knesset elections. Channel 1’s exit poll results predicted that Yesh Atid would win 11 seats, lower than the 19 the party achieved in 2013 but higher than some had predicted during…

As counting of votes continues in the elections for the 20th Knesset, the Likud party may be headed for an even bigger victory than exit polls originally predicted. As of 5:25 a.m. (Israel time), with more than 99.5% of the ballots having been counted, the Likud is leading the pact with 29 seats. The “Zionist Union” of…

Moshe Kahlon, head of the Kulanu party, on Tuesday night called for unity among Israelis following the elections. Kahlon appears to be headed towards having 10 seats in the Knesset, meaning that he could have an important influence on the make-up of the coalition. Speaking at Kulanu headquarters, Kahlon told his supporters, “This evening is a…

The Palestinian Authority (PA) was not pleased on Tuesday night with exit polls in Israel that showed that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is the favorite to head a government. Speaking to AFP, the PA’s chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said that the results of the elections meant that the Palestinians will continue their unilateral efforts against…

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, head of the Yisrael Beytenu party, said on Tuesday night that his party had survived a “targeted assassination attempt”, as exit polls showed that Yisrael Beytenu was barely over the threshold with just five seats. Speaking at campaign headquarters, Liberman said, “I’ve been through a lot of elections. This campaign was…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday night addressed a large crowd of supporters of his Likud party, as exit polls showed that his party won 27 to 28 seats in Knesset elections and he would once again head a coalition. “Thank you very much my friends, the citizens of Israel,” Netanyahu said to the sounds…

With a final counting placing Likud firmly above Labor at a gap of 30 seats to 24, elections statistics reveal the great divides in political outlook separating various regions of Israel; so, just which locales went for which parties? In Israel’s capital city of Jerusalem, Likud got 24% of the valid votes cast, although the large haredi…

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee headed by Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas will meet on Wednesday, to discuss implementing the PLO Central Committee’s decision earlier this month to end security cooperation with Israel. The Wednesday meeting was scheduled before the results of the Knesset elections – in which Likud soundly defeated Labor by 30…

Meretz Chairwoman MK Zehava Galon, whose party dropped from six to four seats in the Knesset, announced Wednesday morning that she is resigning from the Knesset and that she will not run again for the chairmanship of the party. “Meretz has passed the threshold but has received only 4 mandates,” she wrote on Facebook. “We…

The joint list of Eli Yishai’s Yachad – Ha’am Itanu together with Otzma Yehudit was a mere 11,000 or so votes short of making it into the Knesset according to the near final tally. A full 130,000 votes were needed to pass the 3.25% threshold percentage raised by the outgoing Knesset; previously the threshold percentage was…

The battle against the Islamic State (ISIS) group’s Muslim extremism may last a generation, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has warned, likening the jihadists to fanatical followers of genocidal Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. Bishop said the pernicious threat of global terrorism was one that “keeps me awake at night,” and urged a strong counter-narrative to…

As elections results finalize and signify a resounding victory for Likud, the Hamas terrorist organization that rules Gaza commented on the process. Hamas called on Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas to abandon peace talks with Israel, after the latter previously indicated he would be willing to resume negotiations after the elections. “The results are…

Labor leaders Yitzhak Herzog came very close to an outright admission of defeat Wednesday morning. Herzog gave a relatively short statement to reporters at 8:45 a.m.: “Good morning to the voters who have given their sentence and decided our fate as a movement and a nation. “A few minutes ago, I spoke to the prime minister,…

Minister Naftali Bennett, chairman of the Jewish Home, spoke on Tuesday evening at the party’s headquarters in Kfar Maccabiah, as exit polls showed that his party won eight seats in the 20th Knesset. In his remarks, Bennett hailed the emerging results as a victory for the nationalist camp, despite the fact that the Jewish Home…

Eli Yishai’s Yachad – Ha’am Itanu joint list with Otzma Yehudit is on the edge of the recently raised threshold percentage, with Channel 1‘s pollster Stella Karayov saying, as of midnight, that it is entering the Knesset. Channel 10 has a similar prediction, as does Channel 20ץ MK Yoni Chetboun, who is number two on the list, said after…

Syria’s military has shot down a US drone over the coastal province of Latakia, a stronghold of President Bashar al-Assad, state media said on Tuesday. “Syrian air defenses brought down a hostile US surveillance aircraft over north Latakia,” the official SANA news agency said in a breaking news alert, according to AFP. Latakia has been a sensitive area, with Israel…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu celebrated what he called a “major victory” in Tuesday’s elections.  “Against all odds: a great victory for the Likud. A major victory for the people of Israel!” he wrote on his official Twitter account. Soon after the election exit polls were announced at 10:00 p.m. Tuesday, Jewish Home Chairman Naftali Bennett called…

As voting came to a close on Tuesday night at 10 p.m., various Israeli news channels began churning out sample result predictions, with a tight race for first place estimated. Some samples give Likud a 28 to 27 advantage over Labor, others show them at a dead heat with 27 each. Responding to the exit polls,…

As of midnight, Channel 1‘s exit poll results predicted the following results for Tuesday’s national election: Likud 27 MKs Labor 26 Yesh Atid 11 Kulanu 9 Joint Arab List 12 Jewish Home 8 UTJ 6 Shas 7 Meretz 5 Yisrael Beytenu 5 Yachad 4 Netanyahu appears to be the winner in the election, since the close result…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his main challenger, Labor chairman Yitzhak Herzog, engaged in last minute verbal jousting ahead of the ballot boxes closing at 10 p.m. on Tuesday night. Netanyahu clarified that if he is given the nod by President Reuven Rivlin to get first crack at forming a coalition government, he intends to…

Latest News Netanyahu: ‘Major Victory’ for Likud, Israel Gil Ronen Jewish Home Chairman Naftali Bennett called Binyamin Netanyahu to congratulate him. Labor: Coalition Race Starting Ari Yashar Labor MKs say ‘great battle’ beginning in trying to recruit party heads to join a leftist coalition, as exit polls show ‘effective draw.’ Channel 1 Exit Poll: Likud…

Jewish Home MK Ayelet Shaked wrote on Facebook Tuesday evening that “According to all indications, Bibi is leading over Buji [Herzog]. Give your vote to the Jewish Home.” “Fight for what you believe in. Do not fall for spins,” she added. “Fight for the home. Vote Jewish Home.” Jewish Home Chairman Naftali Bennett told Arutz…

As elections draw to a conclusion, speculation continues as to the outcomes – if Labor, headed by Yitzhak Herzog and running on a joint list with Tzipi Livni’s Hatnua, manages to outpace Likud, questions remain as to whether it will be able to form a leftist coalition. A key factor in determining Labor’s ability to…

European powers and Iran made little progress on Monday toward reaching an agreement to end the standoff over Tehran’s nuclear program as an end-of-March deadline closes in, The Associated Press (AP) reported. “We’re still making progress but there is a long way to go if we’re going to get there,” British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond…

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is planning to act as soon as next week on a bipartisan bill that would allow Congress to approve or reject any nuclear agreement that President Barack Obama reaches with Iran, Politico reported on Monday. The panel’s chairman, Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), said he hopes to move forward on the…

The United States on Monday brushed off comments by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who declared in a series of interviews he would do everything in his power to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state. “There are many things said leading up to elections,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in her daily press briefing…

United States officials Monday denied there were any plans to meet Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, saying he would “never” be part of any peace negotiations to end the brutal civil war. The clarification came after Secretary of State John Kerry appeared to suggest in a weekend interview that Washington would have to talk with Assad…

Washington denied Monday there had been any move to push Tony Blair out of his role as envoy to the Middle East Quartet, as he appears poised to relinquish the post. Reports that the former British prime minister was leaving due to unease in Washington and Europe over his poor relations with the Palestinian Authority…

Israel’s relationship with Turkey is currently in a coma. Since the conclusion of several defense contracts, there has been very little happening outside of commerce. The responsibility for the break might rest more with the Turks than with the Israelis, but considering Turkey has also fallen on tough diplomatic times, Israel should not feel alone…

A court in Hamas-run Gaza on Monday handed a Palestinian Arab convicted of “spying” for Israel 15 years’ hard labor, a judicial source said, according to an AFP report. The 53-year-old man was found guilty of “providing the occupier personal names and the location of sites belonging to the resistance,” said the source. The defendant…

The United States military said Monday it is “concerned” about reports that Islamic State (ISIS) jihadists used chlorine gas in an attack against Kurdish forces, but it could not confirm the account. Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan government said Saturday that an analysis of soil and clothing samples showed that the ISIS group employed chlorine gas in…

UN investigators offered Tuesday to share names from secret lists of alleged Syria war criminals with prosecutors, to help end the “culture of impunity” in the country, AFP reports.  The commission of inquiry on the human rights situation in Syria has been compiling lists of people suspected of committing war crimes in the brutal Syrian conflict for the past four years, but kept…

Yachad Ha’am-Itanu chairman MK Eli Yishai is personally disappointed at the fact that several polling stations hid his party’s ballots – against Central Elections Commission (CEC) laws, he revealed in an elections day interview with Arutz Sheva on Tuesday.  He noted that his day began with many complaints about their ballot slips disappearing at polling stations, “by…

Former Finance Minister and Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid is determined to prevent a coalition that includes haredi parties, he stated shortly after voting in the 20th Knesset elections Tuesday.  “We’re here to fight for our country,” he stated. “There is a chance that instead of ending today with a government of hope for Israel, we’ll end…

The Islamic State terrorist group posted pictures Tuesday of the beheadings of four men it said were recruiters for pro-government militia fighting its terrorists in northern Iraq. The images show four men dressed in black kneeling in an empty street with knife-wielding jihadis standing behind them, after which they are pictured being beheaded. Text accompanying…

The Islamic State (ISIS), which has been destroying churches and forcing thousands of non-Muslim women to serve as sex slaves of the jihadists, and in Nineveh, Iraq, it is enforcing sharia law against Muslims. An ISIS report from Nineveh documents in photos the carrying out of a death sentence against two Muslim locals who were…

Most Israelis may have work off as they go to vote on Tuesday, but Arab terrorism apparently didn’t take the day off; shots were fired at IDF soldiers in an Arab majority neighborhood of Jerusalem, and another soldier was wounded in what seems to have been a car attack attempt. In Kalandiya, an Arab neighborhood…

Six people, including three young children, were killed in an alleged regime gas attack in northwestern Syria late Monday, a monitoring group and opposition activists said. “Three children, their mother and father, and their grandmother suffocated to death after regime barrel bomb attacks” on their village in the province of Idlib, the Syrian Observatory for…

Foreign Minister and Yisrael Beytenu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman visited the Negev community of Netiv Ha’esreh on Monday afternoon, where he observed the work being done to uncover Hamas terror tunnels and fortifications. Liberman stated during the visit that Hamas did not attack Israel over the summer due to the abduction of the Israeli teenagers and the…

Party chairmen have been busy Monday, as they all make their last-ditch appeal to citizens for their votes come elections on Tuesday.  Main rivals for prime minister – incumbent Binyamin Netanyahu and Labor leader Yitzhak Herzog – took opposing tactics, Channel Two reported. While Netanyahu stressed that members of the national camp should choose Likud over other right-wing parties, Herzog…

Jewish Home Chairman Naftali Bennett visited the Western Wall (Kotel) in Jerusalem on Monday, less than 24 hours before Israelis head to the polls.  “We are in the most sacred site for the Jewish people, and here we continue the great process of connecting with Israel and Judaism,” he stated to the press during the visit.  …

The Merchavim Region was hit by dozens of rockets per day during Operation Protective Edge. It is still recovering from the war, but the mayor of the Merhavim Regional Council disagrees with the criticism that the war was unforgivably weak in its efforts to fight Hamas. Shai Hajaj endorsed the Likud party in an interview…

Rabbi Haim Druckman, head of the Bnei Akiva yeshivas and a leading religious-Zionist figure, feels optimism in the air following Sunday’s huge rally in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square for the right-wing. “It was thrilling to see the crowds that turned out in support,” he stated to Arutz Sheva Monday.  Rabbi Druckman also addressed the dilemma many voters face: to…

The five are Britain, Italy, France, Spain, and Germany. Their consul-generals met last week with senior Israeli Foreign Ministry official Alon Ushpiz to tell him of their approval. They specifically complimented Israel’s cooperation with the United Nations reconstruction apparatus, the fact that it doubled its water supply to Gaza, and the recent easing of export…

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu vowed on Monday that if reelected he will build thousands more Jewish homes in Jerusalem and prevent future concessions to the Palestinians in the capital. Speaking ahead of Tuesday’s general election on a whistlestop tour of the Har Homa neighborhood in southern Jerusalem, Netanyahu vowed he would never allow the Palestinian Authority to…

Islamic State is “laying siege to America,” Al-Aqsa Mosque preacher Muhammad Abed (“Abu Abdallah”) insisted in two separate Friday sermons from the Temple Mount.  ISIS jihadists are “laying siege to America, despite its nuclear arsenal,” he stated, in the clip, provided by the Middle Eastern Research Media Institute (MEMRI). “They are laying siege to Europe…

Famed actor Chuck Norris is once again endorsing Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and is calling on all his friends in Israel to vote for the Likud party in Tuesday’s election. “I watched Prime Minister Netanyahu speak before Congress, and saw a man who loves his country with all his heart and soul,” Norris said in…

French experts have ruled out that the 2004 death of iconic Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was the result of poisoning, a prosecutor told AFP Monday. The prosecutor of the western Paris suburb of Nanterre said the experts found there was no foul play in Arafat’s death, which sparked immediate and enduring conspiracy rumors. The findings echo those of Russian experts…

Joining his fellow Likud MKs in disparaging Tzipi Livni’s announcement that she was giving up her rotation agreement with Zionist Union co-chair Yitzhak Herzog, was Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu himself.  Livni dropped the news bomb Monday night, claiming that maintaing the rotation deal would constitute an obstacle to Herzog forming the next government.  According to Livni, the most…

While Tzipi Livni may have given up her rotation deal with Labor leader Yitzhak Herzog on Monday in an effort to win more votes before Tuesday’s election, the party has also singled out Yesh Atid to take voters from.  In the 30th slot on the Zionist Union’s List is campaign worker Eldad Yaniv. Despite having…

Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, who heads the haredi stream known as the “Jerusalem faction,” has decided to back the Yachad-Ha’am Itanu party under Eli Yishai, according to Channels 2 and 10. The instruction to vote Yachad will apparently not be openly announced, but will either be published in the stream’s newspaper, Hapeles, or simply be communicated…

A senior Saudi prince told the BBC Monday that if Iran is granted the right to enrich uranium – Saudi Arabia will demand the same right. “I’ve always said whatever comes out of these talks, we will want the same,” said Prince Turki al-Faisal, who has previously served as head of Saudi intelligence and Riyadh’s…

A gag order was lifted on Monday regarding the details of Mohammed Salaimeh, a 22-year-old Arab resident of the Ras al-Amud neighborhood of Jerusalem, who is the terrorist behind the car terror attack on female Border Patrol officers in Jerusalem ten days ago. On March 6 at 9:50 a.m., Salaimeh drove in his car on Highway 1 in Jerusalem…

Hamas said Saturday that it has rebuilt numerous bases and training sites on the Israeli border of Gaza, stressing it is “not afraid” of launching its next war against Israel. The revelations were made in a report on the official website of the Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s “military wing,” which was cited by the Palestinian Arab Ma’an News Agency. In…

This week we’re talking about “Orthodox Women who Work”, with special guests Tova Herskovitz from “Women in the Workforce” and Chaya Fishman from “The Jewish Women’s Entrepreneur Network”. To listen to previous shows go to N.S.N. – click here

Turkey’s financial resources and deep military capabilities would make it a formidable enemy for Syria or Islamic State (ISIS) on the battlefield, but the eventual cost to its security could be too high, says an expert. That risk is even more pronounced when it comes to Iran, leaving the Turks at a loss for a strategy against Iran’s reach across…

Labor head Yitzhak Herzog, whose party is running on a joint list with Tzipi Livni’s Hatnua under the title “Zionist Union,” spoke with Channel 10 in a TV interview on Monday, a mere day before elections, and warned that Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid is posing a problem. “I have no doubt that we have a clash with Yesh Atid,”…

Hollywood star Michael Douglas, two time Academy Award and four time Golden Globes Award winner, recently opened up in an op-ed about his process of growing closer to Judaism, and shared a recent run-in with anti-Semitism faced by his son. In the op-ed, published in the Los Angeles Times this Saturday and entitled “Michael Douglas finds Judaism and…

Federica Mogherni, who has headed the foreign policy department of the European Union (EU) for only five months, has recommended the formation of a EU task-force against anti-Semitism. “I transferred the idea as a policy recommendation to EU Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans,” Mogherni declared last week. “[He] has the formal authority in this issue, and we are…

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is preparing to step back from his role as envoy for the Quartet of Middle East peace negotiators, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. After nearly eight years, the Blair has recognized that a frontline role is no longer tenable, according to several people familiar with the situation. His…

Although there are a number of very important domestic issues that need resolution (such as housing prices) and the political parties are all promising solutions, the overwhelming  and priority issue that must be taken into consideration when casting a ballot is – which party is best capable of handling the problem of a nuclear armed…

Voting commenced Sunday for IDF soldiers, two days before everyone else in Israel gets to choose who will lead the country. Voting for soldiers will continue through the end of election day, in order to enable all soldiers to exercise their right to vote, even if they are currently in the field and will not…

Nationalists gathered at Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square Sunday evening for a show of strength, with elections just 36 hours away. Musicians Amir Benayun and Udi Davidi were schduled to perform at the rally, but Elections Committee Chairman, Judge Salim Jubran, ruled Sunday that artists may not take part in the event. The judge explained that the law forbids unfair influence…

In a recent television interview translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Zahar defended his group’s ties with Iran. “We have maintained that countries that believe in our ideology and can help us – countries like Iran that believe we are capable of liberating Palestine… These are the countries…

One of Iran’s leaders on Sunday said that a nuclear deal with Iran would be possible if the United States does not listen to the “Zionist lobbies”. “At present, settlement of issues needs political will. There are still differences over the method of removing the sanctions and we think that if the Americans refrain from…

The tomb of Iraq’s former dictator Saddam Hussein was virtually leveled in heavy clashes between the Islamic State (ISIS) group and Iraqi forces in a fight for control of the city of Tikrit, The Associated Press (AP) reported on Sunday. Fighting intensified to the north and south of Saddam Hussein’s hometown Sunday as Iraqi security…

Britain insisted on Sunday that President Bashar Al-Assad had no place in Syria’s future, after the United States conceded it would have to negotiate with the embattled leader to end the country’s civil war. “Assad has no place in Syria’s future,” a Foreign Office spokeswoman said in a statement quoted by AFP, in response to…

Three British teenagers suspected of trying to travel to Syria were released on bail late Sunday after being questioned for 24 hours on suspicion of preparing acts of terrorism, police said, according to AFP. Two 17-year-old boys from northwest London and a man aged 19 were detained by authorities in Turkey on Friday and were…

Turkish foreign policy is a mess. In 2009, then Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu declared Turkey had a “zero problems” foreign policy, allowing it to reach out to countries throughout the Middle East. Within three years, its relationships with both Israel and Syria had collapsed. Turkey was thinking of becoming Hamas’ main patron and was willing…

The Dallas Jewish community was shocked last week after the car of one of the city’s pulpit rabbis was vandalized with a swastika.  Dallas, one of the largest cities in the US state of Texas, also has one of the largest Jewish communities in the state, with a presence there for over 150 years.  Rabbi Yaakov Rich,…

On Saturday night, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and the Likud rejected Jewish Home’s offer for a “unified technical bloc” and Chairman Naftali Bennett is biting back.  The offer consisted of a bloc of at least 35 seats shared by Likud and Jewish Home, which would then turn to President Reuven Rivlin and recommend Netanyahu for prime minister.  Likud…

A massive right-wing rally, titled “United for the Land of Israel,” will be held Sunday night at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv. Despite reports that right-wing politicians were opposed to the rally, many leaders from different parties are expected to speak. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will attend, it was confirmed Sunday morning, and musical artists Udi Davidi and…

With elections just two days away, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has promised Moshe Kahlon the finance portfolio.  Regardless of the number of seats Kulanu receives, its party Chairman will be the next Finance Minister, Netanyahu announced during an interview to be broadcast Sunday morning on Army Radio.   “I cannot form a government without him,” Netanyahu admitted. “Together, Kahlon…

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell defended on Sunday the letter he and 46 other Republican senators sent to Iran’s leaders on Monday, in which they informed Iranian leaders that any deal they sign with the Obama Administration would serve only as an executive agreement that could be revoked by a future president. President Barack Obama…

Ahead of tonight’s major nationalist rally in Tel Aviv, and just two days before general elections, Prime Minister and Likud party leader Binyamin Netanyahu spoke exclusively in English to Arutz Sheva, and appealed to right-wing voters to cast their ballots for Likud – saying only his party could prevent the establishment of a leftist government which would…

Even as Hamas claims to be discussing a long term “quiet period,” in which it will promise not to attack Israel for five years in exchange for being allowed to develop Gaza economically, top Hamas terrorists were planning their next round of battle against Israel – to be launched from Judea and Samaria. In an…

Actor Jon Voight has released a message of support for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday, encouraging Israelis to vote for him and encouraging American support for the premier ahead of the 2015 Knesset elections later this week.  Voight, in his address, argued that a vote for contender Yitzhak Herzog places Israel in imminent danger…

Belgian authorities say they plan to separate prisoners deemed at risk of converting others to Islamist extremism, as fears mount that prisons are jihadist breeding grounds, AFP reported on Saturday. Justice Minister Koen Geens told Belgian media that such prisoners will be locked up by the end of the year in special prison sections created…

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Saturday he hoped it would be possible to reach an interim deal with Iran “in the next days” if Tehran can show that its nuclear power program is for peaceful purposes only, according to Reuters. Speaking ahead of fresh talks with Iran in Lausanne, Switzerland, schedule to…

An Egyptian disciplinary court on Saturday ordered 41 judges into compulsory retirement for supporting the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, judicial sources said, according to the Reuters news agency. The Disciplinary Council headed by Nabil Zaki, a judge, did not immediately release the reason for its decision, but the judicial sources said 31 of the judges were…

Hamas’s interior ministry in Gaza on Saturday accused the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) security forces of being behind a wave of violence in the coastal enclave, AFP reported. The ministry’s spokesman Iyad al-Bozum accused “members of the former security establishment in Gaza” of “exploiting the difficult conditions, especially since the last war, to spread chaos and…

Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks on Saturday made his first public appearance in Copenhagen after surviving an attack last month in the Danish capital, local media reported, according to AFP. The 68-year-old cartoonist, who whipped up an outcry across the Muslim world with his 2007 sketch of the Prophet Mohammed as a dog, had lived in…

Jewish Home chairman Naftali Bennett announced on Saturday night that after the results of Tuesday’s election are made public, he will call Binyamin Netanyahu and suggest a “unified technical bloc” of at least 35 seats with the Likud. That bloc would then go to President Reuven Rivlin and recommend Netanyahu for Prime Minister. The Likud…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu tried to cancel a January briefing for U.S. Senators by Mossad Head Tamir Pardo, reports Time, citing sources familiar with the events. The head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Tennessee Republican Bob Corker, had requested the Jan. 19 briefing for six of his colleagues traveling to Israel “so that the…

Mark Levin, the presenter of the popular US radio show bearing his name, told Israel Hayom Friday that if Likud under Binyamin Netanyahu is defeated in the elections Tuesday – “one of the few voices left speaking the truth about what is going on in the world, about liberty and democracy and the truth about…

The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has launched a bipartisan probe into an American nonprofit’s funding of efforts to oust Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, after the Obama administration’s State Department gave the nonprofit taxpayer-funded grants, FoxNews.com reported Saturday. The source was described as having “knowledge of the panel’s activities.” Both the Democratic and the…

Likud Minister Gilad Erdan said in a live interview panel Saturday at a Tel Aviv theater that the first party to join a Likud coalition after the elections will be the Jewish Home, who are Likud’s “natural partners.” “My preference,” Erdan added, “is a government – assuming that Bibi will form it – with [Jewish…

Iraqi commanders were plotting a strategy for flushing out the few remaining Islamic State terrorist group jihadists from central Tikrit, a city one commander said Saturday would be liberated within three days.   The massively outnumbered ISIS fighters are completely boxed in but protected by snipers and thousands of bombs they planted across the city. That…

An influential relative of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, once infamous for smuggling, has been assassinated in a dispute over control of a key government stronghold, a monitor said Saturday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said Mohamed al-Assad was shot dead on Friday in Latakia province, the heartland of the president’s Alawite…

US President Barack Obama is “committed” to a two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, Secretary of State John Kerry said Saturday on the stalled Middle East peace process. “The position of the United States with respect to our long expressed hope, the Republicans and the Democrats alike (and) many presidents of the last 50 years…

The IDF has made changes to the “preferences of service” form filled out by recruits eligible for combat positions – adding more options that will require them to choose between less popular units, such as Combat Intelligence Collection Corps or Military Police soldiers responsible for Judea and Samaria passages. The new questionnaire, the first in…

Secretary of State John Kerry said on Saturday while in Egypt that whatever the outcome in the Israeli election, the US hopes it will help push the peace process with the Palestinians forward. The United States “remains hopeful that whatever the choice that the people of Israel make, that there will be an ability to…

The Obama administration expects that as a matter of course, the UN Security Council would endorse any final nuclear agreement reached between world powers and Iran, the State Department said Friday, according to The Associated Press (AP). Spokeswoman Jen Psaki also denied reports from Thursday that there are talks already in place to remove the…

Many Jewish bodies in Europe are being bankrupted by the growing need for security measures, the State Department’s special envoy on anti-Semitism said on Friday, according to AFP. Jewish communities in Europe are on edge after being targeted by Islamist gunmen in recent attacks in France and Denmark. But even before that, many said they…

Final pre-election polls released on Friday evening show that the “Zionist Union”, headed by Yitzhak Herzog and Tzipi Livni, is maintaining a four-seat lead over the Likud headed by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. According to election laws in Israel polls cannot be released in the final three days before election day, which is on Tuesday.…

Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Friday said there was no other choice but to “reexamine” relations with Israel, Kol Yisrael radio reported. Speaking on the sidelines of an economic conference at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Abbas criticized Israel for suspending the transfer of the PA’s tax revenues, a move…

Yuval Diskin, formerly the head of the Israel Security Agency (ISA or Shin Bet), on Friday said he backed Yitzhak Herzog, who heads the joint Labor-Hatnua list, as a candidate for Prime Minister. In a post on his Facebook page Diskin, who is known for his constant criticism of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, wrote, “Why…

Nuclear talks between Western powers and Iran have made progress, but some very difficult issues remain, a senior European diplomat said on Friday, according to Reuters According to the diplomat it is hard to tell if there can be a breakthrough when negotiations resume next week. Iran and the six world powers are trying to…

The United States is working to provide an additional $70 million in non-lethal aid to the Syrian opposition, the State Department said Friday, according to Turkey’s Anadolu news agency. Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken announced the new funds during an event marking the anniversary of the Syrian revolution. The event was attended by Syrian…

Republican Senator John McCain said on Thursday that Republicans stood behind a letter to Iran’s leaders threatening to undo any nuclear deal despite an outpouring of criticism. According to Reuters, the senator from Arizona said the Republican senators could have taken more time to talk about it, but stressed he had no remorse. “Maybe we…

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker on Thursday warned President Barack Obama against taking a potential nuclear deal with Iran to the UN Security Council while bypassing Congress. “There are now reports that your administration is contemplating taking an agreement, or aspects of it, to the United Nations Security Council for a vote,” Corker,…

The letter written by Republican senators to Iran’s leadership has garnered quite a bit of criticism, with the latest coming on Thursday from Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Speaking at a meeting with President Hassan Rouhani and senior clerics, Khamenei said the senators’ letter was a sign of the collapse of “political morality” in…

The United States on Thursday renewed its call for Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad to step down, marking the fourth anniversary of the civil war by paying tribute to “the brave Syrians” fighting tyranny. “For four years the Assad regime has answered Syrians’ calls for freedom and reform with unrelenting brutality, authoritarianism and destruction,” State Department…

United States Secretary of State John Kerry will meet Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah II on the sidelines of economic talks in Egypt on Friday, American officials said on Thursday night. The talks are likely to focus on the economic crisis facing the PA and could be a four-way meeting…

Major world powers have quietly begun talks on a UN Security Council resolution to lift UN sanctions on Iran if a nuclear agreement is struck, Western officials said Thursday, according to the Reuters news agency. The comments come a day after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told Congress that an Iran nuclear deal would…

MK Yitzhak Herzog, leader of the “Zionist Union”, said on Thursday that he would not give away parts of Jerusalem as part of a peace agreement with the Palestinian Authority (PA). Speaking to Channel 10 News, Herzog did not rule out that “some sort of arrangements” could be worked out, but stressed, “Jerusalem must remain…

Everyone is excited about the prospects that Israel could foster a new military ally in India. People should not expect as deep a strategic relationship though as Israel has with, say, the United States. Well, not yet at least. In a continuing discussion with Arjun Rashem Hardas, the American Jewish Committee’s (AJC) representative in India…

The mayor of a small town in eastern Germany has resigned, he told local media Wednesday, after a neo-Nazi demonstration against immigration erupted outside his home – and after local authorities failed to stop it.  German media has been captivated by the resignation of Markus Nierth, 46, who was the mayor of Tröglitz until this week.…

Nobel Prize in Economics winner Prof. Yisrael (Robert) Aumann spoke to Arutz Sheva ahead of the elections next Tuesday, and despite concern that Likud may be outpaced by Labor in the race to form a government, he had sharp words for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Aumann said he doesn’t hold it against leftist sources for their campaign…

Shira Nussdorf and Gil Hoffman host a panel of seven distinguished Knesset hopefuls navigating questions on the economy civil society. MKs Ronen Shoval (Jewish Home), Yoav Kish (Likud), Merav Michaeli (Labor-Hatnua), Michael Oren (Kulanu), Ashley Perry (Yisrael Beytenu), Dov Lipman (Yesh Atid), Uri Zaki (Meretz) answer questions on the main issue of this elections: the housing crisis and cost of living issues.…

Sixteen Indonesians, mostly women and children, have been arrested in Turkey attempting to cross into Syria to join the Islamic State (ISIS) group, a minister said, the latest case of Indonesians heading to battlegrounds in the Middle East. The 11 children, four women and one man from the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country were detained in the Turkish border…

An Australian preacher’s anti-Semitic rant has made waves this week, after footage surfaced of him Thursday calling Jews “the most evil creatures of Allah.”  Ismail Al-Wahwah, spokesman for the Australian chapter of the Islamist extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir, gave the offending sermon on the first Friday in March. His remarks were translated by the Middle…

“Good day, my name is Mouaz.” The Portuguese is rudimentary, but the effort is sincere. The young man at a Sao Paulo mosque left the horrors of the Syrian civil war for a new life in Brazil, and he’s adapting as well as he can. The South American giant has been home for some decades to a…

Likud MK Miri Regev responded to a report on Friday that Labor chair Yitzhak Herzog paid a private company to launch a campaign against his predecessor Shelly Yechimovich, saying she had asked the attorney general to urgently investigate the case. Israel Hayom reported on Friday morning that Herzog had waged a struggle for years against reforms…

Jewish Home chairman and Economy Minister Naftali Bennett made a late-night visit to Hevron in the early hours of Friday morning, where he prayed at the Cave of Machpelah and visited the gravesite of the Jewish patriarch Yitzhak (Isaac), which is usually closed to Jews. Bennett also met with Hevron Brigade Commander Yariv Ben Ezra. Jewish…

Senior Hamas politburo official Khalil al-Hayya said in a conference in Gaza’s Khan Younis on Friday that Hamas and the other local terrorist organizations are obligated to keeping the ceasefire reached at the end of Operation Protective Edge last summer. “We aren’t lovers of war, and if the occupation will stick to the truce deal,…

The Turkish coastguard opened fire to stop a cargo vessel carrying 337 mainly Syrian migrants heading towards European Union waters and arrested the suspected traffickers, a top local official said Friday. The coastguard had on Thursday evening launched an operation to chase down the 59 meter (194 foot) Dogan Kartal as it headed through the Dardanelles Straits in northwest Turkey, reports AFP. The…

Iraqi army forces and Shi’ite militias, with the help of Iranian Revolutionary Guards officers, continue their fight to liberate Tikrit from Islamic State (ISIS), according to local reports Friday.  Iraqi officials explained that Iranian involvement in the region is deepening.  Hadi al-Aamiri, leader of the “Badr” sect of the Iraqi parliament, said in an interview with Asharq…

Rabbi Meir Mazuz, the rabbinical counsel of Yachad – Ha’am Itanu chairperson Eli Yishai, in responding to a student’s question on Friday revealed the party intends to demand the cancellation of the Enlistment Law that compels haredi army recruitment as a coalition condition. The rabbi received a letter on Friday from a student, Tzuriel Biton, which…

The Hyper Cacher Jewish supermarket in Paris that became the site of a bloody hostage drama during a jihadist attack in January will re-open Sunday, a management source stated to AFP Friday. The kosher shop has been fully renovated and will re-open with new staff, the source said. The Hyper Cacher store on the eastern edge of Paris was badly…

Economy Minister Naftali Bennett has not done his part to help Israelis with their housing and daily lives, Kulanu party chairman and former Likud minister Moshe Kahlon opined Friday. “I want to let you know, Mr. Bennett – I am with the nationalist camp,” Kahlon stated, speaking from a visit to local vendors in Hadera Friday. “Just because I’m…

Rasmieh Yousef Odeh, 67, was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Thursday for immigration fraud for failing to tell US authorities that she had been jailed in Israel for a 1969 supermarket bombing in which she murdered two Israeli students, Leon Kanner and Eddie Joffe. She had been found guilty of immigration fraud in a Detroit federal court last November, with…

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon urged the Security Council on Thursday to overcome divisions and take action to end the war in Syria as the conflict entered its fifth year with little prospect for peace. The appeal came on the heels of scathing criticism from 21 human rights and aid groups who accused world powers of “failing Syria” in a report that highlighted…

The Islamic State (ISIS) group has accepted a pledge of allegiance to the group made by the Nigerian jihadist organization Boko Haram,  according to an audiotape Thursday purportedly from its spokesman. “We announce to you to the good news of the expansion of the caliphate to West Africa because the caliph…has accepted the allegiance of  our brothers of the Sunni group…

The French National Bureau of Vigilance Against Anti-Semitism (BNVCA) reported that two Jewish teens were assaulted and robbed while leaving a synagogue in Marseille, and as a result of the attack required medical treatment. The attack by two assailants “of African origin” according to the victims occurred on Tuesday. There are many Muslim African immigrants in…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu launched a media blitz Thursday, granting interviews to Israeli television channels as well as other news sources, in a last-minute attempt to shore up support ahead of Tuesday’s national elections. Netanyahu cited polls that show Likud’s main rival, Labor under Yitzhak Herzog, leads over Likud by several MKs. While most of the…

A new poll continues to show Likud falling behind Labor and Hatnua’s “Zionist Camp” a week before elections, with the distance between the two remaining at 21 seats to Likud and 24 to Labor. The poll, which was conducted by the Maagar Mochot Institute for the haredi radio station Kol Barama, confirms findings by several recent…

Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday declared that U.S. lawmakers won’t be able to change the terms of any nuclear agreement with Iran because it won’t be legally binding, The Associated Press (AP) reported. The comments came amid tensions between Democrats and Republicans over a letter to Iran’s leadership, written by 47 Republican lawmakers,…

Hamas is continuing to incite youths in Gaza towards violence against Israelis. During a Hamas rally held in Gaza on March 6, two boys rapped about fighting “the occupation”. “Through the tunnels, we will capture soldiers and fight Jews,” they rapped in the rally, which was broadcast on Hamas’s Al-Aqsa TV and translated by the…

The United States and Cuba have re-established a direct telephone link, the Cuban state telecommunications company said Wednesday, the AFP news agency reported. For the first time since 1999, calls can now be made directly from the United States to Cuba and vice versa, without passing through a third country, the company, Etecsa, said in…

The presence of Iranian advisers in the Iraq battle for Tikrit is “concerning” to the United States, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said Wednesday, according to AFP. The comments came as a mostly Shiite Iraqi force, including Iranian-backed militias, entered Tikrit after a 10-day push to enter the city in order to take it from…

Vegetables harvested in Gaza will be exported to Israel for the first time in eight years on Thursday, the Palestinian Arab Ma’an news agency reports. A Gaza merchant, Salim Abu Samra, told the news agency on Wednesday that four truckloads of Gaza tomatoes and eggplants would be shipped from the coastal enclave. He confirmed that…

Attacks in and around Baghdad, mostly bomb blasts, killed at least 17 people on Wednesday, Iraqi police and medical sources said, according to the AFP news agency. The deadliest single attack was a car bombing in the Hurriya district which killed nine people and wounded 30, a police colonel and a hospital official said. A…

A new petition sent to the White House is calling to file charges of treason against 47 senators who wrote a letter to Iran’s leadership, warning that any nuclear deal they sign with President Barack Obama will be void once he leaves office. “On March 9th, 2015, forty-seven United States Senators committed a treasonous offense…

An Australian teenager who carried out a suicide attack in Iraq was under surveillance and his passport had been cancelled, officials said Thursday, as reports emerged that he left bomb-making material at his home before fleeing.   A photo posted online, purportedly from a propaganda video by the Islamic State terror group (ISIS), shows a white…

Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri continued Thursday morning to reject the option of his party sitting in a left-wing government led by Labor leader Yitzhak Herzog.  This latest refusal, however, comes on the backdrop of a Haaretz headline from Wednesday, entitled, “Shas Doesn’t Rule Out Coalition with Herzog.” Deri, who participated in an online chat with Haaretz readers on Tuesday…

Turkey on Thursday claimed an intelligence agent working for one of the states in the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State (ISIS) group had been captured for helping three British teenage girls cross into Syria to join the terrorists. “Do you know who helped those girls? He was captured. He was someone working for the intelligence (service) of a country in the…

The Koby Mandell Foundation, founded by the parents of terror victim Koby Mandell who was murdered in the early days of the Second Intifada, sponsors special post-trauma camps for kids aged 8 to 17. Arutz Sheva spoke with Rabbi Seth Mandell and his wife Sherri, who together founded the group in honor of their murdered son and launched the organization’s…

The body of a young German woman killed in Syria fighting with  Kurdish forces against the Islamic State (ISIS) group was on Thursday transferred to the Turkish side of the border ahead of burial in Germany, reports said. Ivana Hoffmann is believed to be the first female national of a Western state to have been killed fighting for the Kurds…