Category: News

Controversial French comedian Dieudonné M’bala M’bala is facing a ban by French authorities, who say he has gone “too far” in promoting anti-Semitism and holocaust denial. Dieudonné has a long history of anti-Semitic comments and performances – from branding “the Jews” as “a sect, a fraud”, and referring to Holocaust commemorations as “memorial pornography”; to appearing on stage…

An airstrike by Syrian government forces has killed at least 21 people in a busy market in Syria’s hotly disputed second city Aleppo, according to activists. Dozens more were reportedly wounded in the strikes, which come as pro-regime forces continue to battle for control of the city against rebel forces. It also comes amid a…

Two New York lawmakers are fighting an anti-Israel boycott with a campaign of their own: to stop the flow of public funds to schools involved in the scandal.  The New York Daily News reported Friday that Senate co-leader Jeffrey Klein and Assemblyman Dov Hikind are proposing a bill that would give colleges and universities in the state…

An earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale shook Cyprus Saturday night, with the effects felt as far east as Northern Israel. The two areas primarily affected were Haifa and the Krayot.  The quake’s epicenter was about 50 kilometers deep in the Mediterranean Sea, and about 80 kilometers from Antalya, Turkey.  No casualties are reported…

The operation to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons program will miss its December 31 deadline, Mail Guardian reported Saturday.  Franz Krawinkler, head of logistics for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), confirmed to Austrian state television Saturday that bad weather has delayed the transport of crucial supplies for the mission. The shifting front lines in…

A federal judge in New York ruled Friday that the National Security Agency’s (NSA) bulk collection of data on nearly every phone call made in the United States is legal, reports CNN. The ruling contrasts with another ruling last week by a federal judge in Washington, who called the same program “almost Orwellian” and likely…

United States Secretary of State John Kerry has offered Israel the release of Jonathan Pollard, Channel 10 News reported on Friday. According to the report, Kerry’s offer was made as part of the discussions surrounding the upcoming planned release of 26 terrorists from Israeli jails as a “gesture” to Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Kol…

The Lebanese Hezbollah terror group denied on Friday that it was responsible for the assassination of Mohammed Shatah, a former minister and an adviser to Future Movement leader Saad Hariri. Shatah was killed in a car bomb explosion in downtown Beirut on Friday morning. Five other people were killed and at least 15 were wounded…

Hebrew University research teams have found how bacteria can survive treatment with antibiotics – even when the strain is not inherently antibiotic-resistant.  The discovery, which was published this week in prestigious science journal Nature Communications, could possibly improve treatment methods for bacterial infections. Hebrew University’s medical school and department of developmental biology and cancer research coordinated…

The Israeli government has been planning a new program to encourage French Jews to make Aliyah, Maariv reports Friday.  The program, which will be implemented over a 3-year period, is intended to help French Jews emigrate to Israel on a large scale – following reports that French Jewry has been leaving en masse due to anti-semitism. The program will…

Tears flowed freely as a group of 38 Bnei Menashe, descendants of a Lost Tribe of Israel, were greeted by relatives at Ben Gurion Airport after making Aliyah yesterday from India. The immigrants, who hail from the northeastern Indian state of Mizoram, were brought to Israel by the organization, which recently received permission from the Israeli…

A powerful explosion has rocked downtown Beirut Friday, according to the Washington Post, shattering windows and killing an unknown number of people. It has been confirmed that former Lebanese minister Mohammed Shattah, adviser to former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and a staunch critic of Iranian-backed Hezbollah, was killed in the blast. Hariri and 21 others were killed in…

A powerful explosion has rocked downtown Beirut Friday, according to the Washington Post, shattering windows and killing an unknown number of people. It has been confirmed that former Lebanese minister Mohammed Shattah, adviser to former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, was killed in the blast. Hariri and 21 others were killed in a car bomb attack in Beirut…

Iraq’s rising violence and concerns of an all-out sectarian war appears set to flare up even further, as Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki recently ordered Muslim prayers to be directed to the Shi’ite holy city Karbala, instead of Mecca. Karabala is where Imam Al-Hussein, a Shi’ite “martyr” who refused to surrender the Islamic Caliphate to Sunni…

Iran is developing a “new generation” of centrifuges, the head of its Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Ali Akbar Salehi, said Thursday. According to Press TV, the Iranian nuclear chief said there are currently 19,000 centrifuges in the country. He added that “a new generation of centrifuges is being built, but they should undergo…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu delieverd a threatening message to Hamas and probably to Iran, too, on Thursday, although he specifically mentioned only the former. “The secret operations that the Air Force carried out in recent years are evidence to the fact that we will not hesitate to strike those who threaten our existence,” he said…

A video message from Warren Weinstein, an American hostage held by Al Qaeda, was sent anonymously to the Washington Post on Wednesday. In the video a bearded and dejected looking Weinstein appealed directly to US President Barack Obama to negotiate his release. Weinstein, now 72 and in poor health with a heart condition and acute…

A Kassam rocket was fired from Gaza Thursday evening, the second in as many days. The rocket fell in open ground right near a community in the south, causing no injuries or damage.  In response, the IAF struck several targets in Gaza. According to an IDF statement, the sites including a weapons production site in central Gaza,…

A report in a Kuwaiti newspaper Thursday said that Hezbollah terrorists are traveling the world freely, seeking opportunities to carry out terror attacks against Israelis and Jews – using passports issued in Australia, Canada, and a variety of European countries. Quoting a Western intelligence source, the report said that Hezbollah has already used these passports…

A terrorist from Gaza was arrested in early December in connection to shooting attacks and other terrorist activity targeting Israelis, the Shin Bet revealed Thursday. The terrorist was identified as 32-year-old Mohammed Abu-Amshah, a resident of Beit Hanoun and a member of the Fatah-affiliated Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade. He is accused of several terror-related offenses, including…

Gaza terrorists fired one rocket at southern Israel on Wednesday night. The rocket exploded within Gaza. The attack follows Israeli strikes in Gaza, which came in response to a terrorist attack that killed an IDF employee. A source in Israel’s defense establishment told Arutz Sheva that Hamas’ relatively low-key response to the airstrikes should not…

A government committee is set to meet Thursday to discuss the names of terrorists Israel will be releasing from its prisons next week, in the third batch of releases Israel committed to over the summer as the price for luring Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas back to the negotiating table. The release of 20 terrorists,…

One person has been killed and at least four people have been injured after a bomb was thrown at a bus in outside the Azhar University in Cairo Thursday morning. The site of the explosion has been cordoned off and is being investigated by police, according to Egyptian media reports.   The apparent terrorist attack…

The Egyptian Army announced Wednesday that it had apprehended a Hamas terrorist in the northern Sinai Desert, Al-Arabiya reports.  The terrorist was named as Jumaa Khamis Mohammed Brayha, who claimed to stem from a family powerful in Hamas’s ranks.  During interrogation, according to the Egyptian army, the young man admitted that he was intending to blow…

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will speak at the Knesset during his upcoming visit to Israel, which will begin on January 20, Shalom Toronto reported on Wednesday. Harper will lead a delegation of some 200 people, including Canadian journalists, the report said. During the visit, Harper will also visit Ramallah and Jordan. This is Harper’s…

The IDF deployed an Iron Dome anti-missile system in the southern Israeli city of Be’er Sheva on Wednesday night. The decision to deploy the system was made following a security assessment and in the wake of the recent escalation in terror attacks in the region. Earlier on Wednesday, the IDF deployed the Iron Dome in…

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan replaced half the ministers in his cabinet on Wednesday evening, hours after three ministers resigned over a corruption and bribery investigation, reports Today’s Zaman. Erdogan introduced 10 new names to ministries in a major cabinet reshuffle. He presented his new cabinet to President Abdullah Gul. Erdogan said before announcing…

The Egyptian government has designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, one day after a deadly attack on a security building in the city of Mansoura killed 14 people and wounded more than 100 others. “The Cabinet has declared the Muslim Brotherhood group and its organisation as a terrorist organisation,” Deputy Prime Minister Hossam Eissa…

Three senior Turkish ministers have resigned as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Islamist government continued to reel from the fallout of an ongoing and controversial corruption scandal. Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan, Interior Minister Muammer Güler and Environment and Urbanization Minister Erdoğan Bayraktar all officially announced their resignations today. Urbanization Minister Bayraktar called on Erdogan to…

Six members of the French Jewish Defense League – the Ligue de Defense Juive (LDJ) – were arrested after allegedly beating up Neo-Nazis. The group reportedly the group tracked down the Neo-Nazis from photos on the internet, showing them making Nazi salutes at anti-Semitic demonstrations. The 6 were arrested over suspected connection to the string of attacks…

Fearing rocket fire from Gaza, the IDF deployed the Iron Dome anti-missile system Wednesday to protect the Western Negev city of Sderot.  On Tuesday, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) struck multiple terror enclaves in Hamas-controlled Gaza, in response to the murder of 22 year-old Salah Shukri Abu Latyef earlier that day. Laytef had been fixing damage to…

Iran is considering moving its capital from Tehran. The city, which houses 12 million Iranians, suffers from heavy pollution, overcrowding and severe earthquake dangers. Iran, located on several geological fault-lines, reportedly has one light earthquake per day on average. The Iranian parliament accepted the outlines of a proposal to establish a council tasked with finding…

Two Israelis, a man and woman in their 30s, suffered minor injuries on Tuesday night, after Arab terrorists threw rocks at their cars as they drove near the Western Shomron (Samaria) community of Oranit. The two were taken to the Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva for treatment. Earlier in the same area, an Israeli bus…

Syria accused rebels on Tuesday of recently attacking two sites where chemical arms were stored, AFP reported, citing the state news agency SANA. A source in Syria’s foreign ministry claimed the attacks on December 21 came just as preparations were being made for the arms at the sites to be destroyed outside Syria, under a…

The Israeli police officer wounded Monday in a terrorist attack north of Jerusalem is now awake and responsive, but has lost a kidney, doctors say. Officer Rami Ravid was stabbed by a terrorist at the Adam checkpoint north of Jerusalem. He suffered moderate injuries, and was unconscious and on a respirator until Tuesday morning. His…

The ultimate goal of the Hamas movement is to establish Islam worldwide, Hamas minister Fathi Hammad declared during a recent public address in Gaza. “We shall liberate our land, Allah willing. We shall liberate our Al-Aqsa Mosque, and our cities and villages, as a prelude to the establishment of the future Islamic Caliphate. Therefore, brothers…

A senior IDF commander spoke Tuesday evening about the fatal terrorist shooting near Gaza earlier in the day, and the IDF’s expected response. A Gazan terrorist shot and killed 22-year-old Salah Abu-Latif of Rahat, a civilian IDF employee who was working on repairs to the Gaza security fence. The IDF views the incident as particularly…

An Israeli bus driver was injured Tuesday evening when Palestinian Arab attackers hurled stones at his bus as he drove in Samaria (Shomron). The driver suffered a head injury in the attack, which took place on the road between Alei Zahav and Oranit. Despite his injury he managed to drive to the nearest checkpoint to…

Recent reports reveal that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime has been supported by Iraqi crude oil imports, which for the past 9 months have slipped into the country via the Egyptian Sidi Kerir port in violation of Western sanctions. While Syria has been primarily relying on Iran for oil, Al Jazeera reports that a Reuters investigation based on commercial…

A civilian worker for the IDF was shot fatally by sniper fire near Gaza, where he was working between Nachal Oz and Kfar Aza. The worker was evacuated to Be’er Sheva’s Soroka Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The worker was fixing the security fence that was revealed to have holes and damage in it, caused…

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) has struck multiple terrorist sites throughout Gaza, in response to the fatal shooting of a civilian IDF worker by terrorist snipers from the Islamist-controlled territory. AFP claims that one of the targets was a “Hamas base” in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis. Hamas has apparently ordered its fighters to evacuate positions…

Two more universities have withdrawn their membership from the American Studies Association (ASA) in protest of decision to support an academic boycott of Israel. The two universities, Kenyon College and Indiana University, thus joined Brandeis and Penn State, which were the first universities to announce that they reject the boycott and quit the ASA. In…

The National Library will hold a special event next week to debut ancient texts found in an Afghanistan genizah, or storage area for old Jewish texts. The texts are estimated to be over 1000 years old and include writings from post-Talmudic Jewish leader Rabbi Saadiah Gaon. Professor Hagai Ben-Shammai, academic director of the National Library spoke…

Edward Snowden, former CIA employee and National Security Agency (NSA) contractor turned whistleblower, recently spoke with the Washington Post in Russia, where he has been given asylum. According to Snowden, his “mission is accomplished.” Snowden’s leaking of US spying secrets revealed a global surveillance system of unprecedented proportions, and sparked controversy between the US and foreign leaders that had their…

A terrorist prisoner who went on a hunger strike in order to pressure Israel to release him was released on Monday from an Israeli prison. According to The Associated Press (AP), Samer Issawi returned home to a joyous welcome from friends and family. Issawi’s on and off hunger strike lasted for more than eight months,…

Britain has been revoking the citizenship of its nationals who join the Syrian civil war, several British news outlets reported Monday. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism first broke the story, reporting that Home Secretary Theresa May has revoked the citizenship at least 37 Britons since May 2010.  An explicit link has not been confirmed between the rise…

Syrian rebels from Al-Qaeda are systematically forcing Syrian Druze communities to convert to Islam – or die, Walla! reported Monday. Syrian opposition forces have reportedly declared to the Israeli daily that at least 14 Druze villages have been forced to convert to Islam by the Islamist group so far. The information has apparently leaked from representatives of…

British Foreign Secretary William Hague has condemned yesterday’s attempted terrorist attack in Bat Yam. One person was lightly wounded in an explosion aboard a number 240 bus heading from the central city of Bnei Brak to Bat Yam on Sunday afternoon. Police later confirmed the bombing was an attempted terrorist attack, and that only the…

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has ruled out the possibility of extending peace talks with Israel beyond their nine-month timeframe, according to the PA’s chief negotiator Saeb Erakat. “We turn down any extension,” Erakat told the official Voice of Palestine radio station on Monday, adding that some of his recent remarks about the matter had been…

Israel’s Security Agency (ISA or the Shin Bet) statistics show that terror attacks are on the rise, Maariv reported Monday. The cause: resumed peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA). The numbers for November 2013, which were released this week, show the highest number of terror attacks this year: 167, up from 82 in July. …

The Palestinian Authority (PA) negotiating team has revealed some of contents of the secretive peace talks it has been holding with Israel, under American auspices. Independent journalist Baruch Yedid, who has maintained ongoing contact with official and unofficial PA sources, described to Arutz Sheva the situation taking place behind the smoke screen. According to Yedid, talks are…

The remains of a Kassam short-range terror rocket fired by Hamas Sunday night were located by police sappers early Monday morning. The rocket had exploded next to a transport station in a community in the Hof Ashkelon region, south of the port city of Ashkelon. No one was hurt. The “Color Red” siren that warns…

Both the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror groups welcomed Sunday’s attack on a bus in the central Israeli city of Bat Yam. Neither group, however, claimed responsibility for the bombing, in which one officer was lightly wounded. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in a statement quoted by the Palestinian Authority-based Ma’an news agency that the…

Iran’s foreign minister and the European Union’s top diplomat have agreed to postpone talks on implementing a landmark nuclear agreement until after the Christmas holiday, Iran’s chief negotiator said Sunday, according to Reuters. According to Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton spoke on the…

Western diplomats are increasingly saying that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad keeping power is a better option for Syria than the country being ruled by Islamist rebels, Gulf News reports, citing Russia’s foreign minister. “Not only in private meetings but also in public comments, the idea is occurring to some Western colleagues that … Assad remaining…

A Qassam rocket fired from Gaza landed in Egyptian regional waters Sunday, an Egyptian military official told the Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency. The official said the rocket landed 300 meters off the coast of Egypt’s Rafiah and exploded in the water. There were no injuries reported, Ma’an said. Hamas told Egyptian intelligence that the rocket…

Amid reports that the United States is planning to present a framework agreement for peace between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) within a month, the PA’s chief negotiator said on Sunday that the sides have not even had any direct talks for weeks. NRG/Maariv quoted Saeb Erekat as having said that the only talks…

President Shimon Peres on Sunday evening phoned and thanked bus driver Michael Yoger and passenger David Papo, whose actions saved lives in the explosion on the 240 bus in Bat Yam earlier in the day. Peres asked to hear the details of the event and thanked Yoger and Papo for their actions in discovering the…

MK Orit Struk of the Jewish Home (Bayit Yehudi) party called on the Israeli government to stop releasing Arab terrorist murderers from jail, following the terror attack Sunday on a bus in Bat Yam, south of Tel Aviv. The release of the murderers has been presented to the public as a “gesture” accompanying “peace talks”…

The attempted attack took place at the police roadblock at Mishor Adumim Junction, near Maale Adumim. Three Arab men got off a taxi mext to the roadblock and began advancing toward the police checkpoint. One of them held a knife. One of the policemen saw the knife and warned his colleagues. They succeeded in overcoming…

During the recent winter storm that hit Israel, tens of thousands of families went without electricity for several days – because of the many power lines that were downed by either the high winds or the weight of the snow that piled on them. The Israel Electric Company worked 24 hours a day for nearly…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu addressed the highly publicized infiltrators’ march on Jerusalem in his weekly cabinet meeting Sunday. “Illegal migrants cannot be allowed to take the law into their own hands,” Netanyahu stated. “We will enforce the law and we will deport them according to law.”  Residents of southern Tel Aviv, Eilat, and many other cities…

The International Red Cross released an estimate Sunday stating that at least half a million people have been injured in the Syrian Civil War.  “At least half a million people have been wounded across the country and millions remain displaced and tens of thousands detained,” ICRC chief Magne Barth said in a statement. “The wounded are…

A bomb exploded on a bus in Bat Yam Sunday afternoon. No passengers were reported injured, but one police officer with the bomb squad was injured as he attempted to disarm the device. According to reports, passengers noticed a suspicious object on the bus and reported it to the driver, who quickly removed all passengers…

Passengers on a bus in Bat Yam where a bomb exploded Sunday afternoon attributed the fact that no one was killed to a miracle. Police said that based on their initial investigation, the explosion on the number 240 bus from Bnai Brak to Bat Yam was due to a bomb placed by Arab terrorists. One…

Israeli leaders’ criticism of Western powers recent agreement with Iran has been good for America, former United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said, according to Maariv/nrg. Clinton reportedly said in a closed meeting in Washington that Israel’s open concern that the plan would be ineffective has kept the pressure on Iran and its…

IDF forces foiled a terror attempt from Gaza on Saturday, shooting and wounding a 22 year old terrorist who was trying to place an explosive on the border. According to the IDF: “this morning terrorists attempted to conceal an explosive device in order to attack IDF soldiers who operate in the proximity of the security fence in the…

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan haas threatened to expel foreign ambassadors over “provocative actions,” as his government faces unprecedented pressure over a major corruption scandal. “Some ambassadors are engaged in provocative actions … Do your job,” Erdogan said in televised remarks Saturday. “We don’t have to keep you in our country.” The harsh words…

Former Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia was arrested on Saturday by police at the entrance to Maaleh Adumim, just east of Jerusalem. Qureia’s Mercedes car was racing at 145 kilometers per hour (90 mph) on a road with an 80 kph (50mph) maximum speed limit. The car’s driver ignored requests by Judea and…

A new missile sporting a 200 kilometer (124 mile) range was successfully tested by Iranian Air Force fighter jets on Saturday during ongoing wargames. Reports of the test, released by Islamic Revolutionary Guards’s Fars News Agency, note that it is the first in simulated combat. The long-range Qader cruise missile was tested in southern Iran, during two days…

Former Assistant Secretary of Defense Dr. Lawrence Korb on Saturday night said that Jonathan Pollard’s ongoing imprisonment, in light of new revelations of US spying on Israeli leaders, is “absurd” and a “moral embarrassment.” Korb’s comments come as US President Barack Obama omitted Pollard from the 13 pardons he issued last Thursday. In addition to the 13, 6…

The Arab League on Saturday rejected the US proposal, by which IDF soldiers would remain in the Jordan Valley for a 10 year period as part of peace agreements between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA). Nabil Al-Arabi, secretary of the Arab League and initiator of many anti-Israel UN resolutions, said in Cairo that any…

Anonymous vandals took advantage of the recent massive snowstorm to desecrate King David’s Tomb in Jerusalem. All of the newly donated religious holy books were stamped with the name “Academy – King David.” The incident was reported by the office of Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, Chief Rabbi of the Western Wall and the Holy Sites. After the vandalism was…

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah warned Friday that his terror group will “punish” Israel for the killing of a top leader earlier this month, AFP reports. “The killers will be punished sooner or later… Those who killed our brothers will not know safety anywhere in the world,” Nasrallah said in a televised tribute to Hassan al-Lakiss,…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his predecessor Ehud Olmert were among those spied upon by the National Security Agency (NSA), documents leaked by whistleblower Edward Snowden show. According to reports Friday in the British Guardian, the New York Times and the German Der Spiegel, Britain’s eavesdropping agency, known as GCHQ, was also involved in the…

Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian Authority Arab in northern Gaza near the border with the Jewish state on Friday, emergency services and the news agency of the Hamas government said, according to AFP. The man’s body was recovered east of Beit Hanun, the emergency services said. The local Al-Rai news agency confirmed “the martyrdom…

The White House refused on Friday to respond in detail to reports that the National Security Agency (NSA) had spied on former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, former Defense Minister Ehud Barak and current Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Leaked documents by Edward Snowden which were exposed by various news outlets show that spies monitored the email…

Britain will provide a navy ship to secure the removal of chemical weapons from Syria and will also destroy 150 tons of its industrial grade chemicals, the Foreign Office said Friday. The military vessel will “assist in the safety and security of Danish and Norwegian cargo ships in international waters when removing the entire chemical…

US Secretary of State John Kerry appears to be pressing a national plan, devised in Washington DC, upon Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. The proposal comes as part of peace talks with the Palestinian Authority (PA), and includes uprooting Jewish communities from the Jordan Valley. Kerry’s staff rented 50 rooms at a luxurious Jerusalem hotel for…

Michael Reagan, son of former US President Ronald Reagan, spoke in a special interview with Arutz Sheva about the ongoing negotiations between Israel and the PA, the situation with Iran, and Israel’s security needs. Reagan spoke from the Young Israel in New York, at an event dedicated to the memory of the Righteous Gentile Raoul Wallenberg, who saved…

Journalist and satirist Didi Manousi passed away Friday morning, at the age of 85, in his home in Ramat Gan. He is survived by a wife and three children. At around 9:00 am, the family found Manousi unresponsive. They called Magen David Adom (MDA) medics to the scene, where they were forced to confirm his…

UN human rights investigators accused the Syrian government of a campaign of “enforced disappearances” against thousands of civilians in a recent report. The UN notes the phenomenon may constitute a crime against humanity. In response, rebel groups such as the Al Qaeda affiliated Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) have started capturing people as…

A pact was forged between Moscow and Jerusalem to ensure Israel’s security during a private meeting last month, according to a Friday Maariv report.  The report claims that a 90-minute conversation took place between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin during Netanyahu’s last-minute attempt to prevent an interim nuclear deal between Western powers and…

The diplomatic rift between India and the US has escalated, as India demands an American apology for the arrest and strip-search of its deputy consul general in New York last Thursday. Devyani Khobragade, the diplomat in question, was accused of falsifying a visa application for her household help Sangeeta Richard, also an Indian national. In…

Saeb Erekat, chief of the Palestinian Authority’s negotiating team, declared to journalists in Bethlehem Friday that the PA is ready to accept a 12-month interim deal with Israel – as long as demands regarding borders, land swaps, security arrangements, Jerusalem, and “refugees” are met.  “The deal is much more than a declaration of principles,” Erekat…

The Palestinian Authority (PA) continued its promotion of murder and hatred of Israel at a December 9 event, broadcasted live on PA official TV. The event was under the auspices of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, and featured the participation of the PA Minister of Culture Anwar Abu Aisha. Aisha opened the “5th Festival of the…

The White House on Thursday threatened to use its veto power against legislation that would impose new sanctions on Iran, as senators continued to promote such legislation in defiance of President Barack Obama. The threat came hours after a bipartisan group of senators filed a new Iran sanctions measure, according to the Washington Free Beacon.…

A rescue operation was under way Thursday night after part of a balcony or roof at London’s Apollo theater collapsed in the middle of a show. Several people were trapped by the debris, but all were freed as of 9:35 p.m. London time, said the London Fire Brigade. Eyewitnesses said some people were leaving the…

In what has become routine since the start of the Syrian civil war, Russia on Thursday night once again blocked a UN Security Council statement on Syria. This time, the U.S.-drafted resolution condemned the Syrian government’s increasing military offensive on the city of Aleppo, according to AFP. The move heightened diplomatic tensions ahead of a…

Pope Francis is to make a brief visit to Israel and the territory occupied by the Palestinian Authority on May 25, Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot said on Thursday. This will be his first to the Holy Land. According to the daily newspaper, which published what it said was a preliminary papal program, Israeli authorities are…

Infiltrators to Israel continued to make a mockery of authorities Thursday, as a group of about 100 illegal immigrants from Eritrea and Sudan walked out of the open detention facility constructed for them in the Negev, and began walking toward Be’er Sheva. Inspectors from the Immigrations Authority, aided by police, began chasing after the Africans,…

Nahal Hareidi (Netzach Yehuda), the IDF’s Hareidi-religious combat brigade, has made IDF history by winning the Chief of Staff’s Prize for the first time. The brigade is also showing a sharp increase in enlistment, despite the ongoing political tension over haredi IDF service. The prestigious prize was awarded for the unit’s extraordinary achievements and operational…

Nebojsa Radmanovic, a member of the three-man presidency of Bosnia Herzegovina, visited the Jewish state this week for a series of meetings with senior Israeli officials. Under the terms of the 1995 Dayton Accords which ended the war in Bosnia, the presidency of the country was divided among the three largest ethnic groups: Croats, Serbs…

A Palestinian Authority minister came under attack on Wednesday, the Bethlehem-based Maan news reports. Minister of Islamic Endowments Mahmoud Habbash was targeted by unknown gunmen shortly after arriving at his office in Al-Bireh, near Ramallah. The masked men opened fire in the direction of the office. Al-Bireh’s guards returned fire, and the shooters fled the…

IDF officials expressed concern Thursday over recent anti-army activities by Arabs in Palestinian Authority-controlled areas of Judea and Samaria as soldiers attempt to round up terror suspects. In several recent incidents, Arabs rioted when soldiers entered towns and villages to arrest suspects, and in some cases, terrorists shot at soldiers, forcing them to respond with…

Syrians are being tortured and killed in secret prisons run by an Al Qaeda affiliated group, Amnesty International has warned in its latest report. The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), which has seized control of territory in northern Syria, has reportedly committed horrific abuses in its prisons in the region. Sources told…

IDF soldiers eliminated a terrorist in the Arab town of Kalkilya early Thursday. The armed terrorist opened fire at an IDF unit that was attempting to apprehend another terrorist, and soldiers shot back, eliminating the shooter. Soldiers discovered several weapons and a large amount of ammunition on the terrorist’s body. Arabs rioted as the soldiers…

IDF officials announced Wednesday that security restrictions will be relaxed during Christmas to allow Palestinian Authority residents who celebrate the holiday to enjoy the festivities, and to visit family in Israel. The decision was coordinated with Palestinian Authority officials, PA security personnel, and representatives of various international bodies. Christians living in PA-controlled regions in Judea…

Thousands of people are expected to visit the Golan on Thursday and over the weekend to enjoy the snow that remains now that last week’s snowstorm has ended. IDF Lieutenant Roi Gutman spoke to the IDF website about safety while visiting the Golan region. While the region is considered safe despite fighting in nearby Syria,…

Nobel Peace Prize winner and renowned author Elie Wiesel said Wednesday that under no circumstances could Iran be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons. In a full page ad in the New York Times, Wiesel said that there could be no doubt as to Iran’s true ambitions. “The words and actions of the leadership of Iran…

IDF soldiers shot dead a Palestinian Authority Arab terrorist and wounded at least five others during a counterterrorism operation in the Samaria (Shomron) region Wednesday. Clashes broke out after Israeli special forces came under fire after being exposed in the course of an undercover operation to arrest local Hamas commander Jamal Abu al-Haija. “Earlier this…

Three members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have been killed in a roadside bomb in Iranian-occupied Balochistan, according to Iranian media. The men, who were travelling in a car at the time, were working on a “construction project” near the city of Saravan, in the southeastern “Sistan-Balochistan” province, which borders Pakistan and Afghanistan, according…

Yisrael Katz, Minister of Transportation and Road Safety, announced Wednesday that Israeli airlines would be resuming flights to Turkey after more than a five-year hiatus.  Flights between Israeli carriers to the middle-eastern country stopped in 2007 due to security issues at Turkish airports, which were not up to the special standards set for air travel…

A Kuwaiti newspaper has reported that Iran and Syria are planning to re-route arms supplies to Hezbollah via an Iraqi airport, in order to evade Israeli interceptions, according to Maariv.  The Al-Siyasiya newspaper, which has expressed support for the Syrian rebel forces, quoted a top Iraqi official in the report on Wednesday. According to the anonymous official, Iran…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi Wednesday, in ongoing efforts to strengthen the political connection between the two countries.  “My visit to China and your visit here today in Jerusalem express the determination of our two governments to form even stronger friendships between our two countries and much stronger cooperation,”…

IDF soldiers shot dead a Palestinian terrorist and wounded at least five others during a counterterrorism operation in the Samaria (Shomron) region Wednesday. Clashes broke out after Israeli special forces came under fire after being exposed in the course of an undercover operation to arrest local Hamas commander Jamal Abu al-Haija. “Earlier this evening during…

After visiting British branches of Middle Eastern churches, Britain’s Prince Charles reached the conclusion that “Christians in parts of the Middle East are being deliberately targeted by Islamist militants in a campaign of persecution.” The Prince of Wales visited the Egyptian Coptic Church in Stevenage, north of London, and the Syriac Orthodox cathedral in west London.…

Reuven Hoffman passed away at the age of 84 in Jerusalem. He was mourned by countless people including the numerous terrorist attack survivors and victims family members he assisted over the years. Reuven Hoffman was remembered for his ever present smile and easy sense of humor. He left behind his wife of 59 years, Shifra,…

The Knesset’s Internal Affairs and Environment Committee discussed the worrying situation at the Mount Scopus campus of Hebrew University, where students are exposed to daily harassment by local Arabs, who act with apparent impunity. The discussion was convened at the request of MK Yariv Levine (Likud-Beytenu), and presided over by MK David Tzur (Hatnua), a…

The UN announced its funding plan for 2014 on Monday, in which it appealed for a record $6.5 billion in humanitarian aid to war-torn Syria. The appeal was declared by UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos at a Geneva conference. Over half of the $12.9 billion 2014 budget was taken up by the Syrian appeal, which…

Egypt’s military has arrested a jihadist suspected of involvement in an ambush that killed 16 Egyptian soldiers near the border with Israel last year, an army spokesman said Tuesday, according to AFP. Silmi Mohammed Masbah was arrested Monday in Sinai and is allegedly a member of Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, an Al-Qaeda-inspired group operating in the…

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Tuesday announced that it settled patent litigation against Teva Pharmaceuticals over the sale of a generic version of blockbuster drug Viagra in the United States. The settlement means Israel-based Teva “will be allowed to launch a generic version of Viagra in the US on December 11, 2017 or earlier under certain circumstances,”…

Al Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military arm, celebrated 26 years since its founding by publishing the statistical figures on its terror attacks against Israel. According to the organization’s figures, Al Qassam claims to have lost 1,962 terrorists in the time period, and to have killed 915 IDF soldiers. The figures detail the terrorist organization’s attacks. They…

Responding to recent reports revealing that Turkey has shipped over 47 tons of weaponry to Syrian rebel forces over the past few months, Turkish Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz claimed Tuesday that weapons “without military uses” had been exported. Yilmaz, whose comments came during a speech at the Turkish Parliament’s General Assembly during budget debates for…

Unnamed hareidi leaders expressed their anger Tuesday at Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for what they said was his public recognition of the Reform Judaism Movement. Netanyahu addressed the Reform movement’s US conference through a live video link, and said that “Israel needs to be the home of all the Jews, including Reform ones, and I…

Terror movement Hamas has reportedly notified Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who heads the rival Fatah terror organization, of its decision to join a national unity government which will prepare for upcoming presidential and parliamentarian elections. The report is carried by the Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency on Tuesday, which cites “sources, allegedly privy to…

The last known man to see retired FBI agent and CIA contractor Robert Levinson alive in Iran now says that Levinson, who disappeared in 2007, was definitely detained by Iranian authorities and is almost certainly still in Iranian custody if he remains alive, according to the Christian Science Monitor. Levinson disappeared in March 2007 during…

“All of the communities that were disconnected from electrical power in the storm were reconnected last night,” the Israel Electric Company (IEC) said Tuesday morning. However, “there are still customers in specific locations in Jerusalem who do not have electricity,” it added. These customers are urged to call the IEC service line at telephone number…

A Lebanese soldier acting on his own accord was behind the shooting and killing of an Israeli soldier on the border with the Jewish state, the Lebanese army said Monday, according to The Daily Star. In a statement quoted by the newspaper, the military said the incident “was a result of an individual act by…

The United Nations Security Council on Monday “deplored” the killing of an Israeli soldier in a cross-border shooting and called for moves to ease tensions with Lebanon, AFP reports. A statement agreed by the 15-nation body welcomed action already taken to investigate the killing on Sunday, which Israel has blamed on Lebanese troops. The Security…

Anwar Abd al-Hadi, director of the PLO Political Department, met with Dr. Faisal Miqdad, deputy Syrian Foreign Minister Foreign Ministry headquarters in Damascus, and briefed him on developments in the negotiations with Israel. According to the Palestinian news agency Maan, Abd al-Hadi stated that negotiations are stalling due to “Israeli intransigence” and Israel’s emphasis on…

  Iranian state television announced Monday that it had launched a monkey into space for a second time, just 11 months after it claimed to have successfully conducted tests with another primate and produced conflicting photos about the test, according to The New York Times.  The state media claimed that the country used liquid fuel for…

After five days in the dark residents of several Samaria communities finally have power – after the Israel Air Force parachuted generators into their towns. After days of round the clock work, Israel Electric Company workers have still not been able to restore power to all those who lost it in the wake of the…

Araleh Pamp, a senior medic with ZAKA, began aiding in delivery after hearing a man calling for help, saying his wife was in labor. Pamp was helped by a midwife who was similarly stuck in traffic. “I was on my way to work in Jerusalem when suddenly I heard a 40 year old man call…

A unique artwork exhibition was unveiled last week in Tel Aviv, showcasing the work of gifted artists currently serving in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The “Colors in Rifle Barrels” exhibit is an Association for the Wellbeing of Israel’s Soldiers (AWIS) project, in conjunction with the Avni Institute, the Israeli Education and Youth Corps and the Israel…

The Turkish government has supplied Syrian rebel forces with more than 47 tons of weapons in the past few months it has been revealed – this despite the Islamist government strenuously denying such charges in the past. According to official documents filed under UN Comtrade (the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database), Turkish arms have been flowing into…

The European Union on Monday pledged “unprecedented” levels of support to both Israel and the Palestinian Authority in the event that the two parties reach a final status agreement which would include the establishment of a Palestinian Arab state in Judea and Samaria, along with the ethnic-cleansing of at least 100,000 Jews in communities throughout…

The Lebanese soldier who shot dead IDF First Sergeant Shlomi Cohen in an unprovoked attack Sunday evening is already back at his post on the Israel-Lebanon border, according to reports. According to Lebanese media, after briefly disappearing in the aftermath of the attack and spending the night “hiding in a bush”, the unnamed soldier reported for…

At least 36 people, including 15 children, were killed in regime air raids on rebel districts of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Sunday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP. “An (aerial) attack using explosive-laden barrels over the Sakhur, Ard al-Hamra and Haydariyeh districts (of eastern Aleppo) killed 36 people, among them…

  At a panel discussion held at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) last Wednesday, Justice Minister MK Tzipi Livni delivered opening remarks in which she stressed the need for Israel to fight for diplomatic legitimacy in the face of increasing global opposition. Livni’s speech, themed “Fighting for Legitimacy,” addressed the wave of attacks on Israel’s…

An IDF soldier was killed on Sunday evening after being hit by sniper fire near Israel’s northern border with Lebanon. The attack took place near Rosh Hanikra, in northwestern Israel, and was perpetrated by a soldier from the Lebanese army. A military source who spoke with Arutz Sheva said that the Lebanese soldier fired at…

Susan Rice, President Barack Obama’s national security adviser, hosted a series of meetings with Israeli officials in which the interim deal with Iran about its nuclear program was discussed, the White House said on Sunday. The meetings, which took place last week, came about as a result of talks between Obama and Prime Minister Binyamin…

A woman whose car was stuck on one of Jerusalem’s snow-covered streets found herself being helped on Sunday by none other than Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon. Yaalon and his staff, who happened to pass by the woman in distress, stopped their vehicle, rolled up their sleeves and pushed the car out of the snow. The…

United States Secretary of State John Kerry insisted on Sunday that concrete progress has been made in peace talks between Israelis and the Palestinian Authority (PA), but said details will be kept under wraps, AFP reports. Kerry, who has made nine trips to the Middle East since March and helped launch nine-month direct talks between…

While the situation in Jerusalem has gotten the lion’s share of attention in the wake of the major winter storm that hit Israel over the past few days, there are many other places around the country that were just as profoundly affected. Northern Israel was badly hit by the storm, and in the Marom Hagalil…

Bus service to and from Jerusalem on Highway 1 was halted Sunday evening, and public transport inside Jerusalem will be halted later in the evening, IDF Radio reported. The reason for the decision is ice that has built up on the roads, which is causing the buses to skid dangerously. Public transport to Jerusalem and…

Still facing the fallout of one of the region’s biggest snowstorms in memory, residents of the Binyamin “Gav Hahar” (Samarian Foothills) communities, from Har Bracha near Shechem, to Beit El outside Jerusalem, were digging out Sunday, as rescue forces helped some 700 families who had no power, water, phone or other services find shelter in…

Schools, kindergartens and day care centers in Jerusalem will not open Monday, because storm damage has made some of the institutions unsafe, and because of the danger posed by icy roads and sidewalks. The Jerusalem Municipality said that its employees, together with IDF soldiers and volunteers, will thoroughly inspect the institutions and fix the damage…

A soldier from the Lebanese army opened fire at an IDF force near Israel’s northern border with Lebanon on Sunday evening. The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said in a statement that the incident occurred near Rosh Hanikra, in northwestern Israel. Israel has filed a complaint with the UN over the incident. “The IDF continues to investigate…

The Magen David Adom (MDA) first response group responded to more than 10,000 calls for help since last Thursday, as Israel faced one of the heaviest snow storms ever to hit the country. MDA head Eli Bin addressed the group’s volunteers during a special meeting Sunday to assess the situation. “I am aware of the…

The Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) has risen by over 10 centimeters in the aftermath of this weekend’s storm. The news is a kernel of good tidings after the brutal barrage of bad weather, which saw thousands stranded and without power from Thursday evening until early Sunday in the Jerusalem and Judea/Samaria areas.  Since the beginning…

A family from Nokdim, in the Gush Etzion area, spent the Sabbath with a loved one’s body after the heavy snow in the region made it impossible to remove the body or to call for help. On Friday evening, a 78-year-old man from Nokdim died of a heart attack. Electricity was out in the town,…

An IDF unit on Sunday came to the aid of a snowbound woman who was set to give birth in the town of P’nei Kedem, at the far eastern reaches of Gush Etzion. The region has been snowed in since Thursday, and transportation has been near impossible, with many areas – incluing P’nei Kedem –…

Nearly 3,000 families in the Shilo and Binyamin regions have been cut off from both electricity and water for three days. Entire communities have been snowed in, leaving the families with nowhere to go. One family that was in particular desperate straits was rescued from a town in the Binyamin region by helicopter on Sunday…

Israel’s historic snowstorm over the weekend has caused millions of shekels of damages to agriculture, Maariv reported Sunday. Much of the damage affected vegetable farms and greenhouses.  Farmers are hoping not to lose their profits and to receive compensation from the state to make up for the loss.  The Secretary of the Vegetable Farmers’ Association, Meir Ifrah,…

While some Israelis complained about what they perceived as Israel’s lack of preparedness for the intense winter storm which hit the country over the weekend, President Shimon Peres has chosen to highlight the positive. Like many residents of Jerusalem, Peres was stranded in his home over the weekend, along with many members of his staff who were…

Thousands of IDF soldiers spent the weekend and Sunday helping those left without power by the heavy snowstorm that hit late last week. The IDF’s Logistics branch supplied 1,000 warm blankets, 20,000 prepared meals, 31,000 heating packets and 20,000 water bottles to those in need. The branch also contributed 18 buses to rescue efforts. IDF…

A woman living in the snowbound hilltop community of Yitzhar in the Shomron (Samaria) phoned the town’s crisis center on Shabbat (Saturday) morning and informed them that she is in labor. The community’s medical team was rushed to the house and advised that she be taken to the hospital immediately. Within minutes, the IDF joined the Shomron Authority and…

MK Orit Struk (Jewish Home) on Saturday evening approached Cabinet Secretary Avichai Mandelblit and the Coordinator of Government Activities in Judea and Samaria, General Eitan Dangot, and updated them on the grave situation of some of the communities in Judea and Samaria which have been cut off from electricity, water supply, and means of communication…

Israel will allow the import of 450,000 liters of industrial diesel to Gaza on Sunday morning in order to allow the region’s sole power plant to begin working again, an official told the Ma’an news agency on Saturday evening. The president of the committee for the import of goods, Raed Fattouh, confirmed the planned entry…

Large parts of Jerusalem were still without electricity Saturday evening, as a snowstorm of rare severity continued to punish Israel for the fourth day. Snow continued to fall on Saturday but the storm was reportedly weakening. About 9,000 homes were without electricity in Jerusalem and another 1,000 were cut off from electricity in Tzfat at…

At a ceremony attended by more than 2,000 employees and guests, Lockheed Martin celebrated the production of its 100th F-35 Lightning II, . Defense leaders Gen. Robin Rand, Commander, Air Education and Training Command, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, and Brig. Gen. Michael Rothstein, Commander, 56th Fighter Wing, Luke AFB, Ariz., joined the employees who…

President Shimon Peres recently returned to Israel from Mexico, where he had been on a state visit. Mati Tuchfeld of Israel Hayom reported that in the course of the visit, Peres and his entourage entered a restaurant called Au Pied de Cochon, in the hotel where he was staying, and ate a meal. The name…

Bus traffic to and from Jerusalem, as well as inside it, resumed Saturday evening but was halted again, because of slippery road conditions. The last train from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was scheduled to depart at 10:30 p.m. The last train from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv was scheduled to leave the Malha station at 11:30…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu praised first responders, the Israel Electric Company (IEC) and government bodies on Saturday for the way they have been functioning in the heavy snow storm of the last four days. Netanyahu credited the emergency teams with saving many lives. “Saving human lives was our first and top priority,” he stressed, at…

MK Ayelet Shaked, the Jewish Home faction whip, told Arutz Sheva Saturday evening that the governing Coalition is not as shaky as it seems to be. “It does look like that from the outside, but from within it is much less bad,” she said. “There are disagreements between me and Ofer Shelah (Yesh Atid) and…

Robert Levinson, the former FBI agent who went missing in Iran in 2007, was secretly conducting an unapproved investigation for the CIA, according to new reports. On Thursday it was revealed that an Associated Press report has tracked the connections between Levinson’s trip and the CIA, in direct contradiction to the US government’s public denials of him…

A Palestinian Authority (PA) source on Friday told AFP that PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas formally rejected US proposals for Israel to keep troops in a future Palestinian state along the Jordan border. The source further formally stated Abbas’ position of refusing to recognize Israel as the Jewish state. Abbas’ rejection of US Secretary of State John Kerry’s proposals in Ramallah Thursday…

Washington on Thursday blacklisted a dozen overseas companies and individuals for evading sanctions on Iran, AFP reports. Under the designations, U.S. citizens or companies are barred from engaging in transactions with any of the targeted firms and individuals whose assets will be frozen in the United States. “Today’s actions should be a stark reminder to…

In Saskatoon, Canada, Muslim taxi drivers are refusing to give rides to blind people with seeing-eye dogs. The drivers have been citing religious grounds, saying dogs are considered “unclean” animals in Islam. Mike Simmonds, who has been blind for close to 10 years, requires a guide dog with him at all times. He reported to…

Chemical weapons have been used at least five times during the Syrian conflict and in some cases children and civilians have been slaughtered, according to a UN report released Thursday and cited by AFP. The report cites “credible evidence” and “evidence consistent with the probable use of chemical weapons” in the Syrian districts of Ghouta,…

Holocaust survivor Paul Argiewicz passed away at the age of 88 on Wednesday in Chicago. Argiewicz frequently spoke at schools and other groups, telling his story and educating about the Holocaust. A native of the Polish town of Bielsko, just next to Germany and Czecholovakia, Argiewicz tells that he used cunning and determination to survive…

CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, made a final decision Thursday to accept Israel as a full member. Israel is the first non-European member of the group. It has been a provisional member of the group for the past two years. The decision will make it possible for Israel to more speedily become a…

An IDF patrol came under fire Thursday afternoon in the northern Galilee, near the border with Lebanon. The soldiers returned fire. No IDF soldiers were hurt in the incident. Additional troops were called to the scene. It is not yet clear who opened fire on the soldiers. It is believed that Lebanese hunters may have…

The “fake” sign-language interpreter who baffled audiences at a memorial event for Nelson Mandela has claimed he was not faking at all – but suffering from a schizophrenic episode. In an interview which will raise further concerns over security arrangements and vetting procedures at the Johannesburg event, 34 year-old Thamsanqa Jantjie told the Johannesburg Star…

Vice President Joe Biden has announced that the Obama administration is working to help Holocaust survivors in the United States, many of whom live in poverty, according to The Associated Press (AP). This is done by coordinating assistance, working with aid groups and using diplomatic means to help recover property confiscated during the Nazi era,…

In an interview with Arutz Sheva, Haim Avraham, the father of IDF soldier Benny Avraham, who was one of three soldiers kidnapped by Hezbollah in 2000 and killed by the terrorist group, praised the army’s decision to resume the search for missing soldier Guy Hever. The search will focus on the areas where Hever was…

The first major winter storm for this year is in full swing, and snow began falling Wednesday night in Gush Etzion, Hevron and the area. The snow is expected to reach Jerusalem by Thursday morning and, if it does, schools will be closed for the day. Forecasters have predicted that up to 20 centimeters of…

Northwestern University School of Law Professor Eugene Kontrovich visited the village of Shdema on Friday, and spoke about the importance of preventing a two-state solution at an events sponsored by Women In Green (Nashim B’Yarok).  Kontrovich, who is also Senior Fellow at the Kohelet Policy Forum, stated that the “bottom line” is that “we [Israelis] can…

A Romanian television station is under fire after broadcasting an anti-Semitic Christmas Carol performance earlier in December, according to United Press International.  The state-operated TVR3 Verde, a channel directed to rural communities, began broadcasting December 3 with a program that included a Christmas carol with anti-Semitic lyrics.  The Jewish Telegraphic Agency revealed the horrific lyrics Wednesday, which include…

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has granted a post-mortem honor to arch-terrorist Abu Jihad, who was responsible for the murder of at least 125 Israelis in numerous terror attacks that he planned, including a bus hijacking in 1978, in which 37 civilians were murdered. Official PA TV News reported that Abbas, in order “to…

Islamic countries top the list of states which routinely discriminate against and persecute atheists and agnostics as well as members of other religions, according to a newly-released report. The 2013 Freethought Report was published by the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) – an organization of religious skeptics, agnostics, and atheists. The study was released ahead of…

A masterpiece by Marc Chagall found in an art trove hidden in a Munich flat was stolen by the Nazis from a Jewish family, a newspaper said Wednesday. According to AFP, the top-selling Bild daily cited documents it found in Berlin official archives and said it had contacted the sons of the original owner who had fled the Nazis to…

A meeting of the Knesset’s Committee for the Equal Burden of Service Law, headed by MK Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home), revealed Wednesday that the enlistment of hareidi-religious men to the IDF may help Israel’s Mossad, Shin Bet, police, fire department and other bodies address an expected shortage of manpower.  Major General Gadi Agmon, the IDF…

The United States and Britain have both rescinded funding for Syrian rebel groups, news outlets reported Wednesday.  According to Time, a US official stated to the press that it would stop providing military equipment to rebel factions after more extreme Islamist groups took over a base run by more “moderate,” Western-backed groups. The decision would not…

Israel was hit by its first major winter storm this year as rain and snow continued falling from Tuesday night on into Wednesday morning. The storm changed flight patterns and led to traffic difficulties, as heavy rains were accompanied by a strong cold and 55 kilometer per hour (35 mph) winds. On Mount Hermon snowploughs…

The president of the Hillel International Jewish campus organization, Eric Fingerhut, responded to inflammatory and anti-Zionist statements by the Hillel at Swarthmore College Tuesday, warning the that anti-Zionist activities cannot continue under the Hillel name.  The Swarthmore Hillel Student Board’s vote to allow anti-Zionist speakers at Hillel-funded events, and its declaration that it publicly defies…

On Monday, a Spanish duke presented a document of apology in Spanish and Hebrew to the President of the Jewish community of Gibraltar, in which he apologized for the atrocities committed during the 1474-1476 expulsion of Jews from the island. The historic apology was read by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, Alonso González de Gregorio y Álvarez de Toledo before the…

A new poll conducted by NBC News and the Wall Street Journal this week found that US President Barack Obama’s approval rating continues to be at its lowest yet. 54% disapprove of Obama’s job as president, the highest that figure has ever been. The poll, conducted among 1000 respondents, found that 58% disapprove of Obama’s handling of…

United States Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday appealed to Congress to “hold off” on new sanctions against Iran, Fox News reports. Kerry told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that such legislation would be “gratuitous” and could give Tehran an excuse to “flout” the recently struck nuclear deal. “We’re asking you to give our…

Two Israeli-American chemists were officially awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry on Tuesday. Professors Arieh Warshel and Michael Levitt were given the prestigious award in a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden. The two, along with Martin Karplus, won the award “for the development of multiscale models for complex chemical systems.” Each of the three received a…

Republicans were left steaming on Tuesday, after President Barack Obama shook the hand of Cuban leader Raul Castro at the memorial ceremony in Johannesburg for late South African leader Nelson Mandela, with one senior lawmaker likening the act to appeasement of the Nazis, according to AFP. A White House official said the handshake was not…

PLO official Hanan Ashrawi on Tuesday called on the NBC network to halt production of a drama series due to be filmed in eastern Jerusalem, the Ma’an news agency reports. The upcoming drama, “DIG”, is an action-adventure series set to be filmed entirely in Jerusalem. It was developed by the Israeli Keshet Media Group and…

At a memorial ceremony held in Johannesburg on Tuesday for late South African leader Nelson Mandela, US President Barack Obama made a surprise move on his way to the podium by greeting Cuban President Raul Castro with a long handshake and smile. Relations between the US and Cuba have been frozen since after Raul’s brother Fidel…

The disagreements between the Jewish Home and Yesh Atid parties were in the headlines again Tuesday as Yesh Atid decided to prevent the transfer of funding to Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria (Shomron). In response Jewish Home MK Nissan Slomiansky, who heads the Finance Committee, threatened to withhold funding from Taglit (Birthright) and Masa…

The Israel Pediatric Association has issued a strong warning against the use of vaporizers (humidifiers) in children’s bedrooms, Kikar Hashabat reports. Many parents use such machines during the winter in hopes of easing or preventing coughs and other respiratory illness. Doctors warned that not only is there no proof that the machines are effective, but…

Four soldiers were injured in the Golan on Tuesday afternoon in what appears to have been a training accident. Their injuries were reportedly caused by an explosion in a tank during a drill. The IDF is investigating the accident. Two of the injured were evacuated to hospital in serious condition, and the other two are…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons is the greatest threat to a peaceful Middle East. Speaking with visiting Guatemalan President Otto Fernando Perez Molina, Netanyahu reiterated his stance that a final nuclear deal with Iran should include the complete dismantling of its nuclear program. “We share a desire…

Knesset Speaker MK Yuli Edelstein (Likud) will represent Israel at Tuesday’s memorial service for former South African President Nelson Mandela, it was announced on Monday evening. Edelstein will be accompanied by a delegation of five MKs: Hilik Bar (Labor), Penina Tamanu-Shata (Yesh Atid), Ronen Hoffman (Yesh Atid), Dov Lipman (Yesh Atid), Gila Gamliel (Likud) and…

Iran on Tuesday dismissed an offer from Israel’s president to meet his Iranian counterpart as a “propaganda ploy”, and reaffirmed its opposition to the Jewish state’s existence.    “This propaganda to help the regime out of isolation will prove fruitless,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham told reporters.     She said President Shimon Peres’s offer…

Syrian cities under rebel control are being ruled by a strict interpretation of Islamic, or Sharia, law – as a video surfaced this week showing a man being served with lashes demonstrates.  Sharia courts are run by groups associated with Al Qaeda, including the Al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The Authority of…

He was just in Israel and the Palestinian Authority, but United States Secretary of State John Kerry will be making yet another visit to the region this week. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Monday that Kerry would be leaving Washington on Wednesday to return to the region for more talks with both Prime Minister…

Israel is to allow construction materials for UN projects back into Gaza after reaching an agreement with the world body, UN officials confirmed Monday, confirming statements made by a senior PA official on Sunday. The ban on building materials was put in place on October 13 after troops discovered a sophisticated “terror tunnel” running under…

An Al-Jazeera reporter was fired last week for questioning the objectivity of the investigations surrounding the death of PLO leader Yasser Arafat, according to The Washington Free Beacon. The reporter was part of the network’s investigative team into the death, which was controversially declared a “poisoning” by Swiss officials in October.  Al-Jazeera has been one of…

The ballroom of the Marriott Marquis in Times Square was packed wall-to-wall on Tuesday night Dec. 8 as over a thousand people came out in support of the small but vibrant Jewish community of Bet El, located in the Judea and Samaria region of Israel, more commonly referred to in the media as the “West…

Egyptian sources said Monday night that Egyptian Army soldiers had eliminated Ibrahim Abu Atiyeh, a terrorist belonging to the Al Qaeda-linked Ansar Beit al-Makdis terror group. Abu Atiyeh was a leader of the group, which has claimed responsibility for a recent rocket attack on Eilat in August. Abu Atiyeh  was killed in a shootout with…

Hamas has “resumed” relations with Iran after a temporary falling out over the Syrian conflict, according to AFP. “Relations between Hamas and Iran have resumed,” senior official Mahmud al-Zahar told reporters at a Monday news conference in Gaza. Ties had been “affected by the Syria situation, and Hamas has withdrawn from Syria so that it can’t be identified with…

US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on Monday visited Pakistan to meet with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and other officials. His visit, the first by a US Secretary of Defense in 4 years, aims to soothe tensions over US drone strikes and raise cooperation regarding Afghanistan. During their meeting, Hagel and Sharif vowed to work…

The IDF is currently close to stopping gas mask production and distribution, according to one senior official, due to developments indicating a lowered threat to Israel of spillover from the Syrian Civil War.  A senior official from the Home Front Command stated Sunday that in light of new realities in the region – including the…

Jewish groups in Canada, and foremost among them the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), are trying to advance a parliamentary committee’s recommendation calling on the government to recognize the refugee status of Jewish refugees as part of its policy around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Roughly 800,000 Jews were expelled from Arab countries around the time of…

Kissin, a two-time Grammy Award winner and widely regarded as one of this generation’s greatest classical pianists, was given an Israeli identification card (teudat zehut) and Israeli passport. After receiving citizenship Kissin said “I would like to use this occasion to appeal to other Jews who live in the diaspora to join my example. If…

On Monday, Energy Minister Silvan Shalom announced that representatives of Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority (PA) will sign an “historic” agreement to cooperate in linking the Red Sea with the shrinking Dead Sea. Under the agreement, which is to be signed at the World Bank in Washington, AFP reports that water will be drawn from…

The Iranian Fars news agency claimed in a report on Sunday that the head of the Saudi intelligence service recently met with several senior Israeli security officials, including the head of the Israeli Mossad. According to the report, the meeting took place in Geneva on November 27. Fars based its claims on a whistleblower with…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke Sunday at the Saban Forum and said that stopping Iran’s nuclear program is not enough – Iran’s policy of genocide must change, too. Netanyahu quoted incendiary statements by Iran’s leaders, who called Israel “a rabid dog,” among other things. The Iranian regime, he said, “is committed to our annihilation and…

A visit to Israel by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte Sunday was marred by a dispute over a new security scanner on the Gaza border, an Israeli official said. Rutte was to have inaugurated the scanner on the frontier with the Hamas-ruled enclave, but the ceremony was put off because of the row. Installation of…

Ukraine’s opposition has threatened to march on President Viktor Yanukovych’s presidential palace and seal him inside if he does not give in to their demands, the BBC reported Sunday. Hundreds of thousands of people filled Kiev’s Independence Square and the surrounding streets on Sunday, chanting “Ukraine is Europe!” and calling on Yanukovych to resign. The…

The Secretary of the Hamas government in Gaza, Abd el-Salam Siam, said Sunday in a press release marking 26 years since the outbreak of the First Intifada that the Gaza government supports all forms of the struggle against “Israeli occupation,” including popular struggle, struggle through peaceful methods and armed struggle. Siam said that the Palestinian…

A top military commander of Hezbollah, which is helping Syrian troops battle rebels, has died in fighting in Syria, a Lebanese security source said. “Ali Bazzi, a high-ranking Hezbollah military commander, was killed today in a combat zone,” said the source on Sunday, without specifying the location. Sources have confirmed the death of Bazzi to…

An archeological dig south of Highway 44 has turned up the foundations of a home and garden believed to be 900 years old. The home was built from hewn stone. The fountain included a mosaic and a system of ceramic pipes. The remains of a large well and irrigation systm were found nearby. About 20…

Israel held its first join conference between the Defense and Energy industries in Herziliya Thursday. Arutz Sheva had the opportunity to speak to Dr. Gal Luft, Conference Head of Steering Committee and Co-Director of Institute for Analysis of Global Security. “This is the first time in Israel that we are trying to create a meeting of the minds between the…

President Shimon Peres expressed willingness to meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani Sunday, at the opening session of the Globes 2013 Israel Business Conference.  “I don’t have enemies; it’s not a matter of a person but of a policy,” Peres stated, in response to a question about the issue by CNN’s Richard Quest. “The purpose is to…

Protest marches and sit-ins took place across Jordan on Friday, with demonstrators calling for security and safety in light of a recent wave of crime to hit the country, reports Al Arabiya. The protesters highlighted the need for social reform, urging the government to fight against corruption in all its forms and to reject the…

U.S. President Barack Obama said at the Saban Forum on Saturday that there must not be another Gaza in the Palestinian Authority-assigned areas of Judea and Samaria. Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005, as part of the “Disengagement”. This resulted in Hamas taking over the region and escalating rocket attacks at southern Israel. Obama…

An 80 year-old man fell into a water cistern at an Akko construction site Saturday, prompting a 4-hour wait for rescue by police forces.  The man was first reported missing by his wife, who told local police that he was not answering his cellular phone after repeated attempts at contact. Akko police tried multiple times…

UN nuclear inspectors arrived in Iran on Saturday to visit the Arak heavy water plant for the first time in more than two years, AFP reports, citing the Iranian ISNA news agency. The visit comes just weeks after Iran clinched a landmark nuclear agreement with world powers, under which it will freeze or curb some…

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday defended the nuclear deal signed in Geneva between the West and Iran. Speaking at the Saban Forum in Washington, Kerry said his country would “not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon. Not now, not ever.” Kerry said that Iran with a nuclear weapons posed a “real”…

President Barack Obama spoke at the Saban Center for Middle Eastern Policy in Washington Saturday, advocating diplomatic options with Iran.  “It is in America’s national security interests – not just Israel’s or the region’s – to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon,” the President declared. “Iran cannot and will not advance its nuclear program or…

The 17 year-old son of Father Gabriel Nadaf, a Greek Orthodox Priest who supports the State of Israel as well as IDF recruitment of non-Jewish Israelis, was violently attacked in Nazareth Friday night.  Channel 2 reports that a 21 year-old suspect approached the youth outside his Nazareth home at about 7:00 p.m. Friday night, spewing insults…

Two Kassam rockets were fired into Israel Saturday from Gaza, Channel 10 reports. The rockets landed in an uninhabited areas; no injuries were reported.  The news follows various reports that Hamas has been stepping up its preparations for another clash with Israel during the relative calm. In recent weeks, Hamas has threatened genocide against Israel; claimed that…

Germany is to sell two destroyers to Israel for one billion euros ($1.3 billion), the Bild daily reported Saturday.     The torpedo-carrying war vessels will be used to protect Israeli pipelines, the paper said, without citing a source.     The report added that Israel’s national security adviser, Yossi Cohen, was in Berlin last…

The IDF said Saturday that a blast the previous evening on the Golan Heights was from a bomb detonated as patrolling troops passed by, but that there were no casualties.     An investigation of the incident, which took place near the Syrian border, concluded that “the explosion was caused by a concealed explosive device…

A powerful explosion was heard on Friday evening in the Golan Heights, near an IDF vehicle that was on routine patrol along the Syrian-Israeli border, near the slopes of Mount Hermon. No one was injured as a result of the explosion, but damage was caused to the rear window of the military vehicle. The explosion…

The international chemical weapons watchdog said Friday it has verified the destruction of all of Syria’s unfilled munitions, another milestone along the road to eradicating President Bashar Al-Assad’s chemical weapons program by mid-2014, reports The Associated Press (AP). The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said in a statement quoted by AP that its…

The UN General Assembly on Friday elected Jordan to the Security Council seat that Saudi Arabia rejected in an unprecedented act, reports The Associated Press. Jordan was elected to the two-year term on the council with 179 “yes” votes in the 193-member General Assembly, according to the report. Jordan was selected by Arab countries and…

The widow of former Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat pledged on Friday to challenge a French inquiry which found his death to have been from natural causes, reports AFP. “A request for further expert opinion will be submitted in the next few days to investigating judges in (the Paris suburb of) Nanterre,” Suha Arafat’s French…

An overwhelming majority of Israeli Jews believe that the current negotiations with the Palestinian Authority will not lead to a peace agreement, a new poll by the Israel Hayom daily newspaper has found. The poll, conducted by New Wave Research and released Friday, found that 87.5% of Israeli Jews do not believe that the talks…

US Secretary of State John Kerry is meeting Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for the third time in 24 hours on Friday for talks regarding Israel’s security, AFP reports.  The news comes on the heels of unconfirmed reports that the US is responding to the Palestinian Authority (PA)’s refusal to cooperate by inching closer to Israel’s position on issues regarding the region’s…

Algerian officials killed a high-ranking Al Qaeda leader Wednesday in a high-speed chase through the Southern Algerian desert, Al Arabiya reports.  An official from the city of Tamanrasset spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity and claimed that two four-wheel-drive vehicles – one of which was carrying Khalil Ould Addah, also known as Abu Bassen –…

US Secretary of State John Kerry praised Moldova on Wednesday for signing agreements for greater trade with the European Union (EU), and expressed support for Ukraine making a similar shift from Russia to the EU.  However, the Los Angeles Times noted that his 4 hour Moldova visit came after a decision to skip a planned Ukraine trip.…

US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday that a peace deal could be imminent as he wrapped up his Israel visit, according to an AFP report.  “I believe we are closer than we have been in years to bringing about the peace and the prosperity and the security that all of the people of this region deserve,” he told reporters…

The United States military has raised its alert status in Yemen, following a deadly terror attack in the capital Sanaa. A suicide bomber and gunmen wearing army uniforms attacked Yemen’s defense ministry, killing 52 people including foreign medical staff, government sources said, according to Reuters. It was the country’s worst militant assault in 18 months.…

Orot College, which has a program for American students, has been selected as the winner of the Jerusalem Prize. The prize is to be presented at the upcoming 11th Jerusalem Conference set for February 3-4 in 2014 under the auspices of the newspaper Besheva. The college, headed by Prof. Rabbi Neria Gutel, was selected by the prize committee,…

Former South African president Nelson Mandela died on Thursday, the country’s current President Jacob Zuma has announced, according to CNN. He was 95. The former president battled health issues in recent years, including a recurring lung infection that led to numerous hospitalizations. Mandela’s defiance of white-minority rule and his incarceration for fighting against segregation focused…

President Barack Obama on Thursday defended his nuclear diplomacy with Iran before an audience of Israeli diplomats and senior members of the U.S. Jewish community and officials, reports AFP. Speaking during a White House Hanukkah reception, Obama said that it was important for the United States to test Iran’s intentions, and pledged to keep working…

In response to a petition to reinstate academic courses for jailed terrorists in Israeli prisons, the state released a document noting the most popular course among jailed terrorists in 2011 was “Genocide.” Jailed terrorists were allowed to study at Israel’s Open University from prison until 2011, when the benefits were cancelled during negotiations to free Gilad Shalit, who…

A Palestinian Authority (PA) official involved in talks between the PA and Israel said Thursday that PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has rejected every offer put forth by United States Secretary of State John Kerry regarding security in the Jordan Valley. The source said the security arrangements Kerry proposed were unacceptable because they would not prevent…

A ceremony honoring the Mossad intelligence agency’s best officers took place Thursday evening at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem. President Shimon Peres gave citations of excellence to 12 of the espionage agency’s finest, with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Mossad Head Tamir Pardo in attendance. The officers honored received the citations for standing at the…

Pastor Terje Ligerod, head of the Norwegian delegation of roughly 40 Christian leaders visiting Israel this week, told Arutz Sheva that his group came to ask forgiveness for Norway’s antagonism towards Jews, and to pledge support for the Jewish state. Ligerod noted “we believe we are called as a nation to be an ally and to support…

Western states have held their first “face-to-face” discussions with Syria’s main Islamist rebel groups, according numerous media reports. The meeting between western states, including the US, and the Syrian Islamic Front (SIF), was attended by Turkish and Qatari representatives and was held in the Turkish capital Ankara. It marks a shift in policy for US…

The ESET company has revealed the top three threats to Israeli computer-users for the month of November. All three are viruses that have been spread primarily on Facebook and YouTube. The top-ranked threat was the JS/FBOOK virus, a Trojan horse virus spread over links on YouTube and Facebook. The virus is spread via links on…

US Secretary of State John Kerry insisted Thursday that Israel’s security was a top priority in talks with Iran on its controversial nuclear program after an initial deal was signed.     “I can’t emphasize enough that Israel’s security in this negotiation is at the top of our agenda,” Kerry told reporters after a meeting…

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Israel on Wednesday for the first time since world powers struck a nuclear deal with Iran that angered the Jewish state, and amid renewed efforts to broker Israeli-Palestinian Authority (PA) peace talks, reports AFP. The two issues are expected to dominate Kerry’s meetings on Thursday with Prime…

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman met on Wednesday in New York with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The two discussed the recent agreement signed between Iran and world powers, the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA), other events in the Middle East and issues pertaining to the relationship between Israel and the United Nations.…

Roughly 250,000 Syrians in the besieged communities of the war-torn country are beyond the reach of humanitarian aid, according to UN humanitarian affairs coordinator Valerie Amos. Her closed-door Security Council briefing was “chilling” in one participant’s words, reports Al Jazeera. In November, Amos told the council that 9.3 million Syrians are in need of humanitarian assistance,…

A week after North Korea reportedly restarted its Yongbyon nuclear reactor, retired NBA star Dennis Rodman announced he would make his third visit to the isolated regime on December 18. “The Worm,” as Rodman was nicknamed, will spend several days training the North Korean basketball team, and then bring other former NBA players for an…

Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has challenged his successor, Hassan Rouhani, to a debate intended to defend his eight-year record in office, reports the British Telegraph. In his first political intervention since stepping down last August, the former president expressed outrage at a recent televised speech in which Rouhani took aim at Ahmadinejad’s stewardship of…

The International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists on Tuesday sent a letter to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, asking him to condemn recent hateful remarks about Israel made by Iran’s supreme leader. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said last month that Israel is a “regime doomed to collapse,”  and referred to Israel as “the rabid…

Hezbollah on Wednesday said one of its leaders had been assassinated near Beirut and accused Israel of being behind the killing. “The Islamic resistance announces the death of one of its leaders, the martyr Hassan Hawlo al-Lakiss, who was assassinated near his house in the Hadath region” east of Beirut, Hezbollah television channel Al Manar…

Israeli actor and comedian Sefi Rivlin passed away on Tuesday evening at the age of 66. Rivlin, who for years battled throat cancer and lost his voice to the disease in the past year, had been hospitalized in recent weeks at the Tel Hashomer Hospital, where he was connected to a respirator following a deterioration…

Alert Border Police officers foiled a stabbing on Tuesday near the Tomb of the Patriarchs (Maarat Hamachpelah) in Hevron. The would-be attacker was a 21-year-old man from the Palestinian Authority Arab town of Tzurif, known for its animosity to Israel and the number of terrorists who came from the town, located on the road leading south from Gush…

German-based NGO Transparency International released its annual Corruption Perceptions Index on Tuesday. The index, which ranks corruption of countries on a 0 to 100 scale, with the lowest scores indicating the most corruption, based on perceptions of experts and analysts, found 8 Arab countries were among the 10 most corrupt nations. Those surveyed in compiling the results include…

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon on Tuesday announced that Israel has sent humanitarian aid to Syria during a visit to the Golan, reports AFP. “We’ve sent food, water, baby food and other humanitarian products,” said Ya’alon, adding “we cannot remain idle when civilians are being confronted by a humanitarian crisis.” The Defense Minister’s visit came after IDF soldiers…

A local Palestinian Authority (PA) official on Tuesday told AFP that Israel has bulldozed land slated for the construction of 255 new Jewish homes in Samaria northwest of Ramallah. The official, Abdallah Lawadeh, said the land had already been bulldozed and temporary houses have been set up for Israelis. The 255 homes to be built in the…

Brigadier-General Tamir Yadai, Commander of the IDF’s Judea and Samaria Division admitted this week that terrorism in Judea and Samaria is on the rise, and becoming more lethal.  “In Judea and Samaria there is a new operational reality, which can be described as a threat to our forces’ freedom of operation,” the commander told Central…

Police have arrested five Palestinian Arab teenagers on suspicion of hurling rocks at an Israeli family last week in southern Jerusalem. The attack caused serious injury to a two-year-old girl. All five suspects are residents of the PA-controlled town of Tzur Baher near Jerusalem. They have confessed to the attack, which they reenacted for investigators.…

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has warned that the PA will “take action” against Israel via international bodies if peace talks fail, ahead of a visit by US Secretary of State John Kerry.     “The talks are going through great difficulties because of the obstacles created by Israel,” Abbas told visiting Arab journalists late…

U.S. senators opposed to the nuclear deal signed between Iran and the West are hard at work on new sanctions on the Islamic Republic and are not buying the president’s warnings against new sanctions, reports The Washington Post. According to the report, published Sunday, a bipartisan group of senior senators is spending the remaining week…

Egyptian forces defused a bomb placed in a car and primed to explode on a roadside near the capital Cairo on Monday, security officials told AFP. The interior ministry said the stolen car was detected near a petrol station on the road to the city of Suez. An employee at the petrol station, which local…

Arabs hurled rocks at a bus as it approached a stop in the Gilo neighborhood of Jerusalem on Monday afternoon. A police investigation into the incident has found that the Egged Route 32 bus was making its way to the stop when suddenly there a crashing sound was heard as rocks shattered the windows of…

Syrian rebels, including jihadist groups, captured the historic Christian town of Maalula north of Damascus on Monday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP. Rebels assaulted the town by rolling explosive-filled tires down the hills onto regime forces and were able to reach the city center after three days of intense fighting, with clashes…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s office released a statement following his meetings with Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta Monday. The statement addresses key issues including peace talks with the Palestinian Authority and a nuclear Iran.  “We want peace, we pray for peace, we are working for peace. We hope that we have a partner for peace…

The United Nation’s High Commissioner for Human Rights has for the first time said that war crimes by pro-regime forces in Syria were authorized “at the highest level,” including by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. It is the first time Navi Pillay has directly accused Assad of crimes against humanity, and could pave the way to…

Syria has reportedly appealed for international aid in order to destroy its chemical weapons arsenal safely and correctly, according to the New Zealand Herald.  Syrian deputy foreign minister Faisal Mekdad stated to reporters Monday that Syria needs armored vehicles and other equipment to move the chemicals for destruction, and warned that if such equipment was not…

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood has rejected the country’s new constitution, nearly half a year since the ouster of Brotherhood-backed Islamist president Mohammed Morsi. 138 of the 247 articles of the draft new constitution, which has been deemed controversial even by secular opponents of the Brotherhood, was approved by a panel of 50 yesterday. The panel included…

The Syrian war continues to spill over into Israel: IDF forces on the Golan Heights near the Syria border were shot at from a Syrian army outpost Monday. The IDF returned fire and identified a direct hit on a Syrian soldier. No IDF soldiers were injured. The clash followed a mortar shell fired into Israel…

Israel’s new state-of-the-art “Cyber Gym” was opened this month by the Israel Electric Company (IEC) to train IT and infrastructure company employees to defend against cyber attacks, reports AFP. Cyber Gym director Ofir Hason discussed the threats Israel faces. “Israel, we believe, is the most-attacked country,” Hason states, adding that IEC, “the most-attacked civilian company in…

The Israel Police’s elite Yamam anti-terrorist unit received a certificate of honor Monday at a meeting of the police’s top commanders, for its successful operation against an extremely dangerous terrorist cell that was about to carry out a large-scale terror operation last Tuesday. In a complex operation by the Shin Bet and Yamam, three terrorists…

Israeli hi-tech startups have sparked a flurry of mergers, acquisitions and investment bids unseen since the dotcom bubble burst in 2000, reports AFP. In the third quarter of 2013, Israeli new ventures raked in $660 million, up from $488 million the year before, according to IVC Research Center. Yosi Vardi, a prominent Israeli hi-tech enterpreneur, praised…

On Sunday an Israeli official told AFP that Israel has been approved to join the UN Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) Western European and Others Group (WEOG), and that a formal invitation is expected to come soon. UNHRC announced last week it would accept Israel as a member state, an about-face for the organization which in its 5…

Palestinian Authority security forces arrested 20 Salafists on Sunday, AFP reported, citing a senior source. The report of the arrests came hours after a Gaza-based group affiliated with Al-Qaeda confirmed it has infiltrated Judea and Samaria as part of its war against “the Jews,” Christians, infidels and the Palestinian Authority. The Ramallah-based source denied that…

Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced on Sunday night that he would make his first visit to Israel since becoming Prime Minister in January of 2014, Shalom Toronto reports. Harper’s announcement was made at the Jewish National Fund (JNF) annual fundraising gala Negev dinner which was held in Toronto. Prior to the speech, it was…

President Shimon Peres secretly addressed 29 foreign ministers from Arab nations last month, Yediot Aharonot reported Sunday – and they applauded him after his speech about Israel, a nuclear Iran and the fight against radical Islam.  Peres spoke two weeks ago to the Gulf States Security Summit in Abu Dhabi from his Jerusalem office via livestream,…

Australia recently changed its position and abstained on two UN resolutions against Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria. A spokesman for Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the shift comes because Australia will not support “one-sided” resolutions that “pre-judge the outcome” of peace talks. Sharyn Mittelman, senior analyst at Australia/Israel Jewish Affairs Council, noted in…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu clarified on Sunday evening that he has no intention of stopping his warnings against a nuclear Iran. Netanyahu’s comments came shortly after he was criticized by his predecessor, Ehud Olmert, who accused Netanyahu of “declaring war” on the United States administration. “In contrast to others, when I see that interests vital…

Hundreds of pro-Arab, anti-Israel activists protested on Sunday night outside the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, where the Jewish National Fund (JNF) was holding its annual fundraising gala Negev dinner. The protesters were carrying signs and banners protesting against what they called Israel and the JNF’s “apartheid policies”. Some were also holding up signs in protest…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has ordered his intelligence chiefs to find evidence that Iran is breaking the interim deal to curb its nuclear program, the British Sunday Times reports. The newspaper cited Israeli defense sources who said that both Mossad and AMAN, Israel’s main branch of military intelligence, will search for proof of subterfuge before…

Majlis Shura al-Mujahideen Aknaf Bayt Al-Makdas, or Holy Warriors’ Assembly in the Jerusalem Region, which is identified with Al Qaeda, has announced that it has infiltrated Judea and Samaria as part of its war against “the Jews,” Christians, infidels and the Palestinian Authority. The group said in a published statement that the three men eliminated…

Tehran has announced that it is building a second nuclear power plant in Bushehr, Fars news agency reported Sunday.  “Our first nuclear power plant is active in the (Bushehr) province which will develop, God willing,” Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said to provincial officials late Saturday.  “Based on our estimates, the second nuclear power plant will be built…

Israeli soldiers clashed with residents of a Palestinian Authority-controlled Arab town near Jenin on Saturday night, according to the Bethlehem-based Maan news. Soldiers reportedly entered the town of Al-Shuhada to distribute summons to two local men who are wanted for questioning. According to the report, clashes broke out when soldiers entered a local car dealership.…

Four people died Sunday morning when several Metro North cars derailed in the Bronx borough of New York City, police sources and officials told the New York Daily News. Two of the passengers were killed when they were ejected from the train near the Spuyten Duyvil Station, sources told The News. Twenty people were injured,…

The United States will destroy the most dangerous of Syria’s chemical weapon stockpile on a ship at sea, AFP quoted the world’s chemical watchdog as having said on Saturday. “The neutralization operations will be conducted on a U.S. vessel at sea using hydrolysis,” the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OCPW) said in a…

The Washington Post has come out against the deal that was signed between Iran and the West in Geneva last weekend. In an editorial published Thursday, the newspaper noted that the fact sheet distributed by the Obama administration about the agreement with Iran “is notable for its omissions.” “What the White House didn’t report is…

Pope Francis will visit Jordan during a trip to the Holy Land next year, the state Petra news agency reported on Saturday, citing a senior Vatican source. “During his (August) visit to the Vatican, King Abdullah II invited His Holiness to visit Jordan,” Petra quoted Vatican foreign affairs official Dominique Mamberti as saying in Amman. “We are currently looking at the…

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani took a tough line regarding his country’s nuclear facilities over the weekend, insisting Iran will not dismantle them. In an interview with the Financial Times, Rouhani responded, “One hundred percent [no],” he said when asked about dismantling nuclear facilities as part of a permanent deal with the West. Rouhani said nuclear…

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned Friday of “increasingly dangerous” tensions between Israel and the Palestinian Authority which could threaten peace talks, AFP reported. “I am alarmed by the increasingly dangerous situation on the ground. There has been an escalation of violence and incitement,” Ban said in a message in honor of the UN’s new…

At least six people have been killed in renewed fighting in the Lebanese city of Tripoli, between supporters and opponents of the Assad regime in neighboring Syria. Lebanon’s second city has long been riven by sectarian strife, but has seen tensions strained beyond breaking point since the onset of the Syrian civil war. Regular gun…

On Friday Alireza Bikdeli, Iranian ambassador to Turkey, announced that the two nations would launch “improved cooperation” between their intelligence services following the Iranian nuclear deal. The two countries have been at odds over the conflict in Syria, as predominantly Sunni Turkey has sharply criticized President Bashar Assad’s regime while Shi’ite majority Iran has backed…

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is expected to announce his his first trip to Israel at the Jewish National Fund’s (JNF) annual dinner tomorrow (Sunday) in Toronto, according to Shalom Toronto. Harper, who has been Prime Minister since being elected for the first of his two terms in 2006, has been a staunch supporter of Israel,…

Over 1,000 Bedouin and leftist activists protested in the Negev Saturday night over the “Prawer-Begin Plan” to organize Bedouin residence in the area, where many illegal Bedouin settlements have sprung up on state land. Similar protests occurred in Haifa, Samaria and Gaza during a “day of rage.” The bill, which has generated much friction from…

One year after it unilaterally turned to the United Nations and received recognition as a non-member observer state, the Palestinian Authority (PA) is not planning to back down from any of its demands from Israel. While no official ceremony was scheduled Friday in the PA to mark the November 29, 2012 vote of the UN…

A local deputy from Switzerland’s populist Geneva Citizens’ Movement (MCG) was excluded from the regional party on Friday for supporting Israel’s destruction, AFP reports. Denis Menoud wrote on his Facebook page Tuesday that following Iran’s historic nuclear deal with the West, “the key thing is that Israel is on the path to being incinerated.” His…

Three Lebanese nationals suspected of being Hezbollah members were cleared of terrorism charges in Nigeria on Friday, AFP reported, but one of the accused was convicted of a weapons offence and jailed for life. Mustapha Fawaz, Abdallah Thahini and Talal Ahmad Roda were arrested in May after the discovery of an arms cache in a…

Wednesday, with the start of Hanukkah, the largest hanukkiah (festive menorah lamp) in Europe was lit at the Brandenburg Gate (Victory Gate) in Berlin for the first time. Lighting ceremonies were held worldwide for the first night of Hanukkah, including in Moscow across from the Kremlin. Rabbi Yehuda Teichtel, Chabad emissary and rabbi of the Berlin…

Iraq’s bloody path to a sectarian war continues, as Iraqi police found the bodies of 18 men who were kidnapped from their homes and killed execution-style, NDTV reports Friday.  The corpses were found grouped together and shot in the head in Meshahda, a predominantly Sunni Muslim area, around 32 km (20 miles) north of Baghdad, police and…

Relating to the holiday of Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday called Iran “the greatest darkness” threatening the world and said that Israel would be the “light to the nations” when it came to Iran’s nuclear program. The comments were made at the Western Wall, where Netanyahu…

In the latest atrocity of the Syrian civil war, Reuters reports that Al-Qaeda-linked rebels have executed the commander of a rival rebel faction and six of his men. An amateur video of the public execution was posted online, the news agency reported. The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a jihadist group fighting…

At least 40 people were killed Thursday in an explosion at a weapons depot in southern Libya, local officials said. According to the BBC, the blast is believed to have occurred after a group of people, reportedly including African immigrants, were trying to steal copper. A hospital near the depot in Brak al-Shati, located near…

For decades the region of Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem, has been home to memorials to the more than 100 Jews who were killed there in 1948, when the region was overrun by invading Arab armies. Now residents of the region have created a new memorial for the 21st century: a professionally produced film that…

U.S. President Barack Obama has reportedly asked Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to stop being so vocal with his criticism of the deal reached between Iran and the West, reports The Washington Post. The newspaper’s columnist David Ignatius wrote on Thursday, “Obama has asked Netanyahu to take a breather from his clamorous criticism and send to…