US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has telephoned Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to complain about Israel's announcement of new housing in east Jerusalem. A ...
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has telephoned Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to complain about Israel's announcement of new housing in east Jerusalem. A senior US official said Clinton delivered a strong message to Netanyahu, saying the announcement sent a deeply negative signal. And she added that Israel must take actions to improve the prospects of relaunching peace talks with the Palestinians.
European Union Foreign Affairs chief Catherine Ashton will begin a a four-day tour of the region on Sunday. Her office in Brussels announced that the English baroness ...
European Union Foreign Affairs chief Catherine Ashton will begin a a four-day tour of the region on Sunday. Her office in Brussels announced that the English baroness will visit Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories, including possibly Gaza, before attending a meeting of the Middle East Quartet in Moscow. Citing "a sense of urgency," Ashton said in a statement that she would be taking a clear message to encourage all actors in the Middle East to engage in talks that lead to a comprehensive regional peace.
Israel said this week that it would authorise a visit to the Gaza Strip by Ashton as well as UN chief Ban ki-Moon.
The IDF imposed a 48-hour closure on Judea and Samaria, barring Palestinians from entering Israel amid concerns of unrest. The closure, to be lifted at midnight ...
The IDF imposed a 48-hour closure on Judea and Samaria, barring Palestinians from entering Israel amid concerns of unrest. The closure, to be lifted at midnight Saturday, was ordered in light of assessments that disturbances in East Jerusalem could spread to other areas. In recent weeks, there have been clashes after Friday prayers at mosques in Jerusalem and elsewhere. Exceptions to the closure will be made only for humanitarian cases, subject to approval by the civil administration.
Police said entrance to the Temple Mount compound for Friday prayers would be retricted to bearers of Israeli identity cards, aged 50 and above for men, and women of all ages.
The Israel Air Force struck two suspected targets in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday. One raid targeted a weapons making workshop in Khan Yunis. The second hit ...
The Israel Air Force struck two suspected targets in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday. One raid targeted a weapons making workshop in Khan Yunis. The second hit a smuggling tunnel in Rafah. Palestinan witnesses said several people were wounded.
The IDF said the strikes were in response to the previous day's rocket on the western Negev from the Gaza Strip. An empty kibbutz workshop was hit, causing no casualties.
The IDF spokesman said that Israel will not tolerate the firing of rockets and will continue to respond harshly to attempts to disrupt the calm in southern Israel.
The ministerial legislation committee has approved an amendment to the building and planning law that would allow a representative from the prime minister's office ...
The ministerial legislation committee has approved an amendment to the building and planning law that would allow a representative from the prime minister's office to participate in deliberations on new building plans and their approval. The move is being taken in the wake of the crisis sparked by Interior Minister Eli Yishai's announcement during the visit to Israel this week of US Vice President Joe Biden, of plans to build 1,600 new housing units in the northeast Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo. The decision was condemned by Biden and prompted threats from the Palestinians not to participate in US-proposed indirect talks with Israel. As part of efforts to patch up the affair, Netanyahu apologized to Biden for the timing of the announcement and said the government is taking steps to prevent such incidents from happening again.
US Vice President Joe Biden reportedly phoned Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas and urged him not to cancel participation in the indirect talks with Israel ...
US Vice President Joe Biden reportedly phoned Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas and urged him not to cancel participation in the indirect talks with Israel that are scheduled to resume in the near future.
A Palestinian official said that Biden told Abbas that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu apologized for the announcement of plans to build new housing in the Ramat Shlomo neighborood in northeast Jerusalem. The Palestinan source said that Abbas has asked the US administration for guarantees the building in northern Jerusalem has been frozen before he will agree to renewing the talks.
In an address at Tel Aviv University on Thursday, Biden called for no delay in resuming the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Biden said the most important thing is for these talks to go forward, to go forward promptly and go forward in good faith.
Jordan's King Abdallah has warned US Vice President Joe Biden that Israel's building plans are jeopardizing the peace process and are liable to drag the area into ...
Jordan's King Abdallah has warned US Vice President Joe Biden that Israel's building plans are jeopardizing the peace process and are liable to drag the area into another round of bloodshed. Biden met with Abdallah in Jordan as he wrapped up Middle East visit aimed at advancing peacemaking.
The United Nations humanitarian affairs chief has criticized Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, saying it has not helped its security or weakened Hamas.
John ...
The United Nations humanitarian affairs chief has criticized Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, saying it has not helped its security or weakened Hamas.
John Holmes also warned of an impending humanitarian disaster if Egypt succeeds in blocking the tunnels that pass under its border with the Gaza Strip. Holmes said that as bad as the hundreds of tunnels that bypass the blockade are, Gaza would have difficulty surviving if Egypt succeeds in blocking them because they are a conduit for badly-needed commercial goods including food and medicine. The tunnels are also used for smuggling cash and weapons to Hamas.
Egypt has a fence along Gaza's souther border and is reinforcing the area with underground metal plates to shut down the tunnels. Holmes visited Gaza earlier this month and again called on Israel to allow the normal entry of goods into Gaza.
The Foreign Ministry says it is troubled by the European Parliament's endorsement this week of the Goldstone Report, which accuses Israel of possible war crimes during ...
The Foreign Ministry says it is troubled by the European Parliament's endorsement this week of the Goldstone Report, which accuses Israel of possible war crimes during Operation Cast Lead. The ministry said in a statement that a time when there is an international effort to bring about proximity talks with the Palestinians, it is unfortunate that the European Parliament chose to take a stand on such a controversial issue that has already been discussed in other international forums.
The European Jewish Congress said the European Parliament decision dealt a blow to the Middle East peace process.
The European Parliament in Strasbourg has called for the immediate release of Gilad Shalit. The declaration tied the release with the freeing of a substantial ...
The European Parliament in Strasbourg has called for the immediate release of Gilad Shalit. The declaration tied the release with the freeing of a substantial number of Palestinian prisoners.
All factions in the European parliament except the communist party supported the declaration. It also called on Gilad Shalit's captors to afford him the minimal rights granted prisoners including visits by the Red Cross and contacts with his family.
Bank Discount workers stopped their sanctions Thursday after progress was made Wednesday night in negotiations with management. A Kol Yisrael reporter says the workers ...
Bank Discount workers stopped their sanctions Thursday after progress was made Wednesday night in negotiations with management. A Kol Yisrael reporter says the workers agreed to suspend their sanctions for two weeks, during which time intensive negotiations will be held on the workers' demand to permanently hire some 1000 temporary employees.
On Israel's roads this week, 20 people were killed and 24 others were seriously hurt in traffic accidents. Since the beginning of the year, 76 people have been killed ...
On Israel's roads this week, 20 people were killed and 24 others were seriously hurt in traffic accidents. Since the beginning of the year, 76 people have been killed in road accidents -- 17 more than the same period last year.