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: FB founder invokes Jewish prayer at Harvard commencement
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivers Harvard commencement full speech
 May 28, 2017
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, in a commencement speech at Harvard University on Thursday, cited a Jewish prayer, translated into English, relevant to the graduates.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1884&v=4VwElW7SbLA
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg returned to Harvard to deliver the commencement speech to the class of 2017.  Zuckerberg dropped out of Harvard in 2005 to found Facebook. Zuckerberg is the youngest speaker in the school's history.

Netanyahu: Temple Mount will remain under Israeli sovereignty forever
 May 24, 2017
Netanyahu: Temple Mount will remain under Israeli sovereignty foreverPM Netanyahu addresses the Knesset. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Netanyahu vowed that Israel will never cede control over the Temple Mount and the Old City of Jerusalem.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel will never relinquish control over the Temple Mount and the Old City of Jerusalem.
Speaking at the Knesset Wednesday during a special session in honor of Jerusalem Day and the 50th anniversary of the city’s reunification, Netanyahu acknowledged there are those who wish to erase the Jewish historical connection to Jerusalem and deny Israeli sovereignty over its capital.
“We will not go back to a situation in which we can look at the Western Wall, but cannot approach it,” Netanyahu said. “To you, the members of the Knesset, the citizens of Israel, and to the entire world, I want to make it clear: The Temple Mount and the Western Wall will stay under Israeli sovereignty forever.”
He noted that that President Donald Trump’s visit to the Western Wall this week “destroyed UNESCO’s propaganda and lies,” referring to a series of UNESCO resolutions denying the Jewish ties to its eternal capital.
Netanyahu said that while Israel’s enemies view the 1967 Six Day War as a catastrophe, he sees it as “a salvation and miracle.”
“The black cloud over Jerusalem disappeared 50 years ago,” he stated. “How could we have continued to exist with such narrow borders, with daily threats to our existence and to our citizens’ lives?” he asked, reminding Israelis that walking on Jerusalem’s King George Street, in the center of the city, used to be dangerous.
“Over the years, Jerusalem was only our national capital, no one else’s,” he affirmed.
“Jerusalem is built, blossoming, open for everyone, and respects followers of all religions
https://worldisraelnews.com/netanyahu-temple-mount-will-remain-israeli-sovereignty-forever/?


WATCH: Arab guards arrested for attacking Jews on Temple Mount

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=25&v=VC0AN7vexDU
 May 25, 2017

In an unusual move, Israeli policemen arrested 3 Arab guards who joined an attack on Jews, who prostrated on the floor and others who sang Hatikvah, Israel’s national anthem, during a visit to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem on Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day) Wednesday.

Israelis unearth evidence of Jerusalem’s last battle 2000 years ago
 May 25, 2017
Israelis unearth evidence of Jerusalem’s last battle 2000 years agoInside the excavations. (Shai Halevy/IAA)
New archaeological findings shed light on the last battle between Romans and Jews almost 2000 years ago.
The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and the Nature and Parks Authority unveiled 2000-year-old evidence of the last battle of Jerusalem on the eve of the destruction of the Second Temple.
The new findings were presented on Thursday in honor of Jerusalem Day and the jubilee celebrations commemorating the reunification of the city at the City of David National Park.
The archaeologists found arrowheads and stone ballista balls on the main street that ascended from the city’s gates and the Pool of Siloam to the Temple. These finds tell the story of the last battle between the Roman legions and the Jewish rebels, who barricaded themselves in the city. The battle resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem in the summer of 70 CE.
This battle was described by first century Romano-Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus. “On the following day the Romans, having routed the [Jewish] brigands from the town, set the whole on fire as far as Siloam.”
Nahshon Szanton and Moran Hagbi, the directors of the excavation on the stepped-street on behalf of the IAA, said that “Josephus’ descriptions of the battle in the lower city [of Jerusalem] come face-to-face for the first time with evidence that was revealed in the field, in a clear and chilling manner.”
https://worldisraelnews.com/israeli-archaeologists-unearth-evidence-jerusalems-last-battle-2-millennia-ago/?


Tillerson: Trump put ‘pressure’ on Netanyahu and Abbas to revive negotiations
 May 25, 2017
Tillerson: Trump put ‘pressure’ on Netanyahu and Abbas to revive negotiationsSecretary of State Rex Tillerson (AP/Jacquelyn Martin)
Tillerson says Trump put “a lot of pressure” on Netanyahu and Abbas to revive peace talks.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said President Donald Trump put “a lot of pressure” on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority (PA) head Mahmoud Abbas to revive peace talks during  his visit in Israel this week.
“There were very substantive discussions in Israel with both Netanyahu as well as Abbas,” Tillerson told reporters aboard Air Force One.
Trump was “very forceful” in his discussions with the two leaders, and “everyone has to compromise,” Tillerson said. He also suggested Israeli-Palestinian relations could have a domino effect on peace in the region.
“[Trump] has made the point several times: we solve the Israeli-Palestinian peace dilemma, we start solving a lot of the peace throughout the Middle East region,” he said.
It is unclear if the “pressure” exerted by Trump would resonate with Israeli leaders. Israel has rejected past assertions that solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would heal all other regional ailments, including the Syrian Civil War, the Islamic State (ISIS) threat and Iranian aggression.
Israel Hayom  reported Thursday that Trump told Abbas during their private meeting in Bethlehem on Tuesday that his peace initiative will be based on the Saudi plan for a normalization of ties between Israel and Arab countries in the region, which would then lead to negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
The Saudi initiative includes a demand for full Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 borders and the absorption of millions of Palestinian”refugees” into Israel.
The report quotes a Palestinian official who said that Trump has not abandoned the two-state peace plan, but he does seek to explore other possible venues, including a broad Middle East peace plan and another interim agreement negotiated between Israel and the Palestinians.
https://worldisraelnews.com/tillerson-trump-put-pressure-on-netanyahu-and-abbas-to-revive-negotiations/?

WATCH: Senator Cruz commemorates Jerusalem Day, calls for embassy move
 May 24, 2017
Senator Ted Cruz commemorates Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day) on the senate floor by pointing out the importance of recent excavations demonstrating the ties between the Jewish people and Jerusalem. He also called for the US embassy to be moved to the Israeli capital.
WATCH: Senator Cruz commemorates Jerusalem Day, calls for embassy move

 May 24, 2017
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Senator Ted Cruz commemorates Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day) on the senate floor by pointing out the importance of recent excavations demonstrating the ties between the Jewish people and Jerusalem. He also called for the US embassy to be moved to the Israeli capital.
WATCH: Senator Cruz commemorates Jerusalem Day, calls for embassy move

 May 24, 2017
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Senator Ted Cruz commemorates Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day) on the senate floor by pointing out the importance of recent excavations demonstrating the ties between the Jewish people and Jerusalem. He also called for the US embassy to be moved to the Israeli capital.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eXHKzSxIyc

Knesset member who ‘took selfie’ with Trump annoyed Netanyahu
 May 25, 2017
Knesset member who ‘took selfie’ with Trump annoyed NetanyahuMember of Knesset Oren Hazan takes a selfie with US President Donald Trump. (Youtube)
After being humiliated by Oren Hazan, the rogue Knesset member who barged in on the tarmac for a selfie with Trump, Netanyahu may now exclude the handshaking protocol from future receptions.
Donald Trump’s whirlwind 28-hour visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority earlier this week went as choreographed except for a single hitch. To the annoyance of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the state visit went off-script on the tarmac at Ben-Gurion Airport Monday when rogue Likud Member of Knesset Oren Hazan crashed the reception line to grab a selfie with the US president.
While Trump was nonplussed as the scandal-plagued parliamentarian repeatedly cut into the line and fumbled with his cellphone camera, it seems the president was unaware of Hazan’s reputation for procuring drugs and prostitutes.
Compounding his chutzpah, Oren, a publicity hound, posted his selfie on his Facebook page with the caption, “Thank you Mr. President — it was my pleasure!”
Hazan’s embarrassing behavior made headlines around the world.
According to a Channel 2 investigative report, Hazan, 35, managed a casino in Bulgaria, where he sampled methamphetamine with guests and procured prostitutes for them. Hazan denied the accusations and sued for libel. His lawsuit was dismissed, thus confirming the allegations as factual.
In November 2015, Hazan outraged his fellow members of Knesset by ridiculing wheelchair-bound Yesh Atid MK Karin Elharar, who suffers from muscular dystrophy.  The record of Hazan’s inappropriate antics is long.
https://worldisraelnews.com/netanyahu-considers-future-of-rogue-knesset-member/?

For first time, Netanyahu sees hope for peace
 May 23, 2017
For first time, Netanyahu sees hope for peacePresident Donald Trump listens to Netanyahu. (AP/Evan Vucci)
Tweet
Netanyahu expressed hopefulness at the possibility of a diplomatic resolution with the Palestinians, and with the Arab world in general, under Trump’s tutelage.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed immense optimism at the prospects of a diplomatic resolution with the Palestinians, and with the Arab world in general, under the guidance of President Donald Trump.
Speaking at the Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem, where he hosted a festive dinner with Trump and his wife Melania, Netanyahu said he looks forward to “working closely” with Trump to advance peace in the region, “because you [Trump] have noted so succinctly that common dangers are turning former enemies into partners.”
Netanyahu was relating to the reported change in the stance of Sunni Arab states in the Middle East, who are shifting away from animosity towards Israel, and towards a possible working relationship.
Trump visited Saudi Arabia before he landed in Israel and discussed these issues with Arab leaders.
“And that’s where we see something new and potentially something very promising. It won’t be simple, but for the first time in many years, and Mr. President, for the first time in my lifetime, I see a real hope for change,” Netanyahu declared with much glee.
“The Arab leaders who you met yesterday could help change the atmosphere and they could help create the conditions for a realistic peace. These are all great signs on your historic visit,” Netanyahu added.
While welcoming Trump to “Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the Jewish people, the united capital of the Jewish state,” Netanyahu thanked Trump for visiting the Western Wall, “one of the holiest sites of Judaism.”
“Mr. President, I appreciate the fact that you went to the Western Wall, and you’re the first acting president who has done that. The people of Israel applaud you for it,” Netanyahu said.
https://worldisraelnews.com/first-time-netanyahu-sees-hope-peace/?

Jordan: Israeli visits on Temple Mount ‘provoke’ Muslims
 May 25, 2017
Jordan: Israeli visits on Temple Mount ‘provoke’ MuslimsIsraeli visitors and police on the Temple Mount. (Sliman Khader/Flash90)
Israelis visited the Temple Mount, the Palestinians rioted, and Jordan threatened Israel.
The Israeli Police on Wednesday arrested two Palestinian guards from the Temple Mount’s Islamic Waqf after they attacked a group of Israeli visitors and police officers at the holy site, amid the 50th anniversary celebrations of Jerusalem’s reunification.
A group of Jewish visitors, among the hundreds of Israeli visitors who visited the site on Wednesday, began singing Hatikvah, Israel’s national anthem, on the Temple Mount. The police, who deemed the action a breach of protocol, attempted to quickly remove the Jewish group from the holy site, while Waqf officials began taunting and attacking the visitors, as well as police officers.
“The police officers got the group away from the [Temple] Mount and arrested two of the Waqf officials,” a police spokesman stated, adding that it launched an investigation into the incident.
https://worldisraelnews.com/jordan-israeli-visits-temple-mount-provoke-muslims/?

WATCH: Palestinians hold Trump effigy at gunpoint
 May 25, 2017
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Palestinians hold Trump effigy at gunpoint during a Marxist PFLP rally joined by thousands of Gazans in solidarity with hunger-strikers demanding better conditions for jailed terrorists.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meLZMyedktg
effigyGazanHamasHunger strikeIranMarxist–Leninist

Trump discusses peace without calling for a Palestinian state
 May 24, 2017
Trump discusses peace without calling for a Palestinian statePresident Donald Trump with PM Benjamin Netanyahu prior to Trump's departure to Rome, May 23, 2017. (Kobi Gideon/Flash90)
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Trump radiated optimism towards an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement but left no clear indication of how he plans to bring to it fruition, including no mention of a Palestinian state.
US President Donald Trump, in several speeches throughout his two-day visit to Israel, notably did not endorse an independent Palestinian state.
Trump and Palestinian Authority (PA) head Mahmoud Abbas discussed the prospects for peace between Israel and the Palestinians during a press conference in Bethlehem on Tuesday. While the US president called for the resumption of peace talks, he notably stopped short of endorsing the idea of a Palestinian state.
Trump spoke in general terms about his belief that the time is ripe to reach a deal, but made no mention of a two-state solution.
Oded Revivi, chief foreign envoy of the Council of Judea and Samaria, praised Trump’s statements, saying, “The president didn’t mention two states in his Bethlehem statements, just peace. We hope this means that we have moved on from this failed policy and will now work together to build true and lasting peace from the ground up.”
https://worldisraelnews.com/trump-discusses-peace-without-calling-for-a-palestinian-state/?

Trump concluded trip to Holy Land with pro-Israel speech
 May 23, 2017
Trump concluded trip to Holy Land with pro-Israel speechPresident Donald Trump and PM Netanyahu (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Trump concluded his visit to Israel with high praise for Netanyahu and a powerful pro-Israel speech that highlighted the close bonds between the Jewish state and the US.
US President Donald Trump concluded his 28-hour visit to Israel with high praise for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a passionate call for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and a solemn vow that Iran will not obtain nuclear weapons during his term as president.
Speaking at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem to an A-list of Israeli public officials, including Knesset members, mayors, and the chief rabbis, Trump repeated his call to “obliterate” the ideology of terrorism, and spoke about the political, historical, and defense ties between the US and Israel.
He pushed for the elusive peace between Israel and the Palestinians, calling on both sides to put aside the “pain and disagreements of the past,” and declaring that both sides are ready to move forward.
“Palestinians are ready to reach for peace,” Trump said. Turning to the prime minister, who joined him for the speech, Trump said, “Benjamin Netanyahu wants peace.”
A longtime businessman, Trump has cast Middle East peace as the “ultimate deal.”
He stated that Jews have built Israel into a place where they can till the land and pray where they want.
“But Muslims, Christians and people of all faiths are free to live and worship according to their conscience,” he underscored.
https://worldisraelnews.com/trump-concludes-trip-to-holy-land-with-pro-israel-speech/?

May 23, 2017
https://unitedwithisrael.org/netanyahu-sees-viable-peace-for-first-time-in-his-lifetime/?
Netanyahu expressed optimism at the prospects of a diplomatic resolution with the Palestinians, and with the Arab world in general, under Trump’s leadership.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed immense optimism at the prospects of a diplomatic resolution with the Palestinians, and with the Arab world in general, under the guidance of President Donald Trump.

Speaking at the Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem, where he hosted a festive dinner with Trump and his wife Melania, Netanyahu said he looks forward to “working closely” with Trump to advance peace in the region, “because you [Trump] have noted so succinctly that common dangers are turning former enemies into partners.”

Netanyahu was relating to the reported change in the stance of Sunni Arab states in the Middle East, who are shifting away from animosity towards Israel, and towards a possible working relationship.

Trump visited Saudi Arabia before he landed in Israel and discussed these issues with Arab leaders.

“And that’s where we see something new and potentially something very promising. It won’t be simple, but for the first time in many years, and Mr. President, for the first time in my lifetime, I see a real hope for change,” Netanyahu declared with much glee.

“The Arab leaders who you met yesterday could help change the atmosphere and they could help create the conditions for a realistic peace. These are all great signs on your historic visit,” Netanyahu added.

While welcoming Trump to “Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the Jewish people, the united capital of the Jewish state,” Netanyahu thanked Trump for visiting the Western Wall, “one of the holiest sites of Judaism.”

“Mr. President, I appreciate the fact that you went to the Western Wall, and you’re the first acting president who has done that. The people of Israel applaud you for it,” Netanyahu said.

He also thanked Trump for his “deep commitment to Israel’s security, its wellbeing and its future. I have no doubt that as we work together, you and I, the alliance between our countries will grow ever stronger.”

By: United with Israel Staff

Palestinian terrorist stabs Israeli policeman during Trump visit
 May 23, 2017
Palestinian terrorist stabs Israeli policeman during Trump visitScene of the attack. (MDA)
A Palestinian terrorist stabbed and lightly wounded a police officer in Netanya while Trump was visiting Israel.
A Palestinian terrorist stabbed and lightly wounded a police officer in the coastal city of Netanya on Tuesday, as President Donald Trump was on a visit in Israel.
The terrorist, 45 from Samaria, was shot and moderately wounded.

The victim, 26, sustained wounds to his upper body and was evacuated to a hospital for treatment.

A female bystander was lightly wounded from a ricochet.
Israel’s Ynet news quoted witnesses who said the terrorist shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the attack.
Allahu Akbar — Arabic for “God is greater” — is a phrase often used by Muslim terrorists during attacks.

This attack comes just hours after Border Police officers in Jerusalem thwarted a stabbing attack in Abu Dis, a Jerusalem Arab neighborhood, on Monday.
https://worldisraelnews.com/palestinian-terrorist-stabs-israeli-policeman-trump-visit/?


WATCH: Standing next to Abbas, Trump blasts Palestinian terror-funding
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=318&v=Tc8TjGImQeg
 May 23, 2017
In a joint press conference Tuesday with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, President Trump said, “Peace can never take root in an environment where violence is tolerated, funded and even rewarded.”


Mahmoud AbbasPAPLOTerror fundingTrumpTwo State Solution
https://worldisraelnews.com/watch-abbas-side-trump-blasts-terror-funding/?

https://worldisraelnews.com/trump-confident-hell-make-a-deal-palestinians-issue-demands-ahead-of-visit/?
Trump confident he’ll make a deal; Palestinians issue demands ahead of visit
 May 19, 2017
Trump confident he’ll make a deal; Palestinians issue demands ahead of visitUS President Donald Trump (Greg Allen/AP/File)
Ahead of his first trip abroad as US president, Trump speaks of a “tremendous possibility” for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, while Abbas has already issued his own demands.

In an exclusive interview with Israel Hayom, US President Donald Trump expressed certainty of his ability to broker a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

“I think there is a great possibility that we will make a deal. … I love the people of Israel, I am working very hard to finally have peace for the people of Israel and the Palestinians. Hopefully that can come about much sooner than anybody has ever projected,” he said.

“There is a tremendous possibility. This is a deal that is good for all,” he added. “We have the right people on it too, with [U.S. Ambassador to Israel] David Friedman and [Special Representative for International Negotiations] Jason Greenblatt.”

Several US leaders have worked hard to finalize a deal, but without success. Trump hasn’t elaborated on his plans or why he believes he can do it.

Israelis Get Conflicting Messages

Not only has he not given details, but the messages coming from his administration have been mixed. Most recently, for instance, the White House released a video promoting the president’s upcoming trip with a map showing Israel within the pre-1967 borders, excluding the Golan Heights, eastern Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. Throughout his presidential election campaign, however, and even after winning, he expressed a commitment to Jerusalem as the “eternal capital of the Jewish people.”

US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley this week reaffirmed her support for moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, stating categorically that “the Western Wall is part of Israel,” while US National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, asked about the matter, said it would be a “policy decision.”

As for whether Trump intends to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, which he had vowed to do as Republican candidate to the presidency, he refused to elaborate in the interview, saying, “We have some very interesting things in the works, we will be talking about that in the future.”

Neither would he discuss the issue of “settlements” – Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. “I don’t want to comment on that, other than the fact that I truly believe that we will make a deal,” he said.

Who Will Accompany Trump to the Western Wall?

Reports earlier this week indicated that Trump does not want Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to join him during his visit to the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem. “No Israeli leaders will join President Trump at the Western Wall,” National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster told reporters on Tuesday.

Confronted on this issue in the Israel Hayom interview, the US leader, claiming to have “great respect and friendship for Netanyahu,” said that going to the holy site “with the rabbi is more traditional, but that could change.”

Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas reportedly issued his own demands ahead of Trump’s visit. These include projects to stimulate the economy and infrastructure improvements such as an airport in PA-administered territory in Samaria, the construction of a new power-distribution facility in northern Samaria, a cement factory in Bethlehem and resort hotels on the Dead Sea.

By: World Israel News Staff

Report: Trump will convey opposition to ‘settlements’ during Israel trip
 May 18, 2017
Report: Trump will convey opposition to ‘settlements’ during Israel tripPresident Donald Trump and Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas. (AP/Evan Vucci)
An anonymous official reportedly said that Trump will express his opposition to construction in Judea and Samaria during next week’s visit in Israel.
US President Donald Trump will convey his opposition to Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria during his visit to Israel next week, according to a report in The Jerusalem Post that cited an anonymous US senior official.
“(Trump) has expressed a general concern,” the official reportedly said. “He will reiterate that,” the official continued, adding that “(Trump) has not abandoned the two-state solution.”
Moreover, Trump expects “assurances and signals from the Israeli government that they’ve heard his views” on Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria, the senior official reportedly added.​
The report in The Post follows a recent report in Israel Hayom that quoted Trump’s Ambassador to Israel David Friedman saying the exact opposite.
“We have no demand for a settlement freeze,” Friedman said in an interview with Israel Hayom.
“If you look at what the president has said since taking office about settlements, his position has been remarkably different than the Obama administration’s,” Friedman continued. “Trump has not come out and said that settlements are an obstacle to peace; he has not called for a settlement freeze.”
MORE  Report: Trump will convey opposition to ‘settlements’ during Israel trip

 May 18, 2017
Report: Trump will convey opposition to ‘settlements’ during Israel tripPresident Donald Trump and Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas. (AP/Evan Vucci)
An anonymous official reportedly said that Trump will express his opposition to construction in Judea and Samaria during next week’s visit in Israel.
US President Donald Trump will convey his opposition to Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria during his visit to Israel next week, according to a report in The Jerusalem Post that cited an anonymous US senior official.
“(Trump) has expressed a general concern,” the official reportedly said. “He will reiterate that,” the official continued, adding that “(Trump) has not abandoned the two-state solution.”
Moreover, Trump expects “assurances and signals from the Israeli government that they’ve heard his views” on Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria, the senior official reportedly added.​
The report in The Post follows a recent report in Israel Hayom that quoted Trump’s Ambassador to Israel David Friedman saying the exact opposite.
“We have no demand for a settlement freeze,” Friedman said in an interview with Israel Hayom.
“If you look at what the president has said since taking office about settlements, his position has been remarkably different than the Obama administration’s,” Friedman continued. “Trump has not come out and said that settlements are an obstacle to peace; he has not called for a settlement freeze.”
MORE Report: Trump will convey opposition to ‘settlements’ during Israel trip May 18, 2017 Report: Trump will convey opposition to ‘settlements’ during Israel tripPresident Donald Trump and Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas. (AP/Evan Vucci) Tweet Print Email 33 Comments An anonymous official reportedly said that Trump will express his opposition to construction in Judea and Samaria during next week’s visit in Israel. US President Donald Trump will convey his opposition to Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria during his visit to Israel next week, according to a report in The Jerusalem Post that cited an anonymous US senior official. “(Trump) has expressed a general concern,” the official reportedly said. “He will reiterate that,” the official continued, adding that “(Trump) has not abandoned the two-state solution.” Moreover, Trump expects “assurances and signals from the Israeli government that they’ve heard his views” on Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria, the senior official reportedly added.​ The report in The Post follows a recent report in Israel Hayom that quoted Trump’s Ambassador to Israel David Friedman saying the exact opposite. “We have no demand for a settlement freeze,” Friedman said in an interview with Israel Hayom. “If you look at what the president has said since taking office about settlements, his position has been remarkably different than the Obama administration’s,” Friedman continued. “Trump has not come out and said that settlements are an obstacle to peace; he has not called for a settlement freeze.”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/report-trump-will-convey-opposition-settlements-israel-trip/?

Top Trump Adviser Won’t Say if Western Wall is Part of Israel
Trump’s national security adviser sidestepped questions about whether Jerusalem’s Western Wall is part of Israel, saying it “sounds like a policy decision.”

Asked if President Donald Trump considers the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem as part of Israel, US National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster replied, “That sounds like a policy decision.”

The status of sovereignty over the wall became a political issue between the US and Israel earlier this week, casting a cloud over the highly anticipated visit by the new president.
According to a report Monday evening on Israel’s Channel 2, the drama unfolded when the Israelis expressed a desire on the part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accompany Trump on his stopover at the Western Wall.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/senior-trump-aide-wont-say-western-wall-part-israel/?


Netanyahu: Israel Always Supported Moving US Embassy to Jerusalem
Netanyahu exposed transcriptions of discussions between Israeli and American officials to prove Israel has consistently supported the move of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

In a rare occurrence, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu exposed sections of transcriptions of discussions between high-ranking Israeli and American officials to prove Israel has consistently supported the move of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the Jewish state’s capital.

Netanyahu’s office published the transcriptions on Monday following a tweet by Fox News correspondent Conor Powell which claimed that “Everyone I’ve spoken to in DC that has been briefed on Jerusalem embassy move says Netanyahu told Trump not to move the embassy at this time.”

The Prime Minister’s Office released a statement flatly denying the report and saying that “the claims posted by a Fox News correspondent are false.”
To support the statement, the PMO released quotes from summaries of Netanyahu’s meetings with President Donald Trump on February 17, recorded by Israel’s acting national security adviser, Jacob Nagel.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/netanyahu-israel-has-consistently-supported-move-of-us-embassy-to-jerusalem/?


WATCH: ‘Time to recognize Jerusalem as capital’, new US ambassador is told
 May 16, 2017
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin received US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman’s credentials Tuesday morning, telling Friedman, “It is time for the whole world to recognize Jerusalem as the official capital of the State of Israel.”
US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman presents credentials to Israeli president
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruqCLWiwMow


White House Rejects US Official’s Comment that Western Wall not Israeli
May 16, 2017
White House Rejects US official’s comment that Western Wall not IsraeliWhite House press secretary Sean Spicer (AP/Andrew Harnik)
The White House rejected statements made by a US official that the Kotel is not Israeli territory.
The White House rejected statements reportedly made by a US official telling Israeli officials that the Kotel, the Western Wall, is “not your territory.”
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told several news outlets the comments do not reflect the Trump Administration’s position.

A senior administration official told The Times of Israel that “the comments about the Western Wall were not authorized communication and they do not represent the position of the United States and certainly not of the President.”

Israel’s Channel 2 reported Monday that a senior White House official, working on preparations for President Donald Trump’s trip to Israel next week, told his Israeli counterparts that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could not accompany Trump to the Western Wall because the site is “not your territory.”
Channel 2 said the US official dismissed the idea because it would be a “private visit” for Trump. This would be the first visit by a sitting US president to one of Judaism’s holiest sites. 
MORE  https://worldisraelnews.com/white-house-rejects-us-officials-comment-western-wall-not-israeli/?


PLO official: Too soon for direct talks with Israel

 May 16, 2017
PLO official: Too soon for direct talks with IsraelPA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (R) meets with Trump negotiator Jason Greenblatt in Ramallah, Mar. 14, 2017. (Flash90)
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The PLO’s chief representative in the US said that it “might be a bit too early” for direct talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. 

The Chief Representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to the United States, Husam S. Zomlot, said it was too soon for Israel and Palestinian Authority (PA) officials to talk directly in the framework of a peace process.

“Putting everybody together in the room, as it was discussed a few weeks ago, might be a bit too early,” Zomlot said during an address to the Arab Center in Washington, DC, according to the Times of Israel.

Nevertheless, Zomlot expressed a sense of encouragement among Palestinians from the Trump administration’s peace efforts so far, in particular from Trump’s adviser Jason Greenblatt, who recently visited the region.

“This is a good approach: listening, learning what is happening exactly, absorbing,” Zomlot said, referring to Greenblatt’s trip. “We believe this might be the right approach.”
Zomlot said Trump’s commitment to help reach a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians, as well as his meeting in Washington, DC with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas helped bring about “renewed Palestinian hopes.”
“We do have reasons to be optimistic and we do have reasons to be determined,” he continued
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/plo-official-soon-direct-talks-israel/?

‘Western Wall is not Your Territory,’ US Official Tells Israelis
A bitter argument ensued Monday evening following a US official’s statement to Israelis preparing for Trump’s visit, saying that the “Western Wall is not your territory.” The White House, responding to media queries, said the statement was not authorized by the president and does not represent US policy.
Israeli officials were shocked Monday evening by belligerent statements coming from US President Donald Trump’s team in charge of planning his upcoming trip to Israel next week, indicating a possible diplomatic crisis.
According to a Channel 2 news report, the drama unfolded when the Israelis expressed a desire on the part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accompany Trump to the Western Wall and to bring photographers. A visit to the holy site is on the president’s agenda.
The US official allegedly gave a harsh response, saying, “No way. Why is this your business?”
The Western Wall, located in the Old City of Jerusalem, is in “disputed territory,” the official reportedly said. “This is not your territory, but rather part of the West Bank.”
A vicious argument reportedly ensued, with Israeli officials asserting that Jerusalem is indeed “territory holy to Israel.”
Netanyahu: This is Not Trump’s Policy
https://worldisraelnews.com/western-wall-is-not-your-territory-us-official-tells-israelis/?
 
Netanyahu Slams Fox ‘False’ Report that He Told Trump not to Move US Embassy to Jerusalem
May 15, 2017
Netanyahu slams ‘false’ Fox News report that he told Trump not to move embassyJerusalem-based Fox News correspondent Conor Powell (Youtube)
The Prime Minister’s Office categorically denied a claim by a Fox News correspondent that Netanyahu had asked Trump not to move the US embassy to Jerusalem.
“The claims posted by a Fox News correspondent are false,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated in response to claims by Fox News journalist Conor Powell in a Monday afternoon report.
“Everyone I’ve spoken to in DC that has been briefed on #Jerusalem embassy move says #Netanyahu told #Trump not to move embassy at this time,” Powell tweeted.
Netanyahu vehemently denies the report.
In a statement to the media Monday evening, summarizing Netanyahu’s meetings with President Donald Trump on February 17 at the Oval Office, the Prime Minister’s Office said that “as for moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, “the PM supports moving it.”
At a “lunch meeting at the White House, “the PM was asked about the embassy and explained [that moving it] would not lead to bloodshed in the region, as some were trying to intimidate [President Trump] into believing.”
Furthermore, during a meeting between  Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer and then-National Security Adviser-designate Michael Flynn on January 16, “[Dermer] explained why moving the embassy would help advance peace and not the opposite.”
https://worldisraelnews.com/netanyahu-fox-news-claim-on-embassy-move-is-false/?



WATCH: New US Ambassador to Israel Runs from Airport to Pray at Western Wall
May 15, 2017
https://worldisraelnews.com/watch-new-us-ambassador-to-israel-goes-from-airport-to-western-wall/?
David Friedman, the newly appointed US ambassador to Israel, went straight from his arrival at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel to Jerusalem’s Western Wall, where he kissed its ancient stones, recited Psalms and shared his hopes for President Trump’s upcoming visit to the Jewish state.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=9&v=V4Xb4_Xb5Lc


US Accuses Syria of Mass Executions, Burning Bodies in Crematorium 
“We believe that the building of a crematorium is an effort to cover up the extent of mass murders taking place,” said Stuart Jones, the top US diplomat for the Middle East, slamming the Syrian government.
The Trump administration accused the Syrian government Monday of carrying out mass killings of thousands of prisoners and burning the bodies in a large crematorium outside the capital. It also stepped up criticism of Iran and Russia for supporting the Syrian government.
The allegation came as President Donald Trump is weighing options in Syria, where the US attacked a government air base last month in response to a chemical weapons attack on civilians.
But Trump hasn’t outlined a larger strategy for ending the Arab country’s civil war or ushering Syrian President Bashar Assad out of power. These questions were sure to arise in his meeting at the White House with the United Arab Emirates’ crown prince Monday, a day before Turkey’s president arrives.
The State Department said it believed that about 50 detainees a day are being hanged at Saydnaya military prison, about 45 minutes north of Damascus. Many of the bodies, it said, are then burned in the crematorium.
“We believe that the building of a crematorium is an effort to cover up the extent of mass murders taking place,” said Stuart Jones, the top US diplomat for the Middle East, in accusing the Syrian government of sinking “to a new level of depravity.”
https://worldisraelnews.com/us-accuses-syria-mass-executions-burning-bodies/?

More than 10,000 police to secure Trump in Israel
 May 15, 2017
More than 10,000 police officers will protect Trump during his upcoming visit, in coordination with the Israel Security Agency and US Secret Service. 
More than 10,000 police officers will secure US President Donald Trump during his visit to Israel next week as part of an operation dubbed “Blue Shield,” according to a report on Friday in Walla, an Israeli news outlet. 
The diverse officers assigned to protect Trump belong to special patrols, undercover units, border police and counterterrorism units. 
Security officials are working in coordination with the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and the US Secret Service. After Trump steps down at Ben-Gurion Airport, he will be transported to Jerusalem by helicopter, where he is scheduled to visit the Western Wall and perhaps Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum as well.
Police have an alternative plan in case of inclement weather, which is to bring the US president to Jerusalem on Israel’s main highway connecting Tel Aviv with the capital. The contingency plan would undoubtedly cause a headache for Israeli travelers.
Traffic disruptions are already expected in Jerusalem as roads will be closed down during Trump’s stay in the capital.
High security will also be necessary during Trump’s visit to the more isolated landmark of Masada, located south of Jerusalem near the Dead Sea.
https://worldisraelnews.com/more-than-10000-police-to-secure-trump-in-israel/?

Netanyahu: Moving US Embassy to Jerusalem is Conducive to Peace 
Netanyahu: Moving US embassy to Jerusalem will advance peace
 May 15, 2017
Netanyahu: Moving US embassy to Jerusalem will advance peacePrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Ohad Zweigenberg/POOL)
Netanyahu stated that moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem would advance peace between Israel and the Palestinians, rather than the opposite.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated Sunday that moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem would advance peace between Israel and the Palestinians rather than harming the process. He was responding to remarks made by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in an interview with NBC‘s Meet the Press earlier in the day.
President Donald Trump, Tillerson said, is proceeding very cautiously with regard to moving the US embassy to Jerusalem. “I think the president’s being very measured in how he goes about this – and appropriately so,” he explained.
Trump is considering the impact such a move could have on a peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, Tillerson continued. “(Trump) wants to put a lot of effort into seeing if we cannot advance a peace initiative between Israel and Palestine, and so I think in large measure the president is being very careful to understand how such a decision would impact a peace process.”
Netanyahu’s office responded by stating that “Israel’s position has been stated many times to the American administration and to the world: Moving the American embassy to Jerusalem would not harm the peace process,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement. “On the contrary, it would advance it by correcting an historical injustice and by shattering the Palestinian fantasy that Jerusalem is not the capital of Israel.”
Will Trump Keep his Promise?
https://worldisraelnews.com/netanyahu-moving-us-embassy-to-jerusalem-is-conducive-to-peace/?


Top Donor to Trump Campaign ‘Enraged’ US Embassy not Yet Moved 
 May 15, 2017
Top donor to Trump campaign ‘enraged’ US embassy not yet movedSheldon Adelson (AP)
Sheldon Adelson, a top donor to Trump’s presidential campaign, is reportedly “furious” that the US administration has yet to move the US embassy to Jerusalem. 
Sheldon Adelson, a top donor to the US Republican Party in the 2016 presidential elections, is reportedly “furious” that the Trump administration continues to deliberate about whether to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
According to Israel’s Channel 2, Adelson took issue with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s remarks on NBC’s Meet the Press program on Sunday.
Trump “is being very careful to understand how such a decision would impact a peace process,” Tillerson told the interviewer.
The Channel 2 report, which cited two anonymous officials, said Adelson “does not buy” Tillerson’s contention that moving the embassy could have an adverse effect on the peace process.
Adelson, who donated some $80 million to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, had already told the president that the Palestinians are “impossible partners for negotiations.”
The New York Times reported that Adelson is battling Ronald Lauder, head of the World Jewish Congress (WJC), with regards to influencing Trump’s positions on the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Lauder, who has enjoyed a close relationship with Trump for decades, apparently convinced the US leader to pursue a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. The WJC president also voluntarily helped prep Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas before his recent meeting with the president in Washington, D.C.
Lauder’s influence on the Trump administration has also enraged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Netanyahu, according to a recent report in The Jerusalem Post
https://worldisraelnews.com/top-donor-trump-campaign-enraged-us-embassy-not-moved/?

WATCH: Possible future PM of Israel asked what he would offer Palestinians
https://worldisraelnews.com/watch-possible-future-pm-of-israel-asked-what-he-would-offer-palestinians/?
 May 15, 2017
Yair Lapid, former Finance Minister and current chairman of the Yesh Atid Party, considered a possible replacement for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, responds to questions about what his approach to the Palestinians would be if he were to become prime minister.
Israeli politician: Israel not the problem in negotiations
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=9&v=1fem2Pw6l6Y


Columbia University ‘Nakba Project’ promotes BDS
https://worldisraelnews.com/columbia-university-nakba-project-promotes-bds/?
Columbia University ‘Nakba Project’ promotes BDSAn anti-Israel demonstration. (Social media)
A Columbia University project promotes anti-Israel bias and myths while providing a platform for BDS, according to Im Tirtzu, a student Zionist group.
A Columbia University-sponsored project promotes extreme anti-Israel rhetoric and provides a platform for propagators of the BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanctions) movement, a report released Sunday by the Im Tirtzu Zionist student organization says.
The report focuses on “The Nakba & The Law” project, a joint initiative of Columbia U’s Center for Palestine Studies and Adalah, an anti-Israel NGO.
Launched in 2016, the project features blog-style posts on the topic of the so-called Nakba, the Arabic word for “catastrophe” used by Palestinian Arabs in reference to the establishment of the State of Israel.
According to the report, of the 32 authors listed on the project’s website, 17 openly support the BDS movement, three are affiliated with BDS organizations and six work for the radical anti-Israel NGO Adalah, which accuses Israel of committing war crimes, defends terrorists in court and works in international institutions to isolate Israel.
Of the six authors who have no public affiliation with the BDS movement or Adalah, there is no shortage of extreme anti-Israel rhetoric, including accusations of Israel being an apartheid state, allegations of Israeli massacres of Palestinians and equating the “Nakba” with the Holocaust.
Among the authors is Columbia Professor Katherine Franke, one of the project’s editors, who co-authored a report defending the Black Lives Matter platform that accuses Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinians.
https://worldisraelnews.com/columbia-university-nakba-project-promotes-bds/?


Notorious New Jersey ‘Nazi dad’ changes name to Hitler
 May 15, 2017
Notorious New Jersey ‘Nazi dad’ changes name to HitlerIsidore Heath Campbell, AKA Hitler. (AP/Mike Derer)
Isidore Heath Campbell, a White Supremacist, officially changed his name to Isidore Heath Hitler.
Isidore Heath Campbell, a self-proclaimed Nazi, officially became Isidore Heath Hitler this week with a legal name change that took effect.
MyCentralJersey.com reported Hitler’s name officially changed from Campbell on Monday, the anniversary of World War II’s end in Europe after Germany’s surrender.
“It’s great. My driver’s license is changed over, my insurance, my registration, all that I needed is changed over,” he said. “I’m the new Hitler.”
Hitler was granted approval from Hunterdon County Superior Court to change his surname.
He said his initials, I.H.H., stand for “I Hail Hitler,” and that he gave a prayer for the Nazis on the day his name officially changed.
Hitler first gained national notoriety when a supermarket refused to decorate a birthday cake for his son, named Adolf Hitler Campbell after the Nazi leader.
Hitler said he now wants to regain custody of his four children, who are all named after various Nazis and white nationalist groups
https://worldisraelnews.com/notorious-new-jersey-nazi-dad-changes-name-hitler/?

Netanyahu Denies Being Told Trump Broke Promise of Moving US Embassy to Jerusalem
Trump has reportedly decided not to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, breaking his pre-election promise to his voters. Israel denies the report.
Israel is denying a report that President Donald Trump has decided not to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and will sign the presidential waiver postponing the highly anticipated move.
In 1995, Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy and Relocation Act, which recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and commited to moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem no later than May 31, 1999. To date, each American president since Bill Clinton has signed a presidential waiver every six months, citing concerns that a move to Jerusalem could hinder the Israeli-Palestinian peace process
https://worldisraelnews.com/kerry-warns-embassy-move-will-explode-region/


Pizza Hut Israel rebuked for mocking Barghouti’s fake hunger strike
May 10, 2017
Pizza Hut Israel rebuked for mocking Barghouti’s fake hunger strikeScreenshot of Pizza Hut Israel ad on social media (Screenshot/Twitter)
Pizza Hut International condemned an ad posted by its Israel branch poking fun at Palestinian terrorist Marwan Bargouti for cheating during his hunger strike.
Pizza Hut franchise in Israel posted an ad on its Facebook page Monday ridiculing Palestinian prisoner Marwan Barghouti’s leadership role in a hunger strike that he himself broke, hoping no one would find out.
A recent video shows Barghouti, who is serving several life sentences for multiple acts of terror and murder, secretly eating a candy bar and cookies in his prison cell. Unaware that he was being filmed, Barghouti can be seen sneaking food into the lavatory, then sitting on the toilet and eating. Thereafter, Barghouti washed up, apparently to remove the evidence.
https://worldisraelnews.com

WATCH: Hamas Campaign to Attract Tourists Shows a Luxurious Gaza
A Hamas campaign to attract tourists portrays an affluent Gaza Strip, but the media tells a different story. Which do you believe?
A new online campaign, titled #ShukranHamas, meaning “Thank you, Hamas,” aims to bring tourists to Gaza.
The campaign video shows beautiful beaches, clean streets, impressive buildings, shopping centers, an abundance of produce and attractive tourist sites.
The message from the media, however, is very different. Gaza is allegedly experiencing a horrible “occupation” by the Israelis, and Hamas urges human rights activists to break the “siege” in order to transfer food and medicine to the unfortunate civilians.
Only one story can be true. Which do you believe?
https://unitedwithisrael.org

In Jab at Erdogan, Rivlin Notes Jerusalem’s Jewish Majority Dates to Ottoman Period
“For the last 150 years there has been a Jewish majority in Jerusalem. Even under the Ottoman Empire, there was a Jewish majority in Jerusalem,” Rivlin stated.
President Reuven Rivlin countered Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s claim that Israel was attempting to “judaize” Jerusalem by noting that the Jewish majority in Israel’s capital dates back to the Ottoman period.
“We have heard voices which attack Israel for building Jewish life in Jerusalem,” Rivlin said Tuesday, referring to Erdogan’s statements, during a meeting with Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby in Jerusalem. “I must tell these people, for the last 150 years there has been a Jewish majority in Jerusalem. Even under the Ottoman Empire there was a Jewish majority in Jerusalem.”
The Ottoman Empire took over Jerusalem in 1517, and the British seized control of the holy city 400 years later at the end of World War I.
Rivlin added, “Under Israeli sovereignty, we continue to build Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the Jewish people. There is no doubt Jerusalem is a microcosm of our ability to live together. And we will continue to ensure freedom of religion for all faiths.”
Following a speech at a Turkish conference Monday, in which Erdogan accused Israel of “racist and discriminatory” policies against the Palestinians and which sparked a diplomatic spat with Israel, he met with Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah in Istanbul. They reportedly discussed ways to “protect Jerusalem against attempts of judaization.”
https://unitedwithisrael.org/

erusalem mayor invites Turkish president to see ‘reality on the ground’

May 9, 2017
Jerusalem mayor invites Turkish president to see ‘reality on the ground’Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat. (
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Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat invited Erdogan to see the reality in Israel’s capital, which “has changed only for the better since the Turks ruled” the city.
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat released a statement on Tuesday inviting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to visit Israel’s capital city after the Turkish president made belligerant remarks regarding Israeli policies in Jerusalem.
“I invite Erdogan to visit our city and to be amazed by the reality on the ground—a reality that has changed only for the better since the Turks ruled here,” Barkat stated.
“Unlike during the Turkish occupation, Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty is a flourishing, open and free city that allows freedom of religion and worship for all,” continued Barkat. “In recent years, record numbers of Muslims have visited the Temple Mount and held prayers, exercising their absolute freedom of religion under Israeli sovereignty.”
Barkat made his statement after Erdogan accused Israel on Monday of racist policies in Jerusalem.
“It is surprising that Erdogan, who leads a state that occupied Jerusalem for 400 years, wants to preach to us about how to manage our city,” Barkat added.
https://worldisraelnews.com

World War I Battlefield Exposed in Israel

May 9, 2017
World War I Battlefield Exposed in IsraelSome of the bullets, cartridges and shell fragments found at the site. Photographic credit: Clara Amit, Israel Antiquities Authority
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Findings testifying to the fierce fighting between the British and Ottoman forces were exposed in the center of Israel.

Dozens of bullet cartridges, shell fragments, and military items from World War I testifying to the fierce battles fought between the British and Ottoman armies were recently exposed in an archaeological excavation by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) near Rosh Ha’ayin, in the center of the country.

Representatives of the IAA and young volunteers, who participated in the excavation, presented the findings to the Defence Attaché in the British embassy in Israel, Colonel Ronnie Westerman, and the chairman of the Society for the Heritage of World War I in Israel Eran Tearosh.
The first rifle cartridge was discovered by a member of the Melach Ha’aretz pre-military preparatory program, a project participant.
“I was surprised to discover that it was a rifle cartridge, and I was even more surprised when it turned out to be a World War I cartridge,” Yossi Elisha, director of the excavation on behalf of the IAA, said. “As archaeologists we expect to discover ancient finds from hundreds and thousands of years ago, whereas here we have a relatively ‘young’ one hundred year old artifact, but we were all drawn to the fascinating story of the battle.”
In addition to the various military items discovered, two Ottoman military outposts were exposed. One was located inside an ancient field tower and the other was adjacent to an agricultural terrace.
A fragment of a British army cap insignia was discovered at one of the outposts and was identified as belonging to the Norfolk Regiment.
“Finding the British cap insignia inside the Ottoman outpost vividly illustrates the historical event,” said Assaf Peretz, a researcher at the IAA.
The fighting on this site was part of the Battle of Megiddo that took place on September 19, 1918.
Two battalions of the British Norfolk Regiment attacked the ridge where the excavated site is located in order to assist another battalion that attacked the Ottoman fortifications
https://worldisraelnews.com

White House: Trump Hasn’t Decided on US Embassy Move
Trump has yet to decide if he will move the US embassy to Jerusalem, a White House spokesman clarified.
President Donald Trump has yet to decide if he will move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters on Wednesday.
Sanders was asked about a report originating from an Israeli news site earlier in the day that indicates Trump decided not to move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
“The President has not made a decision yet, and is still reviewing that,” Sanders stated.
She was then asked whether remarks made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday warning Trump against moving the embassy to Jerusalem has any influence on Trump’s decision.
“It is wrong,” Erdogan said. “Such a plan should be dropped.”
Sanders responded by stating she was “not going to get into the decision-making process here.”
“All I can tell you is that he’s still reviewing it, and as soon as we have a decision, I know we’ll be happy to report back to you guys,” she said.
https://worldisraelnews.com

Israeli Minister calls for economic deal instead of ‘peace’ deal with PA
May 11, 2017
Israeli Minister calls for economic deal instead of ‘peace’ deal with PAIsraeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked addressing Hudson Institute. (YouTube/Screenshot)
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Israel’s Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked called for Trump to pursue an economic deal instead of an overall peace deal between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked suggested that US President Donald Trump pursue an economic deal between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) instead of an overall peace process, while speaking at the Hudson Institute in Washington, DC.
“The President has an opportunity to focus on an economic deal,” Shaked said. “It means to talk with the moderate Arab states, some of whom already have economic relations with Israel…to boost the PA economy, to invest in infrastructure, to invest in industrial zones.”
“If you think about the people in the Middle East, this could be much more beneficial for the populations of both Israel and the Palestinians,” she added.
https://worldisraelnews.com

Netanyahu reportedly told Putin that Israel will not refrain from striking Iranian terror proxies located in future “safe zones” in Syria.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on the telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday regarding a recent arrangement between Russia, Turkey, and Iran to establish “safe zones” in Syria.
According to a senior Israeli official, who spoke with Haaretz, Netanyahu did not object to the creation of “safe zones” in Syria. However, in light of Iran’s involvement, the Israeli prime minister said he could not accept the deployment of either Iranian forces or its Lebanese proxy terrorist group, Hezbollah, near Syria’s border with Israel.
According to the Al-Arabiyya network, which referenced anonymous Israeli security sources, Israel also made it clear to Russia that it has no obligation to avoid carrying out military operations in “safe zones” in cases of “ticking time bombs.”
Netanyahu sent a similar message during his face-to-face meeting with Putin in Moscow in early March, in which he stressed, “Israel has no objection to a (peace) agreement in Syria, but we are firmly opposed to such an agreement in which Iran and its proxies will be left with a military presence in Syria.”
For his part, US President Donald Trump called on Russia “to rein in the Assad regime, Iran, and Iranian proxies,” during his meeting at the White House with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Washington on Wednesday. Syria was a main topic of discussion. Trump stressed to Lavrov that the U.S. expects Russia to rein in Iranian and Hezbollah operations in Syria, according to a White House statement.
By: World Israel News

White House announces Trump visit to Israel on first trip abroad
May 4, 2017
White House announces Trump visit to Israel on first trip abroadTrump and Netanyahu in Washington. (AP/Evan Vucci)
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The White House officially announced that Trump will visit Israel during his first trip abroad as US president.
Israel will be one of Donald Trump’s first destinations overseas as US president, the White House revealed on Thursday.
“My first foreign trip as president of the United States will be to Saudi Arabia, then Israel, and then to a place that my cardinals love very much, Rome,” Trump said.
In a statement, the White House noted that the president “accepted the invitation of President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Israel, where he will further strengthen the United States-Israel partnership.”
“The leaders will discuss a range of regional issues, including the need to counter the threats posed by Iran and its proxies, and by ISIS and other terrorist groups,” the statement continued. “They will also discuss ways to advance a genuine and lasting peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/white-house-officially-announces-trump-visit-israel/

Top Palestinian official says ‘crazy’ to stop payments to terrorists
May 4, 2017
Top Palestinian official says ‘crazy’ to stop payments to terroristsPA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas welcomes released Palestinian prisoners to Ramallah. (AP/Majdi Mohammed/File)
Senior Palestinian Authority official rejected any thought of ceasing payments to Palestinian terrorists in prison.
Senior official on foreign affairs to Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, Nabil Sha’ath referred to President Donald Trump’s request for the PA to cease payments to imprisoned terrorists and their families as a “crazy” request.
“Can we demand that the Israeli government stop paying the soldiers of the Israeli army?” Sha’ath asked rhetorically to Israel Radio. Sha’ath also claimed that such a demand is intended to destroy the peace process between the PA and Israel, and that the prisoners were victims of an “occupation.”
During a joint press conference with Trump on Wednesday, Abbas claimed Palestinian children are raised in a “culture of peace.”
“I affirm to you that we are raising our youth, our children, our grandchildren in a culture of peace,” Abbas said, notwithstanding the anti-Israel hate and incitement to violence that exists in Palestinian schools, media, and cultural events.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/top-palestinian-authority-official-says-crazy-stop-payments-terrorists/

France to Israelis: You live in ‘Palestinian Territories’
May 4, 2017
Israelis with French citizenship living in Judea and Samaria were dismayed when they recently received letters from the French government describing them as living in “the Palestinian territories.”
Israelis with French citizenship living in Judea and Samaria were dismayed when they recently received letters from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs ahead of the French presidential elections, which described them as living in “the Palestinian territories,” instead of Israel.
The areas they live in are not considered “Palestinian territories” under any acknowledged agreement, treaty or any international recognition.
Israel’s Channel 2 reported that hundreds of Israelis received the offensive and politically charged official notices.
The report said that several of them decided to boycott the elections due to their anger over the letter.
French Jewish Member of Parliament Meyer Habib, who represents Israelis with French citizenship, wrote a letter of complaint to French President Francois Hollande and presidential candidate Emanuel Macron over the matter, calling the letters’ wording “a demeaning provocation.”
MORE https://unitedwithisrael.org/france-to-israelis-you-live-in-palestinian-territories/

Israel dismisses Abbas’ enthusiasm after Trump meeting
May 4, 2017
Israel dismisses Abbas’ enthusiasm after Trump meetingPresident Donald Trump and Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas. (AP/Evan Vucci
Israel’s leadership dismissed and rejected Abbas’ peace overtures made during his meeting with Trump in Washington.
Israel’s leadership reacted with dismissal to the excited declarations about pending peace that Palestinian Authority (PA) head Mahmoud Abbas made during his meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed Abbas’ statement that Israel was an ”occupier” as “another Palestinian invention that never happened, which is meant to divert the discussion from the demand to stop the funding of terrorists by the Palestinian Authority.”
Trump reportedly pressed Abbas to end payments to Palestinian terrorists and their families. It is one of several moves Washington believes could lead to resumed peace talks with Israel. Other actions include an end to anti-Israel rhetoric and incitement of violence.
Minister of Agriculture Uri Ariel slammed Abbas for “talking about peace while funding terrorists.” He demanded the PA’s conduct stop, while calling for a boost in Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria.
Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely stated that “Abu Mazen [Abbas] goes to Washington while he continues to transfer funds to terrorists’ families. It is clear to any intelligent person that Abbas is not interested in peace.”
Israel considers stipends paid by the PA to families of Palestinian terrorists killed or jailed in Israel rewards and strong encouragement for additional terror. The payments are considered an honor by the Palestinians, who spend some $330 M. annually on them.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/israel-dismisses-abbas-enthusiasm-after-trump-meet/


Israeli UN Ambassador confident Israel will get seat at UN Security Council
May 1, 2017
Israeli UN Ambassador confident Israel will get seat at UN Security CouncilIsraeli Ambassador Danny Danon addressing the UN Security Council (IsraelinUN)
Israel’s UN ambassador believes the US can help Israel get a seat at the UN Security Council.
The United States will strongly back Israel’s candidacy for one of the 10 non-permanent members nominated to the United Nations Security Council in 2019, Israel’s ambassador to the UN Danny Danon told the Jerusalem Post.
“I think that it is clear that we will get the support of the US,” Danon said in the same interview. “I think that we can even expect active support for this important bid.”
Nominees for the two-year term at the UN Security Council are selected according to their regional geographic location, and Israel is the only country in the Middle East that has yet to be chosen. Unlike other countries slotted in the UN’s Asia-Pacific region, Israel is in the “Western European and Others” regional group due to adamant rejection of Muslim countries in Asia to Israel’s inclusion.
Danon’s predecessor Ron Prosor told Reuters in 2013 of Israel’s quest for UN Security Council membership, saying that “(Israel is) going all out to win. It’s about time.”
It will be a challenge for Israel to get the necessary approval of two-thirds of UN member states, as it will have to contend with a bloc of Muslim countries and other hostile states like North Korea, who are expected to vociferously oppose Israel’s candidacy.
Nevertheless, Danon said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recognizes “a new reality” at the UN with the Trump administration in charge
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/israeli-un-ambassador-confident-israel-will-get-seat-un-security-council/


Israeli forces bust terror cell in Samaria
May 4, 2017
Israeli forces bust terror cell in SamariaLouie Ahmed Shafiq Sa’abaneh (L) and Mahmoud Shafiq Sa’abaneh. (Shin Bet)
Two Palestinian cousins, one of them a lawyer, were arrested by Israeli forces for carrying out several shooting attacks.
Israeli forces exposed and captured a Palestinian terror cell responsible for several shooting attacks against civilians and the IDF in northern Samaria during April, the Shin Bet (Israel’s Security Agency) revealed Thursday.
The shooting attacks, frequent at night in the Shechem (Nablus), Jenin and Tul Karem areas, “posed a significant threat to civilians and the security forces in Samaria,” the Shin Bet said.
No one was injured in the attacks, but property was damaged.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/israeli-forces-bust-terror-cell-in-samaria-2/

FBI Employee Marries ISIS Terrorist She was Investigating
was investigating
May 4, 2017
FBI employee marries ISIS terrorist she was investigating(Shutterstock)
An FBI translator traveled to Syria in 2014 and married a key ISIS terrorist she was assigned to investigate.
An FBI translator with top-secret security clearance traveled to Syria in 2014 and married a key Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist she was assigned to investigate, causing a serious security headache to the agency.
CNN reported on Tuesday that the rogue employee, Daniela Greene, lied to the FBI when she told them she was traveling to visit her parents, and instead warned her new husband he was under investigation, according to federal court records.
The man Greene married was Denis Cuspert, a German rapper turned ISIS recruiter, whose growing online influence put him on the radar of counter-terrorism.
In Germany, Cuspert went by the rap name Deso Dogg. In Syria, he was known as Abu Talha al-Almani [the German].
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/fbi-employee-marries-isis-terrorist-investigating/

WATCH: Trump defies Turkey, protects Kurds fighting to liberate ISIS capital
Trump sends special operators and armored Stryker vehicles to the village of Darbasiyah, a few hundred meters from the Turkish border in northern Syria, a few days after a Turkish airstrike that killed 20 US-backed Kurdish fighters. This is in order to create a buffer between Turkey and the Kurds, who are hoping to liberate Raqqa, the de facto capital of ISIS.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/watch-trump-defies-turkey-protects-kurds-fighting-liberate-isis-capital/


Obama endorses French presidential candidate Macron
May 4, 2017
Obama endorses French presidential candidate MacronObama endorsing Emmanuel Macron in a video. (Screenshot/Twitter)
After endorsing French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron, Obama said he was “not planning to get involved in many elections, now that I don’t have to run for office again.”
Former US President Barack Obama endorsed candidate Emmanuel Macron for the second round of France’s 2017 presidential election in a video posted on Macron’s Twitter account.
“I’m not planning to get involved in many elections now that I don’t have to run for office again, but the French election is very important to the future of France and the values that we care so much about because the success of France matters to the entire world,” Obama said in a video.
“Because of how important this election is, I also want you to know that I am supporting Emmanuel Macron to lead you forward,” Obama added.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/obama-endorses-french-presidential-candidate-macron/

Did ‘America’s Rabbi’ reveal the Trump administration’s agenda?

May 4, 2017
Did ‘America’s Rabbi’ reveal the Trump administration’s agenda?Rabbi Shmuley Boteach (L) and White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon (Twitter)
It remains to be seen whether Rabbi Shmuley Boteach inadvertently revealed Trump’s agenda on a variety of issues, including his decision on moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, one of America’s most famous, albeit controversial, spiritual leaders, may have let the cat out of the bag regarding the new Trump administration’s plans, particularly with regard to the president’s plans for the US embassy in Israel.
Boteach, who had dubbed himself “America’s Rabbi” and is known for his self-promotion tactics, attended a White House event on Tuesday in celebration of Israel’s Independence Day, where he posted selfies on Twitter with several high-profile individuals, including White House strategist Steve Bannon.
The photo with Bannon, however, was taken with a whiteboard in the background, revealing what appeared to be a “to do” list, with some items checked off and others not. Included on the list, for example, were “Iran Deal,” “Pledges on Obamacare,” Pledges on Tax Reform,” and “Pledges on Immigration.”
Also on the list were the words “Tel Aviv to Jerusalem,” apparently referring to President Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign promise to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to the Israeli capital.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/did-americas-rabbi-reveal-the-trump-administrations-agenda/

Trump optimistic about peace; tells Abbas, ‘We will get it done’

May 3, 2017
Trump optimistic about peace; tells Abbas, ‘We will get it done’Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and US President Donald Trump deliver joint statement at the White House. (YouTube)
“We will get it done,” Trump told Abbas at their first meeting in Washington, although the reason for his optimism towards achieving a sustainable peace deal between the Israelis and Palestinians was not apparent.
Despite bleak prospects for success, President Donald Trump promised on Wednesday “to do whatever is necessary” to forge an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.
At a White House meeting with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, Trump pledged to reinvigorate the stalled Mideast peace process that has bedeviled his predecessors and said he would serve as “a mediator, an arbitrator or a facilitator” between the two sides. “We will get it done,” Trump confidently told Abbas.
“I’m committed to working with Israel and the Palestinians to reach an agreement,” Trump said. “But any agreement cannot be imposed by the United States or by any other nation. The Palestinians and Israelis must work together to reach an agreement that allows both peoples to live, worship, and thrive and prosper in peace.”
The source of Trump’s optimism was not immediately apparent. He offered no details about his effort or how it would be any different from attempts over the past two decades. Former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all tried and failed.
The peace process has been stalled since 2014, and there have been no serious attempts to restart negotiations.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/trump-optimistic-peace-tells-abbas-will-get-done/

Even Before Meeting Trump, Abbas Demands ‘Palestinian State on 1967 Borders’
Abbas stressed that he would accept nothing less than a state along Israel’s pre-1967 borders already before his meeting with Trump on Wednesday.
Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said on Tuesday that the PA will not agree to anything less than a Palestinian state along Israel’s borders before the Six Day War of 1967.
The Palestinian news outlet Wafa reported that Abbas had told a number of Arab leaders in the United States at his Washington residence on Tuesday evening that “without a state on the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital, we will not accept any solution.”
The Washington Post reported last week that both officials in the Trump administration and in the Palestinian Authority were keeping expectations low regarding the Trump-Abbas meeting on Wednesday.
Abbas’ unequivocal call for Palestinian Authority statehood on the pre-1967 borders comes as the Hamas terrorist organization presented a document in Doha, Qatar, on Monday that slightly amends its 1988 charter calling for the Palestinian statehood in all the territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/meeting-trump-pa-head-abbas-demands-state-1967-borders/

Israel: Hamas Trying to Fool World with Revised Charter
Palestinian terror
Hamas unveiled its revised political program aimed at ending the terror group’s international isolation, but Israel warns that nothing has changed.
The Islamic Hamas terror group on Monday unveiled what had been billed as a new, seemingly more pragmatic political program aimed at ending the group’s international isolation, while Israel is warning that nothing has changed.
With the new manifesto, Hamas tries to rebrand itself as an Islamic national liberation movement, rather than a branch of the pan-Arab Muslim Brotherhood, which has been outlawed by Egypt. It also drops explicit language calling for Israel’s destruction, though it retains the goal of eventually “liberating” all of “Palestine,” which includes the entirety of Israel, and so this constitutes only a semantic change.
Hamas clung to its eliminationist positions that led to its isolation in the first place. The group reaffirmed that it will not recognize Israel, refused to renounce violence or recognize previous interim Israeli-Palestinian peace deals — the West’s long-standing conditions for dealing with Hamas.
The five-page program, a result of four years of internal deliberations, was presented at a news conference in Doha, Qatar, by Khaled Mashaal, the outgoing Hamas leader in exile.
The document reflects a “reasonable Hamas, that is serious about dealing with the reality and the regional and international surroundings, while still representing the cause of its people,” said Mashaal.
A copy of the program was distributed to journalists in Gaza who followed the news conference by video link.
In its founding charter, Hamas called for setting up an Islamic state in the territory between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River.
The new program for the first time raises the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state in the 1967 lines, saying it’s a “national consensus formula.” However, the wording suggests Hamas considers this to be an interim step, not a way of ending the its war on Israel.
The document does not contain an explicit call for Israel’s destruction, but says, “Hamas rejects any alternative to the full and complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea.”
“There shall be no recognition of the legitimacy of the Zionist entity,” the document states.
Furthermore, the Hamas document considers armed resistance against occupation as a strategic choice and “rejects any attempt to undermine the resistance and its arms.”
Attempting to Fool the World
MORE https://unitedwithisrael.org/israel-hamas-trying-to-fool-world-with-revised-charter/

New Zealand foreign minister seeks to repair ties with Israel
May 3, 2017
New Zealand foreign minister seeks to repair ties with IsraelNew Zealand Foreign Minister Gerry Brownlee (AP/Wong Maye-
The new foreign minister of New Zealand hopes to fully restore ties with Israel that were ruptured after the country sponsored a UN Security Council resolution that criticized all Israeli presence in Judea and Samaria.
New Zealand’s new foreign minister, Gerry Brownlee, expressed an immediate desire to restore relations between his country and Israel in a letter sent to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, very shortly after receiving his ministerial warrant.
“I’ve sent a letter to Mr. Netanyahu yesterday, firstly congratulating them on their national [Independence] day but expressing a desire for the Israeli-New Zealand relationship to get back on track and to do that by recognizing that we’ve got synergies and innovation and agriculture and various other things like that,” Brownlee told the New Zealand Herald.
Israel downgraded its ties with New Zealand in December after the country sponsored a UN Security Council resolution that unanimously passed and criticized any Israeli presence in Judea and Samaria as well as in areas of Jerusalem that were won during the Six-Day War in 1967. Israel not only recalled its ambassador to New Zealand, but replaced the envoy with a lower-level diplomat.
Before the vote, Netanyahu warned then-Foreign Minister of New Zealand Murray McCully against backing and pushing the resolution, going so far as to refer to such a move as a “declaration of war” against Israel.
“If you continue to promote this resolution, from our point of view it will be a declaration of war,” Netanyahu said at the time. “It will rupture the relations and there will be consequences. We’ll recall our ambassador to Jerusalem.”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/new-zealand-foreign-minister-seeks-to-repair-ties-with-israel/


WATCH: Trump tells Abbas to stop paying terrorists in Israeli jails
May 4, 2017
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer says that President Trump, in his first meeting with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas at the White House Wednesday, “raised concerns about the payments to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails who have committed acts of terror.”
Pres. Trump raised concerns about payments to terrorists
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=23&v=P2Hpi8i6l3o

Pence: US ‘making valuable progress’ on Middle East peace
May 3, 2017
Pence: US ‘making valuable progress’ on Middle East peaceUS Vice President Mike Pence speaks at event in Washington honoring Israeli Independence Day. (YouTube Screenshot)
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Although “valuable progress” was being made in the Trump administration’s efforts to secure a Mideast peace deal, the president would never compromise the safety and security of Israel, Pence said.
Addressing an event honoring Israeli Independence Day in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, US Vice-President Mike Pence said the Trump administration was “making valuable progress” towards securing a lasting peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
“We’re making valuable progress toward the noble goal of peace,” Pence affirmed. “Thanks to the president’s tireless leadership, momentum is building and goodwill is growing.”
Trump has already dispatched Jason Greenblatt, his senior adviser, not only to Israel, but also to this year’s Arab League summit in order to convey Trump’s belief that a lasting peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians would reverberate positively throughout the Middle East.
Pence said that Trump would never undermine Israel’s national security while pursuing a final peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/pence-us-making-valuable-progress-on-middle-east-peace/

Israel summons Swedish envoy over anti-Israel UNESCO vote on Jerusalem
May 3, 2017
Israel summons Swedish envoy over anti-Israel UNESCO vote on JerusalemLate Israeli President Shimon Peres (r) with Swedish Ambassador Carl Magnus Nesser in 2013. (Mark Neyman/GPO/Flash90)
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The ambassador of Sweden, the only Western country to vote in favor of a UNESCO resolution rejecting Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem, was summoned by Israel’s Foreign Ministry.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry has summoned Swedish Ambassador to Israel Carl Magnus Nesser on Wednesday, a day after his country voted in favor of a resolution passed by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) that rejected Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem.
Sweden was the only Western country to support the resolution; the others either abstained or voted against it. France, Spain, Slovenia and Estonia were included among the 23 abstentions. Albania, an eastern European country whose citizens are mostly Muslim, also abstained.
The United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Lithuania and Greece voted against the resolution.
Countries that voted in favor, besides Sweden, included Russia, China, Brazil, South Africa, Vietnam and most of the Muslim member states of UNESCO’s executive board.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/israel-summons-swedish-ambassador-unesco-vote-jerusalem/

Saudi leader: No room for dialogue with Iran
May 3, 2017
Saudi leader: No room for dialogue with IranSaudi Arabian Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (Etienne Oliveau/Pool Photo via AP)
Prince Mohammed bin Salman says there is no space for dialogue with Iran due to its Shiite ambitions “to control the Islamic world.”
Saudi Arabia’s deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman said Tuesday in a rare interview that there is no space for dialogue with the kingdom’s arch-rival Iran due to its Shiite ambitions “to control the Islamic world.”
The 31-year-old prince, who was named in 2015 by his father, King Salman, as an eventual heir to the throne, is Saudi Arabia’s defense minister, overseeing the war in Yemen against the Shiite Houthi rebel group armed and supported by Iran.
He also oversees economic matters and is behind a bold program to overhaul the Saudi economy.
Framing the tensions with Iran in religious and sectarian terms, he said it is Iran’s goal “to control the Islamic world” and to spread its Shiite doctrine in preparation for the arrival of a revered imam named Mohammed al-Mahdi. Shiite Muslims believe al-Mahdi, the 12th and last Shiite imam, who disappeared in the 9th century, will one day reappear to bring justice to Earth.
Understandings With Iran?
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/saudi-leader-no-room-dialogue-iran/

World Israel News.
Hamas, PA on the path to war
May 1, 2017
Hamas, PA on the path to warPalestinians in Hamas-ruled Gaza protest against the Palestinian Authority. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

Are the Palestinians again heading towards civil war? Tension between Hamas and Fatah have reached a new peak.

The Gaza-based Hamas terror group and the Palestinian Authority (PA), headquartered in Ramallah, appear to be on a collision course, as infrastructural crises continue to plague the Gaza Strip and a power struggle between the rivals continues.
Hamas official Ahmad Yousif warned on Saturday that the situation in Gaza could “implode at any moment,” lashing out at the PA for its role in the deteriorating situation.

In an interview with the Palestinian Ma’an news agency, Yousif accused the Fatah-led PA government of putting into action a “big plan” aiming to “eliminate the Palestinian cause.”

Earlier this month, the PA slashed the salaries of PA employees in Gaza and cut aid disbursement to Gaza.

The move sparked protests. On Monday, the female branch of Hamas rallied in protest. The women demonstrated at the local electricity company, expressing anger and frustration over the renewed electricity crisis.

Itimad El-Tarshawi, an official in Hamas, said during the protest rally that Gaza “continues to pay the price over its firm stance regarding the Palestinian national rights, and nothing will succeed in debilitating the Palestinian will.”

She lauded the “unique steadfastness of the Palestinian woman who remained highly committed to the liberation’s mission, never daunted by the siege and successive aggression.”

Hamas and Fatah have made several unsuccessful attempts at reconciliation, with both sides frequently blaming each other for numerous political failures.

Yousif rejected a recent statement by the Fatah party accusing Hamas of not responding to a proposal by PA head Mahmoud Abbas towards political reconciliation, after some 10 years of animosity. He claimed that Hamas was still willing to work towards rapprochement with Fatah.

Most recently, Gaza electricity officials have blamed power shortages on PA fuel taxes, while the PA notified authorities on Thursday that it would stop paying for electricity provided by Israel to the Gaza Strip.

United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov released a statement earlier this month in which he expressed “deep concerns” over the “growing tensions” in Gaza.

Israel is closely monitoring these developments, as it fears that violence between the Palestinian rivals could eventually expand to harm Israel, as has been the case in the past.

By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News

China Bans Islamic Names in Muslim-populated Xinjiang Region
In an effort to dilute religious influence and prevent the infiltration of Radical Islam, China has banned a list of Muslim names for newborns in the Uyghur Muslim-populated region.
Authorities in China’s western Xinjiang region are prohibiting parents from giving children some Islamic names in the latest effort to dilute the influence of religion on life in the ethnic Uyghur minority heartland.
“Muhammad,” ”Jihad” and “Islam” are among at least 29 names now banned in the heavily Muslim region, according to a list distributed by overseas Uyghur activists.
A child given one of the forbidden names will be denied government benefits.


WATCH: Israeli Startup Develops Major Breakthrough in Treating Severe Burns
Gal Cohen, President & CEO of MediWound Ltd - Apr 27, 2017
MediWound, an Israeli startup, has created the greatest breakthrough in burn care in the last 40-50 years, impacting millions of lives around the world.
An Israeli company has developed a remarkable new treatment for severe burns that could eliminate the need for surgery and, in some cases, amputation of a limb.
This exciting medical breakthrough has piqued the interest of countries across the globe not only with regard to treating burn victims at the scene of an accident, but also considering the increasing number of mass-casualty terrorist explosions occurring across Europe and elsewhere.
It sounds almost too good to be true. How does it work? What does it contain?
Click below to learn more.
Gal Cohen, President & CEO of MediWound Ltd., speaking at ILTV studio about Israeli company MediWound that helps heal severe burns and chronic wounds by using pineapple enzymes to remove dead tissue.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPw1SMpcAkc


The Jewish Blessing Shines on Israel’s Memorial Day
The following article about Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day, was written in 2014 by American-born novelist, journalist and playwright Naomi Ragen, who settled in Israel in 1971.
The Jewish Blessing
Naomi Ragen discovers the meaning of the Jewish People’s blessing to the world on Israel’s Memorial Day. (Photo: naomiragen.com)
In the book of Genesis, G-d tells Abraham: “And through you will all the nations of the earth be blessed.”
I’ve often wondered about that blessing that we Jews are supposed to bring the world, and how it will come about. If it were up to me, right now, I don’t think I’d be very eager to fulfill such a role. After six months of having the world heap the vilest slander on my people and my country; after going through Holocaust Memorial Day, and now the Memorial Day for Israel’s fallen soldiers, I don’t think, if it was up to me, that heaping blessings on the world, particularly my Semitic neighbors, would be high on my list of “must do’s.”
However, since I know the Jewish People’s particular fate isn’t something you get to vote on, I recognize that I, and my fellow Jews will have very little say about this blessing thing either. And so, willy-nilly, we are going to bring blessing to the world. And I’ve finally figured out how.
It was last night, watching the official memorial service for Israel’s fallen soldiers at the Western Wall. And in that holy place, Israel’s top general, its chief of staff, got up to speak.

WATCH: ISIS Threatens to Invade Europe, Capture Women, Slaughter Men
April 30, 2017
The ISIS-affiliated Amaq Media Agency released a new video Wednesday in which an ISIS terrorist declares, “we shall invade you in Rome, we shall capture your women, and we shall kill and slaughter you.”
CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE

In Letter to UN Chief, All US Senators Demand End to Anti-Israel Bias
All 100 members of the US senate signed a letter to the United Nations secretary-general, demanding an end to the UN’s ongoing anti-Israel bias.
“This situation must change,” all 100 US senators, Republicans and Democrats alike, stated in their demand to Guterres to put an end to the UN’s anti-Israel agenda.
“Although, as Democrats and Republicans, we disagree on many issues, we are united in our desire to see the United Nations improve its treatment of Israel and to eliminate anti-Semitism in all its forms,” the letter to UN Secretary-General Antonia Guterres stated.
The letter, authored on Thursday and released the next day, was authored by Marco Rubio (R-FLA).
“Too often, the UN is exploited as a vehicle for targeting Israel,” the letter states, adding that the anti-Israel “actions have at times reinforced the broader scourge of anti-Semitism and distracted certain UN entities from their original missions.”
By: World Israel News Staff


This is How Palestinians Intimidate Journalists
In the world of the Palestinian Authority , a journalist’s loyalty to his leaders and their cause supersedes his loyalty to the truth. In a word, it is the truth vs. Abbas’s security forces.
By: Bassam Tawil/ The Gatestone Institute
Seven Palestinian journalists are the latest victims of the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) continued crackdown on the media.
The repressive measures are aimed at silencing critical voices among the journalists and deterring others from reporting stories that reflect negatively on the Palestinian leadership in particular and Palestinians in general.
In the view of President Mahmoud Abbas and his PA, Palestinian journalists exist to write stories slamming Israel or praising PA leaders. Media, for them, is defined as a mouthpiece for Abbas, the PA leadership and the Palestinian cause.
Any journalist who dares to think outside this checkpoint is subject to severe punishment. Under Abbas and the PA, there is no room for an independent media.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/hamas-arrests-palestinian-journalist-and-critic-in-gaza/

WATCH: Israel Behind Blast at Damascus Airport, Minister Implies
April 28, 2017
Israeli Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz appeared to confirm that Israel was behind an overnight strike on a military position near Damascus airport Thursday, explaining, “the incident is completely compatible with our policy of preventing weapons transfers to Hezbollah.”
[HD] CNN LIVE : Syria blames Israel for Damascus airport blast 27/4/17 13:15 PM EDT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-QeiY6bAI0


China Bans Islamic Names in Muslim-populated Xinjiang Region
In an effort to dilute religious influence and prevent the infiltration of Radical Islam, China has banned a list of Muslim names for newborns in the Uyghur Muslim-populated region.
Authorities in China’s western Xinjiang region are prohibiting parents from giving children some Islamic names in the latest effort to dilute the influence of religion on life in the ethnic Uyghur minority heartland.
“Muhammad,” ”Jihad” and “Islam” are among at least 29 names now banned in the heavily Muslim region, according to a list distributed by overseas Uyghur activists.
A child given one of the forbidden names will be denied government benefits.


WATCH: Israeli Startup Develops Major Breakthrough in Treating Severe Burns
Gal Cohen, President & CEO of MediWound Ltd - Apr 27, 2017
MediWound, an Israeli startup, has created the greatest breakthrough in burn care in the last 40-50 years, impacting millions of lives around the world.
An Israeli company has developed a remarkable new treatment for severe burns that could eliminate the need for surgery and, in some cases, amputation of a limb.
This exciting medical breakthrough has piqued the interest of countries across the globe not only with regard to treating burn victims at the scene of an accident, but also considering the increasing number of mass-casualty terrorist explosions occurring across Europe and elsewhere.
It sounds almost too good to be true. How does it work? What does it contain?
Click below to learn more.
Gal Cohen, President & CEO of MediWound Ltd., speaking at ILTV studio about Israeli company MediWound that helps heal severe burns and chronic wounds by using pineapple enzymes to remove dead tissue.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPw1SMpcAkc


The Jewish Blessing Shines on Israel’s Memorial Day
The following article about Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day, was written in 2014 by American-born novelist, journalist and playwright Naomi Ragen, who settled in Israel in 1971.
The Jewish Blessing
Naomi Ragen discovers the meaning of the Jewish People’s blessing to the world on Israel’s Memorial Day. (Photo: naomiragen.com)
In the book of Genesis, G-d tells Abraham: “And through you will all the nations of the earth be blessed.”
I’ve often wondered about that blessing that we Jews are supposed to bring the world, and how it will come about. If it were up to me, right now, I don’t think I’d be very eager to fulfill such a role. After six months of having the world heap the vilest slander on my people and my country; after going through Holocaust Memorial Day, and now the Memorial Day for Israel’s fallen soldiers, I don’t think, if it was up to me, that heaping blessings on the world, particularly my Semitic neighbors, would be high on my list of “must do’s.”
However, since I know the Jewish People’s particular fate isn’t something you get to vote on, I recognize that I, and my fellow Jews will have very little say about this blessing thing either. And so, willy-nilly, we are going to bring blessing to the world. And I’ve finally figured out how.
It was last night, watching the official memorial service for Israel’s fallen soldiers at the Western Wall. And in that holy place, Israel’s top general, its chief of staff, got up to speak.

Israel Slams Germany for Promoting Anti-Israel UNESCO Resolution
April 30, 2017
Israel slams Germany for promoting anti-Israel UNESCO resolutionGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel (AP)
Amid already-tense relations between the two countries, Israel is now accusing Germany of enabling the passing of an anti-Israel UNESCO resolution.
Israeli officials are blaming Germany for leading an effort to push forward an upcoming resolution by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) that rejects Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem.
Germany has apparently garnered support among European countries for a revised resolution, submitted by Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar and Sudan. With the European Union countries now expected to vote in favor, the resolution is almost certain to pass.
The initial draft text, introduced by Arab states in March, opposes Israeli control over its capital by declaring that “any actions taken by Israel, the Occupying Power, to impose its laws, jurisdiction, and administration on the City of Jerusalem, are illegal and therefore null and void and have no validity whatsoever.”
While recognizing “the importance of the Old City of Jerusalem and its walls for the three monotheistic religions,” it reportedly calls to reaffirm prior texts referencing the sites only by their Muslim names.
The members of UNESCO’s executive board are expected to vote on the resolution on Tuesday, which falls this year on IIsrael’s Independence Day.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled a meeting last week with German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who had insisted on keeping his appointment with two anti-Israel NGOs during his visit to the Jewish state.

By: World Israel News Staff

Report: Israel Bombs Targets in Syria Causing Massive Explosions
The IAF reportedly bombed a Hezbollah weapons cache in Syria near Damascus International Airport causing massive explosions.
Israel’s Air Force (IAF) carried out a series of airstrikes near the Damascus International Airport in Syria early Thursday morning, Arab media reported.
The Hezbollah-linked Al Mayadeen television channel reported a huge blast at the airport, causing a fire.
Footage of the explosion emerged on social media with reports suggesting the incident was caused by the IAF.
https://worldisraelnews.com/report-israel-bombs-syrian-airbase/

Upcoming UN Resolution to Reject Israeli Sovereignty Over Jerusalem
The text of an upcoming resolution would reportedly mark the first time UNESCO will officially reject Israeli sovereignty over any part of Jerusalem.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is set to vote on a resolution that rejects Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem on Israel’s Independence Day this Tuesday.
It would be the first time UNESCO’s executive board will officially reject Israeli sovereignty in any part of Jerusalem, not just the portions of the city won during the 1967 Six-Day War.
The initial draft text introduced by Arab states in March declared “any action taken by Israel, the Occupying Power, to impose its laws, jurisdiction, and administration on the City of Jerusalem, are illegal and therefore null and void and have no validity whatsoever.”
https://worldisraelnews.com/

WATCH: Trump Tells Moving Story of Holocaust Survivor Who Married Jewish-American Rescuer
President Donald Trump tells the story of Gerda Klein, a Holocaust survivor who married her rescuer, a Jewish-American soldier, in an address at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.
The president delivered the keynote address from the Capitol Rotunda to mark the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Days of Remembrance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbuxTUGZ_tw

Report: Trump to Visit Israel Ahead of Jerusalem Day Festivities
Trump’s visit to Israel will reportedly take place May 22, ahead of celebrations marking 50 years since the reunification of Jerusalem.
A US delegation of about two dozen officials have landed in Israel to plan a visit by President Donald Trump to Israel on May 22.
The date of the visit, which has not been confirmed, is significant, as festivities in honor of Yom Yerushalayim, or Jerusalem Day, begin the following evening, May 23.
The celebration of Yom Yerushalayim will be especially exciting this year, as it marks the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem, the Israeli capital, during the 1967 Six Day War.
“There’s a feeling that we have a real friend in the White House,” Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely told Army Radio on Wednesday.
During the US election campaign, Trump had postponed a visit to Israel, promising to come at a later date as president.
Trump’s visit will be a stopover en route to the May 25 NATO summit in Belgium and a May 26-27 G7 summit in Italy.
By: Terri Nir, United with Israel


WATCH: Media Attacks Ivanka Trump and Her Husband
Erin Elmore, Esq. an international political correspondent and spokesperson for President Donald Trump, says the mainstream media ignore Ivanka Trump’s Women to Work Campaign and attack her and her husband, Jared Kushner, because they define her by her father.
Mainstream media shares harsh criticism of Ivanka and Jared
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=bPRHKNUEdcA

Le Pen seeks to ban religious slaughter of animals
April 27, 2017
Le Pen seeks to ban religious slaughter of animalsFrench presidential candidate Marine Le Pen (AP/Michel Euler)
French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen specifically mentioned Islamic ritual slaughter while discussing an overall ban on religious animal slaughter.
French Presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, representing France’s National Front party, said if elected she would ban religious or ritual animal slaughter.
“Slaughter without stunning, I’m sorry, it should have special labels,” Le Pen said, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “Furthermore, I think that slaughter without stunning should be prohibited.”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com


Patriot Missile Intercepts Aircraft Flying Over Israel’s Golan Heights
It is unclear if an aircraft flying over Israel’s Golan Heights region, and successfully intercepted by Israel, was Syrian.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said a Patriot missile successfully intercepted and downed a foreign aircraft on Thursday night that was flying over the Golan Heights region near the Israel-Syrian border.
The IDF has not confirmed whether the aircraft was Syrian. It is also unclear if the aircraft was hit over Israeli territory. Israeli media have reported accounts of residents in the Israeli town of Safed, located a short distance from the Golan Heights region, witnessing the launch of two missiles and subsequently hearing explosions.
As recently as last month, Israel deployed its advanced Arrow missile defense system to intercept several Syrian rockets aimed at Israeli aircraft flying over Syria
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com



Syrian Official Threatens to Respond to Israeli Strike
A Syrian official said Syria would “continue to destroy the enemy’s collaborators.”
A senior Syrian official threatened a military response to an alleged Israeli strike on a Hezbollah-operated weapons hub near the Damascus airport on Thursday.
“The Syrian army and its allies will work to thwart the new Israeli plot on the occupied Golan border and will continue to destroy the enemy’s collaborators,” an anonymous Syrian military source told the Lebanese news site el-Nashra.
Responding to the strike, the Syrian Arab News Agency claimed “Israeli aggression comes as a desperate attempt to raise the collapsed morale of terrorist groups due to the Syrian army’s blows and this aggression will not dissuade the army from continuing the war against terrorism and crushing it.”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com


WATCH: Begin’s Brilliant Rebuke to German Official Still Relevant
Thirty years ago, the Israeli prime minister slammed what he termed German “hostility.” His words are still relevant, as Germany and other European nations continue to pressure Israel to make room for a Palestinian state.
Just this week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled a meeting with the German foreign minister over his insistence on also meeting with anti-Israel groups during his visit.
More than three decades ago, Prime Minister Menachem Begin issued a sharp response to Chancellor Helmut Schmidt’s demand for a Palestinian state.
Germany was responsible for the Holocaust that murdered six million Jews – a third of the nation – the legendary Israeli leader reminded Schmidt.
“I come from the underground fighters. I’m not afraid of anyone,” Begin, who led the underground Irgun fighters for the creation of a Jewish state, declared, saying he refuses to put three and a half million Jews in danger of annihilation by succumbing to Schmidt’s demands.
Thirty years later, six million Jews live in the State of Israel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpEb6TDACRE

Iran Behind Massive Cyberattack on Israel
The cyber attack that Israel successfully blocked was launched by Iranian-backed hackers.
Israeli cybersecurity experts are confident that Iran is behind the large-scale cyberattack exposed Wednesday by Israel’s Cyber Defense Bureau.
Israel’s Haaretz reported Thursday that the attacks were identified as carried out by a hacker group known as OilRig, which has been tracked to Iran, and is believed to be financed and directed by one of its intelligence agencies.
Saudi Arabia was also targeted in Wednesday’s massive cyberattack, but unlike Israel, failed to fend it off.
https://worldisraelnews.com/idf-to-establish-unified-cyber-command/


Liberman in Moscow: ‘Israel will not Allow Concentration of Iranian Forces in Golan’
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister joined Avigdor Liberman in voicing opposition to an Iranian presence in Syria at Moscow’s International Security Conference.
Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman reiterated during a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on Wednesday that Israel would not accept the creation of a new Iranian front in Syria.
Liberman, who is in the Russian capital for the city’s International Security Conference, said that Israel would “not allow the concentration of Iranian and Hezbollah forces on the Golan Heights.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Russia in March to convey a similar message to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Israel’s Defense Minister was not the only one at the conference to express opposition to an
https://worldisraelnews.com/netanyahu-urge-russia-prevent-creation-iranian-front-syria/


Pope Refuses Bulletproof Vehicle for Upcoming Visit to Egypt
Pope Francis wants to interact with people on the street during his upcoming visit to Egypt and therefore opposes riding in a bulletproof vehicle.
Despite several recent terror attacks against Christians in Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula, Pope Francis will not use a bulletproof vehicle during his trip to Egypt this weekend, according to Reuters.
“The Pope will use a closed car to move around, but not an armoured one,” Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said. “That’s how he wanted it.”
The Catholic News Agency explained the Pope’s decision as a result of his preference to interact with people on the street.
Pope Francis’ visit to Egypt this April 28-29, his first international trip this year, is largely centered around promoting interfaith dialogue with Muslims. The theme of interfaith solidarity had already been noted in the decision of Grand Imam of al Azhar, Ahmed el-Tayyeb, to join Egypt’s Catholic Coptic bishops in extending an invitation to Pope Francis.
In a video addressed to the Egyptian people, Pope Francis said his visit will be “a message of friendship and respect for all the inhabitants of Egypt and the region, and a message of brotherhood and reconciliation with all the children of Abraham, particularly the Muslim world, in which Egypt holds so important a place,” Vatican Radio reported.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com

IDF Official: US-North Korea Tensions Could Impact Israel
Increasing tensions between North Korea and the United States could have significant negative impact on Israel’s security, a senior IDF officer said.
A senior Israeli military official told reporters at a special briefing on Tuesday that rising tensions with North Korea may push the US to divert security resources from the Middle East to the Korean peninsula, which would have repercussions for Israel.
Senior US officials have made it clear that they perceive North Korea’s weapons programs to be a threat not only to its allies in the Asia-Pacific, but also to US national security.
https://worldisraelnews.com/watch-what-you-should-know-about-north-koreas-missile-capabilities/

WATCH: Protesters Gather at NY Home of Nazi War Criminal No Country Wants
Students from Rambam Mesivta High School and its dean Zev Friedman gathered outside the Queens, New York home of Nazi camp guard Jakiw Palij on Monday, Holocaust Remembrance Day, demanding the US government deport Palij, who participated in the killing of six thousand Jews.
Protesters gather outside the New York , US home of an accused Nazi war criminal on April 24, 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOXhfEza-_o


US Navy Clashes Again with Iranian Vessel
Iran’s belligerence in the Persian Gulf continues as it again threatened a US Navy destroyer.
The US Navy experienced another tense encounter with an Iranian vessel on Monday when a guided-missile destroyer fired a flare toward an Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) vessel in the Persian Gulf before it was forced to alter its course to avoid the Iranian warship.
Lt. Ian McConnaughey, of the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, confirmed the incident and said the Iranian boat had come within 1,000 meters of the USS Mahan.
The lieutenant said that Mahan “made several attempts to contact the Iranian vessel by bridge-to-bridge radio, issuing warning messages and twice sounding the internationally recognized danger signal of five short blasts with the ship’s whistle, as well as deploying a flare to determine the Iranian vessel’s intentions.”
The Iranian vessel later sailed away.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com

Iranian Presidential Candidate: US Should Fear Us
Raisi called for Iran to use force to ward off possible US pressure.
A candidate in Iran’s upcoming presidential election says the US should be made to fear Iran, so that it will back down on sanctions and threats.
Ebrahim Raisi told a state TV talk show Wednesday that “today Americans are afraid of the word Iran,” saying that “this is the solution. The solution is not backing down. We must force them to retreat.”
Raisi is challenging the incumbent, Hassan Rouhani, who has tried to improve relations with the West and whose government reached the controversial nuclear agreement with world powers.
Rouhani is widely seen as the front-runner in next month’s election, but Raisi is close to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and has strong relations with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) security apparatuses and judicial authority.
Raisi approved the execution of thousands of prisoners in 1988, when he was a member of the Commission of Death that was tasked with eliminating political prisoners who opposed the regime, Al-Arabiya reported on Wednesday.
https://worldisraelnews.com/ahmadinejad-kicked-iranian-presidential-race/

WATCH: Netanyahu posts shock video to influence Trump-Abbas meeting
CLICK HERE
https://worldisraelnews.com/watch-netanyahu-posts-shock-video-to-influence-trump-abbas-meeting/?utm_source=browser&utm_medium=push_notification&utm_campaign=PushCrew_notification_1493367639&_p_c
April 28, 2017
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted a video on Facebook Thursday showing Palestinian officials, including PA leader Mahmoud Abbas, proudly acknowledging their violent anti-Semitism and widespread incitement to terror.

Trump expected to visit to Israel at time of 50th anniversary of reunification of Jerusalem
April 26, 2017
Trump expected to visit to Israel at time of 50th anniversary of reunification of JerusalemNetanyahu and Trump in New York in September. (Kobi Gideon/GPO/File)
If President Trump visits Israel ahead of his May 25 trip to Belgium, it will be in time for the festivities surrounding the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem.
By: Barney Breen-Portnoy, The Algemeiner and World Israel News
US President Donald Trump — joined by a number of other top officials in his administration — may visit the Jewish state as soon as next month.
According to reports, initial coordination talks regarding the trip have already begun and an American advance team is expected to arrive in Israel later this week.
Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely, speaking to Army Radio Wednesday, confirmed that the preparations were at the advanced stage, although nothing has been finalized.
“There’s a feeling that we have a real friend in the White House,” Hotovely said.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com

Trump Budget Increases US Foreign Aid to Palestinians
Trump’s 2018 budget not only proposes an increase in economic aid to Palestinians, but also to several countries in the Middle East including Iraq, Syria and Libya.
Despite proposing cuts in foreign aid to countless countries and regions worldwide, US President Donald Trump’s budget for 2018 increases financial support to Palestinians not only in Judea and Samaria, but in Gaza, according to a report in Foreign Policy magazine.
The report referenced a fifteen page internal budget US State Department document. According to the document, Palestinians would receive $215 million, an increase of 4.6% in foreign aid, from the State Department’s Economic Support Fund (ESF)
MORE https://worldisraelnews.


WATCH: Obama told Americans ‘total lie’ when releasing Iranian terrorists from US
April 25, 2017
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Former President Barack Obama justified his decision to release several high-profile Iranian prisoners to secure the 2015 nuclear deal by claiming they were just “civilians.”
Barack ObamaIranian prisonersNuclear deal
Judge Napolitano on Obama's hidden Iran deal giveaway
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=amB_Vf8PRw4


Successful ‘Hugo Boss’ Model Makes Aliyah, Joins ISREAL
A new IDF lone soldier left behind a successful modeling career to join the Israeli military because protecting the Jewish state took priority for him.
James Hirshfield, a British native who immigrated to Israel from the US, leaving behind a successful modeling career with “Hugo Boss,” joined the IDF at the age of 31.
Hirshfield’s grandfather is a Holocaust survivor who fled Poland at the age of nine, Ynet reported. During Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014, “I was working as a model in the US, and they were always reporting against Israel. I said to myself that I couldn’t walk on red carpets while my people was at war. I felt that I had to immigrate and enlist,” the grandson said in an interview.
MORE https://unitedwithisrael.org/

WATCH: Protesters gather at NY home of Nazi war criminal no country wants
Students from Rambam Mesivta High School and its dean Zev Friedman gathered outside the Queens, New York home of Nazi camp guard Jakiw Palij on Monday, Holocaust Remembrance Day, demanding the US government deport Palij, who participated in the killing of six thousand Jews.
VIDEO Protesters gather outside the New York , US home of an accused Nazi war criminal on April 24, 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=sOXhfEza-_o

UNESCO chief: ‘Temple Mount is holiest place in Judaism’
April 25, 2017
UNESCO chief: ‘Temple Mount is holiest place in Judaism’UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova speaking to World Jewish Congress. (Shahar Azran)
The UNESCO’s Director General reaffirmed that “to deny, conceal, or erase any of the Jewish, Christian or Muslim traditions runs counter to the reasons that justified its inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage list.”
Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Irina Bokova acknowledged the utmost importance of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount to the Jewish people, while addressing the 15th plenary assembly of the World Jewish Congress on Monday.
“The Al Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram al-Sharif, the sacred shrine of the Muslims, is also the Har Habayit – or Temple Mount – the holiest place in Judaism, whose Western Wall is revered by millions across the world, a few steps away from the Saint Sepulchre and the Mount of Olives holy to the Christians,” Bokova noted.
Bokova also stressed a need to protect the recognition of Jerusalem’s importance to all three monotheistic religions.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.


Israel appoints first female Muslim religious judge
April 25, 2017
Israel appoints first female Muslim religious judgeQadi Hannah Hatib (Twitter)
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The Jewish state made history when it appointed the first female Qadi.
The Israeli committee entrusted with the appointment of Qadis, magistrates at Muslim Shari’a religious courts, made history on Tuesday when it appointed the first female Qadi in history.
The committee named Hennah Hatib, a lawyer with a Master’s degree who specializes in Shari’a family law and a mother of four, as a new Qadi.
“We did justice where we were tasked to do justice and we chose a woman for the first time to serve as a Qadi,” stated Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked, who heads the committee.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com

Terrorist shot while attempting to stab soldiers
April 26, 2017
Terrorist shot while attempting to stab soldiersIDF forces operate in Hawara. (AP/Majdi Mohammed)
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IDF forces were successful in thwarting yet another Palestinian stabbing attack.
A Palestinian terrorist was shot and moderately wounded on Wednesday after he tried to stab IDF soldiers patrolling in the Palestinian village of Hawara, just south of Shechem (Nablus) in Samaria.
No Israelis were harmed in the incident.
The terrorist was evacuated in moderate and stable condition to an Israeli hospital.
The assailant is reportedly a relative of another Palestinian terrorist who was shot and critically wounded by IDF soldiers on Tuesday as he attempted to stab them at a junction just north of Hawara.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/terrorist-shot-attempting-stab-soldiers-2/?

Israel fends off massive cyber attack

April 26, 2017
Israel fends off massive cyber attack(Shutterstock)
Israel has successfully blocked a broad attack on Israeli civilian networks.
Israel’s Cyber Bureau announced Wednesday that it has successfully blocked an “unusually broad” attack on Israeli civilian networks.
In a statement, the Bureau said that in recent days it has collected data on a planned attack on various Israeli bodies. The cyber defense bureau was successful in exposing the methods used in the attack and its origin. It did not state who was behind the attack.
The attacking party sent emails, ostensibly from a legitimate security company, to the targets, while falsifying a security certificate.
Some 120 government offices, public institutions and private individuals were on the target list.
The Bureau published guidelines for defense.
A high-ranking official stated the attack was massive, one of the biggest the Bureau has ever encountered. The intention, he said, was to overtake entire organizational computer systems.
A petition calls on the United Kingdom to apologize for its role in establishing a Jewish state.
The United Kingdom refused to apologize for Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour’s signing of the Balfour Declaration, that recognized the legitimacy of establishing “a national home for the Jewish people” in the British mandate of Palestine.
“The Balfour Declaration is an historic statement for which HMG (her Majesty’s Government) does not intend to apologize,” the UK Foreign Office stated in response to a petition by the Palestinian Return Centre urging an official apology from the UK. “We are proud of our role in creating the State of Israel.”
The Balfour Declaration, which declared “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people” on November 2, 1917, officially became part of international law when the League of Nations adopted it in 1922.
“Establishing a homeland for the Jewish people in the land to which they had such strong historical and religious ties was the right and moral thing to do, particularly against the background of centuries of persecution,” the statement added.
The Palestinian Authority’s UK diplomatic representative, Manuel Hassassian informed Voice of Palestine Radio earlier on Tuesday that the UK would not apologize.
https://worldisraelnews.com/united-kingdom-refuses-apologize-signing-balfour-declaration/?


Israel foils Hamas attempt to smuggle funds for terrorism
April 26, 2017
Israel foils Hamas attempt to smuggle funds for terrorism(Shutterstock)
The Shin Bet has exposed several cases of Hamas exploitation of Israeli humanitarian relief in order to build its terror infrastructure.
Recent operations by Israeli security forces have uncovered several cases that underscore the continuing efforts by terrorist organizations to transfer funds and war material into Israel by exploiting the humanitarian relief that the State of Israel provides to the Palestinian population, the Shin Bet (Israel’s Security Agency) stated on Tuesday.
For example, the Shin Bet pointed to the case of Ez Aldin Darabiyeh, 22, a resident of Hebron, who was recently arrested at the Allenby Crossing from Jordan while attempting to smuggle approximately 10,000 Jordanian dinars (approximately NIS 51,400, or $14,100) from Hamas, meant to finance its terror activities in Judea and Samaria.
Similarly, in September, the Shin Bet arrested Bashir Mahmoud Younis Mustafa, a resident of the Gaza Strip and a holder of an Israel transit permit, on charges that he had served as a courier for Hamas and transferred funds for them to terror elements


Netanyahu thanks Austrian Chancellor for fighting Holocaust denial, anti-Semitism
April 25, 2017
Netanyahu thanks Austrian Chancellor for fighting Holocaust denial, anti-SemitismNetanyahu meets with Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern in Jerusalem, April 24, 2017. (Haim Zach/GPO)
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The Austrian Chancellor helped reveal the role of his country’s railway company in the Holocaust during an exhibition several years ago.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conveyed his gratitude to Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern for strongly and unequivocally condemning Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism, during their meeting on Tuesday in Jerusalem.
“You’ve been very forthright about the historical legacy and the historical imperatives that the Holocaust requires of all of us, and I want to thank you for this and express our deep appreciation from the people of Israel to you,” Netanyahu told Kern.
Kern has maintained the tradition among many in Europe’s political establishment to unequivocally voice opposition to Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism, and demonstrated his rejection of such views in action.


Study: Several European countries failed to return property stolen from Holocaust victims
April 25, 2017
Study: Several European countries failed to return property stolen from Holocaust victimsJews being marched away during the Holocaust in Hungary. (Bundesarchiv, Bild/Wikicommons)
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Several European countries have failed to restitute the property plundered and stolen from Jews during the Holocaust.
A new study that looks at progress made by European countries in restituting the property plundered and stolen from Jews during the Holocaust found that while some Eastern European states have “substantially” complied with their pledges, others have done too little and are still in possession of stolen property.
The Immovable Property Restitution Study, released on Monday as Israel marked its Holocaust Remembrance Day, by the European Shoah Legacy Institute (ESLI) examined whether European countries have complied with 2009 Terezin Declaration, a joint pledge by 47 states to make efforts to restitute the lost property.
The study faulted Poland and Bosnia-Herzegovina in particular for failing to enact any legislation to address the problem. The two countries stand alone as the only countries that have failed to establish a comprehensive private property restitution regime for property taken either during the Holocaust or in the subsequent Communist Era.


US imposes financial sanctions against 271 Syrian officials
April 25, 2017
US imposes financial sanctions against 271 Syrian officialsTreasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin at the daily briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, April 24, 2017. (AP/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
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The US Treasury Secretary said new sanctions against Syria are intended to deter the spread of “barbaric chemical weapons.”
The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced on Monday that it was implementing “one of the largest sanctions actions in its history,” against the Syrian government in response to the sarin gas attack in Syria’s Idlib province in early April.
“The United States is sending a strong message with this action that we will hold the entire Assad regime accountable for these blatant human rights violations in order to deter the spread of these types of barbaric chemical weapons,” said Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin.
The sanctions are geared towards penalizing the institutions and individuals behind the production of chemical weapons

US Navy clashes again with Iranian vessel
April 26, 2017
US Navy clashes again with Iranian vesselThe USS Mahan (Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Vincent J. Street /US Navy)
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Iran’s belligerence in the Persian Gulf continues as it again threatened a US Navy destroyer.
The US Navy experienced another tense encounter with an Iranian vessel on Monday when a guided-missile destroyer fired a flare toward an Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) vessel in the Persian Gulf before it was forced to alter its course to avoid the Iranian warship.
Lt. Ian McConnaughey, of the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, confirmed the incident and said the Iranian boat had come within 1,000 meters of the USS Mahan.
The lieutenant said that Mahan “made several attempts to contact the Iranian vessel by bridge-to-bridge radio, issuing warning messages and twice sounding the internationally recognized danger signal of five short blasts with the ship’s whistle, as well as deploying a flare to determine the Iranian vessel’s intentions.”
The Iranian vessel later sailed away.



DEVELOPING: IRS and Postal Inspectors Raid Benny Hinn Ministries
APRIL 27, 2017
Federal agents descended on the North Texas headquarters of television evangelist Benny Hinn and took boxes out of the offices. The search began about 9 a.m. Wednesday at Hinn’s headquarters in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Grapevine, near Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. According to Hinn’s website, he was in Paris.
Lisa Slimak, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Dallas, said she was unable to confirm or deny the existence of an investigation. A message sent to Bennie Hinn Ministries went unanswered. Hinn was one of six television evangelists investigated by the Senate Finance Committee in 2007. Three years later, the six were cleared of any wrongdoing.
FULL REPORT https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/texas/articles/2017-04-26/irs-postal-inspectors-raid-benny-hinn-ministries

‘Four million Jews could have been saved,’ Netanyahu states on Yom Hashoah
April 24, 2017
‘Four million Jews could have been saved,’ Netanyahu states on Yom HashoahNetanyahu lays a wreath at a memorial ceremony at Yad Vashem marking the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day, April 24, 2017. (Amit Shabi/POOL)
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“If the powers in 1942 had acted…, they could have saved 4 million Jews and millions of other people,” Netanyahu stated at the official Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony at Yad Vashem.
In his address Sunday evening at the official state ceremony marking the start of the Holocaust Memorial Day at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decried the inaction of the Allies during the Holocaust and their failure to save the Jews.
Referring to newly released UN documents showing that the Allies understood the dire situation of Europe’s Jews already in 1942, Netanyahu stressed the importance of a strong Jewish state.
“The powers knew, and they did not act,” he stated. “When terrible crimes were being committed against the Jews, when our brothers and sisters were being sent to the furnaces, the powers knew and did not act.”
MORE https://worldisraelnews

Female Palestinian Terrorist with Death Wish Attacks, Wounds Israeli Soldier
Apr 24, 2017
A female Palestinian terrorist, on a suicide mission, stabbed and wounded an Israeli female soldier at the Qalandiya checkpoint.
APalestinian terrorist stabbed and wounded an Israeli female soldier at the Qalandiya checkpoint, just north of Jerusalem, on Monday morning.
The victim, 28, who sustained light wounds to her upper body, was taken to a Jerusalem hospital for treatment.
The terrorist, also a female, was overpowered and detained by other Israeli forces on site.
Police said that the terrorist approached the Israeli forces, appearing to have a question, and at some point drew a knife from her bag and stabbed the soldier.
The Shin Bet (Israel’s Security Agency) identified the terrorist as Asya Kabane, a 41-year-old mother of nine, from Duma in the Shechem (Nablus) area.
Kabane revealed during questioning that Sunday night she had a fight with her husband, who had threatened to banish her to her family in Jordan. She then decided to commit a terror attack, hoping to be shot and killed. Her act was suicidal, she told the Shin Bet. In her words, she was fed up with her life.
MOREhttps://worldisraelnews

Suspect in JCC bomb threats indicted in Israel for 2,000 incidents
April 24, 2017
Suspect in JCC bomb threats indicted in Israel for 2,000 incidentsThe JCC bomb threat suspect in court. (Flash90)
Israel indicted a suspect for a recent wave of bomb threats against Jewish community centers in the US and other targets around the world.
Israel indicted an 18-year-old American-Israeli Jew on Monday for a wave of bomb threats against Jewish community centers in the US that stoked fears of a rising wave of anti-Semitism.
Israel’s Justice Ministry said the accused was charged at a district court in Tel Aviv for thousands of cases of extortion, publishing false information that caused panic, computer offenses and money laundering which lasted for some two years.
On Friday, he was charged in federal court in Orlando, Florida, with 28 counts of making threatening calls and conveying false information to police. Separately, he was charged with three more counts of cyberstalking in an indictment filed in federal court in Athens, Georgia.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com

UN chief vows to be ‘on front lines in fight against anti-Semitism’
April 24, 2017
UN chief vows to be ‘on front lines in fight against anti-Semitism’Anti-Semitic graffiti (Wikipedia)
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In a Holocaust Remembrance Day address, the Portugese UN secretary-general condemned his country’s “tremendous crime and the most stupid mistake ever made” in expelling its Jews in the late 15th century.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres vowed to be at the forefront of combating anti-Semitism while addressing the World Jewish Congress Plenary Assembly on Sunday night on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day.
“As secretary general of the United Nations, I will be on the front lines in the fight against anti-Semitism,” Guterres stated. “Anti-Semitism never died despite the shock of the Holocaust.”
Guterres acknowledged that opposition to Israel’s right to exist amounts to contemporary anti-Semitism.
“The modern form of anti-Semitism is the denial of the existence of the State of Israel,” he said. “Israel has an undeniable right to exist and to live in peace and security with its neighbors.”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com

Jewish Youth, IDF Soldiers, Israeli Ministers Join to “March for Life” Through Nazi Concentration Camps
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz April 24, 2017 , 1:30 pm
“I have remembered Thy name, O Hashem, in the night, and have observed Thy law.” Psalms 119:55 (The Israel Bible™)
Holocaust Survivor on the March of the Living (Photo Flash90)
More than 10,000 people participated in the 29th annual March of the Living from Auschwitz to Birkenau in Poland on Monday commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day.
The March is held on Holocaust Memorial Day to contrast the forced marches the inmates made to their deaths. It also contrasts with Israel Independence Day celebrated in one week.
March of the Living Chairman Dr. Shmuel Rosenman addressed the crowd before they began, noting that since the March’s inception in 1988, 250,000 people have taken part in the event.
“Last year, the world lost Elie Wiesel, Nobel Laureate, and conscience of the world,” he said, Wiesel, a writer, activist, and philanthropist, wrote about his experiences during the Holocaust in his internationally acclaimed work, Night. Prior to his death in 2016, for many, Wiesel came to represent a generation of survivors.
MORE https://www.breakingisraelnews.com

In Historic First, German Official Joins Holocaust Remembrance Day Ceremony
in Israel
By Andrew Friedman April 24, 2017 , 12:30 pm
“And in that day did the Lord, the GOD of hosts, call to weeping, and to lamentation…” Isaiah 22:12 (The Israel Bible™)
Wreath-laying ceremony at Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial for Holocaust Remembrance Day, April 24, 2017. (Hillel Maeir/TPS)
Former German President Joachim Gauck will attend the official closing ceremony of Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) Monday evening at the Ghetto Fighters’ House Museum in the Western Galilee, together with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.
According to a statement released by the German embassy in Tel Aviv, Gauck’s presence at the event will mark the first time that a German official has participated in an Israeli state ceremony for Holocaust Remembrance Day.
In addition, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel called his country’ close relationship with Israel a “real gift,” and added that Germany takes its pledge to honor “historic responsibility” to memorialize the Holocaust.
MORE https://www.breakingisraelnews.com

‘Four million Jews could have been saved,’ Netanyahu states on Yom Hashoah
April 24, 2017
‘Four million Jews could have been saved,’ Netanyahu states on Yom HashoahNetanyahu lays a wreath at a memorial ceremony at Yad Vashem marking the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day, April 24, 2017. (Amit Shabi/POOL)
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“If the powers in 1942 had acted…, they could have saved 4 million Jews and millions of other people,” Netanyahu stated at the official Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony at Yad Vashem.
In his address Sunday evening at the official state ceremony marking the start of the Holocaust Memorial Day at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decried the inaction of the Allies during the Holocaust and their failure to save the Jews.
Referring to newly released UN documents showing that the Allies understood the dire situation of Europe’s Jews already in 1942, Netanyahu stressed the importance of a strong Jewish state.
“The powers knew, and they did not act,” he stated. “When terrible crimes were being committed against the Jews, when our brothers and sisters were being sent to the furnaces, the powers knew and did not act.”
MORE https://worldisraelnews

Female Palestinian Terrorist with Death Wish Attacks, Wounds Israeli Soldier
Apr 24, 2017
A female Palestinian terrorist, on a suicide mission, stabbed and wounded an Israeli female soldier at the Qalandiya checkpoint.
APalestinian terrorist stabbed and wounded an Israeli female soldier at the Qalandiya checkpoint, just north of Jerusalem, on Monday morning.
The victim, 28, who sustained light wounds to her upper body, was taken to a Jerusalem hospital for treatment.
The terrorist, also a female, was overpowered and detained by other Israeli forces on site.
Police said that the terrorist approached the Israeli forces, appearing to have a question, and at some point drew a knife from her bag and stabbed the soldier.
The Shin Bet (Israel’s Security Agency) identified the terrorist as Asya Kabane, a 41-year-old mother of nine, from Duma in the Shechem (Nablus) area.
Kabane revealed during questioning that Sunday night she had a fight with her husband, who had threatened to banish her to her family in Jordan. She then decided to commit a terror attack, hoping to be shot and killed. Her act was suicidal, she told the Shin Bet. In her words, she was fed up with her life.
MOREhttps://worldisraelnews

Suspect in JCC bomb threats indicted in Israel for 2,000 incidents
April 24, 2017
Suspect in JCC bomb threats indicted in Israel for 2,000 incidentsThe JCC bomb threat suspect in court. (Flash90)
Israel indicted a suspect for a recent wave of bomb threats against Jewish community centers in the US and other targets around the world.
Israel indicted an 18-year-old American-Israeli Jew on Monday for a wave of bomb threats against Jewish community centers in the US that stoked fears of a rising wave of anti-Semitism.
Israel’s Justice Ministry said the accused was charged at a district court in Tel Aviv for thousands of cases of extortion, publishing false information that caused panic, computer offenses and money laundering which lasted for some two years.
On Friday, he was charged in federal court in Orlando, Florida, with 28 counts of making threatening calls and conveying false information to police. Separately, he was charged with three more counts of cyberstalking in an indictment filed in federal court in Athens, Georgia.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com

UN chief vows to be ‘on front lines in fight against anti-Semitism’
April 24, 2017
UN chief vows to be ‘on front lines in fight against anti-Semitism’Anti-Semitic graffiti (Wikipedia)
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In a Holocaust Remembrance Day address, the Portugese UN secretary-general condemned his country’s “tremendous crime and the most stupid mistake ever made” in expelling its Jews in the late 15th century.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres vowed to be at the forefront of combating anti-Semitism while addressing the World Jewish Congress Plenary Assembly on Sunday night on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day.
“As secretary general of the United Nations, I will be on the front lines in the fight against anti-Semitism,” Guterres stated. “Anti-Semitism never died despite the shock of the Holocaust.”
Guterres acknowledged that opposition to Israel’s right to exist amounts to contemporary anti-Semitism.
“The modern form of anti-Semitism is the denial of the existence of the State of Israel,” he said. “Israel has an undeniable right to exist and to live in peace and security with its neighbors.”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com

Jewish Youth, IDF Soldiers, Israeli Ministers Join to “March for Life” Through Nazi Concentration Camps
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz April 24, 2017 , 1:30 pm
“I have remembered Thy name, O Hashem, in the night, and have observed Thy law.” Psalms 119:55 (The Israel Bible™)
Holocaust Survivor on the March of the Living (Photo Flash90)
More than 10,000 people participated in the 29th annual March of the Living from Auschwitz to Birkenau in Poland on Monday commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day.
The March is held on Holocaust Memorial Day to contrast the forced marches the inmates made to their deaths. It also contrasts with Israel Independence Day celebrated in one week.
March of the Living Chairman Dr. Shmuel Rosenman addressed the crowd before they began, noting that since the March’s inception in 1988, 250,000 people have taken part in the event.
“Last year, the world lost Elie Wiesel, Nobel Laureate, and conscience of the world,” he said, Wiesel, a writer, activist, and philanthropist, wrote about his experiences during the Holocaust in his internationally acclaimed work, Night. Prior to his death in 2016, for many, Wiesel came to represent a generation of survivors.
MORE https://www.breakingisraelnews.com

In Historic First, German Official Joins Holocaust Remembrance Day Ceremony
in Israel
By Andrew Friedman April 24, 2017 , 12:30 pm
“And in that day did the Lord, the GOD of hosts, call to weeping, and to lamentation…” Isaiah 22:12 (The Israel Bible™)
Wreath-laying ceremony at Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial for Holocaust Remembrance Day, April 24, 2017. (Hillel Maeir/TPS)
Former German President Joachim Gauck will attend the official closing ceremony of Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) Monday evening at the Ghetto Fighters’ House Museum in the Western Galilee, together with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.
According to a statement released by the German embassy in Tel Aviv, Gauck’s presence at the event will mark the first time that a German official has participated in an Israeli state ceremony for Holocaust Remembrance Day.
In addition, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel called his country’ close relationship with Israel a “real gift,” and added that Germany takes its pledge to honor “historic responsibility” to memorialize the Holocaust.
MORE https://www.breakingisraelnews.com

Israeli warning: Syria still has deadly chemical weapons
April 20, 2017
Israeli warning: Syria still has deadly chemical weaponsA Syrian cries while holding the body of his son, killed by the Syrian Army. (AP/Manu Brabo)
Syria is still in possession of chemical weapons, enough to carry out several more attacks, an IDF officer warned.
Syria still has up to three tons of chemical weapons, Israeli defense officials said Wednesday, in the first specific intelligence assessment of President Bashar Assad’s weapons capabilities since a deadly chemical attack his soldiers carried out against civilians earlier this month.
The estimate came as the head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, an international watchdog, said laboratory tests provided “incontrovertible” evidence that victims and survivors of the April 4 attack in northern Syria were exposed to sarin nerve gas or a similar banned toxin.
Turkish and British tests have also concluded sarin or a substance similar to the deadly nerve agent was used in the Idlib attack.
The attack killed at least 90 people, including dozens of children.
A senior Israeli military official said Israeli intelligence believes Syrian military commanders ordered the attack, with Assad’s knowledge. Briefing reporters, he said Israel estimates Assad still has “between one and three tons” of chemical weapons.
Assad has strongly denied he was behind the attack in the opposition-held town of Khan Sheikhoun in Syria’s northern Idlib province, and accused the opposition of trying to frame his government. Top Assad ally, Russia, asserted a Syrian government airstrike hit a rebel chemical weapons factory, causing the disaster.
Dan Kaszeta, a UK-based chemical weapons expert, said the Israeli estimate appeared to be conservative, but nonetheless was enough to be highly lethal.
https://worldisraelnews.com/


WATCH: Eight mummies, a thousand statues unearthed in ‘Valley of Kings’
April 20, 2017
Eight mummies and more than a thousand funerary statues were discovered in the tomb of an ancient noble near the famed “Valley of the Kings” in southern Egypt.
Eight mummies discovered in ancient tomb near Egypt’s Luxor
Egyptian archaeologists have unearthed several mummies, colourful wooden sarcophagi and more than 1,000 funerary statues in a 3,500-year-old tomb near the city of Luxor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt4Fi3Pennw


WATCH: Tillerson lists Iran’s support for Hamas as reason to reconsider nuclear deal
April 21, 2017
Rex Tillerson emphasized that one of the reasons the US is reviewing its Iran policy is that, ‘Iran maintains a longstanding hostility towards Israel, providing weapons, training, and funding to Hamas.’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l77rpJ_H27M
Rex Tillerson Said Strategic Patience Failed on Iran and North Korea


Palestinians: Hunger Strike or Smokescreen?
April 20, 2017
Palestinians: Hunger Strike or Smokescreen?Protesters at a rally in Ramallah in support of Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike in Israeli jails, Apr. 17, 2017. (Flash90)
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Barghouti’s hunger strike is completely unrelated to conditions in Israeli prisons. Rather, it is directly linked to a power struggle within the Palestinian leadership.
By: Bassam Tawil, The Gatestone Institute
Palestinians have an old habit of settling internal scores by diverting their grievances and violence towards Israel. This practice is clear to those who have been monitoring developments in the Palestinian arena for the past decades. It is an integral part of the Palestinian strategy to undermine, isolate, delegitimize and destroy Israel.
Those less familiar with Palestinian culture and tactics, however, have difficulty understanding the Palestinian mindset. Officials in Washington, London, Paris and other Western capitals rarely meet the ordinary Palestinian, the “man on the street” who represents the authentic voice of the Palestinians.

Remnants of Torah scrolls from Holocaust buried in Warsaw
April 20, 2017
Remnants of Torah scrolls from Holocaust buried in WarsawThe Torah scrolls are buried in the Warsaw cemetery. (Yossi Zeliger/Flash90)
Warsaw’s Jewish community buried fragments of old and damaged Torah scrolls, carrying out the ritual on the 74th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.
Warsaw’s Jewish community buried fragments of old and damaged Torah scrolls Wednesday, carrying out the ancient ritual on the 74th anniversary of the start of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.
It was a symbolic celebration of life for a Jewish community that was almost completely destroyed during the Holocaust. While Warsaw had some 330,000 Jews before the war, today’s community numbers some 1,000.
“These scrolls were burned and destroyed, many of them. But the spirit of them wasn’t defeated,” Rabbi Moshe Bloom, a leader of Warsaw’s Jewish community, told those gathered on the cold April day.
“Some people’s intention was to stop the Torah learning of the Jewish nation,” Bloom said. “And here we say ‘no.’ Torah and the Jewish nation are stronger than all of these enemies.”
Large clay vessels holding the tattered fragments of dozens of Torah scrolls were then lowered into the ground by members of the community at the Warsaw Jewish Cemeter


Hezbollah: Israel has switched to ‘defensive doctrine’
April 20, 2017
Hezbollah: Israel has switched to ‘defensive doctrine’The Hezbollah official addressing journalists on Thursday. (AP/Hussein Malla)
A Lebanese official told Israeli journalists of apparent defensive measures taken by Israel near the Lebanese-Israeli border.

During a field tour for journalists along the Lebanese-Israeli border on Thursday, an official from the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah said Israel has adopted a defensive strategy vis-a-vis the organization.

“For the first time in this enemy’s history, it’s switching from an offensive to a defensive doctrine,” the officer said.

The Lebanese officer briefed the media at the Ayta ash Shab village in southern Lebanon.

“We are now situated in the south of the village opposite Palestinian territory, which the Zionist enemy occupied,” he said, referring to the IDF’s previous presence in southern Lebanon, including during the Second Lebanon War in 2006.

The official mentioned various defensive precautions he said Israel has taken against a Hezbollah invasion.

“The enemy has taken a number of measures,” he claimed. “For the past year, (Israel) has begun to build fortifications, obstacles, and extensive means of defense that seem intended to prevent people from moving towards it.”

https://worldisraelnews.com/syria-moves-warplanes-latakia-province-near-russian-forces/
The Syrian army moved its warplanes to the Latakia province near Russian forces in an apparent precaution against any future US strike.

The Syrian army has reportedly moved its aircraft from the Shayrat air base struck by the United States two weeks ago, to a separate airbase in the Latakia province near a Khmeimim Air Base, used by the Russian military.

President Donald Trump authorized the firing of tomahawk cruise missiles on the Shayrat air base in response to a chemical weapons attack on the Idlib province killing more than 80 civilians. The strike was estimated to have destroyed around 24 Syrian warplanes.

The regime in Damascus appears to have made the move as a precaution against future US airstrikes, as the Syrian aircraft are now closer to Russian forces operating out of Latakia.

The Trump administration was cautious, warning Russia in advance of the strike on the Shayrat air base.

Most of Syria’s operational fixed wing military aircraft were moved to the Latakia base, according to an official who spoke to ABC. CNN said according to one US defense official, Syria appears to have moved most, if not all, of its aircraft to the Latakia province.

Russia deployed military forces and operations into Syria in the latter part of 2015 to boost the Syrian government in the country’s civil war. In addition to the Khmeimim airbase, Russia also uses a naval facility in the Tartus province.

By: Jonathan Benedek, World Israel News

Palestinian car-ramming injures 60-year-old Israeli; terrorist killed
April 19, 2017
Palestinian car-ramming injures 60-year-old Israeli; terrorist killedSoldiers at the Gush Etzion Junction. (Gershon Elinson/Flash90/File)
A man of about 60, attacked by a Palestinian terrorist in Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem, is being treated at a Jerusalem hospital.
An Israeli man suffered a head injury in a Palestinian car-ramming/stabbing attack at the Gush Etzion Junction Wednesday afternoon.
The victim, approximately 60 years of age, is suffering light wounds and was taken to Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center for treatment.
Security forces shot and killed the terrorist.
“Our EMS volunteers, including EMTs, paramedics and doctors who live in the area, dropped whatever it was that they were doing and responded to this attack – the second attack in just five days,” United Hatzalah, an emergency medical services organization, stated, referring to the fatal stabbing attack on Friday that claimed the life of British student Hannah Bladon on a Jerusalem light rail train
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com

Iranian Army Marches with ‘Death to Israel’ Missile
an showed off its military might and threatened Israel during its annual Army Day parade.
Iran marked its annual National Army Day on Tuesday, which celebrates the establishment of the Islamic Republic’s military, with a display of weaponry and calls for death to Israel and America.
A missile with an anti-Israel banner was displayed, reading “Death to Israel” in Persian. President Hassan Rouhani and Iranian armed forces commanders reviewed an army parade next to a portrait of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and in front of mausoleum of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, just outside Tehran, Iran’s capital.
Different units of Iran’s armed forces marched in uniform, while showing off military hardware.
“Unlike the armies of certain countries which represent aggression against the other nations, support terrorism, and ignore the law, the Iranian Army is the embodiment of order, faith, legitimate defense, and respect for law and national interests,” Rouhani asserted during the parade, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency.
Iranian officials repeatedly claim that the country’s military and arms programs serve defensive purposes and should not be perceived as a threat to any other country, but the writing on the missile on display indicates otherwise.
Iran has previously displayed threatening messages against Israel on its weaponry.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/iranian-army-marches-with-death-to-israel-missile/?

NASA Launches Satellite Built by Israeli High School Students
nanosatellite built by Israeli teenagers was successfully launched into space.
The nanosatellite Duchifat 2 (Hoopoe 2), built by Israeli high schoolers, was successfully launched into space on Tuesday afternoon by the American launcher, Atlas V, located at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
After the satellite’s scheduled arrival at the International Space Station in about two days, it will be sent into orbit around Earth for about a month and a half using a special robotic arm operated by astronomers.
Only 28 of the 50 groups around the world that have started working on nanosatellites have succeeded in making a product that passed NASA’s rigorous tests. Israel is the only country of the 23 participating in the European Union’s QB50 thermosphere research program to have its satellite built by high school students. The satellite seeks to map the outer layer of the atmosphere and that would play a crucial role in the transmission of GPS signals.
Duchifat 2 is a joint project of the Israel Space Agency (ISA), the Science Ministry, and the Herzliya Science Center. More than 80 high school students from towns and cities such as Ofakim, Yeruham, Ofra, Hura. and Herzliya worked for two years on the development of the satellite.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/

WATCH: Trump Considers Reinstating Sanctions on Iran
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sent a letter late Tuesday to House Speaker Paul Ryan, advising him that President Trump is reviewing the Iran nuclear deal to determine whether there are grounds to reinstate sanctions on the Islamic Republic based on its sponsorship of terror.
Pres. Trump orders review of Iran Nuclear Deal | Apr 19, 2017
583 views
Published on 18 Apr 2017
Secretary of State Tillereson notified Speaker Ryan that Pres. Trump is reviewing whether the U.S. should stay in the Iran Nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama Administration or cancel it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0OqdoBtdyg

US Undertaking Full Review of Iran Nuclear Deal
While Iran is complying with the terms of the nuclear deal, the Trump administration has undertaken a full review of the agreement.
The Trump administration, in a periodical report, notified Congress that Iran is complying with the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal, and says the US has extended the sanctions relief given to the Islamic republic in exchange for curbs on its atomic program.
However, in a letter sent late Tuesday to House Speaker Paul Ryan, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the administration has undertaken a full review of the agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPA).
“Iran remains a leading state sponsor of terror, through many platforms and methods,” Tillerson wrote. He said the National Security Council-led interagency review of the agreement will evaluate whether it “is vital to the national security interests of the United States.”
The certification of Iran’s compliance, which must be sent to Congress every 90 days, is the first issued by the Trump administration.
As a candidate in the 2016 presidential election, Trump was an outspoken critic of the deal. Tuesday’s determination suggested that while Trump agreed with findings by the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), that Iran is keeping to its end of the bargain, he is looking for another way to ratchet up pressure on Tehran.
Despite the sanctions relief, Iran remains on the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism for its support of anti-Israel and other terror groups and is still subject to non-nuclear sanctions, including for human rights abuses and for its backing of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government.
https://worldisraelnews.com/


Folding Under Palestinian Pressure, UN Body Keeps Incitement in Curriculum
The UNRWA is retracting its plans to make its curriculum more sympathetic to Israel, more historically accurate and truthful, after the PA got upset.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has folded under Palestinian pressure and will not make changes to the agency’s school curriculum. The curriculum will not be more sympathetic to Israel and more historically accurate and truthful. Instead, it will continue to teach the Palestinian Authority (PA) curriculum, which is fraught with incitement against Israel and teaches that the Jewish State lacks the right to exist.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krähenbühl met on Monday in Ramallah with PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah. The UNRWA stated the two reviewed the UNRWA curriculum in light of “recent misrepresentations.” They agreed to a follow-up meeting between UNRWA and the Palestinian Ministry of Education on the curriculum issue.
UNRWA’s announcement came after warnings by PA and Hamas and after the PA suspend its ties with UNRWA.
They claimed UNRWA was planning “unacceptable” changes to the school textbooks.
The PA’s Education Ministry called the changes an “affront to the Palestinian people, its history and struggles,” and vowed the suspension will not change until UNRWA reverses their decision.
https://unitedwithisrael.org

Hamas Attempt to Smuggle Explosives Into Israel Foiled
Vigilant security inspectors prevented the smuggling of IEDs into Israel from Gaza by women who were exploiting Israeli humanitarian gestures.
Security inspectors on Wednesday morning at the Erez Crossing seized explosives in the possession of two sisters, residents of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, who were granted permission to enter Israel on humanitarian grounds.
One of the sisters allegedly suffers from cancer and was approved for entry in order to receive medical care.
The explosives, used in the production of IEDs, were hidden in tubes labeled “medical materials.”
The tubes, discovered during a security inspection were dealt with by sappers from the Israel Police.
A preliminary investigation by the Shin Bet/Israel Security Agency (ISA) revealed that the explosives were sent by Hamas, intended for use in terrorist attacks in the near future.
https://worldisraelnews.com/hamas-attempt-to-smuggle-explosives-into-israel-foiled/?

Palestinian Embassy in London Glorifies Terror as UK Mourns Victim
As the UK mourns the murder in Jerusalem of British student Hannah Bladon, the Palestinian Mission in London continues to promote terror.
While the United Kingdom mourns the murder of a young British woman, Hannah Bladon, 20, by a Palestinian terrorist in Jerusalem last week, the Palestinian Mission in the UK is promoting an event at a London hall in honor of another terrorist.
Marwan Barghouti, former head of Fatah’s Tanzim terror faction, was convicted and imprisoned in Israel for orchestrating three shooting attacks in which five people were murdered. The Palestinian Authority (PA) embassy in Britain is endorsing an event that will show a film praising him next Sunday at the Mayfair Hotel in London.
According to the invitation to the event, which is posted on the embassy’s official website, the event is organized by the UK branch of Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah Movement and the General Union of Palestinian Communities in Europe.
The embassy is directly involved as well, as registration for the event is done by emailing the PA mission’s political counsellor Meisoon Shorafa.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/palestinian-embassy-in-uk-glorifies-terror-as-uk-mourns-victim-of-palestinian-terror/?

WATCH:
Currency Changers Won’t Like the Latest Israeli App
April 19, 2017
Avi Kugel, CEO of uChange Cash, an Israeli start-up, explains the company’s new app that allows travelers to exchange currency for free, avoiding the commission charged by currency changers
Avi Kugel, CEO of uChange Cash speaking at ILTV studio about Israeli start up uChange Cash that has created an app that gives travelers the ability to exchange currency with each other for free.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHlTc5ENE90



Egypt: ISIS Claims Attack on Monastery; Israel Remains Alert
ISIS claimed responsibility for an attack on Saint Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai, the latest Islamic attack on Christians in Egypt.
The Islamic State (ISIS) terror group has claimed responsibility for an attack on an Egyptian police checkpoint near the famed Saint Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai late Tuesday which killed one policeman and wounded four others.
The terrorists opened fire from an elevated hilltop overlooking the police checkpoint just outside the monastery, which is located in a remote desert and mountainous area in the southern part of the Sinai Peninsula.
After an exchange of gunfire, the terrorists fled the scene, and some of them were wounded in the shootout.
The ISIS-affiliated Amaq news agency announced that the group’s terrorists carried out the attack on Saint Catherine.
This is the first time the ISIS has attacked a monastery.
It comes shortly before a planned visit by the Vatican Pope Francis to Egypt next week, and a week after two attacks on Egyptian churches which claimed the lives of dozens.
The attack on the monastery, built in the 6th century and a popular site for tourists visiting the Red Sea resorts along Sinai’s southern coast, comes just over a week after suicide bombers attacked two churches in the Nile Delta city of Tanta and the coastal city of Alexandria, killing 45 people on Palm Sunday.
https://worldisraelnews.com/egypt-isis-claims-attack-monastery-israel-remains-alert

Netanyahu Supports Trump’s Attack on Syria for ‘Moral Reasons’

Netanyahu explained his support for Trump’s strikes against Syria as appropriate for “moral reasons” after a chemical weapons attack in the country’s Idlib province on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his support on Sunday for US President Donald Trump’s strikes on Syria in response to a chemical weapons attack on Tuesday in the country’s Idlib province.

“Israel fully supports the American attack on Syria,” said Netanyahu during his weekly Cabinet meeting. “They did this for moral reasons in light of the harsh scenes from Idlib and also to make it clear there is a price for using chemical weapons.”

Netanyahu referenced an arrangement on the part of the international community to remove Syria’s stockpile of chemical weapons after a chemical weapons attack took place in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta in August of 2013.

“There is an international commitment from 2013 to remove all chemical weapons from Syria,” noted Netanyahu. “As we have seen, this commitment has yet to be fully implemented,” Netanyahu continued. “We call on the international community to complete the work, and this is an opportunity for American-Russian cooperation in this specific area.”

After the chemical weapons attack in 2013, Russia offered to remove Syria’s chemical weapons to prevent a planned US strike against Syria.

Netanyahu also expressed his “shock” and “outrage” shortly after the attack, while speaking at a state memorial ceremony on Tuesday for late President Chaim Herzog at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.

“There’s no, none, no excuse whatsoever for the deliberate attacks on civilians and on children, especially with cruel and outlawed chemical weapons,” said Netanyahu. “I call on the international community to fulfill its obligation from 2013 to fully and finally remove these horrible weapons from Syria.”

By: Jonathan Benedek, World Israel News
https://worldisraelnews.


Palestinian Authority Defies US, Increases Payments to Terrorists
he fact that the PA is raising the amount of the allowances to Martyrs’ families, even slightly, at this time is in direct defiance of the United States.

In defiance of the US, which is demanding that the Palestinian Authority (PA) completely stop financial rewards to families of terrorist “Martyrs” (Shahids), the PA is now raising the payments to the “Martyrs'” families. These PA payments include lifetime monthly allowances to families of suicide bombers, and other murderers who were killed during or after committing their crimes.

After years of international condemnation of the PA, the United States Congress recently proposed the Taylor Force Act to cut off financial all aid to the PA because of these payments to terrorists and their families.

When Taylor Force, an American citizen, was murdered last year in Tel Aviv, American legislators were incensed to learn that the family members of the dead terrorist would be rewarded with lifetime payments, thus benefiting either directly or indirectly from American financial aid.

Similar legislation was proposed in the Israeli parliament last month, to deduct the equivalent amount that the PA pays to terrorists and their families from the tax revenues that Israel collects on the PA’s behalf.

Muhammad Sbeihat, secretary-general of the National Association of the Martyrs’ Families of Palestine, which is the PLO organization dealing with the PA’s payments to “Martyrs'” families, explained last week, as reported in the Palestinian daily Al Quds on April 4:

“In the upcoming period the allowances of the Martyrs’ families will be linked to the cost of living index, which will cause an improvement in these allowances, if only slightly.”

At a ceremony held under the auspices of Tulkarem District Governor Issam Abu Bakr, Al Quds reported, “the National Association of the Martyrs’ Families of Palestine distributed laptops to the Martyrs’ sons and daughters in the [Tulkarem] district who successfully completed high school studies last year, and are currently in their first year of university studies.”

Sbeihat spoke at the ceremony, where one of the recipients of a laptop included the daughter of terrorist Fawaz Badran, who, according to Israeli sources, was responsible for the planning of two terrorist attacks in Netanya in which nine people were murdered, and dozens injured.

Abu Bakr had provided considerable financial aid to fund the computers.

In 2016, more than 32,500 Martyrs’ families received payments.
By: United with Israel Staff

White House: Obama’s Weakness Led to Syrian Gas Attack
The White House pointed to the Obama administration’s refusal to follow through with a military strike against Syria after a chemical weapons attack in 2013.
The White House accused the previous administration of shortcomings leading to the chemical weapons attack in the Idlib province of Syria on Tuesday that killed dozens of people, including children.
“Today’s chemical attack in Syria against innocent people, including women and children, is reprehensible and cannot be ignored by the civilized world,” White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said on Tuesday. “These heinous actions by the Bashar al-Assad regime are a consequence of the past administration’s weakness and irresolution.”
https://worldisraelnews.com


Rivlin: Israel Will ‘Do All it Can’ to Aid Survivors of Syrian Gas Attack
President Reuven Rivlin pledged that Israel “will do all it can” to aid the survivors of Assad’s chemical weapons attack on Syrian civilians.
Israel’s leaders issued sharp condemnation of the chemical attack perpetrated by the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday against citizens in the Idlib province that killed dozens, demanding that the world take action against these atrocities.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was “shocked and outraged” by images of the victims and called on the international community to “fully and finally remove these horrible weapons from Syria.”
President Reuven Rivlin stated that the incident was “a stain on all humanity,” demanding that the international community, “in its entirety,” come together to bring an end to “this murderous madness and ensure that such scenes will never be repeated anywhere.”
“I call on the leaders of the international community – and among them the leading powers – to act now, without delay, to stop these criminal, murderous acts taking place in Syria by the hand of the Assad regime, and to work urgently to remove all stockpiles of chemical weapons from Syrian territory,” he stated.
https://worldisraelnews.com


Paris Jewish Woman Pushed to Her Death by Arab Neighbor
French police are investigating the death of a Jewish woman believed to have been thrown from a window by an Arab neighbor.
A Jewish woman in Paris, pushed to her death from the window of her third-floor apartment in the 11th arrondissement Monday night, was found dead on the street the following morning.
It is suspected that the victim, Lucy Halimi, 67, was murdered by an Arab man.
The suspect, 27, was arrested by the police. He is the victim’s neighbor and familiar to French authorities.
https://worldisraelnews.com


UNESCO Head Reaffirms Jewish Connection to Jerusalem
The UNESCO director-general reaffirmed the historic bond between Jerusalem and the Jewish people, saying that anyone who contradicts this truth counters UNESCO’s mission.
“In the Torah, Jerusalem is the capital of King David, where Solomon built the Temple and placed the Ark of the Covenant,” stated Irina Bokova, director-general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), firmly rebuffing any attempts to deny the historical Jewish ties to the Israeli capital.
In a unique statement at the European Coalition for Israel (ECI) policy conference in the European Parliament on Thursday, she clearly distinguished between her role as the highest official of UNESCO and several resolutions recently passed by member states of the same organization that denied the Jewish ties to Jerusalem.
https://worldisraelnews.com


Jerusalem Mayor Cancels San Francisco University Lecture Due to Anti-Israel Bias
Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat canceled a lecture at San Francisco State University at the last moment, citing a double standard with regard to Israel.
Late Wednesday afternoon, at the 11th hour, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat canceled a lecture at San Francisco State University (SFSU), scheduled for Friday.
Barkat attempted to deliver a lecture exactly a year ago, but was disrupted by anti-Israel activists carrying pro-Palestinian flags and raising their fists while shouting “Intifada!” They also chanted “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!,” referring to the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea – in other words, the destruction of Israel. Police were called to the scene, and security guards were called to protect the mayor.
SFSU President Leslie Wong launched an investigation, which found that the university failed to provide adequate protection at the event. Wong apologized and invited the mayor to return.
https://worldisraelnews.com


Israeli Minister Argues Against Military Intervention in Syria
“Israel was right these past six years in not getting militarily involved in the Syrian conflict,” Deputy Foreign Minister Hotovely said.
Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotevely argued against military intervention in Syria on Wednesday, a day after a chemical weapons attack in Syria’s Idlib province killed scores of people.
“Israel was right these past six years in not getting militarily involved in the Syrian conflict,” Hotovely said, suggesting that any role assumed by Israel in order to help solve the internal conflict in Syria must be a diplomatic one.
“Nevertheless, the situation in Syria requires action in the diplomatic arena,” she continued. “Israel can engage with its friends in the world to work towards putting a stop to these atrocities.
“Israel doesn’t turn its back on the wounded in Syria. We have treated and continue to treat wounded Syrian children in Israeli hospitals”,” she stated.
Hotovely made her remarks at a traditional pre-Passover event at the Foreign Ministry.
https://worldisraelnews.com


WATCH: UN Bashed Israel ‘Every Month for 10 Years’
Nikki Haley, US ambassador to the United Nations, says, “Every single month, for 10 years, they’ve been Israel-bashing … when we have so many threats around the world.”
Eric Shawn reports: U.S. Amb. Haley speaks out on the U.N
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x03d2BcYnzY



Anti-Semitism Rises to Highest Level at Columbia University
Campuses in the US experienced a 40-percent spike in anti-Semitic behavior, with 433 incidents recorded in 2016.
By: Rachel Frommer, The Algemeiner
New York’s Columbia University experienced the highest overall anti-Semitic activity last year among more than 100 US schools studied, a report released Tuesday by a campus watchdog group revealed.
According to the AMCHA Initiative’s second annual report, Columbia also had the largest increase in such episodes, with 29 more incidents in 2016 than in the previous year.
Vassar College came in at a close second, according to the report. In total, the campuses studied experienced a 40 percent spike in anti-Semitic behavior, with 433 incidents recorded last year by AMCHA.
“Jewish students are bearing the brunt of vast and profound campus intolerance,” lead researcher and AMCHA founder Tammi Rossman-Benjamin told The Algemeiner. “Jews are being targeted at heightened levels, but this has to be understood in the context of a more general problem. If administrators could understand and correctly frame the issue of anti-Semitism as one example of a culture of campus intolerance, they could respond to it better, and help all students — Jewish and non-Jewish — have a healthier university climate for free speech.”
https://worldisraelnews.com


IraqISISJared KushnerMiddle EastTrump
WATCH Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, who was tasked with bringing peace to Middle East, is visiting Iraq to get a ‘firsthand look’ at the fight against ISIS
Fox News
Published on 3 Apr 2017
President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser is visiting Iraq as the U.S. effort against ISIS continues; John Huddy provides insight on 'Special Report'
Kushner is tasked with bringing peace to the Middle East
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqE4O-URKK0.

Israeli Scientists Discover Way for Cancer to Self-Destruct
Apr 3, 2017
Tel Aviv University
Modifying specific proteins during cancer-cell division unleashes a natural killing mechanism, Israeli researchers have discovered. a cell mechanism that could revolutionize treatment.
A new Tel Aviv University (TAU) study published last month in Oncotarget discloses the role of three proteins in killing fast-duplicating cancer cells while they are dividing. The research, led by Prof. Malka Cohen-Armon of TAU’s Sackler School of Medicine, finds that these proteins can be specifically modified during the division process — mitosis — to unleash an inherent “death mechanism” that self-eradicates duplicating cancer cells.
“The discovery of an exclusive mechanism that kills cancer cells without impairing healthy cells, and the fact that this mechanism works on a variety of rapidly proliferating human cancer cells, is very exciting,” Cohen-Armon said. “According to the mechanism we discovered, the faster cancer cells proliferate, the faster and more efficiently they will be eradicated. The mechanism unleashed during mitosis may be suitable for treating aggressive cancers that are unaffected by traditional chemotherapy.
MORE https://unitedwithisrael.org/israeli-scientists-discover-mechanism-that-causes-cancer-to-self-destruct/



Israel, US Reportedly Suspend Talks on ‘Settlements’
April 2, 2017
A reported suspension of talks between Jerusalem and Washington on building in Judea and Samaria followed Israel’s acquiescence to US demands to limit construction.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Sunday morning that talks have been suspended between Israel and the Trump administration regarding construction in Judea and Samaria, Israel Radio reported.
For the time being, however, Israel will obey an apparent US dictate to abide by various restrictions as a gesture to President Donald Trump in his efforts to restart peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA).
In return for approval by the US of a new location in Samaria, near Shilo, for the evacuees of the former community of Amona, Israel will limit construction to within established blocs in Judea and Samaria. If topographical, security or legal constraints preclude further construction within the established blocs, however, new units may be built, although as close as possible to the boundaries.
https://worldisraelnews.com/israel-us-reportedly-suspend-talks-settlements/


Homework? NY Students Debate Exterminating Jews
Apr 2, 2017
A New York school administration defends student assignment to argue in favor of exterminating Jews.
A teacher from Oswego County, New York, in February gave an assignment asking students to argue in favor of exterminating Jews, generating uproar.
The teacher, Michael DeNobile, gave the assignment as part of the Oswego County CiTi/BOCES New Vision program, according to a report in the American Thinker.
According to local reporter Julie McMahon, the students were asked to “put themselves in a Nazi leaders’ shoes and argue for or against the ‘Final Solution’ to exterminate Jewish people.”
MaryEllen Elia, the New York education commissioner, defended the teacher’s actions on Thursday.
It seems that only two students, both non Jewish seniors, were disturbed by the assignment, Jordan April and Archer Shurtlif. April and Shurtliff brought their concerns to DeNobile, higher administrators, and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Their goal was “to make sure no other student would be asked to argue in favor of killing Jews again.”
MORE https://unitedwithisrael.org/homework-ny-students-assigned-to-debate-exterminating-jews/



Jerusalem Stabbing Attack Injures 3, Terrorist Killed
April 1, 2017
Three victims in a stabbing attack in Jerusalem’s Old City on Saturday sustained light-to-moderate injuries.
A Palestinian terrorist was killed on Saturday afternoon in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City after wounding three in a stabbing attack.
The stabber, identified by Palestinian media as Ahmad Jazal, from a Palestinian village located in Samaria near the city of Nablus (Shechem), had attemped to flee the scene after stabbing two civilians ages 18 and 20. Jazal then stabbed one of the border policemen pursuing him. Another policeman responded by shooting the terrorist, who eventually succumbed to his wounds.
“Police units and Border Police quickly searched the area and received intelligence that the terrorist was heading toward a house in the Muslim Quarter,” explained Police Superintendent Micky Rosenfeld, according to the Jerusalem Post.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/stabbing-attack-jerusalems-old-city-shabbat-injures-3-terrorist-killed/

Netanyahu Promises ‘New Settlement’ for Amona Community
March 30, 2017
Netanyahu promises ‘new settlement’ for Amona communityIsraeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu (YouTube/Screenshot)
Netanyahu vows to fulfill his promise to “create a new settlement” for the former residents of Amona, who were evacuated from their homes in Samaria earlier this year.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to authorize a new location in Judea and Samaria for the former residents of Amona, which was demolished on February 1 in accordance with a court ruling finding the community to have been built on private property.
“I had promised from the start that I would create a new settlement,” Netanyahu told reporters during a meeting at his office with Slovakian President Andre Kiska on Thursday.
‘It seems to me that I made that commitment in December and I will keep it today,” Netanyahu continued, speaking a day before the reported deadline listed in the agreement with Amona’s residents. “There will be more details about this.”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/high-court-rejects-alternative-plan-for-evicted-amona-residents/

Bereaved Families Slam Release of Notorious Palestinian Terrorist
March 30, 2017
Bereaved families slam release of notorious Palestinian terroristAziz Salha raising his blood-stained hands in celebration during the lynch. (Screenshot)
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The release of an infamous Palestinian terrorist after a retrial has particularly upset families of terror victims.
An Ofra man who lost his wife and five-year-old son in a firebombing attack in 1987 said the release of Haitham Faiz Muari Thursday left the families of terror victims feeling abandoned and scorned.
“We have asked countless times for families to be notified [about terrorist releases] before it comes out in the press, but it never happens. Apparently they don’t want to deal with the possibility that the families will object,” said Avraham (Abie) Mozes, head of the executive committee of the Representative Organization of Israel’s Terror Victims, a state-funded support group.
Roi Avrahami, son of Yosef Avrahami, who was lynched along with Vadim Norzhich by a Palestinian mob in Ramallah in 2000, confirmed that the family was not informed in advance. The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit admitted that the army had only briefed Avrahami’s father and assumed that the latter would notify other family members.
https://worldisraelnews.com


Poll: Israelis Oppose Withdrawal from Judea and Samaria for Peace
Fearing Palestinian violence and loss of security, Israelis are not willing to cede Judea and Samaria for peace.
Support among Israeli Jews for a withdrawal from Judea and Samaria in the eventuality of a diplomatic solution has significantly decreased over the past decade, a new poll shows.
The poll, conducted by leading Israeli pollster Mina Tzemach for the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA) this month, shows that willingness to withdraw from Judea and Samaria as part of a peace agreement declined from 60 percent in 2005 to only 36 percent in 2017.
Support for the Clinton Parameters, proposed by President Bill Clinton in December 2000 following stagnating negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, declined from 59 percent in 2005 to 29 percent in 2017. The Clinton Parameters were guidelines for a permanent status agreement to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
https://worldisraelnews.com/watch-u-s-tax-dollars-fund-terror/


Palestinians: We Have the Right to Poison the Minds of Our Children
UNRWA is now threatened by Palestinians who claim the organization has succumbed to Israeli pressure by recognizing Jewish history and removing incitement.
By Bassam Tawil, The Gatestone Institute
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) is reportedly planning to introduce some changes to the curriculum in its schools in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and Gaza Strip, and the Palestinians are rather unhappy about it. They claim that UNRWA has “succumbed” to Israeli pressure to make the changes.
The proposed changes are based on leaks to Palestinians and have not been confirmed by UNRWA. Palestinians claim that they learned about the plans to introduce the changes during meetings with senior UNRWA officials.
According to the Palestinians, the changes are intended to “eradicate” their “national identity” and “history” and distort their “struggle” against Israel.
The Palestinians claim that the new textbooks have replaced the map of “historic Palestine” (including Israel) with pictures of a pumpkin and a bird. Palestinian textbooks often feature maps of “historic Palestine” without Israel. Cities inside Israel, such as Haifa, Jaffa, Tiberias and Ramle, are referred to as “Palestinian cities.” The Palestinian Authority (PA) media also refer to these cities as “Palestinian cities inside the 1948 Land.”
In one fourth-grade textbook, the Palestinians charge, UNRWA has replaced the map of Palestine with a picture of a traditional Palestinian woman’s dress.
The new textbooks make no reference to cities in Israel; they mention only cities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, such as Nablus (Shechem), Jenin, Gaza City, Jericho and Ramallah.
Mention of Jewish Ties to Jerusalem Angers Palestinians
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Israel Warns Citizens to Leave Sinai Due to ISIS Threat
Israel is calling on its citizens to leave the Sinai Peninsula in wake of a pending terror attack.
Israel’s National Security Council Counter-Terrorism Bureau (NSCCTB) on Tuesday released an exceptional and urgent warning about an imminent terror attack in the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, urging Israeli citizens to leave the region “immediately.”
The “Level 1” alert issued by the NSCCTB is its most severe warning and is described as “very high and concrete.”
The counterterrorism agency urged those planning on visiting the area during the upcoming spring holidays change their plans.
Southern Sinai, with its pristine beaches and Red Sea coral reefs, has traditionally been a popular tourist destination for Israelis. But tourism there has declined since 2013, when the Egyptian military overthrew an elected Islamist president and an Islamic insurgency based in northern Sinai intensified.
The Sinai has since been the scene of massive battles between an Islamic State (ISIS) affiliate and Egyptian security forces, which have claimed hundreds of casualties.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/9-troops-killed-sinai/


Nicaragua Restores Ties with Israel
Israel’s booming diplomatic ties are expanding to yet another country – Nicaragua.
Nicaragua is restoring diplomatic relations with Israel this week.
Nicaragua broke off relations with Israel in 2010 in protest of the Mavi Marmara flotilla incident, in which nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists were killed in clashes after they had attacked Israeli forces.
Unlike other Central American countries, such as Costa Rica and Guatemala, which enjoy close relations with Israel, Nicaragua is closely aligned with Iran and routinely votes against Israel in international forums.
Nicaragua confirmed the move on Tuesday.
“The two governments place great importance on the renewal of relations with the aim of promoting joint activity for the welfare of both peoples and to contribute to the fight for peace in the world,” Nicaragua’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement quoted by Reuters.
“Today, we’re blessed to have relations with over 160 countries and the number continues to grow,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a ceremony at the Presidential Residence in Jerusalem on Tuesday.
MORE https://unitedwithisrael.org/netanyahus-trip-to-azerbaijan-demonstrates-activist-diplomacy-diversification-of-israels-foreign-relations/

Israel’s Economic Growth in 2016 ‘Higher Than Most Advanced Economies’
The year 2016 was one of the best ever for the Israeli economy, with a growth rate way beyond other advanced countries.
Israel’s gross domestic product “grew strongly” at a rate of four percent in 2016, which was “higher than growth in most advanced economies,” the Bank of Israel said in its annual report on Wednesday.
Israel’s labor market is “robust,” with an economy near full employment and an increase in real wages, the report noted.
Inflation is currently low and long-term projections are in the target range.
“At 4%, Israel’s economic growth was double of the United States’ economic growth in the past year; it was 2.3 times higher than the average growth among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) members; and 2.5 times higher than average growth in the Eurozone,” Israel Hayom reported.
“According to the data, since 2011, the Israeli economy grew by a cumulative 21.6%, exceeding all OECD member states,” the paper added.
The OECD is an organization comprised mostly of Western nations with advanced economies dedicated to creating “a stronger, cleaner and fairer world.”
MORE https://unitedwithisrael.org/2016-was-one-of-israeli-economys-best-years-finance-minister-says/

Palestinian Terrorist Shot While Attacking Police
Palestinian terrorist shot while attacking police
March 29, 2017
Palestinian terrorist shot while attacking policeIsraeli police stationed at the Damascus Gate. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Alert policemen thwarted a Palestinian stabbing attack in Jerusalem’s Old City.
Israeli police shot a Palestinian female terrorist at the Damascus Gate entrance to Jerusalem’s Old City on Wednesday afternoon.
A police spokesman said that the terrorist attempted to stab policemen stationed in the area, and they responded by shooting and neutralizing her.
No Israelis were harmed in the attack.
The Damascus Gate has been the site of several Palestinian terror attacks.
The role of female Palestinian terrorists has grown markedly in the latest wave of terror attacks.
This incident was the latest in a long series of Palestinian terror attacks which have plagued Israelis over the course of more than a year, claiming the lives of 45 victims and wounding over 650.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/chronology-palestinian-terrorist-attacks-israelis/