Israel announced on Sunday a land appropriation in the occupied West Bank that an anti-settlement group termed the biggest in 30 years, drawing Palestinian condemnation and a U.S. rebuke. Some 400 hectares (988 acres) in the Etzion Jewish settlement bloc near Bethlehem were declared “state land, on the instructions of the political echelon” by the […] Read More → 
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says no progress has been made during the Germany talks over the establishment of a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine and the start of peace negotiations between warring parties. “One place where we cannot report positive results is in, first and foremost, establishing a ceasefire and (starting) a political process,” the […] Read More → 
The Palestinians appeared divided Sunday as the clock was winding down on the latest Gaza cease-fire, with officials saying Hamas was still opposed to a compromise Egyptian proposal that would ease the closure of the territory, while other factions, including delegates representing President Mahmoud Abbas, were inclined to accept. Hamas officials said they were holding […] Read More → 
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has called on Israeli and Palestinian leaders to use the ongoing 72-hour truce that halted fighting in the Gaza Strip as a stepping-stone to restart more far-reaching negotiations. Speaking to the BBC, Kerry said that both sides needed to make a “bigger, broader approach to the underlying solution of […] Read More → 
Palestinian militants extended their rocket barrage against Israel to threaten its Dimona nuclear plant as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to ratchet up the military assault on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian death toll neared 70 since July 8 from Israeli air raids and a firefight with Palestinian commandos who infiltrated across Gaza’s […] Read More → 
Taliban militants disguised as security forces stormed Pakistan’s busiest airport on Sunday and at least 27 people were killed in a night-long battle at one of the country’s most high-profile targets. The assault on Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan’s sprawling commercial hub of 18 million people, all but destroys prospects for peace talks between […] Read More → 
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s strongest coalition partner threatened to bring down the government if it tries to annex West Bank settlements following the breakdown of Mideast peace talks. Finance Minister Yair Lapid, speaking at the annual Herzliya Conference on politics and security, also challenged Netanyahu to reveal a map showing how he would delineate […] Read More → 
Pope Francis entered the most contested piece of territory in the Holy Land today, visiting a hilltop compound in Jerusalem that houses Islam’s third-holiest site and is revered by Jews as the sole remnant of their ancient temple. The pontiff removed his shoes to enter the gold-capped Dome of the Rock mosque on the site […] Read More → 
Hillary Clinton, a likely U.S. presidential candidate in 2016, on Wednesday defended her time as secretary of state as Republican criticism of her time in government mounts. Clinton told a forum of the American Jewish Committee advocacy group that she played a key role in securing U.N. sanctions on Iran in 2010 to try to […] Read More → 
Israel fired back on Friday at a senior U.S. official, who blamed Jewish settlement construction in part for the breakdown of peacemaking with the Palestinians, saying he himself had done nothing to help the negotiations. The blunt riposte signaled continued, deep tensions between Israel and Washington over the U.S.-led talks, which collapsed last month amid […] Read More → 
Ukraine says operation underway to end separatist grip on eastern town Ukrainian security forces have launched an “anti-terrorist” operation to end the grip of separatists on an eastern town, Ukraine’s interior minister said on Sunday. “An anti-terrorist operation has begun in Slaviansk. It is being directed by the anti-terrorist center of the state security service. […] Read More → 
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday Israel was willing to continue U.S.-brokered peace talks with the Palestinians but not “at any price”. Speaking at a weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said Israel would respond with steps of its own if the Palestinians pressed ahead with unilateral actions toward statehood. He did not elaborate. Attempts by […] Read More → 
Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday that the Obama administration will reassess its role in attempting to broker a peace deal between Israel and Palestine after the latest round of discussions proved to be all but fruitful. Speaking to reporters from Rabat, Morocco amid his latest tour overseas, Kerry said that the most recent […] Read More → 
The Arab League has refused to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, backing Palestine’s stance on the issue. The demand by Israel threatened to destabilize US-Palestinian peace talks, according to Arab leaders. “We express our total rejection of the call to consider Israel as a Jewish state,” said the declaration, issued at the close of the […] Read More →