Netanyahu says he will speak with Trump about ‘bad nuclear deal’ with Iran
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that he is looking forward to speaking with President-elect Donald Trump about the “bad nuclear deal” with Iran.
“Israel is committed to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. That has not changed and will not change,” Netanyahu said in a satellite address to the 13th Annual Saban Forum, hosted by the Brookings Institution.
Netanyahu said he opposes the Iran nuclear deal because “it doesn’t prevent Iran from getting nukes, it paves the way for Iran to get nuclear weapons.”
The Israeli leader also said Iran is developing a ballistic missile program that could potentially threaten the U.S.
“The Iranians are developing intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). And for those who forget, Israel and Iran are in the same continent, we’re in the same neighborhood. They’re not developing these ICBMs for us, they’re developing it for you, for America,” he said.
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Israel’s new ambassador to Turkey presents credentials to Erdogan
(JNS.org) Israel’s new ambassador to Turkey, Eitan Na’eh, met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Monday. Na’eh presented his diplomatic credentials to Erdogan, marking one of the final steps in restoring relations between the former close regional allies.
The ceremony, held at Erdogan’s massive presidential palace, included an honor guard of Turkish soldiers and a rendition of Israel’s national anthem, “Hatikvah.”
Erdogan welcomed Na’eh, who was previously stationed in Ankara in the 1990s, with a smile and handshake. He was impressed when the Israeli ambassador greeted him in Turkish. The Turkish leader shook hands with Na’eh’s wife and children as well as the Israeli embassy’s diplomatic staff.
Following their meeting, Na’eh said on Twitter that he was “very pleased to present my credentials to President Erdogan and to start a new phase in the relations between the two countries.”
The last Israeli ambassador to Turkey, Gabby Levy, was expelled in 2011 following the May 2010 Mavi Marmara incident, in which nine Turkish militants were killed after they had attacked Israeli commandos aboard a vessel that was trying to breach the blockade on Gaza. Turkey and Israel agreed to normalize relations last summer.
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Netanyahu reaches compromise with Jewish Home’s Bennett on Amona eviction
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jewish Home party leader Naftali Bennett met Sunday and were able to reach an agreement that would facilitate presenting the much-debated outpost regulation bill to the Knesset for its first reading.
As part of the deal, the Israeli government would ask the High Court of Justice for a continuance that would see the postponement of the demolition of Amona—a Samaria outpost slated for eviction Dec. 25—for 30 days.
The outpost regulation bill would be further amended to exclude its current Article 7, which allows an extra two years before the High Court ruling to raze Amona would need to be enacted. The agreement between Netanyahu and Bennett would see Amona’s homes relocated to nearby land, appropriated for state use under Israel’s Absentees Property Law for a period of eight months, while a more permanent solution for the Samaria community is devised.
Commenting on the efforts to spare Amona its impending eviction, Netanyahu said Sunday that the government is “working around the clock to find a responsible solution for the situation in Amona, and any other similar cases.”
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Trump administration spells ‘end of two-state solution,’ Oren says
(JNS.org) Member of Knesset Michael Oren (Kulanu), the deputy minister for diplomacy in the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office and Israel’s former U.S. ambassador, said Monday that the forthcoming Donald Trump administration “spells the end of the two-state solution.”
Oren’s comments came during the Jewish Media Summit, a gathering of international press in Jerusalem. Asked what the Trump administration would mean for Israel, Oren said “we don’t know entirely, we see possibilities…possibly moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem… the will to stand up to the Iranians.” Oren added that President Barack Obama and President-elect Trump share similar policies on “America’s place in the world,” noting that Trump favors isolationism.
“The advent of the Trump administration spells the end of the two-state solution,” Oren said.
Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) said at the summit that with a Republican in the White House, Israel will set the course in its relationship with America.
“The question is not Donald Trump, it’s Benjamin Netanyahu and what the prime minister will ask for,” Bennet said, calling it a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to work with a Republican president as well as Republican House and Senate majorities.
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