Kerry says the US will share information with Iran on Iraq crisis
(JNS.org) U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that the U.S. will share limited information with Iraq over the crisis in Iraq, but the two foes will not work closely together.
“We are interested in communicating with Iran. That the Iranians know what we’re thinking, that we know what they’re thinking and there is a sharing of information so people aren’t making mistakes,” Kerry said in an interview with NBC’s “The Today Show” on Thursday morning.
However, when asked about stronger cooperation with Iran, who has deep ties with Iraq’s Shi’a population, Kerry said: “No. We’re not sitting around contemplating how we’re going to do that or if we’re going to do that. That’s not on the table.”
Israeli officials, along with numerous American leaders, have expressed caution over cooperating with Iran over Iraq, fearing that Iran could use it as leverage in nuclear talks.
“Any discussion about Iraq with Iran will be entirely separate [from negotiations],” State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a press statement on Wednesday. “And any effort to link the two – or any other regional issue – is a nonstarter.”
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IDF arrests at least 30 Palestinians in ongoing operation
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and other Israeli security forces continued the search throughout Judea and Samaria on Wednesday night for the three kidnapped teenagers, scouring several buildings and arresting at least 30 Palestinians.
Since the launch of Operation Brother’s Keeper after the boys were taken by Hamas terrorists last Thursday evening, 280 people have been arrested, among them 200 active Hamas members, and some 900 buildings have been searched.
The IDF also raided at least 14 Hamas social welfare institutions, which defense authorities suspect are also used to host terrorist activities. The IDF raided the Birzeit University student union and confiscated materials and incitement literature.
IDF forces said Birzeit University maintains a wealth of incitement materials and propaganda, such as Hamas flags, pictures of martyrs, placards and external hardware. The goal of the raid was to gather additional document and materials that both incriminate and tie such educational institutions to terrorist activities in Judea and Samaria.
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Alan Gross’s mother dies as he remains in Cuban prison
(JNS.org) The mother of Alan Gross, who has been imprisoned in Cuba since December 2009 after he was sentenced to a 15-year term for bringing communications devices to the country’s Jewish community, died Wednesday.
Gross was working for a U.S. firm called Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI) to promote democracy, but Cuba convicted him of “crimes against the state.”
Evelyn Gross, 92, died in Plano, Texas, from lung cancer. The Gross family said in a statement that she was diagnosed four years ago and that her “last wish was to see her son before she died.”
“Cuban officials refused to give Alan a humanitarian furlough to visit his mother, despite repeated pleas and the certainty that she was dying,” the family said.
“I am extremely worried that now Alan will give up all hope of ever coming home and do something drastic. Surely, there must be something President Obama can do to secure Alan’s immediate release,” said Gross’ wife, Judy.
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Netanyahu, Blair, Prosor criticize global reaction to kidnapping
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Jerusalem on Tuesday with Middle East Quartet representative Tony Blair. At the start of the meeting, Netanyahu said, “The brutal abduction of three Israeli teenagers shows the true face of Hamas.”
“[Hamas] is not only committed to murdering Israelis, it’s committed to kidnapping children,” Netanyahu continued. “And I think the international community has to condemn Hamas for its terrorist activities and I think it has to support Israel’s right of self-defense and I think it also must call on [Palestinian Authority] President [Mahmoud] Abbas to end his pact with Hamas. Anybody who supports peace must tell the Palestinian Authority that they cannot build a government that is backed by the kidnappers of children and the murderers of innocents.”
Blair expressed “outrage” about the kidnapping and said that Israeli-Palestinian peace could only be achieved once all Palestinian political factions committed to nonviolence and accepted the two-state solution.
Hamas has “a very clear choice to make,” Blair said. “There cannot be a choice that has political engagement on the one hand, and violence on the other. And the only way this is ever going to work is if all violence stops—the terrorism, the kidnappings, the killings,” he said.
Meanwhile, Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Ron Prosor on Tuesday called out the international community for its silence in the days following the June 12 kidnapping.
“It has been five days since our boys went missing,” Prosor said. “I ask the international community—where are you? Where are you?”
After five days of silence, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton condemned the kidnapping Tuesday.
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U.S. and Israel discuss advancing economic cooperation
(JNS.org) U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew met with Israeli economic leaders on Wednesday to discuss advancing economic ties between the two countries as part of the U.S.-Israel Joint Economic Development Group (JEDG).
In his first trip to Israel as U.S. Treasury secretary, Lew, who is also an observant Jew, praised Israel for its high-tech prowess.
“As one of the most technologically-advanced and innovative economies in the world, Israel is an important economic partner to the United States,” Lew said in a joint appearance with his Israeli counterpart, Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid, the Jerusalem Post reported.
“We look forward to taking concrete steps to liberalize trade standards, increase market access for agricultural products, and advance a new bilateral science and technology agreement, which would allow for close cooperation on innovation and research,” Lew added.
The JEDG is an annual bilateral meeting between the U.S. and Israel to discuss how to improve economic ties between the two countries as well as with the global economy. The focus of the latest meeting is to discuss how to grow business ties and promote innovation and energy initiatives.
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