Middle East

To date, Palestinians’ Jerusalem protests are a case of ‘intifada lite’

By Avi Issacharoff Although Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh has enthusiastically described the Palestinians’ violent protests against US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital as a “blessed intifada,” what has actually been taking place on the ground in the territories is nothing like the outbreak of the first intifada 30 years ago. It […]

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Middle East

Thousands protest in Tel Aviv against corruption; Likud slams ‘division’

By TOI staff and Alexander Fulbright Thousands of people gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday night for an anti-corruption demonstration aimed at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is being investigated in a pair of graft probes, and amid government efforts to push through the so-called police recommendations bill. Netanyahu’s close political ally and chairman of

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Middle East

Israeli Airstrikes Hit Gaza as Muslim World Protests Continue Against Trump’s Jerusalem Decision

Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire from Gaza killed two men Saturday, in the latest fallout from the announcement from U.S. President Donald Trump that Washington is recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and plans to move its Israeli embassy there. Hamas said two of its gunmen were killed in the

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Middle East, USA

N. Korea condemns ‘dotard’ Trump over Jerusalem

North Korea has lambasted US President Donald Trump for recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, renewing its description of him as a “dotard” in a statement released Saturday on state media. Trump and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Un have traded threats of war and personal insults in recent months as tensions remain high over the North’s

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International, Middle East, USA

European allies give Tillerson an earful about Trump’s decision on Jerusalem

WASHINGTON �� It was Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s bad luck that he was in Europe meeting with dozens of U.S. allies when President Donald Trump, on Wednesday, announced U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, which angered much of the world. Tillerson, who wound up a five-day, four-city, three-country tour Friday, got

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International, Middle East, USA

Iraq announces victory over ISIL

Iraq has declared victory over ISIL militants. Three years after the group calling itself Islamic State overran about a third of Iraqi territory, the government says the last of ISIL fighters have been driven from the country. Haider al-Abadi, the Iraqi Prime Minister, said in a televised address: “Honourable Iraqis: your land has been completely

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Middle East

Arab League condemns US move as ‘dangerous and unjust’

The head of the Arab League has called US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital “dangerous and unacceptable” and a “flagrant attack on a political solution” to the Israeli- Palestinian conflict. The statement by Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, secretary-general of the regional organisation, came at the start of an emergency meeting of foreign

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Middle East, USA

Texas imam calls for Israel’s destruction – in Arabic

Sheikh Ramadan Elsabagh WASHINGTON – Following President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a Texas-based Islamic cleric has posted a recorded prayer on his Facebook page calling for Israel’s destruction, along with “their allies, and those who assist them and those who allowed them into the abodes of the Muslims.” While Sheikh Ramadan Elsabagh

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Middle East, USA

Second Temple coin at the UN Security Council

Israel”s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon addressed a special session of the Security Council convened to discuss US President Donald Trump”s announcement on Jerusalem. Israel Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon thanked President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley by saying that “we are grateful to

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International, Middle East

Jewish Home leader: I will run for prime minister

Jewish Home Chairman and Education Minister Naftali Bennett on Saturday evening told Channel 2’s “Meet the Israeli Press” program that he intends to run for prime minister when Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is done serving in the role. “I think that this government is a good nationalist government,” Bennett said. “It’s a government led

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Middle East

Grand imam of Egypt’s Al-Azhar cancels meeting with US VP

Al-Azhar’s Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb cancelled a meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence after President Donald Trump’s move to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Al-Azhar said Friday. In a statement, Al-Azhar, Egypt’s highest Sunni institution, said Tayeb had reversed his previous decision to meet Pence, who is due to travel to Egypt

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Middle East, USA

What will Trump’s declaration on Jerusalem mean to Palestinians?

By Maha Nassar, Assistant Professor in the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies, University of Arizona. When President Donald Trump on Dec. 5 recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, he not only effectively endorsed Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem, which Palestinians have also long claimed as their own – he also radically

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Middle East, USA