US Politics in Trump era
In Wake of Trump-Netanyahu Proposal, Palestinian Authority Cuts Ties With US
Trump Outlines Mideast Peace Plan That Strongly Favors Israel
President Trump called the plan, which would discard the longtime goal of granting the Palestinians a full-fledged state, a “win-win” for both sides. The event in the East Room of the White House had a Kabuki-theater quality to it as Mr. Trump ended years of suspense over a highly anticipated peace plan. But rather than viewing it as a serious blueprint for peace, analysts called it a political document by a president in the middle of an impeachment trial working in tandem with a prime minister under criminal indictment and about to face his third election in the span of a year.
Kushner: Israel-Palestine deal won’t follow Arab Peace Initiative
Steny Hoyer Makes Sure AIPAC’s Israel Junket Is Well Attended
Jared Kushner casts doubt on Palestinian ability to self-govern
Pompeo delivers unfiltered view of Trump’s Mideast peace plan at off-the-record meeting
Why Won’t Democrats Call Israel’s Occupation an Occupation?
Messianic Jews Want U.S. to Pay Palestinians to Leave Israel
A pro-Israel activist group is quietly pushing lawmakers on Capitol Hill and key officials in the White House to embrace a plan that would entail paying Palestinian residents in the West Bank to move abroad. The plan is a bid to reshape the ethnic and religious population of territories controlled by Israel, according to the head of the group, called the Alliance for Israel Advocacy.
Israeli Official Warned Trump Admin Against Cutting Palestinian Aid
The document, a diplomatic cable marked “sensitive,” was sent from the American embassy in Tel Aviv to then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on January 3, 2018. It describes an unnamed Israeli Ministry of Defense official expressing concern about any attempts to cut funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
John Bolton threatens war crimes court with sanctions in virulent attack
John Bolton, the hawkish US national security adviser, has threatened the international criminal court (ICC) with sanctions and made an excoriating attack on the institution in a speech in Washington. Bolton pushed for sanctions over an ICC investigation into alleged American war crimes in Afghanistan. He also announced on Monday the closure of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) office in Washington because of its calls for an ICC inquiry into Israel.
Trump administration to close PLO office in Washington, DC
The United States will shut the Palestine Liberation Organisation's diplomatic office in Washington, DC, over the Palestinian government's refusal to enter into US-led negotiations with Israel. "We have been notified by a US official of their decision to close the Palestinian mission to the US," PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat said in a statement on Monday.
US ends aid to Palestinian refugee agency Unrwa
A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas responded to the US decision on Friday, describing it as a "flagrant assault against the Palestinian people and a defiance of UN resolutions". "Such a punishment will not succeed to change the fact that the United States no longer has a role in the region and that it is not a part of the solution," Nabil Abu Rudeina told Reuters news agency.
Trump and Allies Seek End to Refugee Status for Millions of Palestinians
The ‘ultimate deal’ that Jared Kushner is proposing for Palestine would strip the people of all their dignity
“I believe,” quoth Crown Prince Kushner this week, “that Palestinian people are less invested in the politicians’ talking points than they are in seeing how a deal will give them and their future generations new opportunities, more and better paying jobs and prospects for a better life.” Is Trump’s son-in-law – “adviser” on the Middle East, real estate developer and US investor – delusional? After three Arab-Israeli wars, tens of thousands of Palestinian deaths and millions of refugees, does Jared Kushner really believe that the Palestinians will settle for cash?
Mike Pompeo Expresses Support for Israeli Response to Gaza Protests
Pompeo and Palestinians Have ‘Nothing to Discuss’ Amid Gaza Crisis
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo came to Israel Sunday in the midst of the worst crisis in relations between Israelis and Palestinians in years, but he did not meet a single Palestinian representative and mentioned them publicly once. Instead of discussing the Palestinian issue, Mr. Pompeo’s focused message on his sweep through the region has been a denunciation of Iran. He met with Saudi leaders on Saturday and Sunday morning, and they all agreed that Iran is a destabilizing force. He met on Sunday afternoon with Mr. Netanyahu, who blistered Iran alongside Mr. Pompeo.
In Pursuit of Peace, Trump Generates Rare Friction With Netanyahu
Even before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s legal setback this week, a rare fissure had opened up between him and President Trump. The White House rebutted reports that he and the Americans had discussed annexing parts of the West Bank, and Mr. Trump voiced fresh concerns about Israel’s openness to a peace accord.
US ‘cuts UNRWA funding’ by more than half
The United States is cutting more than half of its planned funding to the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, a source has told Al Jazeera. Washington will give the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) $60m in aid for Palestinians but will hold back a further $65m, a source knowledgeable with the matter said on Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Jared Kushner’s Pursuit of Middle East Peace Looks a Lot Like Total Surrender to Israel
Jared Kushner began his effort to broker peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians by accepting Israel's vision of itself as an innocent victim. That’s because Kushner started his 15-hour trip to the Middle East on Wednesday by mourning with the family of an Israeli police officer, Hadas Malka. Malka’s killing, as part of a coordinated attack by three Palestinian assailants on officers at the Damascus Gate in the Old City, was described by Israeli officials as a terrorist attack. The use of that language clashes with U.S. law, which clearly defines terrorism as “premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents.”
‘Trump rebuked Abbas over Palestinian incitement’
New details emerged Sunday about the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem last week, suggesting it may not have been as friendly as the Palestinians sought to portray it.A senior Palestinian official privy to the details said the 20-minute meeting "started on a positive note, but it deteriorated after Trump accused Abbas of supporting incitement and terrorism with the salaries paid to prisoners."
Netanyahu Says No ‘Blank Check’ from US, Tells Party Time for a Deal is Now
Jewish Defense League activists beat Palestinian-American at AIPAC
Wearing shirts and carrying flags bearing insignia of the JDL, once declared a terrorist organization, the violent men and women also attacked left-wing Jewish activists. At least one was arrested. Members of the Jewish Defense League severely beat a 55-year old Palestinian American man and assaulted several American Jewish activists with IfNotNow outside the AIPAC Conference in Washington, D.C. Sunday, new video footage provided to +972 Magazine shows.
Kerry Rebukes Israel, Calling Settlements a Threat to Peace
Secretary of State John Kerry warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Wednesday that the Israeli government was undermining any hope of a two-state solution to its decades-long conflict with the Palestinians, and said that the American vote in the United Nations last week was driven by an effort to save Israel from “the most extreme elements” in its own government.
There’s nothing ‘pro-Israel’ about the UNSC vote — and that’s a good thing
This author argues a couple of important points. Number one it points out the state of mind of the Israeli public arguing the resolution in terms of whats good for Israel and not whats good for the Palestinians. It also says that Palestinians are a boon to the Israeli economy because of cheap labor and the fact that occupation has been part of the Israeli mindset from the beginning
Obama Allows Toothless UN Resolution Against Israeli Settlements to Pass
How Donald Trump could soon discard a long-standing precedent on Israel
Israel wants the US to move its embassy to Jerusalem in essence recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The question of Jerusalem’s status is the most sensitive and complicated issue in the long-running conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. It is fraught with political, religious and nationalist implications that potentially could create an uproar throughout the Middle East and the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims.
How US security aid to PA sustains Israel’s occupation
US 'security' aid to to both Israel and Palestinian Authority is keeping Palestinians occupied. By providing aid to the security sector of West bank and Gaza has resulted in half Palestinian public sector civil servants to be employed in security. The Palestinian security now restrains mass uprisings by suppressing Palestinians who resist Israel's occupation.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu bans ministers from talking to Donald Trump’s team without prior permission
Mr Netanyahu congratulated Mr Trump on his election two weeks ago but cautioned his coalition government to refrain from speaking publicly about their views on the new US President-elect after Education Minister Naftali Bennett said Mr Trump’s victory meant that “the era of a Palestinian state” was over.
2006 Audio Emerges of Hillary Clinton Proposing Rigging Palestine Election
Unearthed tape captures then Senator musing that US should have 'done something'. On September 5, 2006, Eli Chomsky was an editor and staff writer for the Jewish Press, and Hillary Clinton was running for a shoo-in re-election as a U.S. senator. Her trip making the rounds of editorial boards brought her to Brooklyn to meet the editorial board of the Jewish Press.