
Hamas planned to carry out a massive attack on Israel by penetrating Israeli communities via tunnels dug under the border from the Gaza Strip, then killing or kidnapping as many people as possible, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officials confirmed Tuesday.
by Abe Katsman22 Oct 2014, 8:18 AM PST0

The US military has dominated the airstrike campaign against ISIS, having carried out nearly 90% of air strikes to date in Iraq and Syria, according to US defense officials. Arab and European coalition allies have carried out less than 200
by Abe Katsman7 Oct 2014, 8:12 AM PST0

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shot back at the Obama administration’s criticism of planned Israeli construction in Jerusalem in an interview which aired Sunday on CBS’s Face the Nation. He charged that the White House’s rebuke of Israeli construction and Jewish home
by Abe Katsman6 Oct 2014, 10:42 AM PST0

US Secretary of State John Kerry is reportedly seeking to hold new direct intensive talks between Israel and the Palestinians under the auspices of regional Arab nations. The Times of Israel, citing Israel’s Channel 10, reports that Kerry is calling
by Abe Katsman2 Oct 2014, 8:52 AM PST0

Some 80 percent of Palestinians in the West bank and Gaza Strip support the resumption of rocket fire into Israel if Israel does not allow unfettered access to Gaza, according to a new poll published by the Palestinian Institute for
by Abe Katsman1 Oct 2014, 7:25 AM PST0

Palestinian sources say that the US, UK, and Australia have each indicated that they would reject a Palestinian-proposed UN Security Council resolution setting a timetable for ending Israel’s administration of the West Bank and establishing an independent Palestinian state on
by Abe Katsman29 Sep 2014, 8:20 AM PST0

According to a high-level Iranian source, the United States gave advance warning to Iran before striking ISIS and al-Qaeda-linked targets in Syria, and promised Tehran that it would not target any forces of the Syrian government, reports Reuters. The report
by Abe Katsman24 Sep 2014, 10:29 AM PST0

The Israeli Defense Forces shot down a Syrian fighter plane over the Israeli Golan Heights Tuesday morning using a Patriot missile, the Israeli army said. The Jerusalem Post reports that the Israel Air Force detected a Sukhoi-24 Syrian fighter jet
by Abe Katsman23 Sep 2014, 7:28 AM PST0

Syria, which had claimed to have destroyed all of its chemical weapons production facilities, has revealed a previously undeclared research and development facility and a ricin-producing laboratory. Reuters reports that, according to diplomatic sources, Syria detailed three new facilities to
by Abe Katsman19 Sep 2014, 7:17 AM PST0

The al-Nusra Front, the Syrian rebel group linked to al-Qaeda, has seized UN weapons, uniforms, and vehicles from peacekeepers in the Golan and set up a zone from which to wage attacks, according to the Syrian United Nations ambassador. AFP
by Abe Katsman17 Sep 2014, 7:44 AM PST0

ISIS, the terror group that also calls itself the Islamic State, “can muster between 20,000 and 31,500 fighters across Iraq and Syria,” according to a CIA spokesman, CNN reported today. U.S. officials previously estimated ISIS had only as many as
by Abe Katsman12 Sep 2014, 8:33 AM PST0

In spite of its promise to NATO to help fight the Islamic State, Turkey will not take part in combat operations against militants and will refuse to allow any US-led coalition to attack jihadists in neighboring Iraq and Syria from
by Abe Katsman11 Sep 2014, 8:20 AM PST0

Israel on Wednesday voiced support for U.S.-led efforts to form an alliance to fight Islamic State jihadists in Syria and Iraq but expressed concerns of a rapprochement between Washington and Iran. On the eve of President Obama’s prime-time address on
by Abe Katsman10 Sep 2014, 1:50 PM PST0

One of the highest-ranking Palestinian officials condemned a recent soccer match between Israeli and Palestinian schoolchildren on a southern kibbutz, calling the bridge-building event “a crime against humanity.” Palestinian Media Watch reports that Jibril Rajoub, the deputy secretary of the Fatah Central
by Abe Katsman9 Sep 2014, 11:12 AM PST0

Israel has provided intelligence, including satellite imagery, in support of the U.S.-led aerial campaign against Islamic State in Iraq, according to a Reuters report. According to the diplomat cited in the Monday report, the information has often been shared by
by Abe Katsman9 Sep 2014, 8:38 AM PST0

Egyptian President General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi recently proposed to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas a plan to settle Palestinians in their own expanded state, including currently-Egyptian land in the Sinai. According to the plan revealed by Israel’s Army Radio on Monday,
by Abe Katsman8 Sep 2014, 8:09 AM PST0

Ten Israeli Arabs have united with the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, to fight in Iraq and Syria, according to reports based on Israeli Shin Bet security services sources, The Times of Israel reports. Israeli Arabs’ interest in jihadi
by Abe Katsman5 Sep 2014, 10:16 AM PST0

Steven Sotloff, the US journalist beheaded by ISIS, was Jewish, had moved to Israel to study, became an Israeli citizen, and, while in captivity, risked his life to fast on Yom Kippur and pray towards Jerusalem. The Israeli government Wednesday
by Abe Katsman3 Sep 2014, 10:43 AM PST0

Fatah’s Central Committee on Saturday night condemned Hamas in strong, wide-ranging terms for abuses during the recent Gaza war, particularly accusing the Islamist movement of targeting Fatah members and stealing humanitarian aid. The Jeruslaem Post reports that Fatah accused Hamas
by Abe Katsman2 Sep 2014, 9:40 AM PST0

The United Nations said the number of Syrian refugees registered in neighboring countries since 2011 will pass the three-million mark as of Friday, according to Reuters. That figure is one million refugees higher than last year. In addition, another 6.5
by Abe Katsman29 Aug 2014, 12:06 PM PST0

A new Israeli poll shows that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s job approval rating has suffered dramatically in the wake of the Gaza ceasefire, which many Israelis felt was premature. At the same time, another poll shows that Israel’s right-wing parties
by Abe Katsman28 Aug 2014, 2:58 PM PST0

Fifty days. If the current ceasefire holds, that is how long intense, cross-border rocket fire into Israel by Gaza terrorists was met with retaliatory attacks on Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces and Israel Air Force. Here is a look
by Abe Katsman27 Aug 2014, 12:30 PM PST0

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released a page from a seized Hamas training manual that supports its case that Palestinian militants deliberately use the cover of residential areas for combat operations, reports Reuters. Hamas “dismissed the document as a forgery
by Abe Katsman26 Aug 2014, 9:58 AM PST0

Hamas is in trouble. Eventually, barring some cataclysmic event or full-scale Israeli invasion, one of these serial cease-fires will more or less hold and the 2014 Gaza War will sputter to an end. And, sometime thereafter, Hamas will fall from
by Abe Katsman25 Aug 2014, 12:21 PM PST0

Hamas killed 11 Gazans suspected of informing for Israel on Friday, a Gaza security official said. The killings of the 11 were also reported by al-Rai and al-Majd, two websites linked to Hamas. The execution spree followed Thursday’s assassinations of
by Abe Katsman22 Aug 2014, 6:17 AM PST0