Israel / Middle East - Page 342

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was urged to stand his ground Thursday against an “outrageous” slew of corrution allegations, with political commentator Mark Levin backing him to fight what he called a “corrupt investigation.”

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s attorney general has formally charged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a series of corruption scandals.

For the first time during her 14 years in office, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is planning next month to visit the former Nazi death camp of Auschwitz.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) took a swipe at Israel at the Democrat debate in Atlanta, Georgia, on Wednesday night, saying “we have to be rethinking who our allies are … and not continue to support brutal dictatorships.”

The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) in Sydney, Australia, on Wednesday published the 2019 edition of its Global Terrorism Index.

A Jewish group has sharply condemned an auction of Nazi memorabilia in Germany that includes Adolf Hitler’s top hat, a silver-plated edition of his book “Mein Kampf” and a cocktail dress owned by his long-time girlfriend Eva Braun.

Israeli leaders on Wednesday morning issued fresh threats to Iran after the military conducted overnight airstrikes on the Islamic Republic’s Quds Force in Syria, with the defense minister saying even Tehran’s leaders were “not immune.”

Iran will likely buy new advanced fighter jets and tanks next year when a U.N. Security Council arms embargo is scheduled to be lifted, a senior U.S. intelligence official said Tuesday as the Defense Intelligence Agency released a new assessment of Iran’s military capabilities.

The Israeli military said it struck dozens of targets in Syria belonging to Iranian forces and the Syrian regime in the predawn hours of Wednesday morning, in response to four rockets that were fired at Israel the day before.

A U.S. aircraft carrier strike group transited the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, after it was ordered by the White House to rapidly deploy to the Mideast to meet heightened threats from Iran.

The Taliban released two Western professors, an American and an Australian, on Tuesday after more than three years in captivity. In exchange, the Afghan government released three Taliban jihadists and flew them to Qatar.

The Hungarian government has granted the Unified Hungarian Jewish Congregation (EMIH) special status in the country, giving it official recognition “in the highest category.”

Iran on Tuesday claimed “calm has been restored in the country” following protests triggered by a massive hike in gasoline prices, but the Internet remained down and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced it was mobilizing half a million members of a brutal paramilitary force known as the Basij to control the streets.

Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale testified to the House Intelligence Committee earlier this month that aid to Lebanon had been withheld at the same time, and in the same way, as aid to Ukraine.

Four projectiles were fired at northern Israel from Syria in the predawn hours of Tuesday morning, the Israel Defense Forces said. All four were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system.

As Israel approaches what would be its third election in less than a year, many Israelis and international observers are questioning the sustainability of the country’s complicated parliamentary system.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday that the U.S. had reversed the policy of Presidents Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama, who declared Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria (the “West Bank”) illegal.

The Intercept and the New York Times on Monday published a lengthy examination of leaked Iranian intelligence cables that shed new light on how thoroughly Iran dominates the politics of Iraq, with much of the dirtiest work done by the commander of Iran’s notorious Quds Force, Gen. Qassem Soleimani. 

The State Department on Monday urged social media companies to suspend the social media accounts of Iran’s leaders after they cut access to the Internet amid widespread protests in the country.

Protests in towns and cities across Iran continued Monday despite the use of lethal force against demonstrators by the regime plus a nationwide Internet blackout. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a designated terrorist organization, threatened “decisive” action if the protests do not end soon.

A senior Muslim cleric in the Iranian city of Yasoujhas sought to reassure U.S. citizens that when Iranians chant bloodcurdling threats of “Death to America”  it does not mean death to all the American people – just some.

Left-wing Welsh separatists Plaid Cymru have been embarrassed after the niqab-clad Muslim who starred in their election broadcast was linked to antisemitic posts on social media.

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cypriot police have confiscated a van reportedly loaded with sophisticated surveillance equipment and have questioned its Israeli owner following media reports that the vehicle was being hired out to spy on people.

Pope Francis, the Grand Imam Ahmed Al-Tayeb of Al-Azhar of Egypt, and his retinue on Friday was the latest in a series of get-togethers between the two leaders.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, en route home to Ankara after meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump and members of Congress in Washington, boasted that he taught Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) a “lesson” for daring to insult Turkey by questioning Erdogan’s invasion of Syria to attack the Kurds.

Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad told Russian television network Rossiya 24 in an interview Thursday that billionaire Jeffrey Epstein “was killed because he knew a lot of vital secrets.”

One Egyptian woman is taking on the country’s Islamic inheritance laws that mean female heirs inherit half that of men.

A federal judge agreed with President Donald Trump’s administration Thursday by ruling an Alabama woman who willingly joined the Islamic State terrorist group was not a U.S. citizen and has no avenue of return.

The European Court of Justice has ruled that Israel will no longer be able to label products “Made in Israel” if they were made in settlements in the West Bank. 

Hours after meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on Wednesday blocked a resolution that would have condemned the Armenian genocide of 1915.

Turkish officials say Turkey has deported seven German and one British Islamic State suspects to their home countries.

Adolf Hitler’s top hat, Eva Braun’s dresses and a silver-covered edition of “Mein Kampf” are among the items being put up for sale by a German auction house, prompting protests from Jewish leaders.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia on Tuesday said several civilians were killed when a Turkish military convoy opened fire on stone-throwing protesters in the town of Kobani in northeastern Syria.

Pope Francis denounced anti-Semitism Wednesday, telling crowds in Saint Peter’s Square that the persecution of the Jewish people is neither human nor Christian.

A coalition of Kurds, Armenians, Greeks, Cypriots, and supporters organized a large protest outside of the White House on Wednesday against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s meeting with President Donald Trump.

Fox News’ Trey Yingst debunked a claim that an Israeli missile hit a human rights office in Gaza, saying it was a Palestinian rocket that misfired.