Current Events

Government rifts over peace process revealed during Knesset committee meeting

May 22, 2013 - At a Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting in Israel Justice Minister Tzipi Livni said that the government's goal is to restart negotiations with the Palestinians. Former Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin mentioned that there was substantial disagreement in the government over the issue of a two-state solution. Livni answered,

"It is no secret that there are differences among government members over the Palestinian issue and what an agreement with them should look like, but the policy is negotiations based on two national states which will bring an end to the conflict."

Source: Haaretz

Prophetic Significance of Peace

In sea change, Arab League backs land swaps in peace talks

Apr. 30, 2013 - Qatari Prime Minister Sheik Hamad Bin Jassem Al Thani announced a new position by the Arab League that calls for an agreement between Israel and a future Palestine based on the borders before the 1967 Mideast War, but with the possibility of “comparable,” mutually agreed and “minor” land swaps between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

Source: Times of Israel

U.S. said to be planning Mideast peace summit

Apr. 25, 2013 -

The United States is planning a Middle East summit in Washington in June to push the Israeli-Palestinian peace process forward, officials said.

President Barack Obama will preside over the meeting. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will participate. King Abdullah of Jordan will also be invited, and possibly other leaders of Arab countries.

Source: UPI

UN calls for new Mideast peace push in wake of Obama opening Times of Israel

With Syrian crisis threatening entire Middle East, UN official urges Israeli-Palestinian progress - U.N. News Centre

Officials say ‘no thanks’ to Kerry plan to jump-start talks

Apr. 11, 2013 - US Secretary of State John Kerry said that his contacts in the Middle East had been constructive. However, neither Israel nor the Palestinians were willing to make the concessions Kerry requested to reactivate peace talks.

But a senior Israeli official told news website Ynet Wednesday that Jerusalem had no intention of providing the Palestinians with any concessions ahead of talks, which had reportedly been a keystone of Kerry’s efforts.

Kerry plans to make numerous trips to the region in coming months to try to jump-start talks that have been stalled since 2010.

Source: Times of Israel

Pat Robertson Warns of 'Terrible Suffering for U.S.' if Israel Loses Jerusalem - Christian Post

Netanyahu ‘determined’ to move forward with peace process

April 9, 2013 - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with US Secretary of State John Kerry today. He indicated that he wants to attain a final-status agreement with the Palestinians. He said,

“I am determined not only to resume the peace process with the Palestinians, but to make a serious effort to end this conflict once and for all."

Israel’s attempts to reengage the Palestinian Authority would include “economic components." Kerry said that both sides would also need to make tangible political concessions.

In regard to political issues, Netanyahu said that Palestinians would have to recognize Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people and must insure security for Israel’s citizens.

Palestinians say that PA President Mahmoud Abbas wants to see a map that shows Israel’s territorial plans before starting talks.

Source: Times of Israel

Israel ready for ‘historic compromise’ with Palestinians, Netanyahu says

Mar. 19, 2013 - Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed that Israel is ready for a “historic compromise” in talks with the Palestinians.

Speaking in parliament before the 22 ministers were sworn in, Netanyahu said that, while the cabinet would work to carry out domestic reforms that were the focus of Israel’s election in January, the government’s top priority would be “protecting the security of the state and its citizens.”

Source: Washington Post

White House lowers expectations ahead of Obama's Middle East trip

Mar. 18, 2013 - President Obama will visit Israel on Wednesday to try to improve his relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The major issues to be discussed are the furtherance of the efforts by Israeli and Palestinian leaders to reach a peace agreement and how to cope with Iran's efforts to acquire nuclear weapons.

The centerpiece of Obama's visit will be a speech in Jerusalem to an audience mainly of Israeli students. It's part of the president's effort to appeal to the Israeli public, particularly young people.

Source: Fox

Netanyahu Recruits Livni to Steer Palestinian Peace Efforts

Feb. 20, 2013 - As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu puts together his coalition government, he asked Tzipi Livni, the former Israeli foreign minister to become justice minister and to manage peace talks with the Palestinians.

“I criticized the government’s management over the past four years, but since the election, we’ve come to understandings to put all that aside,” Livni said.

Netanyahu has said he hopes to have the new government in place before President Obama visits in March.

Source: Bloomberg

EU reportedly to offer new Middle East peace plan

Jan. 14, 2013 - Diplomatic sources claim that the European Union is drafting a proposal for a peace plan that would restart the dormant Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

The goal of the EU plan is to bring about the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with its capital in East Jerusalem.

It is likely that the plan will be presented in March, after Israel's January 22 elections. British and French ministers are working on it with the support of Germany and some contact with US President Barack Obama and incoming Secretary of State John Kerry.

The sources say that the plan would be acceptable to the Palestinians, but it would call for Israel to join a pan-Middle East conference, including Egypt, Jordan and the Gulf states. It will embarrass Israel if it fails to join the discussion.

Source: Times of Israel

Amid uproar, Netanyahu reportedly reaffirms commitment to two-state solution

Jan. 2, 2013 - Last week some of the members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party claimed that the concept of “two states for two peoples was never part of [Likud's] election platform.” In June of 2009 at Bar-Ilan University Netanyahu expressed support for a Palestinian state. This week hard-line Likud MK Tzipi Hotovely said the Bar-Ilan speech was a tactical maneuver only meant to placate the world. According to an Israeli television report Netanyahu reaffirmed his support for a two-state solution Monday,

But that he added the caveat that recognition of a Palestinian state hinged on the Palestinians’ recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, resolution of the conflict, and resolution of Israel’s security concerns.

Source: Times of Israel

US calls on Israel, Palestinians to ‘make a fresh start’ and rekindle peace talks - Times of Israel