Current Events

Palestinian statehood bid fails to pass UN Security Council

Dec. 31, 2014 -

A Palestinian proposal calling for peace with Israel within a year and an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories by late 2017 failed to pass a UN Security Council vote on Tuesday.

There were eight members in favor of the plan. Two were opposed and five abstained.

Source: Haaretz

Palestinians plan next steps after failed UN bid - CTV News

Prophetic Significance of Peace

US says opposes revised Palestinian UN bid

Dec. 30, 2014 - The UN will consider a resolution that calls for a withdrawal of the Israeli Defense Forces to pre-1967 borders by the year 2017. The measure was endorsed by the Arab UN delegations yesterday.

The draft Palestinian statehood resolution to be brought to the UN Security Council is not “constructive” and fails to take into account Israel’s security needs, a State Department spokesman said Monday in a clear indication Washington will veto the resolution if need be.

Source: Jerusalem Post

Netanyahu: If world won't oppose Palestinian UN bid, Israel will - i24 News

US senator Graham threatens to defund UN over Palestine bid

Dec. 28, 2014 - Visiting in Israel, US Senator Lindsey Graham warned that an effort by the Palestinians to be recognized by the UN as an independent state . . .

. . . will be met with “a violent backlash by the Congress that could include suspending funding to the United Nations. We will not sit back and allow the United Nations to take over the peace process.”

Source: Times of Israel

Palestinian draft peace plan put before UN Security Council

Dec. 18, 2014 - Jordan has submitted a resolution for a one year process resulting in a peace plan between Israel and the Palestinians.

The text of the draft says a negotiated solution should be based on several parameters including the boundary . . . that existed before the 1967 Six Day War, security agreements, and "Jerusalem as the shared capital of the two states".

In the past the US has vetoed resolutions it considers hostile to Israel, but it has not given any assurance so far that it would veto the resolution.

Source: BBC

'Unilateral UN moves will lead to instability'

Dec. 16, 2014 - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had a meeting in Rome to discuss the fact that the Palestinians plan to ask the UN to recognize Palestine as an independent state.

In the meeting with Kerry on Monday, Netanyahu requested that the U.S. use its Security Council veto against a Palestinian resolution (which could be proposed on Wednesday) to set a two-year deadline for the establishment of a Palestinian state."

Netanyahu told Kerry that the Palestinian plan, without Israeli agreement, would have "destructive consequences."

Source: Israel Hayom

Egypt cancels Hamas-Israel talks following Sinai attack

Oct. 26, 2014 - Egypt closed its borders to a high-ranking Hamas delegation because the Palestinians are thought to have been involved in a terror attack that took place Friday in the Sinai.

The Hamas delegation had been set to resume indirect talks between the Palestinians and Israel over a long-term Gaza ceasefire on Monday, but those talks were canceled.

Source: Times of Israel

Pope Denounces Perversion of Religion for Violence

Sept. 21, 2014 - Albania is the first majority Muslim nation Pope Francis has visited since the Islamic State crackdown on Christians in Iraq. He commended them for thier interreligious harmony, and called their Christian-Muslim coexistence was an "inspiring example" for the world. He said,

"This is especially the case in these times in which authentic religious spirit is being perverted by extremist groups, and where religious differences are being distorted."

Source: NewsMax

Editor's Note: The need for world peace could be the basis of a prophesied "United Religions" that compromises the distinctive aspects of all religions in order to avoid violence.

Gaza conflict: Israel and Palestinians agree long-term truce

Aug. 27, 2014 - A long-term ceasefire has begun between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. It calls for opening of borders for humanitarian aid and building materials and an extension of the Palestinian's Mediterranean fishing zone.

Indirect talks on more contentious issues, including Israel's call for militant groups in Gaza to disarm, will begin in Cairo within a month.

The US and the UN supported the truce, but UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern that its failure to "tackle the root causes of the crisis will do little more than set the stage for the next cycle of violence."

Source: BBC

Hamas official: Language of Egyptian cease-fire proposal 'acceptable'

Aug. 26, 2014 - According to a Hamas official the new Egyptian cease-fire proposal to end the hostilities between the Palestinians and Israel in Gaza would be acceptable to the Palestinians. Israeli officials have also said the proposal is “acceptable in principle,” but they will not agree to anything as long as Hamas continues firing rockets and mortars.

The official said that . . . Israel had “failed to achieve its goals,” which were to “disarm the resistance and prevent tunnel construction.”

The proposal includes plans for rebuilding the Gaza Strip and expanding the fishing zone for local fishermen.

Source: Jerusalem Post

Abbas says Egyptian initiative only viable option for Israel-Gaza truce

Aug. 17, 2014 - Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has said that Egypt is the only possible source for a viable truce between Israel and Gaza.

According to the draft cease-fire terms – Israel will stop its offensive against Gaza from the air, sea, and land and in turn, the Palestinian factions will stop their attacks on Israel and will stop digging tunnels outside Gaza's territory in Israel.

Also, the border crossings between Israel and the Strip would be reopened.

Source: Jerusalem Post

Israel resumes strikes on targets after rocket fire from Gaza

Aug. 8, 2014

Israel resumed strikes on targets in Gaza in response to rocket fire from the area shortly after the expiration of a cease-fire between Israel and the terror group Hamas, Israeli military officials said Friday.

Source: Fox

Gaza war could lead to Abbas’s return and new hopes for Palestinian-Israeli peace - Washington Post

Bodies of Israeli kidnapped teens found, government confirms

Jun. 30, 2014 -

The search for Eyal Yifrach, 19; Gilad Shaar, 16 and Naftali Frenkel, 16, who were snatched while hitchhiking, ended even as Israeli forces were conducting raids in the West Bank, where Hamas operates.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Hamas for the kidnappings, and the Israel Security Agency identified two Hamas operatives from Hebron as key suspects.

Source: Fox

Liberman urges ‘regional agreement’ with moderate Arabs

Jun. 26, 2014 -

[Israeli] Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman called on Thursday for a “new political structure in the Middle East” that would entail a coalition of Israel and the moderate Arab states uniting to face the common threat of Islamist extremism.

In a meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry Liberman said that the current unrest in the region makes it too difficult to reach peace with the Palestinians. He also said that Israel needs “an overall regional agreement,” with moderate Arab states.

Source: Times of Israel

New Israeli President Opposes Palestinian State

Jun. 11, 2014 - Reuven Rivlin, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, has been elected by Israel's parliament as their 10th president. He is known to be opposed to the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Rivlin subscribes to the more popular of the one-state solutions, which proposes granting the Palestinians a form of extended autonomy. Under the proposal, the Palestinians would be granted Israeli citizenship, but would vote for their own parliament.

Source: Israel Today

Islamic prayers to be held at the Vatican

Jun. 8, 2014 -

For the first time in history, Islamic prayers and readings from the Quran will be heard at the Vatican on Sunday, in a move by Pope Francis to usher in peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Jewish, Christian and Islamic religious leaders will be involved in the prayer meeting.

Source: AlArabiya.net

Pope leads Israeli-Palestinian peace prayer - Al Jazeera

Pope Francis peace plea at Israel-Palestinian prayer meeting - BBC

Pope Francis Gets Involved In Middle East Peace Process

Jun. 6, 2014 - Pope Francis will host an "intense prayer session" this Sunday with Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. He told reporters that he is not getting involved in the stalled peace process, but observers say the prayer meeting is a bold move. Daniel Petri at the Catholic University of America in Washington, said that his previous accomplishments make him “the world’s best politician.”

The pope is already seen as a maker of miracles by many of his followers. His prayer vigil for peace in Syria on Sept. 7, 2013 was followed by an agreement a week later that prevented U.S. air strikes over the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons.

Source: Voice of America

Germany 'very worried' about Israel's plans to advance settlement building

Jun. 6, 2014 - Because of the unilateral action by the Palestinians to form a unity government including Hamas, Israel announced plans for an additional 1,800 new buildings in settlement areas. Germany is especially concerned about the move. German government spokeswoman Christiane Wirtz said that it will make efforts to continue the peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians harder.

The European Union also expressed disappointment:

"We are deeply disappointed that the Israeli Land Administration has published new tenders for 1,466 housing units in settlements in east Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank," the EU said in a statement. "This move is unhelpful to peace efforts."

Source: Jerusalem Post

Palestinians to appeal to UN over settlement expansion - Times of Israel

US envoy condemns new settlement building plans - Tlimes of Israel

Kerry: US to monitor Hamas-backed Palestinian unity government - Times of Israel

Fatah and Hamas agree on new Palestinian prime minister

May 30, 2014 - The Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and the Fatah-ruled West Bank appear to be willing to establish a new unity government, and have accepted the appointment of Rami Hamdallah as prime minister of the new alliance. Mahmoud Abbas has asked Hamdallah to form a government coalition. Observers say the move will be opposed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It will also inhibit attempts to revive a peace process with Israel, and may upset plans for donations to the Palestinians from the US, EU and the UK.

Source: Thke Guardian

Pope Francis throws farewell curveball: Peace prayer summit in Rome

May 28, 2014 - Ending His historic three-day visit to the Holy Land, Pope Francis did something that his predecessors never did.

Pope Francis took the unexpected step of calling for a prayer meeting between Israeli and Palestinian leaders, leaving people on both sides of the divide abuzz with the potential implications.

Leaders from Israel and the Palestinians accepted the invitation to continue the pursuit of peace with the Pope in Rome.

Source: Haaretz

How the pope triumphed over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - Times of Israel

After meeting Peres, Pope set to speak with prime minister

May 26, 2014 - Yesterday Pope Francis visited the Yad Vashem holocaust museum. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres and former Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau were in attendance when he spoke there. He asked God to “grant us the grace to be ashamed of what we men have done,” adding that the Nazi genocide was a “massive idolatry” that must never happen again.

Today the Pope is scheduled to visit the Temple Mount and the Western (Wailing) Wall. He will also meet with Netanyahu.

Source: Jerusalem Post

Pope Extends Dramatic Vatican Summit Invitation to Israeli, Palestinian Leaders - NewsMax

Official: Obama blames Israel for talks failure

May 18, 2014 -

For the first time since the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks halted, US President Barack Obama has directly blamed Israel for the failure of negotiations, the New York Times reported Thursday.

President Obama complained that, "At every juncture, there was a settlement announcement." These announcements, according to Obama, "kept throwing a wrench in the gears."

The president reportedly said that future talks between Israel and the Palestinians are still possible, and the U.S. would help them achieve peace if they want to try again.

Source: i24 News

GOP, Democrats Blast Kerry's Israel 'Apartheid' Comment

Apr. 29, 2014 - Secretary of State John Kerry was severely criticized, with some politicians even calling for his resignation, over remarks that Israel could become an "apartheid state" if it doesn't reach a peace deal with the Palestinians.

The deadline for the current talks has come. There is no agreement. And Kerry has admitted that if he could rewind the tape he would have chosen a different word. Nevertheless, he stood by his "firm belief that the only way in the long term to have a Jewish state and two nations and two peoples living side by side in peace and security is through a two state solution."

Source: NewsMax

Coalition with Hamas will recognize Israel, Abbas tells Kerry

Apr. 25, 2014 - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told US Secretary of State John Kerry that no action has been taken yet to form a unity government between his Fatah party and Hamas would require Hamas to renounce violence and recognize the state of Israel.

Historically, Hamas has refused to adopt either of those principles. The Islamic Resistance Front has codified its intention to destroy Israel in its charter, and is listed by the United States, European Union and Israel as a terrorist organization.

Source: Jerusalem Post

Palestinian leader Abbas 'still seeks' Israel peace talks - BBC

Israel's Netanyahu Tells Abbas to 'Tear up' Pact With Hamas - OneNewsNow

Israel suspends peace talks with Palestinians after Fatah-Hamas deal

Apr. 24, 2014 - Following yesterday's announcement of a unity agreement between Abbas' Fatah movement and Hamas, which Israel considers a terrorist organization, Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu and the Israeli government have suspended peace talks.

"What has happened is a great reverse for peace, because we had hoped the Palestinian Authority [PA] president Abbas would embrace the Jewish state... But instead, he took a giant leap backward."

Source: The Guardian

Update: Apr. 25, 2014 -
Fatah insisting unity government recognize Israel - Times of Israel

Netanyahu to Palestinians: When you want peace, let us know

Apr. 22, 2014 - As the April 29 deadline for the end of the peace talks approaches President Mahmoud Abbas threatens to dismantle the Palestinian Authority.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu criticized the Palestinian Authority on Monday, saying that its threat to dissolve and the ruling Fatah faction’s efforts to forge unity with Hamas indicate a lack of desire for peace.

He said, "When they want peace, they should let us know. Because we want a genuine peace.”

Source: Jerusalem Post

Decision Time: Will Obama Make a Last-Ditch Middle East Peace Push?

Apr. 10, 2014 - Peace talks have almost collapsed between Israel and the Palestinians, and Secretary of State Kerry has blamed Israel for being more stubborn than the Palestinians. Some analysts think the process can still be salvaged if the U.S. would lay out a framework that the parties would have to accept in order to continue, or reject and be considered the villains.

They could haggle over details later. The basic principles of such a plan — including limited right of Palestinian refugee return, a divided capital in Jerusalem, some medium-term Israeli security presence in the Jordan River Valley — wouldn’t surprise anyone.

No one knows if President Obama will risk his own reputation by insisting on the adoption of such a framework.

Source: Time

Moscow and Ramallah: The new alliance

April 7, 2014 -

Analysis: Palestinians may soon be the ones to threaten US (and Israel) by inviting Russia to the negotiating table as a partner and mediator.

The Palestinians have dared to resist U.S. pressure to make peace with Israel. One reason they may take the risk of losing American assistance is the fact that Russia is returning to its cold-war positions and needs friends. Russia sees the Palestinian Authority as an ideal bridgehead to the Arab world.

Source: YNET News

Netanyahu: Israel will respond to Palestinian unilateralism with steps of its own

Apr. 6, 2014 - Peace talks are faltering between Israel and the Palestinians. The Palestinians affirmed 15 international treaties and conventions last week. In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that while Israel was desirous of peace, it would not seek an agreement 'at any price.' And he added, “Unilateral steps on [the Palestinians’] part will be met with unilateral steps on our part."

Source: Jerusalem Post

Israel readying war crimes complaint against Abbas, minister says - Jerusalem Post

Israelis, Palestinians begin to assign blame for possible collapse of peace talks

Apr. 3, 2014 -

Israelis and Palestinians began to jostle Wednesday over who should be blamed for the possible collapse of peace talks, even as their representatives met with U.S. officials late into the night to try to keep the negotiations alive.

Palestinians acted unilaterally to become parties to 15 U.N. treaties, but they still told U.S. facilitators that they wished to continue the peace negotiations. Israelis have withheld the release of prisoners because of the failure of the talks to produce a framework for further reconciliation between the two groups.

Source: Washington Post

Update Apr. 4, 2014 - US sees role in peace talks coming to a close

Kerry leaves Israel after holding meetings with Netanyahu to save peace talks

Apr. 1, 2014 -

US Secretary of State John Kerry met ... with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, amid reports the US may release Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard by mid-April as part of a wider package designed to resuscitate the negotiations.

Reuters reports that Israel would then release a fourth group of Palestinian security prisoners and would agree to release another larger group of prisoners if peace talks are extended past the April 29 deadline.

Source: Jerusalem Post

Pollard-for-prisoners deal said to be near completion - Times of Israel

Kerry returning to Israel amid push to extend talks

Mar. 31, 2014 - The deadline for progress on the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians is near (April 29), and there are still many obstacles to any permanent agreement. Because of this Secretary of State John Kerry has changed his plans and is returning to Israel to try to salvage the process. He will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday and PA President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday.

The continuation of negotiations had come into question after Israel failed to go through with a previously agreed-upon prisoner release over the weekend and indicated that it has no plans to do so without a deal to extend the deadline.

Source: Times of Israel

Israel likely to release 26 prisoners in coming days - Jerusalem Post

Peace talks in crisis after latest PA-US meeting

Mar. 28, 2014 - Ziad Abu Ein, director-general of the Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Prisoners’ Affairs, reported that Israel will not release a final group of 104 prisoners unless Palestinians agree to continue peace talks. Israel has already released 78 prisoners, but the peace negotiations seem to have reached a stalemate.

Source: Times of Israel

TV report: Abbas said ‘no’ to Obama on 3 core peace issues

Mar. 24, 2014 - Mahmmoud Abbas has reportedly said 'no' to Obama on 3 core peace issues. He told him that the Palestinians:

- Refuse to recognize Israel as a Jewish state
- Refuse to abandon the Palestinian demand for a “right of return” for millions of Palestinians and their descendants
- Refuse to commit to an “end of conflict” under a peace deal

Source: Times of Israel

Israeli official suggests Palestinians celebrating failure of peace talks

Mar. 21, 2014 -

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas returned from Washington on Thursday to a hero’s welcome in Ramallah, where he pledged not to give up the Palestinians’ rights or betray their trust.

Abbas said he had resisted making concessions, “especially on the issue of recognizing Israel as a “Jewish state.” Some observers said it was reminiscent of Yasser Arafat’s return from Camp David in 2000. At that time Palestinians were actually celebrating the failure of peace talks. Soon after that time the second intifada broke out.

Source: Jerusalem Post

IAF strikes dozens of Gaza targets after rocket attack

Mar. 12, 2014 - Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for up to 55 rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel. There were no reports of casualties. In response to the situation the Israel Air Force struck 29 targets in Gaza.

Source: Jerusalem Post

Islamic Jihad tries to drag Hamas, and Israel, into escalation - Times of Israel

Arab League rejects Israel as Jewish state

Mar. 11, 2014 - US-backed peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians is approaching a deadline next month. Israel is demanding that they be recognized as a Jewish state but Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says that he will never give in to that condition. Arab foreign ministers, meeting in Cairo, agreed with Abbas. They said,

"The council of the Arab League confirms its support for the Palestinian leadership in its effort to end the Israeli occupation over Palestinian lands, and emphasizes its rejection of recognizing Israel as a 'Jewish state'."

Source: Al Jazeera

Israel PM says no deal unless Palestinians recognise Jewish state - Yahoo

Obama to Israel -- Time Is Running Out

Mar. 2, 2014 - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with President Barack Obama tomorrow. The President will tell him that Israel will risk international isolation if he fails to endorse the U.S.-drafted framework agreement for peace with the Palestinians.

And the president will make the case that Netanyahu, alone among Israelis, has the strength and political credibility to lead his people away from the precipice.

Source: Bloomberg

White House: Obama won’t pressure sides over framework deal

Feb. 28, 2014 - President Obama will be meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas soon. Contrary to some news reports, the White House claims that Obama will not put pressure on either side to accept the proposed framework for peace. The meetings will be used only to “take stock” of the negotiations.

Source:Times of Israel

Abbas ‘exploded with rage’ at Kerry over ‘insane’ framework proposals

Feb. 27, 2014 - Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas left talks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Paris fuming at the proposed plan for a Palestinian capital in just one Jerusalem area instead of all of East Jerusalem. the Kerry plan also called for Israel’s retention of 10 settlement blocs.

The Jordan Valley would not be part of a future Palestinian state, Palestinian sources told the paper, nor would there be an international force stationed there.

According to reports, Kerry also demanded that the Palestinians recognize Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people.

Source: Times of Israel

Jordan warns Israel: It may review peace treaty over Jerusalem debate - Haaretz

Hamas: Recognizing Israel is a 'Death Sentence' to the PA

Feb. 24, 2014 -

Ibrahim Dahbour, one of Hamas’s representative in the Palestinian Legislative Council, warned Abbas against giving up any of the "fundamental principles of the Palestinian people" ... in particular with regards to the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state.

Israel's Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu maintains that Israel must be recognized as a Jewish state in order for a peace agreement to be reached.

Source: Israel National News

Israel-Palestine talks falter despite US efforts - Independent - UK

US expects delay on Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, Kerry framework rollout

Feb. 3, 2014 - US officials are saying that the current peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians may take longer than the April 29 deadline that was established. Difficulties over major issues, such as Mahmoud Abbas’s refusal to recognize Israel as the Jewish homeland, make it difficult to even propose a framework for negotiations.

Abbas told The New York Times over the weekend that he would refuse to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

Source: Jerusalem Post

'Kerry is putting pressure only on Israel' - Israel Hayom

Ya’alon: Israel ‘will manage’ without a peace deal

Feb. 2, 2014 - Yesterday U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned that failure to reach a peace agreement soon would result in unprecedented diplomatic pressure on Israel and economic boycotts. Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said he was hopeful that the peace talks will succeed, but if they do not, he said, "We will manage.”

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Ya’alon asserted that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was not about territory, but rather hinged on Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state and its right to exist in peace after a deal is reached.

Source: Times of Israel

Quartet to meet in Munich over stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks

Jan. 31, 2014 - After six months of trying to get Israel and the Palestinians together for peace talks, the "Quartet" (representatives from United Nations, United States, Russia and European Union) will meet in Munich on Saturday. They will discuss how to keep the process going.

But, with both sides far apart on many core issues including borders, security, the right of return for Palestinian refugees and the future status of Jerusalem, many Palestinians and Israelis believe the talks are going nowhere.

Source: Jerusalem Post

Palestinian leader heads to Moscow. Abbas wants Russia to play “bigger role” in epicenter.

Jan. 22, 2014 - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will arrive in Russia today, and plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. They will discuss bilateral relations and the progress of the United States-mediated talks between the Palestinians and Israel. Nabil Shaath, Fatah’s Commissioner of International Relations, says the talks are deadlocked.

“Russia has played a huge role in reaching agreement with Iran and we are also seeing progress [in talks] on Syria. This brings us hope that the visit [of Abbas] will ensure progress in settling the Palestinian-Israeli issue,” Shaath said.

Source: Joel Rosenberg

Jerusalem Next 'Stumbling Block' in Peace Talks

Jan. 12, 2013 - Polls show that most Israelies are ready for the creation of a Palestinian state, but they are not willing to surrender the eastern half of Jerusalem to become the Palestinian capital. Even if Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would give in to American pressure on the issue the Knessed would probably not accept the idea.

On the other side, Palestinian leaders have repeatedly committed themselves to never signing any deal that does not include Palestinian control of eastern Jerusalem, including the Old City and its Temple Mount.

Source: Israel Today

Arab ministers back Abbas in rejecting ‘Jewish’ Israel - Times of Israel

Israel Rejects US Plans for the Jordan Valley

Jan. 5, 2013 - US Secretary of State John Kerry is pursuing shuttle diplomacy to try to bring Israel and the Palestinians together on the details of a peace agreement.

Kerry has said a peace treaty will deal with all the core issues dividing the two sides. These include the contours of a future Palestinian state, refugees, the fate of Jerusalem claimed by both as a capital, security, and mutual recognition.

Source: Israel National News

Palestinian red lines make chances of US-mediated settlement slim

Jan. 4, 2013 -

US Secretary of State John Kerry met on Friday with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah for a talk that lasted several hours. On Saturday morning, Kerry was heading back for another round of talks with Abbas.

Palestinian chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat, told London-based A-Sharq Al-Awsat reporters that Abbas has told President Obama that he cannot accept the condition that Israel be considered a Jewish state. He also blamed Israel for the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat even though independent French and Russian forensic experts have ruled out the possibility that Arafat was poisoned.

The time allotted for the peace negotiations runs out in April, and there are many obstacles, making it unlikely that they will succeed.

Source: Times of Israel

John Kerry lands in Israel to lay foundations for 'framework agreement'

Jan. 2, 2014 - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has returned to Israel to try to stimulate peace negotiations. It is his 10th visit to the region in less than a year. He hopes to establish the foundations of a "framework agreement" that could bring resolution to the nearly-deadlocked process. The key sticking-points are still the question of borders, security, refugees and the status of Jerusalem. Kerry says he does not expect a breakthrough on this trip. Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman surprised observers when he praised Kerry for his efforts.

Source: Haaretz

Poll: Most Israelis, Palestinians support 2-state solution - Times of Israel