Netanyahu said to gripe to Zuckerberg that Facebook is undermining his campaign

PM reportedly asks social media giant’s CEO to ‘ensure the fairness of the election’; company spokesman says it is ‘an open platform for all ideas’ Prime Minister Netanyahu reportedly phoned Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday to complain that the social media giant was taking action against his supporters in Israel’s recent elections. Citing sources […]

Diplomacy Alone Won’t End the Iranian Threat

Seth J. FrantzmanFebruary 12, 2020 10:34 AM Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran. January 17, 2020. (Official Khamenei website/Handout via Reuters) A regime such as the Islamic Republic’s must be countered with a more-holistic approach. Supporters of the Obama administration’s Iran deal have tended to argue that “diplomacy” is the only answer […]

Palestinian Authority says it will ‘pursue’ companies on UN settlements list

PA premier suggests firms operating in West Bank move to areas under Palestinian control, says Ramallah will ‘demand compensation for illegally using our occupied lands’ TOI staff12 February 2020, 10:31 pm The Palestinian Authority said on Wednesday that it will go after companies that are included on the UN Human Rights Council’s list of firms […]

Israel freezes ties with UN rights chief after release of settlement blacklist

FM Israel Katz says he ordered ‘exceptional and harsh measure’ in retaliation for Commissioner Michelle Bachelet’s office promoting the anti-Israel boycott movement 12 February 2020, 9:20 pm Israel is suspending its ties with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Foreign Ministry announced Wednesday, several hours after the UN body published a list […]

19 Alexander the Great Comes to Israel

With chapter nine we begin the last half of the book of Zechariah. Within it is a distinctly different style of Hebrew text. While chapters seven and eight are transitional between the two sections the scope of these last six chapters parallels the first eight chapters in the book. The change seen in this last section […]

2 Creation Continued

We need to realize that the New Testament affirms one component of Genesis 1: 1 by stating that God acted before time began. Other things happened before time began which are revealed in Scripture too such as the rise and fall of Lucifer the anointed cherub (Ezekiel 28). When he sinned and had his fall […]

U.S., Taliban could sign peace deal in February if Taliban reduces violence: sources

Abdul Qadir SediqiAlexander Cornwell KABUL/DUBAI (Reuters) – A U.S.-Taliban peace deal could be signed this month if the Taliban significantly reduces violence, and that deal could lead to the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, two Afghan government sources and a Western diplomat said on Wednesday. The timeline shared by sources came a day after […]

Kremlin says Turkey is not upholding its agreements on Syria

REUTERS FEBRUARY 12, 2020 12:58 The Kremlin said on Wednesday that Turkey was not upholding agreements it made with Moscow to “neutralize” militants in the Syrian province of Idlib and that militant attacks on Syrian and Russian forces were continuing in the region. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow remained committed to the agreements it […]

Trump administration severs Palestinian security funding for 2021

Israel has reportedly requested the current US administration to amend their budget in order to continue security collaboration with the PA. ZACHARY KEYSER FEBRUARY 12, 2020 10:21 The Trump administration’s budget for the 2021 fiscal year released on Monday, excluded financing measures for Palestinian security forces – the first time in 27 years this class […]

Norway’s intelligence chief fears more accidents with Russia’s reactor-powered weapons systems

The new missiles and weapons systems under development in Russia. The Poseidon and Burevestnik are both powered by a small nuclear reactor. Illustration by the Norwegian Intelligence Service “We should expect development and testing of new, advanced weapons systems in the areas east of Norway. Several of these will have nuclear propulsion systems,” said Director […]

Iran urges IAEA to not be affected by political considerations

TEHRAN, Feb. 12 (MNA) – Iran nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi called on the International Atomic Energy Organization to not be affected by political considerations. Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Salehi made the remarks in a Tuesday meeting with IAEA’s newly appointed Director-General Rafael Grossi in Vienna. Salehi said that Iran […]

Inside Iran’s push to get Hezbollah to take a role in Iraq

Why is Hezbollah the go-to, with thousands of fighters and support base barely in the hundreds of thousands, when Iraqi Shi’ites number in the millions? By SETH J. FRANTZMAN FEBRUARY 12, 2020 09:49 After the US killed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Iran […]

United States to Extend Waiver for Iraq to Import Iranian Energy: Iraqi Officials

by Reuters and Algemeiner Staff Gas flares from oil production platforms in the Soroush oil fields in the Persian Gulf, July 25, 2005. Photo: Reuters / Raheb Homavandi / File. The United States has agreed to extend a waiver for Iraq to import Iranian energy supplies, including gas, two Iraqi government officials said on Monday. […]