The State Department’s new strategy for fighting terrorism has been criticized by experts for failing to specifically mention the threat of Islamic extremism. The Joint Strategy on Countering Violent Extremism (.pdf), which was published last week, outlines the government’s official diplomatic anti-terror plan. In his introduction to the document, which was co-written with USAID, the U.S. government’s foreign aid bureau, Secretary...

Israel and South Korea announced on Tuesday that they have reached an agreement to begin negotiating a free trade agreement. Israeli Economy Ministry Director-General Amit Lang and South Korean Deputy Trade Minister Tae Hee Woo announced their intention to begin talks on June 27 in Seoul. The negotiations will focus on increasing commercial ties between the...

In the wake of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s positive response to Egyptian President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi’s call for peace talks, moderate Arab states have been reaching out diplomatically to Israel and showing some flexibility regarding the Arab Peace Initiative, Israel’s channel 10 reported on Friday. Arab governments, including those...

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault announced on Thursday that an international conference to discuss possible parameters for a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority will be held on June 3 in Paris. A previously planned conference for May 30 was scrapped when Secretary of State John Kerry said that...

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s recent push for new peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority is “promising,” former Israeli finance minister Yair Lapid said Wednesday during a public Q&A at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Lapid, who for years has been promoting a regional peace summit involving Egypt and...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s recent push for Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, saying in a statement Tuesday that Israel is “ready to participate” in efforts to advance diplomacy. “I welcome Egyptian President El-Sisi’s remarks and his willingness to make every effort to advance a future of peace...