In an editorial Friday, the New York Times acknowledged that “some skepticism is warranted” about last week’s announced Fatah-Hamas unity government. The editorial noted: Mr. Netanyahu is correct that Hamas, the Iran-backed group that took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, is a violent, extremist organization committed to Israel’s...
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Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon on Thursday told a group of foreign military attaches that the Palestinian Authority (PA) would have to disarm Hamas to signal that it is genuinely pursuing a viable and united Palestinian state, the latest in what has become daily criticism from diplomats, analysts, and journalists blasting...
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has set up a ministerial committee to decide how Jerusalem should deal with the new Palestinian government that was jointly appointed by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and the terrorist organization Hamas. The first meeting on preparing plans on how to deal with the diplomatic and...
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A former Hamas official wrote on his Facebook page Sunday that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was “lying” to the Americans. Palestinian Media Watch translated Ihab al-Ghussein’s comments: “You know what Mahmoud Abbas says behind closed doors?? He says: ‘Guys, let me [continue] saying what I say to the media. Those...
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The Times of Israel reported Tuesday that the mother-in-law of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was admitted for treatment in an Israeli hospital. Maj. Guy Inbar, an Israeli spokesman, said the 68-year-old woman was allowed to enter from the Gaza Strip on Monday to receive cancer treatment at a Jerusalem hospital....
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The Jerusalem Post on Monday conveyed reports from Lebanese media outlets describing a series of lengthy meetings recently held between top Hezbollah and Hamas figures, including Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, the latest in what has become a steady stream of indicators that the Sunni terror group may be returning to...
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American and Hamas officials secretly met numerous times over the last six months, according to a report in the online news website BuzzFeed. The meetings were held between U.S. intermediaries and Hamas’ leadership, which lives outside the Gaza Strip in third-party countries ranging from Egypt to Qatar and Jordan. Topics...
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The Wall Street Journal late Wednesday criticized the Obama administration for agreeing to fund the recently announced Palestinian unity government – agreed to by the rival Fatah and Hamas factions, and unveiled earlier this week – with the outlet pointing out that the new cabinet’s refusal to dismantle Hamas’s military...
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On a conference call with reporters on Friday, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) called his trip to Israel “the most amazing trip I’ve ever been on” and expressed his belief that peace is still possible. However, Manchin also made clear which side he believed needed to change to make peace possible....
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An article published Wednesday by one of Israel’s top veteran journalists assesses that the Palestinian Hamas faction has opted to follow the “Hezbollah model” – “bullets plus ballots” – in establishing a unity government with the rival Fatah faction: For Hamas, this means integrating into the general political system while retaining...
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