Free Republic

First came the shouting match between Netanyahu and the U.S. ambassador. Then Martin Dempsey told an audience in London that he didn’t want to be "complicit" in an Israeli attack on Iran. The upcoming joint military exercise between the U.S. and Israel was then scaled back, and this murky report about the U.S. contacting Iran to distance itself from an Israeli strike appeared. Then came the floor fiasco at the Democratic convention over the platform's Jerusalem language. Now this.Question for foreign-policy wonks: When was the last time relations between the U.S. and Israel were this poor? The White House has...

Per Bret Baier's Facebook... From a new post in Israeli paper - Haaretz: (WH has not denied yet - working on statement apparently) "The White House declined Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's request on Tuesday to meet U.S. President Barack Obama during a UN conference in New York at the end of the month. An official in Jerusalem said that the prime minister's office sent the White House a message stating that although Netanyahu will spend only two and a half days on U.S. soil, he is interested in meeting Obama and is willing to travel to the U.S. capital...

President Shimon Peres is under attack for undercutting the elected government's stance on the Iranian threat. Besides stating a position that runs counter to the Prime Minister's in a television interview, he is also reported to have accused Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, in closed conversations, of "terrible irresponsibility" in the Iranian matter. "The honorable president has apparently also been sucked into this unnecessary argument that is damaging for the state of Israel," said MK Moshe Matalon of Yisrael Beytenu. "As a former prime minister and defense minister, and a person who was privy to spectacular operations that were...

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Turkey and Israel are looking for ways to normalize political relations, saying, “We want to restore relations with Turkey.” Netanyahu spoke to a group of Turkish journalists in Jerusalem and his comments were reported by the Turkish daily Today’s Zaman. “In a region where instability reigns, Israel and Turkey are two quite stable countries. I believe in [our] common interest,” Netanyahu told the journalists, adding that Turks and Jews have a long history. The newspaper noted that the conversation between Netanyahu and the Turkish journalists was the first time since the May...

It was just a matter of time before self-appointed prominent Jewish leaders in America got organized to send a letter to PM Netanyahu claiming that Israel's int'l standing is in peril due to the recent judicial report by retired Supreme Court Justice Edmond Levy who concluding that Israel is not occupying Judea and Samaria and that there is no legal prohibition to populate the land east of the 1967 "border" (actually 1949 Armistice Lines) with Jewish residents. Beyond the issue of the report itself, why have US Jewish leaders become so agitated and disturbed? "As strong advocates for Israel’s security...

Yitzchak Shamir, who passed away Saturday, called Binyamin Netanyahu "squishy" and "too soft," according to James Baker, who was Secretary of State under George H. W. Bush. Shamir himself was "really hard-line," in Baker's view. However, the diplomat said, Shamir's relationship with President George H. W. Bush got off to a bad start when Bush felt Shamir had misled him regarding settlement in Judea and Samaria (Yehuda and Shomron). An interview with Baker last year gives fascinating insights into the dynamics that led to the Madrid Conference in 1991 and the Oslo Accords in 1993. The loan guarantee request came...

Kadima party chairman Shaul Mofaz angrily rejected a planned meeting to meet with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Tuesday after the Prime Minister dissolved a panel, led by Kadima, for a new draft law. Prime Minister Netanyahu disbanded the committee, headed by Kadima Knesset Member Yochanan Plesner, without Cabinet approval, a move that could be a political ploy to put Mofaz in a corner and force him to quit the national unity coalition that is only several weeks old. The committee was working on legislation to replace the “Tal Law,” which focuses on the enlistment of hareidi religious youth, with an...

The Prime Minister's Bureau has contacted all ministers and deputy ministers and made clear that the government opposes the proposed Regulation Law that will come up for a vote Wednesday. The law would make it possible to compensate land owners who were wronged in construction of communities in Judea and Samaria, without having to hand over the land or tear down homes built upon it. Channel 2 News reported that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's men made clear to the ministers and deputies that if any of them vote in favor of the Regulation Law, they will be fired from the...

The real reasoning behind plans to demolish Israeli homes in Beit El is a plan to topple Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, MK Yaakov “Ketzaleh” Katz (Ichud Leumi) said Sunday. “There are two people who have a bad influence on the Prime Minister and want him to fail,” Ketzaleh said. “The first is state secretary Tzvika Hauser, who has crossed all the red lines and sides with Peace Now and Yesh Din who want to demolish 9,000 homes in Judea and Samaria.” The second is Defense Minister Ehud Barak, he said. “Barak knows that his time in office is over, and...

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu decided Saturday that the Ulpana neighborhood of Beit El in the Binyamin region will be evacuated. Netanyahu decided that the homes will not be destroyed, but rather will be copied to a military area within Beit El. For each home that is evacuated, “build 10 new structures.” In accordance with the decision the homes will be copied from their site to an agreed-upon area. In accordance with the prime minister's decision, the homes to be evacuated will be dismantled in their entirety and moved in the same manner as took place in the Templar army headquarters...

The traditional Jerusalem Day celebrations at the flagship religious Zionist yeshiva, Merkaz HaRav Kook, took place on Sunday evening so as not to cause desecration of the Sabbath. This year, in addition to words of Torah about the city, dancing and joyous song led by famed clarinetist Musa Berlin and singer Akiva Margaliot, they included an historical revelation by the head of the yeshiva and an emotional declaration of loyalty to united Jerusalem by the Prime Minister himself, who vowed "I will never forget thee, O Jerusalem" and spoke of the international pressures to give in on the city with...

MK Aryeh Eldad on Wednesday criticized Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's letter to Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas in the Knesset plenum. “The letter should have included the fact that the resolution of the conflict lies with the possibility the Jordan will become the PA homeland when the Palestinian Arabs overthrow King Abdullah," he said. Eldad has dueled in recent years with Jordanian King Abdullah II's decision to abandon the Hashemite Monarchy's position that Jordan is the true 'Palestinian State.' In 2011, Abdullah rejected the long-held formula of the Hashemite monarchy that "Jordan is Palestine," saying "The so-called 'substitute homeland' exists...

The deal that ended the hunger strike by hundreds of Palestinian Authority prisoners in Israel is a goodwill gesture to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, the Prime Minister's Office says. Speaking for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, spokesman Mark Regev on Monday night called the deal brokered by Egyptian mediators a confidence-building gesture. The hunger strike by some 1,600 PA Arab prisoners in Israeli jails had lasted more than 40 days – and in the case of a few prisoners, past 70 days. Israeli security officials and representatives of PA terrorist organizations agreed to the deal after a meeting Monday at a...

More than 30 years ago, I anointed a young man named Benjamin Netanyahu and prophesied that he would be the Prime Minister of Israel. At the time, he was not involved in politics, and I went to Prime Minister Menachem Begin and recommended Netanyahu for his first appointment. Today my old friend is indeed the Prime Minister, and he has just accomplished something never before seen in Israel’s history. Israel’s government is a parliamentary system (like England’s) with many political parties. The Prime Minister has just created the strongest coalition government Israel has ever known by bringing the largest opposition...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has struck a deal with the opposition Kadima party, avoiding the early general election he had sought. Kadima's recently-elected leader, Shaul Mofaz, is set to be named deputy PM. Mr Netanyahu said their new coalition wanted a "responsible" peace process with the Palestinians and "serious" talks about Iran's nuclear programme. The move came as parliament debated its dissolution before an election Mr Netanyahu had planned for September. Kadima is currently the biggest party in the Knesset, but recent polls have suggested the number of seats it holds could be halved. The coalition will have a...

Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formed a unity government on Tuesday in a surprise move that could give him a freer hand to attack Iran's nuclear facilities and seek peace with the Palestinians. The coalition deal, negotiated secretly over the past days and sealed at a private meeting overnight, means the centrist Kadima party will hook up with Netanyahu's rightist coalition, creating a majority of 94 of parliament's 120 legislators. The coalition, which replaces plans announced just two days earlier for a snap election in September, will be one of the biggest in Israeli history. "This government is...

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu reportedly said Sunday that saving Beit El's threatened Ulpana neighborhood is a "challenge the public can tackle." Now, following the Supreme Court's rejection on Monday of his government's petition for a 90 day extension in which to determine a solution to the problem, the need for a solution is imminent. Arutz Sheva learned on Tuesday that Netanyahu is weighing his options for averting the destruction of the five homes slated for demolition against a ticking clock. Sources close to Netanyahu say the short time allotted – a mere two months – would make drafting legislation and...

Professor Benzion Netanyahu, father of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu who died last week at the age of 102, was known for his right-wing views and for his Zionism. His values are reflected in the following exclusive and rare video, which was forwarded to Arutz Sheva by the Keep Jerusalem - Im Eshkachech organization. Keep Jerusalem - Im Eshkachech works toward keeping Jerusalem united under Israeli sovereignty. The organization believes that through re-educating the public with accurate up to date facts, Jerusalem, the city synonymous with the identity of the Jewish people, can regain the public’s support and remain unified under...

If Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu calls early elections, Ehud Barak, a thorn in the coalition’s official backing of Judea and Samaria, could be left out in the cold. The trigger for possible elections later this year is the movement for changing the military draft system, whose critics have targeted exemptions or shorter terms of service for young men studying Torah. The Prime Minister said Sunday he backs military service for all Jews and civilian service of Arabs, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met with leaders of the “suckers’ rally” that has staged a week-long demonstration opposite his office. Protest leaders said...

The Cabinet Sunday approved a nearby temporary housing site for residents of Migron, over whose heads hangs an expulsion order. Nationalist Knesset Members in the coalition have insisted that Migron must remain in its current location, and the High Court has rejected a government petition to defer the scheduled expulsion beyond a July 15 deadline. The unanimous vote by the Cabinet approved a temporary housing site on Givat HaYekev in Kochav Yaakov, located in central Samaria. This was part of an agreement negotiated between the residents and the government as a site for the town if the present location is...