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The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade of Judea and Samaria, the military wing of Fatah (PLO), headed by Mahmoud Abbas, who also serves as the "President of Palestine" and head of the PLO, has declared "open war" against the "Zionist enemy." In a ecorded message from July 23, three armed terrorists from the al-Aqsa brigade announced that they would not sit idly by during the Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip, and that they intend to bring the struggle deep into Israeli territory. "The language of blood is the only way to answer Zionist aggression", they said, stating that international law permits...

Cabinet will likely accept terms of Arab League-backed ceasefire deal as Gaza terror group remains defiant. Hamas said Tuesday morning that the terms of an Egyptian ceasefire proposal were tantamount to surrender, as the Israeli government prepared to meet on the issue, and was expected to approve the deal. Meanwhile the Arab League, the US and PA leader Mahmoud Abbas all urged approval of the truce. As the security cabinet meets to discuss the terms of an Egypt-backed ceasefire, Palestinian sources report that Israel is still attacking targets in the Gaza Strip early Tuesday morning, Israel Radio reports.

Egypt launched an initiative on Monday to halt fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants, proposing a ceasefire to be followed by talks in Cairo on settling the conflict in which Gaza authorities say more than 170 people have died. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene his decision-making security cabinet on Tuesday to discuss the proposal on the Gaza violence, an Israeli official said. [An] Israeli official seemed to put a positive face on the proposed truce, saying that Israel's week-old offensive in Gaza had weakened the Islamist Hamas group militarily. Two members of Netanyahu's security cabinet suggested a truce...

The United States on Monday night condemned the rocket fire by Hamas against Israel. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Monday night in the wake of the heavy rocket fire on Israel. Kerry asked Netanyahu to “act with restraint” in his response to Hamas' pounding of southern Israel. With that, State Department spokesperson Jean Psaki said that the US supported Israel's right to defend itself. “We condemn the firing of missiles at Israel and support Israel's right to defend itself.” Kerry, she said, had spoken to Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and asked...

  The official Facebook page Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party has posted a cartoon comparing the three kidnapped Israeli students to rats.

They've become the bullies of the quad at college campuses around the nation, shouting down speakers, terrorizing Jewish students and intimidating those who disagree with them on the vexing issue of peace in the Middle East, according to watchdog groups. Students for Justice in Palestine, with nearly 100 chapters on campuses around the nation, has become increasing strident in promoting its agenda, staging "die-ins," handing out mock eviction notices in dormitories, and raising funds for Hamas-aligned groups, according to Jewish watchdog groups. Individual members have been accused of assaulting students, vandalizing property and hurling anti-Semitic slurs at Jewish students, all...

Three Israeli students from the Makor Chaim Yeshiva in the religious kibbutz Kfar Etzion were kidnapped by terrorists on Thursday night. As the students made their way home from the Yeshiva, security forces say they were dragged into a vehicle driven by terrorists that had stopped for them as they waited at a hitchhiking post. Makor Chaim Yeshiva is located between Jerusalem and Hevron in the Judea region. IDF and police forces have been searching in the hours since the kidnapping to try and locate the three young students, while a gag order was placed on the press, due to...

BREAKING: IDF Launches Massive Manhunt for Three Israeli Youths Feared Kidnapped in West Bank JUNE 13, 2014 10:33 AM Dave Bender The IDF confirmed on Friday afternoon that “three Israeli teenagers are currently missing. The individuals were last seen late last night in the area of Gush Etzion,” south of Jerusalem. “He just disappeared, never made it home,” a relative of one of the youths said, according to Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot. “His parents are worried, praying, hoping for the best. We’re all praying this incident ends on the good side,” the relative said. Army “forces are conducting a widespread...

Hamas called on Palestinians Friday to declare an intifada throughout the West Bank and to confront Israeli "forces of Occupation," be it through a popular uprising or individual action. Husam Badran, Hamas' international spokesman in Gaza, posted Friday on Facebook calling for Palestinians in the West Bank to impede the Israeli army's movement around the West Bank, particularly in the Hebron area, where three Israeli teens are feared kidnapped. [....] Earlier Friday, Khaled Al-Batsh, a senior member of Islamic Jihad, called on Palestinians to kidnap Israeli soldiers.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke on Friday evening with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, following the disappearance of three yeshiva students near Hevron. During the conversation, Netanyahu told Kerry that the boys’ disappearance was directly related to the Palestinian Authority (PA) signing a reconciliation pact and forming a unity government with the Hamas terrorist group. "What is happening on the ground since Hamas was added to the government is a deterioration of the situation. This is the direct result of allowing a murderous and racist terrorist organization into the government," Netanyahu told Kerry, according to Channel 2 News. Netanyahu...

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accuses Israel of being an occupying force in her new memoir Hard Choices and claims that the Jewish state denies “dignity and self determination” to Palestinians in the West Bank. Clinton recalls being surprised by what she termed “life under occupation for the Palestinians,” according to the book. Pro-Israel officials and insiders on Capitol Hill have called Clinton’s comments tone deaf and said that her claim that Israel is an occupying force reveals a bias against the Jewish state. “When we left the city and visited Jericho, in the West Bank, I got my...

A former Hamas government spokesman revealed on Sunday that Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has said in private meetings he is lying in public statements to “trick the Americans.” The spokesman, Ihab al-Ghussein, wrote on Facebook that “behind closed doors,” Abbas had said “when I go out and say that the government is my government and it recognizes ‘Israel’ and so on, fine—these words are meant to trick the Americans.” Palestinian Media Watch translated and exposed the Facebook post. “Guys, let me (continue) saying what I say to the media. Those words are meant for the Americans and the...

Dr. Matthew Kroenig, associate professor and the international relations field chair at Georgetown University, spoke at a the Heritage Foundation on Iran’s nuclear proliferation efforts and his newest book, A Time to Attack: The Looming Iranian Nuclear Threat. Although one may think that Kroenig is advocating for a military option, he said, “I argue that we should try to solve this problem, the Iranian nuclear challenge, diplomatically, if possible.” But, if diplomacy fails, Kroenig suggested that “there will come a time to attack Iran.” And, adding to the discussion, he asked the question, “Are we prepared to live with a...

The US has been secretly holding talks with Hamas for months Buzzfeed reported Thursday, despite its official stance that it would (not?) negotiate with the terrorist organization. “Our administration needed to hear from them that this unity government would move toward democratic elections, and toward a more peaceful resolution with the entire region,” a US official stated to the “social news” site, on condition of anonymity. “It was important to have that line of communication.” US officials have publicly denied the charges, however, leading to confusion over the report’s veracity. …

When Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas chose to scuttle peace talks with Israel this spring by deciding to conclude a pact with Hamas rather than the Jewish state, he was taking a calculated risk. In embracing his Islamist rivals, Abbas sought to unify the two leading Palestinian factions not to make peace more possible but to make it impossible. Since Palestinian public opinion—indeed the entire political culture of his people—regards any pact that would recognize the legitimacy of a Jewish state as a betrayal of their national identity, bringing Hamas back into the PA fold illustrated that he would not...

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed on Tuesday the formation of the new Palestinian “unity government” which includes the Hamas terrorist group. In a statement, Ban expressed hope that new opportunities for progress towards a two-State solution with Israel will emerge soon, saying the UN had received assurances that the Hamas-Fatah deal would be implemented on the basis of previous commitments such as the recognition of Israel and non-violence. …

Washington said Monday it will work with the Palestinian Arab unity government and maintain aid, while "watching closely" to ensure it respects the principle of non-violence, AFP reports. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Washington believes Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has "formed an interim technocratic government... that does not include members affiliated with Hamas." "With what we know now, we will work with this government," Psaki said. Abbas has insisted that a 'unity' government would be based on what he called"the four Palestinian principles": recognizing Israel, recognizing the terms of international agreements, and the explicit rejection of violence...

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his “cabinet” in Gaza have resigned, Hamas spokeswoman Israa al-Mudallal said, “paving the way for the new ministers of the consensus government.” Haniyeh welcomed the new cabinet as “a government of one people and one political system.” […] Hamas and Fatah swore in a “unity” government earlier Monday, despite last-minute tensions which almost prevented the Palestinian Arab reconciliation. The joint government elected Palestinian Authority (PA) official Rami Hamdallah as Prime Minister. …

AP reported Sunday that “Pope Francis delivered a powerful boost of support to the Palestinians during a Holy Land pilgrimage Sunday, repeatedly backing their statehood aspirations, praying solemnly at Israel’s controversial separation barrier and calling the stalemate in peace efforts ‘unacceptable.’”Not only that, but “Palestinian officials hailed Francis’ decision to refer to the ‘state of Palestine.’ In its official program, the Vatican referred to President Mahmoud Abbas as the president of the ‘state of Palestine,’ and his Bethlehem office as the ‘presidential palace.’ He pointedly called Abbas a ‘man of peace.’”This is not really all that surprising. After all,...

America has no business dictating terms on issues of vital national security to Israel, US Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), a possible candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, said in the Knesset Monday. He placed the blame on the Palestinians for the recent failure of peace talks, saying “the principal impediment to peace is that, to date, the Palestinians have refused to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state and have refused to renounce terror. “Unless and until the Palestinians can agree on those very basic starting blocks, no lasting peace solution is likely,” he stated. Cruz...