Free Republic

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he and President Trump discussed the possibilities of a U.S-Israel defense treaty as well as Israeli annexation of the Jordan Valley in the West Bank in their call last night. Why it matters: This is mostly about domestic political positioning for Netanyahu as he and opposition politician Benny Gantz stare down a Dec. 11 deadline to form a government. Netanyahu gave the impression that Trump was favorably disposed toward both goals and called on Gantz to form a unity government to accomplish them. Between the lines: If neither Netanyahu nor Gantz can get 61...

Security officials warn that annexing the Jordan Valley could jeopardize the peace treaty with Jordan, it was claimed tonight on Channel 12 News. In the"source's" estimation, King Abdullah will find it difficult to resist the pressure and will not be able to ignore protests and condemnations or mollify objections by returning the Jordanian ambassador from Tel Aviv. Channel 12 says some fear that a wave of protests by the "Palestinians" would also stir a storm in Jordan and the King will be forced to suspend the peace treaty with Israel signed in 1994. .....

The Obama administration is now advising foreign banks on how to bypass existing U.S. sanctions when dealing with Iran, according to the State Department, which disclosed that officials are offering guidance on how to grant the Islamic Republic access to billions of dollars in frozen assets.However, the administration would not comment when pressed by reporters on whether foreign banks would be permitted to conduct monetary transactions with Iran using American dollars.State Department Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner told reporters that the U.S. is committed to helping Iran access billions of dollars in frozen assets that are currently stored in banks across...

EXCLUSIVE: At least four classified Hillary Clinton emails had their markings changed to a category that shields the content from Congress and the public, Fox News has learned, in what State Department whistleblowers believed to be an effort to hide the true extent of classified information on the former secretary of state’s server. The changes, which came to light after the first tranche of 296 Benghazi emails was released in May, was confirmed by two sources -- one congressional, the other intelligence. The four emails originally were marked classified after a review by career officials at the State Department. But...

The Obama administration is calling on the Cuban government to free a political prisoner -- one of the dozens released from prison a year ago as a rapprochement gesture, only to be re-arrested a few months later. Vladimir Morera Bacallao, 53, is reportedly near death due to the hunger strike he started behind bars in October. Morera Bacallao, a labor activist, was arrested in April in the run-up to the regime's sham municipal elections for posting a sign outside his home stating: "I vote for my freedom and not in an election where I cannot choose my president." A month...

US President Barack Obama's administration on Thursday voiced its approval of the discriminatory EU decision the day before to label Jewish goods from Judea, Samaria, eastern Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. The administration said the move is only a "technical guideline," and is not a boycott, reports Associated Press - despite the obvious assumption that consumers would follow the labeling when choosing what products to buy. US State Department spokesperson Mark Toner said, "we do not believe that labeling the origin of products is equivalent to a boycott. And as you know, we do not consider settlements to be part...

A bomb exploded outside the U.S. diplomatic mission in the Libyan city of Benghazi overnight, an attack that could be retaliation for the killing, in a U.S. drone strike, of al Qaeda's Libyan second-in-command. An improvised explosive device was dropped from a passing vehicle onto the road outside the mission, in an upmarket area of central Benghazi. It exploded moments after, slightly damaging the building's gate, U.S. and Libyan officials said. Washington had confirmed a few hours before the attack that a U.S.-operated drone had killed Abu Yahya al-Libi, a Libyan-born cleric and senior al Qaeda operative, in Pakistan. The...

A bomb exploded outside the US diplomatic mission in the Libyan city of Benghazi overnight, an attack that could be retaliation for the killing, in a US drone strike, of al Qaeda's Libyan second-in-command. An improvised explosive device was dropped from a passing vehicle onto the road outside the mission, in an upmarket area of central Benghazi. It exploded moments after, slightly damaging the building's gate, US and Libyan officials said. Washington had confirmed a few hours before the attack that a US-operated drone had killed Abu Yahya al-Libi, a Libyan-born cleric and senior al Qaeda operative, in Pakistan. The...