Free Republic

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — “Stop the bombs and save lives!” the Palestinian ambassador pleaded at an emotional U.N. meeting Thursday on the war in Gaza. But Israel’s envoy was adamant, declaring again, “We will not rest until Hamas is obliterated.” At the assembly’s resumed emergency special session on Israeli actions in the Palestinian territories Thursday, speaker after speaker backed the Arab resolution’s cease-fire call — except for Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan, who told the 193-member world body, “A cease-fire means giving Hamas time to rearm itself, so they can massacre us again.” After quoting several Hamas statements vowing to...

The UN General Assembly this week passed a resolution to characterize the founding of the modern state of Israel in 1948 as a “catastrophe,” in what has been heralded as a major victory for pro-Palestinian activists. The word “Nakba,” which means catastrophe or disaster in Arabic, was also a term coined by the Palestinians to commemorate the Jewish state’s founding. The UN resolution acknowledges the Palestinian version of the events that led to Israel’s creation, and calls for the “commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Nakba,” with a “high-level event” at the global body on May 15th, 2023. May...

Palestinian Authority Spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said on Thursday that the PA is considering taking “significant steps” in response to Israel’s decision to accelerate the construction of 2,000 homes in east Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. Abu Rudeineh, who was interviewed on BBC Radio, said the PA will soon “change the Middle East” but would not provide additional details. Meanwhile, the PA’s representative in the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, has asked the UN Security Council to take action against Israel, saying the Israeli government in Jerusalem is “illegally stealing” the tax money it is supposed to transfer to the PA. Mansour...