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Israel's minister of regional cooperation said Wednesday that he expects normalize relations with another Arab state before the U.S. elections. Reuters reported that Ofir Akunis, who is also a member of Israel's parliament, the Knesset, told Army Radio that the announcement would come before Nov. 3. "I have a reasonable basis to believe that the announcement will come before November 3 - that, if you'll permit me, is what I understand from my sources," he said, according to the news service. "I will be very happy if the announcement will happen - and before the elections in the United States,"...

A poster at a shop in Madinah announces its boycott of all Turkish products. RIYADH/JEDDAH: The popular campaign boycotting Turkish products in Saudi Arabia has gained further momentum over the past few days, attracting the support of commentators and businesses. “Turkish political mess-ups and interference in countries of the Middle East is the real reason behind this popular boycott of Turkish products,” said Dr. Hamdan Al-Shehri, a political analyst and international relations scholar. “Turkish President Erdogan changed his previous policy of minimizing Turkish problems and instead exported it to the outside. Turkey has been threatening the region just as Iran...

A recent study conducted by the Jewish Electorate Institute found that 67% of American Jewish respondents planned to vote for Joe Biden and 30% for President Trump. Eighty-eight percent of those surveyed claimed to be pro-Israel and 64% said Israel is an important election issue. Most ranked Biden higher on U.S.-Israel relations, the handling of anti-Semitism, and ensuring the security of the Jewish community. The survey results are surprising, given Trump’s stellar record on Jews and Israel. American Jews must reconsider, for Biden’s record and positions on critical topics belie these perceptions. Record on IsraelBiden’s record should dispel any notions...

Appearing at Monday’s virtual Mipcom marketing event, Netflix Chief Executive Ted Sarandos defended the child pornography film “Cuties” his company recently released, to massive backlash. The film has been charged with exploiting 11-year old girls, who are featured in highly sexual and suggestive scenes that include twerking, inappropriate clothing, and even nudity. State and federal officials have labeled the hyper-sexualization of young girls in the film criminal. It’s a little surprising in 2020 America that we’re having a discussion about censoring storytelling,” ... Sarandos claimed the film is simply “misunderstood” and if you just watch it, the movie “speaks for...

Cuba, China and Russia on Tuesday were elected to the U.N. Human Rights Council -- a move that the U.S. branded a “mockery” of the body's intended purpose and as proof that Washington was right to leave the council in 2018. The three countries, all with a history of authoritarianism and human rights abuses, were elected by the U.N. General Assembly, along with countries including Bolivia, France, Mexico, Nepal, Pakistan, Senegal, Uzbekistan and the United Kingdom. Saudi Arabia was on the ballot but failed to drum up enough support to win a seat.

China, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Cuba and Pakistan are tipped to finish top of Tuesday’s election for seats on the United Nations Human Rights Council, prompting disbelief from freedom campaigners and exiled dissidents alike. U.N. Watch, a Geneva-based monitoring group, said allowing these countries anywhere near the council “is like making a gang of arsonists into the fire brigade.”

Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan, one of the most widely recognized and respected Saudi officials in the world, gave a three-part interview to the government-controlled Al Arabiya news network and proceeded to tear down 70 years of myths about the leadership of the Palestinian national movement. Bandar spent 22 years as a Saudi ambassador to the U.S. and is known to speak for the government. It was an extraordinary series of interviews — a brutal assessment of the numerous self-inflicted wounds by Palestinian leaders going all the way back to the 1930s. It was broadcast in Arabic with English subtitles...

"Gambling on the losers": a storm after the Saudi prince attacked the Palestinians Roy Kaise. Oct.6.2020 Following the agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, Saudi Arabia was designated as a state that if Israel succeeds in normalizing its relations with it, it will be a breach of equality with the Arab world. Tonight, Israel may have received a positive message in this direction, in an interview with one of the Saudi princes on the Al-Arabiya network: he attacked the Palestinians for their opposition to agreements between Israel and the Gulf states, implicitly mentioned Abba Eben. [From the clip: 'We...

“The Arab world now says that relations with Israel is more important than the Palestinian issue, which cannot be solved by Abu Mazen, for the foreseeable future.” The constellations of moderate Sunni Arab states which are on track to normalize relations with Israel view Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as irrelevant, a former top Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) official has told The Jerusalem Post. Former head of the counter-terrorism division for Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria Arik “Harris” Barbing told the Post on Sunday that, “the Palestinian issue is not a focus of the Arab states.” Harris said that, “Abu...

Minister Gantz to Journalists from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE: “We have the strategic tools to face Iran. We are stronger than them. Our collaborations give us new strategies and options, and the Iranians understand that too; The best strategy for regional stability is peace" In a teleconference earlier this evening organized by the Arab Council for Regional Integration, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz joined journalists from outlets in Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain, including Al-Roeya, Al-Ayam, Alarabiya, amongst others, for a first-ever conversation between an Israeli defense minister and journalists from the Gulf states. Asked about the basis...

RIYADH/ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The head of Saudi Arabia's Chambers of Commerce has called for a boycott of Turkish products amid reports from merchants that animosity between Ankara and Riyadh is hindering the flow of goods between the two regional powers. Saudi Arabia and Turkey have been at odds for some years over foreign policy and attitudes towards political Islamist groups. The murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi's Istanbul consulate in 2018 escalated tensions sharply. Earlier this year the two countries blocked some of each other's news websites. "A boycott of everything Turkish, be it imports, investment or tourism,...

KHARTOUM — Sudanese officials will discuss the removal of their country from a U.S. list of state sponsors of terror with U.S. officials during a visit to the United Arab Emirates this week, the ruling council said on Sunday. Sudan's transitional government, in charge since the toppling of Omar al-Bashir last year, has been pushing to get off the U.S. list, which hinders its ability to access foreign loans to tackle an economic crisis. In August, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo raised the issue of Sudan establishing ties with Israel during a visit. Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok told him...

In this new Year my children of light shall be my children of gladness in that my spirit will overwhelm the valleys with floods of my Angels of Breakthrough . New cures for diseases will sprout up as blades of grass. In this very same way as my children of light touch those crying out to me, truly you shall see unclean spirits leave them as healing rises up in their wellsprings. My justice shall be swift and true. My Word will become paramount for there is power in My Word and as you declare I shall remove the mountains...

King Salman of Saudi Arabia called for “coexistence among all the region’s peoples” and endorsed President Trump’s Middle East diplomacy just days after the signing of historic agreements between Israel and two other Gulf Arab states. “Peace in the Middle East is our strategic option,” the oil-rich monarch told the United Nations General Assembly. ”And we will spare no effort to work together towards achieving a bright future where peace, stability, prosperity, and coexistence among all the region’s peoples prevail.” His recorded comments seemed to indicate that Saudi Arabia approves of the recent normalization of ties between Israel and two...

More unprecedented peace in the Trumpian era. Every day, historic, history defining achievements are being ignored by the mainstream media while they write whole fiction tales – books, even- trying to destroy the President. It is like nothing we have ever seen in our life time.Think about it – Middle East Peace, UAE, Malawi, Chad, Saudi flyovers, Bahrain, the Arab League rejecting Palestinian demand to condemn Israel-UAE dealGreece-Cyprus-Israel is a natural coalition considering our collective histories of persecution, oppression and genocide by the annihilationist Caliphate.President Trump’s Growing List of Foreign Policy Successes Greece-Cyprus-Israel sign the tripartite military cooperation program for...

Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is King of Saudi Arabia He is 84 years old and said to be in ill health. Social media mill grinding out the rumours he is in critical condition. https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/1307847955639083008

Good indications for continued progress toward peace in the middle-east. President Trump has called for a 2:00pm press conference (not previously scheduled) following an oval office meeting with Amir Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah of the State of Kuwait. This could be yet another partner announcement in the normalization of relations with Israel. CTH predicted Kuwait would be next. It would make sense for Kuwait, Oman and Sudan to come next in the process before the heavy -and more complex- nations (Qatar & Saudi). Protocols and pageantry are culturally very important to the Arab nations and they have a...

Around 120,000 years ago in what is now northern Saudi Arabia, a small band of Homo sapiens stopped to drink and forage at a shallow lake that was also frequented by camels, buffalo, and elephants bigger than any species seen today The people may have hunted the large mammals but they did not stay long, using the watering hole as a waypoint on a longer journey. This detailed scene was reconstructed by researchers in a new study published in Science Advances on Thursday, following the discovery of ancient human and animal footprints in the Nefud Desert that shed new light...

For decades, foreign policy experts—the blob—assumed much about the Middle East that has turned out to be completely wrong. It’s been remarkable to watch the mainstream press and official Washington try to downplay the significance of the peace deal the Trump administration brokered between Israel and two Arab states this week.The signing of the Abraham Accords on Tuesday between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain at the White House, which for the first time normalized relations between Israel and the two Persian Gulf states, is by any measure historic. It’s been 26 years since any Arab state recognized Israel,...

After deals with UAE and Bahrain, there are signs Saudi Arabia is preparing its people to warm to Israel. When one of Saudi Arabia's leading Muslim leaders called this month for Muslims to avoid "passionate emotions and fiery enthusiasm" towards Jews, it was a marked change in tone for someone who has shed tears preaching about Palestine in the past. The sermon by Abdulrahman al-Sudais, imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, broadcast on Saudi state television on September 5, came three weeks after the United Arab Emirates agreed upon a historic deal to normalise relations with Israel and days...