Free Republic

President Michael D. Higgins has strongly criticized the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen for comments on the Middle East conflict which she made on a visit to Israel last Friday. Ms. von der Leyen did not include a call for Israel’s retaliation to conform with international law. President Higgins said he agreed with those who criticized the intervention of the European Commission President. He said: “I don’t know where the source of those decisions was. I don’t know where the legitimation for it was, and I don’t know where the authority for it is, and I...

Former President Jimmy Carter once again is getting way out in front of the U.S. government on the Middle East, co-authoring an op-ed in which he calls for Washington to recognize designated terror group Hamas as a legitimate “political actor”—while blasting Israel for its military campaign in the Gaza Strip. The scathing column on ForeignPolicy.com was written by Carter and Ireland’s former president Mary Robinson. The article called the current conflict a “humanitarian catastrophe,” and while acknowledging Hamas’ “indiscriminate targeting” of Israelis, focused its criticism on Israel. …