December 6, 2017

In News Surrounding Israel by The Friends of Israel

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White House: Trump will give speech on Jerusalem Wednesday

U.S. President Donald Trump will give a speech on Wednesday (6th) in which he will announce whether he intends to press ahead with plans to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, the White House said on Tuesday (5th).

“I know there have been a lot of questions regarding the president’s decision on Jerusalem,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told a media briefing, according to the AFP news agency.

Wednesday (6th), the president will deliver remarks regarding his action,” she added.

(israelnn.com; afp.com)

 

Trump spoke by phone with Israel’s Netanyahu, Jordan”s King and Chairman Abbas

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump spoke on Tuesday (5th) with a number of Middle East leaders, including PM Benjamin Netanyahu, King Abdullah of Jordan, and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, the White House said, in advance of his expected announcement about the U.S. embassy in Israel.

Trump is expected on Wednesday (6th) to announce the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

(reuters.com)

 

The United States has had eight capitals

The United States had eight capitals before settling on Washington, D.C.  So who are the Americans to deny Israelis the right to determine their own?

Jerusalem Affairs Minister Ze’ev Elkin argued along those lines last week at a conference about Jerusalem’s legal status, urging the U.S. administration to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognize the city as Israel’s eternal capital.

As opposed to other countries, Israel has only ever had one capital city, Elkin noted.

“The United States, for example, had eight temporary capitals before George Washington signed the Residence Act, on July 16, 1790, stipulating the creation of a permanent capital city along the banks of the Potomac River – what is now known as Washington, D.C.,” he said

(timesofisrael.com)

 

Security forces on high alert ahead of possible Jerusalem declaration

The Israeli defense establishment is preparing for a possible violent Palestinian outburst in Israel, primarily in Jerusalem, following reports that U.S. President Donald Trump may recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital or announce a decision to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The U.S. administration has instructed its consulates and embassies in the Middle East to raise their alert level for fear of protests against American institutions.

(ynetnews.com)

 

‘Better to have a united Jerusalem than be loved by Turkey’  

Education Minister and Chairman of the Jewish Home party, Naftali Bennett pushed back Tuesday (5th) against the statements by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whereby American recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel would lead to a severing of diplomatic ties between Turkey and the Jewish state.

“There will always be those who criticize, but in the end, a united Jerusalem is preferable to the love of Erdogan,” said Bennett.

(israelnn.com)

 

Yisrael Katz: The days of the Ottoman Empire are over

Transportation and Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz responded to remarks by Turkish President Erdogan, saying that, “We do not accept orders and threats from the  president of Turkey.  Israel is a sovereign state and Jerusalem is its capital.”

Katz added, “There is no more just and proper course than to recognize Jerusalem, the capital of the Jewish people for 3,000 years as the capital of the State of Israel.  The days of the sultan and the Ottoman Empire are over.”

(israelnn.com)

 

Iran asks Muslims to disrupt Israeli ties in region

ANKARA – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani urged Muslims on Tuesday (5th) to disrupt what he called a plot by unnamed countries in the region to build ties with Israel.

He gave no more details on the states.  But an Israeli cabinet minister said last month that his government had had covert contacts with Saudi Arabia linked to their common concerns over Tehran.

“Some regional Islamic countries have shamelessly revealed their closeness to the Zionist regime,” Rouhani said in a speech broadcast live on Iran state TV.

(jpost.com)

 

Shots fired at Israeli bus – no injuries

Shots were fired Tuesday (5th) at an Israeli bus traveling through the northern West Bank.  According to the army, there were no injuries.

The military said the attack happened along a road near the Palestinian village of Yabad, near Jenin.

The shooting came as the Hamas terrorist group declared Friday (1st) “a day of rage” to protest U.S. President Donald Trump’s intention to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem.

(timesofisrael.com)

 

To get a state, Palestinians should do what the Zionists did – Benny Avni

The UN General Assembly’s vote of Nov. 29, 1947, to partition Palestine merely recognized reality.  The Jews had built their state.  The Zionists had competing political parties, active and effective workers unions, and universities and scientific research institutes.  A free press thrived, a budding legal system developed, and a united army under civilian control was formed as soon as independence was declared.

Not so the Palestinians.  They never really undertook the tasks required to become a state.  In Palestinian controlled West Bank cities and in Hamas-ruled Gaza, political differences are resolved by force.  The powers-that-be control the legal system.  Corruption is rampant.  Dissent is suffocated.  PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is nearly a decade past the end of his one elected term, yet he still wields power.

So, no.  The UN, the Arab League, the Saudi plan, President Trump’s new peace deal, and BDS will not create a Palestinian state.  Only the Palestinians will, and they’re far behind.  The two-state solution will wait until Palestinians get their act together.

(nypost.com)

 

Children on PA TV: The Jews poisoned Arafat

On November 17, 2017, official PA TV broadcast a children’s show marking the anniversary of the death of  Yasser Arafat.

During the show, a young boy named Adnan said, “Before he died the Jews put poison in his [Arafat’s] food, and then he died.”

The host responded, “Bravo.  That’s very important information.  Abu Ammar [Arafat] died of poisoning.  That’s right.  They put poison in his food, and he was martyred.”  

(memri.org)