Israel

Israel and Hamas near a Spring war

After nearly two months of rising tension, Israel and Hamas have taken a step towards a full-blown military confrontation: Before dawn Saturday, April 2, an Israeli air strike killed three senior Hamas Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades gunmen in the Gaza Strip in an operation described by an Israeli army spokesman as pre-empting a major Palestinian terror-cum-kidnap campaign scheduled for Passover. A fourth Palestinian was seriously injured by the airborne missile which struck their car between Khan Younes and Deir el Balakh. The Hamas Brigades warned Israel its “dangerous escalation” would have “consequences.”  More …

Israel ‘Shocked, Insulted’ as EU Calls Jerusalem a Settlement

Israel is shocked by international criticism of the demolition of a Jewish-owned property in Jerusalem.

“Calling Jerusalem a settlement is a misinterpretation, an insult to the history of the city,” Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor told the French news agency AFP. “It is incomprehensible that they are mixing questions of private rights, international law and politics,” he added.  More …

Lieberman: Palestinian statehood declaration a ‘red line’

Addressing the possibility that the Palestinian Authority might unilaterally declare statehood later this year, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman called such a move a red line that shouldn’t be crossed.  More …