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"There is no substitute for negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and any unilateral attempts outside that framework will unravel the existing agreements between us and could entail unilateral steps by Israel," Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told a high level gathering of Israeli and American policy makers at the Saban Forum in Jerusalem on Sunday night.

Senior US diplomatic sources have confirmed that the media blackout and shroud of secrecy surrounding Monday's meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama was the result of strained relations between the two leaders. Speaking to Israel's Army Radio on Wednesday morning, one unnamed US diplomat said the Obama Administration had become unhappy with what is viewed as Netanyahu's efforts to manipulate its policies during press briefings, and imposed the media blackout on Monday's meeting as a means of bringing the Israeli leader back in line. The official also accused Netanyahu of indirectly pressuring Obama via...

(IsraelNN.com) Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu left the White House after a one-hour and 40-minute meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama Monday night without speaking to reporters -- a rare occurrence. The meeting had been grudgingly scheduled early Sunday morning by the White House just a few hours before Netanyahu was to leave for the U.S. to speak at the 2009 General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America. The ninth-hour appointment was a clear sign that relations between Washington and Jerusalem remain strained; Netanyahu had requested the meeting weeks ago. Also in attendance for part of the meeting was...

WASHINGTON -- The Palestinians had hoped they would see a new day coming after the Bush administration’s eight-year capitulation to all that Israel wanted. But they were wrong. The Obama administration is moving down the same Bush road -- perhaps a little slower -- but nonetheless still enabling the Israelis to continue to violate international law and the U.N. Charter by annexing occupied Arab land. First, the new administration made it clear that U.S. policy opposed new Jewish settlements on the West Bank. This declaration was met with a thumping rejection from the Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu. Then,...

Israel says PM did not consult Obama ahead of trip because meeting on peace process unnecessary. WASHINGTON – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's intention to visit Washington for the annual UJC General Assembly has surprised many on Capitol Hill and was apparently not coordinated with the Obama administration. An American source told Ynet Sunday that news of the visit had been received with reserved astonishment. The Obama administration has not yet responded to questions of whether a meeting with Netanyahu was forthcoming due to their surprise over the unscheduled visit. On the other hand, failure to invite Netanyahu to the White...

MOSCOW, October 21 (RIA Novosti) - President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin congratulated on Wednesday the Israeli premier, Benjamin Netanyahu, on his 60th birthday, a Kremlin spokesman said. Medvedev reiterated Russia's intentions "to contribute actively to the settlement of a fair and solid peace in the Middle East on the basis of equal and safe security for all states and nations in the region." Putin praised what he described as a "constructive and open dialogue" between the two countries. "I am committed to enhancing further the cooperation between our countries' governments," the Russian premier said.

Jerusalem - A chosid he’s not—but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was right at home at a bris whose honored guests included Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau and several sidelock-sporting Orthodox men. After all, it was the bris of Netanyahu’s newest grandson, Shmuel, son of his daughter Noa, who became religious along with her husband Danny in recent years. Though not strictly Orthodox, Netanyahu is known to be respectful of Orthodox tradition. He follows in the footsteps of Israeli leaders like Ariel Sharon who paid reverential homage to Jewish Torah tradition by attending the circumcisions of their grandchildren. Before...

Netanyahu, has handed the Kremlin a list of Russian scientists believed by the Israelis to be helping Iran to develop a nuclear warhead. He is said to have delivered the list during a mysterious visit to Moscow.

(IsraelNN.com) Security forces on Friday destroyed the first hareidi-religious outpost in Samaria, Givat Sefer, just hours before the Sabbath. The site of the budding community is located next to the hareidi-religious city of Kiryat Sefer.

"The free world has reached the last opportunity for engagement with Iran. We believe many Western countries now see that the Iranian mask is slipping," a senior official told the Post on Saturday night. "But we don't yet know if Russia and China understand this," the official added....

Israel is looking like the new leader of the Free World. The previous leader, the United States, resigned this role last week at the United Nations to take the position of global community organizer.

Israel PM Netanyahu’s Address to UN 64th General Assembly - Text, Video (Photo) Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the UN asks the world body "have you no shame" for hosting the Iran President who denies the Holocaust? Netanyahu reminds the world that England defended herself against Nazi rocket attacks by leveling cities in Europe while Israel went house to house in Gaza placing her own troops at risk to avoid civilian casualties. And it was Israel which was named as the aggressor by the UN for defending herself against Hamas terror rockets on her cities and towns. Why did...

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, Nearly 62 years ago, the United Nations recognized the right of the Jews, an ancient people 3,500 years-old, to a state of their own in their ancestral homeland. I stand here today as the Prime Minister of Israel, the Jewish state, and I speak to you on behalf of my country and my people. The United Nations was founded after the carnage of World War II and the horrors of the Holocaust. It was charged with preventing the recurrence of such horrendous events. Nothing has undermined that central mission more than the systematic assault on...

Watch the truly historic Video here

Netanyahu speaking to UN NOW

Øbama: "... yesterday I had a constructive meeting with PM Netanyahu and president abbas..."After promising his support for an undivided Jerusalem on April 16, 2008 in Philadelphia..."It is not an acceptable option for Jerusalem to be severed from Israel along the lines of the 1967 borders. That is not going to be an option."...

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has labeled the Iran regime as “weaker than people think” and that is susceptible to international pressure. Speaking with Wolf Blitzer of CNN, the Prime Minister said, “The Iranian people detest this regime, as has been plainly evident in the recent election fraud. But, equally, I think that Iran is susceptible because its economy is susceptible. And the time for pressure is now, with or without talks.”

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have been brought together in New York for their first face-to-face meeting since the Gaza war eight months ago. US President Barack Obama is keen for the men to discuss ways of achieving Middle East peace but neither the Israeli Prime Minister, nor the Palestinian President appeared to want the meeting at all. Mr Obama summoned both of them anyway and before the meeting began he made it sound like he was about to bang some heads together. "We cannot continue the same pattern of taking tentative steps forward and then...

The United Nations nuclear assembly voted on Friday to urge Israel to accede to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and place all atomic sites under the world body's inspections, in a surprise victory for Arab states. The resolution, passed narrowly for the first time in nearly two decades, expresses concern about "Israeli nuclear capabilities" and calls on the International Atomic Energy Agency chief, Mohamed ElBaradei, to work on the issue. The Middle East resolution, sponsored by Arab states, was backed by 49 votes to 45 against in a floor vote at the IAEA's annual member states conference. The vote split along...

TEL AVIV/GAZA, September 16 (RIA Novosti) - The White House Mideast envoy completed on Wednesday a regular round of talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with no visible signs of progress on the issue of Jewish settlements. George Mitchell will meet with Netanyahu again on Friday to look for ways of resolving the problem of Jewish outpost construction in the West Bank, the main obstacle to Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. "They agreed to continue the discussion at a meeting to take place Friday after Senator Mitchell returns to Israel from a tour of the region's countries," the Israeli prime minister's...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to have rebuffed US demands for a total freeze on settlement building in the West Bank. He is quoted as saying he had told Washington he would instead consider "scaling down construction" . The US has called on Israel to halt all construction work in a bid to restart peace talks with the Palestinians. US Mid-East envoy George Mitchell is in the region to finalise terms for renewed peace talks. The US hopes the Israeli and Palestinian leaders will meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York later this...

JERUSALEM -- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Lebanon on Sunday that Israel "will not hold back" when attacked and holds the Lebanese government responsible for any assault on his country. Netanyahu delivered the warning after two rockets fired from Lebanon struck northern Israel on Friday. Israel responded immediately with artillery fire, and the exchange ratcheted up persisting tensions between the two countries. "We view this very gravely," Netanyahu told his Cabinet. "We will not hold back when Israeli territory comes under fire, and will not reconcile ourselves to missile fire or any other form of terror directed at Israeli citizens."...

Russian media on Thursday continued to cover Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's mysterious visit to Moscow, that was leaked to the media from his office. Kommersant newspaper quoted "experts" as saying they believe a visit of this kind could have stemmed from urgent circumstances, "for example, in the event that Israel plans to attack Iran". At first, Moscow denied a visit ever took place, but after Netanyahu's office was forced to admit to the PM's Military Secretary Meir Kalifi's lie, a senior Kremlin source also confirmed to Kommersant that the Israeli prime minister did indeed visit the city. Russian media...

SNIPPET: “Throughout the day the Prime Minister’s Office, when asked about Netanyahu’s whereabouts, said only that he was on a tour. After hours of speculation, and numerous inquiring phone calls, the PMO finally released the following laconic statement Monday evening: “The Prime Minister’s military attaché reports that the prime minister is visiting a security installation inside Israel.” Netanyahu was accompanied to the installation by National Security Adviser Uzi Arad and the military attaché, Meir Kalifi.”

Vladimir Putin did not meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week in Moscow, a spokesmen for the Russian prime minister said on Wednesday. Dimitri Peskov told Radio Moscow that Putin had been "busy that day following his pre-prepared schedule, which did not include a meeting with Netanyahu." Peskov, however, did not explicitly deny that a visit had taken place. Earlier Wednesday, a senior Jerusalem official had confirmed that Prime Minister Netanyahu visited Russia on Monday in order to discuss the Kremlin's arms deals with Iran and Syria, and the transfer of Russian military hardware to Hezbollah. Netanyahu's trip...

Madonna has joined Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his family in lighting Shabbat candles and reciting a blessing together with Netanyahu's wife Sarah. A statement from Netanyahu's office said the singer spent two hours at the Netanyahu home on Friday evening. Although not Jewish, the 51-year-old pop star claims a special bond with Israel and Jewish tradition. She's been exploring Kabbalah, a form of Jewish mysticism, for more than a decade and has taken the Hebrew name, Esther.

"During my visit to Berlin last week I witnessed first hand the price we paid for being helpless, but we returned to our homeland, and we are obligated to strengthen our hold on the land and preserve our independence," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told students at a school in Sdeh Eliyahu belonging to the cooperative settlement movement (Hityashvut Ovedet). Netanyahu visited a number of schools throughout the country on Tuesday, the first day of the new school year. "We advocate education that stresses values, Zionism and a love of the land, which you are practicing here," he told the...

President Obama is expected to moderate a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in late September, a discussion that could lead to the resumption of peace negotiations, Israeli President Shimon Peres told FOX News. In an exclusive interview, Peres said plans are for Abbas and Netanyahu to meet at the end of September at the United Nations. "Yes, I think they will meet by the end of September. President Obama will chair it, and I think that at least there is a chance that they will decide they are going to reopen negotiations," Peres...

BERLIN - AUGUST 26: In this photo released by the Israeli Government Press Office (GPO), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and his wife Sarah arrive during a official welcome at the airport on August 26, 2009 in Berlin, Germany. Netanyahu is on a two-day visit to Germany. Bibi's in a nice suit and Sarah is wearing an unflattering top and slacks. I don't get it.German President Horst Koehler, right, greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, inside Bellevue Castle in Berlin, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009. Netanyahu is in Germany for a two-day visit.BERLIN - AUGUST 26: Israeli Prime...

BERLIN - The Obama administration has agreed to Israel's request to remove East Jerusalem from negotiations on the impending settlement freeze. According to both Israeli officials and Western diplomats, U.S. envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell has recognized the fact that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cannot announce a settlement freeze in East Jerusalem. The officials said the U.S. will not endorse new construction there, but would not demand Jerusalem publicly announce a freeze. Netanyahu presented a proposal on Wednesday for resolving the ongoing Israeli-American dispute over construction in the settlements. In a meeting with Mitchell, Netanyahu suggested a temporary...

Netanyahu on Wednesday presented a proposal for resolving the ongoing Israeli-American dispute over construction in the settlements. In a meeting with Mitchell, Netanyahu suggested a temporary freeze, reportedly for nine months, on construction in the West Bank, a government source said. Netanyahu also said that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' reported willingness to meet with him was "a positive first step." The Americans are slated to respond to Netanyahu's proposal at a meeting in Washington next week between Mitchell and two Israeli officials: Netanyahu's envoy, attorney Yitzhak Molcho, and Defense Minister Ehud Barak's chief of staff, Brig. Gen. Mike Herzog....

Barack Obama is close to brokering an Israeli-Palestinian deal that will allow him to announce a resumption of the long-stalled Middle East peace talks before the end of next month, according to US, Israeli, Palestinian and European officials.

Netanyahu in UK: Settlement construction not a land grabPrime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu emerged from his meeting with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown Tuesday afternoon in London saying that Israel and the US were trying to come up with "a bridging formula" that would allow the launching of the peace process, while at the same time enabling normal life in the settlements. Netanyahu said that one could not expect Israel to allow a population of 250,000 residents of the territories to live there without new schools, kindergartens, or homes for their families. "This is different from grabbing land," Netanyahu said during...

Washington issued another diplomatic protest over Israeli conduct in East Jerusalem on Monday, its second in as many weeks. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman summoned Michael Oren, Israel's ambassador to Washington, to tell him that the United States views Sunday's eviction of two Palestinian families from homes in East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood as a "provocative" and "unacceptable" act that violates Israel's obligations under the road map peace plan. Oren responded by saying that the buildings in question have been Jewish-owned since before Israel's founding, and that a court ordered the families' evictions because...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remarked on the four-year anniversary of Israel's withdrawal from Gaza. At the weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said that "Israel uprooted 10,000 of its citizens from their homes and Gaza has turned into a terror base under the control of Hamas, and sponsored by Iran." "I want to stress the fact that we are committed to the full rehabilitation of those uprooted, and the cabinet will discuss the matter next week," Netanyahu added. "We will not put up with rocket fire [from Gaza] into our communities. We will decisively respond to every attack," the prime minister went...

Though American Jews make up around 2 percent of the population, they have always enjoyed ample representation in Congress, where they account for around 8 percent of legislators. Only one of them is a Republican, but Rep. Eric Cantor, who will visit Israel this month, says Jews belong in the Republican Party. "I'm a firm believer there is a big place for the American Jewish Community in the Republican Party," says Cantor, 46, a Virginian seen as one of his party's great promises. He says he decided to head the delegation of congressmen to visit Israel this month to counteract...

Israel will continue to keep the Gaza crossings closed, except to allow in humanitarian aid, until the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Schalit, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told US National Security Advisor Jim Jones Wednesday. Sources in the Prime Minister's Office said a decision made by Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Wednesday to allow the shipment of hundreds of tons of cement into Gaza did not signal a change in the country's policies regarding the Gaza crossings. Rather, the sources said, the cement was earmarked specifically for three humanitarian projects, including a sewage plant under construction in northern Gaza as...

The beginning of a week of annoying meetings with the Obama team began with Defense Secretary Robert Gates. The goal of the U.S. is to break Netanyahu's will, give more U.S. tax money to the PA, and stop the Jews from building so it will be easier to kick them out of their land and move the arabs in.JERUSALEM - JULY 27: U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates (L) laughs with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) during a luncheon July 27, 2009 in Jerusalem, Israel. Gates has arrived in Israel, and U.S. special envoy George Mitchell has arrived in Egypt...

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seen at the Egyptian ambassador's house during a celebration of Egypt's national day in Herzliya, Thursday, July 23, 2009.Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, Israel's President Shimon Peres, center, and Egyptian ambassador to Israel Yasser Reda toast during a celebration of Egypt's national day in Herzliya, Thursday, July 23, 2009.Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, Israel's President Shimon Peres, center, and Egyptian ambassador to Israel Yasser Reda cut a cake during a celebration of Egypt's national day in Herzliya, Thursday, July 23, 2009.HERTZLIA, ISRAEL - JULY 23: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks...

I admit I was mistaken about the direction the relationship between the Obama administration and the Netanyahu government would take. It seemed consensual that the two-state solution was on its way to the freezer with a tag attached: "See under 'solutionism.'" This would have placed the differences between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on the level of principle. On the ground, Obama would avoid confrontation with Israel and work with Netanyahu to accelerate economic cooperation between Palestinians and Israelis. Instead, Obama chose to embark on a collision course. Among Netanyahu's advisers there are some who believe that...

JERUSALEM, Jul 23 (IPS) - Israel's newly installed ambassador in Washington says the "disagreement" with the U.S. over Israel's settlement policy will be resolved "soon". Speaking on Israel Radio, Michael Oren was giving his first interview since taking up his post. His upbeat assessment is challenged by many other Israeli officials and by most political pundits who foresee the U.S. and Israel being on collision course. With the EU and Russia following suit. Defining Israel's 'settlement policy' is the nub: Does it include also occupied East Jerusalem? A low-key U.S. demand for Israel to scrap a plan for a new...

Last summer, in the course of a campaign speech reaching out to pro-Israel groups concerned about his commitment to the Jewish state, then presidential candidate Barack Obama declared, "Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided." Those words, which he later qualified, may now be coming back to haunt the President as he seeks to restart the moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace process by getting Israel to freeze all construction outside its pre-1967 borders. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has drawn a line in the sand over Jerusalem, vehemently rejecting Washington's demand that he halt a construction project...

Israeli leaders say they're bewildered by the Obama administration's "obsession" with West Bank settlement growth. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was recently quoted asking/grumbling, "What do they want from me?" His aides told reporters and American Jewish leaders that Washington's position on settlements is "childish," "stupid" and "delusional" and that the Obama team should "come to its senses." A settler prays between destroyed structures demolished by IDF troops in the West Bank outpost of Maoz Esther. Photo: AP I don't think that Netanyahu and his aides are genuinely perplexed or mystified by the administration's demand that Israel stop all settlement construction...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's oldest son has begun his mandatory three-year military service. Netanyahu accompanied his son Yair to a military induction center in Jerusalem Tuesday to see him off. The 18-year-old Yair boarded a bus to another army base where he will be processed. He will then go through three weeks of basic training before joining the military spokesman's office. Yair will be the army's only private with a personal bodyguard. Netanyahu himself was an officer in an elite Israeli commando unit. The prime minister has another son, Avner, with his wife Sara and an older daughter, Noa, from...

(IsraelNN.com) Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu issued a sharp response Sunday to United States pressure to stop Jews from building in parts of Jerusalem claimed by the Palestinian Authority. Israel's sovereignty in Jerusalem is “not up for debate,” Netanyahu said, and Jews are permitted to build in any part of the capital city, as are Arabs. Netanyahu implied that the U.S. request was racist, saying before the weekly Cabinet meeting, “Imagine what would happen if Jews were forbidden to live or to buy apartments in certain parts of London, New York, Paris or Rome. There would be an international outcry." "All...

Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu declared Sunday that the recognition by the Palestinians of Israel as a Jewish state was key to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "I am convinced that the root of the solution is in the refusal to recognize the Jewish state," said Netanyahu at a state ceremony to mark the 105th anniversary of the death of Theodor Herzl, the father of political Zionism. "Therefore, the key to peace is the explicit recognition by the Palestinians of Israel as a Jewish state." The premier made the same demand in a key policy speech he delivered a month ago at...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used the Nazi term 'Judenrein' in a recent meeting with the German foreign minister to condemn the Palestinian demand that West Bank settlements be removed, a confidant of the premier has said. "Judea and Samaria cannot be Judenrein," the confidant quoted the prime minister as telling Frank-Walter Steinmeier earlier this week. Asked how Germany's top diplomat responded to hearing the term used by the Nazis to refer to areas "cleansed of Jews", the confidant said, "What could he do? He basically just nodded." According to the confidant, Netanyahu had encouraged cabinet colleagues to deploy the term...

At about 3:15 P.M. yesterday, the government's 100th day in office, political correspondents' beepers went off. In an unprecedented move, the Prime Minister's Bureau was inviting the correspondents to a press conference at the Knesset that was slated to begin in 15 minutes. This was the start of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's panicked, disproportionate response to the criticism senior Kadima politicians had leveled at him three hours earlier. Kadima MKs had attacked Netanyahu at a press conference under the banner "100 days, zero gains. It's the same old Bibi." Later, Kadima supporters handed out stickers with anti-Netanyahu slogans in the...

Opposition leader Tzipi Livni on Monday questioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's commitment to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In a highly anticipated foreign policy address at Bar-Ilan University last month, Netanyahu said he would be ready to agree to a demilitarized Palestinian state alongside Israel, a reversal of the premier's longstanding opposition to a two-state solution. In remarks to lawmakers at the Knesset, the former foreign minister accused the premier of paying lip service to the concept of a Palestinian state. In remarks to lawmakers at the Knesset, the former foreign minister accused the premier of paying lip...

The head of Mossad, Israel’s overseas intelligence service, has assured Benjamin Netanyahu, its prime minister, that Saudi Arabia would turn a blind eye to Israeli jets flying over the kingdom during any future raid on Iran’s nuclear sites. Earlier this year Meir Dagan, Mossad’s director since 2002, held secret talks with Saudi officials to discuss the possibility. The Israeli press has already carried unconfirmed reports that high-ranking officials, including Ehud Olmert, the former prime minister, held meetings with Saudi colleagues. The reports were denied by Saudi officials. “The Saudis have tacitly agreed to the Israeli air force flying through their...