Arab Israeli conflict

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Jerusalem Votes in Bizarre Race for Mayor

Rabbi, investor and Russian soccer boss vie for control of holy city

(Newser) - Jerusalem went to the polls to elect a mayor today, and the selection of candidates is nothing if not eccentric, Time reports. Sure to capture the Orthodox Jewish vote is Meir Porush, a rabbi with a visage so imposing his campaign uses a cartoon on its posters. Vying for the...

Bush Won't See Mideast Deal During Term

In region, Rice aims to keep process on track for Obama's team

(Newser) - Israel and the Palestinians won’t likely reach a peace agreement by the 2009 deadline set at the Annapolis negotiations a year ago, the White House said today. The Bush administration began to question the feasibility of the deadline when a corruption scandal ousted PM Ehud Olmert and set the...

Syria Formalizes Lebanon Ties
 Syria Formalizes Lebanon Ties 
Oct 14, 2008 3:12 PM CDT

Syria Formalizes Lebanon Ties

Damascus hopes symbolic gesture eases international pressure

(Newser) - Syria today established formal diplomatic relations with Lebanon for the first time since the nations won independence in the 1940s, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Bashir al-Assad’s regime sent its first-ever ambassador to Iraq yesterday, moves one expert says show Syria “wants to play ball with the world....

Portman Wants to Talk About Microloans, Not Movies

Teams with Jordan's queen to help women

(Newser) - Among Hollywood actresses, Natalie Portman may be an anomaly. “As opposed to talking about fashion,” the 27-year-old says she prefers discussing poverty alleviation. The Israeli-American discovered FINCA International, a microfinance program for women, through her inspiration, Jordan’s Queen Rania, a Palestinian and an “incredible woman whom...

Livni Nods to Peace Amid Political Talks

PM-designate pauses coalition-building to meet with Palestinian

(Newser) - Israel's prime minister-designate took a break from her efforts to form a new government today to meet with the chief Palestinian peace negotiator, signaling she will keep negotiations going despite the country's political uncertainty. Tzipi Livni and the Palestinian negotiator, Ahmed Qureia, have met regularly since peace talks formally relaunched...

Global Leaders Slam Israel's West Bank Expansion Plan

Officials say move would trample peace deals

(Newser) - Israeli plans to build a new West Bank settlement—one that was shelved after strenuous objections from the US in 2006—were revived yesterday, sparking an international outcry, the Washington Post reports. “They're burying the Annapolis process,” said a Palestinian negotiator, referring to agreements made at the Bush-led...

Obama, in Israel, Vows to Work for Peace as President

Notes weakness of current governments

(Newser) - Barack Obama touched down in Israel late today, promising work on peace negotiations “starting from the minute I’m sworn into office.” He said that while the “historic and special relationship” between the US and Israel “is not going to change,” an American president could...

2nd Bulldozer Goes on Rampage in Jerusalem

Driver rams bus, cars before he's killed; 16 injured in copycat attack

(Newser) - A Palestinian bulldozer driver wreaked havoc in downtown Jerusalem today, injuring at least 16 people, one critically, before being gunned down, Haaretz reports. It was a copycat attack, coming just weeks after a similar bulldozer rampage killed three in the Holy City. Police said a civilian saw the bulldozer leave...

Jimmy Carter, Rogue Ex-President
 Jimmy Carter,
 Rogue Ex-President 
GLOSSIES
Jul 21, 2008 12:28 PM CDT

Jimmy Carter, Rogue Ex-President

Carter's ideas and initiatives, slammed by old guard, resonate with youth

(Newser) - Jimmy Carter does things his own way, pursuing peace initiatives in the Middle East and South America whether Washington likes it or not, and generally redefining what it means to be an ex-president. So it’s no wonder “his mind-set and his policies seem to jibe so well with...

Obama to Take Diplomatic Ace to Israel
Obama to Take Diplomatic
Ace to Israel
analysis
Jul 16, 2008 12:13 PM CDT

Obama to Take Diplomatic Ace to Israel

Choice signals Democrat would take active role in Mideast

(Newser) - In a move that should put voters at ease who are skeptical of his stance on Israel and Iran, Barack Obama has added Dennis Ross to his Middle East entourage, Massimo Calabresi writes in Time. The well-known diplomat was lead Israeli-Palestinian negotiator under Clinton and the first Bush, and his...

Obama: Goof on 'Undivided' Jerusalem

Democrat laments 'poor phrasing' in controversial speech

(Newser) - Amid continuing controversy over his comment that Jerusalem “must remain” the undivided capital of Israel, Barack Obama clarified his words, calling them “poor phrasing,” Reuters reports. “The point we were simply making is that we don't want barbed wire running through Jerusalem,” he said on...

New Mediterranean Union Eyes Mideast Peace

'Gesture of peace' launches new 43-nation group

(Newser) - The inaugural meeting yesterday of the Union of the Mediterranean, which brought together the 27 EU countries and their neighbors to the south, kicked off discussions about a number of mutual projects. But French President Nicolas Sarkozy used it as an opportunity to flex some diplomatic muscle by bringing Syrian...

Radical Steps Needed to Break Israel Impasse
Radical Steps Needed to Break Israel Impasse
OPINION
Jun 4, 2008 3:26 PM CDT

Radical Steps Needed to Break Israel Impasse

Involving Jordan would be key move in new pragmatism: Friedman

(Newser) - The distance to a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians grows longer by the day, Thomas Friedman laments in the New York Times, and involving Jordan is the best bet. He calls for “radical pragmatism” as “energetic as the extremism that it hopes to nullify.” Giving...

Mideast Peace Initiatives Dodge US Disapproval
Mideast Peace Initiatives
Dodge US Disapproval
Opinion
Jun 3, 2008 10:00 AM CDT

Mideast Peace Initiatives Dodge US Disapproval

America on the bench as region works itself out

(Newser) - Middle East nations are moving to resolve their conflicts without, and often in defiance of, Washington, write Hussein Agha and Robert Malley in the New York Times. Israel is in peace talks with both Hamas and Syria, and Lebanon has reached political reconciliation after a near civil war. All three...

Israel Returns Hezbollah Spy
 Israel Returns
 Hezbollah Spy 
Jun 1, 2008 3:27 PM CDT

Israel Returns Hezbollah Spy

Prisoner swap may be under way with Lebanon

(Newser) - Israel returned a Hezbollah spy to Lebanon today and may have started a prisoner exchange, BBC reports. Hezbollah quickly handed over the bodies of Israeli troops killed in 2006, but officials on both sides deny a swap is under way. Secret talks clearly are, perhaps aided by German mediators; a...

Bush Issues Arab To-Do List
 Bush Issues Arab
 To-Do List 
May 18, 2008 1:06 PM CDT

Bush Issues Arab To-Do List

Improve economies, women's rights, democracy to make peace possible

(Newser) - President Bush addressed Arab leaders at the World Economic Forum today, urging them to make the changes necessary to achieve peace in the region. Citing improving women's rights, strengthening their economies, and bolstering democracy as the major goals, Bush reprised some of the same language from his speech last week...

What Makes a Prez 'Good for Israel'?
 What Makes a Prez
 'Good for Israel'? 
Opinion
May 18, 2008 11:20 AM CDT

What Makes a Prez 'Good for Israel'?

Key is choosing one who will bolster America's clout, says NYT' s Friedman

(Newser) - The next US president must build an America strong enough to sway the Middle East, but needn't be doggedly pro-Israel, writes Thomas Friedman in the New York Times. And while Barack Obama is dogged by questions of whether he's “good for Israel,” Friedman notes, none other than "...

Israeli Fuel Delay Shuts Gaza's Lone Power Plant

A third of residents lose electricity; bakeries close

(Newser) - A fuel delivery delay from Israel has shut Gaza’s only power plant since Saturday, cutting electricity to about a third of the Strip’s residents, Ha’aretz reports. The shortage shut down area bakeries yesterday.

Police Probe of Olmert Plagues Rice Peace Trip

Investigation could trip up peace deal Rice calls 'achievable'

(Newser) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's talks in Jerusalem yesterday to bolster the Mideast peace process were overshadowed by an intensifying police investigation into activities by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, reports the New York Times. A court gag order is keeping investigation details under wraps, but observers indicate the probe...

Palestinian Factions OK Israel Truce Proposal

Egyptians now will try to convince Jewish state on proposal

(Newser) - Twelve Palestinian militant groups have agreed to a proposal for a truce with Israel, already backed by Hamas and Fatah. Egypt, mediating talks, will now try to sell the plan to Israel, AFP reports. The proposal calls for a "comprehensive, simultaneous, and reciprocal period of calm to be applied...

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