The project is getting high praise from Israel advocates for rebuilding the Temple. Rabbi Yehuda Glick, a target of an assassination attempt in 2014 for his Temple advocacy, said he welcomed the plan for a Temple Mount Heritage Foundation and has personally lobbied for its creation. “We need to state clearly: The Temple Mount is the foundation of the history of the Jewish people and of the return to the land since the beginning of Zionism,” he said.
Trump, Putin meeting could mend deteriorating relationship, Kremlin spokesman says
Dmitry Peskov told ABC’s “This Week” that relations between the U.S. and Russia are “maybe worse” than the Cold War, but a meeting between the two sides have a chance to repair divisions. “I think if two presidents meet each other, if they exchange views, then there will be a chance for our volatile relations to get better,” Peskov said.
After golf with Trump, Paul says ‘very optimistic’ about ObamaCare repeal
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, a top conservative critic of House Republicans’ failed plan to replace ObamaCare, concluded his golf outing Sunday with President Trump by saying party members are “getting closer” on a compromise repeal plan and that he remains “very optimistic.”
EU nations, Israel eye world’s longest undersea gas pipeline
Italy, Israel, Greece and Cyprus pledged Monday to move ahead with the world’s longest undersea gas pipeline from the eastern Mediterranean to southern Europe, with support from the European Union. If carried out as planned, the long-discussed $6.2 billion pipeline would take gas from Israel and Cyprus’s recently discovered offshore gas reserves to Europe and could help reduce the continent’s dependence on Russian energy at a time of ongoing tensions.
Brussels says Spain has its ‘full support’ for Brexit power grab over Gibraltar
BRUSSELS today insisted that Spain has its “full support” over its shameless attempt to use the people of Gibraltar as a bargaining chip in the upcoming Brexit negotiations.
Jared Kushner Makes Unannounced Trip to Iraq
Jared Kushner, the Jewish son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, reportedly traveled to Iraq over the weekend with a number of defense officials. Kushner, who has been tasked by Trump with the onerous burden of fostering a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, serves as one of the president’s closest and most trusted advisors, but his role on the short Middle East trip is unclear.
Persecuted Christians Suffer “Worst Year Yet,” Mostly Under Islam
The persecution of Christians around the world, but especially in the Muslim world, has reached an all-time high—with 2016 being the “worst year yet,” according to Open Doors, which recently released its annual ranking of the top 50 countries where Christians face the most persecution. Among some of its more significant findings:
The Yasser Arafat of the Democratic Party
To U.S. presidents and chief diplomatic correspondents he would profess his desire for peace and for a two-state solution, while to Arabs and Muslims he would impugn Jews, It is by this standard that I hereby judge Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer to be the Yasser Arafat of the Democratic Party. Schumer is so practiced at saying one thing to Democratic elites and another to the Democratic base that it is easy to fall for his charade.
Report: Surveillance on President Began Before He was GOP Nominee
The “unmasking”—revealing the identity of Americans “incidentally captured” during surveillance of foreign officials—was done “purely for political reasons,” not for any reason related to national security or foreign intelligence, he added. Quoting his sources, he said, “It had everything to do with hurting and embarrassing Trump and his team.”
Human Rights Watch gives Israel ultimatum over Gaza war crime investigation
Human Rights Watch demanded on Monday that Israel allow its investigators into Gaza if it wants the International Criminal Court “to take seriously” Israel’s own war crimes investigations. The ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda started a preliminary examination of 2014 Gaza war crimes allegations in January 2015. HRW accuses Israel in a 47-page report of preventing its researchers for accessing Gaza. It has also accused Egypt of preventing HRW visits to the coastal territory since 2008.
Palestinian Authority textbooks teach pupils to be expendable ‘martyrs’
The latest Palestinian Authority elementary school textbooks are even more radical than previous editions, according to a report just issued by the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education. The report was based on examination of elementary- school grades one through four and high-school grades 11 and 12 of the 2016-2017 PA’s educational curriculum.
In first White House meeting in 7 years, Egypt expected to focus on security assistance
An Egyptian president will visit the White House for the first time in seven years on Monday when Abdel Fattah al-Sisi sits down with US President Donald Trump. The meeting is expected to focus on shared security concerns in the region. Sisi and Trump have reportedly struck up a rapport in phone calls preceding Monday’s visit, including in exchanges over UN Security Council action on Israel, terrorist activity in the Sinai Peninsula and US foreign assistance to the Egyptian state.
Somalia piracy: India ship hijacked in new attack
Somali pirates have hijacked an Indian cargo ship off the coast of the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, officials there say. One source said the vessel was heading towards Somali shores. There were no details of the crew or destination. Some two weeks earlier an oil tanker en route to Mogadishu was seized by pirates who then released the boat apparently without conditions.
Islamic State group using human shields in Mosul
The BBC has gained exclusive access to the Iraqi army’s helicopter missions against IS militants in Mosul. BBC Persian reporter Nafiseh Kouhnavard witnessed IS militants using human shields to deter the military from firing at them. (Video)
Israel PM warns enemies at missile defense ceremony
A joint U.S.-Israeli missile interceptor meant to counter the type of medium-range missiles possessed by Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants became operational Sunday, completing Israel’s multi-layer defense system…Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the unveiling ceremony for the David’s Sling system that defending the home front is of the “utmost importance.” He went on to warn “whoever tries to strike us will be hit, those that threaten our existence put themselves in existential danger.”
Soon you’ll be able to go to work in a flying taxi
Late for work? Imagine skipping the subway and instead heading to your local “vertiport,” where you can hop into an aircraft the size of an SUV that runs on electricity and works pretty much like an elevator…Insiders call the new breed of flying machine “e-VTOLs,” (pronounced “EE-VEE- talls”), an acronym for “electric vertical take off and landing.”
Rescuers, locals dig for Colombia flood victims, 254 die
Families and rescuers searched desperately on Sunday through mud-plastered rubble for victims of flooding and landslides in Colombia that have killed 254 people, injured hundreds and devastated entire neighborhoods. Several rivers burst their banks near the southwestern city of Mocoa in the early hours of Saturday, sending water, mud and debris crashing down streets and into houses as people slept.
New UN report attempts to equate Israel to slavery in the US
The UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) is expected to publish a report equating “the Israeli Occupation” to slavery in the United States and put the financial damages suffered by Palestinians as a result of “50 years of occupation” in the billions of dollars. The Arab-dominated committee recently published a report two weeks ago claiming that Israel established an Apartheid regime that controls the entire Palestinian people.
Pakistani prosecutor says he’ll let Christians out of prison — if they convert to Islam
Your freedom or your faith? That’s the question being posed to dozens of Christians currently awaiting trial in a prison in Pakistan. Forty-two Christians were arrested in 2015 for allegedly being involved in the hanging of two Muslims. The two Muslim Pakistanis were killed following two bomb blasts that occurred on Easter Sunday of the same year, killing 15 and injuring more than 70…Christians standing trial for murder are now being given a choice to either continue facing charges or convert to Islam.
‘Witches’ gather at Balboa Park to hex President Donald Trump
A gathering of so-called witches descended upon Balboa Park Saturday at “high noon” in an effort to impeach President Donald Trump by hex.
Jeb Bush warns robots taking US jobs is not science fiction
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said Sunday that people “should be marching in the streets” to demand changes to “antiquated” education systems that aren’t preparing students to be competitive in the job market against the robots of the future.
Hungarians Take to the Streets to Support Soros’s University
Hungarians took to the streets to protest for academic freedom and against government legislation that a university funded by George Soros said is aimed at shutting it down. Thousands of Hungarians participated in the march on Sunday, Index news website reported. The demonstration was going to wind its way through Budapest, passing by the capital’s main universities, including local ones as well as Central European University, which was established and is funded by Soros, a billionaire financier and native of Hungary.
First Post-Brexit Tremors: Theresa May “Would Go To War” To Protect Gibraltar
The ink has yet to dry on Theresa May’s Article 50 signature from last week which officially started the UK’s 2-year long divorce from the EU, and already Europe has been traumatized by comments from former Conservative leader Michael Howard, who suggested that Theresa May is be prepared to go to war to protect Gibraltar.
How Obama’s White House Weaponized Media Against Trump
“On the basis of my familiarity with this system, I strongly suspect that someone in the Obama White House blew a hole in the thin wall that prevents the government from using information collected from surveillance to destroy the lives of the citizens whose privacy it is pledged to protect. “
Trump says US is ready to act alone on North Korea
President Donald Trump says that the United States is prepared to act alone if China does not take a tougher stand against North Korea’s nuclear program. Trump’s comments in an interview with the Financial Times come just days before he is set to host Chinese President Xi Jinping at his Mar-a-Lago estate in South Florida. The two are expected to discuss a number of issues, including North Korea, trade and territorial disputes in the South China Sea during their meeting on Thursday and Friday.
Gruesome scenes as Colombia mudslide death toll hits 210
Survivors described gruesome scenes in the Colombian town of Mocoa Sunday after mudslides killed 210 people, as rescuers kept up a desperate search for victims in the muck and debris.
Survivors described gruesome scenes in the Colombian town of Mocoa Sunday after mudslides killed 210 people, as rescuers kept up a desperate search for victims in the muck and debris.