By Alon Ben-Meir, Professor of International Relations, Center for Global Affairs at NYU. At the eleventh hour, Prime Minister Netanyahu hustled to put his coalition government together only two days before President Obama’s visit to Israel. Undoubtedly, Netanyahu’s last-ditch effort was prompted by his incontrovertible desire to be the sitting, rather than the caretaker, prime minister in his meeting with ...

14 January 2013 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon again called on Israel today to withdraw new settlement plans for East Jerusalem while stressing that protests over the plans, as well as reactions to them, must remain peaceful, noting that they had been largely non-violent so far. “The Secretary-General is following with concern developments regarding the announced plans for Israeli settlement ...

Following on Pressenza's recent coverage of the eviction by Israeli forces of the attempted new village on Palestinian territories , Israel starts clearing more land in preparation for settlements. On Monday 14th January, bulldozers of the Israeli occupation authority demolished several Palestinian houses, agricultural structures and barracks belonging to al-Hathaleen family, adjacent to the settlement of ' ...

Although established on privately owned Palestinian lands, Israel forcefully expelled residents of the village in a pre-dawn raid this morning. Six required medical attention Sunday 13th January, shortly before 3 am, hundreds of Israeli cops and soldiers staged a raid on the newly founded Palestinian village of Bab Al-shams (Gate of the Sun), violently evicting its 150 inhabitants. Use of police brutality i ...

On Friday 11th January, dozens of Palestinian activists from the Palestinian Popular Resistance stormed Area E1, which connects Jerusalem with Ma'ali Adumim settlement, and started to erect tents in preparation to start building a new Palestinian village under the name Bab As-Shams (Gate of the Sun). Around 200 Palestinian and International activists raided the Area; some entered from Jerusalem and others f ...

Meir Margalit is a Jerusalem City Councilman representing the Meretz party. He is also a founder and coordinator of ICAHD: Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (of Palestinian Homes) In an interview he explains that there will be national elections in January, in which only Israelis vote, and Municipal elections in September, in which the Palestinians of East Jerusalem are also entitled to vote, but ...

It was never about the Jewish religion and Islam, at least in times before the present. Even now the more discerning would rather say it is Israel-Islam at loggerheads, distinguishing between the Jewish religion and Israel. It is political-territorial. Despite that some proponents of the State of Israel will say there is no distinction between the state and the religion, others beg to differ. Those proponen ...