'We Don't Need Permission to Pray at Western Wall'

Thursday, February 20, 2014 |  Israel Today Staff  

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Jerusalem

Israel's deputy foreign minister, Danny Danon, insisted earlier this week that Jews require permission from no one to pray at Jerusalem's Western Wall, the retaining wall of the Temple Mount that for centuries has been Judaism's holiest site.

At a meeting with Israeli students in Ramallah on Sunday, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas insisted the Palestinians must win control of the eastern half of Jerusalem in order to make peace, but promised to still allow Jews to enter the Old City and pray at the Western Wall.

"We do not need the permission of anyone to pray at the Kotel, certainly not from the Palestinian leadership," an incredulous Danon said later in response. "Jews have prayed, Jews pray, and Jews will pray at the Kotel forever."

In the meeting, which was set up by left-wing Israeli peace movements, Abbas also claimed he had no desire to flood Israel with millions of so-called "Palestinian refugees," even though he continues to make a Palestinian "right of return" a red-line issue in current US-brokered peace talks.

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French: Arafat Was Not Poisoned

French: Arafat Was Not Poisoned - ISRAEL TODAY

Thursday, December 05, 2013 |  Tommy Mueller  

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Palestinians

Forensic scientists from France have found no evidence that former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was poisoned, a conclusion many had already reached even before the French confirmed it.

However, a research group from Switzerland last month said it had found high levels of the chemical polonium in Arafat's remains.

Arafat died in a French hospital in 2004 after more than a month of severe stomach and digestive problems. At the time, French doctors were unable to provide a definitive cause of death, and were not allowed to perform an autopsy. Arafat was then hurriedly buried in Ramallah.

Arafat continues to be revered by Palestinians as a national symbol, and the anniversary of his death is marked as a national holiday, complete with violent demonstrations.

In 2012, the Palestinian leadership finally allowed Arafat's tomb to be opened and samples to be taken to determine how he died. However, results were surprisingly long in coming.

Arafat's widow, Suha - a Christian who lives in Paris - had always maintained that her husband was murdered by Israel. Following the release of the Swiss test results, Suha blabbed incessantly about the "crime of the century." But, Swiss experts immediately questioned the publicized test results, noting that polonium decays rapidly, and after so many years since his death, it should be barely, if at all, detectable on Arafat's corpse.

The French now have another explanation for the radioactive traces on Arafat's corpse: radon gas is believed to be emitted from somewhere near the tomb.

For the Palestinians, Israel has always been the "only suspect" in Arafat's demise. Israel repeatedly denied the charge, even though there was plenty of evidence that Arafat was directly involved in numerous terrorist attacks against the Jewish state.

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Even Palestinians oppose new EU sanctions on Israel

Monday, July 22, 2013 |  Israel Today Staff  

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Now even the Palestinians are fighting back against the decision by the European Union to boycott any Israeli businesses with a presence in the so-called "occupied territories."

A senior Palestinian Authority official who spoke on condition of anonymity told Israeli media that the European decision was not all that popular in Ramallah, despite ostensibly being made in service to the Palestinian nationalist cause.

"We have a number of officials at the European Union who are trying to reverse the decision," the unnamed source said.

The new directive, which forbids nations in the euro zone from doing business with "Jewish settlers," will not only weaken those Israeli companies, but will have a major negative impact on the Palestinian economy, as many thousands of Palestinian Arabs work for those very same companies. 

Expressing the concerns of many, Sammer Darawsha, a Palestinian employee of at a Jewish-owned greenhouse near the settlement of Halamish, said, "The decision affects everyone, whether Jew or Arab. If they (the EU) take away our livelihood, what kind of peace will then prevail here?"

Editor's note:

"As they continue turning the screw, 

The EU will suffer too;
As they mess with the Lord's plans
And divide up His Land."

Steve Martin

British FM Denounces Terrorism, 'Settlements'

Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu & British Foreign Minister William Hague

CBNNews May 24, 2013

JERUSALEM, Israel -- British Foreign Minister William Hague said Wednesday's horrific murder in London by Islamists in his country reminded him of what Israelis have lived with for decades.

"We know the importance of defeating terror, something that is well understood here in Israel as well," Hague told reporters in Jerusalem Thursday, standing alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Hague referred to the Jewish state as "an important friend and strategic partner for the United Kingdom," later telling Sky News that his country condemns "settlements on occupied land," and Israel is losing support in England and other European countries over the issue.

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Palestinian Authority leaders in Ramallah Thursday, reportedly offering to meet their demands for a construction freeze in all parts of Israel outside the 1949 armistice lines.

Dozens of anti-Israel and anti-U.S. protesters greeted Kerry as he arrived at the P.A.'s Mukata compound, waving placards denouncing perceived U.S. bias toward the Jewish state.

According to some sources, Netanyahu may have reneged on his promise not to impose another building moratorium after a 10-month freeze imposed by his government in 2010 failed to bring the P.A. back to negotiations, instead spawning more demands.

CBNNews Article