Special to WorldTribune.com JERUSALEM — Israel is said to have rejected a U.S. security regime in the West Bank as part of the establishment of a Palestinian state over the next year. Israeli sources said Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon dismissed a plan by U.S. Gen. John Allen that envisioned an interim Israeli military presence in […]
Special to WorldTribune.com TEL AVIV — Israel has begun preparing for the prospect of a victory by Syrian President Bashar Assad over Sunni rebels. Officials said the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been briefed of the likelihood of an Assad victory that would end the more than two-year revolt in Syria. The officials […]
Special to WorldTribune.com WASHINGTON — The United States, despite its latest $3 billion arms package, continues to deny an advanced bunker-buster munition to Israel. Officials acknowledged that the administration of President Barack Obama rebuffed at least three Israeli requests for the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, designed to destroy deep bunkers constructed by Iran and North Korea. […]
Special to WorldTribune.com TEL AVIV — Israel’s new defense minister was expected to scrap plans to assemble a fleet of tactical missile and rocket defense systems. Defense sources said Moshe Ya’alon would abandon plans by his predecessor to procure dozens of Iron Dome batteries to protect Israel from missile and rocket attacks. The sources said […]
Special to WorldTribune.com WASHINGTON — The administration of President Barack Obama could reduce military aid to Middle East allies. Officials said the Defense Department would be forced to slash $46 billion from its fiscal 2013 budget, which went into effect on March 1. The officials said the cut, called sequestration, would include $300 million from […]
Special to WorldTribune.com WASHINGTON — The United States failed to exert influence in Israeli parliamentary elections. Analysts said President Barack Obama, despite leaks meant to damage Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, did not succeed in swaying Israeli voters in Jan. 22 elections for the Knesset. The analysts said Netanyahu’s ruling Likud Party won easily as candidates […]
Wesley Pruden Benjamin Netanyahu and Barack Obama are men trapped in pickles. As the prime minister, Bibi’s first duty is to assure the survival of Israel. Against the prospect of another Holocaust, nothing else matters. Barack Obama’s pickle is a whopper made of his own bungling, and his stiffing the Israelis is part of that […]
Special to WorldTribune.com TEL AVIV — Israel has assessed that it must prepare for a month-long war with Iran and its proxies. Officials said the Israeli military and intelligence community have discussed a range of scenarios of war between Iran and the Jewish state. They said the discussions included how Iran and its proxies would […]
Special to WorldTribune.com JERUSALEM — The U.S. intelligence community was said to have drafted an assessment that cited an intensive Iranian nuclear weapons program. Officials said the U.S. intelligence community has completed a National Intelligence Estimate on Iran that was presented to the White House. They said the study confirmed Israeli assessments that Iran was […]
Special to WorldTribune.com NICOSIA — A senior operative of Hamas has been assassinated in Syria. Hamas sources said Kamel Ranaja was killed in Damascus on late June 27. The sources said Ranaja had played a major role in Hamas weapons procurement and worked with another operative assassinated in the United Arab Emirates in 2010. “This […]