JERUSALEM — Emboldened by a supportive White House, Israel appears to be barreling toward a showdown with the international community over its half-century-old settlement enterprise in the West Bank. With the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court poised to launch a war crimes probe of Israel’s settlement policies, Prime Minister...
Trump Plan Calls for Palestinian State, Settlement Freeze
WASHINGTON — U.S. officials say President Donald Trump's long-awaited Middle East peace plan calls for the creation of a State of Palestine with its capital in portions of east Jerusalem, ending speculation as to whether his administration, in preparing a proposal without input from Palestinian leaders, would abandon a “two-state...
Trump Peace Plan Could Boost Embattled Israeli Leader
WASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Washington Sunday night vowing to “make history” at a planned meeting with President Donald Trump for the unveiling of the U.S. administration's much-anticipated plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But the high-profile meeting in Washington looks set to serve mostly as...
Israeli Lawmaker Aims to Oust Netanyahu in Likud Primary
JERUSALEM — Israel’s governing Likud party was holding a primary vote on Thursday in the first serious internal challenge to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his more than a decade in power. Veteran politician Gideon Saar hopes to unseat Netanyahu, arguing that he will be better placed to form a...
Banksy Takes Politically Charged Nativity Scene to Bethlehem
BETHLEHEM, West Bank — The mysterious street artist known as Banksy has displayed a politically charged Nativity scene in Bethlehem, the town revered as Jesus' birthplace, just in time for the busy Christmas season. The artwork, named “Scar of Bethlehem,” depicts the birth of Jesus under Israel's West Bank separation...
Rabbi Rosove: Two-State Solution Only Road to Peace for Israel, Palestine
The two-state solution is the only way to guarantee a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but it will take strong leaders who are willing to compromise, a Southern California rabbi said Dec. 9 at Clovis Community College. Listen to this article: But Rabbi John Rosove said the idea...
Palestinians in Bethlehem Look Beyond Religious Tourism
BETHLEHEM, West Bank — For decades, the people of Bethlehem have watched tour buses drive up to the Church of the Nativity, disgorge their passengers for a few hours at the traditional birthplace of Jesus, and then return to Israel. But in recent years a new form of tourism has...
Saudi Gunman Tweeted Against US Before Naval Base Shooting
PENSACOLA, Fla. — The Saudi gunman who killed three people at the Pensacola naval base had apparently gone on Twitter shortly before the shooting to blast U.S. support of Israel and accuse America of being anti-Muslim, a U.S. official said Sunday as the FBI confirmed it is operating on the...
Rabbi Opposed to U.S. Policy on Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Speaks Tonight in Fresno
A prominent Jewish American critic of current U.S. and Israeli actions toward Palestinians in occupied territories will share his views in Fresno tonight at Clovis Community College. Rabbi John Rosove says the policies of President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “undermine hope for a negotiated two-state solution...
Top AP Photos of 2019 Range From the Epic to the Intimate
Ours is a world of sweeping vistas, and intimate scenes. In 2019, Associated Press photographers captured both. A single Border Protection officer stands in the rain at the border; pieces of heavy equipment, replacing a stretch of border wall, are dwarfed by the open, blue sky. And the bodies of...