JERUSALEM — For the past three years, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has bet heavily on President Donald Trump and been rewarded with major diplomatic gains in exchange for his warm embrace of the U.S. leader. But the U.S. pullback from northeastern Syria, essentially abandoning its Kurdish allies, has called that strategy —...
Ex-NBA Star Dikembe Mutombo Moved to Tears in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM — Basketball Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo, a fearsome 7-foot-2 center in his playing days, said Tuesday he was moved to tears at the sight of Jerusalem's ancient walls. Mutombo, who hails from a devout Christian community in Congo, described his first visit to the holy city as an...
Trump Backs Two-State Solution for Israel and Palestine
UNITED NATIONS — For the first time since taking office, President Donald Trump endorsed a two-state solution as the best way to resolve the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, as he met Wednesday at the U.N. with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump told reporters that he believes that...
Why Can't Israelis & Palestinians End Bloodshed? Retired FBI Agent Explains.
In the second part of our GV Wire series, retired FBI agent and Middle East legal attaché Tom Knowles analyzes the conflicts that fuel the continuing bloodshed between Israel and Hamas, which governs Gaza independently of the Palestinian Authority. At the time of this interview, the move of the U.S. Embassy...
Israeli PM's Wife Charged With Fraud Over Lavish Meals
JERUSALEM — The wife of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was charged Thursday with misusing some $100,000 in public funds to order lavish meals from celebrity chefs, dealing an embarrassing blow to the country's first family and drawing fresh attention to a series of separate corruption investigations plaguing the prime minister....
'We Are Raised Pro-Israel.' The Other Side of Story: Retired FBI Agent.
Retired FBI agent and legal attaché Tom Knowles, who was born and raised in Kingsburg, served in the Middle East. In this video interview with GV Wire News Director Bill McEwen, he analyzes the volatile and deadly conflict in the Gaza Strip between the Israelis and Palestinians. Click on the...
Blood on Trump's Hands Because of Jerusalem Embassy: Gideon Levy
Editor's Note: Israeli journalist and author Gideon Levy wrote this essay exclusively for GV Wire. The American embassy has moved to Jerusalem. The old embassy in Hayarkon Street in Tel Aviv has changed the sign on the building and now it is called “The American Embassy Branch Office.” Israelis and...
Will the Gaza Events Further Polarize the Middle East?
By moving the U.S. embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem, the United States has added complexity to a situation that was already chaotic. Washington’s move will not change the reality on the ground, as 62 Palestinians have been killed over the last few days. Gaza’s protests marking the 70th anniversary of...
Trump’s Failure in Jerusalem: New York Times Editorial
From The New York Times Editorial Board, May 14, 2018: "The day the United States opened its embassy in Jerusalem is a day the world has longed for, because of what it was supposed to represent: the end of a seemingly endless conflict, a blood-soaked tragedy with justice and cruelty...
Israel Faces Diplomatic Fallout After 59 Killed in Gaza
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israel faced a growing backlash Tuesday and new charges of using excessive force, a day after Israeli troops firing from across a border fence killed 59 Palestinians and wounded more than 2,700 at a mass protest in Gaza. Turkey expelled Israel's ambassador, while Ireland and...