Israeli soldiers are searching the West Bank after three teenagers, one of them an American, went missing from nearby settlements.
Authorities believe that Palestinians abducted the teens. Military officials, while refusing to officially confirm the position of many government officials, made a terse comment about the situation.
“The main mission is to ensure their return,” Brig. Gen. Motti Almoz told reports.
The three teens reportedly were heading home from working late at their Yeshiva and have not been seen since they left. The abduction comes on the heels of a new Palestinian government that the Israelis say has been controlled by the terrorist group Hamas.
Hamas routinely conducts kidnapping of Israelis as part of their terror campaign.
A new crisis between Israel and its closest ally is developing because of the Obama Administration’s glowing support for a Hamas-supported government in Palestine.
Several key Israeli officials expressed their anger publicly concerning the U.S. State Department saying they are willing to work with the new Palestinian unity government that was built with the help of Hamas. Even U.S. officials identify Hamas as a terrorist group yet the State Department ignored that in their endorsement of the new government.
“I have to say I do not understand this American announcement,” said Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz. “You cannot present it as a Hamas government internally, then present it publically as a government of technocrats. If these (ministers) are people who identify with Hamas, Hamas identifies with them and appointed them, then they are representatives of Hamas. This is a Hamas government, and Hamas is a terror organization.”
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki tried to avoid reporter’s questions about Hamas’ intimate involvement with the new Palestinian coalition.
“At this point, it appears that president Abbas has formed an interim technocratic government that does not include ministers affiliated with Hamas,” she said. “With what we know now, we will work with this government.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly was “betrayed and deceived” by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry who told him that the U.S. would not recognize the new government immediately but then did so within five hours.
Everyone following Pope Francis through his travel in the Holy Land was shocked when he ordered his vehicle to stop so he could pray at the wall which separates Bethlehem from Jerusalem.
“He got down from the Popemobile and walked up to the wall,” said the Rev Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman. “He remained there for some minutes, praying silently. He then touched the wall with his forehead.”
The Pope reportedly chose a place at the wall directly below a watchtower manned by Israeli soldiers.
The move delighted Palestinians who had previously been celebrating the Pope’s references to the “state of Palestine.” The flight of the Pope from Amman, Jordan to Bethlehem was hailed by Palestinians as another recognition from the Pope that there should be a Palestinian homeland.
An Israeli foreign ministry spokesman said that the Vatican recognized Palestine as a state a long time ago, so the language used by the Pope is nothing new. They restated their position that they disagree with the Vatican’s position and will continue to express their opposition to supporting people who seek the destruction of Israel.
Former President Bill Clinton claims that Israel had offered control of the Temple Mount to the Palestinians in 2000 during negotiations Clinton called a “roaring success.”
In a speech at Georgetown University, Clinton said that Ehud Barak had agreed to give Yasser Arafat control of the holiest site in Judaism in return for Israel having total control of the area around the Western Wall.
The talks broke down when Arafat demanded to keep control 50 feet of land that leads up to the entrance of the Western Wall tunnels. Israel refused saying that Muslims would go into the tunnels and destroy the ruins of the Jewish temples.
Clinton said that Israel was likely justified in their refusal to protect the temple ruins.
Clinton added that the 2000 summit taught him that you need trust more than agreement. He said that without trust, there was no way to establish an agreement.
After the Palestinian leadership announced they have mended their rift with the terrorist group Hamas, Israel announced they will no longer participate in peace talks.
Hamas is considered a terrorist group by both Israel and the United States. The terrorist group refuses to acknowledge that Israel has a right to exist.
Israeli spokesmen said that no talks would be considered until a new unity government takes shape among the Palestinians and that no talks will ever take place if Hamas is backing the government.
The announcement of the ending of talks came after a six-hour conference of senior Israeli leaders.
Palestinian leadership has been trying to portray the move in a positive light by saying that the government will not be made up of people who are connected to Hamas.
Israel is preparing for the annual Passover amid heightened restrictions and concerns because of the crumbling peace process and questions about U.S. support for the nation.
Israel has sealed off the West Bank, barring any Palestinians from entering the West Bank as a protective measure against Muslim terrorist attacks during one of the Holiest weeks of the year. Israeli police are also restricting Jerusalem holy sites.
However, Israel is doing more than just preparing for their own citizens to celebrate the holiday. The country has been working to provide Passover wine, matzo and other items for the celebration for Jews trapped in countries around the world where their lives are at risk.
An Arab Israeli politician has been proving to Jewish communities in Muslim countries including the war-torn nation of Syria. Ayoub Kara refused to name the other nations where the supplies are being sent for security reasons.
The “festival of freedom” includes most of the nation shutting down in the evenings for celebrations with friends and family.
U.S Secretary of State John Kerry made a pointed attack at Israel, essentially blaming them for problems with the peace process.
While Kerry paid lip service to the actions of both sides by saying that he saw “unhelpful” actions on the parts of both the Israelis and Palestinians. However, the pointed parts of his comments were all pointed at Israel.
Kerry said that the problem that is imperiling the peace process is Israel’s announcement of 700 new housing units for Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem. The announcement came three days after Israel did not release Palestinian prisoners as demanded by the United States as part of the negotiations.
However, the actions were in response to the Palestinians attempting to get status with at least 15 United Nations organizations, a back door way to be established as a nation. Kerry did not criticize the Palestinians for inciting the crisis despite their actions coming first.
“Secretary Kerry,” an official in Mr. Netanyahu’s office told the New York Times, “knows that it was the Palestinians who said ‘no’ to continued direct talks with Israel in November; who said ‘no’ to his proposed framework for final status talks; who said ‘no’ to even discussing recognition of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people; who said ‘no’ to a meeting with Kerry himself; and who said ‘no’ to an extension of the talks.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to receive a less than friendly welcome at the White House tomorrow for a meeting with President Obama.
The President will tell Netanyahu that if he refuses to endorse Obama’s framework for peace with the Palestinians, Israel will face a bleak future and that time is running out for the country as a Jewish-majority democracy.
The President is also expected to tell Netanyahu he alone is the only Israeli that could lead his people away from the edge of oblivion.
The President said during a Thursday interview if Netanyahu rejects the Obama plan, he has to present an alternative approach. President Obama said that it would very hard for Netanyahu to provide a plausible plan.
The President also said in the interview that he believes Middle Eastern leaders in Iran and Syria know that he is serious about using force if they try to avoid agreements made with the international community.
Israeli intelligence officials scored a major success when they stopped an Al-Qaeda plot for major attacks inside Israel including an assault on the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv.
Shin Bet internal security agency discovered the plot where the terror group recruited Palestinians to do the legwork for an attack that would be carried out by al-Qaeda operatives that they would sneak into the country.
The three Palestinian men in custody have confirmed the point man for al-Qaeda, Arib al-Sham, is still in the Gaza Strip. He is the subject of a massive manhunt. The operatives also told Shin Bet that the master plan came from al-Qaeda worldwide leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri.
The main parts of the attack were twin homicide bombings. The first would target the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv and the second would hit the main Israeli convention center in Jerusalem. Additional attacks were planned against Israeli busses and Jewish homes in East Jerusalem.
Shin Bet says the discovery adds confirmation to suspicions that al-Qaeda now has a base of operations in the Gaza Strip.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is moving back and forth between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators with a stated goal of finalizing a peace accord by spring.
Kerry will hold private talks today and Friday with Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on regarding a West Bank security plan. Kerry had unveiled details of the plan for the West Bank during a visit to the region last week.
Palestinians expressed their dislike of the proposed agreement. They expressed concerns that the deal will give in to Israeli demands while offering only promises to the Palestinian people.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that the negotiations were really an “ongoing discussion” and that “we expect they wil talk about security, as they will discuss other issues.”
President Obama had said over the weekend he believed it was possible to get the framework of a deal together in just a few months.
