No new offers from Israel, Abbas says
Israel has made no new proposals in meetings with Palestinians about the possibility of resuming formal peace talks, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday.
Israel has made no new proposals in meetings with Palestinians about the possibility of resuming formal peace talks, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday.
The military rulers of Egypt are upending President Obama’s plans for Egypt by bringing forward the handover of power ahead of the formulation of a democratic constitution and the election of a moderate president. Power would then go straight to the Muslim Brotherhood. To save the day, Washington hopes to handpick an acceptable president. Omar Suleiman is mentioned.
Israel’s premier and president pledged their support for the fledgling state of South Sudan on Tuesday in talks with visiting President Salva Kiir, official statements said.
Disaster agency says 957 dead, 49 missing; declaration of national calamity allows release of funds, says Philippine President Benigno Aquino.

Arutz ShevaIsrael to update visiting S. Sudan leader on infiltration problem
Ynetnews
South Sudanese President Salva Kiir arrived in Israel overnight Tuesday for a 24-hour visit during which he is scheduled to meet with President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Avigdor …
South Sudan leader makes first visit to IsraelThe Daily Star
South Sudan president arrives in IsraelSudan Tribune
Report: Deputy FM greets S. Sudan president in IsraelJerusalem Post
Arutz Sheva
all 132 news articles
Mr. Obama thinks a bit too well of himself, methinks. While the majority of Americans are ranking him somewhere down there with Carter (maybe a bit above, maybe a bit below), he had the arrogance to say that he’s gotten more done in office than any other President than possibly FDR, Johnson and Lincoln. More >
JPost readers want Gingrich for president, Washington-Tehran relations take 3% of the US news.
Is Netanyahu destined to repeat the bellicose mistakes of a former US president?
Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak thought he’d show Austrian President Heinz Fischer some manly affection

BBC NewsFormer Israeli president enters prison
San Francisco Chronicle
Edi Israel / AP Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav speaks to journalists as he leaves his house in Kiryat Malachi, central Israel, Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011. Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav defiantly accused the state of Israel …
Avowing Innocence, Israeli Ex-President Enters PrisonNew York Times
Former Israeli President Moshe Katzav begins jail terms for rapeLos Angeles Times
Former Israeli President Katsav Enters Prison to Serve Rape SentenceFox News
eTaiwan News

Boston.comFormer Israeli president enters prison
eTaiwan News
AP Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav entered a minimum security prison on Wednesday to start serving a seven-year sentence for rape, but not before defiantly accusing the state of Israel of ‘
“This administration has done more for Israeli security than any previous one,” says US president ahead of elections.

RadioFreeEurope/RadioLibertyIsraeli president calls on world to thwart Iranian nuclear plans
Xinhua
15 (Xinhua) — Israeli President Shimon Peres called on the international community to make an all-out effort to stop Iran’s drive to acquire nuclear weaponry in an interview aired on CNN Monday night. Following in the footsteps of a series of Israeli …
Speculation About Israeli Role As Iran Buries IRGC Commander Killed In BlastRadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
Walkom: Canada faces grim choice over nuclear showdown in IranToronto Star
all 3,532 news articles

Press TVObama, Israel and the dilemma of pro-Israel Democrats
Washington Post (blog)
In response to my post concerning President Obama’s ‘

USA TodayIsraeli Court Upholds Rape Conviction of Ex-President
New York Times
The former president of Israel, Moshe Katsav, at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem on Thursday. By ISABEL KERSHNER JERUSALEM ‘
COMMENTARY | One cardinal rule for a politician is to always assume there is a live mic in the vicinity when having a conservation in public. President Barack Obama and French President Nicholas Sarkozy violated that rule in an exchange about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
French President Sarkozy called Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu a liar in a conversation with President Obama caught on an open mic at last week’s G-20 summit.
What Obama says behind our backs…
French President Nicolas Sarkozy reportedly told US President Barack Obama that he could not “stand” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and that he thinks the Israeli premier “is a liar.”
According to a Monday report in the French website “Arret sur Images,” after facing reporters for a G20 press conference on Thursday, the two presidents retired to a private room, to further discuss the matters of the day.
The conversation apparently began with President Obama criticizing Sarkozy for not having warned him that France would be voting in favor of the Palestinian membership bid in UNESCO despite Washington’s strong objection to the move.
The conversation then drifted to Netanyahu, at which time Sarkozy declared: “I cannot stand him. He is a liar.” According to the report, Obama replied: “You’re fed up with him, but I have to deal with him every day!” (YNET)Hey Jewish voters in the USA – guess what Obama says behind your backs, every single day?
Visiting Israel?
Learn to Shoot at Caliber-3 with top Israeli Anti-Terror Experts!
Follow the Muqata on Twitter.
Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael טובה הארץ מאד מאד