The U.S. is fully aware of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s flat rejection of the creation of a Palestinian state along with his plans to extend Israeli law to West Bank settlements, the Israeli premier said on Monday. In an interview with Channel 12, Netanyahu pushed back against his main challenger Benny Gantz’s claims that his vow to annex the West Bank was nothing more than an empty campaign... 

John McCain speaks during a press conference at the US Capitol on February 5, 2015. Republican Senator John McCain has censured US President Barack Obama for his response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s divisive victory in Tuesday’s elections. On Thursday, Obama told Netanyahu on phone that Washington will “reassess” its ties with Tel Aviv after the Israeli premier rejected... 

US President Barack Obama with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. US President Barack Obama has told Benjamin Netanyahu that Washington will “reassess” its ties with Tel Aviv after the Israeli prime minister’s recent provocative statements. Obama delivered the message in a phone call to Netanyahu on Thursday, days after Netanyahu rejected the idea of a Palestinian state during... 

Despite the predictions, the Israeli left has been soundly beaten in Tuesday’s elections by its more honest ‘right wing’, whose commitment to the total eradication of the Palestinians as any kind of political entity is openly stated. The defeat of the Zionist Union, ostensibly committed to negotiations and a two-state solution, should not, therefore, be read as the defeat of any genuine desire... 

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman lamented Sweden’s decision to recognize Palestinian statehood, saying the Scandinavian country was getting involved in an issue more complex that IKEA furniture. “The Swedish government should understand that Middle East relations are more complex than a piece of self-assembled IKEA furniture, and the matter should be handled with responsibility... 

Sweden has recognized the occupied state of Palestine officially, according to its foreign ministry. The Scandinavian has become the first West-European EU state to recognize the territories. Israel is not pleased. The news follows an earlier hint by Prime Minister Stefan Lovfen in his Social Democrat manifesto, during his inaugural address in October, that this would happen. The idea was quickly... 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli and Palestinian activists are to stage a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to welcome the establishment of a Palestinian state. The rally is expected to be held in Tel Aviv on Saturday under the slogan “Netanyahu said no and we say yes to the Palestinian state,” and “Netanyahu is leading us to disaster,”... 

A reported willingness by the White House to vote for the creation of a Palestinian state in the UN signals unprecedented trust issues with Netanyahu’s government and will likely exacerbate US-Israeli relations. US President Barack Obama announced a decision to recognise the creation of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, adding that the US will vote as such in the United Nations, reported... 

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at the Kremlin in Moscow, December 13, 2010. Fatah official Nabil Sha’ath tells Al-Hayat newspaper that Dmitry Medvedev will affirm Soviet Union’s 1988 recognition of a Palestinian state during West Bank visit. Israeli officials fear that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will announce on Tuesday during a visit to Jericho that Russia recognizes a Palestinian... 

Both Israeli and European officials believe the conclusions on the Middle East expected to emerge from Monday’s EU foreign ministers’ meeting will be different from a Swedish draft text calling for east Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. However, what remains unclear after nearly a week of internal EU wrangling and heavy lobbying by both Israelis and Palestinians is...