Barring a last minute glitch, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to sign coalition agreements that will give him a new government just two days before the deadline, and less than a week before President Barack Obama arrives in Israel. The new government will have a total of 68 seats in the 120 seat parliament.
Preparing for a US presidential visit is a huge job. Preparing for a US presidential visit the week before Passover is an almost insurmountable task.
During President Obama’s visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) next week, he will visit the West Bank towns of Ramallah, where he will meet PA leader Mahmoud Abbas, and Bethlehem, to see the Church of the Nativity. A new report by the World Bank says he will see an economy that is in steady decline and losing its competetiveness.
Over and over, American officials insist that President Obama has no new Israeli-Palestinian peace plan hidden in his pocket, ready to be whipped out during next week’s meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
There\’s more to the Red Sea city of Aqaba than pristine waters and breathtaking coral reefs. The liberalized duty-free area is seeking to become the gateway of commerce in the region, Jordanian officials say.
Despite its calls for democracy, freedom of speech and revolution against traditional Egyptian society, the current anti-government demonstrations have witnessed one negative phenomenon – an increase in harassment of women.
Palestinian officials hope the upcoming visit by President Barack Obama will end the current deadlock in the peace process, but are skeptical that the visit will change the situation on the ground.
As Egyptians celebrated the second anniversary of former President Hosni Mubarak’s ouster, protests organized by opposition groups continued against the rule of Mubarak successor Mohamed Morsi, whom some believe will meet Mubarak’s fate. Others believe he remains in firm control.
A U.S. State Department-funded study on Israeli and Palestinian textbooks released in Jerusalem has set-off a wave of insults, charges and counter-charges. Israel’s Ministry of Education called the detailed report “biased and unprofessional” while the International Society for Political Psychology called the Israeli government’s description “highly distressing.”
Iran is blaming Israel for an attack on an arms convoy in Syria, reportedly carrying SA-17 anti-aircraft missiles destined for Hezbollah. Iran’s foreign minister threatened revenge and said the attack was “clearly coordinated with the West.”
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