Biden administration won't open Palestinian consulate in E. Jerusalem

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According to the report, following a decision a few months ago to freeze the consulate proposal, the Biden administration has not decided to forgo it entirely and take a series of steps to improve its relations with the Palestinians.

The TOI reported, quoting two American and Palestinian officials, that the US intends to upgrade the status of Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Israeli and Palestinian Affairs Hady Amr to that of special envoy to the Palestinians.

Amr, the report said, will be based in Washington but make frequent visits to the region to work directly with the Palestinian Affairs Unit, which is part of the US Embassy in Israel.

Report: Biden administration won't open Palestinian consulate in E. Jerusalem - www.israelhayom.com

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Lapid: Israel working with US, Gulf states on normalization with Saudi Arabia | The Times of Israel

Israel is coordinating with the United States and Gulf nations on a process to normalize its ties with Saudi Arabia, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said Monday.

“We believe that it is possible to have a normalization process with Saudi Arabia. It’s in our interest,” Lapid told Army Radio.

“We’ve already said that this is the next step after the Abraham Accords, to talk about a long and careful process,” he added, referring to the 2020 US-backed normalization deals Israel reached with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.

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Iran's enriched uranium stockpile is 18 times over 2015 deal limit, IAEA says | The Times of Israel

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US suspends Abraham Accords assistance to Sudan



suspends Abraham Accords assistance to Sudan - The Jerusalem Post (jpost.com)

The Biden administration has suspended assistance to Sudan, including assistance related to its normalization deal with Israel, and wants Israel to call out the bloody coup that removed the country’s civilian government last year.

“The United States is not moving forward at this time with assistance originally committed to Sudan’s civilian led transitional government in connection with its efforts to improve Sudan’s bilateral relationship with Israel,” a State Department spokesman said in an email Friday in response to a query. “This includes wheat shipments and certain development and trade and investment assistance.”

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Suriname to open embassy in Jerusalem ‘soon’ | All Israel News

Suriname will join the United States, Guatemala, Honduras and Kosovo which have opened their missions in Jerusalem

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Lapid vows to deepen partnerships with African countries: 'Israel is back in Africa' | The Times of Israel

Emphasizing that “Israel is back in Africa,” Foreign Minister Yair Lapid lays out several broad goals for the future of Israel’s partnership with African countries.

The Paris conference on Israel-Africa ties has attracted several French and African media outlets, and is attended by a number of African diplomats.

Today, Israel has diplomatic ties with all but 9 of the 54 African countries, and new wind has been blown into the sails of Israel’s diplomacy on the continent by the efforts of the Benjamin Netanyahu governments and by the signing of the Abraham Accords.

Israel, one of only two non-African nations to share a border with Africa, became an observer to the African Union in 2021.

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Israel puts E1 settlement project back on agenda, weeks ahead of Biden trip | The Times of Israel

The Defense Ministry is planning to advance a controversial housing project in the E1 Area of the West Bank after the Israeli government withdrew the plan in January amid international pressure, and assured the Biden administration that it would not be moving forward with it.

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US revokes visa of Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu - The Jerusalem Post (jpost.com)

President of the Union of Reform Judaism (URJ) Rabbi Rick Jacobs responded to Eliyahu’s allegations: “Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu is well known for his racist views which most Jews and supporters of Israel find offensive and which the Israeli Supreme Court strongly condemned. As a purveyor of hatred towards Arabs, non-orthodox Jews, LGBTQ and others, his views sully the strong moral case we regularly make on behalf of the State of Israel. Our Israeli Reform Movement’s Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC) has led and will continue to lead the legal fight against his regular incitement of racism.

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Judge rules against Temple Mount ban for Jewish youth caught praying there - Millennium Weekend Ministries

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US, Israel committed preventing Iran from nuclear weapon - White House - The Jerusalem Post (jpost.com)

The statement comes just hours after hundreds of Israel Air Force aircraft simulated striking far away targets.

American and Israeli security figures met on Wednesday to coordinate their efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and deter its "aggressive regional activities," according to a White House press statement.

At the meeting were, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Israeli National Security Advisor Eyal Hulata and other representatives.

The two also reiterated the ongoing cooperation between the US and Israeli militaries, remaining committed to close coordination.

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Terrorist attacks not surprising given Palestinian suffering, says EU - The Jerusalem Post (jpost.com)

“What do you think a child who sees the houses of their parents, their brothers and sisters demolished?"

Standoff heats up with new major draft IAEA resolution against Iran - The Jerusalem Post (jpost.com)

The United States, France, Britain and Germany are pushing for the IAEA Board of Governors to condemn Iran for failing to resolve longstanding questions about illicit uranium traces at undeclared sites, according to a draft resolution.

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Time to end diplomacy with Iran, says top Senate Democrat Bob Menendez | All Israel News

U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman stressed calls on President Biden to snap back sanctions against Iran and create military deterrence

Democrat Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey who serves as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee believes it is time for the Biden administration and European allies of the United States to end nuclear negotiations with Iran.

“It is time to tell the Europeans, who[m] we have shown good faith with, that we were willing to enter into what was hopefully a stronger and longer deal, that the Iranians are not there,” the senator said at the AIPAC New Jersey Spring Leadership Dinner on Tuesday.

Diplomacy is no longer the right option at this point, according to the senator.

The Jewish Insider quoted the top Democrat senator saying, “We need a plan moving forward.” The report mentioned that Menendez is planning to put forward legislation that will “ultimately dictate what a plan should be.”

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Visiting Israel, Iranian anti-regime activists see another 2009 moment, seek support | The Times of Israel

In a series of meetings, notably with officials at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, the delegation argued that, to some extent, it’s 2009 all over again in Iran. Then, vast, nationwide public dissent was galvanized by a manifestly fraudulent election; today, Ansari and her colleagues told me, ordinary Iranians from all walks of life are agitating in numbers that may not compare to 13 years ago but reflect immense dissatisfaction and despair with the regime, its misplaced priorities, and the consequent economic malaise.
Prices are being repeatedly hiked for food and other necessities, unemployment is soaring, and child labor is on the rise, said Ansari and two of her colleagues, Zohreh Mizrahi, the president of the Persian American Civic Action Network, and Dr. Amir Hamidi, a former attaché at the US Embassy in the UAE. In recent months, everyone from teachers to bus drivers to prison wardens to firefighters has been on strike over non-payment of wages.

When I asked how it could be that the Iranian public was immune to decades of anti-Israel incitement, they offered three explanations. First, older Iranians remember the pre-ayatollah era when Iran and Israel were allied; second, the Iranian public largely disbelieves whatever the regime tells them, and third, Iranians recognize Israel’s practical, technical achievements — capabilities they know could help Iran.

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Israel and Saudi Arabia said in US-brokered talks to improve relations | The Times of Israel

Saudi Arabia is engaging in talks with Israel on economic ties and “security arrangements,” as it adjusts to shifting attitudes in the Middle East, where the Jewish state is not longer universally seen as an undisputed enemy, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

The kingdom has identified growing support among young Saudis for establishing ties and is moving toward advancing cooperation, according to the report.

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White House defends Biden plan to visit 'pariah' Saudi Arabia as national interest | The Times of Israel

Administration says talks between US president and crown prince deemed responsible for murder of journalist will have ‘significant deliverables’ in the Middle East region

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WSJ: Saudi Arabia Engaging In 'serious Talks' With Israel - I24NEWS

The Arab Gulf state has so far held out from joining its neighbors in formalizing diplomatic relations with the Jewish state, citing progress on the Palestinian issue