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  • Party for Freedom leader Geert Wilders during a campaign event in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, June 5, 2010. Photo by Wouter Engler via Wikimedia Commons.

    Anyone checking Geert Wilders’s Twitter account last week might have mistaken it for an Israeli feed. As millions of citizens in Israel shed tears of joy with the families of Karina, Daniella, Liri and Naama—the female IDF lookouts released from Hamas captivity, the Dutch politician posted their photos accompanied by four hearts and an Israeli flag, with two hashtags: Israel and Freedom.

  • Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a Fox News interview, aired on February 9, 2025. (photo: Screenshot)

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called US President Donald Trump "the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House," in an exclusive Fox News interview that aired on Saturday night, a few days after the Israeli PM's trip to Washington.

    Netanyahu spoke to host Mark Levin of the 'Life, Liberty & Levin' show, telling him that Trump is "making a tremendous change in the Israeli-American alliance, strengthening it beyond anything we’ve seen up to now."

    Netanyahu then called Trump "a great leader for America and the world."

    He added that Israel has no greater friend than America, "especially under President Trump's leadership," and that, likewise, America has no greater friend than Israel.

  • US President Donald Trump meets with Israeli prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in Washington D.C., February 4, 2025. (photo: Liri Agami, Flash90)

    Netanyahu ... addressed the condition the three [hostages] were in upon their release, which the Health Ministry referred to as having been “through hell.”

    “Once again, we saw what Hamas monsters are. These are the same monsters who massacred our citizens and abused our hostages. And I say to them again: their blood is on their heads,” he said.

    The prime minister reiterated that Israel would “do everything” to return all the hostages and ensure their security, adding that he instructed the negotiation delegation to demand so from the mediators.

  • An Israeli Air Force F-15 fighter jet takes off from Ovda Airbase, 25 miles north of Eilat, Nov. 25, 2013. (photo: Ofer Zidon, Flash90)

    The Israeli Air Force on Saturday attacked a facility in southern Syria belonging to the Gaza-based Hamas terrorist organization, the IDF said.

    “A short while ago, Israeli Air Force fighter jets, guided by the Intelligence Directorate and Northern Command, struck a Hamas weapons storage facility in the Deir Ali area of southern Syria. The weapons were intended for perpetrating terror attacks against IDF forces,” the Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson’s Unit said.

    “The Palestinian terror organizations, led by Hamas, operate by exploiting Syrian territory to establish terrorist activities under Iranian direction,” the military added.

  • Trump said former President Joe Biden "could not be trusted" with sensitive information. (photo: Screenshot via Fox News)

    President Donald Trump on Friday announced he is revoking former President Joe Biden's security clearances and stopping his daily intelligence briefings.

    "There is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social Friday night.

    The privileges will be revoked immediately, according to the president.

    He added the precedent was set by Biden himself.

    "He set this precedent in 2021, when he instructed the Intelligence Community (IC) to stop the 45th President of the United States (ME!) from accessing details on National Security, a courtesy provided to former Presidents," Trump wrote. 

    The president noted the Hur Report, which he claimed "revealed that Biden suffers from ‘poor memory’ and, even in his ‘prime,’ could not be trusted with sensitive information," according to the post.

  • Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) speaking at the 2016 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Md., March 5, 2016. (photo: Gage Skidmore, Creative Commons)

    U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Israel and Arab states, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, from February 13-18, a State Department official said.

    His visit comes following the proposal by President Donald Trump to relocate Gazans out of the Gaza Strip, after which the coastal area will be turned over to U.S. control for rebuilding.

    Trump’s proposal was widely criticized by European and Arab states, but Rubio agreed with Trump that the Gazans should be relocated at least for the “interim,” speaking on Thursday during a visit to the Dominican Republic.

    He said Gaza currently is “not habitable” due to dangers from unexploded ordinance, and that people would have to live elsewhere while the area is rebuilt.

  • Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Feb. 6, 2016. (photo: Wikimedia Commons)

    Negotiating with the United States would be neither “wise, intelligent nor honorable,” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 85, said during a meeting with air force members on Friday.

    “Negotiating with such a government should not be done,” he said, according to Iran International, a London-based, anti-regime news outlet.

    Khamenei added that talks with the U.S. would not solve any of Iran’s outstanding issues. “We must understand this correctly and not be misled into thinking that sitting at the negotiation table with that government will resolve certain matters. No, negotiations with the United States will not solve any problems.”

    The Iranian leader spoke after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday to reimpose “maximum pressure” sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

  • Iran’s supreme leader said Friday that if the United States “threatens” Iran’s security, “we will threaten them in return...” 

    “The Americans sit, redrawing the map of the world — but only on paper, as it has no basis in reality,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said at an Iranian Air Force event in Tehran. “They make statements about us, express opinions and issue threats. If they threaten us, we will threaten them in return. If they act on their threats, we will act on ours. If they violate the security of our nation, we will, without a doubt, respond in kind.”

  • US deputy special envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus gives a statement after a meeting with the Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon February 7, 2025. (photo: Emilie Madi, Reuters)

    The Trump administration wants February 18 to be the date that Israel completes its withdrawal from southern Lebanon, US Deputy Special Envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus said at a Friday press conference in Beirut.

    Ortagus added that the US opposes any integration of Hezbollah into the new Lebanese government and stressed that this is a "red line" for the Trump administration.

    The withdrawal of Israeli troops was supposed to take place on January 27, when the White House announced that the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah would be extended until February 18.

    Lebanon said that it will continue to comply with the agreement until February 18 and that the US will begin negotiations for the return of Lebanese security prisoners in Israeli prisons who were arrested after October 7, 2023, the White House statement said.

  • Authorities in Alaska are searching for a commercial passenger plane that went missing in freezing, windy conditions over the Bering Sea, the third major U.S. aviation incident in the past 10 days. [Note: The plane was later found, but sadly none of the passengers survived.]

  • Trump holds a signed executive order in the Oval Office last week. (photo: Carlos Barria, Reuters)

    US President Donald Trump issued sanctions to members of the International Criminal Court through an executive order on Thursday evening as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrapped up his day meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. 

    Trump said the ICC abused its power by issuing "baseless arrest warrants" targeting Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, according to the order. 

    "The ICC has no jurisdiction over the United States or Israel, as neither country is a party to the Rome Statute or a member of the ICC," the order said. "Neither country has ever recognized the ICC's jurisdiction, and both nations are thriving democracies with militaries that strictly adhere to the laws of war."

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    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday called U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza resettlement proposal a “remarkable idea.”

    In an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, the premier clarified that Trump had not suggested deploying U.S. troops to destroy Hamas, or funding the initiative himself. Netanyahu emphasized that the responsibility for eliminating the terrorist group rests with Israel, and said that wealthy neighboring states would finance any relocation efforts.

    “The actual idea of allowing for Gazans who want to leave to leave, I mean, what’s wrong with that? They can leave, they can come back. They can relocate and come back. But you have to rebuild Gaza,” the prime minister stated.

    “This is the first good idea I’ve heard. It’s a remarkable idea and I think that it should be really pursued, examined, pursued and done, because I think it will create a different future for everyone,” he continued.

  • Defense Minister Israel Katz visiting the Gaza Strip. (photo: Israel Ministry of Defense)

    Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the IDF on Thursday to prepare a plan for residents of the Gaza Strip to leave voluntarily.

    "I have instructed the IDF to prepare a plan that will allow any resident of Gaza who wishes to leave to do so, to any country willing to receive them," he said in an X post.

    Katz praised US President Donald Trump's "bold initiative, which can create extensive opportunities for those in Gaza who wish to leave, assist them in resettling in host countries, and support long-term reconstruction efforts in a demilitarized, threat-free Gaza after Hamas—an effort that will take many years."

  • People walk past an electronic billboard that shows US President Donald Trump, left, shaking hands with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with text that says: 'We are ready,' in Tel Aviv, February 3, 2025. (photo: Ariel Schalit, AP)

    Saudi Arabia reiterated its stance against normalizing relations with Israel before a two-state solution has been reached, after US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Riyadh has not made the establishment of a Palestinian state a condition for a peace deal with Israel.

    A statement from Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry said the kingdom’s stance in favor of a Palestinian state on the pre-1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital is “firm and unwavering.”

    The statement was issued after 4 a.m. in Riyadh, demonstrating the urgency with which the kingdom felt in responding to Trump.

  • US Secretary of Defense Hegseth meets with Israeli PM Netanyahu at the Pentagon, in Washington. (photo: Kevin Mamarque, Reuters)

    US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday evening that the United States regards destroying the capabilities of Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon as "very important."

    "Destroying the capabilities of Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon is very important to us. You have a long memory, and so do we," Hegseth said.

    "We welcome the elimination of the person responsible for killing marines in Lebanon. We released ammunition that had been delayed for a long time," he added.

  • US President Donald Trump and Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu walk together during Netanyahu's visit to Washington, February 5, 2025 (photo: Avi Ohayon, GPO)

    Netanyahu told the Post that Trump's belief in the need to reach a deal with Iran was "the pivot of everything that we're talking about."

    "I think the president just said something that I think is the pivot of everything that we're talking about. He said Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and we fully agree with that,” Netanyahu said.

  • Reporters raise hands to ask questions as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump speak during a joint press conference held in the East Room of the White House on Feb. 4, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (photo: Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images)

    U.S. President Donald Trump said that the United States will “take over” and rebuild the Gaza Strip during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday.

    “The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,” Trump said. “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous, unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings. “

    Trump said in the explosive press conference, which ran about 40 minutes, that the reconstruction of Gaza would create economic development and supply “unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.”

  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, Feb. 4, 2025. (photo: Avi Ohayon, GPO)

    U.S. President Donald Trump called for “permanently” resettling Palestinians outside Gaza on Tuesday, as he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took questions from reporters at the White House.

    Trump did not say whether he thought Palestinians would have a “right” to return to Gaza but asked why they would want to return given the level of destruction.

    “I don’t think people should be going back to Gaza,” Trump said.

  • US President Donald Trump on Tuesday restored his “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran that includes efforts to drive its oil exports down to zero in order to stop Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

  • President Donald Trump said on Tuesday if Iran carries out [an] assassination [on him], advisers will ensure that country is "obliterated." While signing an executive order imposing maximum pressure on Tehran, the president said he left instructions if something were to happen to him.

    "That would be a terrible thing for them to do," Trump said. "If they did that, they would be obliterated. That would be the end. … There won't be anything left."

  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to reporters before flying to Washington, D.C., on Feb. 2, 2025. (caption: JNS; photo: Avi Ohayon, GPO)

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to concede on annexation of the West Bank in favor of advancing a normalization deal with Saudi Arabia, Israeli coalition officials told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday.

    The officials, who spoke to the Post on the condition of anonymity, spoke of fears that Netanyahu will use a delay in annexation as a compromise in attempts to sway Riyadh away from demanding a pathway to a Palestinian state.

    The prime minister, who will meet US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, has previously stated his intent to expand the Abraham Accords and reach a normalization deal with Saudi Arabia. In return, the Saudis demand an end to the war in Gaza and a pathway to a Palestinian state, two diplomatic sources told the Post.

  • A prominent member of Congress has voiced opposition to including Palestinian statehood in any Saudi-Israeli normalization agreement, aligning with recent statements from Israeli leadership. Representative Andy Harris of Maryland's First District conveyed this position in a letter of support to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the prime minister's scheduled meeting with President Donald Trump.

  • Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich expressed support for expanding the Abraham Accords on Monday, including with Saudi Arabia, while warning that such an agreement must not “come at the expense” of eliminating Hamas. ... Smotrich has in the past spoken against normalization with Saudi Arabia if it requires the establishment of a Palestinian state.

  • Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meeting US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz in Washington, DC. (photo: Avi Ohayon, GPO)

    In Washington [on Monday], DC, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, as well as with Trump's special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff. After the meeting, reports said Israel is preparing to send a delegation to Doha, Qatar, at the end of this weekend to discuss technical details related to the continued implementation of the ceasefire agreement. Netanyahu is expected to meet Trump later on Tuesday.

  • President Donald Trump speaks as he signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Washington. (photo: Evan Vucci, AP)

    A day before his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House, US President Donald Trump noted that Israel is a “small country” when asked about the possibility of backing West Bank annexation.

    “I’m not going to talk about that. It certainly is a small, it’s a small country in terms of land,” the president said when asked about the topic by a reporter.

    “See this pen?” he continued, holding up the pen he was using to sign executive orders in the Oval Office. “This wonderful pen on my desk is the Middle East, and the top of the pen — that’s Israel.”

  • US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Jan. 24, 2025. (photo: Mandel Ngan, AFP via Getty Images)

    U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that talks with Israel and other Middle Eastern countries were “progressing,” emphasizing that “some very big meetings” are on tap for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the White House on Tuesday.

    The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office noted that Netanyahu was welcomed at Blair House, the White House’s official and historic guest residence. The director of the residence, who greeted the Israeli leader, noted that this was Netanyahu’s 14th visit—the highest number of visits by any foreign leader since the residence’s establishment in the 19th century.

    Netanyahu was scheduled to hold a high-level meeting on Monday with Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, ahead of his meeting with Trump. It will be the president’s first meeting at the White House with a foreign leader since his Jan. 20 inauguration.

    Netanyahu on Saturday night spoke with Witkoff and the two agreed to begin negotiating the second stage of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal in Washington.

  • Among the top issues for the visit are maintaining a fragile ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas; taking steps toward brokering ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia; and confronting the threat from Iran.

  • Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boards the Wing of Zion plane at Ben Gurion Airport ahead of a trip to the United States, February 2, 2025. (photo: Avi Ohayon, GPO)

    Netanyahu will meet evangelical leaders at 5:00 p.m. local time [Monday], at the Blair House in Washington, DC, his office announces. At 6:30 p.m., he is slated to meet US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.

    Netanyahu will meet Trump at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, followed by a joint press conference and an off-the-record briefing for Israel journalists.

    On Wednesday, at 11:00 a.m., Netanyahu will meet National Security Adviser Michael Waltz. He is scheduled to meet Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at 3:00 p.m., at the Pentagon.

    Netanyahu will be on Capitol Hill on Thursday. At 10:00 a.m., he will meet Senate Majority Leader John Thune, followed by a meeting with other Senate leaders. He is slated to meet US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson at 1:00 p.m., followed by a joint statement to the press. He will then meet other senior lawmakers.

  • U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attend a press conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, May 22, 2017. (photo: Marc Israel Sellem, JNS)

    Phase 2 of the deal is intended to call for a permanent ceasefire and the return of all living hostages. Phase 3 would see all bodies returned and rebuilding efforts commence. Israel will likely be pressed to release even more murderers in exchange for the remaining hostages in both phases.

    It is strongly believed that Netanyahu will impress upon Trump the need to resume fighting in Gaza. The surreal scenes of the hostage transfers so far demonstrate that Hamas remains in charge in Gaza, retaining a potent albeit heavily diminished fighting force.

    Yet, many warn that Trump may not be onboard with an Israeli sovereignty push. He famously rejected Netanyahu’s effort to declare sovereignty in the Jordan Valley toward the end of his first term.

  • Netanyahu's plane 'Wing of Zion' arrives in Washington. February 2, 2025.

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been welcomed at Blair House [the President's guest house across from the White House] in Washington on Sunday evening ahead of his meeting with US President Donald Trump.

    "The fact that this would be President Trump’s first meeting with a foreign leader since his inauguration is a testimony to the strength of the Israeli-American alliance. It’s also a testimony to the strength of our personal friendship," he added.

    Netanyahu said he would discuss with the president Israel's war against Hamas, the release of all the hostages, and the Iranian terror axis.

    The prime minister also said he would discuss normalization with Saudi Arabia. “I will look to broaden the circle of peace and achieve a remarkable era of peace through strength,” Netanyahu said.

  • Caroline Glick in Jerusalem, March 11, 2019. Photo by Hadas Parush/Flash90.

    Prominent Israeli-American columnist and JNS senior contributing editor Caroline B. Glick is returning to the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem to serve as International Affairs Adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

    Glick, who worked with Netanyahu over a quarter century ago before becoming a widely-read columnist, took up her new position on Sunday, almost three years after the first episode of her record-breaking “The Caroline Glick Show” premiered on JNS TV in 2022.

  • Seventy-one percent of Israelis oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria. Nearly 70% want to extend Israeli sovereignty over the area, according to a poll conducted on Jan. 29.

    The survey comes on the background of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s departure on Sunday to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C.

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Provocative Commentary


“The men who have done the most for God in this world have been early on their knees. He who fritters away the early morning, its opportunity and freshness, in other pursuits than seeking God will make poor headway seeking Him the rest of the day. If God is not first in our thoughts and efforts in the morning, He will be in the last place the remainder of the day.” 
― E.M. Bounds