In a speech in Paris, Bezalel Smotrich, Israel's finance minister, denied the existence of the Palestinians, sparking angry reactions in Ramallah, Amman and Brussels. But Israel's extreme right is not afraid of provoking a violent crisis with the Palestinians.
RAMALLAH: Israeli authorities have stepped up their demolitions of Palestinian homes in parts of East Jerusalem and the West Bank, following a policy formulated by extreme right-wing ministers in the country’s new government, local leaders say. On Wednesday, Israeli bulldozers knocked down buildings in the Sur Baher, Wadi Al-Hummus and Silwan neighborhoods of Jerusalem. Rights
Efforts to expand Arab-Israeli ties were raised in a meeting in Jerusalem Thursday between U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Sullivan was the first senior Biden administration official meeting with Netanyahu since he was sworn in last month to lead a coalition that has been described as the most…