U.S. Issues Visa Ban on Israelis and Palestinians Accused of West Bank Violence

The United States announced new visa restrictions that would target both Palestinians and Israelis who are believed to be involved in violence in the West Bank.

The immediate family members of those implicated in the attacks may also be subject to the visa restrictions, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday.

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Omar Says There’s ‘No Way in Hell’ She Will Attend Israeli President’s Congressional Address

Rep. Ilhan Omar says there is “no way in hell” that she will attend Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s joint address to Congress and that he should not even be invited to speak.

“There is no way in hell I am attending the joint session address from a President whose country has banned me and denied @RashidaTlaib the ability to see her grandma,” Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, tweeted Wednesday.

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Netanyahu Announces Coalition Deal to Return to Power

Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday announced that he had negotiated a coalition framework with supportive parties to allow him to return to power.

Israel’s longest serving prime minister will soon lead a coalition of six parties on a right-wing platform, the New York Times reported. Many establishment media outlets, including the Times, have bemoaned his return to power and warned that his victory could signal a drift away from democracy for the Jewish nation.

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Rocky Road for Ben and Jerry’s as Company Ends Boycott in Israel

Ice cream manufacturer Ben & Jerry’s ended a boycott of the West Bank after a local franchise took over the brand, its parent company Unilever announced Tuesday.

“Ben & Jerry’s in Vermont no longer has any authority over Avi. They can’t stop him from selling Ben & Jerry’s ice cream,” Alyza Lewin, president of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, which represented Zinger, told The Times of Israel.

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Pompeo Is First Top U.S. Diplomat to Visit an Israeli Settlement

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday became the first top American diplomat to visit an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank as the State Department in a major policy shift announced that products from the settlements can be labeled “Made in Israel.”

The two moves reflected the Trump administration’s acceptance of Israeli settlements, which the Palestinians and most of the international community view as a violation of international law and a major obstacle to peace.

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Trump To Shut Down Palestinian Liberation Organization’s Washington Office

PLO in US

The Trump administration will order the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to shutter its Washington, D.C., office in a bid to increase pressure on Palestinian leadership amid stalled peace talks. “We have been notified by a US official of their decision to close the Palestinian mission to the US,” PLO Secretary…

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