Benjamin Netanyahu
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Obama, Netanyahu Eye Arms Deal to Mend Ties

Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a post-row summit Monday, hoping a massive 10 year defense deal will help them move beyond a bitter public fight that shook a decades-old alliance.

After acerbic clashes over the U.S.-backed nuclear deal with Iran, the two leaders will discuss a deal expected to be worth more than $30 billion which will include a string of advanced weaponry systems, officials said.

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Netanyahu Moves to Dampen Inflammatory Al-Aqsa Comments

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scrambled Tuesday to contain inflammatory rhetoric from his government over Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound, at the heart of a wave of deadly Palestinian unrest.

With efforts to defuse tensions already strained, deputy foreign minister Tzipi Hotovely stoked Palestinian fears by saying it was her "dream to see the Israeli flag flying" over the holy site, which is sacred to both Muslims and Jews.

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Netanyahu: Al-Aqsa Surveillance Cameras in 'Israel's Interest'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that an agreement to put 24-hour security cameras around Jerusalem's sensitive Al-Aqsa mosque compound was in Israel's interest.

In remarks relayed by his office Netanyahu said the cameras would serve "firstly, to refute the claim Israel is violating the status quo (and) secondly, to show where the provocations are really coming from, and prevent them in advance."

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Kerry Expresses 'Cautious Optimism' after Talks with Netanyahu

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry expressed "cautious optimism" following talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday on defusing spiraling Israeli-Palestinian tensions.

"I would characterize that conversation as one that gave me a cautious measure of optimism that there may be some things that could be in the next couple of days put on the table," Kerry said in Berlin.

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Netanyahu under Fire over Claim Palestinian Inspired Holocaust

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday backtracked on his claim that a Palestinian leader gave Hitler the idea to exterminate Jews after widespread controversy and a flood of online mockery.

During a speech on Tuesday, the Israeli leader suggested Hitler was not planning to exterminate the Jews until he met Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al-Husseini, a Palestinian nationalist, in 1941.

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Kerry Calls Abbas, Netanyahu to Urge Mideast Calm

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has called the Israeli and Palestinian leaders to express concern at recent violence and ask them to work to restore calm, an official said Friday.

The move comes amid mounting clashes in Israel and the Palestinian territories that have raised fears of a full-scale uprising, with an overnight arson attack on a Jewish holy site in the West Bank the latest incident to heighten tensions.

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Netanyahu Vows to Prevent Arms Transfers to Hizbullah via Syria

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Thursday that Israel will continue to act to prevent transfers of arms to Hizbullah from and through Syria.

In his speech before the U.N. General Assembly, Netanyahu also claimed that Iran had delivered to Hizbullah SA-22 anti-aircraft missiles and Yakhont anti-ship missiles.

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Yaalon Warns Israel Won't Tolerate Transfer of Advanced Weapons to Hizbullah

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon has warned that Israel will not tolerate advanced weapons reaching Hizbullah, which has fought alongside Syrian troops.

“Those who try to violate our sovereignty – we will strike them, and those who try to transfer advanced weapons to terror elements, with an emphasis on Hizbullah, we will strike them, and those who try to transfer chemical weapons to terror elements, we will strike them,” Yaalon said on Tuesday during a visit to Gaza-border communities.

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Israel Broadens Rules on Use of Live Fire against Palestinian Stone-Throwers

Israel's security cabinet on Thursday broadened the rules under which stone-throwers can be targeted by live fire, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said.

"The security cabinet has decided to authorize police to use live ammunition against people throwing stones and Molotov cocktails when the life of a third person is threatened and no longer only when the police officer is threatened," a statement said.

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Netanyahu Meets Putin in Moscow over Syria Worries

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday as Israel frets over a Russian military buildup in Syria.

Netanyahu was accompanied by his army and intelligence chiefs in a rare step for an overseas visit that Israel said would focus on Russia's maneuvering in the war-torn nation. 

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