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ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 366

Raphael Ahren

Raphael Ahren

Raphael Ahren is a former diplomatic correspondent at The Times of Israel.
Sahrawi children from Western Sahara sit in their classroom in the Smara refugee camp near Tindouf, south-western Algeria, March 4, 2016. (AP/ Toukik Doudou).
December 16, 2020, 10:47 pm
In struggles for West Sahara and West Bank, thorny parallels may loom for Israel
Both places are claimed by one people and occupied by another. Could new US recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over one of the territories have impact on the status of the second?
By Raphael Ahren
Illustrative: National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat (L) and US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin disembark from a plane upon their arrival at the Bahraini International Airport on October 18, 2020. (Ronen Zvulun/Pool/AFP)
December 15, 2020, 5:47 pm
US-Israeli delegation to take 1st direct flight from Tel Aviv to Rabat next week
Trump official says team headed by Kushner and Berkowitz will land in Israel Monday, jet off the next day for Morocco to advance recently announced normalization deal
By Raphael Ahren and Jacob Magid
People enjoy drinking alcoholic beverages at a restaurant overlooking the Marina district in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Oct. 23, 2019 (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
December 15, 2020, 11:49 am
NY-based rabbi seeks to bring US Jews to visit the Gulf, including Saudi Arabia
‘The grand prize for Jewish tourism is not Israel but the American Jewish community,’ says Marc Schneier, who will launch new initiative alongside Bahraini tourism minister
By Raphael Ahren
The Foreign Ministry honors Israeli diplomats who secretly served in Arab Gulf states, December 2020 (courtesy MFA)
December 15, 2020, 6:41 am
After years undercover, diplomats who built Gulf ties inch out of the shadows
Serving under false identities in Arab states to promote bilateral relations, envoys given go-ahead to reveal some of their stories, not names, as relations come into the open
By Raphael Ahren
Norway's special envoy for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland, left. during a meeting with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh in Ramallah in June 2020 (WAFA)
December 14, 2020, 10:41 pm
Norwegian diplomat tapped as UN’s new Middle East peace envoy
Tor Wennesland set to replace Nickolay Mladenov, who was named as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s new special envoy for Libya
By Raphael Ahren
US National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien, left, meets Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, December 13, 2020. (courtesy US Embassy)
December 13, 2020, 6:37 pm
If unstopped, Iran will become ‘global bully,’ Netanyahu tells top Trump aide
Visiting Jerusalem, US National Security Adviser O’Brien says Israel’s Morocco normalization deal even more remarkable than other agreements with Arab states
By Raphael Ahren
Benjamin and Sara Netanyahu celebrating the Mimouna, a traditional Jewish-Moroccan holiday that follows the end of passover (Amos Ben Gershom/Flash90)
December 10, 2020, 11:05 pm
A rich Jewish past, and present: Why Israel’s deal with Morocco is so resonant
Unlike other longtime and fresh peace partners of Israel, Morocco has an ongoing connection to the Jewish people, and many Israelis will be rushing for a direct flight ‘home’
By Raphael Ahren
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and US Ambassador David Friedman at the Western Wall on December 10, 2020, the first night of Hanukkah. Netanyahu hailed the "light" of US President Donald Trump's announcement that Morocco and Israel are to establish full relations, issued hours earlier. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)
December 10, 2020, 8:16 pm
‘This will be a very warm peace’: Netanyahu hails Israel’s new ties with Morocco
At Western Wall Hannukah ceremony, PM notes historic friendship between Moroccans and Jews, says working toward establishing full diplomatic relations ‘as rapidly as possible’
By Raphael Ahren
Illustrative: UAE Interior Minister Sheik Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, center, participates in a Gulf Cooperation Council interior ministers gathering to discuss regional security issues in Manama, Bahrain, Nov. 28, 2013. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali)
December 10, 2020, 1:14 pm
Israel joins UAE-based international body fighting organized crime
Emirati deputy PM says Jewish state will add strength to 10-member International Security Alliance
By Raphael Ahren
Tura Winery co-owner Vered Ben Sa’adon, right, and Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan, second from left, attend a signing ceremony for a business deal in Dubai, December 7, 2020 (courtesy Tura Winery)
December 9, 2020, 2:48 pm
No labels: Israel’s new Gulf partners seem happy to do business with settlements
Wine from the Golan, olive oil from the West Bank — despite the political sensitivities, companies in UAE and Bahrain appear unfazed about where their trading partners are located
By Raphael Ahren
In this November 24, 2018, photo, Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
December 7, 2020, 4:52 pm
Good prince, bad prince: Why Israelis shouldn’t be shocked by Saudi royal’s rant
Turki bin Faisal often looked like the public face of Riyadh’s covert rapprochement with Jerusalem; then he launched a harangue against normalization
By Raphael Ahren
Representatives from the Jerusalem-based Heritage Center for Middle East and North Africa Jewry and the Crossroads of Civilizations Museum in Dubai after signing an MOU on cooperation, December 6, 2020 (courtesy Heritage Center)
December 7, 2020, 1:09 pm
Dubai museum, Jerusalem heritage center ink ‘people-to-people’ partnership
Crossroads of Civilizations Museum and Jerusalem’s Heritage Center for Middle East and North Africa Jewry agree to ‘highlight positive historic relationship between Jews and Arabs’
By Raphael Ahren
Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal al-Saudi speaking at the IISS Manama Dialogue, December 6, 2020 (screen shot IISS)
December 6, 2020, 2:31 pm
Saudi prince: Bully Israel steals land, puts Palestinians in concentration camps
Turki al-Faisal also says Israel ‘assassinates who it wants to,’ built ‘apartheid wall,’ and denies equal rights to its non-Jewish citizens; FM Ashkenazi slams false accusations
By Raphael Ahren
The Gush Etzion winery in the West Bank, July 18, 2019. (Gershon Elinson/Flash90)
December 5, 2020, 1:39 pm
In backtrack, Bahrain won’t import settlement and Golan goods as made in Israel
Bahrain foreign minister says he spoke with Palestinian counterpart and clarified position after trade minister said Manama wouldn’t make distinction
By ToI Staff and Raphael Ahren
Bahrain's Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed R. Alzayani (R) speaks to Israeli reporters in Jerusalem on December 3, 2020 (Courtesy Bahrain NCC)
December 3, 2020, 5:56 pm
Bahrain minister says he took a stroll around Jerusalem, felt its holy ‘spirit’
Zayed Alzayani compares nighttime walk that brought him near Western Wall and Dome of the Rock to his visits to Mecca and Medina
By Raphael Ahren
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