But a joint statement they released hours after Mr Biden attempted to resume the assistance along with analysis offered by a pro-Israel think tank in Washington offer some significant clues.
“Resuming assistance to the West Bank and Gaza without concessions from the Palestinian Authority undermines US interests,” Mr Risch and Mr McCaul wrote in the statement. “A recent Government Accountability Office report rightly calls for increased oversight of Palestinian assistance to ensure compliance with antiterrorism policies.”
The Government Accountability Office report, released in March, recommends “measures to improve compliance” with antiterrorism regulations should aid resume.
Although Congress appropriated the $75m in aid as part of a government funding bill that former president Donald Trump signed into law in 2019, Palestinian foreign assistance remains subject to an extensive set of strict regulatory laws that have piled up over decades – the most recent being the
How the Turkish media has been immersed into the quagmire of oppression The Media Line Staff
About this Event
Since the end of the Cold War, and the deregulation of the media three decades ago, the story of Turkish journalism – both conventional and online – has been characterised by a pitched battle for freedom, independence and pluralism.
The Turkish media has rocked and reeled from an endless series of restrictive, punitive legislation, trials and imprisonment of journalists, the weakening of union rights, systematic sackings and takeovers by pro-government businessmen. Reporting taboos have returned and the industry is in its worst state ever – the Erdoğan government is now in effective control of more than 95% of the sector. While the outlook may be bleak for now, Turkey’s story is filled with lessons for the world on how to counter authoritarian pressure on the media and preserve the free flow of information and good journalism in an age of turmoil.
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel s diplomatic reporter
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif listens to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during talks in Moscow, Russia, January 26, 2021. (Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service via AP)
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has found himself under fire after an interview leaked to the press in which he decries the role of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Iran’s foreign policy.
Though Zarif has sought to downplay the remarks which were leaked ahead of the June presidential elections in Iran, and as Tehran and world powers discuss ways to revive the 2015 nuclear accord amid a furious reaction from conservative figures and media outlets speculation still swirls around who leaked the three-hour segment.
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I do not know Oren Kessler. I regret that I have never had the privilege of meeting him. He is the Deputy Director for research and research fellow at Foundation for Defense of Democracies located in Washington, DC, USA.
To me, hypnotized by each word, I hoped that it was only the beginning of a book that he would write dealing with the events in Palestine and Jewish history prior to the 1921 pogrom, the beginning of more to follow in Arab Palestine.
Zarif said he had âzeroâ influence over the countryâs foreign policy, reported Reuters.
American policy is predicated on the assumption that Iranian âmoderatesâ need to be strengthened, said Harold Rhode, a longtime former adviser on Islamic affairs in the U.S. Defense Department of Defense. Still, the leaked recordings demonstrate that âthis has been an illusion and that all power rests with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.â
âEverywhere, American policymakers look for âmoderates,â which they define as those who are prepared to âcompromiseâ with America,â said Rhode.
Regarding Iran, he said, there are no moderates. The leaked recordings demonstrate that âthis has been an illusion, and that all power rests with [Supreme Leader] Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whom we call an extremist.â