New Israeli Death Penalty Law Leads to General Strike in West Bank

Ex-Mossad Chief Stuns By Saying Settler Violence An 'Existential Threat' To State Of Israel Via Middle East Eye A former head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency has said that settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank reminds him of the Holocaust. Tamir Pardo, who served as director of Mossad from 2011 to 2016, made the remarks in an interview with Channel 13 while touring Palestinian villages affected by ongoing settler attacks, alongside former Israeli army officials. "My mother was a Holocaust survivor, and what I saw reminded me of the events that happened against Jews...

Fed Independence Is Sacred... Or So We've Been Told Authored by Richard Roberts via RealClearMarkets.com, For the better part of a year, many had become convinced that the Federal Reserve's independence was in its final days. The narrative rested on two prongs. First, an FOMC browbeaten by relentless public attacks, threats of removal, and a Justice Department criminal probe into Chair Jerome Powell. The pressure, many argued, had grown so intense that Fed decisions would no longer be trusted to reflect economics rather than politics. Second, a new chair expected to arrive in May...

The Pentagon is developing options for a potential major escalation against Iran that could involve ground troops and an intensified bombing campaign, Axios reported on Thursday. US officials and other sources speaking to Axios reporter Barak Ravid, a former IDF intelligence officer, described the potential escalation as a “final blow” that would give Trump more […]