GOLDA MEIR

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said during a speech in Paris that there is no such thing as a Palestinian person, nation, history, or language.

A firebrand Israeli minister claimed there’s “no such thing” as a Palestinian people as Israel's new coalition government, its most hard-line ever, plowed ahead on Monday with a part of its plan to overhaul the judiciary. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition said it was pushing a key part of the overhaul — which would give the coalition control over who becomes a justice or a judge — before the parliament takes a monthlong holiday break next week. The development came a day after an Israeli and Palestinian delegation at a meeting in Egypt, mediated by Egyptian, Jordanian and U.S. officials, pledged to take steps to lower tensions roiling the region ahead of a sensitive holiday season.

Joe Biden took office looking to reshape U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.

President Joe Biden has told Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett that diplomacy was his first option, but that he would consider other options if his effort to revive the Iran nuclear deal fails.

President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett have postponed their White House meeting as Biden focused his attention on dealing with the aftermath of deadly explosions near the Kabul airport that targeted U.S. troops and Afghans seeking to flee their country after the Taliban takeover.

Over his nearly 50 years in national politics, President Joe Biden has often reserved his toughest messages for Israeli leaders for private talks.