* Jordan: Temple Mount is Place of Worship for Muslims Only Jordan's Foreign Ministry condemned Jews making holy pilgrimages to the Temple Mount on Wednesday, calling their visits "ongoing Israeli violations against the Al-Aqsa Mosque", according to Jordan's official news agency.
* 'New triangle of sea power': Iran, China, Russia start unprecedented naval drill Four days of joint exercises begin in Gulf of Oman, amid tensions over nuke deal's unraveling; regime says 'cooperation and unity' with its allies 'show Iran cannot be isolated'.
* Show of seapower by China, Russia, Iran starts China, Russia and Iran will hold joint naval drills starting Friday in the Gulf of Oman, Beijing said, at a time of heightened tensions since the US withdrew from a landmark nuclear deal with Tehran.
* Netanyahu's primary victory boosts Likud election campaign After sweeping his Likud party's primary election on Dec. 26, by a crushing 72.5pc vs 27.5p for challenger Gideon Saar - PM Binyamin Netanyahu switched directly into campaign mode for the March 3 general election.
* Netanyahu victorious, vows US recognition of Israeli settlement annexation MK Gideon Sa'ar conceded in a call to the prime minister.
* ISIS brutally kills eleven Christians in Nigeria The Christian organization Open Doors, whose mission is to raise awareness and support persecuted Christians, included Nigeria in their 2019 World Watch List.
* Libya's Political Instability Makes Room for ISIS to Regroup Turkey, which signed a military and economic accord with the Libyan government in November, could deprive Greece and the Greek Cypriots of large swaths of their oil and gas exploration areas and force Egypt and Israel to negotiate with Turkey over the construction of natural gas pipelines to Europe.
* Defense Minister: Changing process for building approval 'a step in the right direction' Defense Minister aims to shorten process for approval of construction in Judea, Samaria. 'Procedural sovereignty only.'
* EU, including Germany's Merkel, pressures Palestinians to hold elections Palestinian official says German chancellor recently told Abbas she won four elections since he was last elected in 2005; some European diplomats question future financial aid.
* To counter the ICC, Israel needs leadership that truly wants peace The State of Israel has long been portrayed in the international community as an occupier that refuses to hold talks to end the occupation.