The development caught the attention of the Saudi Internet news service, Al Arabiya, which reported this week that Netanyahu's Twitter account has drawn new followers from Iraq, Egypt and Lebanon, currently numbering 717 followers.

President Shimon Peres's comments that Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is a partner for peace hurt Israel's public diplomacy efforts, Information and Diaspora Minister Yuli Edelstein (Likud) said on Monday.

As 2012 draws to a close and turmoil brews across the Middle East and elsewhere, there's no doubt that we are a long way from the golden age of cultural diplomacy. Gone are the days when the U.S. State Department sent the likes of Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington jetting around the world to expose hundreds of thousands to America's great homegrown art forms.

Participation in multilateral affairs has become a notable feature of China's diplomacy in the past year as the nation, along with other emerging economies, increasingly works toward justice and equity in international order.

While the relations between the Philippines and Oman are very strong, Joselito A. Jimeno, the Philippines Ambassador to the Sultanate, wants to take the ties to a higher pedestal during his term. "It's time for Oman to look into the investment opportunities in the Philippines and joint ventures with Filipino companies. Among the Asian countries, Manila is the best bet investment-wise," said the ambassador, while pointing towards the strong growth cited in 'The Wealth Report 2012' (Knight Frank and Citi Private Bank).

On December 18, the US State Department’s Accountability Review Board (ARB) released an unclassified version of its investigation into the September 11 attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya. US Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed in the attack, so the report was widely anticipated by the public and by government officials alike.

Forecasting the major international stories for the year ahead is a time-honored pastime, but the world has a habit of springing surprises. In late 1988, no one was predicting Tiananmen Square or the fall of the Berlin Wall. On the eve of 2001, the 9/11 attacks and the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan were unimaginable. So with that substantial disclaimer, let's peer into the misty looking glass for 2013.

Israel's ambassador to the Czech Republic, Yaakov Levy, is envied among Israeli diplomats in other European Union countries. Compared to the stiff criticism and harsh denunciations many Israeli ambassadors face, Levy's life in Prague is paradise. Today the Czech Republic is Israel's closest friend in the EU. Indeed, it was the only one of 27 EU member states to vote against the recent Palestinian statehood initiative at the United Nations.