"I was involved in building an addition to the deep underground military base at Dulce, which is probably the deepest base. My job was to go down the holes and check the rock samples, and recommend the explosive to deal with the particular rock.

"As I was headed down there, we found ourselves amidst a large cavern that was full of outer-space aliens, otherwise known as large Greys. I shot two of them.

"At that time, there were 30 people down there. About 40 more came down after this started, and all of them got killed. We had surprised a whole underground base of existing aliens.

"Later, we found out that they had been living on our planet for a long time, perhaps a million years. This could explain a lot of what is behind the theory of ancient astronauts."

"If I ever 'commit suicide'," Schneider told a close friend, "I'll have been murdered."

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's prime minister on Sunday departed for Washington on a trip that has become clouded in controversy following his appointment of a new spokesman who has spoken derisively about President Barack Obama.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's trip to the White House comes at a sensitive time for Israel, which is still reeling from the international community's nuclear deal with arch-enemy Iran and a wave of Palestinian violence that shows no signs of ending.

But as Netanyahu departed for Washington, attention remained focused on his appointment of Ran Baratz, a conservative commentator who has suggested in Facebook posts that Obama is anti-Semitic and Secretary of State John Kerry cannot be taken seriously.

Obama and Netanyahu have had a strained relationship over the years, and the timing of Baratz's appointment, which still requires Israeli Cabinet approval, has threatened to overshadow the visit. White House officials, including Vice President Joe Biden, have expressed displeasure over the appointment. Baratz is not on the trip, and Netanyahu has said he will decide his fate after returning to Israel.

Addressing his Cabinet Sunday, Netanyahu made no mention of Baratz, saying the visit would center on "recent events in the Middle East."

Much of the conversation is expected to focus on a nearly two-month wave of violence between Israel and the Palestinians.

Since mid-September, 11 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks, most of them stabbings, while 74 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, including 47 who Israel said were involved in attacks or attempted attacks. The other 27 Palestinians were killed in clashes between stone-throwers and security forces.

Israel has accused Palestinian political and religious leaders of inciting the violence. The Palestinians say it is the result of nearly 50 years of military occupation and a lack of hope for gaining independence.

Netanyahu said he would discuss "possible progress with the Palestinians, or at least stabilizing the situation with them." He did not elaborate, though the Haaretz daily said he would suggest various confidence-building measures.

U.S. officials said last week that Obama has made a "realistic assessment" that a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians is not possible during his final months in office.

They said Obama would be seeking information from Netanyahu on how to lay the groundwork for a future peace.

Monday's meeting will be the first between the men since the U.S.-led nuclear deal with Iran was finalized over the summer. Netanyahu was an outspoken critic of the deal, and in March he angered the White House by delivering a speech to the Republican-led Congress to rail against the impending agreement.

Monday's talks are expected to include discussions on a new package of U.S. military aid to Israel to help ease Israel's concerns.

Netanyahu said talks would focus on "strengthening the security of the state of Israel, which the U.S. has always been committed to, while maintaining the state of Israel's comparative advantage in the face of a changing Middle East."

Jerusalem (AFP) - A Palestinian woman attempted to attack Israeli security guards with a knife at a checkpoint in the north of the occupied West Bank on Monday before being shot dead, officials said.

Guards fired warning shots after the woman was seen approaching a checkpoint near the city of Qalqilya with the weapon. She was shot after refusing to stop, the Israeli defence ministry said.

Two letters found in her bag indicated plans for a suicide attack, according to the ministry. Palestinian police identified her as Rasha Uweisseh, 23 and from Qalqilya.

The incident is the latest in a weeks-long wave of violence in Israel and the West Bank that has also spread to the Gaza Strip.

It came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Washington to meet US President Barack Obama for the first time in more than a year.

Netanyahu's meeting with Obama will centre on US defence aid to Israel following the July nuclear accord between major powers and Iran, but the violence between Israelis and Palestinians is also expected to be discussed.

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Palestinian protesters are seen during clashes with Israeli soldiers near the border fence between I …

Israel also responded overnight to a rocket launched from Gaza, which is controlled by militant Palestinian organisation Hamas.

On Sunday night, "a rocket was launched from the Gaza Strip at southern Israel. Sirens sounded throughout communities in the Shaar Hanegev regional council as the rocket hit an open area," an army statement said.

"In response to the attack, (Israeli air force) aircraft targeted a Hamas position in the southern Gaza Strip."

The raid saw two missiles fired at a training camp for the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's armed branch, Palestinian security officials said. The camp was empty at the time and no casualties were reported.

The Israeli military added that 19 rockets launched from Gaza have hit Israeli territory since the start of the year.

Much of the recent rocket fire has been claimed by Salafist jihadists in Gaza, though there was no claim of responsibility for Sunday's incident.

Israel holds Hamas responsible for all rocket fire from Gaza and nearly always responds with a similar raid.

Also on Sunday, six Israelis were wounded in three separate attacks by Palestinians in the West Bank.

Attacks since the start of October have left 74 Palestinians dead, around half of them alleged attackers. Ten Israelis and one Arab Israeli have also been killed.

SANA reported the clashes took place in the towns of Nasib Daghim, al-Zira'a and Hwejat al- Mara'iayeh, and that Syrian troops destroyed an armored vehicle, a rocket launcher pad and three machine-gun equipped vehicles known as "technicals."

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based activist group monitoring Syria's civil war, on Sunday said regime forces were battling IS militants in the vicinity of an airbase in the Deir Ezzor countryside, while both sides exchanged shellfire in the provincial capital.

Xinhua news agency reported IS fighters have repeatedly attempted to storm the Deir Ezzor airbase, considered a stronghold of Syrian troops in the area, including in September, when the group said it killed 90 Syrian soldiers after capturing a nearby position.

Since early last month, the Syrian military, bolstered by support from Russian airstrikes, has conducted a countrywide offensive to reverse gains made by rebel forces throughout the year.

SOHR reported Sunday airstrikes suspected of being carried out by Russia killed one person and injured several others in the ancient ruins of Palmyra, in Homs province. IS forces captured the site and the adjacent town of Tadmur from the Syrian military in May.

The Russian Ministry of Defense on Friday said it conducted 81 combat sorties over the previous day against up to 263 militant positions in the Aleppo, Damascus, Idlib, Lattakia, Raqqah, Hama, Homs and Deir Ezzor provinces.

The statement said a Russian Su-24 jet destroyed a large area fortified by IS troops as well as a tank, mortars and an anti-aircraft battery near Palmyra, while a Russian Su-34 bomber eliminated a training camp in Deir Ezzor province used by militants with the Nusra Front, al-Qaida's Syrian affiliate.

Meanwhile, SOHR reports, the Syrian Democratic Forces, a U.S.-backed group of Arab, Assyrian and Kurdish rebel cells, continued battling IS forces in the al-Hasakah province, northeast of Deir Ezzor.

The SDF announced an offensive against IS in al-Hasakah late last month, and, with help from U.S-led coalition airstrikes, was last week reported to have seized multiple farms, villages and hills from IS forces in the province.

U.S. Central Command on Friday said the day prior, it conducted two airstrikes in al-Hasakah province, hitting two IS tactical units and destroying four fighting positions used by the militants.

(UPI)