Israel

Turkey criticised Israel and accused it of unleashing “terror” on Palestinians after Israeli police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades towards rock-hurling Palestinian youth at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque late on Friday. The clashes at Islam’s third holiest site and around East Jerusalem, which injured 205 Palestinians and 17 police officers, …

Israeli police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades towards rock-hurling Palestinian youth at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday amid growing anger over the potential eviction of Palestinians from homes on land claimed by Jewish settlers. At least 178 Palestinians and six officers were injured in the night-time clashes at Islam’s …

The governments of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK have called on Israel to drop its plans to illegally build hundreds of new houses in an area of the occupied West Bank which would isolate a Palestinian neighborhood. “We urge the government of Israel to reverse its decision to …

Israeli authorities on Thursday charged a Spanish woman under the country’s anti-terrorism laws, accusing her of funneling large sums of donations from European governments to a banned Palestinian militant group. Juana Ruiz Sánchez was charged in a West Bank military court. Her indictment was the culmination of a more than …

Twenty-two Palestinians were wounded in overnight clashes with Israeli police in annexed east Jerusalem, the Red Crescent said Thursday, as tensions flare over a controversial land rights case. Police confirmed 11 arrests in the latest unrest to rock the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood near Jerusalem’s walled Old City, where land disputes …

Syria’s state news agency reported early on Thursday that an “Israeli aggression” was carried out with a helicopter over an area in Syria’s Quneitra governate in the south, without resulting in any damage. The Israeli military declined to comment on the incident. Syrian air defences downed several Israeli missiles during …

Israel’s president on Wednesday chose Yair Lapid, a centrist politician and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s strongest rival, to try to form a new government, but his path to success was still uncertain. Israel’s longest serving leader, Netanyahu, 71, has been fighting to hold onto office through four inconclusive elections since …

Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Tuesday there should be no preconditions for talks with Israel over their Mediterranean border dispute, key to Lebanon’s hopes to find gas reserves amid its worst economic crisis since its 1975-1990 civil war. Negotiations between the old foes were launched in October to try …

A deadline for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a new government has expired. He had been trying for the past 28 days to build a coalition after the fourth inconclusive general election in two years, but the deadline ended at midnight on Wednesday (22:00 GMT). President Reuven Rivlin could …

Syrian air defenses downed several Israeli missiles during pre-dawn raids on the Mediterranean port city of Latakia, the Syrian army said on Wednesday, a rare attack on the ancestral home region of the Syrian leader and close to a Russian air base. A Syrian army statement said aerial strikes soon …

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced a midnight deadline on Tuesday to put together a new coalition government — or be looking at the possibility of leading his Likud party into the opposition for the first time in 12 years. Netanyahu has struggled to secure a parliamentary majority since March …

Israel’s government watchdog said on Monday it would open an investigation into the death of 45 people who were crushed in a stampede at a Jewish religious festival last week. State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman said his office, which audits the government, would look into the circumstances surrounding the event. Source: …

A Palestinian woman was killed and two Israelis were seriously wounded in two separate shooting incidents in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, Israeli and Palestinian officials said. An Israeli soldier shot a Palestinian woman who tried to carry out a stabbing attack, the military said. Palestinian officials said the …

An electronics engineer from Gaza, Loay Elbasyouni, had worked with the NASA team that made history this month by launching an experimental helicopter from the surface of Mars. But he says an expedition to his hometown in the Gaza Strip, where posters celebrate his achievement, feels even farther away because …

Sunday was declared a national day of mourning in Israel following the disaster at Mount Meron in which at least 45 people were killed after a stampede broke out at Lag Ba’omer celebrations.Sunday was declared a national day of mourning in Israel following the disaster at Mount Meron in which at least …

A number of U.S. citizens are among the dozens killed or injured in a stampede at a Jewish religious festival in Israel, a U.S. Embassy spokesperson said on Saturday. At least 45 people were crushed to death and more than 100 injured in the disaster on the slopes of Israel’s …

The EU has urged Israel to ensure that Palestinian elections are held across all territories, including East Jerusalem, following a unilateral decision by President Mahmoud Abbas to delay polls planned for May 22.   The Palestinian leader said that the fear Jerusalem would be excluded from the electoral process was the …

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met the head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency and its ambassador to Washington on Thursday, and the Israeli officials expressed “deep concern” about Iran’s nuclear activities, according to a person familiar with the matter. The meeting in Washington followed talks this week between U.S. …

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday postponed planned parliamentary elections amid a dispute over voting in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem and splits in his Fatah party. Abbas, 85, blamed Israel for uncertainty about whether it would allow the legislative election to proceed in Jerusalem as well as in the occupied West …

At least 44 people were crushed to death at an overcrowded religious bonfire festival in Israel on Friday, medics have said, in what prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as a “heavy disaster”. The crush occurred as tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews thronged to the Galilee tomb of second-century sage …

An Israeli cabinet minister sharpened his country’s warnings against what it would deem a bad new nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, saying war with Tehran would be sure to follow. As President Joe Biden explores a possible US return to the 2015 deal to contain Iran’s nuclear program …

Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi held talks with the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland on Sunday over violent clashes in Jerusalem. Anti-Arab Israeli extremists, emboldened by the election of their allies to parliament, began a march over the weekend calling for violence against Arabs. …

Lebanon and Israel are expected to resume US-mediated talks on a dispute about their Mediterranean Sea border next week, two Lebanese official sources said on Thursday. Negotiations between old foes Lebanon and Israel were launched in October to try to resolve the dispute, which has held up hydrocarbon exploration in …

The Israeli army said Tuesday it shot down a drone that crossed into its airspace from Lebanon, and located another drone it had downed previously. “Troops downed a drone that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli airspace in the eastern part of the Blue Line,” an army statement said, referring to …

Egyptian officials say the Palestinian Authority plans to call off its first elections in 15 years, citing Israel’s refusal to allow voting in east Jerusalem. The decision would effectively grant Israel a veto over the holding of elections, though President Mahmoud Abbas could also benefit from the canceling a vote …

An international rights watchdog accused Israel on Tuesday of pursuing policies of apartheid and persecution against Palestinians – and against its own Arab minority – that amount to crimes against humanity. New York-based Human Rights Watch published a 213-page report which, it said, was not aimed at comparing Israel with …

Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi held talks with the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland on Sunday over violent clashes in Jerusalem. Anti-Arab Israeli extremists, emboldened by the election of their allies to parliament, began a march over the weekend calling for violence against Arabs. …

Delek Drilling DEDRp.TA said on Monday it had signed a non-binding deal to sell its stake in the east Mediterranean natural gas field Tamar to Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Petroleum for $1.1 billion. The deal, if finalised, would be one of the most significant developments since Israel and the United Arab …

Palestinians gathered in celebration outside Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate on Sunday night after barriers put up by Israeli police were removed, allowing them access to a square that became the focus of nightly Ramadan clashes. Thousands filled the East Jerusalem plaza late on Sunday, some waving Palestinian flags, after police permitted …

An Iranian tanker was attacked off the coast of war-torn Syria Saturday, sparking a fire but not causing any casualties, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. State news agency SANA quoted the oil ministry as saying the fire erupted after “what was believed to be an attack by …

Tensions in Jerusalem sparked the worst round of cross-border violence between Israel and the Gaza Strip in months on Saturday, with Palestinian militants firing at least 30 rockets and Israel striking back at targets operated by Gaza’s Hamas rulers. Skirmishes have spiked in recent days in Jerusalem, which has long …

Over 100 Palestinians and 20 Israeli police were wounded in overnight clashes in annexed east Jerusalem, authorities said Friday, as tensions mount over a ban on gatherings and videos of attacks on youths. The violence flared outside one of the entrances to the walled Old City, after police had barred …

A missile launched from Syria was fired into southern Israel early Thursday, setting off air raid sirens near the country’s top-secret nuclear reactor, the Israeli military said. In response, it said it attacked the missile launcher and air-defense systems in neighboring Syria. The incident, marking the most serious violence between …

Israel’s Foreign Minister discussed on Tuesday the threat Iran poses on the region with UK Minister Michael Gove. Gabi Ashkenazi discussed other regional issues, bilateral ties and “the need for a travel corridor,” with the British Cabinet Office minister. Gove is visiting Israel to study a COVID “green pass” smartphone …

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has told the annual conference of the progressive American Jewish lobby, J Street, that he would return to the peace table to negotiate over a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. During his presentation on Sunday, Abbas accused the current Israeli government of being an obstacle …

Israel and Greece have signed their biggest ever defense procurement deal, which Israel said on Sunday would strengthen political and economic ties between the countries. The agreement includes a $1.65 billion contract for the establishment and operation of a training center for the Hellenic Air Force by Israeli defense contractor …

During the formation of Israel in the late 1940s, hundreds of Jewish women were branded as enemies for marrying Arab men, resulting in exclusion, isolation, and in some cases murder, according to stories buried in the country’s archives.  The histories of the “lost” Jewish women — those who married and …

The Israeli military said Saturday it had conducted airstrikes against targets in the Gaza Strip following a rocket attack from the Palestinian enclave, in the second such exchange in as many days. The strikes hit what the military described as “terror targets” operated by Gaza’s Islamist ruling party Hamas. They …

Jordan on Wednesday condemned Israeli police for sabotaging door locks at four Al-Aqsa Mosque minarets in a bid to silence the Muslim call to prayer. The move came after waqf officials, who oversee Jerusalem’s holy sites, refused to turn off loudspeakers on the first day of Ramadan. They said the …

Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun demanded Israel on Thursday to halt exploration in an offshore gas field on its southern border amid ongoing dispute over their shared sea frontier. Still technically at war, the two countries last year took part in indirect US-brokered talks to discuss demarcation to clear the way …

The United States stands ready to facilitate maritime border talks between Lebanon and Israel that will have benefits for the crisis-hit Lebanese economy, a U.S. envoy said on Thursday. On a visit to Beirut, Under Secretary of State David Hale blamed Lebanese leaders for failing to end a deadlock in …

Israel was shaken Tuesday after a 26-year-old former soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder since the 2014 Gaza war set himself on fire, suffering severe injuries. Itzik Saidian went to a support service for wounded soldiers near Tel Aviv on Monday, doused himself with a flammable liquid and lit it, …

A commercial vessel owned by an Israeli firm was attacked off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in Gulf waters, pro-Iran media and an Israeli television channel said on Tuesday. Israel’s top-rated Channel 12 quoted unnamed Israeli officials as blaming arch-foe Iran for the assault, which it described as …

Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister on Monday approved a draft decree expanding the country’s claims in a dispute with Israel over their maritime border that has held up hydrocarbon exploration in the potentially gas-rich area. Hassan Diab signed off on the document after both the minister of public works and the …