Israel

Vice President Kamala Harris, in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, reaffirmed U.S. opposition to an International Criminal Court probe of possible war crimes in the Palestinian Territories, the White House said. The call, the first between the two since Harris and President Joe Biden took …

Israel accused Iran on Wednesday of being linked to a recent oil spill off its shores that caused major ecological damage, calling the incident environmental terrorism. The spill was caused by an oil tanker that was carrying pirated cargo from Iran to Syria last month, Israeli Environmental Protection Minister Gila …

Israel estimates that hundreds of its citizens might be subject to war crimes probes by the International Criminal Court, whose jurisdiction it rejects, and is working on how to protect them, the Defence Minister said on Tuesday. Including himself among Israelis who could be threatened with arrest, Benny Gantz told …

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Iran on Monday for an explosion aboard an Israeli-owned ship in the Gulf of Oman last week, an accusation rejected by Tehran. The vehicle-carrier MV Helios Ray was hit between Thursday night and Friday morning by a blast above the water line that a …

Jordanian officials have denounced the Israeli government’s decision to allow 230 radical Jews to break into Al-Aqsa Mosque on Sunday. The radicals were celebrating the Jewish festival of Purim and had called the day earlier to hold  “carnival”  festivities on this holiday, which is often celebrated with Jews wearing costumes …

Israeli defence minister Benny Gantz said on Saturday his “initial assessment” was that Iran was responsible for an explosion on an Israeli-owned ship in the Gulf of Oman. The ship, a vehicle-carrier named MV Helios Ray, suffered an explosion between Thursday and Friday morning. A U.S. defence official in Washington …

Academics at the University of Bristol have urged it to abide by academic freedom and resist firing one of its lecturers, David Miller, who has been accused of anti-Semitism. A professor of political sociology, Miller said Israel wants to “impose its will all over the world,” and it is “fundamental …

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his Israeli counterpart on Monday that a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was best for the future of Israel, the US State Department said “The Secretary addressed the US approach toward a more peaceful, secure, and prosperous future for Israelis, Palestinians, and …

Israel said Monday it will compensate families whose children were taken from their parents in the early years after the state was founded, in a major development in the so-called “stolen babies” affair. Activists and family members have for decades charged that up to several thousand babies were taken in …

U.S. President Joe Biden made a long-awaited first phone call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday after a delay that had seen Washington deny it was snubbing Israel’s leader. There had been speculation that the Democratic president was signaling displeasure over Netanyahu’s close ties with former President Donald …

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday acknowledged differences with U.S. President Joe Biden over Iranian and Palestinian issues, but said they enjoy a “very strong” working relationship. The White House on Friday denied that Biden was snubbing Netanyahu by failing to include him so far in an early round …

Israel has cancelled plans to participate in a major defence expo in the United Arab Emirates next week due to COVID-19 curbs on air travel, Israeli officials said on Monday. Dozens of Israeli defence firms had been due to take part in the IDEX conference in Abu Dhabi from Feb. …

Syria’s army said on Monday the country’s air defences had intercepted “Israeli aggression” over the capital, Damascus, in the latest stepped-up bombing of Iranian targets inside the country over the last two months. The Israeli military, which just began a surprise air force combat drill along the country’s northern border, …

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not troubled that U.S. President Joe Biden has not phoned him yet, Israel’s ambassador to Washington said on Saturday, seeking to play down the lack of direct contact so far. There has been speculation that the Democratic president could be signalling displeasure over the …

U.S. President Joe Biden plans to speak with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu soon, the White House said on Thursday without providing a date. Biden’s failure to include Netanyahu so far in his calls with foreign leaders has raised eyebrows in Israel and among Middle East experts. Former Presidents Barack Obama …

Qatar is working to de-escalate tension in the region by advocating for a return to the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, state media quoted its foreign minister as saying. “The State of Qatar is working on de-escalation through a political and diplomatic process to return to the nuclear agreement,” Foreign Minister …

Israel will keep the Golan Heights forever, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday, after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced remarks that stopped short of recognizing the claim. In 2019, then-US President Donald Trump parted with other world powers by recognizing the Golan Heights as Israeli. Israel occupied …

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday stopped short of endorsing the Trump administration’s recognition of the occupied Golan Heights as part of Israel, instead noting that the territory was important for Israel’s security. Former President Donald Trump officially granted U.S. recognition of the Golan as Israeli territory in …

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in court on Monday to formally respond to corruption charges, as his trial enters an intensified phase six weeks before he faces re-election. Netanyahu, the first Israeli premier to be indicted in office, was charged last year over allegations that he accepted improper gifts …

It’s Saturday night in Jerusalem and a group of protesters dressed in fluorescent pink are preparing to join a weekly demonstration outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s official residence demanding he quit. They call themselves “The Pink Front”, and participate in anti-Netanyahu protests that are held across the country each …

Many Palestinians see a ruling by the International Criminal Court that it has jurisdiction over the Palestinian territories as a belated chance of justice for victims of Israeli attacks. But for many Israelis, Friday’s ruling is worrying because they say they are the “good guys” defending themselves against Palestinian violence. …

The Israeli military said Friday that an unarmed Palestinian man was shot and killed in a West Bank settlement after he tried to break into a home and fought with a guard. The military referred to the incident as a “terror attack,” but a spokesman was unable to explain how …

Israel has begun demolishing a Bedouin village in the occupied West Bank for the second time in three months, in what a rights group called an attempt to displace an entire Palestinian community from the area. Israeli authorities said the village of Khirbet Humsah, in the northern West Bank’s Jordan …

The Arab Parliament condemned Kosovo’s decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem, which recognized the disputed holy city as the capital of Israel, Jordan’s state agency Petra reported. The organization urged Kosovo on Tuesday to change their mind about the location of the embassy and to abide by international resolutions …

Palestinians launched a COVID-19 vaccination campaign on Tuesday, with health workers receiving the first shots after the delivery of doses from Israel and international shipments expected within days. Medical personnel treating coronavirus patients or working in intensive care units were inoculated at Hugo Chavez hospital in the West Bank city …

Israel’s energy minister said on Tuesday it would take Iran around six months to produce enough fissile material for a single nuclear weapon, a timeline almost twice as long as that anticipated by a senior member of the Biden administration. Israel is wary of the Biden administration’s intent to reenter …

Lebanon’s Hezbollah said on Monday it brought down an Israeli drone that had entered Lebanese airspace, while the Israeli military said one of its drones had fallen inside Lebanon. Hezbollah said in a statement carried by al-Manar television that it was now in control of the drone. The Israeli military …

A day after a low-intensity blast near the Israeli Embassy in New Delhi, several sections of the Indian media on Saturday accused Iran of staging the attack in the capital. On Friday, a small bomb exploded nearly 50 meters from the Israeli Embassy — located in a high-security zone and …

Israeli leaders played down on Thursday a possible Biden administration review of U.S. arms sales to the United Arab Emirates that girded the Gulf power’s rapprochement with Israel. Washington said on Wednesday it had temporarily paused some pending arms sales to U.S. allies. The Trump administration, having brokered formal Israel-UAE …

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit has called on the EU to play a bigger role in reviving the peace process. He underlined the humanitarian role of the bloc and its member countries to provide aid to the Palestinians, including refugees in the occupied territories and neighboring countries. During a …

Palestinian leaders have welcomed the announcement that US President Joe Biden plans to resume diplomatic ties with the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah and restore US aid for the Palestinian people. Richard Mills, the acting US ambassador to the UN, told the Un Security Council that the Biden administration intends to …

The United States reaffirms its commitment to Israel’s security and will continue to work closely with the country to advance peace in the region, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. Blinken in a call with Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, applauded recent progress made with the Abraham Accords and …

Israel’s top general said on Tuesday that its military was refreshing its operational plans against Iran and that any U.S. return to a 2015 nuclear accord with Tehran would be “wrong.” The remarks are an apparent signal to U.S. President Joe Biden to tread cautiously in any diplomatic engagement with …

U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration supports a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians and will overturn several Trump administration decisions, the acting U.S. envoy to the United Nations assured the Security Council on Tuesday. The Palestinians want a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with east Jerusalem …

Lebanese cattle herders from a village close to the border with Israel said several of their cows, which have grazed freely in the area for decades, were taken by Israeli soldiers, in what could become a new dispute between the two countries. The herders from the border village of Wazzani …

Jordan urged Israel on Monday to stop blocking restoration work at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound, Islam’s third holiest site. Jordanian foreign ministry spokesman Daifallah Alfayez said he had sent a “protest note” demanding Israel “refrain from such violations and provocations, and respect the mandate of Jordan in administering Muslim holy …

Facebook said on Monday it removed a post and suspended a messenger bot from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s page, after it posted that he wanted phone numbers to call and convince people to get COVID-19 vaccinations. Netanyahu on Thursday posted a video on Twitter encouraging senior citizens to get …

Israeli authorities on Monday extradited a woman wanted on 74 charges of child sex abuse in Australia, following a six-year legal battle that had strained relations between the two governments. Malka Leifer, a former teacher accused of sexually abusing several former students at a Jewish school in Melbourne, had been …

Israeli police have stopped workers from the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf from renovating the Dome of the Rock for two consecutive days, raising tensions in the old city. Azzam Khatib, director of the Jordanian Waqf department in Jerusalem, informed Jordan’s Ambassador in Tel Aviv Ghassan Majali and Minister of Waqf in …

Syria’s state-run media earlier reported that 200 troops had been flown to US bases in al-Shaddadi on 21 January for future deployment at Omar oil field and Koniko gas field in neighbouring Deir ez-Zor province. It was also reported that the US-led military coalition had dispatched 40 truckloads of weapons …

Iran may cooperate with the United States on oil and security in the Gulf, but not on Israel, the Iranian foreign minister said in remarks published on Saturday. Ties between Tehran and Washington worsened under the administration of former President Donald Trump, who in 2018 withdrew from Iran’s 2015 nuclear …

A Swiss criminal court will rule on Friday whether Israeli businessman Beny Steinmetz is guilty of corruption and forgery charges in one of the mining world’s most high-profile legal disputes. The battle for control of the world’s richest untapped deposits of iron ore, buried in the remote Simandou mountain range …

Syrian air defences confronted “an Israeli aggression” in the region of Hama on Friday that killed four people from the same family, state media said, in what would be the first such action by Israel since Joe Biden became U.S. president. Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes in …

Bahrain’s King Hamad was awarded a rare medal by US President Donald Trump in recognition of his “remarkable efforts” to consolidate relations and the close partnership between the two countries, Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported on Tuesday. Trump decorated the monarch with the Legion of Merit, Degree Chief Commander, “a …