Israel

Hopes rose on Monday of progress in the Palestinian peace process after landmark new talks between the leaders of Egypt and Israel. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh for discussions that focused on Palestinian-Israeli relations. It …

The United Nations will begin on Monday to distribute cash aid to thousands of poor families in Hamas-run Gaza under a programme funded by Qatar, the U.N. Middle East envoy said. Qatar has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to Gaza since the 2014 war between the Palestinian enclave’s Islamist …

Israeli police shot and killed a knife-wielding Palestinian who attempted to stab police officers in Jerusalem’s Old City on Friday, officials said. Palestinian officials identified the deceased as a 50-year-old doctor from East Jerusalem, who residents said had faced financial issues in recent months. Hundreds of Palestinians had gathered earlier …

The Vatican has rejected criticism from senior Israeli rabbis over remarks by Pope Francis about Jewish books of sacred law, saying he was not questioning their continuing validity for Jews today. Last month Reuters reported that Rabbi Rasson Arousi, who is in charge of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate’s relations with …

Israeli fighter jets struck Hamas sites in Gaza in response to rocket firing towards Israel on Friday evening, an Israeli army spokesman said in a twitter post early on Saturday. Sirens warning of incoming rocket fire sounded near Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip late on Friday, the Israeli military …

A few hundred Palestinians held protests in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday in support of six militants who broke out of a maximum security Israeli jail this week in an escape that has boosted Palestinian spirits and alarmed Israelis. Israeli forces have mounted a search in an effort to …

Israeli security forces unable to find six escaped Palestinian prisoners have arrested six of their relatives instead. The prisoners tunnelled their way out of the high-security Gilboa jail in northern Israel on Monday, having dug a hole in the floor of their cell with a spoon. Israel has deployed drones, …

Israel launched airstrikes on what it said was a Hamas military site in the Gaza Strip early on Tuesday, after incendiary balloons were sent into Israeli territory, the army said. Fighter jets struck a Hamas rocket manufacturing workshop as well as a Hamas military compound in Khan Yunis, a city …

Happiness reigned in public squares in the Gaza Strip, which saw the distribution of sweets and rejoicing at what people described as “extracting freedom” following the success of six prisoners in escaping a heavily fortified Israeli prison. hile Palestinians in Gaza took to the streets spontaneously, the organization of many …

Pope Francis has moved to allay Jewish concerns over comments he made about their books of sacred law, following a demand for clarification from Israel’s top rabbis, Vatican and Jewish community sources said on Monday. Last month Reuters reported that Rabbi Rasson Arousi, chair of the Commission of the Chief …

Six Palestinians escaped from a high-security Israeli prison on Monday, police said, and Israeli media reports identified them as members of militant groups. The reports said five of the prisoners belonged to the Islamic Jihad movement and one was a former commander of an armed group affiliated with the mainstream …

Israel will lend the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority more than $150 million after the sides held their highest-level meeting in years, Israeli officials said on Monday, while playing down prospects of any major diplomatic breakthrough. Defence Minister Benny Gantz, who has overall responsibility for the Israeli-occupied West Bank, travelled to the …

Israeli aircraft struck Hamas sites in Gaza early on Sunday in response to incendiary balloons launched from the Palestinian enclave, the military said, as a recent rise in cross-border violence tests a fragile truce that ended fierce fighting in May. Sanctioned by Hamas, the Islamist armed group that rules Gaza, …

Israel’s defense minister on Wednesday accused Iran of launching a deadly drone strike on an oil tanker last month from its territory and reiterated that Israel would act alone if needed to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.Benny Gantz spoke as Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was visiting Washington to …

At least 20 Palestinian protesters have been wounded after the Israeli army fired on them near the security fence in besieged Gaza, medical sources and witnesses said, but the protest was more muted than a weekend demonstration that left dozens wounded. Paramedics transported demonstrators who were wounded by live bullets …

President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Thursday will seek to reset the tone of U.S.-Israeli relations in their first White House meeting and find common ground on Iran despite differences on how to deal with its nuclear program. In talks overshadowed by the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from …

Israel’s top Jewish religious authorities have told the Vatican they are concerned about comments that Pope Francis made about their books of sacred law and have asked for a clarification. In a letter seen by Reuters, Rabbi Rasson Arousi, chair of the Commission of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel for …

Israeli airstrikes that demolished four high-rise buildings in the Gaza Strip during the war in May apparently violated international laws of war, a leading international human rights group said Monday. The group called on the Israeli military to produce evidence justifying the attacks. Human Rights Watch noted that although no …

Israeli aircraft struck Hamas sites in Gaza late on Saturday, the military said, in an escalation of hostilities after earlier cross-border gunfire seriously injured an Israeli soldier and wounded 41 Palestinians, including two critically.Slideshow ( 5 images ) The injuries came during a Gaza protest organised by the enclave’s Islamist rulers …

Lebanon has filed an urgent complaint with the UN Security Council over Israel’s violations of its airspace. It said the flyovers “violated Lebanese sovereignty, endangered the safety of civil aviation and directly threatened the lives of civilian passengers, both Lebanese and foreigners.” The acting minister of foreign affairs in the …

Stalled nuclear talks with Iran will be at the top of the agenda when U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett meet next week. “The President and Prime Minister Bennett will discuss critical issues related to regional and global security, including Iran,” said White House press secretary …

Berlin-based fashion label GmbH has collaborated with Palestinian brand Trashy Clothing to produce a limited-edition capsule collection in support of Palestine. The capsule, which features a bandana vest and T-shirt that reads “Free Palestine,” was launched at GmbH’s spring 2022 show earlier this year. The garments, which are available for …

Israel is to authorize the entry of Palestinian traders and goods from Gaza for the first time in more than a year following an improvement in the security situation, officials said Friday. “In light of the preservation of security stability” in the area, “1,000 merchants and 350 senior Gazan businesspeople” …

Israel downed an unarmed Hezbollah drone that crossed the border from Lebanon, the army said Thursday. In a statement, the army said it downed the drone after it crossed the border into Israeli airspace. The incident on Wednesday was the latest uptick in activity along Israel’s northern border. Last week, …

A lawyer said Wednesday a Jerusalem court ruling that dozens of home demolitions in a flashpoint Palestinian neighborhood should be frozen for six months was “progress,” but not “victory.” Israel had ordered the demolition of around 100 homes in Silwan, a Palestinian neighborhood on the edge of the Old City …

U.S. Central Intelligence Agency director William Burns held talks in Israel on Wednesday with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, with Iran high on their agenda, an Israeli statement said. Regional tensions have risen over an attack on July 29 on an Israeli-managed tanker off the coast of Oman that Israel, the …

After initially finding no grounds for disciplinary action, the Israeli military later opened an investigation into an artillery bombardment that killed six Palestinian civilians, including an infant, in the Gaza Strip in May. To date, no soldiers or senior officers have been punished for the errant fire, which witnesses say …

Interview conducted by Emad El-Din Aysha, PhD This interview is centered on the seventh edition of Shams Al-Ghad, an anthology series published by the Egyptian Society for Science Fiction (ESSF). The seventh Shams Al-Ghad was titled Al-Muqawimoun (المقاومون), the Resistors, dedicated to resistance literature, broadly conceived. Emad El-Din Aysha: Let …

The leader of Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah said on Saturday that his group had chosen to respond to Israeli air strikes on open land, but could escalate its actions in the future. No strikes were reported on Saturday, and no casualties have been reported thus far. On Friday, …

Israeli aircraft bombed Hamas sites in the Gaza Strip on Saturday in response to incendiary balloons launched from the Palestinian enclave, Israel’s military said. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from the strike that targeted what the military said was a rocket launching site and a compound …

Lebanon’s Hezbollah fired a volley of rockets into Israel on Friday, prompting retaliatory shelling, in a major escalation between the Iran-backed Shiite movement and the Jewish state. A flare-up along the border this week has seen Israel carry out its first air strikes on Lebanese territory in seven years and …

Israeli jets struck what its military said were rocket launch sites in Lebanon early on Thursday in response to two rockets fired towards Israel from Lebanese territory, in an escalation of cross-border hostilities amid heightened tensions with Iran. The rockets launched from Lebanon on Wednesday struck open areas in northern …

British foreign minister Dominic Raab said the United Nations Security Council must respond following a deadly tanker attack last week off the coast of Oman, accusing Iran of destabilising behaviour. “The Council must respond to Iran’s destabilising actions & lack of respect for international law,” Raab said on Twitter, referencing …

Two rockets launched from Lebanon on Wednesday struck Israel, which responded with artillery fire, amid heightened regional tensions over an alleged Iranian attack on an oil tanker in the Gulf last week. Israel’s Magen David Adom national ambulance service said there were no casualties on the Israeli side of the …

Israel was “free to make the decisions it deemed appropriate” on Iran after an attack on an Israeli-managed tanker off the coast of Oman last week which has been blamed on Tehran, Asharq Al-Awsat quoted the White House as saying on Monday. The US, Britain and Israel have blamed Iran for the fatal attack on the …

Iran will respond promptly to any threat against its security, the foreign ministry said on Monday, after the United States, Israel and Britain blamed Tehran for an attack on an Israeli-managed tanker off the coast of Oman. Tehran has denied any involvement in the suspected drone attack on Thursday in …

The chief of Israel’s armed forces spoke with his British counterpart on Sunday, the Israeli military said, after London accused Iran of carrying out an attack on an Israeli-managed ship off Oman last week that killed a Briton and a Romanian. Lieutenant-General Aviv Kohavi and Britain’s Staff General Nick Carter …

The U.S. Navy is assisting an Israeli-managed petroleum products tanker attacked off Oman with two crew members killed, the U.S. military said on Saturday, adding the ship was most likely hit by a drone strike. Mercer Street, a Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned vessel that was attacked on Thursday, is being escorted by …

 Israel on Friday accused Iran of having carried out an attack off Oman on a tanker managed by an Israeli-owned company and said a harsh response was needed. In a statement, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said he had told Britain’s foreign secretary of the need for a tough response to …

The U.S. State Department said on Friday it has approved the potential sale of 18 CH-53K heavy lift helicopters to Israel in a deal valued at up to $3.4 billion. The package would include engines, navigation systems, weaponry, support equipment, spares and technical support. Lockheed Martin Corp and General Electric …

For years, Palestinian farmers have exported herbs to Europe where they have been turned into high-end cosmetics and beauty products. Now a team of Gaza women have brought the process home, extracting the essential oils themselves and creating products such as shampoo and moisturiser which are sold in 50 stores, …

Israel has set up a senior inter-ministerial team to assess growing allegations that spyware sold by an Israeli cyber firm has been abused on a global scale, Israeli sources said on Wednesday. One source said the team is headed by Israel’s National Security Council, which answers to Prime Minister Naftali …

Former United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay will head an international commission of inquiry into alleged crimes committed during the latest conflict between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas in Gaza, the U.N.’s Human Rights Council said in a statement on Thursday. The council agreed in late May to …

The Israeli company NSO – linked to the Pegasus spyware case – is present in Luxembourg via its subsidiaries, said Luxembourg foreign affairs minister Jean Asselborn on Tuesday. Asselborn said he would be writing a letter to the directors of those Luxembourg units of NSO to remind them of the …