Tag Archives: Netanyahu

Israel’s new government is looking to take advantage of a rare political opportunity to push more ultra-Orthodox Jewish men into the workforce to boost the economy, a measure that could pit powerful religious leaders against politicians. By 2065, Israel’s “haredi” community is expected to make up 32% of Israel’s population, …

Israel has serious reservations about the Iran nuclear deal being put together in Vienna, new foreign minister Yair Lapid told his American counterpart, as he pledged to fix ‘the mistakes made’ in US-Israeli relations in recent years. In their first face-to-face meeting since Israel’s new government was sworn in two …

Israel’s jobless benefits for those made unemployed by the COVID-19 pandemic will cease as of June 30, the new finance minister said on Tuesday, after the previous government held out the possibility of an extension. With the economy recovering after a brisk vaccine rollout, some Israeli businesses have complained of …

The new Israeli government set to end Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12-year tenure as prime minister signed its final coalition agreements on Friday, pointedly including term limits. The coalition of parties from far-right to left is expected to focus mostly on economic and social issues rather than risk exposing internal rifts by …

It has been revealed that the Biden Administration’s State Department discourages officials and employees from referring to the UAE/Bahrain-Israel normalization agreements as the ‘“Abraham Accords” — despite that being their official name. According to US daily The Washington Free Beacon, emails to employees stated that the agreements will only be referred …

Constituents of three Republican US senators have criticized them for visiting Israel during an important national holiday last weekend. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Ted Cruz of Texas and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee landed in Israel on Saturday to show their support for the country following its latest war on …

Israel’s opposition leader moved closer to unseating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday after agreeing terms with several parties, including one led by Defence Minister Benny Gantz, for a proposed new government, a spokesman said. Yair Lapid, a centrist tasked with forming the next governing coalition after the conservative Netanyahu …

The Associated Press’ top editor is calling for an independent investigation into the Israeli airstrike that targeted and destroyed a Gaza City building housing the AP, broadcaster Al-Jazeera and other media, saying the public deserves to know the facts. Separately, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders asked the International Criminal Court …

Thousands of protesters in London and Madrid marched in support of Palestinians on Saturday as the worst violence in years raged between Israel and militants in Gaza.In London, several thousand protesters carrying placards reading “Stop Bombing Gaza” and chanting “Free Palestine” converged on Marble Arch, near the British capital’s Hyde …

Israel killed a Hamas commander and vowed no let-up in its Gaza barrages on Wednesday as Palestinian militants rained rockets far across the border and Washington dispatched an envoy to try to calm their most intense hostilities in years. At least 65 people have been killed in Gaza since violence …

JERUSALEM: Palestinian protesters threw rocks and Israeli police fired stun grenades and rubber bullets in clashes outside the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem on Monday as Israel marked the anniversary of its capture of parts of the city in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said more than 180 …

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 …

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 …

Middle East experts believe that the visit of the US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to Israel is largely aimed at deescalating Israeli-Iranian tensions, and facilitating Washington’s eventual rejoining of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly referred to as the Iran nuclear deal. Austin said the US is …

Israeli senior ministers have yet to meet and discuss the official approach to the International Criminal Court’s, ICC, probe of allegations of war crimes lodged against the country, Jerusalem Post reported. The government has received official communication from international tribunal three weeks ago and their response is due on April 9, …

A cargo ship owned by an Israeli company was damaged by a missile in the Arabian Sea on Thursday in what was suspected to be an Iranian attack, an Israeli security official said. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the ship was on its way from Tanzania …

Senior U.S. and Israel officials focused on concerns about Iran during the first virtual meeting of a bilateral strategic group on Thursday, the White House said, an issue on which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has differences with the new Biden administration. President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, …

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 …

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 …

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Monday Iran might enrich uranium up to 60% purity if the country needed it and would never yield to U.S. pressure over its nuclear programme, state television reported. Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with six powers, which it has been breaching since the United …

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 …

Israel held out the possibility on Tuesday that it would not engage with US President Joe Biden on strategy regarding the Iranian nuclear program, urging tougher sanctions and a “credible military threat” against its arch-enemy. The remarks by Israel’s envoy to Washington came at a touchy juncture for Prime Minister …

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, …

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 is revising military options for a possible clash with Iran, an Israeli newspaper reported on Thursday, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government braces for differences with the incoming U.S. administration on Iranian nuclear policy. U.S. President Donald Trump delighted Netanyahu by quitting the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and …

Iran has resumed 20% uranium enrichment at an underground nuclear facility, the government said on Monday, breaching a 2015 nuclear pact with major powers and possibly complicating efforts by U.S. President-elect Joe Biden to rejoin the deal. Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister of Iran’s arch foe Israel, said the move was …

Israel on Tuesday was on course for a fourth national election in two years after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main governing partner, Benny Gantz, failed to resolve a dispute over the budget. Parliament voted late on Monday against an attempt by both men to delay a deadline of …

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, on Friday to discuss regional threats, especially Iranian aggression. They also “discussed the ongoing military cooperation between the two countries and the opportunities that currently lie in the region,” Ofir Gendelman, the premier’s …

The Palestinian Authority will resume civil and security cooperation with Israel suspended in May over a now-frozen Israeli plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian minister said on Tuesday. Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh wrote on Twitter that “the relationship with Israel will return to how …

The U.S. State Department notified Congress it approved the sale of 50 Lockheed Martin Co LMT.N F-35 jets to the United Arab Emirates in a deal that could be worth $10 billion, sources said on Thursday, potentially setting up a showdown with lawmakers over the deal. The United States and …

Prominent political factions in Sudan have rejected a deal brokered with the help of the United States to take steps to normalise ties with Israel. The agreement was sealed on Friday in a call between U.S. President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Sudanese transitional leaders. It would …

Israel’s finance minister promised on Sunday the long awaited 2021 state budget would be ready in December amid accusations the government was dragging its heels for political reasons and after a third senior economic official quit in three months. Failure to pass last year’s budget was a big factor in …

Israel would oppose any U.S. sale of advanced F-35 warplanes to Qatar, Israel’s intelligence minister said on Sunday, citing a need to maintain Israeli military superiority in the region. Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen made the comments in response to a Reuters report that Qatar – whose Iran links trouble Israel …

Saudi Arabia’s former intelligence chief and ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, slammed the Palestinian leadership for criticizing the decision of some Gulf states to normalise ties with Israel. In an interview with Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television aired on Monday, the prince labelled the Palestinian …

Israel’s tourism minister resigned on Friday in protest at a new law that curbed demonstrations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying the measure left him without a “shred of trust” in the veteran leader. Azaf Zamir will be replaced by Orit Farkash Hacohen, a fellow member of the Blue and …

Hundreds of Israelis demonstrated outside parliament on Tuesday against a government-backed bill likely to stifle protests near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home during the current coronavirus lockdown. The proposed law, which the government said was aimed at curbing COVID-19 infections, bans Israelis from holding street demonstrations more than one kilometre …

Sudan does not want to link its removal from a U.S. terrorism list that is hindering access to foreign funding for the country’s economy with a normalisation of relations with Israel, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said on Saturday. Sources said this week that U.S. officials indicated in talks with a …

Bahrain’s minister of foreign affairs Abdullatif Al-Zayani and Israeli counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi held a phone call on Saturday, the Bahrain foreign ministry announced, after the normalization of relations the day before. The ministers stressed the need to move relations forward to promote peace and stability in the region, it said. …

Israel’s Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that a cluster of homes in a Jewish settlement outpost in the occupied West Bank was built on privately owned Palestinian land and must therefore be removed. Accepting a petition by Palestinian plaintiffs, Israel’s top court overturned a 2018 District Court ruling which had …

Saudi Arabia remains committed to peace with Israel on the basis of the longstanding Arab Peace Initiative, its foreign minister said on Wednesday in the first official comment since the United Arab Emirates agreed to normalise relations with Israel. Israel and the UAE said on Thursday they would normalise diplomatic …

Sudan on Tuesday confirmed having contacts with Israel, saying the United Arab Emirates’ decision to normalise relations with Israel is “a brave and bold step”, according to its foreign ministry spokesman. Under the U.S.-brokered deal announced last week, the UAE becomes the just third Arab country to forge full relations …

Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced on Thursday that they will normalise diplomatic ties and forge a broad new relationship, a move that reshapes the order of Middle East politics from the Palestinian issue to the fight against Iran. Under the accord, which U.S. President Donald Trump helped broker, …

The Israeli military said a there has been a “security incident” on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon on Monday and ordered residents in the area to remain indoors. Israel’s N12 TV News reported an exchange of fire between Israeli forces and militants and said explosions were heard in the area. …