Israel

Gantz and Netanyahu hold talks to break Israeli political deadlock

Israel’s prime minister and his main rival opened a new round of unity talks Sunday in the latest effort to break a political stalemate and avoid an unprecedented third parliamentary…

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Gantz tasked with forming new Israeli government

Ex-Israeli military chief Benny Gantz accepted the challenge of forming a new government on Wednesday, becoming the first person other than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do so since 2009.…

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Photo story: Excavation site of a Byzantine basilica in Israel

Workers of the Israel Antiquities Authority clean mosaic inscriptions in the remains of a 1,500-year-old church in Ramat Beit Shemesh, near Jerusalem, Israel, 23 October 2019. The Byzantine basilica is…

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Gigantic Prehistoric City Found in Israel During Roadworks

A 5,000-year-old city found north of Tel Aviv points to sophisticated urban planning taking place earlier than previously thought. Israel's Antiquities Authority has called it the "New York of the…

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Reports that Russian warplanes intercepted and destroyed Israeli drone

On Thursday evening, the Russian Air Force destroyed an Israeli drone in the airspace of the Syrian capital of Damascus, Israeli website Hadashot 12 reported, through information gained from Russian…

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Gantz rejects Netanyahu’s offer for a unity government

Benny Gantz’s Blue and White coalition has ruled out a unity government with Benjamin Netanyahu as the latest election results show them neck-and-neck, with an estimated 33 seats in parliament…

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Photo Story: Ganz and Netanyahu meet at memorial service for late Israeli president Peres

(L-R) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and Benny Gantz, former Israeli Army Chief of Staff and chairman of the Blue and White Israeli centrist political alliance…

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Benjamin Netanyahu calls for unity government

Benjamin Netanyahu has called on his main political rival, Benny Gantz, to form a unity government with him. The Israeli prime minister made the offer after a second general election…

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Joint statement on the announcement of a possible annexation of areas in the West Bank

France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom have issued a joint statement on the recent declaration by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the possible annexation of areas in the…

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Netanyahu’s Facebook page suspended

Facebook has sanctioned Benjamin Netanyahu’s official page, after a post called on voters to oppose a government composed of “Arabs who want to destroy us all – women, children and men.” Facebook said the…

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Israeli aircraft strike Gaza

Israeli aircraft struck in Gaza on Wednesday hours after rockets from the Palestinian enclave triggered sirens that forced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu off the stage at an election rally in…

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Arab nations condemn Netanyahu’s West Bank annexation plan

Arab nations have condemned a plan by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to annex part of the occupied West Bank. On Tuesday Netanyahu pledged to apply Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan…

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Hezbollah says it shot down Israeli drone

Hezbollah said on Monday that it had downed an "Israeli drone" as it flew over the border with Lebanon. The Islamist militant movement said that the unmanned aircraft was now…

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Israeli military orders extra forces to Lebanon border area

Israel’s military ordered extra forces to deploy to its northern command and postponed a training exercise as tensions remained high with Lebanon’s heavily armed Shi’ite movement Hezbollah. The army said…

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(UPDATE) Mass arrests in Gaza following suicide bombings

Hamas has declared a state of emergency and on Wednesday morning began arresting supporters of Islamic State and other Salafist organizations in the Gaza Strip en masse, hours after three policemen…

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Israeli air strikes hit Palestinian military position in Lebanon

Israeli Air Force drones hit a military position belonging to a Palestinian group in Lebanon, near the Syrian border, early on Monday. The attack is believed to have been Reports…

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Two Israeli Drones Crash in Beirut

An Israeli drone fell in the southern suburbs of Beirut, dominated by the Iran-backed movement, and a second drone exploded near the ground before dawn on Sunday, Hezbollah officials have…

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Intense Israeli air strike in Syria

Israel's military has said it thwarted an "imminent" Iranian attack involving killer drones after its fighter jets had attacked targets in Syria. The announcement came unusually quickly after the attack.…

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Trump criticizes Tlaib for refusing Israel’s approval to see elderly grandmother

President Donald Trump criticised American politician Rashida Tlaib for declining Israel's approval to visit her grandmother in the West Bank, claiming that the Michigan Democrat's initial travel request was a "complete…

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Rashida Tlaib given go-ahead by Israel to enter the country to visit grandmother

Israel’s interior minister has reportedly approved a request from US Democratic lawmaker Rashida Tlaib, to visit Israel just hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, were barred…

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Israel blocks two US Democrat Congressman from visiting

Israel is blocking two US Democratic lawmakers and prominent critics of Israel from visiting. Omar and Tlaib — the first two Muslim women in Congress — were slated to arrive…

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Photo Story: The International Sand Sculpture Festival in Ashkelon, Israel

Photos of some of the sand sculptures that have been prepared ahead of the International Sand Sculpture Festival in Ashkelon, Israel. The festival will run from August 18-23 Photos: EPA-EFE/ABIR…

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Clashes break out on Temple Mount in Jerusalem

Clashes broke out between Muslim protesters and Israeli police forces on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount holy site, known to Muslims as the Haram esh-Sharif and the Al Aqsa Compound, on Sunday,…

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Israeli troops fire on armed Palestinian sneaking into Israel from Gaza

Israeli forces opened fire on an armed Palestinian man attempting to sneak into Israel from Gaza early Sunday, the Israeli military said, as fresh fighting broke out on the tense…

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Photo Story: Large-scale navy drill in the Mediterranean

Israeli Navy's INS Lahav (L), US Navy's USS Donald Cook (2-R), French Navy's Fremm Auvergne (C) and Hellenic Navy's HS Aegaeon (R) take part in a joint military exercise in…

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Israeli Soldier found stabbed to death outside West Bank settlement

The body of a religious Israeli student and soldier who had been stabbed to death was discovered outside a settlement in the Gush Etzion area of the West Bank in…

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Photo Story: Jennifer Lopez concert in Tel Aviv

US actress and singer Jennifer Lopez performs during a concert at Yarkon Park in Tel Aviv, Israel, on the evening of the 01 August 2019. More than 55,000…

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Reports that Israel attacked Iranian targets in Iraq

The London-based Al-Sharq Al-Awsat citing unnamed western diplomatic sources reported that Israel used F-35 stealth fighter jets on late Sunday night to attack “Iranian advisers” and a shipment of ballistic…

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Palestinian leader Abbas to stop all agreements with Israeli

Palestinian leaders have decided to "stop implementing agreements" with Israelis, President Mahmoud Abbas has said. The move comes after Israeli forces bulldozed dozens of Palestinian homes. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas…

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Reports of an Israeli attack in southern Syria

Syrian state television said on Wednesday that Israel struck a strategic area in southern Syria overlooking the Golan Heights where Western intelligence sources previously said Iranian-backed militias are known to…

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Photo Story: Israel demolishes Palestinian homes on Jerusalem outskirts

An Israeli army bulldozer demolishes a building in the Palestinian village of Sur Baher, in East Jerusalem on Monday 22nd July 2019. Israeli authorities decided to demolish at least six…

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Benjamin Netanyahu becomes Israel’s longest-serving leader

Benjamin Netanyahu has become Israel's longest-serving prime minister, surpassing the record set by the country's founding father. Netanyahu has led for 4,876 - one day more than Israel's first prime…

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12 Israelis Arrested in Cyprus on Suspicion of Gang Raping U.K. Tourist

Twelve Israelis, some under 18, were arrested in Cyprus on suspicion that they raped a 19-year-old British tourist at a hotel in the resort town Ayia Napa. The woman, 19,…

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Hezbollah leader warns Israel will vanish in next war

Israel will be wiped out in the next war with Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah warned on Friday in an interview with Al-Manar TV on the 13th anniversary of the Second…

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Controversy as Israeli education minister favours gay conversion therapy

Israeli Education Minister Rafi Peretz has said he believes so-called "gay conversion therapy" can work, triggering widespread condemnation. "I think it's possible," Peretz, an Orthodox rabbi, told Israel's Channel…

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UNESCO removes Bethlehem’s Nativity Church from its list of heritage sites in danger

The United Nations’ cultural agency, UNESCO, announced that it was removing the place that is officially recognized as the Birthplace of Jesus, from its List of World Heritage in…

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Israeli missile strikes near the Syrian cities of Damascus and Homs

Four civilians were killed and 21 injured in Israeli missile strikes near the Syrian cities of Damascus and Homs, Syrian state media said. The Syrian military responded to missiles launched…

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“Trump Heights” opens in Golan

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday unveiled a "Trump Heights" sign, featuring an Israeli and a US flag, to mark the site of the new settlement on the Golan…

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Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife Sara admits misusing public funds

Sara Netanyahu, the wife of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has admitted to misuse of state funds and will have to pay $15,000 . She was charged with fraud…

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Moldova’s decision to move embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem draws criticism from Turkey

The interim government of Moldova announced it will be moving its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Interim Prime Minister Pavel Filip additionally pledged to push forward…

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Nechama Rivlin, Israeli First Lady, dies aged 73

Israel is mourning first lady Nechama Rivlin, who died Tuesday months after a lung transplant. She was 73 years old and was a frequent presence beside her husband, President Reuven…

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Israel retaliates after rockets fired at Golan Heights

The Israeli military said its aircraft struck Syrian army targets on Sunday after rockets were fired at the Golan Heights with an Israeli military spokeswoman saying it was still unclear…

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Israel heads to new elections in September

Israeli lawmakers have voted in favor of dissolving parliament following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's failure to form a coalition government. The move comes after weeks of difficult negotiations. The Knesset,…

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Possible East Med alliance in the offing to counter Russia

Eliot Engel, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, says the U.S. is looking for friendly nations in the Eastern Mediterranean region that share core democratic values in light…

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Netanyahu struggles to form new government

By Benjamin Netanyahu own admission, he started "final effort" to break a deadlock on forming a governing coalition ahead of a Wednesday deadline for a deal. Netanyahu has unexpectedly struggled…

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Madonna scolded by Eurovision for Palestinian flag display

Eurovision Song Contest organizers expressed their disapproval for the display of a Palestinian flag during Madonna's guest appearance during the final night of the contest. Something defied contest rules.…

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Probable Israeli drone attack in Syria

Syrian state media reported that "foreign bodies" - the use of the term indicates they may be unmanned drones - Saturday evening entered Syrian air space from Israel in the…

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Photo Story: Michela’s rehearsal for the Grand Final of 64th Eurovision Song Contest

Michela of Malta performs during rehearsals for the Grand Final of the 64th annual Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) at the Expo Tel Aviv, in Tel Aviv, Israel, 17 May 2019.…

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Madonna confirms Eurovision performance

Madonna will perform during the final of the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv, it has finally been confirmed. The singer will perform two songs: her 1989 hit Like…

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Prayer ordered by Israeli rabbis because of Eurovision ‘desecration’

Leading ultra-Orthodox rabbis in Israeli called for prayer in response to the expected desecration of the Jewish holy day of rest by the Eurovision song contest. This year's competition…

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Eurovision gets clouded in political controversy

As Israel gears up for the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv, despite the best branding efforts, the kitschy festival is clouded in a heated political conflict and controversy.…

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Slideshow: The opening ceremony of the 64th Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv

Images from the orange carpet during the opening ceremony of the Eurovision Song Contest in Habima square in Tel Aviv, Israel, 12 May 2019. Malta's entry for this year is Micvhela…

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Israel doesn’t exclude possibility of Iranian attack

An Israeli cabinet minister warned on Sunday of possible direct or proxy Iranian attacks on Israel should the stand-off between Tehran and Washington escalate. The United States has increased economic…

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Israel reacts to Eurovision boycott campaign

Reuters reports that Israel has launched a PR campaign to counter calls for a boycott of the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest final in Tel Aviv, using Google ads which refer…

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Eurovision 2019: Malta’s Michela in the 7th place with bookmakers

As preparations get underway in Tel Aviv for this year's edition of the Eurovision Song Festival, as usual there is much speculation about who will win. Among the bookmakers top…

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A behind the scenes look at the violence between Israel and Hamas

Amid the recent escalation of violence between Israel and Hamas, the New York Times takes a look at why there are these sudden explosions of violence between the two that…

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Photostory: All set for the Eurovision in Tel Aviv

Israeli artist Rami Meiri paints an artwork at the 'Eurovision Village' complex for shows and parties near the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel. Eurovision, a five-day event starting May 14,…

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