Israel

Israeli study finds 94% drop in symptomatic COVID-19 cases with Pfizer vaccine

JERUSALEM, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Israel's largest healthcare provider on Sunday reported a 94% drop in symptomatic COVID-19 infections among 600,000 people who received two doses of the Pfizer's vaccine…

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INSIGHT-Vaccine vs variant

JERUSALEM, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Israel’s swift vaccination rollout has made it the largest real-world study of Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 vaccine. Results are trickling in, and they are promising. More…

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Greece, Israel sign agreement on tourism during PM’s visit

ATHENS, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Greece and Israel signed an accord on Monday to ease travel restrictions to Greece for Israelis with proof of COVID-19 vaccination, a move Athens hopes…

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Netanyahu pleads not guilty to corruption charges as trial resumes

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pleaded not guilty on Monday to corruption charges at the resumption of his trial some six weeks before Israeli voters again pass judgment…

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Israel says vaccine has almost halved COVID cases among over-60s

Vaccination of Israelis over the age of 60 has reduced the rate of that age group getting COVID-19 by almost half and the number of serious cases in that cohort by…

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Israel to transfer 5,000 vaccines to Palestinian medical personnel

Tel Aviv (dpa) - Israel will transfer 5,000 Covid-19 vaccines to the Palestinian Authority for use by medical staff who work on the pandemic's front lines. "The first batch is expected to be…

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Thousands pack rabbi’s funeral in Jerusalem

Times of Israel - After 10,000 packed burial of Rabbi Meshulam Dovid Soloveitchik, footage shows masses at funeral for Rabbi Yitzchok Scheiner, who himself discouraged large gatherings. In violation of…

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0.04 per cent of vaccinated Israelis contracted coronavirus – Government Minister

Tel Aviv (dpa) - Only 317 out of 715,425 Israelis who have received the required two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine have tested positive, the Health Ministry said on Thursday. That works out…

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Israel bans international flights to curb coronavirus spread

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel will ban passenger flights in and out of the country from Monday evening for a week, the government announced on Sunday, as protesters in some ultra-Orthodox…

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UAE to open embassy in Israel as Israel opens embassy in Abu Dhabi

DUBAI/JERUSALEM Jan 24 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates cabinet on Sunday approved the establishment of an embassy in Tel Aviv in Israel, state media said, and Israel announced its…

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Photo Story: Wild animals take over the streets during Israeli lockdown

Nubian ibex roam the streets during a national lockdown in Mitzpe Ramon, southern Israel. Although Israel is one of the first countries to have received vaccines and has so far…

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UPDATED: Syria reports Israeli military activity over Hama

Syrian air defences confronted early on Friday "an Israeli aggression" in the region of Hama that killed four people from the same family, state media said. Israel has carried out…

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Israel’s Netanyahu removes Trump from his Twitter banner photo

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Benjamin Netanyahu dropped U.S. President Donald Trump from the banner photo of his Twitter account on Tuesday in an apparent break with a political ally…

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After 54 years, first Mass on the site of the Baptism of Jesus

St. John the Baptist Chapel, on the West Bank, has announced that it will reopen for Mass in January 2021. For over 50 years, the site has been unapproachable because…

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Israel tightens nationwide coronavirus lockdown

Israel tightened a national lockdown on Friday in a bid to curb a sharp rise in new COVID-19 cases, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promising that all Israeli adults could…

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Iran resumes uranium enrichment programme

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.…

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Israel’s defence minister favours buying one more F-35 squadron for now

Israel's defence minister said on Monday that he wants the country to buy a third squadron of stealth F-35 warplanes from the United States, and that he hoped a deal…

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Israel dismisses “nonsense” Iran charge it seeks to trick U.S. into war

JERUSALEM, Jan 3 (Reuters) - An Israeli official on Sunday dismissed as "nonsense" an allegation by the Iranian foreign minister that Israel was trying to trick the United States into…

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Israel leads vaccine race with 1 million given jab

Israel has given vaccinations against coronavirus to more than one million people, the highest rate in the world, as global immunisation efforts step up. Israel has a rate of 11.55…

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One killed, three soldiers injured in Israeli attack in Syria- SANA

CAIRO (Reuters) - One person was killed and three soldiers injured as a result of "Israeli aggression" in the Damascus countryside, Syrian state news agency SANA said on Wednesday, quoting…

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Photo Story: Santa Claus in Jerusalem

Jerusalem Santa Issa Kassissieh rides a camel in the alleys of Jerusalem's Old City. Kassissieh has dressed up as Santa Claus in Jerusalem for a decade and had turned his…

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Right-wing challenge to Netanyahu builds ahead of Israeli election

A right-wing challenge to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a March Israeli election gained momentum with the defection of a long-time ally to an upstart rival party. In a letter…

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Israel imposing third national COVID-19 lockdown

Israel will impose a third national lockdown to fight climbing COVID-19 infections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday. The curbs will come into effect on Sunday evening and last…

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Israel hopes for rapprochement with fifth Muslim country before Trump exit

Israel is working towards formalising relations with a fifth Muslim country during U.S. President Donald Trump's term, which ends next month, an Israeli government minister told Ynet TV on Wednesday.…

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Tunisia says it does not intend to normalise relations with Israel

Tunisia is not interested in establishing diplomatic relations with Israel and its position will not be affected by any international changes, the foreign ministry said. Morocco this week joined the…

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Israel to hold snap election

Israel will hold a snap election in March after parliament failed on Tuesday to meet a deadline to pass a budget, triggering a ballot presenting new challenges for Prime Minister…

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Morocco hosts Israeli envoys, Kushner to hammer out new ties

RABAT (Reuters) - Israeli envoys arrived in Morocco on Tuesday to meet its king and hammer out an upgrade of ties that was forged by the White House in a…

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New archeological sites linked to early Christianity discovered in Gethsemane

Fr. Francesco Patton, Custos of the Holy Land showing the remains of a previously unknown church that was founded at the end of the Byzantine period (sixth century CE) at…

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Invoking Bible and moonwalk, Netanyahu starts Israeli vaccination drive

TEL HASHOMER, Israel, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Israel kicked off a coronavirus vaccination drive on Saturday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu invoking the Bible and the 1969 lunar landing as he got…

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Photo Story: Christmas in Bethlehem

A view of the Christmas tree at the Manger Square while its empty from visitors, next to the Church of Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. Bethlehem is…

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UAE, Israel export credit agencies sign agreement to boost trade

The export credit agencies of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel have signed a cooperation agreement to develop economic relations between the two countries, the UAE's state news agency…

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Israel receives initial shipment of Pfizer coronavirus vaccine

JERUSALEM, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Israel received its first shipment of coronavirus vaccines on Wednesday and a distributor predicted the country would have enough for about a quarter of the…

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Middle East – Rainbow of Peace and hope

People appear to stand at the bottom of a rainbow at the Dead Sea, Israel, 05 December 2020 . EPA-EFE/ABIR SULTAN

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Jerusalem church suffers damage in arson near Garden of Gethsemane

Israeli police arrested a man for trying to set fire to an east Jerusalem church by the Garden of Gethsemane, the site revered by Christians as the place where Jesus…

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Israel edges towards early election amid Netanyahu-Gantz feud

Israel edged closer on Wednesday towards a fourth national election in two years after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s main governing partner, Benny Gantz, backed an opposition move to dissolve parliament.…

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Israel receives its most advanced warship as Iran tensions rise

Israel received its most advanced warship on Wednesday, describing the German-made vessel dubbed “Shield” as a bulwark for vulnerable Mediterranean gas rigs as tensions with Tehran soar over the assassination…

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Iran points finger at opposition, Israel on scientist murder

A senior Iranian official said on Monday an opposition group was suspected alongside Israel in the killing of a prominent Iranian nuclear scientist, an attack that has raised the prospect of a new standoff…

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Iran to give a ‘calculated’ response to nuclear scientist killing, says official

Iran will give a "calculated and decisive" response to the killing of its top nuclear scientist, said a top adviser to Iran's supreme leader, while a hardline newspaper suggested Tehran's…

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Israel 2021 budget worth $129 billion to be presented to PM Monday

Israel's Finance Ministry will present a long awaited 2021 state budget to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday that will total 426 billion shekels ($128.5 billion), a ministry source said…

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Israeli embassies on alert after Iran retaliation threats

Israel put its embassies around the world on high alert on Saturday after Iranian threats of retaliation following the killing of a nuclear scientist near Tehran, Israeli N12 news reported.…

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Killing of suspected Iranian nuclear mastermind risks confrontation

An Iranian scientist long suspected by the West of masterminding a secret nuclear bomb programme was killed in an ambush near Tehran on Friday that could provoke confrontation between Iran and its foes…

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Israeli cabinet minister confirms Netanyahu’s Saudi meeting

A member of Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet and Likud party confirmed media reports on Monday that the Israeli prime minister had held a meeting in Saudi Arabia, calling it an "amazing…

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Palestinian rocket fire draws Israeli air strikes in Gaza

Palestinian militants fired a rocket into Israel, drawing Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said on Sunday. There were no casualties reported on either side of…

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Israel, Bahrain cement new ties with pledges of embassies and visas

Bahrain and Israel said they would open embassies, establish online visa systems and launch weekly flights between the countries soon, in a broadened cooperation promoted by Washington as an economic…

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Israeli warplanes strike Syrian army, Iranian Quds force in Syria

Israel launched air strikes against Syrian and Iranian targets in southern Syria on Wednesday after explosive devices were planted in the Israeli-held Golan Heights, the Israeli military said. The Syrian…

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Palestinian Authority resuming coordination with Israel, Palestinian official says

The Palestinian Authority will resume coordination with Israel suspended in May over an Israeli plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, a senior Palestinian official said on Tuesday.…

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Abu Dhabi’s Etihad to start direct flights to Israel next year

Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways said on Monday it would start daily flights to Tel Aviv in March after the United Arab Emirates and Israel's established formal ties this year. Flight…

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Israel signs deal with Pfizer for potential COVID-19 vaccine

Israel has signed a deal with Pfizer Inc to receive the drugmaker's potential COVID-19 vaccine, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday. Pfizer and its partner BioNTech SE confirmed a…

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UAE State-owned flydubai to start Tel Aviv flights this month

United Arab Emirates airline flydubai on Wednesday said it would start direct fights to Israel this month with twice daily services between Dubai and Tel Aviv. The announcement comes after…

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Israel starts human trials on COVID-19 vaccine as schools slowly reopen

Israel began human trials on Sunday for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate which, if successful, could be ready for the general public by the end of next summer. Eighty volunteers will…

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Photo story: Israel commemorates the 25th anniversary of Israeli PM Rabin’s assassination

People light 25,000 memorial candles on Thursday evening on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the assassination of the Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, at Rabin Square in Tel…

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Israel to start COVID-19 vaccine human trials on November 1

Israel will begin human trials for a potential COVID-19 vaccine developed by a research institute overseen by the Defence Ministry on Nov. 1 after receiving regulatory approval, the ministry said…

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Israeli delegation travels to Sudan to discuss normalisation

An Israeli delegation made a rare visit to Sudan on Wednesday to discuss normalising ties, Israeli public broadcaster Kan radio said, as a minister predicted a possible diplomatic breakthrough between…

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Israel, Bahrain formalise ties

Bahrain and Israel signed a joint communique to formalise nascent ties during a visit by an Israeli and U.S. delegation to Manama on Sunday to broaden cooperation that Washington has…

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Israel sends treaty delegation to Bahrain

An Israeli delegation accompanied by the U.S. treasury secretary flew to Bahrain on Sunday to formalise nascent relations and broaden Gulf cooperation that Washington has promoted as an anti-Iran bulwark…

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Photo Story: Marked Iron age limestone weight excavated in Jerusalem

Handout photos made available by the Israel Antiquities Authority in Jerusalem on 13 October 2020 shows an ancient limestone-made weight, dating back to the Iron age (the First Temple period),…

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Lebanon, Israel to meet again October 28 after brief border talks

Israeli and Lebanese negotiators met briefly on Wednesday for talks on their disputed maritime border, ending their meeting after only an hour and agreeing to meet again on Oct. 28,…

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