Israel News

Israel notified the US that it is responsible for Tuesday’s attack on an Iranian cargo ship affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, an American official told The New York Times.

Israel and Russia on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on internal security matters.

The border between Israel and Lebanon is deceptively quiet. But on the other side of the fence lies Hezbollah with more than one hundred thousand rockets that can hit almost anywhere inside Israel.

After receiving the mandate to form the next government from President Reuven Rivlin, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on fellow lawmakers Tuesday to end their boycotts of him and join his coalition In an effort to avoid unprecedented fifth elections in two years.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out at prosecutors on Monday, accusing them of waging a “witch hunt” against him aimed at unseating a democratically elected leader.

American-Saudi ties have been growing increasingly strained in recent months—a development that will likely see the Sunni power draw even closer to Jerusalem, Israeli observers have told JNS.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received more endorsements to form the next government than Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid on Monday, making it likely that he will receive the first mandate from President Reuven Rivlin on Tuesday.

Top Israeli officials are concerned that the United States is preparing to restart the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran without strengthening it, according to a new report.

Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid and Yamina chairman Naftali Bennett have reportedly reached a “breakthrough” in their discussions on forming a joint government to remove Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from power, the Kan public broadcaster reported Sunday evening.

The Israel Defense Forces received the first of a series of new spy aircraft, dubbed the Oron, on Sunday that it said would improve its ability to gather intelligence and identify targets for attack in Iran, Iraq, Yemen and other far-flung areas in the Middle East.

Israeli archaeologists in Jerusalem have unearthed a rare Tyre shekel coin that is believed to have been used by Jewish pilgrims to pay the Passover Temple tax during the Second Temple era, All Israel News reports. The discovery was made in the course of extensive conservation work on an ancient citadel known as the Tower of David in the Old City of Jerusalem.

In what has been described as the latest step in the Middle East arms race, Israel’s Defense Ministry announced last month that it has conducted a series of successful trials on an upgraded version of the Iron Dome air defense system, the Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) reports.

Chairman of right-wing Yamina party Naftali Bennett will have meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and with Opposition Leader Yair Lapid this weekend, Ynet News reports. The scheduled meetings follow a week in which Bennet declined to indicate who he would recommend to President Reuven Rivlin to form Israel’s next government.

Jordan sent a formal complaint to Israel’s Foreign Ministry over its concern that the status quo on the Temple Mount had been violated in light of the number of Jewish visitors over the Passover holiday.

Likud lawmakers lashed out at President Reuven Rivlin Wednesday, accusing him of being in cahoots with the prime minister’s rivals, after the president urged the various party leaders to engage in “out-of-the-ordinary coalitions, collaborations that cross sectors,” in order to break the extended political deadlock, and lamented the Netanyahu-led government’s failure to pass a budget.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appealed on Wednesday to two right-wing rivals to “come back home” and align themselves with him again to break a deadlock following Israel’s inconclusive election last week.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi approved Bahrain’s very first ambassador to Israel on Tuesday, the Jerusalem Post reports. Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani had appointed Khaled Yousif al-Jalahama, the Director of Operations at Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry, to the position of Ambassador to Israel on Sunday.

The annual United States report on global human rights practices affirmed that Jerusalem was the capital of Israel, but reintroduced language that spoke of Israeli occupation of territory, two-states and gave a nod in the direction of Palestinian Authority rights to sections of Jerusalem.

New Hope party leader Gideon Sa’ar on Tuesday urged Yesh Atid head Yair Lapid to “put ego aside,” in an apparent call to let Yamina chief Naftali Bennett serve as prime minister first in a potential rotation deal in a new government.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chances of receiving the first mandate to form a coalition from President Reuven Rivlin received a boost on Monday, when New Hope leader Gideon Sa’ar and Yamina head Naftali Bennett ruled out a government backed by Arab parties.