Israel News

Israel on Sunday evening entered its third national lockdown since the start of the pandemic to beat back a resurgence of COVID-19.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that Israel was hoping to vaccinate a quarter of its population against coronavirus within a month in order to return to post-pandemic normalcy.

Four weapons manufacturing facilities were destroyed in northwestern Syria early Friday morning in a series of airstrikes attributed to Israel, according to satellite images released by a private Israeli intelligence firm.

Two days after Israel and Morocco signed their first deals in the process of establishing full diplomatic relations, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that “many, many more countries” would be signing normalization agreements with the Jewish state “a lot sooner than people expect.”

Biotechnology students in Israel have found a way to prevent fruit juice from spoiling: they harnessed and applied a strain of bacteria that is found in the natural environment, Israel 365 News reported Wednesday. The finding was made by a team of students from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, and earned them first prize in a competition held by the European food consortium EIT Food.

Israel reportedly uses the top U.S. military chief to send sensitive messages to declared President-elect Joe Biden about Iran and other Middle East tension.

In the latest sign of warming relations between Israel and the Arab world, Israel and Morocco signed a joint declaration on the establishment of ties in Rabat.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz have agreed to impose a third national lockdown to curb a surge in new COVID-19 infections, Israeli television reported Tuesday.

Over 100 doctors in Israel have signed a letter of protest against the government’s COVID-19 lockdowns and its alternative restrictions such as the closure of schools, the Times of Israel (TOI) reported Sunday. The physicians’ protest was made as the number of daily coronavirus cases in Israel surged to nearly 3,000 Tuesday through Friday last week, and as a new wave of restrictions looked likely.

Israel’s COVID-19 cabinet approved a decision Monday to ban all foreigners, including those with current visas, from entering the country starting December 23, the Jerusalem Post reports. Aimed at slowing Israel’s current surge in coronavirus cases, the ban will be in place for at least 10 days, with the option to extend as needed.

Israel is progressing with moves to legalize recreational marijuana in the next few months, while its burgeoning cannabis industry looks to expand its manufacturing, production and export capabilities, Ynet News reports.

A bill proposed to avoid Knesset dispersal and the fourth elections over the last two years has failed to pass on Monday night, sealing Israel’s fate.

Yamina leader Naftali Bennett said Monday that his goal was to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and would not support legislative efforts to help the premier avoid his corruption charges.

The Knesset overnight Monday-Tuesday narrowly rejected a bill that would have deferred a Tuesday midnight deadline for passing the 2020 state budget, and thus set Israel on an almost certain course to its fourth general election in two years.

An Israeli submarine openly crossed the Suez Canal last week, in a show of force against Iran, the Kan public broadcaster reported Monday night.

The Palestinian Authority, Egypt and Jordan on Saturday stressed the need to urge Israel to return to negotiations in order to reach a final settlement on the basis of a two-state solution to ensure the establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state along the pre-1967 lines, with east Jerusalem as its capital.

Church leaders and local authorities say they are preparing Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem, the Biblical birthplace of Jesus, despite a reported increase in coronavirus cases. “Bethlehem is going to celebrate Christmas. And Christmas will not be canceled,” pledged Mayor Anton Salman.

Israel will be the first country to give its citizens a “green passport” — a card or mobile phone app that will allow them to enter public spaces like restaurants, shopping centers, and airplanes – once they have received the COVID-19 vaccination, All Israel News reports.

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced Monday that archaeologists working in the Judean Hills city of Beit Shemesh have unearthed a lost cistern containing hundreds of ceramic oil lamps that are 1,600-1,700 years old, the Times of Israel reports.

Israel’s head of missile defense said Tuesday that he would consider working with Arab Gulf states on mutually beneficial missile defense programs, World Israel News reports.