Israel News

Normalization of relations between Israel and the Arab countries will not achieve peace and stability in the region, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, with the two discussing cooperation on combating the coronavirus pandemic and regional issues, a statement from the Kremlin said.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized on Monday that America was committed to maintaining Israel’s military superiority in the region while appearing to hint at an impending deal by which the Trump administration would provide the United Arab Emirates with advanced fighter jets.

A 3,200-year-old Canaanite citadel where epic battles were fought during biblical times has been unearthed near the southern Israeli city of Kiryat Gat, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced Sunday.

The political crisis that could lead to a fourth election in 19 months being initiated Monday night appeared on its way to being resolved on Saturday night, when both Likud and Blue and White accepted a compromise.

Using the Lahav Or (‘Light Blade’) combat laser, Israel intercepted 32 explosive and incendiary balloons fired by terrorists from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, as seen in this video released by Israel’s Border Police.

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday night he expected Saudi Arabia to join Arab normalization with Israel, hours after the country’s foreign minister ruled out any formalized ties before an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord. He then said he believed Iran would ultimately “come in too.”

The IDF conducted strikes by air and from tank fire on Thursday on targets in Gaza for 10th straight day after incendiary devices launched from the Strip caused 42 fires in communities in the south.

As the United Nations prepares to renew the mandate of its peacekeeping operation in southern Lebanon, Israel is working with Security Council members to push for tough changes in the way the force deals with the Hezbollah militant group, Israeli officials said Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia maintains its policy of not making ties with Israel official until there is peace with the Palestinians, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said on Wednesday.

Israeli war planes carried out series of airstrikes in the Gaza Strip late Tuesday night, after Palestinians fired a rocket and sent several arson balloons into Israel, sparking a series a fires, the Israel Defense Forces said.

The Israeli military sees its Ground Forces — tanks, infantry, combat engineering and artillery — as in desperate need for a makeover if it is to be prepared for the types of battles it is likely to encounter in future wars.

Israel will not proceed with applying sovereignty to parts of the West Bank without America’s support, and the US will not agree to it for “some time,” White House Senior Adviser Jared Kushner said in a briefing with Middle Eastern media outlets on Monday.

Palestinians taking part in Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem trampled and then set fire to a poster of the United Arab emirates leader to protest the normalization deal announced Thursday between Israel and the UAE.

At least 28 bush fires were started in the south of Israel Sunday, with authorities blaming incendiary balloons launched from the Gaza Strip following exchanges of fire between the Israel Defense Forces and Hamas over the weekend.

Surpassing the most dire economic forecasts on the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, Israel’s gross domestic product plunged by 28.9 percent in the second quarter of 2020, as compared to the first quarter, in the worst economic downturn in over 40 years, according to an official estimate Sunday.

U.S. President Donald Trump has confirmed that Israel and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to establish full diplomatic relations in a “historic diplomatic breakthrough.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday addressed the historic deal between his country and the United Arab Emirates, calling it “the greatest advancement towards peace between Israel and the Arab world in the last 26 years.”

US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner said Thursday that more Arab countries may soon announce normalized ties with Israel, following an American-brokered agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

Israel has destroyed one-third of Syrian air defenses in the past two years, and close to a thousand surface-to-air missiles have been launched towards Israel Air Force jets during missions for its “war-between-wars” campaign targeting Iranian infrastructure in the war-torn country.