Israel News

The United States officially shuttered its consulate in Jerusalem on Monday, downgrading the status of its main diplomatic mission to the Palestinians by folding it into the US Embassy to Israel.

White House adviser Jared Kushner continued a whirlwind overseas trip Wednesday aimed at rallying U.S. allies to support his still-unannounced Mideast peace plan.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out Thursday after Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit called for him to be indicted on multiple corruption charges, accusing the country’s most senior judicial and law enforcement officials of being part of a witch hunt designed to bring him down.

Israel’s Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit decided Thursday to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a series of corruption charges. The decision comes after more than two years of investigations and will significantly affect Israel’s national elections on April 9.

Following their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had ‘showed an understanding of Israel’s security needs’ regarding Iran’s presence in Syria.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Russian President Vladimir Putin that Israel will continue to take action against Iran in Syria, in the first significant meeting between the two since a major spat developed over a downed spy plane last year.

Israeli jets struck multiple targets in the southern Gaza Strip linked to Hamas late Wednesday, a few hours after an incendiary device from Gaza damaged a home in the Eshkol region.

Israel announced it will discontinue the ‘Government Christian Forum,’ an initiative created in 2013 aimed at strengthening the relationship between Israel’s Christian community and the Israeli government.

The Palestinian Authority and its ruling Fatah faction have begun organizing rallies throughout the West Bank in support of PA President Mahmoud Abbas. The move came in response to recent demonstrations in the Gaza Strip during which protesters condemned Abbas and called for his removal from power.

The Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry is gearing up for the arrival of locust swarms in Israel, although chances of that are relatively low.

Jared Kushner, a senior White House advisor and son-in-law to U.S. President Donald Trump, is traveling through the Middle East this week reportedly to gauge support for an American attempt to strike a deal in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

US special envoy Jared Kushner was interviewed on Monday on Sky News in Arabic, saying that ‘the American peace plan is very detailed and will focus on drawing the border and resolving the core issues.’

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group boasted Sunday evening that it had developed a new missile that can hit beyond Tel Aviv, threatening to turn Israeli cities into ‘hell.’

The two senior Waqf officials were arrested on Sunday in a follow-up to Friday’s riots on the Temple Mount in which thousands of Palestinians stormed the Golden Gate, which had been closed by a court order since 2003.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) began a major surprise training exercise on Sunday across Israel, just one month after a new chief of staff was appointed.

The Jerusalem Wakf Council announced on Sunday that a section of the Temple Mount that was closed by Israel in 2003 will remain open, even after the arrest of two of its senior officials.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas urged European states on Sunday to play a greater role in mediating the peace process and recognize the ‘State of Palestine,’ contending that failing to do so was a betrayal of European values.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin next Wednesday, his office said Thursday.

Israel’s first lunar-bound spacecraft successfully blasted off early Friday morning, embarking on a seven-week trip to land on the moon. If the privately funded Beresheet project is successful, Israel will be just the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the moon.

hree surveys show Blue and White surging ahead in April 9 election, with 35-36 seats to Likud’s 26-32.