Greece’s Energean discovers natural gas reserve offshore Israel
Greek energy firm Energean has made a vast discovery of 28-42 billion cubic meters of natural gas at the North Karish field off Israel’s northwest coast, the company said on Monday.
Israel
Trump vetoes measure to end US involvement in Yemen war
President Donald Trump on Tuesday vetoed a bill passed by Congress to end US military assistance in Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen.
Former European leaders urge EU to reject Trump plan if no Palestinian state
Some three dozen senior former European politicians published a call on Sunday for the European Union to reaffirm its commitment to a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians and reject any Trump peace plan that does not address Palestinian demands.
US publishes first map showing Golan as Israeli territory
The US has for the first time published a map showing the Golan Heights as Israeli territory, three weeks after President Donald Trump recognized Israeli sovereignty over the strategic plateau.
Firefighters fear burning Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris can’t be saved
A colossal fire swept through the famed Notre Dame Cathedral in central Paris on Monday, causing a spire to collapse and raising fears over the future of the nearly millennium-old building and its precious artworks.
EU wants new round of peace talks for Israel, Palestinians
The European Union is calling for a renewal of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in the wake of Israel’s election last week.
Israeli scientists say they 3D-printed a heart
Israeli researchers said on Monday they have printed the world’s first 3D heart with blood vessels, describing it as a major breakthrough in engineering replacements for diseased organs.
Pompeo says PM’s West Bank sovereignty vow won’t hurt Trump peace plan
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday said he did not believe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s talk of extending Israeli sovereignty to West Bank settlements would hurt the Trump administration’s long-gestating peace plan.
Iranian forces said killed in reported Israel airstrike on Syria missile factory
A number of Iranian forces were reportedly killed in an airstrike on a Syrian military position near the city of Masyaf in western Hama province overnight Friday-Saturday. Syrian state media said Israeli jets carried out the raid in the middle of the night, firing missiles while flying in Lebanese airspace.
Trump peace plan likely won’t include Palestinian state — report
US President Donald Trump’s peace plan will include considerable economic incentives for Palestinians, but will likely stop short of full statehood, The Washington Post reported on Sunday.
Israel’s national security adviser to meet with Bolton for Iran talks
National Security Council head Meir Ben-Shabbat will meet with his US counterpart John Bolton on Monday in Washington to discuss Iran and ‘other destabilizing actors.’
Egypt said to withdraw from US-backed anti-Iran ‘Arab NATO’
Egypt has pulled out of a planned Arab defensive alliance intended to unite Sunni Arab nations against Shiite Iran’s influence in the region, a source in Cairo said Thursday.
Kahlon negotiating return to Likud fold, would stay on as finance minister
Following a dismal showing in the polls, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon is negotiating a return to the Likud party.
For Netanyahu, an unprecedented election haul bodes well for political survival
The 2019 elections are over. Officials may yet be recounting votes, but nothing will change the fact that Benjamin Netanyahu has well and truly beaten the generals, the pollsters and the sourpusses. With 1,138,772 votes cast for Likud, Netanyahu’s party is the first in Israel’s history to cross the one-million-ballot threshold.
Pompeo declines to reaffirm Trump commitment to two-state solution
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo refused to endorse a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Wednesday regarding the State Department 2020 budget request, Pompeo expressed hope that the upcoming peace plan would create the conditions in which Israelis and Palestinians could solve the conflict, but did not provide any specifics.
Israeli spacecraft crash lands on moon’s surface
An Israeli spacecraft crashed into the moon Thursday just moments before touchdown, failing in an ambitious attempt to make history as the first privately funded lunar landing.
Russia, Turkey, Iran back Syrian territorial integrity
Lawmakers from Russia, Iran and Turkey are calling for Syria’s territorial integrity to be preserved as remarks from Israel and the United States have renewed long-standing land disputes.
Israel’s Beresheet set to make history, land on moon today
Seven weeks after Israeli spacecraft Beresheet (Hebrew for Genesis) soared into the night sky at Cape Canaveral, Florida, commencing an epic 6.5 million km. journey, it is poised to make history on Thursday evening when it reaches the Moon.
Trump says Netanyahu election win means a ‘better chance for peace’
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday congratulated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his win in the Israeli election, and said it would improve the chances of success for his administration’s much-anticipated peace plan.
After night of vote-counting, New Right appears just short of entering Knesset
The New Right party appeared just short of crossing the election threshold to enter the Knesset, according to updated results released early Thursday with several thousand ballots still to be counted.