Election prevention bill fails, Israel headed to elections on March 23
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.
Israel
Bennett: Goal ‘to replace Netanyahu,’ won’t back bill to let PM avoid legal woes
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.
Knesset rejects bill to delay budget deadline, sends Israel heading to elections
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.
Israeli submarine reportedly crosses Suez Canal in ‘message’ to Iran
An Israeli submarine openly crossed the Suez Canal last week, in a show of force against Iran, the Kan public broadcaster reported Monday night.
3 rockets fired toward US embassy in Iraq
At least three rockets targeted the US embassy in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone on Sunday, Iraqi security officials said, sparking fears of renewed unrest, as next month’s anniversary of the slaying of an Iranian general draws near.
Iran building at underground nuclear facility, new satellite photos show
Iran has begun construction on a site at its underground nuclear facility at Fordo amid tensions with the US over its atomic program, satellite photos obtained Friday by The Associated Press show.
PA, Jordan and Egypt call for resumption of peace talks
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.
Europe Countries Ban British Flights Over New Corona Strain
Authorities in several European countries banned flights from Britain on Sunday amid mounting fears over an infectious new strain of COVID-19.
America Blames Russia For Massive Cyberattack
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has blamed Russia for one of the largest cyberattacks on American government agencies and private companies in recent memory. Russia has denied involvement in the scandal.
Saudi Arabia: Significant reduction in school book anti-Semitism
A monitoring group reported Tuesday that, while there remains work to be done, Saudi Arabia has significantly reduced anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist content in its school books for the coming year, the Times of Israel reports. The Jerusalem-based Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se) published its report amid speculation that Saudi Arabia, a long-time enemy of Israel, may follow Bahrain, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates in normalizing relations with the Jewish State.
Israel to issue post-vaccination “green passport” allowing citizens into public areas
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.
Hundreds of ancient oil lamps unearthed in Judean Hills
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 Missile Defense chief would consider cooperation with Arab Gulf States
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.
Iran: Ayatollah appears in public, contrary to rumors of health deterioration
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has appeared in public, countering unconfirmed publicized claims that his health had significantly deteriorated, the Times of Israel reports. At a meeting in Tehran Wednesday, Khamenei addressed the family of Iranian Revolutionary Guards Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated in a US drone strike this year, and senior Iranian military leaders.
‘Worst hacking in US history’: Agencies said to fear nuclear networks accessed
US officials suspect a massive hacking operation that hit numerous government agencies and has been linked to Russia breached networks tied to the country’s nuclear weapons stockpile, Politico reported Thursday.
SCOTUS sides with Houses of Worship again
In another decision that favors churches, the US Supreme Court on Tuesday sent two cases back to the federal courts which had refused to block COVID-19 restrictions on houses of worship, the Daily Wire reports. The Supreme Court instructed the lower courts in the two cases to re-consider their original decisions as, in a pivotal ruling last month, SCOTUS ruled against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s attendance limits on houses of worship.
Liberman calls for union with Lapid, Sa’ar and Bennett to challenge Netanyahu
Yisrael Beiteinu leader MK Avigdor Lieberman called on fellow opposition lawmakers to join forces and challenge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ultra-Orthodox allies in the upcoming elections.
Israel launches first-ever multitier missile defense test
The Israel Missile Defense Organization and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency for the first time demonstrated a multilayered air defense system using the Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Arrow weapon systems in a recent series of tests.
Iron Dome successfully intercepts cruise missile for 1st time
Israel has successfully completed an air defense exercise that tested the abilities of the Iron Dome missile defense system to intercept cruise missiles for the first time, the Defense Ministry announced on Tuesday.
New paper warns Israel, Iran on collision course
The US is making a mistake by leaving the Middle East to its own devices and this could lead to a conflagration between Israel and Iran, wrote former Turkish MP Aykan Erdemir and former US Ambassador to Turkey Eric Edelman in an article for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.