Israel

Stories 421 - 440 | << Prev   Next >>

Notes Pulled From Western Wall, With a Twist

Hazmat suits were required this time around due to coronavirus

(Newser) - He stood at one of the world’s holiest sites and prayed for those who've contracted COVID-19. Then Shmuel Rabinowitz, rabbi of Jerusalem's Western Wall, watched as thousands of written prayers crammed into the crevices of stone were removed. This happens twice a year before Passover and Rosh...

Scammers Called Up People for Money and Got $50M

Looks like Gilbert Chikli, 54, and Anthony Lasarevitsch, 35, are going to prison

(Newser) - Six guys scammed people out of $50 million—by calling them and asking for it, the New York Times reports. A French court found them all guilty Wednesday of an elaborate scheme to defraud wealthy political, religious, and business figures. It seems Gilbert Chikli, 54, and Anthony Lasarevitsch, 35, masterminded...

Child: 'Balloons!' Child #2: 'That's a Bomb!'

Israel grapples with militant tactic of sending balloons over the border

(Newser) - Merav Hania recalls the day her daughter stopped enjoying kindergarten—when balloons floated into her playground in Israel, the Washington Post reports. "Balloons!" the girl cried. But another child stopped her: "That's a bomb!" Sure enough, Emma huddled with other students inside as a police...

Israel Tries for 3rd Time in a Year to Vote on Netanyahu

Nobody can seem to form a government

(Newser) - Israelis voted Monday in an unprecedented third election in less than a year to decide whether longtime Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stays in power despite his upcoming trial on corruption charges, the AP reports. His trial begins March 17. Netanyahu, the longest-serving leader in Israeli history, has been a caretaker...

Bloomberg 'Just Went There' With Trump

And there's other political chatter on Sunday

(Newser) - In Politico 's words, "Mike Bloomberg's campaign just went there." Facing a wave of attacks from President Trump, the Democratic candidate fired back Sunday with "pathological liar"—not an unusual retort for Dems—then dared to engage in a game of personal insults. "...

Israel Launches 'Wide-Scale' Strikes on Gaza

Airstrikes follow rocket fire from militants

(Newser) - The Israeli military said on Friday that it launched "wide-scale" airstrikes on militant targets in the Gaza Strip shortly after Palestinian militants fired three rockets into Israel, two of which were intercepted. There were no reports of casualties or major damage from the exchange of fire overnight, which came...

US Gives Israel a Bold Green Light
US Gives
Israel a Bold
Green Light

US Gives Israel a Bold Green Light

Netanyahu plans vote on annexing parts of Jordan Valley, West Bank

(Newser) - With the ink still drying on President Trump's Middle East peace plan, Israel says it's ready for action. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday he will have his cabinet vote Sunday on two key measures: applying Israeli sovereignty to parts of the Jordan Valley and to Jewish settlements...

Officials: Trump&#39;s Peace Plan Calls for Palestinian State
Here Is What's in Trump's
Mideast Peace Plan
UPDATED

Here Is What's in Trump's Mideast Peace Plan

It calls for Palestinian state, settlement freeze

(Newser) - President Trump unveiled his long-awaited Middle East peace plan Tuesday, calling for the creation of a State of Palestine with its capital in portions of east Jerusalem. He declared it a "win-win" opportunity for both Israel and the Palestinians. The plan ends speculation as to whether his administration, in...

Jeopardy! Producers: Bethlehem Question Shouldn't Have Aired

They say wrong version of game show was sent to TV stations

(Newser) - Producers of the game show Jeopardy! have apologized for a clue that waded into political hot water involving Israeli control of the West Bank, saying an incorrect version of the show was sent to television stations, the AP reports. A game shown last Friday asked contestants to identify the location...

Israeli PM: I Want Immunity
Israeli PM: I Want Immunity

Israeli PM: I Want Immunity

Netanyahu plans to approach the speaker of the Knesset and 'fulfill my right' to be PM

(Newser) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday he would seek immunity from corruption charges, likely delaying any trial until after March elections, when he hopes to have a majority coalition that will shield him from prosecution, the AP reports. Netanyahu was indicted in November on charges of accepting bribes, fraud,...

Netanyahu Says He Defeated Likud Challenger

Prime minister predicts another victory in upcoming elections

(Newser) - The official result won't be released before Friday morning, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he won his Likud Party primary Thursday. "A huge win! With God's and your help, I will lead the Likud to a big victory in the upcoming elections," Netanyahu tweeted...

Netanyahu Evacuated From Rally After Rocket Fired

He was speaking at rally 8 miles north of Gaza

(Newser) - For the second time in less than four months, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had to be rushed off stage at a campaign event Wednesday after a rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu and dozens of supporters at the rally in Ashkelon, eight miles north of the border,...

Politically Charged Nativity Scene Appears in Bethlehem

A Banksy piece is displayed at the Walled Off Hotel

(Newser) - The mysterious street artist known as Banksy has displayed a politically charged Nativity scene in Bethlehem, the town revered as Jesus' birthplace, just in time for the busy Christmas season, the AP reports. The artwork, named "Scar of Bethlehem," depicts the birth of Jesus under Israel's West...

Israel's Government Throws In the Towel

New elections are set for March 2

(Newser) - Israel’s parliament on Wednesday dissolved after failing to meet a midnight deadline for forming a new government, triggering an an unprecedented third election in a 12-month period while giving scandal-plagued Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a welcome break as he fights to save his political career, the AP reports. After...

Louis CK Talks About Scandal During Overseas Show

Comedian is on an international tour

(Newser) - Two years after being swept up in the #MeToo movement and acknowledging sexual misconduct with multiple women, comedian Louis CK took to the stage at a nearly packed basketball arena outside Tel Aviv, Israel, where the audience seemed ready to let it go, per the AP . "How have your...

In Israel, an Unwanted First for Netanyahu

He's charged with corruption, the first sitting prime minister to face criminal charges

(Newser) - Israel’s attorney general on Thursday formally charged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a series of corruption cases, throwing the country’s paralyzed political system into further disarray and threatening the longtime leader's grip on power, per the AP . Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit charged Netanyahu with fraud, breach of...

Israel Strikes Dozens of Iranian Targets in Syria

Country says it was retaliating for rocket attack

(Newser) - The Israeli military said it struck dozens of Iranian targets in Syria in Wednesday, carrying out a "wide-scale" strike in response to rocket fire on the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights the day before. The military said its fighter jets hit multiple targets belonging to the elite Quds force, including surface-to-air...

Pompeo Announces Big Reversal on Israel Policy

US will no longer view West Bank settlements as violations of international law

(Newser) - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday that the US is softening its position on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, the latest in a series of Trump administration moves that weaken Palestinian claims to statehood. Pompeo repudiated a 1978 State Department legal opinion that held that civilian settlements...

Israel Says Gaza Strike Killed 'Ticking Time Bomb'

Islamic Jihad vows revenge for deaths of commander, wife

(Newser) - Israel killed a senior Islamic Jihad commander in Gaza early Tuesday in a rare targeted killing that threatened to unleash a fierce round of cross-border violence with Palestinian militants. The militant group said the commander's wife was also killed in the airstrike and that their children were wounded. Air...

Netanyahu Can't Form Government; Rival Will Try

Raises 'the possibility that someone not named Netanyahu could be the prime minister'

(Newser) - Israel's president says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ended his quest to form a new coalition—a step that pushes the country into new political uncertainty, per the AP . Netanyahu fell short of securing a 61-seat parliamentary majority in last month's national election. But President Reuven Rivlin gave...

Stories 421 - 440 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser