Israel

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Why is Al-Aqsa mosque, raided by Israeli police, so important for Jews, Christians and Muslims?

Israeli military retaliates after rockets fired from Syria, no casualties

The Israeli military said its forces attacked targets in Syria early Sunday after six rockets were launched from Syrian territory in two batches toward Israel in a rare attack from Israel's northeastern neighbor. After the second barrage of three rockets, Israel initially said it responded with artillery fire into the area in Syria from where the rockets were fired. Later, the military said Israeli fighter jets attacked Syrian army sites, including a compound of Syria's 4th Division and radar and artillery posts. The rocket firings came after days of escalating violence on multiple fronts over tension in Jerusalem and an Israeli police raid on the city's most sensitive holy site. In the second barrage, which was launched early Sunday, two of the rockets crossed the border into Israel, with one being intercepted and the second landing in an open area, the Israeli military said. In the first attack, on Saturday, one rocket landed in a field in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. ...

Israel hits Gaza with rockets as Netanyahu vows to extract 'heavy price'

The Israeli military struck targets in the Gaza Strip while Palestinian militants fired barrages of rockets rockets into southern Israel early Friday, with the region edging closer toward war following two days of unrest at Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site and a rare rocket attack from neighbouring Lebanon. The fighting comes during a delicate time when Jews are celebrating the Passover holiday and Muslims are marking the Ramadan holy month. Similar tensions spilled over into an 11-day war between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers in 2021. The current round of violence began Wednesday after Israeli police twice raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem's Old City. That led Thursday to rocket fire from Gaza and, in a significant escalation, an unusual barrage of nearly three dozen rockets from Lebanon into northern Israel. As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his Security Cabinet late Thursday, the military struck what it said were four sites in Gaza belonging to ...

Rockets fired from Gaza raise tension for 2nd day as passover begins

Palestinian militants fired a barrage of rockets early on Thursday, setting off air raid sirens in southern Israel, as violence erupted for the second day in a row during a sensitive period of overlapping holidays. The barrage came after another tense night at Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, where Israeli police clashed with Muslim worshippers attempting to stay overnight, in defiance of long-standing compromises about management of the compound. The Israeli military said seven rockets launched from the Gaza Strip all exploded in midair. No group claimed responsibility for the barrage. Unrest in the region was less intense than the previous days, but the rocket fire raised fears of a wider conflagration as Jews began the week-long Passover holiday, hundreds of Christians in the Old City gathered for Holy Thursday at the Holy Sepulcher to mark the Last Supper, and Muslims marked the Ramadan holy month. Al-Aqsa is the third-holiest site in Islam and stands o

Israel backs India's call for bringing 26/11 masterminds to justice

Echoing the sentiments of a "vast majority" of Indians, Israeli Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana on Tuesday called for bringing to justice the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack

Israel's former envoy to India appointed chairman of Adani's Haifa port

Ron Malka, former envoy of Israel to India, has said that he has assumed charge as the Executive Chairman of the Haifa Port Company (HPC) owned by a consortium led by the ports-to-energy conglomerate Adani Group. A consortium of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) and Israel's Gadot Group won the tender in July last year to privatise the strategic Port of Haifa in Israel for USD 1.18 billion. "I'm honoured and privileged to take office today as Executive Chairman of the Haifa Port Company, on behalf of @AdaniOnline. The experience and expertise of Adani and Gadot, combined with the dedication of the port workers, will take Haifa Port to new heights of prosperity," Malka tweeted on Sunday. Malka served as the ambassador of Israel to India from 2018 to 2021. The Port of Haifa is the second largest port in Israel in terms of shipping containers and the biggest in shipping tourist cruise ships. The Adani Group officially took over the Israeli port in January this year at a .

Israelis continue to protest legal overhaul despite suspension by Netanyahu

Tens of thousands of Israelis protested on Saturday against a controversial plan to revamp the country's legal system, despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's suspension of the changes earlier in the week. The protesters gathered in Tel Aviv, Israel's commercial hub on the Mediterranean, for the 13th weekly demonstration, raising Israeli flags and banners against what they said were plans to weaken the Supreme Court. Several smaller rallies took place in other towns and cities. The protests have been going on since Netanyahu's government, the most right-wing in the country's history, introduced the changes. But on Monday, Netanyahu delayed the overhaul plan that deeply divided the Israelis, saying he wanted to avoid civil war by making time to seek a compromise with political opponents. Protest organizers, however, vowed to keep up the pressure, calling for the plans to be scrapped. The proposal has plunged Israel into its worst domestic crisis in decades. Business leaders, top

Cyprus, Israel, Greece join forces on energy, defence, economy and tourism

The foreign ministers of Cyprus, Israel and Greece agreed to cooperate more closely on issues including energy, defence, economy and tourism.

Netanyahu supporters block Tel Aviv's main highway to support judicial plan

Thousands of right-wing Israelis on Thursday blocked a main highway in Tel Aviv as they demonstrated in favor of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to overhaul the country's judicial system. The crowd was much smaller than the hundreds of thousands of people who have taken to the streets in recent months to demonstrate against the plan. But the gathering had the same effect. Protesters honked their car horns and hoisted blue and white Israeli flags crippling traffic along the Ayalon highway, the main north-south thoroughfare running through the coastal city. After especially intense protests, Netanyahu this week froze the plan and began negotiations with his political opponents aimed at finding a compromise plan. But his opponents have vowed to continue their protests as well. The plan would give Netanyahu's parliamentary coalition control over judicial appointments and the power to overturn Supreme Court decisions it opposes. Netanyahu and his allies say the plan is needed

Israel launches missile attack on sites in Syrian capital: Report

No casualties have been reported so far

Netanyahu rejects Joe Biden's suggestion to pause judicial overhaul

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday rebuffed President Joe Biden's suggestion that the premier walks away from a contentious plan to overhaul the legal system, saying the country makes its own decisions. The exchange was a rare bout of public disagreement between the two close allies and signals building friction between Israel and the U.S. over Netanyahu's judicial changes, which he postponed after massive protests. Asked by reporters late Tuesday what he hopes the premier does with the legislation, Biden replied, I hope he walks away from it. The president added that Netanyahu's government cannot continue down this road" and urged compromise on the plan roiling Israel. The president also stepped around U.S. Ambassador Thomas Nides' suggestion that Netanyahu would soon be invited to the White House, saying, No, not in the near term. Netanyahu replied that Israel is sovereign and makes its decisions by the will of its people and not based on pressures from abroa

Israel PM Netanyahu delays judicial reform plan amid general strike

Embattled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to back down on controversial plans to overhaul the country's judiciary on Monday, amid unprecedented nationwide strikes

Israeli govt in chaos as judicial reform plans draw mass protests: Report

Israel faced one of the biggest waves of industrial action seen in years after the nation's largest union federation on Monday, Histadrut union, called for a general strike

Israeli president urges Netanyahu to halt legal overhaul amid protests

Israel's ceremonial president on Monday urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to immediately halt a contentious overhaul of the judiciary. Isaac Herzog's plea comes hours after tens of thousands of people burst into the streets around the country in a spontaneous show of anger at Netanyahu's decision to fire his defense minister after he called for a pause to the overhaul. The overhaul has sparked one of Israel's gravest domestic crises, drawing widespread opposition from business leaders, legal officials and even the country's military.

Israel PM Netanyahu fires defence minister, sparks protest across country

Tens of thousands of Israelis poured into the streets of cities across the country on Sunday night in a spontaneous outburst of anger after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly fired his defence minister for challenging the Israeli leader's judicial overhaul plan. Protesters in Tel Aviv blocked a main highway and lit large bonfires, while police scuffled with protesters who gathered outside Netanyahu's private home in Jerusalem. The unrest deepened a monthslong crisis over Netanyahu's plan to overhaul the judiciary, which has sparked mass protests, alarmed business leaders and former security chiefs and drawn concern from the United States and other close allies. Netanyahu's dismissal of defence Minister Yoav Gallant signaled that the prime minister and his allies will barrel ahead this week with the overhaul plan. Gallant had been the first senior member of the ruling Likud party to speak out against it, saying the deep divisions were threatening to weaken the military. But

Israel's minister calls govt to halt judicial reform in jolt to Netanyahu

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has called upon the government to stop the controversial judicial overhaul legislation that has sparked protests across the country, sticking his neck out amid Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's insistence to go ahead with the proposed "reforms". His intervention came as Israelis opposed to the changes held mass rallies across the country for the twelfth week in a row. "The security of the State of Israel is my life's mission. Over the course of my entire adult life, I have dealt with Israel's security day in and day out," Gallant, Netanyahu's close aide, said on Saturday. He said that he still supported the need to revamp the court system, but acknowledged that unprecedented feelings of anger, pain and disappointment have risen within the military over the proposed changes to Israel's balance of power. The revamp includes enabling Parliament to overrule decisions made by the Supreme Court - a move that critics say will undermine the independe

Joe Biden calls Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu with judicial plan 'concern'

President Joe Biden spoke Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express concern over his government's planned overhaul of the country's judicial system that has sparked widespread protests across Israel and to encourage compromise. The White House said Biden reiterated U.S. concerns about the measure to roll back the judiciary's insulation from the country's political system, in a call a senior administration official described as candid and constructive. There was no immediate indication that Netanyahu was shying away from the action, after rejecting a compromise last week offered by the country's figurehead president. Netanyahu said Sunday the legal changes would be carried out responsibly while protecting the basic rights of all Israelis. His government the country's most right-wing ever says the overhaul is meant to correct an imbalance that has given the courts too much power and prevented lawmakers from carrying out the voting public's will. Critics say it

West Bank shooting attack casts shadow over Israel-Palestinian talks

Israeli and Palestinian officials were meeting on Sunday in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh in a bid to ease tensions between the sides and rein in a spiral of violence ahead of a sensitive holiday period beginning this week. But as the talks continued, Israeli officials said two people were wounded, one seriously, in a West Bank shooting attack that immediately raised questions about the prospects for the new talks. The meeting was the second attempt by the sides, shepherded by regional allies Egypt and Jordan as well as the US, to end a year-long spasm of violence that has seen more than 200 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire and more than 40 Israelis or foreigners killed in Palestinian attacks. Whatever progress emerged out of the previous meeting in Jordan late last month, which ended with pledges to de-escalate tensions, was quickly derailed when a new burst of violence erupted on the same day. A Palestinian gunman shot and killed two Israelis in the occupied West

Israeli PM Netanyahu urges military chief to contain reservist protest

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the military's chief of staff on Sunday to contain a wave of protest from within the ranks over a contentious government plan to overhaul the judiciary. Netanyahu's remarks come as Israel is embroiled in a major crisis that has sent tens of thousands of people into the streets protesting every week for the last two months. The divide over Netanyahu's plans to change the legal system has not spared the country's military, its most trusted institution, where many reservists have pledged not to show up for duty under what they see as impending regime change. Starting Sunday, more than 700 elite officers from the Air Force, special forces, and Mossad said they would stop volunteering for duty. The typically taboo talk of refusal to serve in a military that is compulsory for most Jews and is highly respected by the Jewish majority underlines how deeply the overhaul plan has divided Israel. Netanyahu has rejected a compromise plan proposed