Page 2 - Israel

No, Israel has NOT found two cases of a new variant of coronavirus

Media reports said that the new variant is a combination of BA.1 or Omicron and BA.2, a sub-variant of Omicron. But is that even true?

UN peacekeeping forces report no Blue Line crossing amid Israeli claim

The Blue Line is a 120-kilometre line drawn by the United Nations between Lebanon and Israel in 2000 to verify the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon

SVB bankruptcy created major crisis in tech industry: Israeli PM Netanyahu

Netanyahu said that he's been in touch with senior Israeli tech figures following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in the United States

Topol, star of 'Fiddler on the Roof' onscreen and onstage, dies at 87

Wide acclaim for his portrayal of Tevye helped make him, according to one newspaper, Israel's most famous export since the Jaffa orange

Netanyahu wishes Modi, Indians on Holi; PM greets Israelis on Purim

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday thanked his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu for his wishes on Holi and extended greetings to the people of Israel on Jewish festival of Purim. "Happy Holi to my friend Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the people of India!" Netanyahu tweeted. May the vibrant colours of this festival fill your lives with happiness, joy, and prosperity, Netanyahu said. "Wishing you all a colorful and memorable Holi!" he said. Responding to Netanyahu's tweet, Modi said, "Thank you my friend, PM Netanyahu for your special Holi wishes. People all over India mark this festival with great vibrancy." "I also wish you and the people of Israel a happy Purim. Chag Sameach!" he said.

Israel says Palestinian militants fired rockets after raid

The Israeli military said Palestinian militants fired six rockets from the Gaza Strip toward the country's south early Thursday, hours after an Israeli army raid in the occupied West Bank triggered a fierce gunbattle in which 11 Palestinians were killed. The rocket attacks, which were not immediately claimed by Palestinian militant groups, appear to be triggered by the Wednesday morning raid in Nablus. The Israeli military said Aar defenses intercepted five of the rockets which were fired toward the cities of Ashkelon and Sderot. One missile landed in an open field. There were no reports of damage or casualties. Among the dead in Nablus were three Palestinian men, ages 72, 66 and 61, and a 16-year-old boy, according to health officials. Scores of others were wounded. It was one of the bloodiest battles in nearly a year of fighting in the West Bank and east Jerusalem and raised the likelihood of further bloodshed. Israeli police said they were on heightened alert, while the Hamas ..

Handing over of Haifa Port to Adani, a reflection of trust: Israeli Envoy

Israel's handing over of the strategic port of Haifa to Indian company, the Adani Group, is a reflection of the trust that the country has on India, Israeli Ambassador Naor Gilon said on Wednesday. At a media briefing, the envoy also said that both India and Israel are keen on finalising the proposed free trade pact as it could further boost overall bilateral trade ties. Gilon indicated that there could be a forward movement on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) during the upcoming "high-level" visit. Describing defence ties between the two countries as very strong, he said Israel has an advantage to support India in its efforts to become self reliant in defence manufacturing because of the "long-standing" trust in the area between the two countries. On the Adani Group acquiring the Haifa port last month, Gilon said it was sign of Israel's trust on India and it could boost bilateral trade. It was a very important move from our side as Haifa is a strategic port, he said. The Adani Grou

UAE to host first I2U2 vice-ministerial meeting in Abu Dhabi today

The United Arab Emirates is set to host the first vice-ministerial meeting of the I2U2 in Abu Dhabi this week. It will be attended by senior officials from the four countries India, Israel, the United States and the UAE. Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jose W Fernandez will lead the US delegation at the meeting in Abu Dhabi on February 21-22, according to an official statement. Fernandez will represent the US at the I2U2 Business Forum, hosted by the UAE; it is the first vice-ministerial meeting since the grouping was jointly announced by President Joe Biden, Israeli Prime Minister Lapid, UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it said. "During the forum, partner countries will discuss opportunities to advance regional cooperation and investment opportunities to build partnerships that address some of the region's most pressing issues, including management of the energy crisis and food insecurity,

UN Council approves watered-down statement opposing Israel settlements

The UN Security Council has unanimously approved a watered-down statement strongly opposing Israel's continued construction and expansion of settlements. The vote came after high-stakes negotiations by the Biden administration succeeded in derailing a legally binding resolution that would have demanded a halt to Israeli settlement activity. The Palestinian-backed draft resolution was the subject of frantic talks by senior Biden administration officials including Secretary of States Antony Blinken with Palestinian, Israeli and United Arab Emirates leaders. Those discussions culminated in a deal Sunday to forego it in favour of a weaker presidential statement that is not legally binding, according to multiple diplomats familiar with the situation. The deal averted a potential diplomatic crisis, with the US almost certainly vetoing the resolution, which would have angered Palestinian supporters at a time when the US and its Western allies are trying to gain international support against

Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu advances judicial changes despite uproar

Israel's government on Monday was pressing ahead with a contentious plan to overhaul the country's legal system, despite an unprecedented uproar that has included mass protests, warnings from military and business leaders and calls for restraint by the United States. Thousands of demonstrators were expected to gather outside the parliament, or Knesset, for a second straight week to rally against the plan as lawmakers prepared to hold an initial vote. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies, a collection of ultra-religious and ultranationalist lawmakers, say the plan is meant to fix a system that has given the courts and government legal advisers too much say in how legislation is crafted and decisions are made. Critics say it will upend the country's system of checks and balances and concentrate power in the hands of the prime minister. They also say that Netanyahu, who is on trial for a series of corruption charges, has a conflict of interest. The standoff has plunged Isr

HP Inc to lay off 100 employees in Israel, most cuts in Indigo division

PC and printer major HP Inc is laying off 100 employees and most of the job cuts will be in HP Indigo, which is engaged in the production of digital printing machines.

Syria urges UN to deter Israeli attacks after deadly missile strike

Five people, including a soldier, were killed and 15 others wounded by the Israeli missiles launched from the Golan Heights early Sunday

5 people killed, 15 injured in Israeli air strikes on Syria's Damascus

After the incident, the quake-affected country's Foreign and Expatriates Ministry said that Syria expect that United Nations Security Council would condemn the Israeli aggression

Five dead as Israeli missile strikes residential area in Damascus

The strike, a rare one aimed at a residential area in the heart of the city, damaged several buildings in the densely populated district close to Omayyad square

Syrian Army says five killed in Damascus by Israeli missile attack

The Israeli attack was launched from the occupied Golan Heights, targeting several military sites in Damascus, including the residential neighborhood of Kafar Sousah

Israeli airstrikes reported in Damascus, 2 weeks after earthquake

Israeli airstrikes targeted a residential neighbourhood in central Damascus early Sunday, Syrian state news reported. Syrian state media agency SANA, citing a source in the Damascus police command, reported that an unspecified number of people had been killed and wounded. Loud explosions were heard over the capital around 12.30 am local time, and SANA reported that Syrian air defences were "confronting hostile targets in the sky around Damascus." There was no immediate statement from Israel on the attack. Israeli airstrikes frequently target sites in the vicinity of Damascus. The Saturday night strikes were the first since a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and Syria on February 6. The last reported attack on Damascus was on January 2, when the Syrian army reported that Israel's military fired missiles toward the international airport of Syria's capital early Monday, putting it out of service and killing two soldiers and wounding two others. Israel has carried out .

Israelis protest judicial overhaul plans for 7th week in several cities

Tens of thousands of Israelis marched Saturday in several cities against judicial overhaul plans proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. The demonstration took place in the central city of Tel Aviv, part of a weekly protest campaign that has kicked off since Justice Minister Yariv Levin announced the proposed changes in early January. Netanyahu and his supporters, members of the most religious, right-wing government in the country's history, say the changes are needed to rein in a judiciary that wields too much power. But critics, who include large sectors of Israeli society, say the overhauls would weaken Israel's Supreme Court and damage the country's fragile system of democratic checks and balances. They also say that Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges, is motivated by a personal grudge against the legal system and has a deep conflict of interest. Netanyahu has said he is a victim of a witch hunt. In Tel Aviv, protesters raised large Israeli fl

Web development firm Wix lays off 370 workers in 2nd round of job cuts

Israeli cloud-based web development services company Wix has laid off 370 employees in a second round of job cuts, most of them in the customer service department in the US.

Palestinian teen killed in Israeli army raid in refugee camp in West Bank

A Palestinian teen was killed Tuesday during an Israeli army raid in a refugee camp in the northern West Bank, Palestinian officials said. The death was the latest in an almost year-long surge in Israeli-Palestinian violence that shows no signs of abating. The Israeli military said it carried out raids across the occupied West Bank overnight, and that during an operation in the Faraa refugee camp, a person approached troops with an explosive device. The army said that soldiers shot the person. The official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, reported that local residents clashed with Israeli soldiers, who shot at them. The Palestinian Health Ministry said that Mahmoud Al-Aydi, 17, died from a bullet wound to the head. Tensions have mounted for months as Israel has conducted nightly arrest raids in the West Bank, which were prompted by a spate of Palestinian attacks on Israelis last spring. Some 30 people were killed in Israel by Palestinians in 2022, and at least 12 others died in atta

Israel PM Netanyahu launches contentious overhaul as thousands protest

Tens of thousands of Israelis on Monday protested outside the parliament building in a show of force against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as his government formally launched its contentious plan to overhaul the country's legal system. The boisterous demonstration outside the Knesset, coupled with a stormy committee vote inside the building, appeared to deepen the divisions over Netanyahu's program. The plan has triggered weeks of mass protests, prompted condemnations from wide swaths of Israeli society and drawn a statement of concern from President Joe Biden. Netanyahu and his allies say the country's unelected judges have too much power and need to be reined in. His opponents say that Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges, has a deep conflict of interest. They say his planned overhaul will destroy the country's democratic checks and balances and is a poorly disguised plot to make his criminal case go away. Monday's demonstration was the largest to take place in t