Israel’s health ministry announced on Sunday that it would lift nearly all the remaining coronavirus restrictions from 1 June. Health minister Yuli Edelstein said that the government would not seek to renew regulations requiring businesses and venues to operate under either the Green Pass or Purple Standard systems, which are due to Read more…
Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday that David Barnea would be the next director of Israel’s Mossad espionage agency. Mr Barnea, 56, is a veteran of the organisation, having been its deputy head for the past two years. Barnea will replace incumbent director Yossi Cohen on 1 July. Netanyahu declared that Barnea’s top task would be Read more…
After eleven days of fighting, an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas terror group was announced on Thursday night, and has since held. What happened The ceasefire was announced late in the night of Thursday 20 May, coming into force at 2am on Friday 21. The announcement followed days of speculation around the possibility of Read more…
Two people have died and 167 injured, give of them seriously, after a stand supporting dozens of worshippers collapsed during a Shavuot celebration on Sunday night. The events took place in Givat Zeev, an Israeli settlement in the West Bank near Jerusalem. The accident occurred at a synagogue that was still under construction, raising further Read more…
Coalition talks following Israel’s fourth election in two years have taken a dramatic turn in response to the country’s ongoing conflict with Hamas. Last week, the Islamist Ra’am party announced that it would suspend talks with the anti-Netanyahu “change bloc” in response to the outbreak of conflict. A second change came when Read more…
The conflict between Israel and militants in Gaza has continued over the past week, with more than 3,750 rockets fired into Israel by Hamas and other terrorist groups and some 2,000 strikes against terrorist targets in Gaza. What happened Conflict began with low-level violence in Jerusalem last week and escalated as Hamas began a Read more…
The head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IGRC) Quds Force, Esmail Ghaani, spoke with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh at the weekend. They discussed the latest developments in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Iran is thought to be watching developments closely, and is likely advising Hamas on its tactics. The meeting came as Read more…
The Islamist Ra’am party announced on Monday that it was suspending coalition talks with the anti-Netanyahu “change bloc” in the wake of Hamas rocket fire from Gaza. The move represents a potentially major blow to the hopes for an anti-Netanyahu government, which began last week when the prime minister’s mandate Read more…
A number of potential presidential candidates in Iran have emerged out of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), raising concerns regarding the further militarisation of the country’s politics. Hopefuls have until Saturday to formally register their status as a candidate ahead of the election on 18 June. Their names will Read more…
Israeli and Lebanese negotiators have restarted talks over disputed offshore gas reserves in the Mediterranean sea. Previous talks over the maritime border dispute collapsed in October 2020 following an attempt by Beirut to extend its claims deep into what Israel considers its exclusive economic zone. Israel pushed back in November, Read more…
The past week has seen a major escalation of conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, as confrontations and violence in Jerusalem have been followed by more than 1,000 rockets being fired indiscriminately into Israel by Gaza-based terror groups. Israel has responded with strikes targeted at Hamas in Gaza. What happened Tensions Read more…
US president Joe Biden has expressed his support for the normalisation of diplomatic relations between Arab countries and Israel that has developed out of last year’s Abraham Accords. In a phone call with the UAE’s crown prince Mohamad bin Zayed Al Nahyen on Tuesday, Biden “underlined the strategic importance of Read more…