Israel this week set a record for the highest number of openly gay members of the Knesset. Yorai Lahav-Hertzano (pictured) was sworn in on Monday as a member of the centrist Yesh-Atid-Telem alliance. He joins the Knesset following the passage of a law which allows ministers to leave their parliamentary seats Read more…
Israel recorded 300 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday morning, raising fears that the country is experiencing a second wave of the deadly pandemic. The number of cases reported by the Health Ministry was the highest daily rise in nearly two months. With a further death reported overnight, the number of Read more…
Benjamin Netanyahu is facing mounting opposition at home and abroad to his plans to annex parts of the West Bank. Last weekend saw thousands of Israelis take to the streets of Tel Aviv to protest against the move, as polls indicated growing public opposition. There were also demonstrations last Friday Read more…
The Israeli government decided this week to freeze the further lifting of coronavirus restrictions and step up the enforcement of social distancing requirements and other regulations as cases in the country continued to grow. The Health Ministry announced today that a further 88 coronavirus cases were diagnosed overnight. The number of active Read more…
Tel Aviv will not be staging its annual Pride parade this weekend due to the coronavirus pandemic. The event, which was attended by 250,000 people last year, is the Middle East’s largest but organisers say they are hopeful that it may be able to take place later in the summer. Read more…
The Israeli government is considering shutting middle and senior schools once again as coronavirus rates have begun to rise in recent days. More than 30 Israeli schools have been closed – sending 10,000 pupils and teachers into home quarantine – after students at them were diagnosed with the virus. As Read more…
The Trump administration is believed to be seeking to slow the process of Israel annexing parts of the West Bank, according to Israeli media reports. On Monday, Benjamin Netanyahu held a conference call to discuss the implementation of the administration’s peace plan – including its provisions to allow Israeli to Read more…
After months of delays and legal ducking and diving, Benjamin Netanyahu finally appeared in court this week to face a raft of corruption charges. Israel’s longest-serving premier is also the first incumbent prime minister to go on trial. Sunday’s court appearance by Netanyahu was a formality in which he was Read more…
Israel continued to move out of its tight lockdown this week as bars, restaurants and tourist attractions were given the green light to reopen on Wednesday. Social distance and hygiene rules will be strictly enforced and customers are being told they must wear masks, except when they’re eating. However, smaller Read more…
Hardline leaders of Israel’s settlement movement are threatening to derail Benjamin Netanyahu’s efforts to annex parts of the West Bank. The prime minister told his Likud party on Monday that he intended to press ahead with applying Israeli sovereignty to West Bank settlements and the Jordan Valley (pictured) after Read more…
Israel is planning to allow 83,000 Palestinians to return to work on construction sites in the country after 31 May. The move – which would provide a much-needed boost to both the Israeli and Palestinian economies – comes more than two months after tight controls on Palestinians working in Israel Read more…
The painstaking process of assembling a new Israeli government is due to culminate in its swearing-in tomorrow. Israel has had a caretaker government since late 2018 when the first of three closely fought, inconclusive elections was triggered. The third of those elections in early March eventually led to a “unity Read more…