Israel news summary

Israel News for 7-6-2022

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News Update

Security forces arrested 24 terror suspects in overnight raids in the West Bank. One terror suspect was killed trying to escape arrest.

On Tuesday, IDF soldiers were fired upon from a passing vehicle at the entrance to the Homesh settlement in northern Samaria. The soldiers returned fire but the vehicle escaped. None were wounded. A large manhunt for the terrorists was launched.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz presented satellite images from the past months, showing four Iranian warships in the Red Sea carrying advanced UAVs and long range missile systems. He said, “The presence of Iran’s military forces in the Red Sea in recent months is the most significant in a decade. It is a direct threat to trade, energy and the global economy.”

Prime Minister Yair Lapid met with French President Macron in Paris yesterday. Lapid stressed Israel’s opposition to a nuclear deal with Iran. Macron urged Lapid to renew the peace process with the Palestinians. For more, click here.

On Monday the Russian foreign ministry condemned an Israeli airstrike against targets south of a large Russian naval base in Tarsus, Syria. The Russians seem to be sending Israel a message for its growing support of Ukraine. Prime Minister Lapid has been one of the strongest voices in support of Ukraine.

A new report has revealed that Ra’am party leader Mansour Abbas secretly met with National Religious leader Rabbi Haim Druckman regarding him joining a Netanyahu led right wing coalition after Israel’s last election. Netanyahu has always claimed that he would never include an Arab party in a government coalition. For more, click here.

Ben & Jerry’s has sued its parent Unilever Plc to block the sale of its Israeli business to a local licensee, saying it was inconsistent with its values to sell its ice cream in the “occupied West Bank”. Unilever said it does not discuss pending litigation, but that it had the right to sell the disputed business and the transaction had already closed.

Israel news summary

Israel News for 7-4-2022

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The IDF shot down three Hezbollah drones heading from Lebanon towards the Karish offshore gas field Saturday night. The drones were destroyed by an IDF fighter jet and navy missile boat. The gas field is currently a point of contention between Israel and Lebanon. For more on the dispute, click here.

Syrian media reported an alleged Israeli air strike near the Syrian port city of Tarsus over the weekend. The Russians have a major naval base in Tarsus.

The Palestinian Authority handed over the bullet that killed an Al Jazeera reporter in May to a US security coordinator. Israel has said that it will conduct tests on the bullet, under US supervision. The Palestinians claim that they handed over the bullet on the condition that Israel will not be able to conduct tests on it.

The Israel Police is preparing for potential terror attacks during US President Biden’s upcoming visit to Israel on Wednesday. The police is reportedly aware of dozens of potential terror attacks all around the country. The IDF arrested 13 terror suspects in overnight raids in the West Bank.

Israel’s Supreme Court has voted unanimously to overturn a policy limiting the number of Ukrainian refugees allowed to enter Israel to 5,000. Ukrainians will now be able to enter Israel for up to 3 months without a visa. The Interior Ministry will still be able to restrict entry to some Ukrainians contingent upon cooperation between the two countries and the approval of the Knesset’s Internal Affairs Committee. Ukrainians eligible for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return were never included in the original quota. For more, click here.

Leaders of the outgoing Knesset’s opposition parties told U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides that they will pass the necessary legislation for Israel to qualify for the U.S. Visa Waiver Program. For more, click here.

The IDF is planning to build a wall around the town of Metula, which is Israel’s northernmost town along the Lebanese border.

Current Prime Minister Yair Lapid invited opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu to a security briefing, which the opposition leader is required to receive by law. But Netanyahu rejected the meeting with Lapid and instead has demanded to be briefed by Lapid’s military secretary. Netanyahu is apparently reluctant to be seen as accepting Lapid as prime minister before the upcoming election. Netanyahu also refused to be briefed by former Prime Minister Bennett, and instead was briefed by Bennett’s military secretary.

Israel news summary

Israel News for 7-1-2022

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News Update

Yair Lapid became Israel’s 14th Prime Minister today. But he will serve only until the November 1st elections. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that he would not run in the elections. US President Biden tweeted, “Congratulations to Yair Lapid, Israel’s new Prime Minister, and thank you to Alternate Prime Minister Naftali Bennett for your friendship over the past year. I look forward to seeing you both in July to celebrate the unbreakable U.S.-Israel partnership.” Lapid’s first acts as prime minister related to security matters, including a meeting with the head of the Shin Bet domestic security agency and a meeting over the Israeli captives held in Gaza.

Terrorists opened fire at hundreds of Jewish worshipers at Joseph’s Tomb outside of Nablus early Thursday, wounding three people including a commander of the IDF brigade securing the visit. Troops returned fire and evacuated the worshipers from the site.

Former President Donal Trump said that he might support Benjamin Netanyahu in the upcoming election. He said, “If he ran, I would certainly give it some thought. We’ll see what happens. I don’t know that that’s going to happen. He disappointed me in certain ways but he also did a very good job in other ways.” Trump was angry with Netanyahu for being one of the first leaders to call to congratulate President Biden on his election victory, which Trump believes was illegally stolen from him.

Ben & Jerry’s has come out against its own parent company’s decision to sell the Ben & Jerry’s brand in Israel to an Israeli company that pledges to continue selling the products in both Israel and the West Bank. For more, click here.

A Christian organization known as Passages, which brands itself as the “Christian Birthright”, will be bringing over 600 Christian students on subsidized, 9 day trips to Israel this year. For more, click here.

Israel news summary

Israel News for 6-24-2022

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News Update
The Knesset has not been able to pass a bill to dissolve itself and call for new elections, because there is disagreement as to when to hold elections. The current government wants elections as soon as possible, while the opposition wants to postpone the date in the hopes of forming a new government and avoiding elections. The coalition is also working on advancing a bill that would prohibit a person facing charges for crimes punishable by more than three years in prison from serving as prime minister, which is aimed at former Prime Minister Netanyahu.

IDF troops arrested 17 terror suspects in multiple raids in Palestinian areas early Monday morning.

Regarding a nuclear deal with Iran, Defense Minister Gantz said, “With the expected or possible resumption of the nuclear talks, we will continue to work together with the United States and other countries in order to make our position clear and influence the crafting of the deal – if there is one.”

The cabinet approved issuing 3,500 additional permits for Palestinian workers in Israel’s manufacturing and services sectors, increasing the total number to 12,000. Most of the 100,000 legal Palestinian workers are employed in the construction industry. Economy Minister Orna Barbivai said in a statement that in addition to the extra work permits for Palestinians, the ministry plans to work to increase manufacturing productivity through automation and digitalization.

The Knesset’s Labor and Welfare committee approved new reforms to ease process of abortions pushed by Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz in the last year. The reforms are to take effect in three months and includes changes in early pregnancy abortions and an exclusion from mandatory appearance in a pregnancy termination board for women. More changes include rephrasing sensitive questions in forms filled by women before a termination board, as well as an option to fill them out online.