Category Archives: Israel

Iranian musicians help out in secret on Israeli singer’s new record

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‘I don’t agree with anything that comes with seeing Iran as our enemy,’ says singer Liraz Charhi

An Israeli singer of Persian heritage is set to release an album she made by working in secret with Iranian musicians, her long-held aspiration for artistic collaboration despite bitter animosity between the two states.

Using encrypted instant-messaging apps like Telegram and by wiring money through third countries, such as the UK and Turkey, Liraz Charhi said she spent months of sleepless nights fearing those who associated would be in danger.

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Israeli politicians argue over Covid curbs on protests and prayers

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Sombre Yom Kippur provides only a temporary pause to debate about tighter lockdown

Israeli politicians are considering whether to tighten an already paralysing second coronavirus lockdown by bringing in controversial measures to limit people’s ability to protest and pray together.

Life in the country of 9 million ground to a halt on Sunday night and into Monday for Yom Kippur, the annual Jewish Day of Atonement when much of the country shuts down, with people fasting for 25 hours, TV and radio stations going silent, and large sections of secular society forgoing driving and turning off their phones.

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Protesters in Jerusalem call for Benjamin Netanyahu to step down – video

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Demonstrators rallied in Jerusalem, demanding the resignation of the Israeli prime minister over charges of corruption and his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Protests have been a regular occurrence during the summer, with participants saying tightened restrictions as a result of the pandemic are being used as an excuse to curb demonstrations

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Islamic Relief is a charity, not a terrorist group. We’re going to court to prove it | Naser Haghamed

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Israel has banned us from helping Palestinians in need. Next month, we will defend our work in the country’s supreme court


• Naser Haghamed is chief executive of Islamic Relief Worldwide

As chief executive of Islamic Relief, it is my privilege to preside over one of the UK’s leading international aid charities, widely respected for operating effectively in some of the world’s most difficult and dangerous places. For the Ministry of Defense in Israel, however, Islamic Relief is a supporter of terrorism – a charge that we categorically refute and will be appealing against in Israel’s supreme court next month.

The Israeli authorities designated us as a terrorist organisation as long ago as 2014, claiming that we were a front for Hamas. It has taken six long years for us to pursue a legal challenge to this designation. Our case will finally be heard on 12 October.

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Global Covid report: Rio cancels Carnival for first time in a century as global deaths near 1m

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Landmark event scrapped as Brazil suffers; EU warns pandemic worse now than in March peak for some; Israel further toughens restrictions

As the number of coronavirus deaths worldwide looked set to pass a million within days, Rio de Janeiro delayed its annual Carnival parade for the first time in a century because of Brazil’s continued vulnerability in the pandemic.

The global death toll passed 980,000 on Friday, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. With the number of deaths confirmed daily averaging more than 5,000, it looks likely the toll will pass 1 million within days. There are 32m cases worldwide.

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Stained relations? Israeli PM accused of taking dirty laundry on state trips

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Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife said to pack soiled clothes to be cleaned on foreign trips

While black-tie banquets, lavish royal receptions and priceless gifts are the most obvious extravagances of international diplomacy, Israel’s leader and his wife have spotlighted a lesser-known perk of the state visit: free dry cleaning.

Benjamin and Sara Netanyahu have developed a reputation for lugging bags and suitcases of dirty clothes on foreign trips to be laundered at another country’s expense, a practice noticed by staff at the White House guesthouse, according to the Washington Post.

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Saudi heir and Jared Kushner inch kingdom towards deal with Israel

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Saudi Arabia’s interventions could result in seismic shift in region’s geopolitics

As the UAE and Bahrain prepared to sign a deal to normalise diplomatic relations with Israel this summer, Saudi Arabia – the regional heavyweight – was quietly urging them on.

For several months before the deals were signed at the White House, the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, had been laying out his rationale for a pact that would overturn regional policies towards a long-term foe.

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Leaks show Chelsea owner Abramovich funded Israeli settler group

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Russian oligarch’s firms donated £74m to Elad, who are accused of trying to seize Palestinian neighbourhoods

Companies controlled by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich donated tens of millions of pounds to a highly controversial Israeli settler group accused of displacing Palestinian families from Jerusalem, according to leaked documents seen by BBC News Arabic.

The billionaire Russian oligarch, who was granted Israeli citizenship in 2018, has been an avid philanthropist in Israel, donating huge sums to research and development projects and investing in local firms.

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Global report: US Covid deaths near 200,000 as UK ‘heads in wrong direction’

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Israeli protesters return despite lockdown; Australian state of Victoria reports fewest infections in three months; New Zealand eases restrictions

The US is nearing the stark milestone of 200,000 deaths, nine months after the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, as cases in the UK rose to a four-month high and Europe continued to see rising infections.

The number of deaths in the US, the highest in the world, stood at 199,509 on the Johns Hopkins University tracker on Monday morning, roughly a fifth of the global total. Nearly 6.8m of the world’s 30.1m infections are in the US.

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Israelis brace for unpopular second Covid lockdown

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President warns against ‘finger-pointing’ as country asks why virus containment efforts failed

Israelis are preparing to enter a second national coronavirus lockdown on Friday, facing at least three weeks of tough restrictions that will upend a normally festive period filled with Jewish holidays.

The cabinet released a full list of rules on Thursday, setting out a return to stringent measures Israelis had hoped were behind them when they endured a similar lockdown in spring.

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Trump’s pre-election diplomatic offensive glosses over awkward realities

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The ‘Abraham accords’ merely make public once-furtive friendships between Israel and Gulf monarchies, while bigger problems remain

The White House was festooned with the flags of four nations. There were trumpet blasts, multiple signatures on various pieces of paper, and much weighty talk about blood and history – everything you might expect from a peace deal.

And not just any peace deal. The agreements signed in Washington on Tuesday were titled the Abraham Accords, implying a epochal reconciliation between Judaism, Islam and Christianity, three faiths with shared Middle East ancestry.

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UAE, Bahrain and Israel sign historic accords at White House event

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Trio establish formal relations at ceremony viewed as image boost for Trump and Netanyahu

Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have signed agreements to establish formal relations, ending a decades-old taboo in Arab diplomacy as power and priorities shift in the Middle East.

“Today’s signing sets history on a new course,” Donald Trump told a crowd outside the White House where the deal was signed. “This an incredible day for the world,” he said.

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Jewish extremist who killed Palestinian family sentenced to life

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Amiram Ben-Uliel murdered Saad Dawabsheh, his wife and child in a 2015 arson attack

A court in Israel has ruled a Jewish extremist will serve three life sentences for killing a Palestinian couple and their toddler in a 2015 firebomb attack in the occupied West Bank, murders that contributed to surging violence at the time.

In handing out the sentence, the Lod district court said Amiram Ben-Uliel, 26, an Israeli settler, had meticulously planned the arson attack, which “stemmed from the radical ideology he held, and racism”. The punishment was close to the maximum penalty, it said.

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Israeli government to impose second Covid-19 national lockdown

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Three-week lockdown will make Israel the first country to reimpose such stringent restrictions on a national scale

Israel’s government has decided to impose a lockdown lasting three weeks, the first country to reimpose such severe restrictions on a national scale, after a dramatic resurgence in coronavirus cases.

Fearing mass gatherings during a string of national holidays over the next month, the cabinet decided to shut down the country as of Friday, the Jewish new year, until 9 October.

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Bahrain to normalise ties with Israel, Donald Trump announces

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Arab country is latest to make agreement as part of US president’s diplomatic push

Bahrain has agreed to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, and will join the United Arab Emirates in signing an agreement at the White House on Tuesday.

“Even great warriors get tired of fighting, and they’re tired of fighting,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, portraying the deals as peace agreements, although neither Gulf monarchy has ever been at war with Israel, and both had already established extensive informal ties. Bahrain has long advocated Israel’s integration in the region.

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‘Enough of you’: thousands protest in call for Netanyahu to resign – video

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Israeli police moved in to clear protesters from a square in Jerusalem early on Sunday, as thousands protested outside the official residence of the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, pressing ahead with a month-long campaign demanding the embattled Israeli leader resign. Demonstrators have been protesting against his handling of the coronavirus crisis, which has led to soaring unemployment, and they say he should step down while he is on trial on corruption charges

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‘Get out of here’: thousands in Israel call for Netanyahu to resign

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Anger continues to build over prime minister’s handling of coronavirus crisis and corruption allegations

Thousands of Israelis protested outside the official residence of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday night, pressing ahead with a months-long campaign demanding he resign.

Demonstrators have been protesting against Netanyahu’s handling of the coronavirus crisis, which has led to soaring unemployment, and believe he should step down while on trial for corruption charges.

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Kosovo and Serbia give Israel diplomatic boon after US-brokered deal

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Majority-Muslim Kosovo will recognise Jewish state, while Serbia promises to relocate embassy to Jerusalem

Israel scored two diplomatic gains on Friday when majority-Muslim Kosovo agreed to recognise the Jewish state and Serbia said it would move its embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.

The decisions came after a White House-brokered agreement between the two Balkan arch-rivals to normalise economic relations two decades after they fought a bitter war.

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Hamas and Israel agree end to cross-border bombing in Gaza

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A Qatari-brokered truce commits Israel to easing its 13-year-old blockade of the Palestinian territory

Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas have announced they have reached a Qatari-mediated deal with Israel to end more than three weeks of cross-border exchanges of fire.

After talks with Qatari envoy Mohammed al-Emadi, “an understanding was reached to rein in the latest escalation and end [Israeli] aggression against our people,” said the office of the Palestinian territory’s Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar.

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Palestine: 1947 escape from British prison exposed as inside job

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Exclusive: architect leaked plans to Jewish militants leading to raid seen as signifying London’s declining control

The family of a decorated British civil servant who built a notorious jail for the empire in Palestine has revealed he leaked the building plans to Jewish militants, helping them to launch a legendary prison break in 1947.

The storming of Acre prison has been credited as a critical event that led to the British decision to end what was increasingly viewed as an onerous mandate in Palestine. Until now, details of how the highly sophisticated operation was so successful had remained elusive.

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