Category Archives: Israel

Reopening schools: how different countries are tackling Covid dilemma

Posted on by

As schools in England prepare to reopen, we examine the situation around the world

As schools in England and Wales get set to reopen amid continued controversy over safe conditions, attention has focused on potential evidence of coronavirus transmission in the classroom and on the experiences of other countries.

Research on the ability of children of different ages to catch and transmit the virus is contradictory, and differences in education systems and social conventions make comparisons difficult.

Continue reading...

Mike Pompeo address to RNC from Jerusalem praises Trump for standing up to China – video

Posted on by

Mike Pompeo has lavished praise upon Donald Trump in a speech to the Republican National Convention that itself is prompting questions about its legality. Pompeo delivered a recorded speech to the RNC while on an official visit to Israel, potentially breaching federal law according to Democrats. Pompeo's address celebrated Trump's decision to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem, and congratulated the president for standing up to China and wiping out the Isis caliphate

Continue reading...

1,100-year-old gold coins found at dig site in Israel

Posted on by

Teenage volunteers on archaeological dig unearth 425 coins dating back to 9th century

Israeli teenagers volunteering at an archaeological dig have unearthed hundreds of gold coins that were stashed away in a clay vessel for more than a millennium.

The 425 24-carat pure gold coins date back to the 9th-century Abbasid caliphate period and would have been a significant amount of money at the time, said Robert Kool, a coin expert at the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Continue reading...

Israel: ‘peeping toms’ mural removed after suspected gang rape

Posted on by

Artwork at Tel Aviv beach painted over after outrage over assault on teenage girl

Israeli authorities have removed a “peeping toms” mural that had long been a fixture of a Tel Aviv beach in response to public outrage over the suspected gang rape of a 16-year-old girl in the southern resort of Eilat.

Painted 18 years ago and often criticised as sexist, the mural on the wall of a women’s changing room was painted over by a municipal worker on Sunday. It had depicted two young men in bathing suits peering inside.

Continue reading...

Israel faces prospect of yet another election due to budget impasse

Posted on by

Netanyahu-Gantz coalition could collapse as deadline for new financial plan looms

Israel risks being thrust into a fourth round of elections and further financial strife as coalition rivals clash over meeting a Monday deadline to pass the country’s budget.

The veteran prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, secured his political survival earlier this year by clinching a coalition deal with his rival Benny Gantz. But the unhappy alliance faces imminent collapse if the two cannot agree on money matters.

Continue reading...

Israel continues airstrikes on Gaza in retaliation for Hamas balloon bombs

Posted on by

Israeli forces say they bombed Hamas targets for a fifth consecutive night as clashes broke out along border

Israeli aircraft have bombed sites belonging to the militant Hamas group in Gaza for a fifth night in a row, the Israel defence force says.

The military said early on Sunday that the airstrikes were in response to arson balloons that Hamas-affiliated groups sent across the Gaza frontier into Israeli territory.

Continue reading...

Turkey threatens to suspend UAE ties over deal with Israel

Posted on by

‘The move against Palestine is not a step that can be stomached,’ says Erdoğan

Turkey has threatened to suspend its diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates and recall its envoy, a day after the Gulf state announced it would become the third Arab country to establish full ties with Israel.

“The move against Palestine is not a step that can be stomached,” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told reporters on Friday.

Continue reading...

‘It’s a game and we lost’: Palestinians decry Gulf moves towards Israel

Posted on by

Israel’s relationship with neighbours is no longer defined by occupation, Palestinians say

Shortly after Donald Trump announced he had brokered a “huge breakthrough” deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, the White House published a list of bullet points detailing what it had achieved.

Only at the bottom, just after “expanded business and financial ties between these two thriving economies”, did the very last sentence blandly mention what had previously been the key regional issue: the fate of the Palestinians.

Continue reading...

Israel-UAE deal: Israelis and Palestinians react to historic agreement – video

Posted on by

Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced an agreement on Thursday that will lead to a full normalisation of diplomatic relations between the two states, a move that reshapes the order of Middle East politics from the Palestinian issue to Iran. However, cracks in the deal became quickly apparent, with Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, saying there was 'no change' to his annexation plans, while the UAE insisted that it 'immediately stops annexation'. The agreement was rejected by Palestinians, with some calling it a conspiracy.

Continue reading...

Israel signs historic deal with UAE that will ‘suspend’ West Bank annexation

Posted on by

Trump hails US-brokered pact as ‘peace agreement’ but cracks quickly appear as Netanyahu denies change of plan

Israel and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to establish full diplomatic ties in a historic Washington-brokered deal under which Israel will “suspend” its plans to annex parts of the Palestinian territories.

However, cracks in the deal became quickly apparent after its announcement on Thursday, with Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, saying there was “no change” to his annexation plans, while the UAE insisted that it “immediately stops annexation”.

Continue reading...

Foe of a foe – the shared interests that make UAE a ‘friend’ of Israel

Posted on by

Common ground rests on a ‘peace plan’ aided by splintered Arab solidarity over Palestine

The peace deal that few saw coming had been gathering steam in plain sight. Even before the election of Donald Trump, Israel and the UAE had been inching closer, drawn together by three factors – enmity with Iran, a loathing of the Muslim Brotherhood, and a mutual belief that the agreed formula for peace with Palestinians was no longer working.

More than anything else, combating Iran became the conduit for the two sides. The adage of a foe of a foe becoming a friend has rarely been more apt. Tehran’s determination to acquire a nuclear weapon, its extensive reach into the Arab world, potential to shut off the Strait of Hormuz, and Shia Islamic revolutionary zeal, provided enough common ground for both sides to sharply deepen intelligence links to strategic levels over the past four years.

Continue reading...

Israel and UAE agree to ‘historical peace agreement’, says Donald Trump – video

Posted on by

Donald Trump has said the United Arab Emirates and Israel have agreed to establish full diplomatic ties as part of a deal to halt the annexation of occupied land sought by the Palestinians for their future state. US officials described the agreement, to be known as the Abraham Accords, as the first of its kind since Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty in 1994. It also gives Trump a foreign policy success as he seeks re-election in November

Continue reading...

Covid-19 may spread more easily in schools than thought, report warns

Posted on by

US health body highlights risks of reopening after outbreaks in state of Georgia and in Israel

Coronavirus may be more easily transmitted in school and summer camp settings than previously understood, after the emergence of new details of outbreaks in the US state of Georgia and in Israel that have underscored the risks of school reopenings.

A report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) into an outbreak at a summer camp in Georgia suggests children – even asymptomatic cases – may play an important role in community transmission of Covid-19.

Continue reading...

Israel protests: thousands join weekend protests against Netanyahu’s government – video

Posted on by

Thousands of Israelis took to the streets over the weekend to protest against Benjamin Netanyahu's alleged corruption and against his government's handling of the coronavirus crisis.

Israeli media estimated that about 15,000 protesters arrived at the prime minister's state residence in Jerusalem, where they carried banners calling on him to resign.

The weekend's protests were reported to be the biggest in a series of weekly demonstrations near Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem. Protesters also arrived outside his private house in the Israeli city of Caesarea and hundreds gathered in Tel Aviv

Continue reading...

Israel protests may dent Netanyahu’s ego, but do they threaten his power?

Posted on by

Israeli PM says media makes demonstrations seem more significant than they are – he could have a point

Images of thousands of people in the streets and police scuffling with protesters paint a picture of an increasingly isolated prime minister whose lengthy grip over Israel may finally be loosening.

The visuals are striking, and the protests have certainly grown in size, yet whether they can hurt more than Benjamin Netanyahu’s ego is still to be seen.

Continue reading...

Coronavirus global report: ‘response fatigue’ fears as Mexico hits 9,000 daily cases

Posted on by

Many countries that believed they were past the worst are grappling with new outbreaks, says WHO

Mexico has recorded more than 9,000 daily coronavirus cases for the first time, as the country overtook the UK with the world’s third-highest number of deaths from the pandemic after the US and Brazil.

The surging numbers were reported as the World Health Organization warned of “response fatigue” and a resurgence of cases in several countries that have lifted lockdowns.

Continue reading...

Thousands demonstrate against Netanyahu as Israel protests gain strength

Posted on by

Crowds gathered in central Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and outside the PM’s beach house amid anger at his handling of the virus crisis and corruption

Thousands of demonstrators have gathered outside the official residence of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and thronged the streets of central Jerusalem, as weeks of protests against the Israeli leader appeared to be gaining steam.

The demonstration in central Jerusalem on Saturday, along with smaller gatherings in Tel Aviv, near Netanyahu’s beach house in central Israel and at dozens of busy intersections nationwide, was one of the largest turnouts in weeks of protests.

Continue reading...

Seth Rogen: ‘I was fed a huge amount of lies about Israel’

Posted on by

Actor says when he was younger he wasn’t told Palestinians lived on land that became the Jewish state

Seth Rogen has said he was “fed a huge amount of lies about Israel” as a young Jewish person, stoking controversy around the country’s sometimes fraught relationship with many North American Jews.

The Canadian-US actor, who attended Jewish camp and whose parents met on a kibbutz in Israel, said the fact that the Jewish state was created on land where Palestinians were living had always been omitted.

Continue reading...

Banksy altered sea view triptych sells for £2.2m at auction

Posted on by

Romantic seascapes – with political message in washed up life jackets – raise funds for Bethlehem hospital

A Banksy triptych, which aims to make a powerful political statement on the global migrant crisis, sold for £2.2m at an auction in London that also featured works by Rembrandt, Picasso, and Bridget Riley.

The three paintings were offered by Banksy to raise money for a hospital in Bethlehem.

Continue reading...

Islamic Relief to contest Israeli ‘terrorism’ allegations in court

Posted on by

Israel accused British charity of links to Hamas in 2014, although Islamic Relief says it has yet to see ‘credible evidence’

A Tel Aviv court is set to hear a petition from Islamic Relief to restart its aid work in the occupied West Bank, six years after the Israeli government designated the charity a “terrorist organisation”.

Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) said the designation had left more than 70,000 Palestinians without vital support. It will argue on Monday that allegations linking it to the Palestinian militant group Hamas were unfounded.

Continue reading...