Category Archives: Israel

Russia denounces Netanyahu’s West Bank annexation plan

Posted on by

Moscow says proposal could increase regional tensions, as Israeli PM meets Putin

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, flies into Sochi on Thursday for talks with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, that come after Moscow added its voice to criticism of his pre-election pledge to annex occupied Palestinian territories.

Netanyahu said on Tuesday that he would annex up to a third of the West Bank if he is re-elected in next week’s parliamentary polls. His announcement was condemned by the Palestinians, Arab countries, the UN and the EU.

Continue reading...

Israel accused of planting spying devices near White House

Posted on by

Surveillance devices planted over past two years, says report citing former US officials

Israel is likely to have planted mobile phone spying devices near the White House and other sensitive locations in the US capital over the past two years, according to a report from Politico that cited three former US officials.

The miniature surveillance devices mimic telecommunications towers to gather information, including the contents of phone calls. The US government concluded Israeli operatives were most likely to have put them in place to spy on Donald Trump and his associates, the news website reported.

Continue reading...

Arab leaders denounce Netanyahu’s plan to annex Palestinian territories

Posted on by

Israeli prime minister’s proposal would ‘kill all chances of peace’, says Jordan

Arab leaders have denounced Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to annex large swathes of the Palestinian territories if he is re-elected next week as an election stunt that would “kill all chances for peace”.

The Arab League held an emergency session on Tuesday evening after the Israeli prime minister announced the plan in a live press conference.

Continue reading...

Why Netanyahu’s election threats could become real this time

Posted on by

Israeli PM is a master of fiery rhetoric but Trump’s support could embolden him to action

Benjamin Netanyahu is an old hand at Israel’s equivalent of the “October surprise”, reliably making incendiary remarks on election eve designed to both rally the faithful in his Likud party and undercut any rivals on the right and the far right threatening his grip on the prime minister’s office.

The successful formula, repeated over the last decade in office, has always followed a reliable pattern: scare any wavering supporters with the idea that Arab voters might come out in force while grabbing any nationalist votes by promising settlement building, annexation or refusal to withdraw.

Continue reading...

Netanyahu vows to annex large parts of occupied West Bank

Posted on by

Israeli PM says he will seek to make move ‘in maximum coordination with Trump’

Benjamin Netanyahu has announced he will annex large swathes of the occupied Palestinian territories if he is re-elected, a decision that for decades has been considered an endgame scenario for Palestinians’ aspirations of statehood.

The Israeli prime minister said on Tuesday that he planned to make the move, which would permanently seize up to one-third of the West Bank, after next week’s election and hinted it may have been approved by Washington.

Continue reading...

Netanyahu accuses Iran of hiding evidence of nuclear facility

Posted on by

Israel’s opposition says prime minister’s claims are an election campaign stunt

Benjamin Netanyahu has unveiled what he claims was a previously undisclosed Iranian nuclear weapons facility and accused Tehran of destroying the site to hide the evidence.

“This is what I have to say to the tyrants of Tehran,” Netanyahu said. “Israel knows what you’re doing, Israel knows when you’re doing it, and Israel knows where you’re doing it.”

Continue reading...

Hezbollah says it has downed Israeli drone over Lebanon

Posted on by

Israel confirms drone loss while claiming an Iran-backed Shia militia fired rockets towards Israel from Syria

Hezbollah has claimed it shot down an Israeli drone that crossed the border into Lebanon, a week after the bitter enemies traded fire for the first time in years, as regional tensions between Israel and Iran and its allies intensify.

The unmanned aircraft was flying near the southern Lebanese town of Ramyah, the Iranian-backed group said, adding that it fighters had removed the wreckage.

Continue reading...

Dead Sea scrolls study raises new questions over texts’ origins

Posted on by

Salts used on Temple scroll are not common to Dead Sea region, researchers find

The Dead Sea scrolls have given up fresh secrets, with researchers saying they have identified a previously unknown technique used to prepare one of the most remarkable scrolls of the collection.

Scientists say the study poses a puzzle, as the salts used on the writing layer of the Temple scroll are not common to the Dead Sea region.

Continue reading...

Kushner’s Middle East peace plan drifts further astray as envoy resigns

Posted on by

The ‘ultimate deal’ for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is due to come out after the Israeli elections on 17 September

Jason Greenblatt, the Trump administration’s special envoy for Middle East peace, tasked with working on the “ultimate deal” for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is to leave the post, it has been announced.

Greenblatt may stay in the role until the publication of the long-delayed plan, which is now due to come out some time after Israeli elections on 17 September. However, if those elections bring about the fall of Donald Trump’s close ally, Benjamin Netanyahu, the plan could be shelved indefinitely.

Continue reading...

Israel and Hezbollah trade cross-border fire for first time in years

Posted on by

Tensions between Israel and Iran threaten to drag Lebanon into renewed conflict

Hezbollah has launched an attack on Israeli military positions and drawn heavy return fire in the first cross-border clash for years between the longstanding foes.

Israel’s military said “two or three anti-tank missiles” had been fired from southern Lebanon toward an army base and a military ambulance but had caused no deaths or injuries..

Continue reading...

Israel risks becoming the fall guy in Donald Trump’s ‘shadow war’ with Iran | Simon Tisdall

Posted on by
Benjamin Netanyahu is counting on fear of conflict with Iran to win crucial election votes

Donald Trump’s offer to talk peace with Iran sent a shiver of alarm through Israel’s political and security establishment last week. With a too-close-to-call general election looming on 17 September, Benjamin Netanyahu is counting on his hardline anti-Tehran alliance with Washington – and fear of conflict – to win him crucial votes. A North Korea-style Trump tryst with Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, was the prime minister’s “ultimate horror scenario”, one analyst noted.

Yet after a recent series of escalatory strikes against Iran-linked forces in Iraq, Lebanon and Syria, Israel’s voters may reflect that if one thing is worse than peace with Iran, it’s war with Iran. Trump’s policy of “maximum pressure” on Tehran, strongly backed by Netanyahu and fellow Tel Aviv hawks, is placing Israel squarely in the firing line. The intensifying confrontation is also sucking in regional states, notably Iraq.

Continue reading...

Drone attacks in Middle East raise fears of escalating conflict

Posted on by

Multiple attacks in region suggest drone warfare could extend to distant battlefields

A spate of drone attacks in Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and now Lebanon has raised the spectre of a new era of conflict in the region, due to the ability of stealth-like weapons to penetrate distant battlefields and hit closely guarded targets.

Drone warfare has become an instrumental factor in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, now being fought over both sides of the Israeli border and in skies across the region.

Continue reading...

UN calls for ‘maximum restraint’ after alleged Israeli strike in Lebanon

Posted on by

Israel has also allegedly bombed Iraq recently, and claimed an attack on Syria

The UN called for maximum restraint on Monday night after a reported drone attack in a Hezbollah stronghold south of Beirut that was blamed on Israel.

A spokesman said the UN was unable to confirm the reports about Sunday’s incident, the latest in a series of attacks reported recently in the region that have stoked a proxy conflict raging between Israel and Iran across the Middle East. “The United Nations calls on the parties to exercise maximum restraint both in action and rhetoric,” he said. “It is imperative for all to avoid an escalation.”

Continue reading...

Netanyahu hails Israel strikes against Syria to foil Iran ‘killer drone attack’

Posted on by

Israeli prime minister says Iran has ‘no immunity anywhere’ after military says Tehran drone plot thwarted

The Israeli air force struck in Syria to prevent an Iranian force from launching an attack on the Jewish state with drones armed with explosives, the army said on Sunday.

Although Israel operates regularly in Syria, it rarely acknowledges its actions so swiftly, with its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, warning arch-foe Iran it had no immunity from his state’s military.

Continue reading...

Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib encourage colleagues to visit Israel – video

Posted on by

US representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib call on their colleagues to visit Israel in an emotional press conference on Monday, following the country’s decision last week to deny them entry after pressure from Donald Trump. Omar said it was important that Trump and the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, should not 'succeed in hiding the cruel reality of the occupation from us'

Continue reading...

Rashida Tlaib rejects Israel’s offer for ‘humanitarian’ visit to West Bank

Posted on by

US congresswoman of Palestinian descent says: ‘visiting my grandmother under these oppressive conditions stands against everything I believe in’

US congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has rejected an offer from Israel to visit family in the occupied West Bank on the condition she does not express certain political views.

“I have decided that visiting my grandmother under these oppressive conditions stands against everything I believe in – fighting against racism, oppression & injustice,” she wrote on Twitter.

Continue reading...

Pelosi ‘deeply saddened’ over Israel’s decision to block Omar and Tlaib’s visit – live

Posted on by

Several more Democratic presidential candidates have issues statements condemning Israel’s decision to block Omar and Tlaib’s planned trip.

I don't believe any nation should deny entry to elected Members of Congress, period. It’s an affront to the United States. Open and engaged foreign relations are critical to advancing U.S. interests. Trump is playing politics as he weakens our global leadership. https://t.co/UnMt9Tsd7Q

It’s appalling that President Trump continues to attack two sitting Congresswomen and encouraged another country to deny U.S. officials entry. Trump's behavior is unacceptable, dangerous, and un-American. Israel's decision should be reversed immediately. https://t.co/jHd0VYVJ1u

Nancy Pelosi has put out a statement saying she is “deeply saddened” by Israel’s decision to block Omar and Tlaib’s trip.

“As one who loves Israel, I am deeply saddened by the news that Israel has decided to prevent Members of Congress from entering the country,” the House speaker said.

Continue reading...

Israel bars entry to US politicians Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib

Posted on by

Donald Trump had said letting in high-profile pair would ‘show great weakness’

Israel has announced it will block the US congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib from entering the country after public pressure from Donald Trump.

“It’s unacceptable to allow the entrance to the country of those who wish to harm the state of Israel,” Israel’s interior ministry said.

Continue reading...

Freedom of expression on Palestine is being suppressed | Letter

Posted on by
Kamel Hawwash of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and 22 other signatories say that a council’s refusal to host a charity event has vindicated concerns raised about the IHRA working definition of antisemitism

Tower Hamlets council in London last month prevented a bike ride raising awareness of the plight of the Palestinian people from using space in one of its parks. We now know that the council feared that this advocacy for Palestine would violate the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism (UK council refused to host Palestinian event over antisemitism fears, 3 August). This use of the IHRA definition demonstrates the real threat to freedom of expression that it represents, ignoring its protection in our national rights legislation.

Palestinian groups, eminent lawyers, academic experts on antisemitism, prominent British Jews and bodies such as the Institute for Race Relations previously raised these concerns publicly. The rights of all British citizens to accurately describe, inform and convey the reality of ongoing Palestinian dispossession, and to call for action to resist these illegalities, belongs in the public space. All public bodies have an obligation to protect and defend these rights, to maintain democracy.

Continue reading...