Israel

Israeli liberals fear new government will undo progress

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s outgoing coalition has been the most diverse in the country’s history, bringing a slew of progressive policies on the environment, LGBTQ issues and funding for the country’s Arab minority.

But now, even before it takes office, Israel’s expected new coalition government — overwhelmingly male, religious and right-wing — is promising to roll back many of the achievements of its predecessor, prompting concern from activists and liberals over where their country is headed.

Israel: Ben-Gvir makes coalition membership conditional on death penalty for Palestinians

15 Nov 2022; MEMO: Far-right Israeli MK Itamar Ben-Gvir has made the introduction of the death penalty for Palestinians found guilty of killing Israelis a condition for his faction to join Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government, Quds Press reported on Monday.

Israel won't cooperate with FBI over killing of American/Palestinian journalist, says Gantz

15 Nov 2022; MEMO: The US Department of Justice has notified its Israeli counterpart that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has opened a criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the assassination of American/Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, Walla reported on Monday. Abu Akleh was shot and killed by an Israeli sniper as she covered a military incursion into the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on 11 May.

Israeli liberals fear new government will undo progress

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s outgoing coalition has been the most diverse in the country’s history, bringing a slew of progressive policies on the environment, LGBTQ issues and funding for the country’s Arab minority.

But now, even before it takes office, Israel’s expected new coalition government — overwhelmingly male, religious and right-wing — is promising to roll back many of the achievements of its predecessor, prompting concern from activists and liberals over where their country is headed.

Israel: Shin Bet admits spying on journalists through mobile phones

12 Nov 2022; MEMO: The Israeli General Security Service Shin Bet admitted that it spied on journalists through a database collected from mobile phone companies. It also used this database in investigations into criminal incidents, not only in security investigations. This came in the Public Prosecution's response to a petition submitted by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) to the High Court.

Politics of Israel and Iran ensnare 1st World Cup in Mideast

JERUSALEM (AP) — Qatar may hope soccer fans ignore politics at the first World Cup in the Middle East. But Israel and Iran, foes locked in conflicts across the region, are bringing sensitive flashpoints to the tournament’s doorstep.

Israel is not competing, but it sees the massive spectacle as a way to further integrate into the Middle East after establishing ties with two of Qatar’s Gulf Arab neighbors. Thousands of Israeli tourists, long shunned, are expected to fly to the Qatari capital of Doha on unprecedented direct flights.

Israel: Whole world is worried about terrorist supporter Ben-Gvir

10 Nov 2022; MEMO: Israeli President Isaac Herzog has been caught on an open microphone saying that "the whole world is worried" about newly-elected lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir's extremism, the Times of Israel has reported. Herzog apparently believed that the mic had been switched off at the end of his meeting about the next government with an ultra-Orthodox party.

US to reject any Israeli annexation of West Bank: Ambassador

10 Nov 2022; MEMO: US Ambassador to Israel, Tom Nides, said Thursday Washington will oppose any Israeli attempt to annex parts of the Occupied West Bank, Anadolu News Agency reports.

"We will push back against any attempt at annexation," Nides told the Israeli public broadcaster, KAN.

"We don't support annexation. It's not just us; it's most countries," he said.

US delivers 3 new F-35 jets to Israel to join 33 aircraft delivered before

10 Nov 2022; MEMO: Israel has received three new F-35 fighter jets today from the United States at a military air base in the Negev region, Arab48 reported.

The new jets that arrived in Israel will join the 33 aircraft that have been delivered by the US Defence Contractor, Lockheed Martin.

Israel: Outgoing DM warns of rising extremism

9 Nov 2022; MEMO: Outgoing Israeli Defence Minister, Benny Gantz, warned Wednesday of rising extremism inside Israel, Anadolu News Agency reports.

"The extremism in society and in the government is what bothers me," Gantz said in statements cited by The Jerusalem Post newspaper.

Opposition leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, is set to form the upcoming government in Israel after his right-wing alliance won last week's legislative elections.

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