Israel

25 July 2019; MEMO: Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert cancelled a planned trip to Switzerland after being told he could be arrested over war crimes charges, Israeli media reported yesterday.

24 July 2019; MEMO: A “purported apology” made by former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak for the October 2000 killings of Palestinian citizens was slammed as lacking “all value” by leading legal rights centre Adalah in a press release yesterday.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli work crews on Monday began demolishing dozens of Palestinian homes in an east Jerusalem neighborhood, in one of the largest operations of its kind in years.

The demolitions capped a years-long legal battle over the buildings, built along the invisible line straddling the city and the occupied West Bank. Israel says the buildings were erected too close to its West Bank separation barrier. Residents say the buildings are on West Bank land, and the Palestinian Authority gave them construction permits.

22 July 2019; MEMO: The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it is continuing its efforts with the International Criminal Court to push forward a formal investigation into Israel’s demolition of Palestinian homes, especially in the town of Sur Baher, southeast of occupied Jerusalem.

JERUSALEM (AP) — As Benjamin Netanyahu becomes Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, he is solidifying his place as the country’s greatest political survivor and the most dominant force in Israeli politics in his generation.

He has persevered through scandals, crises and conflicts, winning election after election even as the country grows more bitterly polarized. His supporters credit him with keeping Israel safe and prosperous, maintaining its Jewish character and boosting its standing internationally.

16 July 2019; MEMO: Israeli occupation forces detained 2,759 Palestinians during the first six months of this year, including 446 minors and 76 women, Palestinian rights groups announced yesterday.

The Prisoners Affairs Commission, the Palestinian Prisoner Society and Addameer said in a joint statement said 5,500 Palestinians were being held in Israeli jails until 30 June 30, including 43 women and 220 minors.

16 July 2019; MEMO: A Palestinians has died while in solitary confinement in an Israeli prison, the head of the Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs revealed this morning.

Thirty-one-year-old Nassar Majed Taqatqa, who was being held in Nitzan prison, was detained by occupation forces a month ago after they raided his house in the occupied West Bank town of Beit Fajjar near Bethlehem, Qadri Abu-Baker said.

16 July 2019; MEMO: Former Israeli Prime Minister and Defence Minister Ehud Barak has said in a video posted on social media that current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption was “limitless”, Al-Wattan Voice reported yesterday.

“Today, from the northern borders, I undertake to regain democracy,” head of new party Democratic Israel said.

14 July 2019; MEMO: Israel’s Minister of Regional Cooperation Tzachi Hanegbi yesterday said that Israel is preparing for a “possible” military confrontation with Iran and its military wings in the next two years.

Speaking to Israel Hayom, Hanegbi – who is also a member of Israel’s security cabinet – said “the possibility that there will be a military confrontation with Iran or its military arms is more likely than the possibility there will not be a war”.

14 July 2019; MEMO: The Greek Orthodox Church will next week petition against a final ruling of Israel’s Supreme Court which approved the sale of church property in East Jerusalem’s Old City to pro-settlement group Ateret Cohanim.

Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the petition will argue that the sale of the property was based on bribery and the church figures who signed the deal were corrupt, immediately fleeing the country after signing the deal.