Israel

7 July 2019; MEMO: Teams from Israel’s Defence Ministry started a decade ago to remove and hide documents from the Israeli archives related to crimes against Palestinians during the Nakba of 1948, Israeli newspaper Haaretz revealed yesterday.

5 July 2019; MEMO: Israel Hayom reported, Thursday, that Israel is disappointed with the expected appointment of Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell as the new EU High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

According to the newspaper, Borrell will replace the current High Representative, Federica Mogherini, who was an unpopular figure in Israel because of her stubborn support for the Iran nuclear deal and for her relatively pro-Palestinian tendencies.

5 July 2019; MEMO: A number of Israeli rabbis have signed a letter criticising the possibility of appointing former Israeli Justice Minister, Ayelet Shaked, as head of the Union of Right-Wing Parties because “women should not be involved in politics”.

4 July 2019; MEMO: Israel’s Supreme Court has refused to hear a petition filed by a human rights organisation which requested that Palestinian child prisoners be allowed to call their parents while in detention.

4 July 2019; DW: Bones unearthed in Israel and analyzed in Germany may have revealed the origins of the ancient Philistine people.

The Philistines were believed to have arrived in modern-day Israel in the 12th century BC, though there was little evidence to suggest where the people had come from.

3 July 2019; MEMO: At least 47 police officers were injured and 60 people were arrested following protests across Israel after a police officer shot and killed an unarmed Ethiopian teen, Israeli authorities said Tuesday, reports Anadolu Agency.

2 July 2019; MEMO: Israel is renewing formal relations with Oman and plans to open a diplomatic mission in the Sultanate, Yossi Cohen, the head of Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad, has claimed.

Speaking at a conference yesterday in Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv, Cohen claimed that “just recently, renewal of formal relations with Oman was declared and the establishment of a representative office of the foreign ministry in that country”.

2 July 2019; MEMO: The Legal Centre for Arab Minority Rights in Israel – better known as Adalah – has begun legal action against the northern Israeli city of Afula, after it banned non-residents from using a local park in a bid to prevent Palestinian citizens of Israel from using the facility.

2 July 2019; MEMO: Israeli occupation authorities announced yesterday that they will be returning 20 fishing boats to the besieged Gaza Strip within 24 hours.

One boat was returned through the Kerem Shalom (Karm Abu Salem) crossing.

1 July 2019; DW: Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the leader of Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), kicked off her first visit to Israel on Monday by addressing tensions with Iran and urging for more defense spending in Germany.

Speaking at a security conference in the city of Herzliya, she defended the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, saying that the world has not yet found a more suitable way to curb Iran's nuclear program.