Israel

22 June 2022; MEMO: Israeli archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a mosque in the Naqab desert city of Rahat which is believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Officials from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said that it sheds light on the region's transition from Christianity to Islam.

According to the Times of Israel, the remains of the mosque, which is thought to be more than 1,200 years old, were discovered during works to build a new neighbourhood in Rahat.

23 June 2022; MEMO: Israeli media have reported that Defence Minister Benny Gantz called yesterday on Knesset members from his Blue and White party alliance not to be tempted by the opposition to join a Likud-led coalition in a bid to avoid a snap election. With the collapse of the latest coalition government in Israel, the country is facing its fifth General Election in less than four years.

21 June 2022; MEMO: Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and his deputy, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, have announced their agreement to dissolve the Knesset (parliament) and go for an early General Election.

In the meantime, Lapid will take over as interim Prime Minister. Bennett will become the alternate prime minister with responsibility for the Iran file.

22 June 2022; MEMO: Benjamin Netanyahu is planning his return to power through Israel's General Election, which will most likely take place in October, but close aides have said that he is thinking about making this the last time that he tries to be prime minister. This will be the country's fifth General Election in less than four years.

22 June 2022; MEMO: Israeli Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman said yesterday that the coalition is to include legislation to prevent MKs charged with serious crimes from becoming prime ministers alongside the bill to dissolve the Knesset, Israeli media reported.

MK Yevgeny Soba of Liberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party is spearheading the bill which is support by Gideon Sa'ar of the New Hope party along with others.

JERUSALEM, Jun 21 (NNN-PNA) – Israel’s fragile coalition government, will vote to dissolve parliament next week, announced Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office, yesterday, sending the country to its fifth elections in three years.

Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett and his main coalition partner, Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid decided to present a bill to dissolve parliament, next Monday, the office said in a statement.

JERUSALEM, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Israel is building a U.S.-sponsored air defense alliance in the Middle East which has already thwarted attempted Iranian attacks, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Monday.

Dubbing the regional alliance as Middle East Air Defense (MEAD), Gantz said it is being built "in the wake of Iran's attempts to hit the region with rockets, cruise missiles and drones," according to an official transcript of his meeting with the parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s weakened coalition government announced Monday that it would dissolve parliament and call new elections, setting the stage for the possible return to power of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or another period of prolonged political gridlock.

The election will be Israel’s fifth in three years, and it will put the polarizing Netanyahu, who has been the opposition leader for the past year, back at the center of the political universe.

“I think the winds have changed. I feel it,” Netanyahu declared.

20 June 2022; MEMO: The Israeli authorities have excluded Arab communities in the country from a pilot solar energy project that will serve as a model for its solar energy industry, Haaretz revealed on Sunday. This could have the effect of excluding Arab Israelis from having access to solar energy "for years," said the newspaper, due to a change in the conditions imposed by Israel's Land Authority on the project that makes it accessible only in Jewish communities.

JERUSALEM, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Sunday warned Iran against "attempts to orchestrate attacks against Israelis overseas," threatening that Israel will exact a price for attempts to harm its citizens.

Making the remarks at the weekly cabinet meeting, Bennett said "we are currently witnessing Iranian attempts to attack Israelis in various overseas locations," adding that "Iran's plans focus on Turkey" while Israeli security services "are working to thwart attempted attacks before they are launched."