Israel

15 April 2022; MEMO: An Arab member of the Israeli Knesset, Ahmed Al-Tibi, has said the Israeli government is taking its last breath, but it has not fallen.

In an interview with Israeli KAN Radio aired Thursday, Tibi of the Joint List said the List will not join the government coalition and will not sign agreements with it, but it will vote against the motion of no-confidence presented by opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu.

16 April 2022; MEMO: Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz announced on Friday that solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be based on creating two different political, not geographical, entities, Arab 48 reported.

Speaking with the Walla news website, Gantz asserted that the Israeli entity must maintain its military superiority over the Palestinian entity.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Palestinians clashed with Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem on Friday as thousands gathered for prayers during the holy month of Ramadan. Medics said more than 150 Palestinians were wounded in the most serious violence at the site in nearly a year.

The holy site, which is sacred to Jews and Muslims, has often been the epicenter of Israeli-Palestinian unrest, and tensions were already heightened amid a recent wave of violence. Clashes at the site last year helped spark an 11-day war with Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

15 April 2022; MEMO: Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Thursday warned against heading for early elections, citing turbulent security situation and political instability, Anadolu Agency reports.

"As a nation, we are dealing with challenges that are not simple," Herzog told the official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation in an interview. "We have to think carefully before jumping again into another instability in form of early elections, because we will pay the price for that."

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli troops operating in the West Bank shot and killed two Palestinians, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Thursday, in the latest escalation of violence between the sides amid intensifying Israeli raids in the occupied territory.

The two deaths come a day after three Palestinians were killed in clashes with Israeli troops, who have been patrolling the West Bank and making arrests following an outburst of attacks in Israel that has killed 14 people in recent weeks.

12 April 2022; MEMO: Annual Israeli arms sales increased to a new record in 2021, according to Defence Ministry data released today.

The Israeli ministry's International Defence Cooperation Directorate (SIBAT) observed a sharp increase in demand for Israeli-made weapons as defence exports rose from $8.3 billion in 2020 to $11.3 billion in 2021. Exports previously hit a record high of $9.2 billion in 2017.

13 April 2022; MEMO: Israel's internal security agency, Shin Bet, raised suspicions on Tuesday that a gift from the Chinese Embassy to an Israeli minister was "bugged," local media have reported. According to Haaretz, the cup was sent to Israel's Science, Technology and Space Minister, Orit Farkash-Hacohen, and apparently set off an alarm during a routine security check.

A search was made of other government offices to see if similar cups had been sent to other officials. None were found.

13 April 2022; MEMO: The Chairman of the Joint Arab List in the Israeli Knesset (parliament), Ayman Odeh MK, said yesterday that he had received "dozens" of death threats after visiting Jerusalem's Old City on Sunday and calling on Arabs serving in Israel's security forces to lay down their arms, Arab48.com has reported. Odeh pointed out that he is collecting the messages to present them to the Knesset Security Officials.

JERUSALEM, Apr 12 (NNN-PNA) – Israel’s Ministry of Health, yesterday reported 4,178 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the country’s total infections to 4,000,602.

The newly reported cases were the lowest in Israel since Mar 12, when 3,971 new cases were reported.

Meanwhile, 17 more people lost their lives to the disease, bringing the national death toll to 10,584.

The number of active patients in Israel stood at 41,034, with 256 remaining in serious condition, according to the ministry’s data.

12 April 2022; MEMO: The head of the Joint List in the Israeli parliament urged all Arab citizens of Israel serving in Israel's occupation forces to quit, slamming their service as "humiliating" and a "disgrace".

"It's a disgrace that a young Arab or the parents of a young Arab would agree to enlist and serve in the security forces, which are actually forces of the occupation," said Knesset member Ayman Odeh in a video filmed at occupied East Jerusalem's Damascus Gate.