Israel

30 March 2022; MEMO: Israel's High Court of Justice ruled on Tuesday that Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton should give the prestigious Israel Prize to mathematician Professor Oded Goldreich, despite his support of an anti-occupation boycott.

JERUSALEM (AP) — A gunman on a motorcycle opened fire in a crowded city in central Israel late Tuesday, killing at least four people in the second mass shooting rampage this week. The shooter was killed by police.

29 March 2022; MEMO: Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz has put off a planned official visit to India, his office announced on Monday. The reason cited was the recent killing of two Israeli Border Police officers in the Negev.

However, Israeli media attributed the postponement of Gant's visit to New Delhi to disputes with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

SDE BOKER, Israel, March 28 (Reuters) - The top diplomats of the United States and four Arab countries convened in Israel on Monday in a display of unity against Iran but also used the rare summit to press their host to revive long-stalled peacemaking with the Palestinians.

Concluding two days of discussions at a desert retreat where its founding father David Ben-Gurion is buried, Israel said the event would be repeated and expanded as it builds up commercial and security ties with like-minded Sunni Arab states.

28 March 2022; MEMO: Israeli parliamentarians and settler leaders have criticised Prime Minister Naftali Bennett for using the term "West Bank" during a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday.

They said that the extremist, right-wing Bennett should have used "Judea and Samaria" to refer to the West Bank, which is occupied Palestinian territory.

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s prime minister has tested positive for the coronavirus and is working from home, his office said Monday as authorities piece together a fatal shooting that took place hours earlier.

Naftali Bennett’s office said the premier was feeling well and would continue his schedule as planned, which includes a briefing on an attack late Sunday that killed two Border officers.

JERUSALEM, March 27 (Reuters) - The United States has no strategy of regime change for Russia, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on Sunday after President Joe Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin "cannot remain in power".

"I think the president, the White House, made the point last night that, quite simply, President Putin cannot be empowered to wage war or engage in aggression against Ukraine or anyone else," Blinken said during a visit to Jerusalem.

JERUSALEM (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday tried to soothe the fears of Israel and its Gulf Arab allies ahead of the possible renewal of global powers’ international nuclear deal with Iran.

Blinken made the comments shortly before joining his counterparts from Israel and four Arab countries at a special gathering where the Iranian nuclear deal was expected to top the agenda. Israel and many of its neighbors are fiercely opposed to the deal, which they believe with embolden and enrich Iran.

25 March 2022; MEMO: Israel will host a two-day meeting with the top diplomats of the US, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Morocco from Sunday, its Foreign Ministry said on Friday, and Anadolu News Agency reports.

In a statement, the Ministry said the "historic" diplomatic summit is being held at invitation from Israeli Foreign Minister, Yair Lapid.

The readout did not give further details about the visit, but said the ministers will engage in diplomatic meetings.

25 March 2022; MEMO: Israeli defence officials rejected Ukraine's efforts to obtain the Israeli Pegasus programme due to fears of jeopardising its relations with Russia.

According to The Guardian, Ukraine has been trying to get its hands on the Israeli espionage software since 2019.