Israel

23 Feb 2022; MEMO: Israel appointed its first Muslim Supreme Court justice, one of four new officials announced on Monday.

The four new justices are Tel Aviv District Court Judge Ruth Ronnen, Tel Aviv District Court Deputy President Khaled Kabub, Jerusalem District Court Deputy President Gila Canfy Steinitz and attorney Yechiel Kasher.

JERUSALEM, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Israeli President Isaac Herzog confirmed on Wednesday his planned trip to Turkey, saying it is part of his new plan to form regional cooperation to fight the climate crisis.

"Over the next month I am going to visit our neighbors along the Mediterranean littoral -- Greece, Cyprus, and Turkey -- and to meet their leaders," Herzog told a climate change conference in Jerusalem.

23 Feb 2022; MEMO: Israeli Minister Eli Avidar yesterday resigned from his ministerial position in the coalition government, saying Prime Minister Naftali Bennett does not plan to abide by the rotation deal signed to form the government, local media reported.

Avidar, from the Yisrael Beiteinu party, had no portfolio and said he had been promised the position of intelligence minister, but this did not happen.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel on Monday said it successfully tested a new naval air defense system, intercepting a series of threats in what officials called a key layer of protection against Iran and its proxies in the region.

The “C-Dome” system is a naval version of the Iron Dome, which has been used to shoot down rockets fired from the Gaza Strip for the past decade. The C-Dome is being installed on Israel’s latest-generation corvette warships, which protect Israel’s coastline and offshore natural gas assets in the Mediterranean.

21 Feb 2022; MEMO: Israeli authorities are preparing for a possible wave of migrants from Ukraine in light of the continuous tension between Russian and Ukraine, Israel Hayom has reported.

According to the daily, a detailed emergency plan was formulated in case thousands of Jews decide to flee to Israel in the event of war.

Immigrant and Absorption Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata chaired the emergency meetings on the issue with representatives of hotels in attendance.

21 Feb 2022; MEMO: Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz said yesterday that Palestinians could have a future "entity" but not a full-fledged state, local media reported.

"Eventually we will find ourselves in a two-entity solution, in which we respect Palestinian sovereignty and governance, but we will be respected for our security needs," he told the Munich Security Conference.

"Did you say a two-state solution is possible?" the moderator asked Gantz, who said he intentionally used the word "entity".

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel announced Sunday that it would allow unvaccinated tourists to enter the country beginning next month as the latest wave of the coronavirus recedes.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that foreign tourists, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, would be required to take PCR coronavirus tests before their flights and upon landing. The rules go into effect on March 1.

“We are seeing a constant decline in morbidity data, so it is time to gradually open up,” Bennett said.

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military on Friday said it fired interceptor missiles and protectively scrambled warplanes after what it described as a drone launched from Lebanon crossed its tense northern border.

The move comes just a day after Israel shot down what it said was another drone, allegedly from Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group. Neither Lebanon nor Hezbollah gave immediate comment.

JERUSALEM, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Israel on Wednesday, vowing that security alliance with Israel "is ironclad."

Heading a congressional delegation, Pelosi was welcomed in the morning in a ceremony and visited the Israeli parliament.

She hailed the alliance between the two countries, saying she was "very proud that America is Israel's oldest ally."

16 Feb 2022; MEMO: Israeli Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman proposed on Tuesday to cut the study time of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men by half in order to give them time to join the workforce, local media have reported. The incentive is that they will receive the same government study stipend that they get at present.

Lieberman has already proposed the requirement for both parents to be employed before a family can receive state subsidies for child daycare.