Israel

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel launched airstrikes on what it said was a Hamas military site in the Gaza Strip early on Tuesday, after incendiary balloons were sent into Israeli territory, the army said.

Fighter jets struck a Hamas rocket manufacturing workshop as well as a Hamas military compound in Khan Yunis, a city in southern Gaza, according to the army statement.

The army said the compound houses a cement factory used for building tunnels used for terror attacks “and is purposefully located in a civilian area adjacent to a mosque and a water treatment site.”

06 Sep 2021; MEMO: Six Palestinian prisoners have escaped from the high-security Gilboa Prison in northern Israel, the prison authorities reported today. The six are believed to have dug a tunnel to get out of the prison, which was built in 2004 for the "most dangerous" Palestinian prisoners.

According to the Israel Prisons Service, the escape started at about 1:30 am this morning. The police received reports about suspicious persons near the prison at around 3 am.

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli forces on Monday launched a massive manhunt in northern Israel and the occupied West Bank after six Palestinian prisoners escaped overnight from a high-security facility in an extremely rare breakout.

JERUSALEM, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid will fly to Moscow for an official trip to meet his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

Lapid, who is also Israel's alternate prime minister, will depart on Wednesday for a one-day visit to Russia and will "hold a working meeting" with Lavrov, it added, without elaborating on which topics the talks will focus on.

04 Sep 2021; MEMO: Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced on Friday that he would not meet with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas because he took Israel to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of war crimes, Israeli media reported.

Speaking on Zoom to leaders of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organisations, Bennett stated: "As someone who comes from the business world, when someone sues me, I am not really that nice to him."

04 Sep 2021; MEMO: Israeli authorities have opened an investigation into a senior official in the court system accused of severe allegations that risk a lengthy prison sentence, Channel 12 news reported.

A gag order has been issued regarding the ongoing criminal investigation conducted by the Lahav 433 unit of the Israeli police service.

The case is also being handled by Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, State Attorney Amit Aisman and Israel Police chief Kobi Shabtai.

02 Sep 2021; MEMO: Israeli authorities today demolished the Palestinian Bedouin village of Al-Araqeeb in the southern Negev for the 192nd time.The Bedouin families of Al-Araqeeb rebuild the village every time Israeli authorities demolish it.

02 Sep 2021; MEMO: Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett denied on Wednesday that he is going to attend a tripartite summit for the leaders of Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority to be held today in Cairo.

His office denied reports about his participation, and pointed out that he is not even planning to meet with PA President Mahmoud Abbas in the long term.

02 Sep 2021; MEMO: The former head of Israeli spy agency Mossad has expressed concern that the US may soon withdraw from Iraq as it has from Afghanistan. This could lead to the downfall of the current Iraqi regime and the country becoming controlled fully by Iran, warned Yossi Cohen.

02 Sep 2021; MEMO: Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz approved the promotion of Aviem Sella, who recruited American spy Jonathan Pollard 30 years ago, local media reported yesterday.

The Israeli army said in a statement that the former Israeli Air Force officer Sella was promoted to Brigadier General upon the recommendation of the chief of the Israeli Air Force and the approval of the Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi and Defence Minister Benny Gantz.