Israel

JERUSALEM, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- A coronavirus vaccine developed by the Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) and the U.S.-based company NRx Pharmaceuticals was starting new second phase trials in Georgia, an Israeli government spokesperson said Sunday.

During the weekend, a shipment of 1,125 vaccine vials have been delivered to Georgia, where the second phase of clinical trials for the BriLife coronavirus vaccine will be expanded later, the Israeli Defense Ministry said in a statement.

EILAT, Israel (AP) — The Red Sea reefs off the Israeli resort of Eilat host some of the greatest coral diversity on the planet.

A symphony in splendid technicolor, the reefs are among the world’s most resilient coral colonies against warming seas. They have also become an unlikely battleground, caught between Israeli diplomatic and business interests, and ecological groups that fear this natural treasure could be in danger.

13 Aug 2021; MEMO: Israel urged the Polish authorities to repeal a newly approved law that prevents Holocaust survivors and descendants of victims from obtaining restitution for property and assets that were seized when they were forced to leave Poland during and after the Second World War.

Members of the Israeli Knesset warned that the new law, which was approved by the Polish parliament on Wednesday, will deprive Holocaust survivors and their descendants from access of their property rights.

13 Aug 2021; MEMO: Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has reduced the number of settlement units in the occupied Palestinian territories that his government intends to approve next week by more than 1,000 for fear of backlash from America, Israel's Kan reported.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Human Rights Watch on Thursday said the thousands of rockets fired by the Palestinian militant group Hamas during the 11-day war with Israel “violated the laws of war and amount to war crimes.”

The New York-based rights group investigated Hamas rocket attacks that killed 12 civilians in Israel, as well as a misfired rocket that killed seven Palestinians inside the Gaza Strip.

11 Aug 2021; MEMO: Attempting to thwart any possible resumption of talks between the US and newly appointed president of Iran over the Islamic Republic's nuclear deal, Israel claimed that Ebrahim Raisi suffers from "mental disturbance" and cannot be negotiated with, the Times of Israel reported today.

11 Aug 2021; MEMO: The Israeli army yesterday received the third Sa'ar 6-class warship from Germany, Arab48 reported.

This handover came amidst escalating tensions in the Gulf that could see a confrontation with Iran.

The warship is anchored in Haifa military base, where it will be fitted with developed technologies, including sensors, weapons and communication systems, a statement issued by Israeli army said, noting that it will be operational in the coming months.

10 Aug 2021; MEMO: With growing numbers of American Jews turning their backs on Israel and progressive movements like Black Lives Matter (BLM) and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign on the ascendency, the country's Diaspora Affairs Minister Nachman Shai issued a stark warning over the Zionist state's future.

SDEROT, Israel (AP) — Just three months after the latest war between Israel and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, the border town of Sderot appears to be on the road to recovery.

The streets are bustling, and the town is filled with well-kept parks and playgrounds. The local real-estate market is booming.

But underneath the veneer of normalcy, the scars of years of rocket fire run deep.

09 Aug 2021; MEMO: Israeli occupation authorities have renewed detention orders for 70 per cent of the Palestinian administrative detainees held in Israeli jails, Al-Ayyam newspaper reported yesterday.

Reporting on details released by the Palestine Centre for Prisoners Studies, Al-Ayyam said that the detention orders were renewed for periods of between two and six months.