Israel

24 July 2021; MEMO: Israeli Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked has confirmed that her Yamina party will leave the coalition government if it agreed to a request from the Biden administration to implement a building freeze in West Bank settlements, Israeli media reported on Friday.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Israeli Makor Rishon newspaper, Shaked spoke about her party's red lines.

JERUSALEM, July 22 (Xinhua) -- The effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine against COVID-19 has dropped to 39 percent in Israel, the country's Ministry of Health said on Thursday.

The new figure refers to the period between June 20 and July 17, the ministry said, adding that the ongoing decline was observed along with the spread of the Delta COVID-19 variant in Israel.

The latest effectiveness rate is significantly lower than that of 64 percent measured between June 6 and July 3, and 94.3 percent measured between May 2 and June 5.

TEL AVIV, July 22 (Reuters) - Israel announced plans on Thursday to allow only people who are deemed immune to COVID-19 or have recently tested negative to enter some public spaces such as restaurants, gyms and synagogues after a surge in coronavirus cases.

The government had removed most coronavirus restrictions after a rapid vaccination drive that pushed down infections and deaths.

The easing of restrictions included dropping a "Green Pass" programme that had allowed only people who had been vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19 to enter some public spaces.

22 July 2021; MEMO: Israeli President Isaac Herzog has reassured his Greek counterpart Katerina Sakellaropoulou that Israel continues to side with Greece and Cyprus in their dispute with Turkey, local media have reported. This was despite the recent friendly call between Herzog and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

22 July 2021; MEMO: Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has refused to allow the Supreme Planning Council to meet, essentially freezing settlement construction following pressure from the US.

According to Israel Hayom said Bennett's decision means a "complete freeze on future construction" of settlements in the West Bank as long as the Supreme Council is prevented from meeting.

It added that the move was a "demand" by US President Joe Biden's administration.

JERUSALEM, July 21 (Reuters) - Israel has set up a senior inter-ministerial team to look into growing allegations that spyware sold by an Israeli cyber firm has been abused on a global scale, an Israeli source said on Wednesday, while adding that an export review was unlikely.

The team is headed by Israel's National Security Council, which answers to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and has broader areas of expertise than the Defence Ministry, which oversees exports of NSO Group's Pegasus software, the source said.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told the head of Unilever on Tuesday that Israel will “act aggressively” against Ben & Jerry’s over the subsidiary’s decision to stop selling its ice cream in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and contested east Jerusalem.

JERUSALEM, July 19 (Reuters) - A liberal party in Israel's governing coalition said on Monday it would ask the Defence Ministry about exports of Israeli spyware that media reports have linked to hacking of phones of journalists, civil servants and rights activists worldwide.

Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz, head of the Meretz party and a member of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's decision-making security cabinet, told reporters he would meet Defence Minister Benny Gantz on Thursday to discuss the exports by NSO Group.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is not changing the norms at a contested site in Jerusalem to allow Jewish prayer there, his office said Monday, walking back comments that sparked angry reactions a day earlier.

JERUSALEM, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of Jews visited the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem on Sunday to mark the Jewish holy day of Tisha B'Av, despite tensions between Palestinians and Israeli police.

Early in the morning, Israeli police stormed the compound as clashes erupted with Muslim worshippers. A statement issued by the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf that manages the site said five Palestinian have been arrested, while the Palestinian Red Crescent reported several injuries among the Palestinians.