Israel

JERUSALEM, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Israel's health ministry announced on Friday that all passengers entering Israeli borders will have to go through a mandatory quarantine.

The new regulation starts from Friday, the ministry added.

Passengers arriving from the countries and regions defined by Israel as high-risk are required to take a seven-day quarantine.

Passengers from other countries will need to be quarantined for up to 24 hours, waiting for the results of the COVID-19 tests that are conducted upon arrival.

15 July 2021; MEMO: The Israeli occupation army is pursuing a major budget increase worth billions of shekels in order to prepare for a potentially nuclear Iran, Israeli media revealed on Wednesday.

As the government seeks to pass the budget in the coming months, preliminary discussions have started to take place on the terms of the budget, Israeli public broadcaster Kan revealed.

TEL AVIV, July 14 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates on Wednesday become the first Gulf state to open an embassy in Israel, as its envoy hailed the trade and investment opportunities that closer ties would bring at a flag-raising ceremony also attended by Israel's president.

Brought together by shared unease about Iran, the UAE and Bahrain normalised relations with Israel last year under the "Abraham Accords" crafted by the administration of then-U.S. President Donald Trump

Sudan and Morocco have since also moved to establish ties with Israel.

13 July 2021; MEMO: The German and French ambassadors, along with other European Union (EU) ambassadors, boycotted a ceremony at the US Embassy in Jerusalem, Israeli Ynet News revealed on Tuesday.

The ceremony was held on 4 July at the US Embassy in Jerusalem, in honour of American Independence Day.

13 July 2021; MEMO: Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid stated on Monday that this is not the time to carry out the two-state solution, stressing that Israel should do whatever is needed to "defend itself".

These remarks came as he addressed the European Union (EU) Foreign Affairs Council meeting, attended by 26 EU foreign ministers with Lapid as the main guest.

"It is no secret that I support a two-state solution," he said, but added: "Unfortunately, there is no current plan for this."

12 July 2021; MEMO: Israeli occupation authorities announced a number of measures on Monday morning as part of easing the Israeli siege imposed on the Gaza Strip.

On the Facebook page of the Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Occupied Territories, Israel announced expanding the fishing zone in the Gaza Strip from nine to 12 nautical miles as of Monday.

The coordinator stated that this came following the recent calm and after assessing the general security situation.

JERUSALEM, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Sunday his country signed a deal with Pfizer to receive a new batch of COVID-19 vaccines in August.

Bennett said in a statement at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting that "last night we closed a deal to bring forward the next shipment of vaccines to August 1."

He said that together with existing vaccine stocks, the new batch will ensure "from this moment, a continuous inventory of vaccines in Israel."

Jerusalem, Jul 11 (AP-PTI) Benjamin Netanyahu and his family vacated the Israeli prime minister's official residence early Sunday, nearly a month after the longtime leader was ousted from office with the formation of an alternate government.

A family spokesman confirmed the Netanyahus left the residence on Balfour Street in Jerusalem shortly after midnight, in line with a deadline agreed upon last month with newly inaugurated Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

09 July 2021; MEMO: Israel's Supreme Court yesterday refused a host of petitions against the country's Nation-State Law, local media has reported.

08 July 2021; MEMO: Palestinian citizens in Israel are planning to organise a Palestine Flag March on Friday in response to Israel's Flag March which is held annually in May.