Israel

31 Jan 2021; MEMO: The Israeli Health Ministry recorded 2,596 new infections and 23 fatalities from the coronavirus pandemic on Sunday, Anadolu Agency reported.

A ministry statement cited by the Maariv newspaper said the new virus cases were out of 26,000 Israelis who were subjected to the COVID-19 test.

Israel's count now rose to 640,644 cases, including 4,745 deaths. Among the active cases, 1,162 are in critical condition and 298 are depending on respirators.

Jerusalem, Jan 31 (AP-PTI) Israeli police sprayed a crowd of protesters with a water cannon Saturday night as they tried to disperse demonstrators calling for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's resignation over corruption charges.

Temperatures were about 10 degrees Celsius (50 Fahrenheit) on a raw winter evening when the crowd was sprayed. The protesters have been gathering every week near Netanyahu's official residence in Jerusalem for over seven months, but the use of water cannons is rare.

29 Jan 2021; MEMO: Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz on Wednesday slammed Army Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Aviv Kochavi, for publicly criticising the United States and threatening to attack Iran.

"A nuclear Iran is a danger to the world, to the region, and is a challenge to the security of Israel. Of course, Israel must be prepared to defend itself in any way, but red lines are drawn in closed rooms," Gantz told reporters.

JERUSALEM, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that the U.S. decision to suspend the sale of F-35 warplanes to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will not affect Israeli ties with the UAE.

"We have passed the point of no return," Netanyahu said during a press briefing broadcast on his Facebook page.

"Everyone understands that there are huge benefits to having ties with Israel," he added, noting he believes the arms deal will finally go through.

JERUSALEM (AP) — As he seeks reelection, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has turned to a straightforward strategy: Count on the rock-solid support of his ultra-Orthodox political allies and stamp out the coronavirus pandemic with one of the world’s most aggressive vaccination campaigns.

Israeli intelligence services have started to warn Hamas officials in the occupied West Bank not to participate in the upcoming Palestinian elections, sources within the movement revealed on Wednesday.

JERUSALEM, Jan 27 (NNN-MA’AN) – Israeli military chief, Aviv Kochavi, warned the United States against rejoining the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, arguing that it might enable Iran to develop nuclear weapons.

Speaking in an online conference, held by the Institute for National Security Studies, an Israeli security think tank, Kochavi said that, a return to the deal will be “bad operationally and bad strategically.”

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel and Sudan will finalise a diplomatic deal to normalise relations at a signing ceremony in Washington in the next three months, Israeli Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen said on Wednesday.

There was no immediate comment from Sudanese officials or from the U.S. embassy in Israel.

Sudan’s civilian government has said the deal to normalise relations with Israel can only take effect once approved by a transitional legislative council that is yet to be formed.

27 Jan 2021; MEMO: Israel's top general said on Tuesday that its military was refreshing its operational plans against Iran and that any US return to a 2015 nuclear accord with Tehran would be "wrong, reports Reuters.

25 Jan 2021; MEMO: Israel will ban passenger flights in and out of the country from Monday evening for a week as it seeks to stop the spread of new coronavirus variants, Reuters reports.

"Other than rare exceptions, we are closing the sky hermetically to prevent the entry of the virus variants and also to ensure that we progress quickly with our vaccination campaign," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in public remarks at the start of a cabinet meeting.