Israel

19 Nov 2020; MEMO: An Israeli Jewish organisation has sent a letter to UAE Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Zayed calling on him to recognise the Jewish right to pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque, Quds Press reported yesterday.

The letter, which was published by the Hebrew news website Makor Rishon, was signed by a number of Jewish groups, including the Middle East Forum – Israel.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel and Bahrain will open embassies soon, their foreign ministers said on Wednesday, as the two countries look to broaden cooperation that Washington has promoted as an anti-Iran alliance and potential economic bonanza.

On a first official visit by Bahraini officials to Israel, the Gulf kingdom’s foreign minister, Abdullatif Al-Zayani, said his Israeli counterpart, Gabi Asshkenazi, would visit Manama in December.

18 Nov 2020; MEMO: Israel said it launched airstrikes against Syrian army and Iranian Quds Force targets in Syria on Wednesday after explosive devices were planted in the Israeli-held Golan Heights.

The Syrian state news agency reported that three military personnel were killed and one was wounded in "Israeli aggression".

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli warplanes struck Iran-linked targets in Syria overnight after troops uncovered roadside bombs along the frontier in the Golan Heights, the Israeli military said Wednesday. Syrian state-media said the strikes killed three Syrian soldiers.

A Syrian war monitoring group said the strikes killed 10, including the three Syrian soldiers and at least five Iranians. The report could not be independently verified and there was no immediate comment from Iran.

JERUSALEM (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s expected tour of a West Bank winery this week will be the first time a top American diplomat has visited an Israeli settlement, a parting gift from an administration that has taken unprecedented steps to support Israel’s claims to war-won territory.

Israel cast a wider net on Monday in its quest to secure a vaccine for COVID-19, approaching Russia to discuss buying its Sputnik V vaccine, Reuters reports.

"About an hour ago I spoke with Russian President Vladmir Putin regarding the possibility of purchasing an option on the vaccine Sputnik-V," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters. "We will discuss this in the coming days."

16 Nov 2020; MEMO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was heard calling his right-wing rival Naftali Bennett "little dog" in recordings dating back to 2018, local media revealed on Saturday.

The recording was aired by Israeli TV Channel 13, which said it would air more recordings today.

JERUSALEM (AP) — A settlement watchdog group said Sunday Israel is moving ahead with new construction of hundreds of homes in a strategic east Jerusalem settlement that threatens to cut off parts of the city claimed by Palestinians from the West Bank.

The group, Peace Now, said the Israel Land Authority announced on its website Sunday that it had opened up tenders for more than 1,200 new homes in the key settlement of Givat Hamatos in east Jerusalem.

14 Nov 2020; MEMO: Israel, Greece and Greek Cyprus agreed on Thursday to reinforce military cooperation amongst one another, Israeli media and news agencies reported.

Defence ministers from the three countries confirmed that the agreement would keep their armed forces better prepared, as well as creating more jobs for their citizens and improving security in the region.

JERUSALEM (AP) — When the United Arab Emirates agreed to normalize relations with Israel, the Palestinians decried the move as a “betrayal” of both Jerusalem, where they hope to establish the capital of their future state, and the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, the city’s holiest Muslim site.

But with Israel now courting wealthy Gulf tourists and establishing new air links to the major travel hubs of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Palestinians in east Jerusalem could soon see a tourism boon after months in which the coronavirus transformed the Holy City into a ghost town.