Israel

JERUSALEM (AP) — In a summer of protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the accusations of corruption and calls for him to resign could be accompanied by another familiar refrain: “I’ve never done this before.”

10 Aug 2020; MEMO: The weekly meeting of the Israeli cabinet due to be held yesterday was cancelled over a row among government coalition partners, local media reported.

Ynet News said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party claims that coalition partners Blue and White refused to put the new coronavirus rescue package on the agenda, while the latter said the move is a mere political manoeuvre for Netanyahu to find a way to call for snap elections.

09 Aug 2020; MEMO: Thousands of Israelis rallied outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem on Saturday as anger mounted over corruption allegations and his handling of the coronavirus crisis, Reuters reports.

“Your time is up”, read the giant letters projected on to a building at the protest site, as demonstrators waved Israeli flags and called on Netanyahu to resign over what they say is his failure to protect jobs and businesses affected by the pandemic.

08 Aug 2020; MEMO: Israeli President Reuven Rivlin is planning to resign in order to compete with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the prime minister position, Israeli newspaper Maariv revealed on Friday.

Quds Net News Agency reported that Maariv cited Israeli inside sources confirming this plan.

The sources noted that there is substantial hope that Rivlin would achieve an overwhelming majority against the Likud Party.

08 Aug 2020; MEMO: Yedioth Ahronoth revealed on Friday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to form a new right-wing party.

08 Aug 2020; MEMO: A Palestinian child prisoner in an Israeli jail has tested positive for coronavirus, according to Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCI-P).

The 15-year-old from Al-Jalazoun Refugee Camp in the West Bank city of Ramallah was detained less than two weeks ago and taken to Shikma Prison in Ashkelon, southern Israel, for interrogation, according to Iyad Misk, an attorney with the rights group.

JERUSALEM, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Israel's military said on Thursday that it carried out airstrikes in the Gaza Strip in response to the launch of balloons carrying incendiary devices from the Palestinian enclave.

An Israeli military spokesperson said in a statement that a fighter jet and an aircraft struck an infrastructure in northern Gaza Strip used for "underground activities" by Hamas, the Islamist Palestinian movement that runs Gaza.

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — It began as a lighthearted conversation between two Jewish comedians, riffing on a podcast about the idiosyncrasies of their shared heritage. But after talk turned to Israel, it didn’t take long for Marc Maron and Seth Rogen to spark an uproar.

Their comments about Israel — especially Rogen saying the country “doesn’t make sense” — infuriated many Israel supporters and highlighted the country’s tenuous relationship with young, progressive Jewish critics in the diaspora.

06 Aug 2020; MEMO: Former Israeli Member of the Knesset Moshe Feiglin gleefully hailed yesterday’s devastating explosion in Beirut as a “gift” from God in time for the Jewish festival Tu B’Av.

04 Aug 2020; MEMO: The world’s largest plane landed in Tel Aviv airport yesterday, carrying a cargo of US military trucks to be loaded with an Israeli air defence system.

The massive Antonov An-225 carrying ‘OshKosh’ trucks were fitted with Iron Dome missile defence system batteries before leaving Israel.

The Unit for International Transport of the Directorate of Production and Procurement in the Israeli Ministry of Defence was involved in bringing the Antonov plane to Israel, the ministry announced.