Israel

JERUSALEM, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Israel-Lebanon border on Tuesday, a day after a military escalation in the region.

The Israeli prime minister's office said he held a security assessment and briefing with Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff Aviv Kohavi and other senior officials at the military's Northern Command Headquarters.

28 July 2020; MEMO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son Yair posted an offensive picture of the Hindu goddess Durga to attack his father’s critics, reported the Times of Israel.

28 July 2020; MEMO: Israel has deployed Iron Dome air defence batteries along its northern border with Lebanon, local media revealed on Monday. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) apparently fear Hezbollah revenge attacks following an Israeli strike in Syria that killed a senior fighter with the Lebanese movement.

27 July 2020; MEMO: Israel did inform Hezbollah that the killing of one of the group’s fighters in Syria last week was a mistake, Lebanon’s Al-Mayadeen news channel reported on Saturday.

The message, which was transmitted between the parties by the United Nations, reportedly stated Israeli forces were unaware Hezbollah fighters were stationed in the area and warned against a response.

27 July 2020; MEMO: Israel’s Public Security Minister, Amir Ohana, warned on Sunday that violent clashes at demonstrations spreading across the country are likely to end in bloodshed, local media have reported.

“There is a feeling and high probability that it will end in bloodshed,” Ohana told public broadcaster Kan. “I am really worried by the hate in the air.”

27 July 2020; MEMO: Unprecedented unemployment and the resultant financial crisis is pushing many Israelis to sell sperm to local sperm banks, the Times of Israel reported on Saturday. Sperm banks have reported a 300 per cent increase in donations.

JERUSALEM (AP) — In attending his first-ever public protest, 34-year-old Nimrod Gross arrived with the only prop he felt reflected him — the blue-and-white Israeli flag.

The former combat soldier and current tour guide and after-school science teacher had seen his monthly income plunge to around $500 as a result of the harsh economic fallout from the coronavirus. A centrist who shuns politics, but with siblings who supported Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he sought a unifying symbol to express his despair.

26 July 2020; MEMO: The outgoing naval commander of Israeli Navy’s Haifa base claimed that Hezbollah has plans to attack Israel via sea, i24 News reports.

Brigadier General Gil Aginsky made the accusations in an interview with Israeli outlet Israel Hayom, citing tensions at the Israel-Lebanon border in the north of Israel, where Israel recently ran extensive military drills.

26 July 2020; MEMO: Israeli protest leaders calling for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s resignation announced their intention to petition the Supreme Court if water cannons are used against protesters, i24 News reported.

Protest movement leader and organiser Gonen Ben Yitzhak slammed the police for using the controversial control method, and said it was “far from harmless”

JERUSALEM, July 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Thousands of Israelis held several demonstrations across the country, against their prime minister yesterday, with the main protest taking place in Jerusalem, outside the official residence of Benjamin Netanyahu.

The protests have been going on for the past few weeks, sparked by what critics see as a government’s failure to handle the COVID-19 crisis, after initially keeping the threat of the virus at bay. Corruption charges against Netanyahu have further fuelled the demonstrations.