Israel

08 July 2020; MEMO: Israeli politician Avigdor Lieberman on Monday accused Mossad Chief, Yossi Cohen, of leaking to the press details of Tel Aviv’s alleged attack on an Iranian nuclear facility last week.

08 July 2020; MEMO: A Palestinian detainee held in Israel jails has died of “medical negligence”, a local NGO said on Monday.

Saadi Al-Gharably, 75, died at Assaf Harofeh medical center after his health deteriorated, the Handala Center for Detainees and Ex-detainees said in a statement.

Al-Gharabli, from the Gaza strip, was arrested by Israeli forces in 1994 and held in solitary confinement until 2006, during that time he was sentenced to life in prison.

07 July 2020; MEMO: Defence Minister Benny Gantz said on Monday that Israel wants to get its soldiers back from Gaza, Al-Watan Voice has reported. Gantz added that “tranquillity” should also be re-established.

Commenting on the alleged launch of homemade rockets from Gaza on Sunday night, Gantz said that these are Israel’s “two missions” in the occupied Palestinian territory. “If this does not happen, we will respond strongly,” Gantz explained. “We will not allow the violation of our sovereignty.”

07 July 2020; MEMO: Israel’s annexation of parts of the occupied Palestinian West Bank “is not on the agenda for today or tomorrow,” Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi told KAN Bet on Monday.

Ashkenazi said that he did not know whether the annexation was cancelled forever, but pointed out: “I can say that the Foreign Ministry is preparing diplomatic assessments and the Defence Ministry is preparing security assessments. It has deep ramifications.”

JERUSALEM, July 7 (NNN-MA’AN) – Israeli Foreign Minister, Gabi Ashkenazi, said, the annexation of the occupied West Bank is currently not on the government’s agenda.

“It is not on the agenda for today or tomorrow,” Ashkenazi told Kan Bet Radio, days after Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu’s target-date on July 1 for the beginning of controversial plan had slipped by.

Asked if the annexation plan has been cancelled entirely, Ashkenazi said, “I don’t know.”

06 July 2020; MEMO: Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi yesterday warned that annexation might cause Israel’s relations with Jordan and the European Union to deteriorate, Arab48 reported.

According to the website, the EU has discussed punishing action against Israel if it goes ahead with annexation, noting that the punishment could include a halt of foreign ministers’ visits to Israel, halt in dispatching students and cancelling scientific scholarships in Israel.

JERUSALEM, July 6 (NNN-MA’AN) – Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Sunday that, Israel is “in an emergency situation” over a rapid resurgence of the COVID-19 across the country.

“This outbreak will see an increase and a doubling of the number of severe cases,” he told his weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, adding, the surge “poses a challenge for Israel and our health system.”

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s Defense Ministry announced the successful launch of a new spy satellite early on Monday.

It said the “Ofek 16” reconnaissance satellite was launched at 4 a.m. from central Israel into space. It described the Ofek as an “electro-optical reconnaissance satellite with advanced capabilities.”

Shortly after the launch, it said the Ofek already was transmitting data and beginning to orbit around the Earth. It said engineers from the ministry and state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries were conducting tests before it begins full operational activities.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel’s defence minister said on Sunday it is not “necessarily” behind every mysterious incident in Iran, after a fire at the Natanz nuclear site prompted some Iranian officials to say it was the result of cyber sabotage.

Israel, widely believed to be the region’s only nuclear power, has pledged never to allow Iran to obtain atomic weapons, saying Tehran advocates its destruction. Iran denies ever seeking nuclear arms and says its atomic programme is peaceful.

JERUSALEM (AP) — As scandal-plagued Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands trial for corruption, his 28-year-old son has emerged as a driving force in a counterattack against critics and the state institutions prosecuting the longtime Israeli leader.

A favorite of the prime minister’s nationalistic base and far right leaders around the world, Yair Netanyahu has become a fixture in the news, clashing with journalists on social media, threatening lawsuits against his father’s adversaries and posting online content deemed so offensive that Facebook briefly suspended his account.