Israel

JERUSALEM, Mar 19 (NNN-MA’AN) – Israeli Speaker, Yuli Edelstein, adjourned all parliamentary sessions, in a move that enraged the opposition, amid a political stalemate.

Edelstein and a lawmaker with Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, opened the plenum session and then announced that all parliamentary meetings will be halted “until further notice.”

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank surged ahead in 2019, a watchdog group said in a report Tuesday, maintaining a rapid pace that has drawn strength from the friendly policies of the Trump administration.

Peace Now, a monitoring group that opposes the settlements, said that Israel’s average annual construction rate has risen 25% since President Donald Trump took office in 2017.

18 Mar 2020; MEMO: Palestinian prisoners have today rejected their meals in protest against the Israeli Prison Service’s plans to stop supplying 140 products, including cleaning products, from the canteen and halt medical visits for detainees.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel’s biggest bank, Hapoalim, (POLI.TA) said on Wednesday it expects to pay $870 million to settle a U.S. tax evasion investigation.

The bank said in a regulatory filing it will increase its provision for the tax probe in the fourth quarter to $259 million, in addition to $611 million it had already set aside.

For several years, U.S. authorities, including the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the New York Department of Financial Services, have been investigating accusations that the Israeli bank helped U.S. clients evade taxes.

Confirmed coronavirus cases in Israel have jumped by 40 percent to 427 in the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday, predicting a steeper rise as mass-testing is implemented, reports Reuters.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel invoked emergency regulations on Tuesday to deploy cyber monitoring in the battle against the coronavirus, saying halting its spread outweighed concerns about the invasion of privacy.

The move will provide the government with cellular data to retrace the movements of people infected by the virus and locate and alert those who had been in their vicinity.

JERUSALEM, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Ben Gurion University (BGU) in southern Israel announced Monday the initiation of a consortium, led by BGU and Northwestern University in the U.S. state of Illinois, for the development of new technologies to solve global water challenges.

The multi-institutional international program, called the Collaborative Water-Energy Research Center, has a total budget of 21.4 million U.S. dollars.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli opposition leader Benny Gantz will be given the first opportunity to form a new government after an inconclusive national election this month, the country’s president said Sunday, raising questions about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political future.

The decision by President Reuven Rivlin was announced by his office after he consulted with leaders of all of the parties elected to parliament. He will formally designate Gantz with the task on Monday and give him a month to cobble together a governing coalition.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel plans to use anti-terrorism tracking technology and a partial shutdown of its economy to minimise the risk of coronavirus transmission, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday.

Cyber tech monitoring would be deployed to locate people who have been in contact with those carrying the virus, subject to cabinet approval, Netanyahu told a news conference in Jerusalem.

JERUSALEM (AP) — A Jerusalem district court announced on Sunday that it was postponing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s criminal trial for two months because of restrictions arising from the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Netanyahu was scheduled to appear in court Tuesday to face charges of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in connection to a series of scandals.

But following the emergency health measures the government enacted restricting the gathering of people in public places, the court announced that it was pushing back the hearing until May 24.