Israel

YEHUD, Israel (AP) — An Israeli spacecraft crashed into the moon Thursday just moments before touchdown, failing in an ambitious attempt to make history as the first privately funded lunar landing.

The spacecraft lost communication with ground control during its final descent. Moments later, the mission was declared a failure.

“We definitely crashed on the surface of the moon,” said Opher Doron of Israel Aerospace Industries.

JERUSALEM, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main challenger, Benny Gantz, tied in the parliamentary elections on Wednesday morning after 97.4 percent of the votes were counted, official figures by Israeli Central Election Committee showed.

Both Netanyahu's Likud and Gantz's centrist party of Blue and White had 35 seats in the 120-seat parliament, or the Knesset, according to the figures.

San Francisco (AP) - Airbnb is rescinding its plan to bar listings in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

The home-sharing company announced in November that it would remove about 200 listings in the West Bank, which is territory claimed by Palestinians. Airbnb said Tuesday it will now allow properties in Israeli settlements to be listed, but will donate all of its profits from properties in the West Bank to humanitarian aid organizations.

9 Apr 2019; DW: Polls opened on Tuesday in Israel's parliamentary elections with more than 6 million people eligible to vote.

The election is billed as the toughest challenge yet for Prime Minister Benjaming Netanyahu, who has been rocked by corruption probes.

The latest:

7 Apr 2019; AFP: The main challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel's elections on Sunday condemned the premier's deeply controversial pledge to annex West Bank settlements, calling it an "irresponsible" bid for votes.

Netanyahu said late Saturday he planned to apply sovereignty over at least parts of the occupied West Bank, a move that could prove the death knell for the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

7 Apr 2019; DW: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that if he secured another term in office, he would move to annex Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

The remark came ahead of nationwide elections in Israel that will take place next week.

"I won't clear a single settlement. And I will naturally ensure that we control the area west of the Jordan River," Netanyahu said during an interview with Israeli television.

MOSCOW, April 4. /TASS/. Russia has transferred the remains of Israeli tank battalion soldier Zachary Baumel, who had been missing in action for 37 years after the Battle of Sultan Yacoub in Lebanon, over to Israel, the Russian Defense Ministry told reporters on Thursday.

"Today, in the Russian Defense Ministry the remains of the Israeli soldier were handed over to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with honors to be buried by his relatives in his homeland," the ministry said.

Jerusalem, Apr 3; PTI/GANASHAKTI:  A delegation led by Israel's National Security Adviser lost classified documents related to weapons deals with India but in a stroke of luck they were recovered, thanks to a restaurant waiter's presence of mind, a media report said on Wednesday.

National Security Adviser (NSA) Meir Ben Shabbat travelled with several members of the National Security Council (NSC) to India in January this year when he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval.

JERUSALEM (AP) — In a charged election campaign that has been heavy on insults and short on substance, Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians has been notably absent from the discourse.

JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli watchdog said Monday that it found a network of social media bots disseminating messages in support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of next week’s elections.

Noam Rotem and Yuval Adam, two researchers operating the Big Bots Project, said in a report that they uncovered hundreds of fake accounts spreading messages in support of Netanyahu’s Likud party and smearing his opponents.