Israel

02 July 2023; MEMO: Israel has approved the purchase of a third squadron of F-35 stealth fighter jets in a deal worth $3 billion, the Ministry of Defense said on Sunday, reports Reuters.

The additional 25 aircraft manufactured by Lockheed Martin LMT.N will bring the number of F-35s in Israel's air force to 75, the ministry said, adding that the deal will be financed through the defense aid package Israel receives from the United States.

03 July 2023; MEMO: Hundreds of former members of the Israeli General Security Service (Shin Bet) yesterday accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of promoting the "conspiracy theory" that spread following the assassination of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, in his autobiography, and supporting the theory that the Shin Bet is responsible for inciting extreme right-wing elements which paved the way for the assassination.

03 July 2023; MEMO: Israel Police has received a request from the French police to help them deal with the protests that have swept the country since police shot and killed a 17-year-old French-Algerian boy at point blank range last week.

Deputy head of the Operations Division of the Israeli police, Shimon Nahmani, announced the request during a hearing of the National Security Committee in the Israeli Knesset.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli drones struck targets in a militant stronghold in the occupied West Bank early Monday and hundreds of troops were deployed in the area, an incursion that resembled the wide-scale military operations carried out during the second Palestinian uprising two decades ago. Palestinian health officials said at least five Palestinians were killed.

JERUSALEM, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Israel has approved the purchase of 25 new F-35 stealth fighter jets from the United States, the Defense Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

The ministry stated that the deal is valued at about 3 billion U.S. dollars, which will be financed through the U.S. defense aid package received by Israel.

01 July 2023; MEMO: Israel is not nearing an attack on Iran's nuclear sites, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's national security adviser said on Friday, as talks between Tehran and Washington have sought to cool tensions, Reuters reports.

Tzachi Hanegbi said it was still unclear what will come of talks Israel's main ally the United States has held with Iran in recent weeks in an effort to outline steps that could limit Teheran's nuclear program and de-escalate tensions.

02 July 2023; MEMO: The Israeli army said late Saturday it spotted an anti-aircraft missile launched from Syria toward its territory, reports Anadolu Agency.

"The missile appears to have exploded in the air," it said in a statement that indicated the details of the incident are currently under investigation.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military radio reported that fragments of missile that is believed to have exploded in the air, fell in the southern Israeli city of Rahat.

JERUSALEM, Jun 29 (NNN-MA’AN) – Israeli researchers found in a study that, adequate iodine intake during pregnancy may reduce the risk of oversized newborns, the Barzilai Medical Centre in southern Israel said, in a statement yesterday.

Previous studies showed, newborns with a large body size are at an increased risk of hyperglycemia, birth trauma, cesarean delivery, bone fracture, and in extreme cases death.

Meanwhile, having a large infant also increases a mother’s risk of postpartum hemorrhage, or excessive bleeding at birth.

28 June 2023; MEMO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday he informed members of the US House of Representatives of his planned visit to China, Anadolu Agency reports.

"The projected visit will be Prime Minister Netanyahu's fourth visit to China; the American administration was updated one month ago," his office said in a statement.

It did not, however, specify a date for the trip.

JERUSALEM, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of Israelis staged a fiery rally outside Justice Minister Yariv Levin's home on Tuesday, joining protesters nationwide in their opposition against the government's contentious judicial overhaul plan, which resumed earlier this week.

In a statement, the police said that the protesters torched tires and used them to block the traffic around the home of Levin, the architect of the controversial legislation that aims to strip the Supreme Court of much of its power.