Israel

JERUSALEM, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Israel's foreign minister said on Thursday that a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia could be completed by early 2024.

"I think there is certainly a likelihood that in the first quarter of 2024 ... we will be able to be at a point where the details (of an agreement) are finalized," Eli Cohen told Israel's Army Radio.

On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud expressed hope for the normalization negotiations on separate occasions.

JERUSALEM, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Israel announced a plan to encourage the establishment of renewable energy generation and storage facilities in dense urban areas, the Israeli Electricity Authority said Thursday.

The plan will grant bonuses to companies, entrepreneurs, and property owners that set up such facilities in 70 selected dense urban areas.

ASA’EL, West Bank (AP) — With attention focused on its contentious judicial overhaul, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has quietly taken unprecedented steps toward cementing Israel’s control over the occupied West Bank — perhaps permanently.

123 September 2023; MEMO: The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today that he will not allow anyone to prevent reaching a settlement on the judicial reform.

12 September 2023; MEMO: The Israeli military acknowledged yesterday that occupation soldiers had mistakenly attacked and imprisoned three innocent Palestinians last month leaving them with life-altering injuries.

According to the Times of Israel, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) claimed that occupation soldiers fired at several Palestinians who were supposedly throwing makeshift explosives from a moving vehicle towards a nearby military post near the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.

JERUSALEM, Sept 12 (NNN-MA’AN) – An Israeli court sentenced yesterday, four border police officers to community service or imprisonment, after they were convicted of theft and assaults against Palestinian workers.

The Beersheba District Court in southern Israel, said in a statement that, the four officers confessed to committing armed robbery, severe assault, conspiracy to commit crimes, breach of trust, and destruction of evidence.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s Supreme Court on Tuesday opened the first case to look at the legality of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s contentious judicial overhaul — deepening a showdown with the far-right government that has bitterly divided the nation and put the country on the brink of a constitutional crisis.

JERUSALEM, Sept 11 (NNN-MA’AN) – The Israeli regime’s 12-month budget deficit, surged to 23.1 billion shekels (about 6 billion U.S. dollars), showed figures issued by the state’s Finance Ministry, yesterday.

The deficit rise was mainly due to a 4.3-percent decrease in tax collection, year on year, in the first eight months of 2023, and an increase of 9.4 percent in government spending.

JERUSALEM, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Israel will allocate more than 2,000 additional megawatts in the national electricity grid to connect renewable energy facilities, mainly solar ones, the country's Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure said in a statement on Sunday.

The decision will allow the state-owned Israel Electric Corporation to connect many high-scale renewable energy facilities, mainly in the north and south of Israel, thus promoting renewable energy production nationwide.

07 September 2023; MEMO: The Eritrean government has accused Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency of backing and organising the recent violent riots between rival Eritrean groups in Tel Aviv. The allegation comes as the Israeli government is reported to be trying to deport the rioters.