Israel

17 Nov 2022; MEMO: Senior officers and generals in the occupation army have expressed their concern about the possibility of the appointment of extremist Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionism Party, as minister of defence, because he lacks experience, knowledge, or authority to deal with the ministry.

17 Nov 2022; MEMO: The American administration of President Joe Biden has asked Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu not to appoint Religious Zionism leader Bezalel Smotrich as defence minister, Israeli media reported.

Netanyahu, the Times of Israel reported, told Smotrich that he would not be given the job in the next government, citing American concerns over the possible disruption to cooperation with Biden's administration. Instead, the post would be held by someone in Netanyahu's Likud Party.

AL-AROUB REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank (AP) — In two volatile spots in the occupied West Bank, Israel has installed robotic weapons that can fire tear gas, stun grenades and sponge-tipped bullets at Palestinian protesters.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s outgoing coalition has been the most diverse in the country’s history, bringing a slew of progressive policies on the environment, LGBTQ issues and funding for the country’s Arab minority.

But now, even before it takes office, Israel’s expected new coalition government — overwhelmingly male, religious and right-wing — is promising to roll back many of the achievements of its predecessor, prompting concern from activists and liberals over where their country is headed.

15 Nov 2022; MEMO: Far-right Israeli MK Itamar Ben-Gvir has made the introduction of the death penalty for Palestinians found guilty of killing Israelis a condition for his faction to join Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government, Quds Press reported on Monday.

15 Nov 2022; MEMO: The US Department of Justice has notified its Israeli counterpart that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has opened a criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the assassination of American/Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, Walla reported on Monday. Abu Akleh was shot and killed by an Israeli sniper as she covered a military incursion into the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on 11 May.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s outgoing coalition has been the most diverse in the country’s history, bringing a slew of progressive policies on the environment, LGBTQ issues and funding for the country’s Arab minority.

But now, even before it takes office, Israel’s expected new coalition government — overwhelmingly male, religious and right-wing — is promising to roll back many of the achievements of its predecessor, prompting concern from activists and liberals over where their country is headed.

12 Nov 2022; MEMO: The Israeli General Security Service Shin Bet admitted that it spied on journalists through a database collected from mobile phone companies. It also used this database in investigations into criminal incidents, not only in security investigations. This came in the Public Prosecution's response to a petition submitted by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) to the High Court.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Qatar may hope soccer fans ignore politics at the first World Cup in the Middle East. But Israel and Iran, foes locked in conflicts across the region, are bringing sensitive flashpoints to the tournament’s doorstep.

Israel is not competing, but it sees the massive spectacle as a way to further integrate into the Middle East after establishing ties with two of Qatar’s Gulf Arab neighbors. Thousands of Israeli tourists, long shunned, are expected to fly to the Qatari capital of Doha on unprecedented direct flights.

10 Nov 2022; MEMO: Israeli President Isaac Herzog has been caught on an open microphone saying that "the whole world is worried" about newly-elected lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir's extremism, the Times of Israel has reported. Herzog apparently believed that the mic had been switched off at the end of his meeting about the next government with an ultra-Orthodox party.