Israel

As Israel’s Netanyahu returns to office, troubles lie ahead

JERUSALEM (AP) — After five elections that have paralyzed Israeli politics for nearly four years, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has finally returned to power with the government he has long coveted: a parliamentary majority of religious and far-right lawmakers who share his hard-line views toward the Palestinians and hostility toward Israel’s legal system.

Israel swears in Netanyahu as PM of hard-line government

JERUSALEM (AP) — Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn into office Thursday, taking the helm of the most right-wing and religiously conservative government in Israel’s history and vowing to enact policies that could cause domestic and regional turmoil and alienate the country’s closest allies.

Netanyahu took the oath of office moments after parliament passed a vote of confidence in his new government. His return marks his sixth term in office, continuing his more than decade-long dominance over Israeli politics.

Israel prepared to strike Iran nuclear targets; Army chief

28 Dec 2022; MEMO: The Israeli Army Chief of Staff, Aviv Kochavi, said yesterday that his forces had improved their readiness to strike Iranian nuclear targets.

Speaking at Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies, Kochavi said: "The level of preparedness for an operation in Iran has dramatically improved."

"If the army is ordered to act against the Iranian nuclear program, it will accomplish the mission assigned to it," he added.

Israel's Knesset passes law to expand Ben-Gvir's powers over police

28 Dec 2022; MEMO: The Knesset (Israel's parliament) on Wednesday passed into law a bill that expands the authority of incoming National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir over the police force.

Sixty-one lawmakers voted in favor of the law against 55 in its third and final reading.

The bill stipulates that the police will be subject to the authority of the government and subordinated to the public security minister.

Daughter of executed Israel spy calls on UAE to help return body from Syria

29 Dec 2022; MEMO: The daughter of an executed Israeli spy has requested help from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to return his body from Syria.

In an interview with the i24NEWS Arabic outlet, Sophie Ben-Dor, the daughter of Israeli Mossad agent Eli Cohen, called on the UAE and its ambassador in Israel to help in the return of Cohen's body, almost six decades after his execution at the hands of Syrian authorities in May 1965 on espionage charges.

Israel Netanyahu government: West Bank settlements top priority

JERUSALEM (AP) — Benjamin Netanyahu’s incoming hard-line government put West Bank settlement expansion at the top of its list of priorities on Wednesday, vowing to legalize dozens of illegally built outposts and annex the occupied territory as part of its coalition deal with its ultranational allies.

The coalition agreements, released a day before the government is to be sworn into office, also included language endorsing discrimination against LGBTQ people on religious grounds, as well as generous stipends for ultra-Orthodox men who prefer to study instead of work.

Iran not biggest threat to Israel: Military intelligence

27 Dec 2022; MEMO: Israel's military intelligence does not consider Iran the number one threat to the country anymore, media reports said Monday.

Global challenges are the most important threats the country will face in 2023, according to the Hayom newspaper that said Iran is regarded as the second most serious threat.

Iran is not the focal point but a part of an inter-connected puzzle, said the intelligence report cited by the newspaper.

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