Israel

16 Dec 2022; MEMO: Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday pledged that under his leadership "no one will go to prison for learning Torah", thus providing ultra-orthodox parties a army service waiver.

Netanyahu's pledge was made during talks with representatives of United Torah Judaism (UTJ) and Shas during discussions on the exemption of yeshiva students from military service.

14 Dec 2022; MEMO: Israeli decisions and policies regarding the Gaza Strip will remain under the control of the defence minister, the Israel Defence Forces confirmed yesterday.

According to Army Radio, Gaza policies will remain under the minister's control despite the appointment by Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu of far-right extremist Bezalel Smotrich MK as the new Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT).

13 Dec 2022; MEMO: About 27.8 per cent of Israeli households – 2,627,000 Israelis – live in poverty, a report published by Latet NGO revealed yesterday.

Latet, which is Israel's largest anti-poverty NGO, found that at least 1,176,000 of the poor are children, adding that a total of 830,000 households are reported to be in economic distress – 131,000 more families than before the Covid pandemic.

12 Dec 2022; MEMO: Israel's Attorney General is likely to oppose a bill that would give the incoming minister of national security unprecedented power over the police, it has been reported.

10 Dec 2022; MEMO: Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Friday granted Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu an additional ten days to complete the formation of the right-wing coalition government, Israeli media reported.

The Times of Israel reported that Herzog was concerned that the coalition assembled by Netanyahu would be the most right-wing in Israeli history.

10 Dec 2022; MEMO: Far-right Israel MK Moshe Gafni from the United Torah Judaism, who is to be part of the next Israeli government, asserted that half of Israelis should go into the army and the other half should study the Torah.

9 Dec 2022; MEMO: The incoming government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, is shaping up to be the "most extreme and crazy" in Israel's history, outgoing Prime Minister, Yair Lapid, warned on Friday, Anadolu News Agency reports.

"Netanyahu is weak and his partners are younger, more determined and more extreme than him, and have subdued him unconditionally," Lapid said on Twitter.

He vowed to continue "fighting for our beloved country, for our democracy, for our soldiers, for the future of our children."

10 Dec 2022; MEMO: Ambassadors of four European Union (EU) countries on Friday boycotted a tour to the Western Wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque led by Israeli Envoy to the US Gilad Erdan, Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported.

According to the Western Wall Heritage Fund, the activity was organised for a number of countries: "As part of an informational tour. The ambassadors of several countries toured the new route through the tunnels of the Western Wall."

08 Dec 2022; MEMO: It has become almost certain that the new Israeli Minister of Defence will be retired General Yoav Gallant.

Gallant was elected to the Knesset in 2015, within the Kulanu Party led by former Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, but he defected from it and joined the Likud Party led by former and future Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the eve of the 2019 Israeli elections.

09 Dec 2022; MEMO: Israel's incoming Finance Minister has said his economic strategy will be infused with religious beliefs laid out in the Torah, predicting that this would help the country prosper, Reuters reports.