Middle East

By Dov Lieber Senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Khaled al-Batsh said Tuesday that the attack tunnel stretching from Gaza into Israeli territory that was blown up by the IDF the previous day had been built by his group for the purpose of kidnapping Israeli soldiers. “The purpose of the tunnel was kidnapping soldiers in order […]

By TOI staff As rumors swirled of his death, a Labor Party lawmaker was forced to clarify that he was not only alive and well but dancing at a bar mitzvah. After a message was widely shared by ultra-Orthodox journalists on the WhatsApp messaging app that Nachman Shai had died from cardiac arrest, Shai, who

By TOI staff A former worker at the Prime Minister’s Residence reportedly alleged she was threatened to drop an abuse lawsuit against Sara Netanyahu by an adviser to the prime minister. The NIS 225,000 ($64,000) lawsuit, which was filed by a 24-year-old ultra-Orthodox mother of three, who recently worked as a cleaner at the residence

The United States is commending Masoud Barzani’s decision to step down from his position as president of Iraq’s Kurdistan region. “President Barzani is a historic figure and courageous leader of his people, most recently in our common fight to destroy ISIS.” State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a statement Monday. “This decision represents an

Six Palestinians were killed Monday as Israel blew up what it said was a tunnel stretching from the Gaza Strip into its territory, a rare case of such an incident since a devastating 2014 war. Ashraf al-Qudra, spokesman for the Hamas-led Gazan health ministry, confirmed six men had been killed. One of the men came

By TOI staff Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has reportedly said that he will not appoint any Hamas officials to the Palestinian unity government that do publicly recognize the existence of Israel. According to the Haaretz daily, Abbas told a delegation of former Israeli lawmakers visiting his party’s Ramallah headquarters on Sunday that “the Americans

Coalition chairwoman David Bitan announced following a meeting with Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and MK Shuli Moalem-Rafaeli that the coalition would resume its normal functions. The coalition faced a potential crisis over disputes between the Likud and Jewish Home parties. At the meeting, it was agreed that the ‘French Law’ which would prevent the police

By TOI staff An Arab lawmaker from the Zionist Union faction said Monday that he would not be attending a Knesset ceremony next week marking the 100th year anniversary of the Balfour Declaration. “It is not out of defiance that I will not be attending the session,” Zoheir Bahlul told Channel 2. “This is simply