Middle East

Palestinian movement Hamas said on Sunday that a visit by its delegation to Iran was a “rejection” of the Israeli conditions on reconciliation with rival faction Fatah. The two largest Palestinian groups have agreed a deal that is supposed to see Islamists Hamas hand over control of the Gaza Strip to the Fatah-dominated West Bank-based […]

Israeli police have arrested 15 suspected Jewish extremists following an undercover investigation into a group accused of tracking down and threatening Arab men dating Jewish women, authorities said Sunday. Israeli radio said that among those taken in for questioning was Benzi Gopstein, a prominent leader of the extreme-right group Lehava, but police would not confirm

The local planning and building committee in Jerusalem is set to approve construction of 176 housing units in the Nof Zion neighborhood, Channel 2 reported. Nof Zion is a Jewish neighborhood adjacent to the Jabal Mukaber neighborhood in eastern Jerusalem. Nof Zion currently has 91 apartments in 7 buildings. The approval of 176 additional housing

By TOI staff The Israeli army on Saturday launched a military strike on three Syrian-made artillery cannons across the border in the northern Golan Heights, hours after a pair of projectiles landed in an open field in Israeli territory as a result of spillover fire from the fighting in Syria. “Even if this is just

MK Tzipi Livni (Zionist Union) on Saturday slammed the Israeli government for approving new housing units in Judea and Samaria. “The settlements do not add to Israel’s security,” Livni said. “The State’s concept of security is based on soldiers protecting civilians, and not their protecting a family which goes to live on an isolated hilltop

[video:2034099] Border Police officers on Saturday night foiled an attempt to steal dozens of tons of produce from greenhouses in Shekef, a moshav (agricultural village) in south-central Israel. 67 illegal Palestinian Arab infiltrators, residents of the Palestinian Authority – 40 minors and 27 adults – are suspected of working for several hours to steal tons

[video:2034098] A 12-year-old boy from the Jewish community in Hevron was injured Saturday afternoon when an Arab hurled rocks at the victim and at two other Jewish children in Avraham’s Spring. The large rock caused a cut to the boy’s head, and he temporarily lost consciousness, falling into the spring. Miraculously, the boy survived the

Labor chief Avi Gabbay crossed party lines Thursday, issuing a pre-recorded video statement praising the settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria, calling it “the beautiful face of Zionism”. Earlier this week, Gabbay signaled his intention to moderate the Labor party”s position vis-à-vis Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria, disavowing plans to evacuate Jewish residents even

Israel has been promoting the idea that its ties with Arab countries are improving, and some experts say there are signs that shared concerns over Iran are indeed nudging them closer. Formal recognition of Israel by Arab states does not seem likely anytime soon, but behind-the-scenes cooperation has opened up in various areas, a number

Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee, on Wednesday blasted Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his coalition following Israel’s approval of new construction in Judea and Samaria. “In blatant disregard of the requirements for the two-state solution and the chances for peace and stability, Netanyahu and his extremist, racist coalition

A family digging in their garden in the Israeli village of Eilabun have unwittingly uncovered a complex of underground stables, hewn into the soft rock in Roman times 2,000 years ago. The entrance to the stables, which had remained hidden some nine feet below the ground, would previously have been at surface level. However, years