Middle East

The Defense Ministry”s Civil Administration issued 31 building permits Monday for a planned housing project in the Jewish community of Hevron, the first permits for new Israeli construction in the ancient city in decades. The Civil Administration”s licensing subcommittee issued the permits for a planned neighborhood dubbed the “Hezekiah quarter” of Hevron. Despite the issuing […]

Politicians, activists and social media users from around the world have offered sweeping condemnations of a powerful bomb blast that killed more than 200 people and wounded hundreds of others in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. The powerful explosion on Saturday afternoon struck a busy junction in Hodan, a bustling commercial district in the heart of the

The reconciliation agreement signed on Thursday in Cairo by rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas was leaked by the Hamas-linked website Palinfo. The agreement is meant to end 10 years of Palestinian division and begin a process of forming a unity government. Get The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition by email and never miss our

Noy Sheetrit’s conversion to Islam on the Temple Mount to accommodate her partner Alla Abu Sajir incensed the Israeli public and sparked an Internet storm. The Lehava anti-assimilation organization entered the picture in vigorous protest and led Noy to return to the fold of Judaism, at least temporarily. Today the two live together, but they

Zionist Union chairman Avi Gabbay declared on Saturday that he would not sit in the same coalition as the Arab Joint List party. “We will not sit with them, unequivocally. I do not see anything that connects us to them,” Gabbay said at a cultural event in Be’er Sheva. He added, however, that his party

Hagi Ben Artzi. (Jacob Magid/Times of Israel) BEIT El, West Bank — With an indictment against his sister looming over her misuse of public funds, the brother of Sara Netanyahu is not shying away from criticizing her and her prime minister husband over what is seen as their less-than-modest lifestyle. Sipping coffee in the West

Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) will demand Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu sever all ties with the Palestinian Authority (PA), Channel 2 reported. According to the report, Bennett will attend a Sunday meeting of the coalition party heads, and demand Netanyahu sever ties with the PA, and retroactively cancel all agreements with them. Among

Palestinian Authority (PA) figure Jibril Rajoub spoke to Channel 2’s “Meet the Israeli Press” program about the PA’s recent reconciliation agreement with Hamas. Part of the agreement includes the PA resuming full control of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip by December 1. “Hamas is part of the Palestinian nation, and we will continue the reconciliation process,”

The Greek Orthodox Church reportedly sold a Jerusalem neighborhood five years ago to an investment company abroad for some $3 million. Following revelations of the church’s land sales in Jerusalem, Caesarea, and Jaffa, the Haaretz newspaper reported Friday that it had seen three of the contracts between the church and private investment companies registered in