Middle East

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday Israel would reject any reconciliation deal between the two leading Palestinian factions unless the Iran-backed Islamist movement Hamas disarmed. “We are not prepared to accept bogus reconciliations in which the Palestinian side apparently reconciles at the expense of our existence,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “Whoever wants to

Days before tens of thousands of Israelis descend on the Sea of Galilee for the Sukkot holiday, the Water Authority warned that the freshwater lake is at dangerously low levels and expected to reach “the lowest level ever recorded.” Northern Israel is experiencing one of the worst droughts in 100 years, leaving the country’s water

Marking a first for Israel’s national intelligence agency, the Mossad has revealed that two women were recently appointed division heads, the highest position reached by women in the secretive government body. With the identities of the two withheld from publication for security reasons, Yedioth Aharonoth reported Sunday that “S” was appointed to the role of

A Palestinian accused of killing a senior Israeli policeman and wounding his wife and nine-year-old child was sentenced on Monday to two life terms in prison, the military announced. Ziad Awad, who appeared before a military court in the West Bank, was found guilty of intentionally causing the death of Baruch Mizrahi by shooting at

The Foreign Ministry said on Sunday it’s reviewing the travel ban imposed on Israeli nuclear secret-spiller Mordechai Vanunu after Norway granted him permission to immigrate so he can be united with his wife. “Israel will continue to review updates of the situation in order to determine appropriate restrictions in accordance with security dangers posed by

In a rare move, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman approved a plan to shut off the West Bank and Gaza Strip for 11 days for the Sukkot holiday and the following Shabbat, his office said Sunday. An IDF spokesperson confirmed that this was the current decision. However, she stressed that the closure was subject to further

A man entered Yeshivat Hanegev in Netivot on the eve of Yom Kippur as the Kol Nidrei prayer was underway – drunk and holding a pistol in his hand. The three hundred students at the institute for Jewish religious study began to flee the scene, and police were alerted. Eyewitnesses said the attacker wore a