Category: News

A UN report leaked over the weekend claims that the Klos C weapons ship seized by Israel earlier this year indeed came from Iran, as Israel claimed – but that its weapons were destined for Sudan, not Gaza. The report did not specify why the special UN panel investigating the matter concluded that the weapons…

Israel is “ready” to expand its operations in Gaza, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu warned Sunday after the air force struck 12 targets overnight following a surge in terrorist rocket fire. Speaking to ministers at the weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said the almost-nightly military strikes on Gaza could be expanded should the need arise. His remarks…

As more and more world leaders are becoming frustrated over the unchecked growth of radical Islam in the UK, the Obama administration has taken the unusual action of sending intelligence agents to Britain to take matters into their own hands and evaluate the threat posed to the west from UK-based extremists, according to the Daily Mail.…

The government on Sunday authorized issuing an additional 500 work permits for Jordanian citizens to work in hotels in Eilat. The 500 would join about 1,000 workers who are already employed in Israeli hotels in the southern resort city. The increase is subject to approval by the Finance Ministry. Eilat hotel owners and managers have…

Students at the Amit Strauss Technological high school in Kfar Batya, outside Raanana, recently held a major science fair, with hundreds of visitors from the town. Among the projects – a life-size simulation of the spacecraft the SpaceIL organization plans to send up into space next year. The SpaceIL craft, being built as Israel’s entry…

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) expressed sharp criticism against the European Union on Sunday, following a wave of directives from France, Italy, and Spain advising citizens abroad to prevent conducting business in Judea and Samaria. “At a period when Israel is confronting heightened threats from Hamas and other terrorist elements, the search for the abducted Israeli teens, ongoing…

The United States has started flying armed drones over Baghdad to protect U.S. civilians and military forces in the Iraqi capital, a Pentagon official said Friday, according to The Associated Press (AP). A handful of Predators armed with Hellfire missiles are being used for the mission, the senior defense official said on condition of anonymity…

Saudi Arabia on Thursday threatened to expel non-Muslim foreigners who eat, drink or smoke in public during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins this weekend, AFP reports. The interior ministry urged non-Muslims to “respect the feelings of Muslims by refraining from eating, drinking or smoking in public places, streets and at work.” “They…

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) on Friday executed and crucified one of its own men for corruption in Syria, a watchdog and jihadist sites said, according to AFP. Photographs posted on websites showed the body and bloodied head of a bearded man with a placard reading: “Guilty: Abu Adnan al-Anadali. Sentence:…

In the wake of the violent clashes that broke out during a protest by Israeli Arabs in north-central Israel, Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch (Yisrael Beytenu) warned on Friday evening that there has been a radicalization among the Israeli Arab public. “These are serious statements attesting to radicalization,” said Aharonovitch, after the protesters who gathered…

The United Nations’ human rights office on Friday urged Israel and its adversaries to “exercise restraint” amid the IDF’s Operation Brother’s Keeper to search for three Israeli teenagers who were kidnapped by Hamas. “Clearly these boys need to be found, that’s totally understandable, but the scale of operations and the number of people they are…

The Iron Dome anti-missile defense system on Friday evening intercepted two rockets that were fired from Gaza towards the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council in southern Israel. The attack on Hof Ashkelon followed a barrage of three rockets that were fired by Gaza terrorists and exploded in the Eshkol Regional Council. All three rockets hit open…

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry confirmed on Friday that special Middle East envoy Martin Indyk has tendered his resignation. In a statement, Kerry said that Indyk would return to his position as vice president and director of foreign policy at The Brookings Institution think-tank in Washington but would continue to serve as special adviser…

A demonstration by Israeli Arabs against the IDF operation to locate three kidnapped Israeli teenagers turned violent on Friday afternoon, as five people were injured. The protesters, who gathered in the Wadi Ara region in north-central Israel, waved Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) flags and blocked roads, while calling for the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers and…

The United State’s special Middle East envoy Martin Indyk has tendered his resignation, after failing to broker a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Indyk will continue to serve as an external adviser on the “Israeli-Palestinian peace process” to the Obama administration, but will return to his former position at the Brookings Institute,…

The owner of a club on Jerusalem’s popular shopping street, Yafo Street, and an another man were poisoned on Friday morning. Firefighting crews were called to the scene on the main street of the capital city, responding to reports that the two had lost consciousness. A search of the environs revealed a high concentration of…

Over three months have passed since Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared over the Indian Ocean, setting off an international search effort and raising serious concerns over air safety around the world. But on Thursday, an official report from the Australian Transport Safety Board (ATSB) theorized it was a lack of cabin pressure, not the work…

An explosive was detonated on Friday morning on the security barrier right by Kibbutz Nirim, located in the Eshkol Regional Council just outside of the Hamas-enclave of Gaza. The blast went off as an IDF patrol passed through the area, in what apparently was a targeted attack. IDF reports that no soldiers were injured, although…

Five more Hezbollah fighters were killed fighting in Syria, according to a statement by the Shia terrorist group Friday. Lebanon’s Yalibnan said four of the men were identified as Hassan Adnan Al Hammadi, Mohammad Qasim Sulaiman, Sajid Hisham Hamad and Fadi Abdallah Masarrah. The fifth casualty was not identified. The Iranian-backed Hezbollah has come under considerable strain;…

An Israeli air strike targeting a car in the Gaza Strip killed two terrorists Friday, medics said, hours after a bomb exploded near troops manning Israel’s security fence. Gazan medical sources said the raids struck near the home of Ismail Haniya, former Hamas “prime minister” who stepped down June 2 when the PA and Hamas…

Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon met Friday afternoon with the parents of the three kidnapped teens Eyal Yifrah, Gilad Sha’ar and Naftali Frenkel at his Tel Aviv office, to update them on progress in the hunt for their children. Yaalon was joined by IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz and head of the Israel Security Agency…

Both Spain and Italy published advisories on Friday warning their citizens against doing business with “settlements,” just days after a similar advisory was published in the French-language section of the French Foreign Ministry website.  The advisories warned against business in Judea, Samaria, the Golan Heights and Jerusalem, all areas liberated from Jordanian and Syrian occupation in…

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said on Thursday he was willing to resume peace negotiations with Israel. Abbas, who spoke at a ceremony at the Russian Diplomatic Academy in Moscow where he received an honorary degree, once again placed preconditions on the resumption of talks. According to a statement that was published on the…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday warned against the impending nuclear deal between Iran and the West. Speaking at the at the Israel Air Force pilots’ course graduation ceremony, Netanyahu compared the Iran agreement with the project in Syria to remove its chemical arsenal. “Above all, we have to prevent the forces of radical Islam…

The Obama administration has proposed a $500 million program to train and equip the moderate opposition fighting in Syria, officials said Thursday, according to The Wall Street Journal. The increased spending is part of the administration’s annual request for supplemental funding for the Afghan war and other overseas operations, the report said. Current U.S. training…

Germany on Wednesday extradited a man suspected to have joined Islamic terrorists in war-torn Syria to his native France, AFP reported. The 30-year-old, who was wounded in Syria, had been detained 10 days earlier at Berlin’s Tegel airport where he had arrived from Istanbul. The suspect, who also allegedly took part in a militant video…

At least 21 people were killed on Wednesday when a suspected bomb tore through a crowded shopping district in the Nigerian capital Abuja during rush hour, according to Reuters. It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the blast and no one claimed responsibility. However, the Boko Haram terrorist group has increasingly targeted civilians…

A pilot who refused to fly his scheduled United Airlines flight to Israel was arrested – with 300 passengers stuck on the plane for hours while airline officials scrambled to find another pilot. The United Airlines flight from Newark to Tel Aviv was set to leave early in the week. Usually a non-stop flight, passengers…

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Saudi Arabia on Friday for talks with King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz about the crisis in Iraq, AFP reports. Speaking on the sidelines of talks at NATO on Wednesday, Kerry announced the extra stop on his current tour, saying he would stress “the great urgency” of…

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Wednesday rejected the apology from British actor Gary Oldman, which he had sent to the ADL after remarks he made against Jews were exposed. In an interview with Playboy magazine, Oldman had defended controversial remarks about Jews made by actor Mel Gibson, claiming that “we’ve all said those things”. “He…

A woman and three children were killed Thursday in a crash between a bus and a private car on Highway 784 between Hanaton and Kafr Manda in the lower Galilee. The woman is the mother of two of the children, and the third child is reportedly a relative. A Magen David Adom (MDA) helicopter and…

After a long renovation process two Jewish sites have undergone a comprehensive restoration and renovation process in the last years, as part of the “Ten stars” project launched by the Czech Ministry of Culture. As part of the project, aimed to revive the Jewish heritage of the Czech Republic, ten Jewish heritage sites will be renovated…

The IDF said Thursday evening that it has held discussions on toughening the conditions of terrorists who were re-arrested in recent days, who had been released in the deal to free Gilad Shalit three years ago. According to the deal, Israel agreed not to re-arrest the released terrorists if they did not engage in terror…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday said that, with the IDF announcement of the identities of two Hamas terrorists behind the kidnappings of three Israeli teens, he expected Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to officially break his unity agreement with Hamas. “We said all along that it was Hamas that was behind the kidnappings,…

Sweden launched an investigation against Israel on Thursday, over the IDF’s defense of its legal maritime blockade on the terrorist group Hamas’s enclave of Gaza in 2010 and 2012. The 2010 incident was the Mavi Marmara flotilla’s attempted breach of the maritime blockade; in 2012 the Estelle, a ship bearing a Finnish flag, was stopped…

The IDF’s elite special forces Duvdevan unit, with aid from General Security Services forces, arrested a Hamas terrorist on Wednesday in Bethlehem, Judea. An IDF source said Thursday evening that the terrorist was involved in the shooting attack last Sunday near Har Gilo, located just south of Jerusalem and to the north of Bethlehem. The terrorist…

The IDF on Thursday evening authorized for publication the identities of two Hamas terrorists being hunted for being “deeply involved” in the kidnappings of Israeli teens Eyal Yifrah (19), Naftali Frenkel (16), and Gilad Sha’ar (16). The two, Marwan Kawasmeh and Amar Abu-Eisha, are well-known Hamas terrorists operating in the Hevron area. Security forces are…

Outgoing President Shimon Peres received the Congressional Gold Medal on Thursday at the US Congress, in his farewell appearance as he steps down from his post next month. The gold medal, which features a portrait of Peres, has engraved on it a quote by the president reading: “you are as great as the cause you…

The large brushfire near Jerusalem’s Ein Kerem neighborhood has been contained, firefighters stated Wednesday night, but stated that firefighting would continue well overnight.  “Much of the fire has been contained, and there are very few flashpoints left,” Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino told Walla! News Wednesday. “There were several times over the past few hours where it looked…

Operation Brother’s Keeper will continue at full force, the Security Cabinet declared Wednesday night, less than 24 hours after it announced that the search for three yeshiva students kidnapped by Hamas would be scaled down out of concerns for both Ramadan and Israel’s international standing.  The decision, a stunning about-face, surfaces just hours after the…

Iraqi officials accused Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces of taking advantage of the crisis near Baghdad Wednesday, saying that Syrian warplanes struck several border areas in Anbar province Tuesday.  At least 57 Iraqi civilians were killed and 120 wounded in the attacks, local officials told CNN, in cities controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and…

Palestinian Authority (PA) officials have successfully pulled off a scheme designed to dupe the US into continuing to give aid to the Hamas-Fatah Unity government – all because of a simple name change.  According to one report earlier this month, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) – the terror group behind the PA and Fatah –…

A group of American victims of terror and family members of those who have been injured or killed in attacks sponsored by the Islamic Republic of Iran (Iran) have moved to attach and seize the internet licenses, contractual rights and domain names being provided by the United States to the extremist regime in Tehran.  The…

Dear women, I come to you today as a woman to woman, mother to mother, from the bottom of my heart.  Day after day and with a breaking heart, I want to see Gilad alive and at home. I may be heartbroken, but I am not broken.  I want to share with you that in…

The IDF will be holding a drill in the Gaza Belt, as the region of communities surrounding Gaza is known, on Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. As part of the drill, there is to be heavy traffic by security vehicles and aircraft, and the sounds of explosions will likely be heard, reports Walla!. The public is…

Gary Oldman has apologized for defending controversial remarks about Jews and gays made by fellow actors Mel Gibson and Alec Baldwin. “I am deeply remorseful that comments I recently made in the Playboy interview were offensive to many Jewish people,” Oldman wrote in an open letter to the Anti-Defamation League late on Tuesday. “Upon reading my…

The United States on Tuesday expressed its support for Israel in the wake of its airstrikes on Syria Sunday night. Deputy State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters, “We support Israel’s legitimate right to self-defense in response to unprovoked assaults” adding that “we, of course, believe that countries have the right to defend themselves.” “Recent…

A large brushfire has spread Wednesday afternoon near Jerusalem’s Ein Kerem neighborhood.  Fire Department spokesman Yoram Levy told Arutz Sheva that the department has yet to contain the fire as of 4:30 pm Wednesday.  Twenty firefighters and six firefighting planes are at the scene.  Residents of Blumenfeld, Levin, and Hanetka streets have been asked to evacuate…

An Egyptian court has sentenced a Coptic Christian man to six years in jail for “insulting Islam” and stirring up sectarian strife in his village, his lawyer told AFP on Wednesday. Egypt’s constitution outlaws insults against the three monotheist religions recognized by the state – Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Kirollos Shawki, 29, was convicted Tuesday…

Former Arkansas governor and GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee visited the town of Tzufim in Samaria Wednesday, for a tour on life in Judea and Samaria (Shomron).  Chairman of the Samaria Regional Council Gershon Mesika briefed Huckabee on a survey of Jewish communities in Samaria, as well as plans for the future.  Afterwards, Huckabee expressed…

Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor on Thursday released a report, revealing how anti-Semitic hatred fueled the Presbyterian Church USA’s vote last Friday to join the boycott against Israel. The decision by the Church to divest from three companies that provide supplies to Israeli security forces and Jews living in Judea and Samaria was led in part by the…

Economics Minister and Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett announced Wednesday that he intends to lead an effort to stop Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) from continuing the policy of payment of generous monthly salaries to convicted terrorists jailed in Israeli prisons. “Did you murder Jews? Have you abducted children? Get up to 12,000…

Terrorists from the Boko Haram Islamist group in Nigeria have kidnapped more than 60 more women and girls in the northeast of the country, just months after abducting hundreds of schoolgirls in the same area. One of the leaders of a local vigilante group set up to counter Boko Haram’s rampage said the abductions took place…

Two rockets were fired back-to-back by terrorists in Gaza on Tuesday evening, only to be shot down by the Iron Dome anti-missile defense system. A later rocket landed in a local community, but did not cause any damage. “Color Red” missile warning sirens were sounded twice in the Ashkelon Coast Regional Council after the rockets…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday evening addressed participants at a Taglit-Birthright event in Caesarea, calling on them to “tell the truth” about Israel in their home countries. Netanyahu also vowed that Israel will not rest until it finds the three teenagers that were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists. “We have three teenagers, they’re probably more…

An elevated network of hover cars is to be built in Tel Aviv, the BBC reports. A 500m loop will be built on the campus of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) followed by a commercial network, according to skyTran, the company that will build it. Two-person vehicles will be suspended from elevated magnetic tracks, as an…

Senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Zahar on Tuesday issued a direct threat against Israel. Al-Zahar, who spoke at a memorial ceremony for terrorists who died in a “work accident”, declared that Hamas has rockets that can hit any city in Israel. He further said that during Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012, Hamas held a “dry…

63 Palestinian Arab prisoners have suspended the hunger strike which they have observed in Israeli jails since late April, one of their lawyers said Tuesday, according to AFP. “The strikers, who have reached an agreement with the Israeli prison authorities, have decided to suspend their action with the approach of (the Muslim holy month of)…

Former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee on Tuesday criticized the United States’ release of five Taliban terrorists in exchange for kidnapped soldier Bowe Bergdahl. Speaking to Arutz Sheva at the end of his visit to Israel, Huckabee said, “These guys weren’t [jailed] for stealing bicycles or snatching gum off the counter of a…

The Israeli Air Force launched airstrikes on terrorist targets in Gaza on Tuesday night. The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said in a statement that the airstrikes targeted five concealed rocket launchers in northern Gaza, a terrorist center in central Gaza and a weapons manufacturing site in southern Gaza. Direct hits were identified, the statement said, adding…

A suspected car bomb blew up outside a café near a Lebanese army checkpoint in Beirut late Monday, security sources told The Daily Star. The sources said a suicide bomber blew himself up near an army checkpoint in Tayyouneh, at one of the main entrances into the capital’s southern suburbs. According to the sources, the…

Nearly two weeks after Gilad Sha’ar (16), Naftali Frenkel (16), and Eyal Yifrah (19) were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists, over 15,000 IDF soldiers have conducted nightly raids in the Hevron area, arresting some 360 terrorists in a relatively short time.  But while the nights are long and the days can grow tense, soldiers on the…

The IDF searched 120 more homes in the Hevron area for abducted teens Naftali Frenkel (16), Gilad Sha’ar (16), and Eyal Yifrah (19) overnight Monday, bringing the total number of buildings searched so far to 1,800.  “The main effort is finding the boys, and we do everything with this in mind,” a senior IDF official…

Anti-Defamation League (ADL) National Director Abraham Foxman spoke to Arutz Sheva at the Jewish Media Summit in Jerusalem on Monday, explaining the current face of anti-Semitism in global media.  Antisemitism “is, unfortunately, a reality [. . .] it is not a fact of history, it’s a current event – and hopefully the media will cover it as a…

Iran is moving to finalize plans with Russia to build at least two more nuclear power plants on the Islamic Republic’s southern Gulf shores, AFP reported on Monday, citing Iranian media reports. The announcement came as Russia’s Rosatom deputy chief Nikolai Spassky arrived in Tehran for a two-day visit during which he will meet senior…

The final stockpile of Syria’s chemical weapons has been shipped out of the country, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said on Monday. CNN quoted Ahmet Uzumcu, the chief of the international watchdog organization, as having said the weapons were loaded aboard the Danish ship Ark Futura and departed the Syrian port of…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu responded to Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal’s blessing toward the abductors of three yeshiva students Tuesday, calling the terror organization out on the difference between its face to the international community and its statements to the Arab world.  “Last night we heard Khaled Meshaal, the leader of Hamas, praise and defend the…

The International Committee For the Land of Israel and Ateret Cohanim Yeshiva (Torah academy) held a gala dinner in honor of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee Monday, in gratitude for his tremendous support for and activism on behalf of the State of Israel.  Huckabee referred to his visit at the home of kidnapped teen Naftali…

Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said on Tuesday that military forces loyal to the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were behind a cross-border attack that killed an Israeli teenager.  “We received all the analyses and intelligence: it was clear that it was Syrian authorities,” Lieberman told IDF Radio.  “Assad’s forces fired at the Israeli civilian, on the vehicles that had stopped…

Security forces on Monday night arrested Samar Iwassy, a 35 year old resident of an Arab neighborhood of Jerusalem. He was arrested on a variety of security charges. Iwassy was released from an Israeli prison in 2012 as part of the deal to release captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. He had been serving a 30…

The IDF stands by its assessment that the three Israeli teens kidnapped by Hamas terrorists are still alive, and officials are hopeful that the “golden clue,” the piece of data that leads to their discovery and rescue, will come in at any moment. One of the reasons officials are hopeful that the youths will be…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said earlier Monday that the state intends to demolish the home of the terrorist who murdered Mizrahi. “I wish to commend the Israel Security Agency, the IDF and the Israel Police for the quick solution of the murder of the police officer Baruch Mizrahi of blessed memory,” he said. “I have…

Jewish American financier and philanthropist Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam have donated $5 million for the continued development of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences at Ariel University. The couple intend to donate $20 million more, once the necessary approvals are received for development of additional programs in medical science. About 1,200 students…

The Palestinian Authority really isn’t cooperating with Israel on finding three kidnapped Israeli teens – or on anything else, according to Rami Hamdallah, the PA’s Prime Minister. Appointed last month, Hamdallah was a compromise candidate agreed to by Fatah and Hamas to head the PA’s new government. There is no security cooperation between Israel and…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu sounded the warning bell about a nuclear-armed Iran on Sunday, while speaking at the first Jewish Media Summit in Jerusalem. The greatest historical challenge today, said Netanyahu, “is that a militant Islamic regime does not get its hands on weapons of mass destruction.” The prime minister called this the “number one imperative…

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon on Monday morning commented on the IAF airstrike in Syria Sunday night, a strike which came in retaliation to an attack from the Syrian side of the Golan Heights Sunday morning that killed one Israeli. “We see the regime of (Syrian President) Bashar Assad and the Syrian army as responsible for what is…

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee on Sunday named the caves of Beit Guvrin-Maresha, located in central Israel, a World Heritage Site. The caves are the eighth Israeli site to be named as such within the 1948 armistice lines. Bet Guvrin-Maresha National Park encompasses approximately 5,000 dunams (1,250 acres) of rolling hills in the area south…

A media gag order was lifted on Monday, revealing that the murderer of Chief Superintendent Baruch Mizrahi Hy”d in April was a released terrorist who had gone free in the 2011 Gilad Shalit prisoner swap. The terrorist, Ziyad Awad, was arrested a month ago by Yamam special forces, along with his 18-year-old son in Tarkumiya, a village…

Former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential primary candidate Mike Huckabee arrived in Israel on Sunday. On Monday, Huckabee, who is also a television host, spoke at the Knesset. ​Huckabee’s appearance at the Knesset comes in the framework of The World Committee For The Land of Israel, a Zionist American Jewish organization. The former presidential candidate…

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s (ISIS) takeover of Iraq earlier this month took the world by storm, as the successive fall of several major cities in the Sunni-dominated northwest left Iraqis fleeing and world leaders shaken.  But what if the blitz military conquest could have been prevented altogether? Kurdish intelligence reported news…

  Mike Huckabee – television host, former Arkansas governor and former Republican presidential primary candidate – landed in Israel Sunday and went directly to visit the Frenkel family, whose son, Naftali, has been abducted by Hamas. He said he had come to show solidarity with the Frenkel family, and noted that Naftali Frenkel is an…

Brigadier General Moti Almoz, the IDF Spokesman, held a press briefing Sunday in which he spoke about the ongoing search for the abducted yeshiva boys: “According to the information in our possession,” he said, “our working assumption is that the boys are alive.” Almoz said that the political echelon and security forces are making “a…

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday warned Israel’s close ally, the United States, against working with arch-foe Iran in the effort to pull Iraq back from the brink. Israel has consistently voiced fears that a swift jihadist offensive led by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) that has swept up swaths…

France’s Jewish community on Sunday elected the Jewish chaplain of the French army as its new Grand Rabbi, as it grapples with rising anti-Semitism. Haim Korsia, 51, was elected to a seven-year term by members of the Central Consistory, the top Jewish religious authority in France, defeating Olivier Kaufmann, the head of a rabbinical school,…

Immigration to Israel was up 55% this past year, Chairman of the Executive of The Jewish Agency for Israel Natan Sharansky said Sunday. The increase was due largely to increases in immigration from France and Ukraine. Sharansky was speaking Sunday at the opening plenary of the Jewish Agency Board of Governors’ June meetings in Jerusalem.…

The IDF is seeking to expand the number of people searching for three teens kidnapped ten days ago by Hamas terrorists – and is turning to volunteers who are familiar with the Hevron area for help. The army hopes that the volunteers will help in the discovery of clues that could indicate where the teens…

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday visited Cairo, becoming the highest-ranking American official to meet President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi since he came to power earlier this month. According to AFP, Kerry pressed Egypt’s leaders to allow greater political freedoms, as Washington unlocked some $572 million in military aid for Cairo and hurried the…

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) struck nine targets belonging to the Syrian army in the Golan Heights on Sunday night. In a statement, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit confirmed the airstrikes and said they were in retaliation for Sunday morning’s explosion on the Israeli side of the Golan Heights. The explosion, which targeted a passing vehicle,…

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday expressed “solidarity” with the families of the three kidnapped Israeli teenagers, but also hit out at Israel for arresting Hamas terrorists as part of its operation to locate the three teens. In a statement outlining Ban’s conversation with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu the day before, the UN chief stressed…

Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon (Likud Beiteinu) on Sunday evening visited the family of kidnapped teen Naftali Frankel in the town of Nof Ayalon. Danon was accompanied by former Republican presidential primary candidate Mike Huckabee. Frankel is an American citizen, the family told Danon and Huckabee. Few in the international community have outright condemned the…

Racist and anti-Semitic incidents at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil continued Saturday, according to Yahoo! News, when a Nazi sympathizer rushed the field during the Ghana-Germany game. No security attempted to stop him, eyewitnesses said, as he took off his shirt to reveal a Nazi message. A photo of the incident shows a man standing…

A terrorist was caught carrying a grenade near the Gaza border early Sunday morning, the IDF announced, between the Jewish communities of Yated and Sde Avraham.  The terrorist, who presumably crossed over through the Gaza security fence, is now under interrogation.  The Eshkol Regional Council lashed out at the Home Front Command (HFC) over the…

Ten days after Gilad Sha’ar (16), Naftali Frenkel (16), and Eyal Yifrah (19) were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists, the IDF has widened its search beyond Hevron to include most of Judea and Samaria.  But the IDF front has not just expanded through the Hamas underground, IDF officials revealed Saturday night; it has also extended deep…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday and told him that the information in Israel’s hands unequivocally indicates that Hamas is responsible for the abduction of three Israeli teenagers last week, adding that this needs to be expressed in actions on the ground. According to a statement from the Prime…

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) on Saturday night launched airstrikes on several targets in Gaza, in retaliation for rocket fire on southern Israel. According to an IDF statement, the airstrikes targeted three centers of terrorist activity in southern Gaza, and another terrorist center in central Gaza. Direct hits were identified, and all aircraft returned safely…

The murder of 19-year-old Shelly Dadon Hy”d of Afula is close to being solved, according to a report on Channel 2‘s Mako website. “Elements directing the investigation” in the Israel Police’s northern district told the website that they believe the investigation is close to fruition. Dadon’s body was found in the industrial area at Migdal…

Currently, there is no law in Israel against the sale of food products whose sell-by date has passed, but that is set to change. The Ministerial Law Committee on Sunday approved a proposal by MKs Yariv Levin (Likud) and Amnon Cohen (Shas) that will require stores to remove expired products from their shelves. Anyone who…

A Syrian infant who was treated for the last two months for a heart problem is to be returned to her home country this week after being treated at Rambam Hospital in Haifa. The infant, about a year old, underwent a bypass operation at the hospital after she was brought there by her grandmother. She…

As Israeli security forces continue their search for kidnapped teens Eyal Yifrah (19), Naftali Frenkel (16), and Gilad Sha’ar (16), dozens of Jews and supporters of Israel staged an angry demonstration outside the PLO embassy in France. The demonstrators slammed the support that they said the Palestinian Authority was giving to the kidnappers of the…

President Shimon Peres met with Esther Pollard – the wife of longtime prisoner and Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard – and the Chairmen of the Knesset Caucus to release Jonathan Pollard, MKs Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home) and Nachman Shai (Labor) Sunday, shortly before leaving for Washington to meet with US President Barack Obama.   Esther Pollard…

The IDF has intensified Operation ‘Brothers’ Keeper,’ IDF officials reported Sunday morning, and have searched in 1,400 different sites total since last week in an effort to locate three kidnapped teenagers.  As of Sunday, the IDF has shifted its focus to the northwest of Hevron, for a period of approximately 48 hours, they said. While…

The IDF’s mammoth effort to locate the three abducted yeshiva boys who have been missing for 10 days was concentrated in western Hevron on Saturday. A senior officer said Saturday night that three infantry brigades – the Paratroopers, Nahal and Kfir – are now concentrating their efforts on Highway 35 and Highway 60 in the…

Iranians interviewed by Israel’s Channel 2 at the soccer World Cup expressed opinions very different from their leadership, regarding the Jewish state. Clearly intoxicated by the World Cup spirit, the reveling fans said “Israel is good,” and “we love Israel.” Iran was defeated 1:0 by Argentina on Saturday. The Iranians may face trouble at home, as…

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman is demanding the eviction of UN Middle East envoy Robert Serry from Israel, on suspicion that he has been trying to assist Hamas. Liberman intends to declare Serry persona non grata, the most serious form of censure which a country can apply to foreign diplomats. Channel 2 reported that the Foreign…

The nearly 1.9 million member Presbyterian Church USA voted Friday after a contentious debate to divest from three companies that provide supplies to Israeli security forces and Jews living in Judea and Samaria.   The 310 to 303 vote at the Protestant denomination’s meeting in Detroit, Michigan, means the group will pull financial investments out…

Israeli security forces have arrested 10 more terror suspects as they press their search for three teenagers kidnapped by Hamas, the army said Saturday. “Ten people were arrested overnight, bringing to 330 the number of wanted Palestinians arrested since the beginning of the operation,” a spokeswoman said. Israel accuses Hamas of kidnapping two 16-year-olds and…

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas will prevent a third Arab intifada (uprising), the PA’s foreign minister declared on Friday, speaking to Reuters in an interview. “I can assure you that as long as President Abu Mazen is in charge, there will be no third Intifada,” said the minister, Riad al-Malki, referring to Abbas by…

Iran has sent “small numbers” of operatives into Iraq to bolster the Shiite-led government in Baghdad, but there is no sign of a large deployment of army units, the Pentagon said Friday, according to AFP. The comments by Pentagon spokesman John Kirby marked Washington’s first public confirmation that Iranian operatives had crossed into Iraq, where…

Iran has acted to eliminate virtually all of its most sensitive stockpile of enriched uranium gas, a report assessing compliance with an interim deal showed on Friday, according to Reuters. The monthly update by the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has a key role in ensuring that Iran lives up to its part…

A senior U.S. official said on Friday that it is unclear whether Iran is ready to take the steps necessary to assure the world its nuclear ambitions are entirely peaceful, Reuters reports. The comments by Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman, who has been leading the U.S. team in the negotiations with…

The United Nations’ Middle East envoy, Robert Serry, on Friday spoke out against Israel’s operation in Judea and Samaria to locate the three teenagers who were kidnapped by terrorists. While Serry called for the release of the three, he expressed “deep concern” over Israel’s arrest of wanted terrorists. “The United Nations understands that these security…

An Amsterdam antiques gallery owner has been charged with putting up for sale a copy of Hitler’s “Mein Kampf”, banned in the Netherlands, AFP reports. Prosecutors have charged gallery owner Michiel van Eyck with inciting racial hatred and discrimination following a complaint from a Jewish group last year, the report said. “Police issued him with…

Iran informed the six major powers on Friday it would not accept their “excessive demands” after the latest talks on a permanent nuclear deal ended with no breakthrough, Reuters reports. Iran and the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany are striving to turn an interim deal signed in November into a comprehensive settlement…

Finance Minister Yair Lapid on Friday praised Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas for his “courageous” comments on the kidnapping of three teenagers, but also said that Israel had to “break Hamas”. “Abbas sits in the Arab League and says in Arabic that the abduction is a terrible thing. This is a brave stance, because…

The search for the three kidnapped Israeli teenagers is intensifying, and on Friday evening the IDF sent reinforcements to the area just north of Hevron, Channel 2 News reported. The move, the report said, was due to a series of new developments in the region. The IDF has declared the area a closed military zone.…

In the wake of last week’s abduction of three kidnapped yeshiva students, much criticism has been lobbed at Israel’s longtime policy of releasing terrorists in exchange for captives, or within the framework of peace talks.  But on Friday, a rare word of criticism toward the policy came not from within Israel, but from within the…

The terrorist organization Hamas claims that the IDF destroyed the Samaria home of a Hamas leader living in Turkey on Thursday night. The claim comes after an IDF source on Thursday revealed that the leader, Salah al-Arouri, likely is behind the kidnapping of the three Israeli teens last week. Al-Arouri, who lives currently in Turkey…

Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird called on Thursday for the Palestinian Authority (PA areas of Judea-Samaria) and Gaza to be demilitarized. Writing in an op-ed in the Canadian The Globe and Mail, Baird noted that the day after the “shocking” kidnapping of three Israeli teens last week, Gaza terrorists fired rockets at Israel, hitting “an area of…

The radical Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) continues to ride high in Iraq, where it has captured large portions of the country in a blitz advance since toppling the second-largest city of Mosul last Monday. After capturing Iraq’s largest oil refinery, and becoming the “world’s richest terrorist organization” by looting 500 billion Iraqi dinars…

The IDF arrested another 25 terrorists overnight Thursday, officials stated Friday morning, on the eighth day of Israel’s search for kidnapped yeshiva students Naftali Frenkel, Gilad Sha’ar, and Eyal Yifrah. Overnight, the Nahal Brigade raided the town of Dheisha just outside Bethlehem in Judea; the Paratroopers Brigade raided Dura, which is south of Hevron; and…

An Iranian court has convicted two men on charges of spying for Israel and the UK on Friday, according to Iranian state media. One of the men was sentenced to 10 years for passing on information to four separate British intelligence agents. The British “spy” was “very active during the sanctions era, giving advice and collaborating with…

Israel will receive its first delivery of oil from a disputed pipeline in Kurdistan, in a sign of growing relations between the Jewish state and the autonomous Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq. On Friday the SCF Altai tanker approached the city of Ashkelon in southern Israel, and is scheduled to dock sometime Saturday. The…

Mothers from across Gush Etzion in Judea held a “Bring Back Our Boys” protest on Thursday, at the bus stop near Alon Shvut where three yeshiva students were kidnapped last week.  Shlomit Pearl, Gush Etzion Mayor David Pearl’s wife, spoke at the rally.  “During these difficult times we all unite and become stronger for our…

Arab rioters threw rocks and bottles at police at the entrance to the Temple Mount on Friday, when Muslim visitors hold regular prayer services on the holiest site to Judaism.  Police forces dispersed the rioters Friday morning, arresting two of the youths. There were no casualties in the incident, as prayers on the Mount had…

A rocket fired by terrorists in Gaza never made it to its target, landing in the Hamas-enclave of Gaza, reports Yedioth Aharonoth. ‘Color Red’ rocket warning sirens were sounded early Friday afternoon in the Ashkelon Coast Regional Council area warning of the rocket attempt, which comes just hours after a rocket aimed at Ashkelon was shot…

An Egyptian court on Thursday sentenced Muslim Brotherhood chief Mohammed Badie and 13 others to death over violence that killed 10 people in Cairo last summer, AFP reports. Since the army ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in July of 2013, hundreds of his supporters and Badie himself have been sentenced to death in speedy mass…

U.S. President Barack Obama announced on Thursday that he is sending up to 300 troops to Iraq to help Iraqi military forces deal with an onslaught by radical Islamist terrorists, reports The Washington Post. However, Obama stressed the troops would not be combat troops but would instead operate as “advisers” to the Iraqi forces. “American…

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said on Thursday evening that Israel will extract a heavy price from Hamas over its kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers. Ya’alon spoke at an event honoring the 101st birthday of Brig. Gen. (res.) Yitzhak Pundak. He noted that Israel is in the midst of an extensive intelligence and operational effort “in…

Yet another Canadian citizen has been observed fighting as a Jihadist in the Middle East. Farah Mohamed Shirdon, from Calgary, was seen in a video showing members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) preparing to go into battle in Iraq. Shirdon, who is seen in the video released about two months ago, was…

Israel on Thursday released an official condemnation of the terror attacks in Kenya, which began Sunday and left 58 people dead. “Israel strongly condemns the two recent terror attacks in the coastal area of Kenya in which dozens of innocent people were killed,” read a statement from the Foreign Ministry.  “Israel denounces in the strongest possible…

The Iron Dome anti-missile defense system shot down a rocket Thursday night as it was in the air from Gaza, on its way towards the coastal city of Ashkelon. Right before the Iron Dome shot down the rocket, “Color Red” warning sirens were heard in the city. The rocket attack comes after another missile was fired…

A senior IDF source said Thursday that the search for the three Israeli teens kidnapped by Hamas terrorists last Thursday suggests that Hamas leadership abroad, and particularly in Turkey, is behind the abduction. The source told Walla! that in particular Salah al-Arouri, a Hamas leader living in Turkey, has been a key source behind terror attacks in…

A Facebook group called in Arabic “Three Shalits,” a reference to Gilad Shalit, has been removed after posting pictures of impressionable young Arab children making a hand gesture extending three fingers – in celebration of the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers last week. Despite the page being removed, examples of the pictures can still be seen at…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Thursday that although the three teens kidnapped by Hamas terrorists last week have yet to be found, Israel is closer to discovering their whereabouts. “Our first and most important task is to bring the boys home safely,” Netanyahu said Thursday at the IDF Judea Command Center. “All Israelis are united…

MK Moti Yogev (Jewish Home) has proposed, along with several other MKs, a bill that would mandate a sentence of life imprisonment to terrorists convicted of abduction, an offense that currently carries a maximum sentence of 20 years. According to the explanatory notes that accompany the bill, “In view of the abduction of the three…

Denmark’s largest purpose-built mosque, including the country’s first minaret, opens on Thursday in Copenhagen’s gritty northwest district after receiving a 150 million kroner (20.1 million euros, $27.2 million) endowment from Qatar, a chief backer of the Muslim Brotherhood. The longstanding political influence of the anti-immigrant Danish People’s Party (DPP), as well as the row over…

Johann “Hans” Breyer, 89, of Philadelphia, was ordered held without bail Wednesday on a German arrest warrant charging him with aiding and abetting the killing of 216,000 Jewish men, women and children while he was a guard at the Auschwitz death camp. Breyer was arrested by U.S. authorities Tuesday night and spent the night in…

Operation Brothers’ Keeper, the search for three abducted yeshiva students, has entered its seventh day. The IDF continued to carry out arrests of Hamas members and other terrorists. There is still no sign of the condition or whereabouts of the three boys, Eyal Yifrah, Naftali Frenkel and Gilad Sha’ar. A senior IDF officer said that…

The United States called on Cuba on Wednesday to allow imprisoned contractor Alan Gross to travel home to attend his mother’s funeral as a humanitarian gesture, AFP reports. Gross, 65, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in Cuba in 2011 after being convicted of “acts against the independence or territorial integrity of the state”…

Five Hamas terrorists were killed due to an explosion that occurred in a terror tunnel in Gaza on Thursday morning. The explosion took place to the east of Gaza City, close to the security fence separating Israel and the Hamas-enclave of Gaza, according to Arab sources referenced by Yedioth Aharonoth. Hamas reportedly denies that there were…

Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon on Thursday signed an order declaring the Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) group illegal. Based on the order, the organization can no longer raise money or distribute money in Israel or anywhere in Judea and Samaria. IRW, said Yaalon, is a chief fundraising front for Hamas. Posing as a “charity,” the organization…

Following the tragic kidnapping of three Israeli teens, Israel’s United Hatzalah emergency service has created a special app to prevent kidnappings. The app, aptly called “SOS”, is an emergency alert app which allows users to immediately dispatch a distress call and their precise location to both United Hatzalah and the Israeli police. The LifeCompass technology behind…

Outgoing President Shimon Peres hosted the parents of abducted teenagers Gilad Sha’ar, Eyal Yifrah and Naftali Frenkel in the Presidential Residence Thursday. President Peres embraced the families and heard from them about their experiences over the past days. Commenting on the nationwide solidarity for the plight of their sons, the President said such national unity…

An 89-year-old Philadelphia man has been arrested on charges of aiding and abetting the killing of 216,000 Jews while he was a guard at the Auschwitz death camp, The Associated Press (AP) reported on Wednesday. The man, Johann “Hans” Breyer, was ordered held without bail on a German arrest warrant, the report said. Breyer, a…

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) launched airstrikes on several targets in Gaza on Wednesday night. According to the IDF, the airstrikes targeted a concealed rocket launcher and two terrorist centers in northern Gaza. Two terrorist centers in central Gaza were targeted as well. Direct hits were identified, and all aircraft returned safely to their bases,…

Iran and world powers have started drafting a comprehensive nuclear agreement but still face many sticking points, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Wednesday, according to the AFP news agency. “Today we have slowly begun to draft the final agreement… but there are still many differences” over the text, the ISNA news agency…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was unimpressed by Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s remarks on Wednesday against the terrorists who kidnapped three Israeli teens, saying Abbas will be judged by actions and not by words. Abbas accused the terrorists who kidnapped the three of trying to “destroy us,” meaning the PA. He defended the cooperation…

Gaza terrorists fired two rockets towards southern Israel on Wednesday evening. Both rockets exploded in the Shaar HaNegev Regional Council. One of the rockets hit a building and caused it minor damage, and the second exploded in an open area. There were no physical injuries. The “Red Alert” rocket siren was sounded in the region,…

The United States on Wednesday called on both Israel and the Palestinian Arabs to “show restraint” as Israel tightened their grip on Hamas hunting for three kidnapped teenagers, AFP reports. “We recognize this is an incredibly sensitive and difficult circumstance on the ground, and we feel all sides should exercise restraint,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters. Israeli troops have pressed their biggest…

A short time ago, terrorists attempted to attack an IDF post near Bethlehem Wednesday night. According to reports, Palestinian Arabs in a passing vehicle attempted to run over IDF soldiers stationed near the Palestinian Arab city. The IDF fired at the vehicle; no injuries or damage to the IDF were reported.The vehicle’s trunk was damaged…

A short time ago, terrorists attempted to attack an IDF post near Bethlehem Wednesday night. According to reports, Palestinian Arabs in a passing vehicle attempted to run over IDF soldiers stationed near the Palestinian Arab city. The IDF fired at the vehicle; no injuries or damage to the IDF were reported.The vehicle’s trunk was damaged…

Hundreds attended a prayer rally for the safety of kidnapped teens Naftali Frenkel, Gilad Sha’ar, and Eyal Yifrah on Wednesday afternoon, in an event at the Cave of the Patriarchs also attended by Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau.  Rabbi Amram Yifrah, the grandfather of Eyal Yifrah, spoke briefly at the event, in an emotional expression…

The IDF search-and-rescue mission to find three yeshiva students kidnapped by Hamas continues for its fifth straight day on Wednesday – but the IDF has done more than simply look for the teenagers. “Following the abduction, we have been able to arrest several Hamas terrorists that we have been chasing for a long time,” a…

MK Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home) explained Wednesday that many of the terrorists released in the Shalit deal and re-arrested in the last few days will have their pardons anulled and will go back to jail, to serve out the remainder of their sentences. “We are starting to change the equation so that abductions do not…

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction has sent a delegation to Egypt to discuss opening the Rafah Crossing between Gaza and Sinai, even as terrorists in the Hamas-enclave continue firing rockets at Israel. The delegation arrived in Cairo and is led by Fatah leader Azzam al-Ahmed, who represented Fatah in the reconciliation signed with…

The IDF Spokesman said Wednesday morning that as part of the large-scale intelligence and operational activities that the IDF and Israel Security Agency (ISA, or Shin Bet) have undertaken in order to locate the three abducted teens, security forces have arrested about 65 wanted men. Of these, 51 were freed in Operation Beit Hashoeva in…

The Toronto Jewish community continues to express its solidarity with the families of the three boys who were kidnapped by Hamas last week, as a series of prayer rallies have been arranged for the boys’ safety, according to Shalom Toronto.  Dozens of people gathered outside the Israeli consulate in Toronto Monday for the latest prayer…

Finance Minister Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) spoke on the kidnapping of three yeshiva students on Wednesday, at the US-Israel Joint Economic Development Group (JEDG) conference at the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem. “You are visiting us during difficult times,” Lapid stated. “Three of our sons have been kidnapped by terrorists. Eyal, Gilad and Naftali weren’t…

“We, the undersigned mayors from the cities representing diverse communities around the world, call on any and all involved in the disappearance of the three Israeli boys Naftali Frankel, Gilad Shaar and Eyal Yifrach – to release them immediately, without conditions and safely return them to their families.” “We were all saddened and deeply disappointed…

Knesset Security Chief Yosef Grif decided on Wednesday to assign a security detail to Arab MK Hanin Zoabi (Balad), after she received death threats for justifying the kidnapping of three Israeli teens last Thursday. Grif informed Knesset Chairman Yuli Edelstein (Likud), the police and other sources of the decision. Zoabi raised a storm on Tuesday…

Hamas lost no time taking Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to task on Wednesday, just after Abbas condemned the kidnappers of the three Israeli teenagers, who he said “want to destroy” the PA. In the statement, Abbas defended the cooperation between PA security forces and the IDF in the rescue operation, saying “the kidnapped are…

The IDF prepared to station Iron Dome anti-missile defense units in the coastal region of Ashdod and Tel Aviv on Wednesday, even as an explosive placed on the Gaza security barrier by terrorists was caught and detonated. IDF forces neutralized the explosive early Wednesday afternoon, on the barrier in the southern part of Gaza. The…

MK Ze’ev Elkin (Likud-Beytenu), Chairman of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, called Tuesday to round up and re-imprison terrorists whom Israel released from its jails in recent years in the Shalit deal and in “gestures” to the Palestinian Authority. Elkin told Arutz Sheva that the current operation in Judea and Samaria is causing…

David Ivgi Hy”d, a civilian injured during the November 2012 eight-day Operation Pillar of Defense, died of his wounds on Tuesday. Ivgi, a 48-year-old resident of Kiryat Malachi east of Ashdod in the coastal region, was critically injured when he was hit by a car while running to take cover after the “Color Red” missile…

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman called his counterparts in Britain, Germany, France, Bulgaria, Belgium and Norway on Tuesday and thanked them for issuing condemnations of the abduction of three teenage boys, for showing solidarity with Israel and for the clear position they expressed on the matter. Liberman is to call more foreign ministers Wednesday. Foreign Ministry…

Norway announced Tuesday that it was delaying the meeting of an international donor group for the Palestinian Authority (PA), planned for next week, in light of the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers last Thursday by Hamas terrorists. The Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC), which is responsible for coordinating international funding of the PA and is chaired by Norway, was set to…

The Head of IDF Central Command, Major General Nitzan Alon, spoke to reporters Tuesday after a situation assessment meeting and summed up the state of “Operation Brother’s Keeper,” the search and counter-terror operation in Judea and Samaria following the abduction of three yeshiva youths by Hamas. “We are in the middle of a complex operation…

Reports on Tuesday reveal that US Special Operations forces captured a terrorist leader in Libya on Sunday, the first suspect arrested over the September 11, 2012 Benghazi attack, in which the US ambassador to Libya was murdered along with three other Americans. Ahmed Abu Khattala, a “senior leader” of the terrorist organization Ansar al-Sharia in Benghazi which has…

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki on Tuesday fired senior officers for failing to halt a sweeping advance by Sunni Islamist rebels, the BBC reports. Four army commanders were dismissed because they did not perform “their national duty”, a government statement said, according to the network. The Iraqi officers fired on Tuesday include the top commander…

Chemical weapons inspectors who came under attack while investigating claims of chlorine gas attacks in Syria last month found information suggesting that similar chemicals had indeed been used, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said Tuesday. According to Reuters, the OPCW, which is overseeing the destruction of Syria’s chemical stockpile, said inspectors…

Terrorist organizations in Gaza, including Hamas and Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade faction, threatened on Tuesday that they would take action if Israel continues its crackdown on the Hamas terror infrastructure in Judea and Samaria. Commenting on the IDF operation seeking to rescue the three Israeli teens kidnapped by Hamas terrorists last Thursday, the terrorist groups declared…

MK Carmel Shama-Hacohen (Likud Beytenu) was officially sworn in on Monday as a member of the 19th Knesset. Shama-Hacohen replaces Reuven Rivlin, who was elected last week as the next president of Israel. He served as an MK on behalf of the Likud in the 18th Knesset, in which he served as Deputy Knesset Speaker…

A massive fire has broken out in the forest between the Israeli Arab town Abu Ghosh and the Jewish community of Ma’ale Hahamisha, just west of Jerusalem.  Twenty-seven firefighting units and five firefighting planes have been dispatched to gain control of the blaze. The fire has now been contained, but officials said that it has…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu (Likud) has ordered his staff to allocate four million shekels (roughly $1.15 million) to finance transportation to yeshiva high schools and girls’ high schools in Judea and Samaria, he announced Tuesday afternoon.  Shuttles will be available to schools every Sunday and every weekend, to allow the safe travel of students from…

Six Israeli Arabs were arrested – and then released – in early May, during the early stages of the investigation into the murder of 19 year-old Shelly Dadon, the Supreme Court permitted the press to publish Tuesday.  The six suspects, some of whom were teenagers, were detained for eight days on suspicion of involvement in…

The Palestinian Authority (PA)’s Fatah party has halted steps toward reconciliation with Hamas on Tuesday, Palestinian Arab sources told Walla! News, over Hamas’s kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers.  According to the source, Fatah leadership met Tuesday and decided to freeze the salaries of some 40 Hamas members in the government over the kidnapping, following Prime…

The European Union (EU) finally issued a condemnation of the abduction of three yeshiva students by Hamas terrorists on their way home from school Tuesday, over five days after the fact and after a torrent of media and political criticism over a blasé attitude toward terror.  “We condemn in the strongest terms the abduction of three…

The parents of kidnapped teenagers Naftali Frenkel (16), Gilad Sha’ar (16), and Eyal Yifrah (19) made a joint statement to the press Tuesday, after the first meeting of the three families since the boys were abducted Thursday night by Hamas terrorists.  ”We met today for the first time, the Yifrahs, Eyal’s parents; the Sha’ars, Gilad’s…

Syrian government helicopters dropped barrel bombs on opposition-held districts of the northern city of Aleppo on Monday, killing at least 31 people including several children, AFP reports. Some of the wounded were in a serious condition after the strikes on the Sukkari and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told the news agency.…

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) targeted several terrorist-related sites in Gaza on Monday night. In a statement, the IDF Spokesperson said the airstrikes targeted a center of terrorist activity and a weapons storage site in southern Gaza, as well as two other weapons storage sites, one in central Gaza and one in northern Gaza. Direct…

The civil war in Iraq and the success of a radical Islamist group which splintered from Al Qaeda in taking over central cities has focused global attention on the Shiite and Sunni militias that are spilling each other’s blood there. The Arabic newspaper Al Arabi al Jadid has provided its readers with a list of…

IDF soldiers were able to foil an attempt by two terrorists to infiltrate into the Shomron (Samaria) town of Kochav Ya’akov, northeast of Jerusalem, on Monday evening. The soldiers caught the two as they were tampering with the fence surrounding the town and opened fire towards them. One of the terrorists was wounded and taken…

Around 200 Jewish Americans gathered outside the Israeli consulate in New York on Monday to pray for the release of three Israeli teenagers kidnapped in Gush Etzion, in the Judea region south of Jerusalem last week. The crowd, which included many children of school age, called for the safe release of the teens, of whom…

The United States and Iran have a common interest in preventing Sunni ISIS militias from taking over Iraq completely – and if an alliance between the two is the only way to do that, said US Secretary of State John Kerry, then so be it. Speaking to Yahoo News Monday, Kerry said that the US…

If it indeed turns out that Hamas was behind the kidnappings of Israeli teens Eyal Yifrah (19), Naftali Frenkel (16), and Gilad Sha’ar, Fatah will regard its unity agreement with Hamas as null and void, a top Palestinian Authority official said Monday. Fatah will consider the kidnappings as “a stab in the back” of the…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Monday evening that the abduction of three yeshiva students has created a complex situation and will have serious consequences. “We are in the midst of a complex operation here,” said Netanyahu in a briefing to reporters at Central Command. “We have to be prepared for the possibility that this will…

So far, 150 Hamas and affiliated terrorists have been arrested by Israeli forces, a security official said Monday – and those arrests are bringing the army closer to solving the riddle of the whereabouts of three kidnapped Israeli teens. “Most of the detainees are Hamas terrorists,” the official said. “Some of them are high-ranking members…

Israel will seek to deal a crushing blow to Hamas’s infrastructure in Judea and Samaria following the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers, army radio reported on Monday. Plans to move against the Islamist terrorist movement were discussed at a meeting of the security cabinet convened by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at which ministers discussed punitive…

On Friday night, White City Shabbat set the Guinness World Record for the Largest Shabbat Dinner ever at the Hangar 11 in the port of Tel Aviv. 2,226 attendees were officially inscribed in the Guinness World Record for the Largest Shabbat Dinner, with notable diners including Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau;…

Over 20 European members of parliaments (MPs), hailing from 15 different European countries, signed a joint declaration condemning the kidnapping of Gilad Sha’ar, 16, Naftali Frenkel, 16, and Eyal Yifrah, 19 last Thursday night by terrorists. “We support Israel’s right to defend its citizens from acts of war and terror, as is the duty of every…

Israel and Germany have agreed to conduct joint research in museums in both countries aimed at determining the originalownership of Jewish-owned art looted by the genocidal Nazi regime, officials said. Under an agreement signed Sunday by Culture Ministry Director General Orly Froman and German Culture Minister Monika Gruetters, art experts from the two countries will undergo training and coordinate the…

Palestinian Authority (PA) sources reported Sunday night that a terrorist outside of Ramallah, Samaria was killed during the night while taking part in an Arab mob attacking IDF forces. Ahmad Arafat, 19, was reportedly shot in the town of Jelazoun while being part of a mob throwing stones at IDF soldiers, who were searching for the three…

Unidentified assailants shot at Border Police from a passing vehicle late Sunday night near Har Gilo, located just south of Jerusalem and to the north of Bethlehem in Judea. The attack took place just outside the tunnels leading from Jerusalem to the Gush Etzion area of Judea, an IDF spokesperson stated. No injuries or damage were…

A senior Hamas member and Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) was reportedly arrested on Sunday night in the Judean city of Hevron, the focus of IDF efforts to rescue the three yeshiva students who were kidnapped last Thursday night by terrorists. Palestinian Arab sources reported to Yedioth Aharonoth that Aziz Duwaik, the Speaker from the…

Egyptian authorities on Sunday seized two retail outlets owned by leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, part of the ongoing crackdown against the group since its president Mohammed Morsi was ousted last year. According to the AFP news agency, the businesses targeted were the Seoudi supermarket chain and Zad department store, respectively owned by Abdel Rahman…

An Egyptian appeals court jailed a female Coptic Christian teacher for six months after parents of her students accused her of evangelizing and insulting Islam, her lawyer said on Monday. Demiana Emad, a 23-year-old social studies teacher, was arrested on May 9, 2013 after the head of the parents’ association of Sheikh Sultan Primary School…

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released a statement of solidarity with Israel as it searches for three kidnapped yeshiva students Monday, as well as condemning a string of rocket attacks which has resurged from Gaza.  “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the three young men kidnapped with the involvement of Hamas, as the efforts by…

Esther Pollard, the wife of Israeli spy and longtime US prisoner Jonathan Pollard, visited the family of kidnapped 16-year-old Naftali Frenkel in Nof Ayalon on Monday, and brought words of hope. “I came here in order to support and identify with them, pray with them and hope that this nightmare ends soon,” Esther Pollard stated…

There was talk on Sunday among MKs and former MKs suggesting that the time has come to apply the Israeli death penalty law to terrorists, given the kidnapping last Thursday night of three teenage students. Construction and Housing Minister Uri Ariel (Jewish Home) on Sunday called for the death penalty law to be acted upon.…

In a strong showing of unity, Jews throughout Israel prayed for the safe return of the three yeshiva students who were kidnapped from Kfar Etzion in Judea last Thursday by terrorists. Video shows the mass prayer rallies held on Sunday throughout the central coastal region of Israel, even as mass prayers were occurring at the…

In the space of a few days, an international delegation that included two physicians from the Rambam Hospital in Haifa changed the lives of dozens of children and adults in northern Ethiopia. A surgical marathon was conducted in northern Ethiopia as part of Operation Smile, a program focusing on third world countries to treat cleft…

The United States is beefing up security at its embassy in Baghdad and will evacuate some workers out of the Iraqi capital, the Department said on Sunday. “Some additional U.S. government security personnel will be added to the staff in Baghdad; other staff will be temporarily relocated – both to our Consulate Generals in Basra…

For the second time in two nights, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) launched an airstrike on terror targets in Gaza on Sunday night. According to an IDF statement, the airstrikes targeted a terrorist center and three weapons storage sites in northern Gaza. Also targeted was a terrorist center in southern Gaza. Direct hits were identified…

Approximately 700 residents of Tel Aviv and the vicinity gathered on Sunday evening at the Rabin Square for a prayer vigil for the safe return of the three yeshiva students who were kidnapped in Gush Etzion. The prayer rally was attended by the Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu…

The Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepted two rockets fired by Gaza terrorists towards the city of Ashkelon on Sunday night. Over the past two days there has been an escalation in rocket attacks on southern Israel. On Saturday, four rockets were fired from Gaza, causing no physical injuries or damages. The Israeli Air Force (IAF)…

IDF forces operating in Hevron surrounded a house, exchanged fire with its occupants, and arrested two terrorists from the Hamas terror group on Sunday night. According to reports in Palestinian media, an explosion was heard in the area, presumably IDF soldiers blowing open the door to the house. It is unknown whether the two arrested…

Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon on Sunday night discussed the case of the three kidnapped Israeli teens. Speaking at a Defense Ministry event, Yaalon said “this is the time to strengthen the hands of the families of the kidnapped boys, Eyal Yifrah, Naftali Frenkel, and Gilad Sha’ar. We must all join in a prayer that we…

Hassan Yousef, a leading Hamas terror activist, has been arrested as the IDF sweeps Judea in search of three missing teens – Gilad Sha’ar, 16, Naftali Frenkel, 16, and Eyal Yifrach, 19. Yousef’s son, Mossab, became an Israeli informant and converted to Christianity. He authored the book “Son of Hamas” and was disowned by his…

Despite concerns by many economists over the health of the Israeli economy, the May jobs report showed that demand for workers increased 6.8% last month. By the end of May, there were 66,400 open positions in the overall economy, 4,200 more than there were at the beginning of the month. With that, said the Central…

US Secretary of State John Kerry Sunday condemned the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers, and said many indications pointed to the involvement of Hamas. “We are still seeking details on the parties responsible for this despicable terrorist act, although many indications point to Hamas’ involvement,” he said. “As we gather this information, we reiterate our…

Minister of Interior, Gideon Saar, visited the families of the three youths abducted in the Etzion Bloc Thursday and was deeply impressed by the families’ strength. “Like the other two familes,” he told Arutz Sheva after visiting the third family’s home, “an amazing family that is dealing with this difficult situation in a way that…

Germany’s federal police on Sunday announced the arrest of a French national suspected of fighting for radical jihadists in Syria. A spokesman told AFP that the man was picked up in Berlin late Saturday after flying in from Istanbul and was believed to have spent time in Syria where he allegedly joined the jihadist Islamic…

One of the three youths abducted Thursday night called the police hotline immediately after the abduction – but was ignored as police thought the call was a prank, reports IDF Radio Sunday. The call was received at 10:25 p.m. The youth whispered: “We’ve been abducted! We are being kidnapped.” The call lasted about two minutes and…

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman indicated that there would be no more terrorist releases in Israel on Sunday, speaking in the wake of the abduction of three yeshiva students from Gush Etzion.  “There will be no releases for those Palestinian terrorists sitting in Israeli prisons – not as a ‘gesture’ and not for any other reason,”…

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) launched airstrikes against terror targets in Gaza on Saturday night. According to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, the airstrikes targeted three terrorist centers and two weapons depots in southern Gaza, as well a terrorist center in central Gaza. Direct hits were confirmed and all aircraft returned safely to their bases, the…

In the wake of the kidnapping of three Israeli yeshiva students, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon ordered on Saturday night that a closure be imposed on the Hevron area and that border crossings to Gaza be shut down. During the closure, entry into Israel will only be permitted in humanitarian and medical cases, all subject to…

In an odious distortion of the World Cup 2014 logo, the official Palestinian Authority daily printed Sunday a cartoon celebrating the kidnapping of three Israeli youths on Thursday night. Instead of the famous logo of the World Cup 2014, in which three victorious hands hold the globe, together creating the prestigious trophy, the PA cartoon…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has brusquely rejected denials by the Islamist terrorist group Hamas that it was behind the abduction of three Israeli students on Thursday night. Earlier today, Netanyahu revealed that Israeli intelligence had identified the kidnappers as Hamas members. “Hamas terrorists carried out Thursday’s kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers. We know that for…

A senior IDF official told reporters Sunday afternoon that in the army’s estimation, the three kidnapped teenagers taken Thursday night by still-unidentified captors are still alive, and are being held somewhere in the Judean Hills. “We are not acting blindly and without guidance,” the official said. “The IDF is thoroughly familiar with Hamas’ infrastructure in…

As France continues to grapple with growing violent anti-Semitism alarming reports suggest a potentially deadly terrorist attack on a Paris synagogue in broad daylight was thwarted at the very last minute on Saturday. According to French-language JSS News, a pair of unidentified attackers approach the synagogue, located in the French capital’s 20th District, armed with…

A petition has been launched calling on the US government to work towards the release of joint Israeli-American citizen Naftali Frenkel, who was among three students kidnapped by terrorists on Thursday night. The petition – which can be signed by both US and foreign citizens, was launched late last night. “On Thursday, June 12, 2014, three…

Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon spoke to Arutz Sheva after visiting the families of the three kidnapped Israeli students, saying he hoped to come back soon “with good news – news that their sons are on their way back home.” The visit, he said, was “not easy”, but he added that the families were staying…

Central Command Chief, Major General Nitzan Alon called the mayors of various Judea and Samaria communities on Saturday night to provide updates on the search for three abducted yeshiva students, stating that there are “long, hard days” ahead.  According to Alon, security sources had been searching for the boys constantly since Friday morning, and the…

Several mass prayer rallies are being organized, both nationally and in individual communities across Israel, for the safety of Eyal Yifrah, 19, from Elad; Naftali Frenkel, 16, from Nof Ayalon; and Gilad Sha’ar, 16, from Talmon.  On Saturday night, a mass prayer rally will be held at the Western Wall (Kotel) in Jerusalem, beginning at 12:15 am.…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has moved Sunday morning’s cabinet meeting from its normal Jerusalem location to his Tel Aviv office, as he continues to regularly liaise with the IDF – whose head offices are in Tel Aviv – on the ongoing search for the three kidnapped yeshiva students. The boys – students at the Makor…

Palestinians in Gaza have celebrated the kidnapping of three Israeli students by handing out sweets to passersby. The “celebrations” – pictures of which can be seen here – were apparently led by the families of terrorists currently serving sentences in Israeli prisons. The former head of Israel’s Shabak internal security agency has linked the kidnappings…

Former Israel Security Agency (ISA, or Shin Bet) chief Yuval Diskin blamed Israel’s agreements to release terrorists for the kidnapping of three yeshiva boys, stating on Saturday that the policy encourages more abductions.  “We should stop releasing terrorists for kidnapped soldiers, or releasing terrorists instead of implementing a construction freeze [in Judea and Samaria –…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has confirmed that the three yeshiva boys who went missing Thursday were indeed kidnapped by terrorists. “Our boys were kidnapped by a terrorist organization. There is no doubt about that,” the Prime Minister said in an official statement after an emergency security meeting with the Defense Minister and IDF Chief of Staff,…

A rocket was fired from Gaza into Israel early on Saturday, followed by three more in the afternoon, none of which caused any casualties or damage,  the army said. In response, Israel launched air strikes on southern Gaza, “hitting a site of terrorist activity and a weapons depot”, an army statement said. Hamas said Apache gunships had fired…

Iraq’s most senior Shiite cleric has issued a call to arms after Sunni-led insurgents seized more towns, the BBC reported on Friday. The call by a representative of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani came as the Islamists from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) widened their grip in the north and east, and…

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas reacted on Friday night to the disappearance of three yeshiva students near Hevron and said that the PA would assist Israel in the search. An official statement issued by Abbas’s spokesman and quoted by Israel’s Channel 2 News said, “The Palestinian Authority hopes the boys will be found and…

The U.S. State Department said on Friday that it was “very concerned” with the well-being of three yeshiva students who have been missing in Judea and Samaria since Thursday, and of whom one is reportedly an Israeli-American. “We are aware – of course seen the reports, are very concerned for their well-being,” Deputy State Department…

Israel’s National Student and Youth Council on Friday sent a letter to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, urging him to take action and help locate the three yeshiva students who went missing on Thursday. In the letter, the Council notes that “a terror kidnapping is a very reasonable scenario.” “Therefore, it is within the power…

A Belgian court on Friday ordered that 46 suspected members of a radical Islamist group, believed to be involved in sending young fighters to Syria, stand trial later this year, AFP reports. Sixteen people alleged to be part of Sharia4Belgium, including its head Fouad Belkacem, face charges of leading a terrorist organization, the federal justice…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke on Friday evening with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, following the disappearance of three yeshiva students near Hevron. During the conversation, Netanyahu told Kerry that the boys’ disappearance was directly related to the Palestinian Authority (PA) signing a reconciliation pact and forming a unity pact with the Hamas terrorist…

U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday ruled out sending U.S. troops “back into combat” in Iraq despite the threat from a surging army of Islamic terrorists, ABC News reports. Speaking as several cities in Iraq continued to fall under the flags of the Al-Qaeda-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), Obama told reporters…

Justice Minister Tzipi Livni met on Friday in London with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, and asked him to help in the search for the three yeshiva students who went missing near Hevron. Army Radio reported that Livni told Kerry that rapid action is necessary under the circumstances. A senior State Department official told…

The Palestinian Authority (PA) is not responsible for the disappearance of the three yeshiva students who went missing near Hevron, a spokesman for the PA’s security services said Friday. The spokesman, Adnan al-Damiri, was responding to a statement from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s office, which earlier held the PA leadership responsible for the boys’ disappearance.…

IDF Spokesman Motti Almoz said on Friday evening that the IDF and the entire defense establishment were doing everything in their power to locate the three yeshiva students who went missing near Hevron. Speaking at a press conference, Almoz said, “The IDF and the entire defense establishment, including intelligence and the Shin Bet, are doing…

Three students, two of them from the Makor Chaim Yeshiva in the religious kibbutz Kfar Etzion went missing Thursday night in what officials say was likely a kidnapping by terrorists. All communication was lost with them as they were on their way home from the yeshiva, located in Gush Etzion, roughly between Jerusalem and Hevron…

A masked Arab terrorist opened fire on Friday morning, targeting IDF Border Patrol soldiers stationed at an IDF checkponit near Bitunia. The area is near Ramallah in Samaria, just north of Jerusalem. No injuries were reported among the IDF soldiers. IDF and Israeli police forces began searching after the terrorist suspect, who fled the scene…

The American administration has justified its decision to “work with” the new Fatah-Hamas unity government, sworn in last Monday, on the claim that it does not include Hamas ministers. However, at least one Gaza-based minister in the new government was previously a minister in the terrorist group Hamas’s government. Four unity government ministers from Gaza…

An Israeli official remarked for the first time publicly about events unfolding in Iraq on Thursday, in a UN discussion on the situation and on the growing problem of foreign jihadists entering Syria.   Israeli ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor opened the discussion in the UN General Assembly by condemning the violence in Iraq…

Australia could face trade sanctions by Arab nations over its decision to stop using the term “occupied” when referring to Jerusalem, the head of the Palestinian Arab delegation to Canberra threatened Friday. Izzat Abdulhadi said Australia’s new stance on Jerusalem, the 3,000-year-old capital of the Jewish people which has been wrongly labeled as “occupied” or “illegal under international…

An overwhelming majority of 88 U.S. Senators have sent a letter to President Barack Obama urging him to reconsider aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) over its forming a unity government with Hamas. The initiative was led by Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine). The letter, published on Cardin’s website, expresses strong reservations…

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday that Iran would resume uranium enrichment activities if no agreement is reached with the West, Reuters reports. Speaking at a conference in Rome, Araqchi said he believed it was possible for Iran to reach an accord with world powers in time for a July 20 deadline,…

Pope Francis strongly condemned violence in the Middle East Friday, in an interview with  the Vatican correspondent of Barcelona-based daily La Vanguardia. Following his first visit to the Middle East as pope last month, the pontiff criticised fundamentalism in Christianity, Islam and Judaism as a form of violence.    “A fundamentalist group, even if it kills no one,…

The Obama administration has quietly returned a dozen detainees from a small US military prison in Afghanistan, defense officials stated Thursday night, in another controversial prisoner release set to tone down the US’s war on terror.  US President Barack Obama, in a letter to Congress released on Thursday, informed U.S. lawmakers that about 38 non-Afghan…

The Al Qaeda offshoot the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) has conquered great sections of Iraq since capturing Mosul on Tuesday, going on to expand its control southward over several other cities, with its sights set on Baghdad. In the process of seizing the oil hub of Mosul, the Islamists made off with not only…

(For more topics, see Israel’s History – A Picture a Day website) Jihadi forces overran Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, this week. Analysts explain Mosul’s significance as the center of Iraq’s oil-rich areas, the gateway for the Sunni radicals to attack Baghdad, and a debacle for the U.S.-supported Iraqi army.  But Mosul also has an…

Twenty masked Muslim rioters on Friday pelted police forces with stones on the Temple Mount. The attack occurred at the Rambam (Mughrabi) Gate, the only point of access for Jewish visitors to the holiest site in Judaism. The twenty launched their rock barrage at the end of Muslim prayers on Friday. Police forces broke in…

Holocaust survivors from mental health hospitals were brought to the Western Wall (Kotel) in Jerusalem on Thursday to hold a belated bar mitzvah ceremony. IDF soldiers were present at the ceremony, and saluted the survivors in an emotional sign of respect. Pictures from the moving event, with the faces of the survivors blurred to protect…

Terrorism training went awry on Friday morning, as an accidental explosion at one of Hamas’s Gaza terror bases left four clumsy terrorists injured. The explosion occurred at a training camp in Khan Younis, in the south of Gaza. Hamas’s Ministry of Healthy spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra told Arab Ma’an News Agency that the four were taken to local…

Iran has deployed Revolutionary Guards units to Iraq in order to fight the Islamists who have taken over cities there, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing Iranian security sources. The sources said that at least three battalions of the Quds Forces, the elite overseas branch of the Guards, were dispatched to aid in…

The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed President Barack Obama’s nomination of Stanley Fischer to be vice chairman of the Federal Reserve, reports The Associated Press (AP). According to the report, the Senate voted 63-24 to approve the nomination of Fischer, the former governor of the Bank of Israel, to the Fed’s No. 2 post. Two…

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), an Al-Qaeda-inspired Islamist group that has taken over the Iraqi city of Mosul, has begun to implement Islamic Sharia law in the city. Since taking over Mosul, members of the group have been handing out documents to residents, stating that Islamic law is binding from now…

Former Palestinian Authority Chief Negotiator is in hot water with his boss, PA chief Mahmoud Abbas, after Erekat was caught on tape calling Abbas a “coward” who was afraid to take on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and the West. The comments were videotaped at a closed event in Ramallah earlier this week, and have been…

The Obama administration supports a plan to provide military training to the moderate Syrian opposition, an official said Wednesday, according to Reuters. Dana Shell Smith, President Barack Obama’s nominee to be ambassador to Qatar, made the comments at her Senate confirmation hearing. According to the report, she said that the administration supported language in a…

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman was in the swing of his African diplomatic tour on Wednesday, signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with his Rwandan counterpart Louise Mushikiwabo to establish bilateral consultations. Along with the MoU, Liberman inaugurated the Israel-Rwanda joint economic seminar, which will facilitate business ties between the two nations. The event was held…

Eleven Labor MKs, led by by Shelly Yechimovich, Eitan Cabel, and Avishai Braverman on Thursday submitted a proposal to allow civil marriage in Israel. The law, in preparation for over a year, would set up a mechanism whereby civil marriages conducted in Israel would be recognized by the state, along with religious marriages. The law…

Kurdish Pershmerga militia fighters have taken control of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, in an attempt to stymie advances by the radical Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), which took control of several towns and cities in northern Iraq in a lightening offensive this week. “The whole of Kirkuk has fallen into…

As Brazilian authorities work hard to crack down on the country’s notorious organized crime rings ahead of the World Cup, Israeli technology is playing a crucial role. This morning, it was revealed that one of the most dramatic illustrations of that fact occurred back in March, when Brazilian police finally nabbed a high-profile drug gang leader…

With banks paying next to nothing in interest, Israeli householders are actively looking for alternative investment vehicles – a situation that numerous entrepreneurs have taken advantage of by structuring investment vehicles for Israelis to invest in American real estate. With house prices in many parts of the US still depressed, there is an opportunity, these…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that he had voted for Reuven Rivlin in both rounds of the presidential election that was held Tuesday. According to Channel 2 News, Netanyahu made the comments during a meeting with Rivlin on Wednesday morning, their first since Rivlin won the vote. Netanyahu reportedly admitted to Rivlin that…

A group of experts confirmed on Wednesday that a Matisse painting found in the possession of the reclusive son of a German art dealer linked to Adolf Hitler was “Nazi loot” taken from a Jewish art dealer in Paris, AFP reports. Matisse’s “Seated Woman” was among a treasure trove of art discovered in the Munich…

Israel’s policy is to “kill those who plan to kill you”, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday night, responding to the IDF’s elimination of a Gaza terrorist who planned to carry out deadly attacks in Israel. “Our policy is clear – kill those who rise up to kill us. The IDF and the ISA…

Aircraft belonging to the Israeli Air Force (IAF) carried out an airstrike in Gaza on Wednesday night. According to reports, the airstrike targeted a terrorist. Palestinian Authority-based media said that one person was killed and two were wounded in the airstrike. The IDF confirmed the airstrike, saying in a statement it was an operation held…

WWU Student Alysa Kipersztok, a StandWithUs Emerson Fellow, brought the anti-BDS resolution to the ASWWU. “I’ve seen how divisive anti-Israel BDS campaigns have been on campuses across the country,” she stated. “Western is a warm, respectful, inclusive community. Our mission statement states that WWU ‘brings together individuals of diverse backgrounds and perspectives in an inclusive, student-centered…

Scores of young Jewish social justice and environmental activists from across the globe came together this week in Budapest to explore the connections between their commitment to supporting the Jewish community and their passion for helping the wider world. More than 70 young Jewish activists and leaders from Europe, Israel and North America convened in…

The Iraqi government under Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is taking more desperate measures, after a radical Al Qaeda offshoot seized control of the country’s second largest city on Monday night. Maliki made a televised statement on Tuesday, offering weapons and equipment to citizens willing to fight Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) Islamists, who captured…

A Kassam rocket fired by terrorists in Gaza exploded on Wednesday morning in the Eshkol Regional Council area in the north-western Negev. “Color red” sirens were sounded, and no injuries or damage was reported as a result of the attack. The rocket fell right near a central highway by one of the communities in the…

Saudi Arabia is continuing its crackdown on terrorism, and on Monday sentenced 33 suspected Islamist terrorists to up to 30 years in prison, Reuters reported, citing the official Saudi Press Agency . The 33 were sentenced by a court eight years after their arrest on terrorism charges. Seventy-one people were arrested in Riyadh’s al Nakheel…

A delegation of European diplomats traveled to the Gaza Strip to meet the Gaza-based ministers of a new Palestinian Authority “unity government”, an EU official said Wednesday. John Gatt-Rutter, the EU representative to Judea, Samaria and Gaza, was joined at the Tuesday meeting by French, Swedish, Danish and Portuguese diplomats, the official told AFP, speaking…

A new book sums up 13 years of research on female participation in IDF combat units and declares the feminist experiment in the Israeli military a failure. “Lochamot Betzahal” by Col. (res.) Raza Sagi, a former infantry regiment commander, points to high rates of serious injury among women serving in combat units, and to involvement…

An indictment was filed on Wednesday against an Arab resident of Jerusalem who broke a Jewish minor’s skull with a wooden bat last Tuesday right before Shavuot, as the youth was on his way to the Western Wall (Kotel). The attacker, 28-year-old Yusuf Huleisi, was arrested last Tuesday. In the request for an indictment, Jerusalem…

A historic convention that is to be held in the United States for the rights of Muslim women is being studiously ignored by western feminists. A group of Muslim women, led by attorney Nadia Shahram, will hold a convention in Seneca Falls to issue a “Declaration of the Equalities for Muslim Women” on July 18-19.…

Most Palestinian Arabs back the Palestinian Authority’s strategy to apply for membership in international treaties, and favor turning to the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a way of fighting Israel over other means, including terrorism – whereas Israelis oppose a unilateral withdrawal from Judea and Samaria. That’s according to the results of two studies released…

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, the only Jewish Republican in Congress, lost the GOP Virginia primary Tuesday night, Fox News reports. Cantor lost to Dave Brat, an economics professor and political novice who is a member of the Tea Party movement. Cantor is the second-most powerful member of the U.S. House and was widely seen…

President Shimon Peres on Tuesday evening called and congratulated Israel’s President-Elect MK Reuven Rivlin, who will take office at the end of July. “Rubi, Your Excellency the next President of the State of Israel, you are right for this role. It is a position that brings with it responsibility, you have to consider your every…

Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt’s new president, received a phone call on Tuesday from his counterpart in Washington, Barack Obama. According to a statement from the White House, Obama called al-Sisi today “to congratulate him on his inauguration and to convey his commitment to working together to advance the shared interests of both countries.” “The President…

Hours after being elected president, MK Reuven Rivlin published a personal post on his Facebook page, in which he thanked the MKs who voted for him. “I want to thank you. Those who voted for me – for placing your confidence in me and those who didn’t vote for me – for placing their confidence…

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon warned on Tuesday that despite the reconciliation agreement it reached with the Fatah movement, Hamas is preparing for its next confrontation with Israel. “Hamas signed the reconciliation pact from a position of disadvantage. It has no better alternative,” Ya’alon said during a meeting with soldiers from the IDF’s Gaza Division. “But…

U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday congratulated MK Reuven Rivlin on being elected president of Israel. “Over more than six decades, the United States and Israel have developed a unique relationship based on shared democratic values, our unshakeable commitment to Israel’s security, and our partnership in scientific research and innovative technology,” Obama said in a…

Hamas spokesman Hussan Budran vowed revenge on Israel on Tuesday, calling on Palestinian Arabs in Judea and Samaria to “fulfill their obligations” to hurt IDF soldiers and attack Jewish communities.  “Israel will pay a heavy price in blood until it could be persuaded to solve the problem of hunger striking prisoners,” he warned, in an…

Two Jewish teenagers told police they narrowly escaped an attack near Paris by a hatchet-wielding man and three others. The incident occurred last week and was reported by JTA. The attack occurred late at night on the holiday of Shavuot (June 4), in Romainville, a northeastern suburb of the French capital, according to the National…

If former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton decides not to run for president, it will probably not be because of the 2012 terrorist attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Clinton said on Monday that, in fact, she feels emboldened to run for president because of Republican criticism of her handling of the…

Iran’s President, Hassan Rouhani, on Monday became the first Iranian leader to visit Turkey in more than 18 years. According to Bloomberg news, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after talks with Rouhani that Ankara may buy more Iranian natural gas if a price dispute can be settled. Erdogan said he and Rouhani discussed…

Yet another violent clash between Hamas members and Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces casts further doubt on the supposed “unity” behind the recent Hamas-Fatah reconciliation, which led to the swearing in of a unity government last Monday. The incident began when Hamas members held a rally in Ramallah in Samaria on Monday evening, protesting in…

Tehran and Washington began a second day of talks in Geneva on Tuesday on Iran’s contested nuclear program, amid a fresh diplomatic drive in the face of a July deadline for a deal. Washington warned of “tough choices” in the crunch negotiations, as fellow world powers braced to meet with the Islamic republic to try to build momentum. Senior officials…

The Palestinian Authority (PA) is preparing a diplomatic offensive against Israel with the help of Arab countries, in order to thwart Israel’s attempts to impose sanctions on the new Fatah-Hamas unity government and to take unilateral steps in Judea and Samaria. Azzam Al-Ahmed, a senior Fatah official in charge of negotiating with Hamas, said in…

Former Knesset speaker, Likud MK Reuven Rivlin, has won Israel’s presidential elections, beating his opponent MK Meir Sheetrit (Hatnua) in the second round of votes. 119 out of 120 Members of Knesset voted in the second round, with 63 voting for Rivlin and 53 for Sheetrit. Three MKs cast blank ballots. The election of Israel’s…

Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram has abducted more than 20 women in northern Nigeria, several weeks after abducting more than 200 boarding school students in Chibok.  Eyewitnesses told BBC News Tuesday that the women were herded into unmarked vans, then shuttled off to Borno state. The incident, which occurred in the nomadic town of Garkin Fulani, has…

Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman was to leave Tuesday for visits to several African countries on a mission to gain observer status for the Jewish state in the African Union (AU). The 10-day trip, Liberman’s first to Africa since 2009, will be to Rwanda, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Kenya and Ethiopia, a foreign ministry statement said. “Africa is a key objective…

Dr. Boaz Ganor, the Director of the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT), predicted Tuesday that Europe will be facing a full-blown Muslim-Arab intifada soon, much like the violent uprising that Israel faced starting in the late 1980s. Ganor based his prediction on the recent upsurge in islamist terror, and explained that the second generation of…

The top school inspector in Britain said on Monday that a culture of “fear and intimidation” exists in some British schools due to an alleged Muslim extremist plot. According to Reuters, a government investigation, launched after an anonymous letter reported a campaign dubbed “Operation Trojan Horse”, found evidence of a drive to impose Muslim cultural…

Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad announced an unprecedented prisoner amnesty on Monday, less than a week after his re-election, AFP reported. Announced five days after Assad was re-elected with nearly 90 percent in a ballot decried as a “farce” by the opposition and the West, the amnesty is the first extended to those accused under a…

The United States on Monday held direct talks with Iran on its nuclear program, and France will follow suit, according to AFP. “Bilateral discussions between France and Iran will take place on Wednesday,” French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said at a news conference in Algiers after Iranian and U.S. delegations began two days of direct…

The Knesset approved for the first reading a landmark bill Monday which would allow prison authorities to force-feed hunger-striking prisoners, sparking fury from several MKs.  The Government bill seeks to authorize the Commissioner of Prisons to petition the District Court to obtain a permit for medical treatment of hunger-striking prisoners. The court will take into…

The world’s oldest man, a retired chemist and parapsychologist, has died Wednesday at the age of 111.  Imich’s niece, Karen Bogen of Providence, Rhode Island, says Imich died Sunday at his home in Manhattan. Imich, who was Jewish, was born in 1903 in a town in present-day Poland; at the time, it was part of…

With less than 24 hours to go before Israel’s new president is declared, Arutz Sheva provides a brief biography of each of the candidates still in the running for the largely symbolic – yet highly prestigious – post. The vote will take place in the Knesset, not as part of a general election, with the…