Category: News

The ministerial committee headed by Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon met Sunday evening and approved the release of 26 terrorists as part of a gesture to the Palestinian Authority, in order to get it to resume peace talks with Israel. In addition to Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, Science and Technology Minister Yaakov Perry and Public Security…

Deep in the woods of Ripples, New Brunswick, some 700 Jews found themselves stepping into an internment camp during the early months of the Second World War. Now almost 70 years later, The Vancouver Sun enfolds the story of a little known camp that saved many Jews from perishing in the Holocaust. During a relief…

17 terrorists who were convicted of murdering Israelis, including three who murdered senior citizens using axes, are among the 26 terrorists that Israel will set free this week. The full list was made public on the Israel Prisons Service website on Sunday night. Among the terrorists to be released is Salah Ibrahim Ahmad Mughdad, the…

Rebels in Syria claimed on Sunday that they had killed at least 42 Hizbullah terrorists, who were fighting with soldiers loyal to President Bashar al-Assad on behalf of Iran. The deaths were reported by Arab television station Al-Arabiya, which quoted a rebel leader as saying that the operation was a “high quality one.” In a…

An Al-Qaeda linked terrorist group killed five soldiers in Yemen in an attack Sunday, Yemeni authorities have reported. The soldiers were responsible for security at the Balhaf terminal. Most of Yemen’s gas exports pass through the terminal. A spokesman told AFP that Al-Qaeda has also plotted an attack on the Canadian-run Mina al-Dhaba oil terminal…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu officially got his powers back on Sunday morning, following a discussion between top doctors at Hadassah Ein Karem Hospital in Jerusalem. Netanyahu’s authorities had been temporarily given to Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon while he underwent stomach surgery. The surgery Saturday night was successful, and the Prime Minister is said to be…

The Housing Ministry will publish tenders for construction over more than 1,000 new homes in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem on Sunday. The Jerusalem tenders will include projects in historically Jewish eastern and northern Jerusalem neighborhoods that were officially annexed to Israel following the Six Day War. The Palestinian Authority continues to demand the neighborhoods as…

With the cooperation of the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption, there will be a total of 331 new immigrants (olim) from North America landing in Ben Gurion Airport on Tuesday, August 13, 2013. A customary arrival ceremony will be held in their honor with the presence of many of Israel’s dignitaries. This flight will mark the…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was recovering on Sunday morning after undergoing an emergency hernia operation overnight, his office said in a statement. The surgery, which took place at the Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital in Jerusalem, was successful and lasted about an hour, said the Prime Minister’s Office. Netanyahu, 63, is expected to be discharged on…

Hamas plans to publicly execute two prisoners in Gaza this week as a “lesson” to others, according to Amnesty International. The organization has described the move as “deeply disturbing,” reported the British Guardian. The human rights organization said a 23-year-old man had been sentenced to death for “collaboration with an enemy entity,” He told his…

A wave of bomb attacks hit Iraq over the weekend, as people celebrated the Eid al-Fitr festival marking the end of Ramadan, with more than 60 reported dead. The BBC reported that 11 bombs targeted both Shiite and Sunni areas of the capital, Baghdad, hitting cafes, markets and restaurants in at least nine different districts.…

In Southern Yemen, a suspected U.S. drone strike struck down two al-Qaeda militants on Saturday, USA Today reports. This marks the ninth such strike in Yemen since July 27.   According to reports, the U.S. drone also wounded another two militants, leaving one seriously injured. The four militants had been driving in a car near…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu sent a letter Saturday evening to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in which he complained that Palestinian Authority (PA) incitement against Israel is continuing even after a return to U.S.-brokered “peace negotiations” between Israel and the PA was announced. “Incitement and peace do not go together,” wrote Netanyahu. “Instead of…

Turkey plans to pull its troops from UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, according to Turkish and UN sources. The announcement came a day after two Turkish Airlines pilots were kidnapped by unknown attackers. The pilots were seized early Friday on a road leading out of Beirut airport, in an apparent bid to secure the release of Lebanese pilgrims held…

Masoud Barzani, president of the autonomous Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq, issued a warning to jihadist groups in northern Syria, Saturday. Calling on Kurdish parties in Iraq to launch an investigation into alleged massacres by Islamists against Syria’s Kurdish population, Barzani warned that if such reports were found to be true, the KRG would…

A ten-year-old boy and four men aged 50 to 60 drowned in the course of the weekend. At around 7:30 p.m. Friday, an MDA team arrived at Charles Clore beach in Tel Aviv, where a 10-year-old boy was pulled out of the water after he had drowned. He was unconscious and had no pulse. He…

Israel is to vaccinate all children against polio, after “thousands” of people in the south of the country were found to be carriers, Health Minister Yael German said on Saturday. The minister said that there is no plan to inoculate adults at this point, but assured the public that the ministry “has its finger on…

Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon called reports that Israel struck a terrorist target in Sinai “rumors and speculations” but did not deny them outright. “We will not allow rumors and speculations, like the ones that developed in the last 24 hours, to hurt the peace treaty” between Israel and Egypt, he said, as Al Qaeda affiliated…

The Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, General Mark A. Welsh, departed Israel on Thursday, concluding a four-day work visit, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said in a statement. The General was hosted by the Commander of the Israel Air Force Major General Amir Eshel. Heidi Grant, Deputy Under Secretary of the Air…

Ansar Bait El Maqdis, an Al Qaeda affiliate in the Sinai peninsula, vowed revenge Saturday after four of its members were killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike as they prepared to launch a missile at Israel. Ansar Beit al-Maqdis said four of its members belonging to Sinai tribes had been killed by Israeli drones on…

The Ministry of Health decided on Friday that the operation to vaccinate children against the polio virus will be expanded to include children in all of Israel. Until now, only children from southern Israel were given the vaccine. As of Sunday, all children in Israel born from 2004 and onwards will be called to be…

Israeli authorities shut down Eilat’s airport on Thursday after Egypt sent a warning about an attack originating in the Sinai, a senior military source told the Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency on Friday. Egyptian intelligence agents feared that armed groups were preparing to target security buildings in the Sinai including sites along the Suez canal, reported…

A Fatah MP warned of an impending security campaign by Hamas in Gaza, after its security forces raided the homes of several Fatah leaders in the enclave, reported the Ma’an news agency. Majed Abu Shamallah told the news agency Hamas forces raided the home of Khalil Abu Hasna, the executive director of the National Commission…

Controversial atheist British professor Richard Dawkins has provoked outrage in a tweet he made deriding the lack of academic achievements by Muslims. On Thursday, the best-selling author of “The God Delusion,” tweeted that: “All the world’s Muslims have fewer Nobel Prizes than Trinity College, Cambridge. They did great things in the Middle Ages, though.” That…

At least fourteen Al Qaeda terrorists have been killed in three US drone strikes in  single day, according to Yemeni officials.  Drone strikes have been commonly employed to strike at the heart of Al Qaeda’s leadership, and have been stepped up following alleged threats to attack US embassies in the Middle East. Those fear led…

Egypt denied on Friday evening that Israel had carried out an airstrike in the Sinai. At least five Egyptian terrorists were reportedly killed as they prepared to launch a rocket into Israel. Some sources spoke of an Israeli air strike conducted from Israeli air space, but the Egyptian military denied this. “There is no truth…

Two Jewish British teenage girls arrived home on Friday, badly burned after acid was hurled in their faces in Zanzibar, while the island’s authorities offered a reward for the capture of their attackers. AFP reported that Katie Gee and Kirstie Trup, both 18, were flown to a Royal Air Force (RAF) base in London and…

The Health Ministry has high hopes for the ongoing mass immunization program in southern Israel, a response to the discovery that roughly 2.5% of children living in the region carry the polio virus. “I hope we’ll manage to eradicate this virus, which is fairly stubborn,” Health Minister Yael German said, speaking to Walla! News. The…

United States Secretary of State John Kerry and other top U.S. officials met Thursday evening with a small group of Jewish community leaders to ask for their support for the diplomatic talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The talks are necessary for Israel, he argued, in part because Israel faces the threat of diplomatic isolation…

In Washington, the U.S. State Department has said that negotiations between Israel and PA leaders will resume on August 14, 2013, Reuters reported. During last month’s negotiations mediated by the U.S. in Washington, both sides were in agreement to settle their differences in the coming months. There have been no negotiations for nearly three years.…

Egyptian military forces have captured over 100 Islamist terrorists in recent days – one third of them from Gaza. All were carrying phony Egyptian identity cards. They were arrested in northern Sinai, near Gaza, with some arrested south of Eilat. The false identity cards were probably produced in Gaza, Egyptian officials said, using machinery that…

President Barack Obama will award an Israeli-American professor with the Presidential Medal of Freedom later this year, it was announced Thursday. The White House announced that Daniel Kahneman, a professor emeritus of psychology at Princeton University and a Nobel laureate in economics, is one of 16 people who will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.…

Some two hours after it was ordered closed, the Eilat Airport was reopened. Planes will begin arriving and leaving the airport before midnight Thursday. The reopening was ordered by IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz. Earlier, the airport was ordered closed, although the IDF did not give any specific reason for the closing. Officials in…

The Syrian army came dangerously close to the Israeli border on Thursday as it tried to carry out an unsuccessful airstrike on the rebels fighting to oust President Bashar Al-Assad. Reports in the Syrian media indicated that the army launched an airstrike on a rebel stronghold in the town of Elhara, which is located just…

A suicide bomber has killed 29 mourners at a funeral in Quetta, Pakistan. Victims of the attack were attending the funeral of a local police officer who was gunned down earlier in the morning according to a Reuters reporter who was present. Provincial Chief Secretary Police Babar Yaqoob Fateh Mohammad confirmed at least 29 dead and 62…

Cyprus, Greece and Israel signed a deal on Thursday to cooperate over energy and aiming at securing Europe’s energy supply. A memorandum of understanding was signed by Cypriot Energy Minister George Lakkotrypis, his Greek counterpart Yannis Maniatis and Israel’s Silvan Shalom. A statement said the three countries welcomed joint projects in the energy sector to…

The IDF ordered the immediate shutdown of the airport at Eilat Thursday to all arriving and departing flights, following an unspecified security assessment. The assessment is most likely linked to terrorist activity in the Sinai desert, which borders on the southern port city. Takeoffs of flights headed north were initially allowed to take place but…

In the tourist filled location of Stone Town, Zanzibar, two Jewish British teens had acid thrown in their faces Wednesday by men driving by on a moped. The incident followed two previous attacks they had suffered at the hands of locals. The Telegraph reported that Katie Gee and Kristie Trup, both 18 years old, were on…

An IDF commander who lost his foot was personally involved in apprehending a Palestinian Authority Arab who was found with a shotgun on Wednesday evening. The incident occurred near the PA Arab village of Beit Dajan, east of Shechem. An IDF force led by the commander of the Shomron Brigade, Yoav Yarom, located the shotgun…

The Civil Administration on Wednesday authorized construction of 878 housing units in Judea and Samaria. The units were approved for towns in the Binyamin region, the Jordan Valley, and Gush Etzion, Ha’aretz reported Thursday. The approvals had been set to be issued several weeks ago, but were postponed due to the efforts to restart negotiations…

A drone strike  – the sixth such strike in two weeks – has killed at least six people travelling in a convoy in Mareb province, in southeastern Yemen. Four of the dead are believed to be Al Qaeda terrorists, and the remaining two are civilians. Speaking to CNN, an unnamed security official explained that “Mareb was a previous stronghold for…

Terrorists from Hamas-controlled Gaza fired a Qassam rocket towards the Eshkol Regional Council on Wednesday night. The rocket exploded in an open region, causing no physical injuries or damages. Local residents said that the “Red Alert” warning siren had not gone off before the rocket exploded. Israel and Hamas agreed to an Egyptian-brokered “ceasefire” after…

Yemen says it has foiled an al-Qaeda plot to blow up oil pipelines and seize some of the country’s main ports, the BBC reported Wednesday. Security remains tight, with hundreds of armored vehicles deployed to protect key targets. The BBC also cites reports that the US preparing special operations forces for possible strikes against al-Qaeda…

The top US military officer is scheduled to arrive in Israel and Jordan next week, in a visit which will focus in part on Iran and the war in Syria, the US military said Wednesday. General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will meet in Israel with his counterpart, IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz,…

A powerful blast from a gas leak ripped through a ten-story apartment building setting it ablaze in Argentina’s third largest city Tuesday, leaving at least eight dead and 61 injured. City officials in Rosario said at least 19 people were still missing as hundreds of firefighters and rescuers searched the rubble of the edifice that…

US President Barack Obama has cancelled a planned G20 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to senior administration officials. The decision to cancel the president’s trip to St. Petersburg is in response to growing US frustration at the Russian government’s continued refusal to hand over Edward Snowden over charges of leaking classified information. Only…

The Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) second-in-command, Michael Morell, says the Syrian civil war is now the greatest threat to U.S. national security, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. The risk, says Morell, is that the Syrian government might collapse and the country would becomes al Qaeda’s new safe haven, supplanting Pakistan. In such a scenario, the…

Billionaire George Soros’ philanthropy is bad news for Israel, according to an in-depth report from the NGO-Monitor watchdog group. The report listed the many causes in Israel, or pertaining to Israel, that are funded by Soros’ Open Society Foundations. Among the top beneficiaries of OSF funding is Human Rights Watch, which has been criticized for…

Despite pledges by US President Barack Obama and key congressional leaders to shield the Israeli Iron Dome from sequestration cuts, Israel has offered to waive funding protection, reports Defense News, which says Israel has been “insisting it should bear its share of the burden.” “Our position is we must bear the burden that our American…

Pro-Israel activists have derided the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) anti-Israel movement, after a widely-trumpeted “success” in their campaign to isolate Israel was revealed to have been fabricated. In the last few years, anti-Israel activists have embarked on a campaign to isolate the State of Israel politically and economically, calling for international boycotts and sanctions…

The US State Department on Tuesday ordered all non-essential staff out of Yemen and told US citizens to leave the country “immediately” over terrorism concerns, reported AFP. The latest warning comes after the closure of some two dozen US missions across the Middle East and Africa and reports of intercepted messages from Al-Qaeda’s top leader…

A poll released by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) has shed significant light on attitudes among Israeli Jews and Arabs regarding peace talks with the Palestinian Authority, among other issues. The survey, which was conducted between 28th – 30th July 2013, includes 602 respondents constituting a representative sample of the adult population of Israel, according to IDI. It reveals…

Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) reported Tuesday on an official Fatah Facebook page that is celebrating murderous terror attacks on Jews, in a list encompassing decades. Fatah is headed by Mahmoud Abbas, who heads the Palestinian Authority with which Israel is currently conducting “peace talks.” Among the celebrated attacks was the most lethal terror attack in Israel’s…

Residents of the largely hareidi city of Bnei Brak and theJewish Samarian city of Ariel feel relatively safe, according to a police survey. Residents of the mixed Arab-Jewish cities of Lod and Nazareth fell much less safe. The survey encompassed 13 cities and towns in which the police’s “community policing” project operates. Its results were reported…

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat is promising to develop Jerusalem for the benefit of younger citizens as well as olim (new immigrants). Barkat spoke to Arutz Sheva at a huge aliyah event which took place last week in Jerusalem. “We’re becoming a place for tourists, for residents, for investors, and I’m eager to develop the city…

After witnessing a terror attack in Jerusalem as a child, Eli Beer decided that he wanted to be a doctor and help people, the director of United Hatzolah told an audience at a recent TED conference.TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conferences are gatherings where innovative ideas, theories and projects are presented to thousands of viewers, both…

A Jerusalem structure that served as a hospital in the Crusader era has been opened to the public, after archaeological digs and research carried out by the Antiquities Authority. The structure, which is owned by the Muslim Waqf, is located in the heart of the Christian Quarter, near David Street. The building served as a…

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea hinted on Sunday that Hizbullah is behind two rocket attacks on the Baabda presidential palace area last Thursday. He accused the movement of “declaring war on the state of Lebanon, its people and institutions,” Ya Libnan reported. One of the rockets struck within the security perimeter of the Presidential Palace,…

The U.S. State Department announced on Sunday that it will extend the closure of 19 embassies and consulates in the Middle East through Saturday, including a small number of additional posts, according to the Associated Press. A press release on the department’s website said the closures were out of an “abundance of caution” and not…

Iran’s new president will have to deal with an economy that is showing signs of foundering, according to a Washington Post report published over the weekend. Western sanctions are cutting ever deeper into the Islamic republic’s financial lifelines and increasing pressure for a nuclear deal with the West, the report noted, citing newly released data.…

The U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, arrived in Israel on Sunday for a work visit, the Israel Defense website reported. General Dempsey arrived as a guest of IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz, the report said, adding that the visit will focus on improving the military cooperation between the…

A planned visit by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was canceled by Egyptian authorities. The visit, originally scheduled for several months ago, was postponed several times due to the unrest in Egypt, but last week Erdogan was informed by Cairo that he could not visit at all. News of the cancellation was reported by…

Two Israeli soldiers were among the four people who were killed in Sunday’s accident on Highway 6, it was cleared for publication Sunday evening. The two soldiers are Hai Ben-Naim, 19, of Rishon LeZion, and Kfir Dahari, 22, of Yavne. The names of two other victims have yet to be released. Three other IDF soldiers…

Gaza’s Islamist rulers are nervous. The fall of Mohammed Morsi – the Islamist president of Egypt and scion of Hamas’s parent organization, the Muslim Brotherhood – has left them isolated. The current Egyptian government, led by military strongman General Abdel al-Sisi, is decidedly hostile to Hamas, which it accuses of aiding jihadists within Egypt in their efforts…

The IDF and Shin Bet have released their report on terrorist attacks in the month of July. Over the course of the month, 38 Israelis were wounded in terrorist assaults. Among the wounded was a young toddler who suffered a head injury when Arabs hurled stones at a Jewish family near the Old City of…

Top U.S. officials are reviewing the threat of a terrorist attack that has led to the weekend closure of 21 U.S. embassies and consulates in the Muslim world and a global travel warning to Americans, according to the Associated Press. The White House said on Saturday that President Barack Obama has been briefed on the…

Hassan Rouhani has officially replaced Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president of Iran. Rouhani’s election was endorsed on Saturday by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at a ceremony in the capital, Tehran. He won the presidential poll in June, promising to reform and to put an end to Iran’s international isolation. The ceremony marks the handover of…

Interpol issued a global security alert on Saturday, citing prison breaks across nine nations in the past month, reported the New York Times. The international police organization said that Islamist terror group Al Qaeda is suspected of playing a role in some of the jailbreaks, and asked for help to determine whether the operations “are…

Ex-Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Saturday evening that there is no chance that “peace talks” between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) will lead to a peace deal. “Nine months from now, even the respectable people leading the process will understand that it is impossible to reach a comprehensive diplomatic agreeement,” Lieberman told Channel 10.…

The U.S. intelligence community has been leaking information on Israeli air strikes in Syria, and U.S. President Barack Obama is behind the leaks, according to a report in the World Tribune. Diplomats told the Tribune that the Obama administration has enabled the U.S. intelligence community to disclose details of Israeli military operations against the armed…

Destroying Israel is the interest of the entire Arab world, Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah declared on Friday. AFP reported that the head of the Lebanese terror group made a rare public appearance at a Beirut rally held to mark Iran’s Quds Day. It was a first appearance in public since last September for Nasrallah who,…

The United States issued a worldwide alert on Friday, warning of plans by Al-Qaeda to launch an attack in the Middle East or North Africa in August, AFP reported. The State Department issued the caution to U.S. citizens a day after announcing that some two dozen embassies or consulates would be closed on Sunday as…

A freely-distributed Finnish paper notorious for its anti-Semitic content has said it would tone down its editorial line after being criticized by the Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Center, AFP reported on Friday. “The contents are to become more commercial and radical articles should be avoided,” Juha Kaarkkaainen, editor-in-chief of the Magneettimedia paper, told the Helsingin Sanomat…

Syrian opposition leaders said on Friday that United Nations inspectors would have “unfettered” access to areas under rebel control to investigate the use of chemical weapons, AFP reported. The Syrian National Coalition said in a statement it wanted the inspectors to go first to the town of Khan al-Assal, where an attack with chemical weapons…

A 50-year-old Syrian woman was brought on Friday evening to Israel after being wounded during the civil war that is raging in her country. The woman, who was listed in moderate condition, was at first brought to the Ziv Hospital in the city of Tzfat. It was subsequently decided, however, to transfer the woman to…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, responded Riday to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s remarks in which he was cited as saying that Israel “has been a wound on the body of the Islamic world for years and should be removed.” Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency said Rouhani spoke after taking part in an annual “Al Quds Day” rally in Tehran on Friday. It quoted Rouhani…

Security forces are on heightened alert Friday morning in the Wadi Ara region in the lower Galilee, after about 1,000 Arabs tried to block a major traffic artery there Thursday. The Arabs had gathered for a pre-planned riot, and were led by MKs Jamal Zahalka and Hanin Zouabi (both of Balad). They were demonstrating against…

At least two rockets slammed into an area south of Beirut that houses the Defense Ministry and presidential palace on Thursday night, Lebanon’s state-run news agency reported. There were no casualties, according to the report. It was not immediately clear who fired the rockets or from where. Eyewitnesses said one rocket fell only a few…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu welcomed on Thursday the U.S. House of Representatives’ decision to tighten sanctions on Iran. “Following the Iranian elections the House of Representatives has sent a clear message to the Iranian regime that international pressure will increase until Iran meets its obligations and ceases its pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability,” Netanyahu…

The annual Gay Pride parade and rally was held in Jerusalem on Thursday evening. Several roads were shut down during the parade, which traveled through the downtown area to a city park. Many marchers carried rainbow flags. Some carried more political signs, including demands for more funding for initiatives to fight homophobia, references to the…

Gunfire from the Syrian side of the border hit close to an IDF patrol in the northern Golan Heights on Thursday night. There were no injuries or damages. The IDF believes that the fire was not directed at the Israeli soldiers and was part of the ongoing fighting between the Syrian army and the rebels…

The Knesset can be a tough crowd for any Prime Minister. The fierce debate often forces the Knesset speaker to intervene and even discipline MKs who are deemed too disruptive. So PM Netanyahu must have been quite pleased at requiring the speaker to call the legislature to order for a very different reason.   The exchange took…

The Color Red incoming rocket alert siren was activated early Thursday afternoon in the Golan Heights region. Local sources said there were unconfirmed reports that the siren activated throughout the region, and into the Emek HaYarden – the Jordan Valley – area as well. It was not clear why the siren activated, and security personnel…

US officials estimate that Israel will lose about 15 percent of “major settlement blocs” in Judea and Samaria in any final status deal worked out with the Palestinian Authority. Sources in Washington reported that Secretary of State John Kerry said in discussions with members of the House of Representatives described as “mostly pro-Israel” that Israel’s…

Hundreds of hareidi-religious young men will don IDF uniforms for the first time on Thursday morning. They are part of a growing trend toward voluntary hareidi IDF service that has led to roughly 3,500 hareidi soldiers serving at any given time. The IDF hopes that number will grow to 10,000 within the next five years.…

The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and the police have arrested four Palestinian Authority Arabs on suspicion of being responsible for a robbery that turned into a murder in October of last year. According to information that was cleared for publication on Wednesday, the members of the PA gang were arrested at the beginning of…

United Nations inspectors will go to Syria to investigate three sites where chemical weapons attacks have been reported, the international body said Wednesday, according to the AFP news agency. The Syrian government has blocked the inspectors since calling for a UN inquiry into the use of the banned arms in March. “The mission will travel…

British Foreign Secretary William Hague signalled on Wednesday that Britain was open to improved relations with Iran on a “step-by-step” basis, following talks with his counterpart in Tehran, reported the Daily Telegraph. The breakthrough phone call between Hague and Ali Akbar Salehi, Iran’s outgoing foreign minister, came after overtures from Tehran following last month’s general…

An Al-Qaeda-linked group in Syria kidnapped around 200 Kurdish civilians after violent clashes with Kurdish fighters in the country, a monitoring group said on Wednesday, according to Al Arabiya. “Fighters of Al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) have seized control of Tall Aren village in Aleppo province and are…

Palestinian Authority Arabs attacked Jewish hikers in the Binyamin region on Wednesday, as they were exploring near the Wadi Zarqa valley. The group of hikers, who were walking near an area where there are springs, suddenly found themselves being hit by a hail of rocks being hurled by local PA Arab residents. The Arabs then…

A large fire broke out Wednesday afternoon in Britannia Park, near the city of Beit Shemesh in the Jerusalem region. Firefighters’ spokesperson for the Jerusalem region Assaf Abras told Arutz Sheva that 19 firefighting crews had been called to the scene. Some arrived from central Israel to assist the Jerusalem-area crews. Four firefighting helicopters were…

Attacks against Jews in Malmoe, Sweden’s third largest city, have left members of the community questioning their future in a place known for its “multiculturalism.” Jewish people have lived in Malmoe for over two centuries, often arriving in the south Swedish port city – a safe haven for generations – after fleeing persecution and intolerance in other parts of Europe. But…

The chief economist at Israel’s Bank Hapoalim, Professor Leo Leiderman, will become the next governor of the Bank of Israel. Professor Leiderman, 61,who will replace outgoing governor Stanley Fischer, has been the chief economic adviser at Bank Hapoalim for over a decade. “I am excited to get back to the Bank of Israel and I…

Hizbullah claims that European representatives suggested the terrorist organization carry out a “limited attack” on an Israeli target in a remote international location, in retaliation for the assassination of Hizbullah leader Imad Mughniyeh. The allegations came to light in a July 27 article written by Hizbullah-linked columnist Jean ‘Aziz for the Lebanese Al-Akhbar daily newspaper, translated…

The first Jewish cultural and religious center in Portugal was inaugurated last week in the city of Trancoso, Portuguese American Journal reported. The new complex, which houses the new synagogue called Beit Mayim Hayim [House of Living Waters], was co-sponsored by the Jerusalem-based Shavei Israel and the Trancoso Municipality. “This is an historic moment,” said…

The United States, Russia, European Union and United Nations – known as the Quartet – on Tuesday made a joint call on Israel and the Palestinian Authority not to “undermine trust” as they embark on peace talks, reported AFP. The diplomatic Quartet on the Middle East said it was determined to support the two sides’…

A week after Eric Burdon, the former lead singer in the British band The Animals, cancelled his performance in Israel because of political pressure, he had a change of heart. The Israel Hayom daily newspaper reported on Tuesday that Burdon landed in Israel on Monday evening, ahead of his planned performance with popular Israeli rock…

Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and John McCain said Tuesday they’re traveling to Egypt next week at President Barack Obama’s request, in hopes of spurring the reconciliation process there, reported Politico. The two plan to convey “a unified message that jailing the opposition is becoming more and more like a coup,” Graham was quoted as having…

The Health Ministry is set to announce in the coming days that it is embarking on an emergency inoculation program to protect some 200,000 children from polio. A report on Channel 10 Tuesday night said that doctors have found hundreds of people carrying the disease in recent days, especially in the south. If the government…

Activists from the Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Home) party’s Young Leadership movement spent the Sabbath in one of the neighborhoods of southern Tel Aviv, and were shocked at what they found. The young visitors were horrified to hear that the synagogue they visited, Etz Chaim, had been left nearly empty due to violence from illegal infiltrators…

Terrorists fired a rocket Tuesday morning from Hamas-controlled Gaza into southern Israel, as “peace talks” between the Palestinian Authority and Israel began in Washington. The rocket exploded in an empty area within the Shaar Hanegev Regional Council. No one was hurt and no damage was reported. Similar attacks took place July 21 and July 18.…

Senior Palestinian Authority officials will be in Knesset on Wednesday to meet with Members of Knesset and ministers from the Lobby to Promote a Solution to the Israeli-Arab Conflict. The meeting will express support for the creation of a PA-led Arab state in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. The session was organized by MK Hilik Bar…

Meir Dagan, the former head of the Mossad intelligence agency, said in an interview published Tuesday that the negotiations vis-a-vis the Palestinian Authority (PA) were poorly handled and therefore do not have much chance of succeeding. “This should have been handled differently,” he explained. “We should have conducted secret negotiations with the Arab League, and…

The Knesset approved the second and third readings of the state budget for the years 2013-2014 early Tuesday morning, after long discussions that lasted for more than 15 hours. 58 MKs voted in favor of the budget, which includes some difficult austerity measures, and 43 voted against. Earlier, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met with the…

The detonator and remote control used in a Bulgarian bomb attack that killed five Israelis last year were smuggled in from Poland, a newspaper reported Monday, according to the AFP news agency. The still unidentified bomber and two accomplices smuggled in the components on a train from Warsaw on June 28, the Trud daily said,…

The White House condemned on Monday the “bloodshed and violence” in Egypt  but took no immediate steps to suspend U.S. military assistance to the country, Al Arabiya reported. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the weekend violence, in which 80 people were killed in Cairo, sets back the process of democratization in Egypt and does…

U.S. President Barack Obama welcomed the imminent start of renewed peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians on Monday, but urged both sides to approach them with honesty, AFP reported Monday evening. “The most difficult work of these negotiations is ahead, and I am hopeful that both the Israelis and Palestinians will approach these talks in goodfaith,” he said. …

Israel has agreed to all demands, but a major faction in the Palestine Liberation Organization has just balked against holding talks with the Jewish State. It is not clear whether the PLO requires a unanimous vote, or whether the majority rules in deciding whether to proceed with direct final status talks with Israel, or not.…

More than a hundred activists gathered Sunday to show their ire across from government offices near the Knesset as ministers voted to release terrorist prisoners with blood on their hands in order to talk “peace” with the Palestinian Authority. The protests are continuing, with a new rally scheduled to begin Monday evening led by the founders…

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has appointed former US Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk, 62,  to guide the Israel-PA final status talks that begin Monday night in Washington D.C. With the directive that both parties should reach “reasonable compromises on tough, complicated, emotional and symbolic issues,” Kerry emphasized in a briefing with journalists Monday that…

At least 55 people have been killed in a string of car bomb attacks in Baghdad Monday morning.  Reports indicate that at least 17 separate attacks took place in majority Shia areas of the Iraqi capital, according to emergency services. More than 100 people were also injured. According to AFP 2013 has been one of the deadliest years since American-led Coalition…

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has announced plans to impose sanctions against Hizbullah that will see all arms of the group being labelled as a terrorist organization. The Saudi Arabian daily Al-Watan reported on Sunday that the GCC views Hizbullah as a monolithic organization and “does not differentiate between Hizbullah’s military and political wings.” This…

As Israel and the Palestinian Authority prepare to sit down yet again for another round of talks, PA television has been broadcasting the latest in its long string of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic programs and songs. In a “music video” first released in 2011 and re-released over the past several days, and monitored by Palestinian Media…

Shin Bet head Yoram Cohen warned government ministers at the weekly Cabinet session Sunday against releasing terrorists as a “gesture” to the Palestinian Authority (PA) – but the ministers voted to do so anyway. Cohen explained that the release of terrorist prisoners would diminish security “both in the immediate threat to the public, and because of…

The government voted Sunday in favor of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyhau’s plan to release 104 terrorist prisoners from jail, as a gesture that will accompany the reopening of “peace talks” with the Palestinian Authority (PA). The identities of the prisoners will be determined by a committee of ministers that will be headed by Netanyahu, and…

The Egyptian Army has launched Operation ‘Desert Storm’ in a bid to restore order to the lawless Sinai Peninsula, where an undetermined number of terrorist groups have set up bases, military sources said Saturday. At least 20 Egyptian police officers and soldiers were killed since the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi in clashes with…

The government on Sunday reopened the issue of the “fair burden” of IDF service, this time extending it to religious girls. At Sunday’s cabinet meeting, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein said that among the groups the government should be “encouraging” to serve a full three years in the army are Hesder yeshiva students – and religious…

Israeli air force jets bombed trucks carrying Syrian missiles bound for Hizbullah’s warehouses in Lebanon, according to Syrian opposition sources. The sources, were cited Sunday by Voice of Israel radio’s Arabic-language service, which was quoted by i24 News. The Friday night bombing reportedly targeted a Syrian military base near the town of Quneitra, not far from…

Anti-Semitic violence continues to flourish in English, with British teens having carried out the latest attack on Jewish boys as young as 10. A group of Jewish boys visiting the British town of Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey came under a hail of stones last week by a gang of teens. The teens hurled rocks as…

In advance of the resumption of “peace talks” between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA), Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has agreed to release 104 terrorist murderers who committed their terrorist crimes before the signing of the Oslo accords in 2003. The number is up from the previously discussed number of 82. The decision will be…

Palestinian Authotiy (PA) head Mahmoud Abbas told journalists in Ramallah Saturday to expect “joyful news” regarding terrorist prisoners on Sunday. The comment confirms reports that Israel is about to release terrorist prisoners as part of a “gesture” toward the PA, in advance of the resumption of “peace talks” between Israel and the PA. Abbas said that…

Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon (Likud) sent a letter to Likud ministers asking them to vote against the planned release of 104 terrorist prisoners as a “gesture” in advance of “peace talks” with the Palestinian Authority. “I call on you to vote against the release of prisoners, but in favor of the negotiations, without preconditions,”…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu took the rare step Saturday evening of publishing a long missive to the Israeli public. In it, he explains why he has agreed to release 104 terrorists as a “gesture” accompanying “peace talks” with the Palestinian Authority. He also states that the talks need to last at least nine months. Netanyahu’s…

About 120 people are said to be dead in weekend clashes between Egyptian security forces and rioters supporting deposed president Mohammed Morsi. A Muslim Brotherhood spokesperson, Ahmed Aref, said 66 people were killed, while another 61 are “clinically dead”, and a further 4,500 people were injured. Of these, he claimed, 700 were wounded by live…

The vast majority of Israeli Jews are against the release of terrorists “with blood on their hands” as a means of restarting peace talks with the Palestinian Authority, a poll commissioned by the Israel Hayom daily newspaper has found. Almost 85 percent of Israeli Jews are against the release of terrorists who have committed deadly…

Hizbullah’s armed wing wired almost $100,000 (75,000 euros) to two men wanted over a bomb attack that killed five Israeli tourists in Bulgaria last year, a local newspaper reported Friday, according to the AFP news agency. According to the 24 Hours daily, the money was to help organize the blast at Burgas airport on the…

Factions in the Palestinian Authority were angry with Hamas on Friday over its censorship of the Al Arabiya network and the Ma’an news agency in Gaza. On Thursday, the attorney-general in Gaza’s Hamas-run government ordered the closure of both outlets, claiming they distributed “false news regarding the smear campaign against Hamas and Gaza about what’s…

Iran wants to open direct talks with Washington on nuclear issues, a report in the New York Times said Friday. The report quoted the head of Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki, as telling U.S. officials that Iran was interested in the discussions. The offer was presented by al-Maliki at the beginning of July, when he met with…

With negotiations set to begin between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the public statements by both sides indicate that the distance between them is vast, and that the chances of an agreement emerging from the talks is next to zero. As a result, say some Israeli analysts, it is possible that the PA is using…

After much study, careful consideration, consultation with top academics, and a little bit of hope and faith, Turkish authorities have cleared a bird captured in the village of Altınavya of spying for Israel. Despite its “Zionist affectations,” and the fact that it clearly came from Israel, the bird is just that – a bird, and…

Internet giant Google revealed on Thursday how much it paid to acquire the Israeli traffic app Waze. In regulatory documents it filed, Google said it paid $966 million to buy the online mapping service, six weeks after closing the deal. Last month, when it announced the acquisition of Waze, Google had withheld the exact price…

Rabbi Ovadia Isakov, who was shot and seriously wounded in Dagestan, Russia late on Wednesday night, has been flown to Israel. The ZAKA organization worked with Russia’s Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Berel Lazar, to bring Rabbi Isakov to Israel’s Beilinson Hospital. The medical flight was funded by Russian Jewish communities. The hope is that Rabbi Isakov…

Israel will allow building tenders for 1,000 new homes in Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria (Shomron) during the first months of talks with the Palestinian Authority, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has reportedly told United States Secretary of State John Kerry. According to Haaretz, Netanyahu revealed his plans to allow the tenders to Kerry in…

Terrorists in the Sinai Peninsula are planning to attempt attacks on Friday, Egyptian military sources have warned. The attacks would be timed to take place parallel to protests in Cairo. Terror groups in the Sinai have primarily targeted the Egyptian army, which is currently engaged in a large-scale operation aimed at restoring order to the…

The terrorist who fired at Israeli buses twice this month near the Hawara junction in Samaria was finally caught by an IDF ambush Thursday. The commander of Samaria Brigade, Col. Yoav Yarom, said that the terrorist was caught by an IDF ambush. “As part of the effort to catch him, ambushes were placed,” he explained. “One…

The attorney-general in Gaza’s Hamas-run government on Thursday ordered the closure of the Ma’an news agency and Al Arabiya TV bureaus in Gaza. A Hamas official told AFP that the attorney-general closed Al Arabiya’s office “for distributing false news regarding the smear campaign against Hamas and Gaza about what’s happening in Egypt.” “We received the…

More terror attacks are being reported at the entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem, with Palestinian Authority Arabs attacking buses with Israeli license plates. The Arabs hurled large rocks at an Egged bus as it traveled past the Damascus Gate on Thursday afternoon, according to Israel Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld, who tweeted the information via the Twitter…

For years, Israelis living in the Hevron region have complained of the activities of gangs of foreign and Israeli anarchists who they say are terrorizing local Jewish communities. Anarchists frequently enter Israeli towns on the Jewish Sabbath along with local Arabs, they say, and engage in loud demonstrations which regularly escalate into verbal and physical abuse of Jewish residents. Left-wing…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu visited the IDF induction center at Tel Hashomer Thursday morning and met with Paratroop Brigade recruits. He told the recruits: “This is your country and you must defend it and our ability to return fire and overcome our enemies. I rely on you to carry out any mission that we will…

Rabbi Yaskov is a Chabad emissary in Derbent in the Dagestan region in Russia. According to some reports, he was shot by a group of men, while others attributed the shooting to a single man. The attacker or attackers fled the scene before police arrived. Police believe the attack was motivated by anti-Semitism. Dagestan has…

As western leaders push for negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, urging Israeli concessions – including the release of convicted terrorists – the PA leadership is continuing in its longstanding tradition of honoring terrorists who murdered Israeli civilians, report Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik of Palestinian Media Watch. PMW points to a picture…

Anti-Israel musician Roger Waters is being criticized yet again for insulting the Jewish community, this time with a giant balloon pig bearing the Star of David. The pig-shaped balloon was released during a concert last week in Belgium. Concert-goers said the Jewish star was among several symbols representing various corporations and fascist movements. Rogers has…

The U.S. is delaying the planned delivery of four F-16 fighter jets to Egypt because of the “fluid situation” in that country after the military’s ouster of former President Mohammed Morsi, a Pentagon spokesman said Wednesday, according to Bloomberg. “Given the overall situation in Egypt right now, we thought it prudent to make this decision,”…

Arrest warrants were issued on Wednesday for nine Muslim Brotherhood officials in Egypt, including leader Mohammed Badie, CNN reported, citing Egypt’s official news agency. General prosecutor Hisham Barakat ordered the leaders’ arrests for “ordering armed groups to cut off highways and threaten violence in the city of Qalyub, spreading violence and damaging public interest,” the…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel was ready to begin peace talks with the Palestinian Authority right away. Speaking during a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, Netanyahu said, “We both want to see peace between Israel and the Palestinians. I hope that soon we will be able to see the…

For years the IDF did not make public mention of its efforts to free captive soldier Gilad Shalit, who was held by Hamas from mid-2006 to late 2011. Now a report by Walla! has revealed that in 2008, the IDF was preparing for one of its boldest operations yet: to go into Gaza and kidnap…

The city of Tel Aviv has started a new initiative to fight cruelty to animals. Roughly 30 volunteers are undergoing training that will give them the authority to work with police, with a focus on animal protection. The volunteers will be official police volunteers with the power to act as police officers. In addition, they…

A Jerusalem man is in serious condition after being stabbed Wednesday afternoon in Liberty Bell Park. The 40-year-old man was stabbed in the back and hand, according to Israel Police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld. He was treated at the scene by Magen David Adom paramedics before being rushed to Jerusalem’s Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center. Police immediately…

Saudi Arabia’s delegation to the United Nations called on the international community Tuesday to increase pressure on Israel to “end human rights violations against the Palestinian people.” In a statement to the U.N. Security Council, Saudi Arabia’s Charge D’affaires Abdulmohsen F. Alyas asked the U.N. to “make [Israel] understand that there is no choice but…

Two rockets slammed into Israel’s southern region Wednesday morning, surprising residents who had no warning of the attack. The Color Red incoming rocket alert siren somehow malfunctioning and did not activate, according to local sources in the area. Miraculously, both short-range missiles reportedly exploded in open areas and did not damage property – nor was…

Israeli officials are concerned its financial difficulties may make it impossible to repeat the stellar performance turned in last year by defense industries who broke all records for sales exports in 2012. According to figures released Tuesday by the Defense Ministry, Israel sold $7.473 billion in defense products last year. Brig.-Gen. (res) Shmaya Avieli, who heads…

The Lebanon-based Hizbullah terrorist organization is taking heavy losses in Syria, according to a report released by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (ITIC). The assessment, sent to media this week, indicates the terror group’s involvement in the two-year-long savage civil war across Israel’s northern border has cost Hizbullah more than 180 men.…

The threats against Israel are changing and the global jihad is literally at its doorstep, the head of Military Intelligence warned on Tuesday. “It is possible that in the long run the winds of change will bring with them an opportunity, but in the short term the risks are increasing,” said Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi…

The Knesset’s Ethics Committee decided on Tuesday to suspend Deputy Knesset Speaker MK Ahmed Tibi (Raam-Taal) from chairing any Knesset debates until the end of the current plenary session. The decision is a punitive act against Tibi, who poured water over the Knesset podium last month, in protest over the approval of the law which…

On Tuesday, Al Qaeda officially claimed responsibility for two separate mass-jailbreaks in Iraq which freed around 500 senior terrorists, some of whom were on death row for their role in deadly attacks against civilians and security forces. In an online statement, the group claimed that Sunday’s attacks were the final one in a campaign to free Al Qaeda prisoners and…

A federal appeals court has for a second time thrown out a case challenging the State Department’s refusal to list Israel as the birthplace of children born in Jerusalem. The court reiterated an earlier decision that Congress had no right to mandate that Jerusalem was a part of Israel for passport purposes. That decision, the…

The Knesset passed the “Perry Law” for drafting hareidi men into the military by a vote of 64 to 21 Tuesday morning. The bill passed in the first reading and requires two more readings in order to become the law of the land. The vote took place around 5:00 a.m., after a long night of…

At least 500 inmates – most of them “senior” Al Qaeda terrorists – have escaped from two jail in Iraq, threatening to worsen the security situation in a country rocked by sectarian and political violence. The jailbreaks occurred in Taji, to the north of the capital Baghdad, and west of the capital, in the infamous Abu Ghraib prison, according to…

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry lauded the EU decision to include Hizbullah’s military wing in its list of terrorist organizations, in a statement he published Monday evening. “We applaud the European Union (EU) for the important step it has taken today in agreeing to designate the military wing of Hizbullah as a terrorist organization,”…

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that the U.S. will use money already in the CIA’s budget and transfer it to operations in Syria, as part of a plan announced last month by the Obama Administration. The plan involves the providing of small arms and ammunition to some of the 1,200 groups of Syrian rebels, some of…

Four Syrians including an eight-year-old girl were brought to a hospital in Israel after they were wounded by fighting in the war-torn country, a medical source said on Tuesday. “Yesterday night an injured eight-year-old girl and her 48-year-old mother were treated for fractures to their arms and legs from shrapnel,” said a spokesman for Ziv…

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is finalizing his selection of a team to help shepherd Middle East peace talks on a day to day basis, a U.S. official said Monday, according to AFP. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki would neither confirm nor deny reports that a former U.S. ambassador to Israel, Martin Indyk, has…

Imposing a no-fly zone over Syria would cost as much as $1 billion a month and put U.S. aircraft at risk of being shot down without necessarily toppling Bashar Al-Assad’s regime, the U.S. military’s top officer said, according to Bloomberg News. Thousands of U.S. troops would be required on the ground if the U.S. wanted…

At least 20 cars were torched and four people arrested in a second night of rioting after French police enforced a law banning the wearing of a full face veil in public places. The violence, which began in the town of Trappes, some 50 miles north of Paris, had spread within a day to the…

President Shimon Peres commended the European Union’s partial ban of the Hizbullah terrorist organization Monday as a “necessary, wise step” aimed, he said, at “preventing the spread of terrorism” in every corner of the earth. The EU’s 28 member nations decided in a majority vote that was not unanimous to list the organization as a…

The family of former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi said Monday they plan to file a lawsuit against the Egyptian Army, charging officials with kidnapping the Muslim Brotherhood-backed former leader. Morsi has been held incommunicado by military officials since being removed from office on July 3, when the country’s Constitution, written by a committee comprised solely…

An Arab man in his 20s was arrested Monday morning at Kfar Tavor in the Galilee, after he attacked an elderly woman with a boxcutter. The man reportedly got out of a car, came up to the woman and held the knife to her throat. A policeman from the Afula police station was alerted to…

One of the unsung heroes of the effort to put Hizbullah’s “military wing” on a European Union blacklist was none other than former Hollywood actor and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. In a letter, Schwarzenegger convinced Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann to instruct the country’s Foreign Minister to cast Austria’s vote for the blacklist proposal, something that…

Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Martin Indyk, will serve as the United States’ “point man” in upcoming negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA), reported Channel 2 Sunday. Israel and the PA have informed the U.S. That they accept Indyk’s appointment to the position. Indyk is Vice President and Director for Foreign Policy at…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu intends to free 82 terrorist prisoners in the course of negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, according to Channel 10. Most if not all of the terrorists were convicted of murder. The prisoners are reportedly to be released in four waves, once every two or four months, as the negotiations advance. According…

Gaza terrorists fired a rocket at southern Israel Sunday evening. The rocket exploded in “an empty space” in the Eshkol region. No one was hurt and no damage was reported. The “Color Red” siren sounded to alert local residents of the incoming rocket. The IDF Spokesman told Arutz Sheva that security forces are combing the…

North American aliyah organization Nefesh B’Nefesh is set to break a record Monday with an historic “children’s aliyah flight” that is to carry 106 children, in 41 families, to start new lives in Israel. All in all, the flight will carry 231 new olim (Jews returning to Israel) from North America. Former abducted IDF soldier will Gilad…

A Palestinian Authority Arab has been arrested in connection with firebomb attacks on Jews and IDF patrols that left four soldiers wounded in May. IDF forces have arrested a Palestinian Authority Arab in a joint operation with Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) in connection with firebombing (Molotov cocktail) and other terror attacks on Jews and…

It might not be the way most high-profile journalists would like to be remembered. Not long after the passing of veteran American journalist Helen Thomas yesterday, aged 92, Hamas’ very own “military wing”, the Izzedeene al-Qassam Brigades, posted on its website a heartfelt eulogy. The post – highlighted by the Elder of Zion blog – was entitled: “Rest in Peace Helen…

Islamic clerics and tribal elders in northwestern Pakistan have ruled that women cannot shop in the market without being escorted by a male relative. Those who show up without the proper escort are to be handed over the police, according to an announcement made over a loudspeaker from the central mosque in the Karak district…

Scientists at Tel Aviv University are integrating cardiac cells with nanofibers made of gold particles to create engineered cardiac tissues for transplants and post-attack therapies. Heart tissue cells cannot multiply or regenerate, and cardiac muscle contains few stem cells, making it impossible for the tissue to repair itself. As a result, the heart becomes fibrotic…

At least five people were injured, including four police officers, when a mob rioted in a Paris suburb over enforcement of the ban on full-face veils in France. Six were detained in the violence that struck the small town in Trappes Friday night, as 250 rioters hurled rocks at police, about 17 miles west of…

Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who is in charge of negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, said Saturday that by bringing about the decision to restart negotiations with the PA, “we have proved that there is hope.” “Israel is entering the negotiations, which I hope will start soon, while safeguarding its security and national interests,” Livni told…

Renewing negotiations with the Palestinian Authority is a “vital” Israeli interest, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Saturday, a day after an agreement was announced for the basis to resume talks. “The resumption of the peace process is a vital strategic interest of the state of Israel,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “It is important on…

Helen Thomas, the veteran White House journalist who ended her career with an anti-Semitic tirade, died on Saturday at the age of 92. Thomas was the first woman to join the White House Correspondents’ Association, and the first woman to serve as its president. She was also the first female member of the Gridiron Club,…

Bayit Yehudi Chairman and Economics Minister, Naftali Bennett, called Saturday for construction in Judea and Samaria to proceed even after negotiations with the Palestinian Authority (PA) are launched. “Our insistence on our principles paid off,” Bennett said in a statement following U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s announcement that peace talks were about to resume. “It…

Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon reacted to news of the impending renewal of negotiations with the Palestinian Authoruty, painting the development as a success story. “We arrive at the negotiations with clean hands, and out of a sincere desire to reach an arrangement in which we bring about an end to the conflict,” he said in…

Britain on Friday announced it was revoking export licenses for equipment used by Egypt’s military and police amid concerns it could be used against protesters, AFP reported. The licenses concerned cover components for armored personnel carriers and for machine guns, as well as radio and communications equipment, including for tanks, a spokeswoman for the business…

EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton on Friday warmly welcomed an agreement in principle on a resumption of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, praising the “courage” of both sides. “I warmly welcome today’s announcement on the Middle East peace process,” Ashton said in a statement quoted by AFP, after U.S. Secretary of State…

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s plan to get Israel and the Palestinian Authority talking again involves getting Israel to release hundreds of terrorist prisoners, a PA official said on Friday. Ahmed Majdalani told the Associated Press that Kerry has assured PA leaders that Israel would gradually free some 350 terrorists in the coming months.…

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced on Friday the resumption of peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. “I’m pleased to announce that we’ve reached an agreement that establishes a basis for resuming final status negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis,” Kerry told reporters in Amman, Jordan, according to AFP. “This is…

The Egyptian army has blocked streets leading to the Republican Guard House in Cairo, to stop supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi from reaching the building, Al Arabiya reported Friday. Egyptian television reported earlier that Morsi supporters were marching to the Republican Guard House. A military spokesman warned them against violence. The Defense Ministry said…

The director general of Saudi Arabian Airlines on Friday defended his company’s decision to discriminate against Israeli citizens by refusing to fly them from U.S. airports even when passengers are simply looking to transfer in Saudi Arabia to another country, Al Arabiya reports. Earlier this week, the New York Post reported that the airline’s website…

After Israel gave its consent last week to allow Egyptian military forces into Sinai in order to pursue Islamists, the IDF has placed an Iron Dome battery near Eilat. Last weekend, several rockets were reportedly fired at Israel’s southernmost city as Islamist groups, fleeing Egyptian troops, took refuge in remote areas of the Sinai near…

In a gala event attended by some 30,000 people, with parades, fireworks, music, and speeches by world leaders – including U.S. President Barack H. Obama – the 19th Maccabiah Games kicked off Thursday night in Jerusalem. Over 9,500 athletes from 78 countries are in Israel for the Games. It’s the biggest Maccabiah in history, with…

US Secretary of State John Kerry was preparing to leave the Middle East on Friday as Palestinian Authority (PA) leaders rejected his plan to resume the stalled peace talks. The setback for the US plan came from the governing Revolutionary Council of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’s own Fatah movement, which demanded changes. This, despite reports…

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad recently transferred two shipments of chemical weapons to Lebanon-based Hizbullah, the Syrian rebels are claiming. Fahad al Masri, a spokesman for the Western-backed Free Syrian Army, told the Lebanese news website El Nashra on Thursday that “the Syrian regime managed to deliver shipments of chemical weapons to Hizbullah.” He added that…

Iran’s “moderate” President-elect thinks that the idea of Israel attacking his country is a funny one. In a speech he made this past Monday, Hassan Rouhani grinned widely in response to the possibility of an Israeli attack against the country’s nuclear facilities, reported the Israel Hayom daily newspaper. “There has been a lot of talk…

Terrorists from Hamas-controlled Gaza fired two Qassam rockets at southern Israel on Thursday evening. Shortly after 10:00 p.m., residents of the Eshkol Regional Council heard the “Red Alert” siren, before the rockets exploded in the region. The two rockets exploded in open areas, causing no physical injuries or damages. Several weeks ago, Gaza terrorists fired…

While US Secretary of State has spent the last few days pushing for renewed peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and as the European Union places pressure on Israel over construction in Judea, Samaria and the Golan Heights, the PA has shown no indication of ending its longstanding record of antisemitic incitement. Quite…

Fatah – the party of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and the dominant faction within the PA – has effectively torpedoed U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s plan for restarting negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, a report by AFP indicates. According to the report, Fatah officials demanded on Thursday that changes be made to Kerry’s…

Three children have died in Israel so far this summer because they were accidentally left in hot cars by harried parents who forgot they were there. But while the Knesset has convened intensive meetings over how to stop the tragic phenomenon from happening again, an 11-year-old boy in the United States is already way ahead of…

Over 9,500 athletes from 78 countries will gather in Jerusalem Thursday night for the opening of the 19th Maccabiah Games. This will be the biggest Maccabiah in history, with contests in 42 different events. Participants in the games hail from all over the Jewish world. The Israeli contingent, with 2,943 athletes, will be the largest…

Three unique public buildings, the first of their kind ever found in the Judea area, have been unearthed by Hebrew University and Archaeology Authority archaeologists in the past year, it was revealed Thursday. The buildings date to the tenth century before the Common Era – the period in which King David reigned in Jerusalem. And…

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday that his intense diplomacy in six visits to the Middle East was bearing fruit and narrowing gaps between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, AFP reported. Kerry met in Jordan with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas late Tuesday and again on Wednesday as he also outlined his ideas to…

A senior Syrian official has been shot dead in the southern Lebanese town of Sarafand Mohammed Darrar Jamo, a high-profile advocate for the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was shot early on Wednesday morning as he entered his house, the BBC reported. Gunmen reportedly opened fire on him but left his wife, who was with…

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Amman Tuesday for talks with Arab officials in his sixth visit to the region since taking office. He is not expected to come to Israel on this trip as he has in the past, aides said. Kerry met first with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh before settling…

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has suffered a significant blow after sources close to its leadership confirmed the death of Said al-Shihri in a drone strike. The Yemen-based branch of Al Qaeda is widely considered the most dangerous and deadliest wing of the group. A spokesman for AQAP did not confirm where or when he…

Unidentified armed Syrians infiltrated an unmanned Israeli army post in the Tel Faris area of the southern Golan Heights Tuesday night. It is believed they may have been radical Islamist rebel fighters, possibly members of the Al Qaeda-linked Jabhat al Nusra (Al Nusra Front) terrorist group that has vowed to conquer the Golan Heights after its civil…

One Egyptian army officer died and five soldiers were wounded Wednesday in ongoing battles with Arab terrorists in the Sinai Peninsula. With the agreement of Israel, Egypt has increased its military presence in Sinai in order to fight the rising terrorist presence in the region, including an AH-64-D Apache helicopter to be deployed in the…

The first Egyptian Cabinet since the overthrow of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi was sworn in on Tuesday, as the Muslim Brotherhood from which the ousted president hails rejected its legitimacy. The cabinet lineup does not include any members from Islamist groups or parties, even from the Salafist Nour party, which supported the military roadmap for…

Iranian president-elect Hasan Rouhani has sent messages to Syria’s Bashar Assad and Hizbullah reaffirming his support for the two allies, as well as his support of confrontation with Israel. Iranian-Syrian ties will be able to confront “enemies in the region, especially the Zionist regime,” Rouhani said Tuesday, as quoted by the official IRNA news agency,…

Two Arabs stabbed a hareidi-religious man near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem on Tuesday evening. Jerusalem Police believe that the stabbing is nationalistically motivated. A team of Magen David Adom paramedics was called to the scene and evacuated the man, aged 30, to the trauma room at the Shaare Zedek Hospital. He was listed in…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu denounced on Tuesday the new guidelines of the European Union, which forbid its member states from cooperating, transferring funds, giving scholarships or research grants to bodies in Judea and Samaria, eastern Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. Netanyahu spent the day meeting with Knesset ministers to discuss the European funding cut, saying…

Fire was opened at an IDF patrol near Tel Fares in the southern Golan Heights on Tuesday night, after the troops identified two Syrians who entered an abandoned military outpost located east of the border fence. The troops were searching the area when they were fired upon. None of the soldiers was hurt and no…

Mortar fire from inside war-torn Syria hit the Israeli part of the Golan Heights on Tuesday, an IDF spokeswoman said. “Several mortar rounds fired from Syria exploded in northern Golan without causing any damage or casualties,” the spokeswoman told AFP. It was apparently stray fire from fighting between Syrian government forces and rebels and was…

Jewish worshippers hoping to ascend the Temple Mount in commemoration of Tisha B’Av were bitterly disappointed as, once again, police prevented them from ascending. The hundreds of Jewish worshippers who waited Tuesday morning to enter the Temple Mount were turned away by the Jerusalem Police, who informed them that the district commander had ruled that entry to the Mount is…

The European Union has issued orders forbidding its member states from cooperating, transferring funds, giving scholarships or research grants to bodies in Judea and Samaria, eastern Jerusalem , and even the Golan Heights, Haaretz wrote Tuesday. The new instruction, promulgated bt the European Commission, which is the operative arm of the EU, sets parameters for…

European Union nations are divided going into fresh talks this week on whether to add Hizbullah’s so-called “military wing” to its list of terrorist groups, diplomatic sources told AFP on Monday. EU ambassadors are set to discuss the issue on Thursday after counter-terrorist experts from the bloc’s 28 member states twice failed last month to…

The civil war in Syria continues and atrocities are being committed on a daily basis, both by troops loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad as well as by the rebel forces fighting to oust Assad. Videos documenting the atrocities are uploaded to the internet every day. One clip that was uploaded this past week shows completely…

Arabs rioted in Beersheva Monday as they protested a government plan that would require some of them to move, while awarding them with thousands of dunams of stolen state land. The Higher Arab Monitoring Committee, which represents Arab communities in Israel, had called for a day of “angry strikes” including demonstrations in 15 cities to…

The Islamist Hamas organization is testing locally-made M75 missiles that can reach Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, according to military sources.     The medium-to-long range missiles were used against Israel by the terrorist organization during last year’s eight-day Pillar of Defense counter terrorist operation in Gaza. The M75s, produced using Iranian technology and assembled with…

A car bombing outside police headquarters killed 13, including 10 police officers and a child, in a town 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Damascus. The attack, which occurred overnight, took place in the town of Deir Atiyeh, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The information was confirmed by Syria’s state news…

Both the House and the Senate in the U.S. are promoting legislation that would allow Israelis to visit the United States without requiring a visa. Israel has been kept out of the 37-nation U.S. Visa Waiver Program until now for a variety of reasons, with the current chief objection by the administration of President Barack…

Hundreds of Jews came to the Temple Mount Monday in honor of Tisha B’Av, the anniversary of the destruction of the two Jewish Temples by the Babylonian and Roman empires respectively. But their visit was cut short as Muslim worshippers physically blocked them and appeared to be preparing a riot.   Michael Fua, of the Jewish Leadership faction…

In an opinion piece published in the Washington Post, Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham have called on the Obama administration to cut off the aid the U.S. provides to Egypt. “Mohammed Morsi’s presidency was a huge missed opportunity. He placed himself above the law, failed to govern inclusively or capably, pursued a narrow…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke on Sunday evening with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and offered his greetings on the occasion of the start of Ramadan. “I called to greet you on the occasion of Ramadan. I hope that we will have an opportunity to speak to each other and not just on holidays, and…

The Pakistani Taliban have visited Syria to set up a base and to assess “the needs of the jihad”, a Taliban official told the BBC over the weekend. The official said that the base was set up with the assistance of ex-Afghan fighters of Middle Eastern origin who have moved to Syria in recent years.…

Iran is moving “closer and closer” to building a nuclear weapon and Israel may have to act before the United States does, Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu warned Sunday. “They’re edging up to the red line. They haven’t crossed it yet,” Netanyahu said on CBS News’s “Face the Nation.” “They’re getting closer and closer to…

Unidentified gunmen opened fire on an IDF position on the border with the Sinai Desert Sunday evening. The two masked gunmen reportedly opened fire before escaping into the desert in an all-terrain vehicle, according to Channel 10 News. No one was injured in the clash, and it was not immediately clear who was behind the attack…

The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt claimed responsibility on Sunday night for a shooting attack which targeted at an IDF patrol near the border with Israel. The claim of responsibility was posted on a Facebook page associated with the Muslim Brotherhood. According to the post on the Facebook page, the attack was carried out by terrorists…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spent Sunday morning reminding the world – and Israel – that Iran is still focused on moving its nuclear development program forward. Netanyahu made Iranian nuclear development activities the focus of the weekly Cabinet meeting, warning that one month after national elections, Tehran is rapidly advancing its agenda. In addition to…

Two Palestinian Authority Arab women disguised as observant Jews tried to infiltrate pre-1967 Israel through the Hizme checkpoint in Samaria (Shomron) recently – but an alert security officer caught them. The IDF and Border Police invest massive efforts into protecting the barriers that separate the Palestinian Authority from areas of pre-1967 Israel, and PA officials are intent…

Former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi is officially under criminal investigation, the public prosecutor announced in a statement Saturday. Although not yet formally charged, prosecutors said they were looking into complaints of incitement to violence, spying and ruining the economy. The charges are similar to those leveled against eight other top figures in the Muslim Brotherhood…

A leading rabbi in the government has expressed outrage over destruction of Jewish holy articles at the Cave of the Patriarchs by Muslims following their worship at the site on Friday. Rabbi Eli Ben Dahan, who serves as Deputy Religious Affairs Minister and Supervisor of Holy Sites, visited the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hevron…

The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is calling on authorities in a German state to investigate threatening anti-Israel rhetoric, including chants of “Down with Israel” and “Israel be cursed” at a rally last week in support of Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan. “We are horrified that supporters of Prime Minister Erdogan are using political protests in Germany…

American journalist and political commentator Glenn Greenwald has claimed that National Security Agency leaker, Edward Snowden, poses more of a threat to the U.S. than anyone in the country’s history. Greenwald, whose collaborations with Snowden for The Guardian exposed U.S. surveillance programs, said that as a result, U.S. officials should hope Snowden stays safe because if not,…

An official Syrian source denied Saturday evening that the explosions nine days ago at a port were the result of an Israeli attack. Al Ahlam, an Iranian television channel, quoted an official from Bashar Assad’s government who denied that Israel had bombed the harbor at Latakia. The series of explosions at Latakia port were the…

The recent strike on an arms depot in Latakia was a naval intervention and not an airstrike, Middle East intelligence sources told the Sunday Times newspaper. According to the report, the attack was carried out using a Dolphin class submarine and was well-coordinated with the United States administration. If the report is correct, it would…

Egyptian security officials arrested a Palestinian Authority Arab man on Friday in connection to a bomb blast which targeted a gas pipeline in Sinai last week, security officials told the Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency. Mohamed Abu Hashem, 30, was detained in the Sinai Peninsula while trying to return to Gaza, Egyptian officials told Ma’an, and…

Tensions between rival Syrian rebel groups boiled over Saturday near Ras al-Hosn, in the north of Idlib province. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human rights, fighters from the Free Syrian Army (FSA) clashed with jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), exposing a growing rift between Al Qaeda-affiliated groups and their Syrian rebel counterparts.…

Several streets in Tel Aviv have been closed off by police in order to enable the so-called “social protest,” which is being held on the two-year anniversary of its original, large-scale success. This year’s protest is expected to be relatively low key, with only a few thousand people participating. The 2011 protests involved hundreds of…

After evicting the Muslim Brotherhood from power, Egypt may be headed toward “a divorce from all things Palestinian,” an expert says. “A number of influential voices are now calling for an expulsion of Palestinians from Egypt’s military and police academies and its universities, a suspension of visas to all Palestinians, and an end of mediation…

Jewish worshippers who arrived at the Cave of Patriarchs in Hevron after Muslim prayers on Friday were horrified to find that the site had been vandalised. The Cave (known as Me’arat Hamakhpela in Hebrew) is usually split between Jewish and Muslim worshippers, but this past Friday it was open exclusively to Muslim worshippers in honour of Ramadan. But when the…

Islamists in Israel held a rally Saturday in support of Egypt’s deposed president Mohammed Morsi, and his the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood party. About 2,000 people were estimated to have attended the protest at Kafr Kana in the Galilee, which was organized by the Islamic Movement. The movement’s leader, Sheikh Raed Salah, told the crowd that the…

The Iranian Foreign Ministry rejected on Friday a claim by an Iranian dissident group, the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO), which said a day earlier that it had documentation proving the existence of a previously unknown underground nuclear facility in Iran. The ministry’s spokesman, Seyyed Abbas Araqchi, dismissed the claim as mere lies by the “desperate”…

Fugitive U.S. intelligence leaker Edward Snowden on Friday told a group of activists in a meeting that he wanted to claim asylum in Russia because he is unable to fly to anywhere else, AFP reported. Human Rights Watch representative Tanya Lokshina told the Interfax news agency that Snowden told participants “he wants to stay here”…

At least seven people were killed and dozens injured on Friday after a speeding train split in two and derailed at a station in the southern suburbs of Paris, officials said, according to AFP. Interior Minister Manuel Valls gave the initial toll of seven dead and said there also were “dozens of injured” following the…

Germany and the United States on Friday called for the release of ousted Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi amid mounting tensions between supporters and opponents over his overthrow. “We call for an end to the restrictions on Mr. Morsi’s whereabouts,” a German foreign ministry spokesman told reporters, according to the AFP news agency. The German ministry…

Tragedy was averted Wednesday at a training exercise in which the parents of soldiers watched from the ground as their sons parachuted from a military transport plane. The exercise was held at Palmachim Beach by soldiers from the Paratroopers Battalion, as well as the Maglan and Yahalom units. Similar IDF parachuting events for families have…

Israel on Friday successfully completed a test of a missile system the IDF termed a rocket propulsion system. No other details were provided, but analysts said that the test was very likely related to Israel’s Jericho ballistic missile system. The Jericho system comes in several varieties, with various ranges and capabilities. According to foreign news…

Two Arab Christian female Israelis who enlisted in the army this week have criticized MK Hanin Zoabi for her strong opposition to having Arabs join the IDF. The two told Channel 10 News that MK Zoabi, who has in the past told Arutz Sheva that Israel should “prepare the prisons” if a law requiring Arab…

Three Arabs attacked an 18-year-old Jew at the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem on Thursday evening. The Arabs kicked the Jew and spit on him. They then fled the scene, but police caught up with them and arrested them. The 18-year-old who was attacked did not require medical attention. Police said they…

The rates of preventable blindness in Israel have been cut by more than half in the past decade, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology. The research, carried out by doctors at the Eye Research Institute Tel Aviv University’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine and Sheba Medical Center, found the rates…

Gaza terrorists fired a rocket attack on southern Israel Thursday afternoon, but no one was injured in the explosion. The Color Red incoming rocket alert siren was activated mid-afternoon Thursday in a number of Gaza Belt communities in southern Israel, according to local sources. The alert sounded throughout communities in the Sha’ar HaNegev district approximately…

Amidst continuing unrest in Egypt, the country’s Coptic Christian minority is facing an alarming campaign of violence at the hands of Islamist extremists.  In the most recent case, the decapitated body of 60 year old Magdy Habashi was found early Thursday in a cemetery in the town of Sheikh Zweid, in northern Sinai, after being…

Oday Aboushi, touted as the first “Palestinian” football player in the NFL by the New York Jets, the team who drafted him, is also one of the most politically oriented NFL players – with his orientation anti-Israel. During his three months on the team, Aboushi has attended numerous anti-Israel conferences, and his Facebook page is…

The man behind Facebook’s “Like” feature is in Israel and on Wednesday he toured the Binyamin region. Jared Morgenstern is one of Facebook’s top developers and he was the man who created the famous “like” button. Though at the height of his career, he has decided to quit his job at Facebook and arrived in…

The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday called on Hizbullah to stop interfering in the civil war in Syria, though it failed to mention the Lebanese-based group by name. In its statement, the Security Council encouraged all parties in Lebanon to remain united and resist a “slide into conflict,” amid the multiple challenges to the…

IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz unveiled on Wednesday an extensive plan to restructure the IDF and slash its operating costs. The plan is in accordance with a cut in the defense budget that was agreed upon several months ago, though the IDF was planning a restructuring in any case. The plan will see between…

The United States plans to go through with the delivery of four F-16 fighter jets to Egypt in the coming weeks, despite the overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, U.S. officials told the Reuters news agency on Wednesday. The clarification came as Washington deliberated whether to call the ouster of Egypt’s elected leader a military…

Hours after United States officials confirmed that plans to deliver F-16 fighter jets to Egypt will go ahead despite the overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, President Barack Obama took a step back and ordered a review of U.S. assistance to Egypt’s government. “Given the events of last week, the President has directed relevant departments…

Police in Canada said on Wednesday that five more bodies have been found in the Quebec town of Lac-Mégantic, bringing the toll up to 20 confirmed dead, after a train derailment that set off a series of explosions in the town last Friday. The number of people unaccounted for, which includes the recovered bodies, stands…

Saudi Arabia is targeting both Israel and Iran with powerful ballistic missiles, new satellite photography shown by military experts to the British Telegraph suggests. Images analyzed by experts at IHS Jane’s Intelligence Review has revealed a previously undisclosed surface-to-surface missile base deep in the Saudi desert, with capabilities for hitting both countries, the Telegraph reported…

Some of the most oppressive regimes worldwide, possibly including Iran and Syria, are vying to serve on the United Nations’ Human Rights Council, Fox News reported. Algeria, Chad, China, Cuba, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam  have all announced plans to run in a November election to fill 14 seats for the 2014-16 period. Iran and Syria also…

Israeli military rescuers visiting Wales came to the rescue of a man who fell from a cliff in Gwynedd. The two Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Search and Rescue Unit members were climbing at Bwlch y Moch at Tremadog on Sunday where the 67-year-old man fell, the BBC reported. Aberglaslyn Mountain Rescue Team attended and the…

An advisor to American businessman Donald Trump spoke to Arutz Sheva in an exclusive interview regarding the 2016 presidential elections and the special bond between Israel and the United States. “Donald Trump is a good friend of Israel and, unlike the president, knows how to handle the issue of the Middle East,” Sam Nunberg told Arutz…

A Beersheva court has partially lifted a gag order on a Mossad operation in the Sinai Desert, which led to the arrest of a Palestinian terror suspect. According to Yediot Aharonot, Wael Abu Rida – a resident of the Gaza Strip – was nabbed in June for unspecified “offences against national security.” The Beersheva Magistrates Court extended his…

Working near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Hebrew University of Jerusalem archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar has unearthed the earliest alphabetical written text ever uncovered in the city. The inscription is engraved on a large pithos, a neckless ceramic jar found with six others at the Ophel excavation site. According to Dr. Mazar, the inscription, in…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met on Tuesday with FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter, and presented him with concrete evidence of Hamas terrorists using soccer fields as bases for launching rockets at civilian populations in Israel. During the counter-terrorist Operation Pillar of Defense in Gaza last November, the IDF bombed a Gaza City soccer field that…

Russia on Tuesday accused Syrian rebels of using sarin nerve gas, but the U.S. dismissed these allegations and said more proof was required. Russia’s UN envoy, Vitaly Churkin, said that he handed over evidence to the United Nations which indicates that the rebels fighting to oust President Bashar Al-Assad used sarin gas in an attack…

In a security incident Tuesday, IDF soldiers seized weapons and guns from Palestinian Authority Arabs. The guns may have been used in terror attacks, IDF soldiers said, and an investigation is underway in both incidents. In the incident, a taxi driven by a PA Arab was stopped at a checkpoint by Border Guard officers. Inside…

Israeli security forces located on Tuesday evening the remains of a Grad missile that was fired towards the city of Eilat last week. The rocket remains were located north of the city, and it is believed that the rocket was fired by Sinai-based terrorists towards the tourist city last Thursday night. Last Thursday evening, residents…

As modern Egypt searches for a new leader, Israeli archaeologists have found evidence of an ancient Egyptian leader in northern Israel. At a site in Tel Hazor National Park, north of the Sea of Galilee, archeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have unearthed part of a unique Sphinx belonging to one of the ancient…

The Liwa’a 313 Brigade, a faction of the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA), has claimed responsibility for a bomb attack which rocked the Bir al-Abed area of Beirut’s Dahiyeh suburb, a stronghold of the Hezbollah terrorist group. In an Arabic statement issued on Facebook Tuesday, the group lashed out at the Lebanese state, which it said actively assists…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres and other public figures will be at the Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem on Tuesday to honor former Prime Minister Yitzchak Shamir. Shamir passed away one year ago at the age of 96. Shamir was born in what is now Belarus. He joined the Betar Zionist youth group…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has decided to appoint Ron Dermer as Israel’s next Ambassador to the United States. Over the past four years, Dermer has served as Prime Minister Netanyahu’s senior adviser and previously (2005-2008) served as the economic attaché at the Israeli Embassy in Washington. Dermer is 42, married and the father of five…

Indian investigators are looking for six suspects in the bomb attack against Mahabodhi Temple on Sunday morning. Two monks were wounded in the attack. Mahabodhi Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located in Bodh Gaya, which Buddhists see as the most important of the main four pilgrimage sites related to the life of Buddha.…

Syria rejected on Monday the proposal by the opposition of a ceasefire during the holy month of Ramadan, which is due to begin Tuesday. On Sunday, Ahmad Jarba, the new president of the opposition Syrian National Coalition, offered President Bashar Al-Assad a ceasefire during the month of Ramadan, hoping to bring a temporary end to…

Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Qandil resigned on Monday, addressing the resignation letter to ousted President Mohammad Morsi and decrying the military coup against him, reported the Turkish news agency Anadolu. “I prepared this resignation to present it to his excellence President Mohammed Morsi on Wednesday,” Qandil said in a statement accompanying his resignation letter. The…

U.S. sources told the Reuters news agency on Monday that congressional committees are holding up a plan to send U.S. weapons to rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. The delay is over fears that such deliveries will not be decisive and the arms might end up in the hands of Islamist rebel groups. Both the…

Israeli military search and rescue team members were on holiday climbing a cliff in Wales on Sunday when a 67-year-old man fell from the mountain. The two IDF soldiers were climbing at Bwlch y Moch at Tremadog, when the man fell while on a route known as “one step in the clouds.” Having dropped 32…

While the BDS movement calls for an international boycott of Israel for its alleged brutal occupation of Judea and Samaria, and its “siege” of Gaza – farmers from Gaza took part last week in a seminar for farmers inside Israel. The office of the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), a part of…

As the death toll rises in clashes between Egypt’s army and pro-Morsi protesters, Muslim Brotherhood-linked Gaza terrorists are infiltrating the Sinai to attack Egyptian army outposts. Although the army has sealed at least 50 tunnels in the past two weeks, hundreds remain open and active under the border between Egypt and Gaza. A senior Egyptian…

Parents toting their children around in baby carriages and strollers on buses and trains in Jerusalem will now be able to save some money. On Monday, Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz signed an order exempting carriages – and the children in them – from paying fares on public transportation. Until Monday, parents were not charged for…

Up to 35 people, most of then Muslim Brotherhood supporters, may have been killed in a confrontation between the Brotherhood and the Egyptian military. It is not clear who attacked whom. Initial reports describe an attack by members of the Muslim Brotherhood against a Republican Guard facility in Cairo, but the Brotherhood says the soldiers…

At least 40 people were killed Monday in clashes outside a military building in Cairo, where supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi were holding a sit-in against what they are describing as an “illegal coup”, according to an Egyptian health ministry official. Precisely what happened in the run-up to what Morsi’s supporters are already calling a…

Armed supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi kidnapped two Egyptian soldiers in the Ain Shams area of Cairo, an Al Arabiya correspondent reported Monday. An army official, cited by state news agency MENA, confirmed the news, adding that the soldiers were pushed into a vehicle and forced to make pro-Morsi and anti-military statements on…

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who is often touted by the West as a “moderate peace partner”, has once again indicated that he is willing to resume negotiations with Israel – but not give up on even one of his never-ending preconditions. In an interview with the pan-Arab Al-Hayat newspaper which was published on Saturday,…

Teresa Heinz Kerry, wife of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, is in critical but stable condition after being taken by ambulance from the couple’s Nantucket, Massachusetts home to a hospital on Sunday afternoon, sources close to the family told NBC News. A spokesman for Nantucket Cottage Hospital said Heinz Kerry, 74, was admitted to…

The National Anti-Terror Unit on Sunday issued a travel warning for Sinai, and warned Israelis still there to come home immediately. “Given the deteriorating security situation in Sinai, which includes numerous violent clashes between groups, along with intelligence we have received about possible terror attacks,” the warning strongly suggests that Israelis avoid Sinai altogether, including…

Arab terrorist rioters have announced that they intend to target the Jewish community of Beit El, in the Binyamin region, and analysts say this is part of an effort to attract media attention to the rioters’ violent activities. Abdullah Abu Rahma, a prominent member of the Popular Committees for Resistance to the Fence and Settlements told…

The average salary in Israel rose 1.6% in April, the last month for which final statistics were available. The 1.6% increase was a sharp rise over the salary levels for the period between February and April, months in which salaries had risen 1.8% over the November 2012-January 2013 period, the Central Bureau of Statistics said.…

At least one person is dead and up to 80 others missing in a train wreck in Canada’s Quebec province over the weekend. The train was carrying crude oil in the lakeside town of Lac-Megantic when it jumped the rail and exploded in the center of town. Dozens of buildings were destroyed as late Friday…

Tragedies struck several Jewish vacation spots in upstate New York over the weekend, reported YourJewishNews.com, citing emergency workers. One incident involved a 22-month-old boy; a second involved a 14-year-old and a third involved an 8-year-old. All are in critical condition. In the Cold-Spring bungalow colony in Monticello, New York, two boys, a 22-month-old and 3-year-old,…

Latma, the nationalist weekly video satire show, has run out of funds and will go offline at the end of the month, unless new donations make it possible to keep on producing the show. Latma’s chief screenwriter, Tal Gilad, published a Facebook status Sunday in which he denied the rumors that Channel 1 television is…

Unites States Ambassador to Belgium, Howard Gutman, was honored on Tuesday by the Jewish community in Brussels at a farewell ceremony, The European Jewish Press (EJP) reported. The Ambassador, who will leave his post this month after four years, was presented the ‘’EU Jewish Building Friendship Award’’ for the strong ties he has maintained with…

Republican Senator John McCain called for a suspension of United States military aid to Egypt following the army ouster of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi. “I’ve thought long and hard about this, but I believe that we have to suspend the aid to the Egyptian military, because the Egyptian military has overturned the vote of the…

A team of 9th-graders from a high school in Rehovot, Israel, won the RoboCup 2013 international robotics competition in Holland with their robotic re-enactment of a Jewish wedding, the JNS news agency reported. The competition, which returned to Israel last week with the first place trophy, included contestants from more than 40 countries, including the…

The United States is “not aligned” with any political party or group in Egypt following the ouster of Islamist leader Mohammed Morsi, President Barack Obama clarified on Saturday. Obama, who spoke with members of his National Security Council via conference call about the situation in Egypt, “condemned the ongoing violence across Egypt and expressed concern…

Mohamed ElBaradei has not yet been chosen as Egypt’s interim prime minister, a presidential spokesman said on Saturday, after earlier reports indicated that the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had already been appointed. “Interim president Adly Mansour met today with Dr. ElBaradei but so far there has been no official appointment,”…

Mohamed ElBaradei will be sworn in Saturday as interim prime minister, his spokeswoman told CNN. The news came after state media reported that the diplomat had been summoned to the presidential palace by Interim President Adly Mansour for talks. The interim government is to rule Egypt until elections are held. Chief Justice Adly el-Mansour was…

The Israeli who was killed in a hit-and-run traffic accident in Massachusetts is Amnon Bogomolsky, of Moledet. Bogomolsky was accompanying his son on his Bar Mitzva trip to the United States. The son was injured in the accident. There were three adults and three children in the minivan that was hit. They were all traveling…

Israel’s Ambassador in the United States, Michael Oren, announced Friday evening on his Facebook page that he will end his term in the fall. According to Globes, there were rumors several months ago that Oren wishes to remain in his position for an additional year. He has been serving as ambassador since being appointed by…

 More than 30 people were reportedly killed in violence in Egypt, including the Sinai Peninsula, over the weekend. The clashes are between supporters of deposed president Mohamed Morsi on one side, and Egyptian security and Muslim Brotherhood opponents on the other. A video that is being featured on many websites and social networks shows two…