Category: News

Defense Minister Ehud Barak hinted Sunday that a ground assault on Hamas in Gaza is imminent. “The forces are ready. Everything is prepared, there will be food for everyone, excellent equipment, trained soldiers, the reserves are being absorbed quickly and we will carry out anything that is needed to ensure the aims of the operation…

The Israeli Air Force has issued a new video showing the pinpoint accuracy of aerial bombings and Hamas’ use of holy sites for terror. The surgical missile strike bombed the underground launcher site in the backyard of a mosque without causing damage to the building, used for worship by Muslims. Precision aerial bombings in the…

Two long-range missiles fired by Gaza terrorists at Israel exploded in the port city of Ashdod on Sunday afternoon. Both landed within residential areas in the city. Miraculously, no one was physically injured, although residents suffered anxiety and trauma symptoms in response to the attack. Six people were sent to a center in the city that specializes…

Israeli residents of Judea and Samaria have noticed an upswing in road terror attacks with the advance of Operation Pillar of Defense, and the increase of missile fire from Gaza. The phenomenon of attacks on the roads of Judea, Samaria and outlying neighborhoods of Jerusalem by Palestinian Authority Arabs hurling rocks, firebombs (Molotov cocktails) and…

The Negev town of Ofakim came under heavy missile fire Sunday afternoon as part of a day-long barrage launched by Gaza terrorists at southern Israel. A rocket scored a direct hit on a car, injuring one person seriously. Three others suffered light to moderate wounds. They received treatment from MDA and were evacuated to hospital.…

The Iron Dome system intercepted two missiles headed for Tel Aviv shortly after 10 a.m. Sunday. Another missile landed into the Mediterranean Sea. One person was lightly injured from missile intercept debris that fell on his car. More than 15 other rockets and missiles were launched at southern Israel, and the Iron Dome system intercepted two…

A Hamas missile blasted through the roof of a four-story apartment building in Ashkelon Sunday morning, wounding one person, after several hours of a lull in attacks. The early siren warning saved lives, according to an eyewitness report aired on Voice of Israel government radio. Residents in the building ran to the bomb shelter on…

In a precision strike Sunday afternoon, IDF aircraft eliminated another top Hamas terrorist – Yihya Abiya, responsible for managing and organizing Hamas’ rocket terror campaign against Israel. Gaza Arab sources said that IDF warplanes targeted a building in an area of Gaza City, where Abiya was in hiding. Along with Abiya, three human shield civilians…

Iranian news agencies claimed Saturday that Qatar’s King Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani served Israeli intelligence during his recent visit to Gaza by planting transmitters on senior Hamas members. According to a report published by the semi-official Fars news agency and quoted by the official Press TV, the emir of Qatar “distributed a number…

Britain warned Israel Sunday against launching a ground operation in Gaza, but the United States appeared to leave the decision to Israel. On a visit to the Far East, President Barack H. Obama said that the U.S. is, and will remain, “fully supportive of Israel’s right to defend itself.”  “There is no country in the…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told the Cabinet Israel is ready to “significantly expand” its operation against terrorists in Hamas-controlled Gaza, but United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is pressing for a truce. “The army is prepared to significantly expand the operation,” Netanyahu said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting. “The soldiers are ready…

The civil war in Syria once again spilled over into Israel on Saturday night. The latest incident occurred as IDF troops were patrolling along the border fence with Syria and their jeep was hit with some bullets that were fired from the Syrian side of the border. No one was hurt, but the IDF acted…

As the IDF’s Operation Pillar of Defense in Gaza continues, Hamas has made several totally false claims about damages it has supposedly done to Israeli cities and soldiers. This is done in order to give the public in Gaza a false image as though Hamas is defeating Israel. In response, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit has…

While Gaza’s terrorists have fired hundreds of rockets and missiles into Israel over the past few days, quite a few have landed in Gaza itself. According to statistics published by the IDF on Saturday night as the fourth day of Operation Pillar of Defense ended, 824 rockets have been fired at Israel, 270 of which…

Arab foreign ministers denounced Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense in Gaza at an emergency meeting in Cairo on Saturday, AFP reported. According to the report, the Arab ministers decided that Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi would head a delegation to Gaza in a show of solidarity, and to review the “usefulness” of their past diplomacy…

The IDF is not ruling out a ground operation in Gaza, the head of the IDF’s Southern Command said on Saturday. Speaking during a press briefing on the fourth day of Operation Pillar of Defense, Maj. Gen. Tal Russo said, “We started with a whole plan, which we are in the middle of carrying out,…

Pro-Israel demonstrators who gathered outside the White House on Thursday were met by pro-Arab protesters who held up signs reading “Free Gaza”, “End the siege on Gaza” and “Stop Israel’s slaughtering in Gaza”. A similar confrontation ocurred Thursday night opposite the Israeli Consulate in New York. The pro-Israel rally wished to express solidarity with Israel, as Operation…

Israel will send a senior official on its behalf to Cairo to sign a ceasefire, the Hizbullah-affiliated channel Al-Mayadeen reported Saturday. According to Palestinian sources, the ceasefire will start Saturday at midnight. Israel has denied the reports and is continuing to mass troops near Gaza and striking terrorist enclaves, smuggling tunnels and rocket launching sites. Egypt’s President…

The Israeli government has approved the call-up of 75,000 reservists to participate in the Gaza fighting, as infantry, armor and engineering units mass near Gaza awaiting the command to enter the Hamas-controlled terror state. No one outside the IDF’s leadership knows if the IDF intends to invade Gaza, when the IDF incursion will start, and…

Arab heads of state and foreign ministers denounced Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza in an emergency meeting in Cairo on Saturday, while visiting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said disparagingly that Israel was “making an international racket” over civilians killed by Hamas rockets. The session came amid what AFP termed “a flurry of…

The IDF deployed its fifth Iron Dome anti-missile battery to protect the Tel Aviv area Saturday, and the battery went into action immediately, intercepting a rocket fired from Gaza. A second rocket fired at the greater Tel Aviv area was not intercepted, however. It struck an empty area, causing no casualties or damage. Terrorists said…

The IDF’s pounding of Hamas’ infrastructure in Gaza entered its fourth day Saturday, and is deemed as highly successful until this point. The Hamas government headquarters, which housed Gaza “prime minister” Ismail Haniyeh’s offices, were leveled to the ground. In addition, “security compounds, tunnels and electricity transformers” were hit, according to Al Jazeera. “Missiles also…

As the security situation escalates in Israel, Jews abroad and within Israel have opened their hearts, homes and wallets to assist their beleaguered brothers and sisters. Israelis in Judea and Samaria as well as Jerusalem, Modiin and other locations relatively far away from Gaza have begun taking in families from the rocket-plagued areas for the…

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi on Friday described Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense in Gaza in as a “blatant aggression against humanity,” the official MENA news agency said. “Egypt will not leave Gaza on its own, and what is happening is a blatant aggression against humanity,” he said, as his prime minister, Hisham Qandil, visited Gaza…

Gaza’s Hamas terrorist rulers have been trying to develop an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit revealed on Friday. A video published by the IDF Spokesperson shows Hamas conducting a test flight of the drone it was building. Over the past week, during the IDF’s Operation Pillar of Defense, IAF aircraft struck a…

Ahmed Abu Jalal, a senior Hamas terrorist, was killed on Friday evening, along with three of his brothers, in an Israeli air strike in the Maghazi district in central Gaza. According to some reports, Abu Jalal was killed while driving his car, while other reports said the attack was carried out on his home. Israeli officials…

Western nations on Friday pushed Egypt to persuade Hamas terrorists to end rocket attacks from Gaza and backed Israel’s right to self-defense, AFP reported. The West stressed the onus was on Hamas to halt rocket fire into southern Israel, said the report. “Israel has the right to protect its population from these kinds of attacks.…

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak expanded on Friday the call-up of reserve soldiers, a spokesman said, with current reports claiming that Barak has asked for 75,000 reserve soldiers, as Israel pushes ahead with a major offensive against terrorists in Gaza.  The government is currently seeking ministerial approval to recruit the additional reserve soldiers as it presses a…

Three soldiers were wounded Friday afternoon when Gaza terrorists hit the Eshkol region with a short-range rocket. One of the soldiers is in moderate condition, and the other two are in light condition. They were taken to Soroka hospital in Be’er Sheva for treatment. Since the beginning of Operation Pillar of Defense on Tuesday, Gaza…

The husband and children of Mirah Scharf are in better condition Friday after being wounded Thursday morning in a rocket attack on Kiryat Malachi. The four remain hospitalized in Tel Hashomer. Father Shmuel, 29, is in moderate condition, four-year-old Yosef Yitzchak is in moderate to light condition, and young Hana (2) and Geula (8 months)…

For the first time since the Hamas terror organization took over Gaza and began firing their barrage of rockets towards Israel, an air raid siren was sounded in Jerusalem and the surrounding area late Friday afternoon. Just one day after terrorists successfully shot off a long-range missile aimed at Tel Aviv, it seems Israel’s capital…

The Legal Forum for the Land of Israel has demanded that Israel stop transferring funds to the Palestinian Authority (PA) in order to put an end to the situation in which Israelis pay for electricity for the very terrorists who are attempting to murder them. The Finance Ministry is funding a 3 billion shekel guarantee…

Gaza terrorists resumed frequent attacks on southern Israel on Friday morning after a relatively quiet night as the IDF took out more than 150 targets in the area. Rockets were fired at the cities of Ashdod, Ofakim and Ashkelon, as well as smaller communities in the Eshkol and Shaar Hanegev regions. In Ashdod a rocket…

The IDF hit roughly 150 terrorist targets in Gaza over Thursday night. Most of the targets hit were rocket launchers used for mid-range missiles. IAF planes also took out several weapons storage sites. A total of 500 Gaza targets have been hit since the beginning of Operation Pillar of Defense. Th Palestinian Authority media reported that…

IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz has approved the call-up of 16,000 reserves soldiers. Some of the call-up orders have already been issued, and many reservists are on their way to their units. The decision to call up reservists is part of ongoing planning for a possible ground invasion of Gaza. Terrorists in the area…

IDF commanders began Friday morning to brief their troops in advance of a possible ground operation in Gaza. Thousands of reservists have been called up for duty, and a total of at least 16,000 will be summoned for service. While troops gathered outside Gaza, terrorists in the area continued their attacks on civilian communities in…

Defense Minister Ehud Barak called on Israeli citizens to stay strong on Thursday evening, as the IDF continued operating in Gaza and terrorists continued to attack Israel with rockets. “Citizens of Israel, we are now 28 hours into Operation ‘Pillar of Defense’,” Barak said in a statement. “The IDF has dealt a severe blow to…

The number of rockets fired at Israel by Gaza-based terrorists since the beginning of Operation Pillar of Defense has matched the number of targets the IDF has struck in Gaza. According to Kol Yisrael radio’s hourly news bulletin at 2:00 a.m. Friday morning (Israel time), terrorists fired 300 rockets at Israel from Wednesday to Thursday.…

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will visit Israel next week in an attempt to bring an end to Israel’s military operation in Gaza, it was reported on Thursday. Ban will arrive in Israel on Tuesday and will hold a series of meetings with government officials in Jerusalem and Ramallah. Officials in Jerusalem explained that the…

The United Nations has protested to the Syrian government for claiming it had UN permission to attack rebel opponents in the Golan Heights demilitarized zone, according to a letter revealed Thursday and obtained by AFP. “We regard it as a serious matter that Syrian authorities would claim that a United Nations senior official would approve…

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak this week about the latest Israeli military moves in Gaza after increased rocket attacks from there, CNN reported on Thursday. A senior U.S. defense official confirmed the conversation had taken place in the last few days while Panetta was traveling in Asia. “They…

The IAF launched a second assault wave at Hamas-contolled Gaza Thursday evening, targeting 70 underground missile sites.  The IDF is amassing ground forces near Gaza and preparing for a possible ground assault. Interior Minister Eli Yishai (Shas) told Voice of Israel that Gaza is in for an “unprecedented attack.” Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday approved the call-up of…

The names of the three people who were killed Thursday by a rocket attack in Kiryat Malachi have been published, and one of whom, it was just discovered, was an emissary of Chabad involved in outreach in India, and was in Israel on a short visit in order to give birth and pay respects to the Chabad…

As the south was being hit with hundreds of rockets Thursday, a group of students at the University of Haifa took time today not to mourn the loss of three Israeli lives, but to mourn the loss of a terrorist mastermind who was behind countless attacks and operations aimed at terrorizing the Israeli population.  …

Although over 250 rockets have been fired at Israel since the beginning of operation “Pillar of Defense,” according to IDF spokespersons, things could have been worse still. Since the start of Wednesday’s military operation, the Iron Dome system has intercepted over 80 rockets, en route to cities in the south of the country. The IDF spokesman also said…

A senior German intelligence official announced her resignation Wednesday after it had emerged that she had shredded files that could have been relevant to a nationwide investigation of a neo-Nazi group. Claudia Schmid, head of domestic intelligence in the city-state of Berlin, handed in her resignation after her agency shredded dozens of files on far-right…

Three people were killed as a result of the Grad rocket attack on Kiryat Malachi Thursday morning. The three were killed during or within minutes of the attack, after efforts to save them failed. Six others were injured, including two infants, one of them eight months old. An additional victim, a four year old boy,…

Three people were killed as a result of the Grad rocket attack on Kiryat Malachi Thursday morning. The three were killed during or within minutes of the attack, after efforts to save them failed. Six others were injured, including two infants, one of them eight months old. An additional victim, a four year old boy,…

  Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu issued a statement to the international media Thursday afternoon, in which he said Israel would continue to do its best to avoid civilian casualties on the enemy side, despite the fact that the enemy is targeting Israeli civilians and hiding behind its own. He also thanked world leaders including U.S.…

So far, the world’s leaders seem to be backing Israel’s defensive action in Gaza. U.S. President Barack H. Obama and EU Foreign Policy chief Katherine Ashton both expressed understanding, if not support, for Israel’s situation, and for the need to break the back of Hamas and other Gaza terror groups that have rained thousands of…

Gaza-based terrorists fired more than 100 rockets at southern Israel’s communities from Wednesday evening until Thursday morning. Israeli police reported that 104 rockets were counted as of 6:40 a.m. (local time) Thursday morning. The “Red Alert” siren was heard in Be’er Sheva shortly after 2:30 a.m. Two Grad missiles were then fired at the city.…

Israeli ambassador to Egypt, Yaakov Amitai, reportedly left Cairo on Wednesday night, the website of the Egyptian Al-Ahram newspaper reported. Sources at the Cairo International Airport told the newspaper that Amitai left on a Jordanian Airlines flight. Amitai, who has been Israeli ambassador to Egypt since December 2011, was summoned earlier by the Egyptian Foreign…

The UN Security Council will meet in emergency session on Wednesday to discuss escalating tensions between Israel and Gaza, diplomats said, according to AFP. The closed meeting will begin at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time, and will be attended by representatives from the Israeli and the Palestinian Authority missions, the diplomats said. AFP reported that Egypt…

U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday promised to launch a new diplomatic push to solve the longstanding crisis over Iran’s disputed nuclear program, AFP reported. Obama said there was still a “window of time” to end the standoff. His comments came amid speculation about possible direct U.S. talks with Iran, which surfaced just before the…

In the wide scale effort to stop terrorists from continuing their barrage of rocket launches into Israel, the IDF Wednesday caused extensive damage to the long-term launch capabilities (over 40 km) of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The army also caused significant damage to underground delivery systems and weapons warehouses in their efforts to weaken the terrorist organizations in…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak held a short news conference Wednesday evening in which they announced the goals of Operation Pillar of Defense, which was launched in Gaza earlier in the day. Prime Minister Netanyahu said that the operation will be widened if necessary. Defense Minister Barak called upon regional leaders…

While the lives of hundreds of thousands of Israelis living in the south of the country have been turned upside down in the past week, it seems that normalcy is not something that will be returning in the immediate future. The Home Front Command announced Wednesday that following the security situation in the south and the…

IDF spokesman, Brigadier General Yoav (Poly) Mordechai held a press conference Wednesday night and addressed the military operation in Gaza. He said the operation was launched “After a long period of several years of unbearable fire aimed at residents of the south, which has intensified even more in recent weeks, including launches aimed at communities…

Israeli President Shimon Peres spoke tonight (Wednesday) with his American counterpart, Barack Obama, about the “Pillar of Defense” operation. Peres told Obama, “this evening we killed a mass murderer, head of Hamas’ military wing, Ahmed Jaabari. He was very extreme and stood behind the attacks and many terrorist activities.” Peres said that Israel did not…

Gaza terrorists fired a rocket at Dimona Wednesday, where Israel’s nuclear reactor is located. The rocket fell wide of its mark and caused no casualties or damage. Channel 2 said this was the first time a terror rocket was fired at the sensitive site. Terrorists fired about 20 Grad Katyusha missiles at Be’er Sheva, after…

Sharp price hikes in Jordan have fanned the flames of anger and sparked riots that the Muslim Brotherhood warns could be the beginning of another Arab Spring revolution across the river from Israel’s eastern border. Jordan announced on Tuesday it would raise fuel prices, including a 53 percent hike on cooking gas, sparking nationwide protests…

Germany’s neo-Nazi NPD party said on Tuesday it had turned to the constitutional court for confirmation of its legitimacy, AFP reported. The move came amid reports that regional interior ministers were seeking to acquire a ban on the group from the same authority. “I just filed a petition a few minutes ago before the Constitutional…

The party, now headed by former Netanyahu advisor Naftali Bennett, announced after the primaries vote count that the four candidates who received the most votes were former Knesset Member Nissan Slomiansky, Ayelet Shaked, incumbent MK Uri Orbach and Avi Vortsman, deputy mayor of Be’er Sheva. All the candidates, including Bennett, will go into the January elections with a merged slate of…

Police have arrested two teenage Arab terrorists invovled in the stabbing the son of Torah sage Rabbi Tzvi Tau in the back in Jerusalem nearly two weeks ago. The attackers are ages 15 and 17. The older terrorist stabbed Avraham Tau in the back as he and another Jewish boy were walking peacefully from the Western Wall…

Arab terrorists Wednesday attacked the south with four Katyusha rockets from the Sinai, an Israeli security source confirmed. No one was injured, and no property damage was reported, but at least one missile exploded between homes. One of the rockets was fired towards the community of Bnei Netzarim without causing any injuries, a security source said.…

“We were born ‘children of red’,” a Sderot fourth-grade girl told President Shimon Peres Wednesday, referring to the Color Red siren that rules their lives and warns them of rocket attacks. “We are children who live in fear that at anytime, we will hear a siren and have to leave the playground and our friends…

A new United Nations nuclear watchdog report is to reveal that Iran has completed installation of 2,700 centrifuges at its underground Fordo plant, enabling it to speed up production of 20 percent pure enriched uranium that could be used for manufacturing a nuclear weapon. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported in August that approximately…

A Saudi national was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday for plotting attacks on the Texas home of former U.S. president George W. Bush, nuclear plants, and other targets, prosecutors said. Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, 22, was arrested last year after a chemical supplier became suspicious when he tried to order concentrated phenol, a toxic chemical…

The IAF fired a missile at a car in Gaza Wednesday, killing the commander of Hamas’s “military” terror wing, Ahmed Jaabari. Israel’s TV Channel 2 says his son was also killed. There are reports that Raed al-Atar, Commander of Hamas’s southern division, has also been killed. Hamas responded by saying that it was now in…

The Syrian army has pledged to Israel that its soldiers will avoid firing at the Israeli side of the border, Channel 10 News reported on Tuesday. According to the report, the Syrian army sent a message along these lines to Israel, after the IDF fired at Syria twice this week in response to mortar shells…

Polls in the Habayit Hayehudi (Jewish Home) party’s primaries closed at 10:00 p.m. on Tuesday evening. Final results are expected to be announced at a special press conference on Wednesday afternoon. Each of the 54,000 Jewish Home party members were allowed to vote for up to five candidates, and ranked their preferences from one to…

Youth from Bnei Akiva’s HaShachar Project for Ethiopians arrived on Tuesday evening at the pedestrian mall in Jerusalem, where they celebrated Sigd, a traditional holiday celebrated by the Ethiopian Jewish community. The date for Sigd is the 29th day of the Hebrew month of Heshvan, which marks 50 days after Yom Kippur parallel to the…

A Hamas terrorist who engineered the deaths of 67 Israelis during the Second Intifada, also known as the Oslo War, has said that he has no regrets whatsoever over the Israeli blood he spilled. The terrorist, Abdullah Barghouti, was sentenced to 67 life sentences for his role in the murders of Israelis in a string…

A new United Nations nuclear watchdog report is to reveal that Iran has completed installation of 2,700 centrifuges at its underground Fordo plant, enabling it to speed up production of 20 percent pure enriched uranium that could be used for manufacturing a nuclear weapon. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported in August that approximately…

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations announced Monday that the White House has not ruled out cooperating with a pending U.N. probe into the Obama administration’s use of drone strikes, The Hill reported. “Well, we have questions about the appropriateness of that approach,” Ambassador Susan Rice told reporters. “But we will look at it…

Workers have sealed off the tomb of former Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat in Ramallah in preparation for the possible exhumation of his body. “Since this morning, Arafat’s mausoleum was closed as a preliminary step in the investigation of his death,” Tawfiq Tirawi, head of the investigative committee on Arafat’s death, told AFP on Tuesday.…

“Crude and hateful” graffiti was scrawled on the back door of the Jewish Life House at Wheaton College, a small liberal arts college in Norton, Massachusetts. Upon being informed of the incident, Wheaton President Ronald Crutcher sent out an e-mail to students and faculty, affirming that the university would not tolerate such acts of hate.…

A renowned Canadian lawmaker has proposed a motion in the country’s Parliament calling for formal government recognition of some 850,000 Jews forcibly displaced from Arab lands since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. Member of Parliament Irwin Cotler, who has served as Canadian Justice Minister and Attorney General, noted in his motion that by…

A soldier who was very seriously wounded in an attack on Saturday night has seen some improvement in his condition, doctors say.  The soldier suffered serious injuries to the head and eyes in the assault. Four soldiers with the IDF’s Givati brigade were wounded when Gaza terrorists fired an anti-tank missile at a jeep. The…

Tel Aviv University archaeology researchers have discovered unprecedented desecration of Israelite holy sites 3,100 years ago, possibly by Philistines, who the Palestinian Authority say are the original Palestinians. The researchers uncovered a unique 11th-century BCE sacred compound at the site of Tel Beth-Shemesh, west of Jerusalem. The newly discovered sacred complex at the site of…

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood-led government is suggesting that the country’s new constitution be based on the principles of Islam. The Muslim Brotherhood’s website published on Monday the draft of the new constitution, which was put together by a special committee numbering 100 members, the majority of which are members of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafist…

“I can hardly stand to see babies being killed by tanks of their own government, but we cannot intervene,” President Shimon Peres told CNN Monday. “The bloodshed which I regret so much in Syria has nothing to do with Israel, nothing whatsoever,” Peres said in an interview. More than 35,000 people are estimated to have been…

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas announced on Monday that the PA will present its bid for non-state UN membership, despite U.S. and Israeli opposition, AFP reported. Following talks with Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi in Cairo, “it has been agreed that the request will be presented on November 29,” Abbas told reporters, calling for support…

Israel has become an American economic interest, “beyond the basis of cooperation of common values and democracy”, Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren told Globes news. After keeping a low media profile for months, in order to keep out of the U.S. presidential elections campaign, Oren affirmed that the close strategic relations between the…

IAF aircraft conducted several airstrikes in Gaza on Monday night, hitting at least three targets. According to a statement by the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, the aircraft struck two rocket launching sites in northern Gaza and a weapons storage site in central Gaza. The attack, noted the statement, is a response to the continued rocket fire…

The United States won on Monday a new term on the UN Human Rights Council and named the Council’s biased focus on Israel as one of the “flaws” in the controversial body. AFP reported that the United States was one of 18 countries to win places on the 47-member council as of January 1. Rights…

Judging from statements by government officials Monday, indications were that Israel would begin a military campaign against Gaza Arab terrorists sooner rather than later, analysts said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who met with foreign ambassadors stationed in Israel, said that Israel could no longer tolerate the incessant rocket attacks on Israel by Gaza Arab terrorists.…

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas threw cold water on President Barack Obama’s election victory, answering the president with a direct “no” after Obama told him his administration is opposed to the PA’s unilateral move for recognition by the United Nations General Assembly. Abbas’ blunt “no” underscored the new Middle East reality, where the PA chief…

Three months after the expiration of the Tal Law, which regulated exemptions from IDF service for Hareidi yeshiva students, the State informed the High Court that the IDF would begin drafting 18 year old Hareidi students beginning next summer. The plan was revealed as part of the State’s response to a petition by groups demanding…

A mortar shell from Syria landed in the Golan Heights Monday, prompting the IDF to return fire for the second time in two days, the first time it has fired into Syria territory since the Yom Kippur War in 1973. The exchange came just hours after an appeal for restraint from all sides by UN…

The war in southern Israel is still raging. On Monday afternoon, a Grad rocket fired by Gaza Arab terrorists exploded next to a factory in the industrial zone of Netivot. Six people suffered from shock as a result of the attack. Witnesses said that there was a great deal of damage to the structure. This…

A delegation of Italian MPs from different parties will visit Kibbutz Kfar Aza on Monday, to express solidarity with local residents in the wake of recent increase of rocket attacks aimed at civilians and launched from Hamas-controlled Gaza. Kfar Aza is located in the Gaza belt region, an area with Israeli communities, located very close to the…

Iran’s Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi said Monday that Tehran will break the ‘grasping hands’ of newly re-elected U.S. President Barack Obama, the official IRNA news agency reported. He also said Iran would overcome U.S.-led sanctions against the country. “We will break the grasping hands of Obama and we will be successful in bypassing the sanctions,”…

The Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepted two Grad rockets aimed at the strategic port city of Ashkelon Monday, but rural areas closer to Gaza sustained a dozen attacks. A missile attack on Ashkelon could be devastating if it were to strike oil and gas storage tanks and pipelines or a huge power station, which supplies electricity…

U.S. President Barack Obama told Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday that his administration opposes his bid for non-state membership of the UN, both sides said, according to an AFP report. “There was a long telephone conversation between president Mahmoud Abbas and Barack Obama,” Abbas’s spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP. “Obama expressed the…

A Grad terrorist rocket smashed into a Netivot house Monday morning, causing heavy damage. Miraculously, no one was physically injured but four people were treated for shock and evacuated to Soroka Medical Center in Be’er Sheva. The attack occurred only hours after a ceasefire supposedly went into effect, but like dozens of similar announcements the…

In response to statements by Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas that he would not demand the “right of return” for PA Arabs to the homes that their grandparents and great-grandparents abandoned in the State of Israel – statements Abbas later reneged on – Hamas has issued its own document on the matter. Even if the…

In what may be preparation for an Israeli attack in Gaza, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is set to meet on Monday with foreign ambassadors serving in Israel. During the meeting Netanyahu will present to the ambassadors Israel’s position regarding Gaza, possibly setting the stage for such an attack which will likely lead to condemnation of…

After a day in which more than 100 rockets fired by Gaza terrorists exploded in Israel, it was decided on Sunday evening that school will resume on Monday in all areas of southern Israel. Schools in Gan Yavne and the Gaza belt were closed on Sunday, but local authorities decided that all educational institutions will…

Flickr, one of the largest social photo hosting services, has decided to remove the maps of Israel from its site, the Israeli photography website MegaPixel.co.il has found out. In an article published on the website on Sunday, it was noted that several weeks ago, photographer Giora Pinhasi, a long time writer with MegaPixel, discovered that…

IAF aircraft struck a terror tunnel and a weapons storage site in northern Gaza, as well as a rocket launching site in southern Gaza on Sunday night. According to a statement by the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, direct hits at the targets were identified. All Israeli aircraft safely returned to their bases. “The IDF will not…

Palestinian Authority Arabs unsuccessfully attempted to kidnap Jewish girls from Judea and Samaria (Yehuda and Shomron) on Sunday evening. A number of Jewish girls reported that a vehicle driven by PA Arabs stopped next to them as they were standing at a hitchhiking station at the Ofra junction in Binyamin. The Arabs tried to convince…

The Delek group, along with its partner, Avner Oil Exploration Ltd., on Sunday morning informed the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange that it was preparing to drill another exploratory well in the Mediterranean. According to geological surveys, the companies said, there was a 70% chance that some 2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas were located…

A direct strike on a home in Sderot was reported after 7:30 p.m. Sunday evening, as Gaza terrorists continued to fire a barrage of missiles at Israeli civilian men, women and children.  Initial reports said no one was injured despite the direct hit. Many of the rockets fired Sunday were timed for the end of…

About 5,000 Chabad “shluchim,” or emissaries, came to the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s home in Brooklyn Sunday for their annual get-together. The emissaries serve Jewish communities all over the world, bringing Jewish religious services, holiday celebrations and Torah learning to Jews who would otherwise have a hard time reaching them. They do this at great personal sacrifice,…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu also warned Sunday against any plan that President Bashar al-Assad might consider with regard to attempting to cross into Israel. “We are ready for any development on the Syrian border as well,” the prime minister said in his opening remarks at the weekly Sunday cabinet meeting. Syrian Army regulars fired a…

Israeli scientists are getting closer to developing a blood test to detect the asymptomatic, early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers at Tel Aviv University say the earliest clues to the disease are found in metabolic processes which can already been seen in the brain. Shiri Stempler, a PhD candidate at TAU’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine…

Unidentified persons, expected to be Neo-Nazi vandals, uprooted 11 memorial plaques commemorating Jewish Nazi victims in the German city of Greifswald on Friday, the 74th anniversary of Kristallnacht, Die Welt newspaper reported. The plaques were part of the Stolpersteine, meaning “stumbling blocks”, project by German artist Gunter Demnig, memorializing victims of the Nazi regime throughout…

After several warnings were ignored, Israel Defense Forces finally returned fire Sunday following Syrian Army shelling of the Golan Heights by Syrian regulars. Syrian soldiers shelled an IDF outpost, prompting Israeli soldiers to fire warning shots back in response. Israel has repeatedly asked the United Nations peacekeeping forces stationed in the demilitarized zone between the…

Residents of Be’er Sheva joined their brethren in the rest of southern Israel after the Color Red rocket alert siren blared through the city.  At least two explosions, possibly three, sounded throughout the city about 90 seconds after the siren sounded the alert for residents to head for the shelters. At least one – possibly two –…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu pre-empted the usual calls for restraint in the wake of an escalation of Hamas attacks Monday morning and told Sunday’s weekly Cabinet meeting that Israel “is prepared to escalate.” “The world must realize that Israel won’t sit by idly in the face of attempts to attack us. We are prepared to escalate our actions,”…

Four Israel civilians suffered shrapnel wounds from rockets fired by Gaza terrorists during the Sunday morning rush hour to school and work. All of the victims were evacuated to Soroka Medical Center in Be’er Sheva, where they are being treated for light injuries. One of the victims was wounded in Sderot, located less than a…

An Arab terrorist attacked and stabbed an Israeli woman in her 30s during an attempted carjacking in the French Hill neighborhood of Jerusalem Sunday afternoon. The woman was taken to Hadassah Mt. Scopus Hospital for treatment. Doctors said she suffered light wounds, and would likely be released later Sunday. The incident occurred outside the Jinogli…

Palestinian Authority PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas used the anniversary of Yasser Arafat’s death Sunday to adamantly state he will submit a bid to the United Nations General Assembly (GA) this month for Non-Member status, which would lead to more pressure on PA territorial demands. “We’re going to the United Nations in November 2012, not 2013, or 2014,” Abbas…

Sheldon Adelson wrote in his Yisrael HaYom newspaper Sunday that former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s accusations of his using Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s to interfere in the U.S. elections are baseless. Adelson concluded that Olmert may hold a grudge against his newspaper. Writing under the headline “Conspiracy Theory,” the casino magnate stated that Olmert has no…

Dr. Michael Sharf, head of the Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva, said on Saturday evening that the wounds of the IDF soldier who was hit in a terrorist attack on a jeep near Gaza were life threatening. “Whenever someone is seriously wounded there is a danger to his life,” Dr. Sharf told Channel 2 News.…

IAF aircraft attacked on Saturday night a terrorist squad in northern Gaza that was in the midst of an attempt to fire rockets at southern Israel. The IDF said in a statement that a direct hit was detected. Sources in the Palestinian Authority said that a terrorist from the Islamic Jihad group was killed in…

Hamas parliament member Yahya Moussa, one of the senior officials in the movement, has declared Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas persona non grata in Gaza. In a statement translated by Arab affairs expert Dalit Halevi, Moussa said that he opposes a visit by Abbas to Gaza, because Abbas wants to take advantage of such a…

IAF aircraft attacked a number of terror targets in Gaza overnight Saturday, according to a statement by the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit. According to the statement, the targets included a weapons manufacturing site, two weapons storage sites and two rocket launching sites in northern Gaza, as well as a terror target and a weapons storage site…

Syrian opposition groups meeting in Doha have agreed in principle on a plan to unite against President Bashar Al-Assad, participants announced following marathon talks. “We have agreed on the main points of the formation of a Syrian national coalition for the forces of the opposition and the revolution. We will continue our discussions on the…

Gaza terrorists fired at least 12 rockets at Israel Saturday, in the aftermath of an attack on an IDF jeep that left four soldiers injured. The rockets reportedly did not cause casualties or damage. Two rockets were fired at the Sderot area, and two at the Eshkol regional authority. IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.…

Heavy fighting between Syrian rebels and troops sent thousands fleeing across the border into Turkey on Friday, AFP reported. The clashes over a border post near the northeastern town of Ras al-Ain killed 46 combatants in two days, a watchdog said, and highlighted the humanitarian crisis and regional dangers posed by Syria’s nearly 20-month conflict.…

The continued spillover of the fighting in Syria into Israel has caused the IDF to change the rules of engagement along the Syrian border. According to a Channel 2 News report on Friday, the new orders instruct soldiers to respond if fire from Syria is dangerous and persistent. The report noted that while Israel wants…

Gaza terrorists hit an IDF jeep with an anti-tank missile early Saturday evening. The IDF Spokesman announced that four soldiers were hurt but gave no specific details regarding their degree of injury. IDF Radio said that on soldier was very seriously wounded and another soldier was “moderately” wounded. There are reports the second soldier is…

More than 10,000 ultraconservative Muslims demonstrated Friday in Tahrir Square central Cairo, demanding that Egypt’s new constitution be based on the rulings of Islamic Sharia law. The rally was organized by a number of minority Salafi groups, but neither the Muslim Brotherhood nor the main Salafist Al-Nour party backed the protest, according to Al Jazeera.…

The usually sunny and warm tourist city of Eilat was hit by rain on Friday afternoon. The rain storm caused flooding and many delays throughout the city. The city’s airport was flooded and closed for flights, cars were seen floating in the streets and houses filled with water as the heavy rains flooded the city.…

Two Kassam rockets fired by Gaza-based terrorists exploded in open areas in the Eshkol Regional Council on Friday afternoon. The rockets did not cause any physical injuries or damage. The rockets were fired despite an Egyptian-brokered “ceasefire” that was supposed to have gone effect in late October, after Gaza-based terrorists fired more than 80 rockets…

President Shimon Peres denied on Friday recent media reports that he is planning to end his term early and run in the next Knesset elections as head of Israel’s center-left bloc. This week it was reported that former Kadima chairwoman Tzipi Livni has been pressuring Shimon Peres to head a center-left Knesset list in the…

The UN atomic agency said on Friday it will hold in December its first talks with Iran since August over Tehran’s nuclear program, AFP reported. “The IAEA and Iran have agreed to hold further talks on 13 December in Tehran,” International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) spokeswoman Gill Tudor told AFP in an email, without elaborating.…

Israeli President Shimon Peres on Friday hailed a “determined” stance from Russia on Iran’s nuclear program and said Moscow’s position on a range of issues was close to Israel’s. “The positions of the Russians are much more complex than what we think –more, let’s say, on Israel’s side on a lot of issues,” Peres told…

After condemnation by the United Nations and Israeli warnings to Syria not to enter the demilitarized buffer zone have done nothing to halt the numerous incidences of Syrian spill over into the Golan Heights, Israel’s deputy prime minister Moshe Yaalon warned Damascus on Friday that it would act to defend its sovereignty if the bloody…

More than 8,000 Holocaust survivors have not received reimbursement for medical expenses that they are entitled to get from the Foundation for the Benefit of Holocaust Victims in Israel. Administrators for the fund say they simply cannot meet all the requests for help. “We’re out of money,” declared Fund director Elazar Stern. Stern, formerly the…

A report on births in Israel in 2011 was published Thursday at the annual Israel Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology conference. The report was based on 160,257 recorded births in 2011, which made up 96.3% of births for the year. The report found that use of the epidural painkiller during labor was up to 58%.…

During his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, President Shimon Peres reminded his Russian counterpart of his promise to ensure that Iran does not get nuclear weapons. “The responsibility to ensure that something like the Holocaust never happens again rests on your shoulders,” Peres told Putin. “You said that whoever denies the Holocaust…

A smuggling tunnel exploded in southern Gaza on Thursday evening, as a group of IDF soldiers were in the middle of an operation to uncover it. One of the soldiers was very lightly wounded in the incident. An official IDF statement noted that the explosion caused damage to an empty military vehicle that was standing…

Envoys from the Palestinian Authority on Thursday unveiled the resolution they hope will give them observer membership at the United Nations but held back from setting a date for a vote, AFP reported. Arab League foreign ministers are to discuss the resolution next week, diplomats told AFP. The PA’s mission to the United Nations sent…

Residents of Migron who were expelled from their homes two months ago were shocked recently to discover that Arabs had looted their abandoned homes. Shuki Sat, a resident of Migron, told Arutz Sheva on Thursday that the Arab looting was made possible because the IDF, which was supposed to continue securing Plot 10 that the residents…

What were two skeletons doing at the bottom of a rare Stone Age well being excavated in the Jezreel Valley? Both skeletons were dated along with the well to approximately 8,500 years ago. The excavation was directed by the Israel Antiquities Authority prior to enlarging the Yogev Junction by the National Roads Authority. It will be…

In the aftermath of a divisive election in which some campaigns devolved into harsh recriminations and ugly personal attacks, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) issued a statement calling on political leaders in Washington, D.C. to strive for “a new day of civility and compromise” and to unite in order to benefit the common good. ADL has…

French President Francois Hollande criticized Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for being “obsessed with Iran” and for turning a recent memorial service, for four Toulouse Jews killed by an Islamic terrorist, as an “election rally.” “Netanyahu came to France to campaign and we knew that,” Hollande told journalists in private remarks which were later leaked…

Billionaire Sheldon Adelson did not do very well in the U.S. elections. According to Israel’s Channel 2 TV, only one of the ten candidates whom he helped financially was elected. Adelson was the biggest donor to Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney’s campaign, and in addition contributed to the campaigns of none Republican contenders for the…

Iran is willing to talk to the U.S. about its nuclear program anytime, anywhere, said Secretary of Iran’s Human Rights Council Mohammad Javad Larijani – “even at the bottom of hell.” However, he said, the negotiations must be based on “fairness,” and pressure by the U.S. to force Iran to do anything would not be…

In an interview with the Travel section of the UK’s Telegraph newspaper, famed Italian tenor, multi-instrumentalist and classical crossover artist Andrea Bocelli spoke affectionately of his time in Israel. In response to the question “Which was your best holiday,” he responded by saying,“A country that has really resonated with me and I was really impressed…

They came from Sweden, Poland, France, and Israel, all for one reason — to rock. The ProgStage 2012 festival brought together several international and local acts in the genre of progressive metal, art rock and alternative hard rock. The festival took place on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, the Kinneret. Arutz Sheva’s Israel…

The Israeli Security Agency (ISA, Shabak) and IDF announced Thursday that they had arrested three Arab terrorists who shot at an Israeli vehicle on the access road between the towns of Ma’ale Shomron and Karnei Shomron. The incident occurred on September 30, with a car driven by a resident of Karnei Shomron sustaining substantial damage.…

Fighting between government troops and rebels in Syria has once again spilled over into Israel. On Thursday morning, three mortar shells were fired into Israel, with one of them hitting a neighborhood in the town of Alonei HaBashan, which is several kilometers from the border. None of the shells exploded. IDF sappers rushed to the…

Syria’s foreign ministry warned Palestinian Authority Arabs residing in the country against becoming embroiled in the country’s uprising on Wednesday, AFP reported. “Syria will strongly oppose any attempt to bring the Palestinians into what is happening in Syria,” a ministry source said, according to a report on Syria TV. “All Palestinian factions must keep away…

Two vehicles caught fire on Wednesday night in Jerusalem’s French Hill neighborhood. Firefighters who arrived on the scene said that flammable material, maybe a firebomb, had been thrown at the vehicles. The vehicles sustained severe damage but there were no injuries. Police said they believe that Arabs carried out the attack and added they were…

Project Red Sea set out this past election season to bring the voice of Americans living in Israel to like minded pro-Israel voters in key U.S. states. Through their use of the press, social media and ground efforts, the group brought to these key states their message of what’s good for Israel.  Ruth Lieberman was part…

A U.S. man behind an anti-Muslim film that led to mass protests in the Middle East was sentenced on Wednesday to a year in jail for probation violations, the BBC reported. Nakoula Basseley Nakoula was sentenced by a judge in California after admitting four violations which stem from a 2010 conviction for fraud, said the…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu congratulated US President Barack Obama on Wednesday for winning a second term in office and said the strategic alliance between their two countries was “rock solid.” “I want to congratulate President Obama on his reelection,” Netanyahu said during a televised appearance with U.S. ambassador Daniel Shapiro. “I think the United States…

An IDF position near the border with Syria was hit by what appear to be stray bullets Wednesday. No one was hurt and no damage was caused. The IDF said that the bullets appear to be strays from light weapons used in internal fighting in Syria. Three Syrian tanks entered the demilitarized area between Syrian…

Jewish Democrats seeking congressional seats fared better in Tuesday’s election than Jewish Republicans. Lois Frankel and Alan Grayson, both Jewish Democrats, won congressional seats in Florida. On Tuesday, Frankel, 64, a former member of the Florida House and an ex-mayor of West Palm Beach, defeated Adam Hasner, a former majority leader in the Florida state…

Taliban terrorist insurgents told newly re-elected President Barack Obama on Wednesday to admit that the United States has lost the war in Afghanistan and to act accordingly by pulling its troops out of the country immediately. “Obama must by now know that they have lost the war in Afghanistan,” said spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid in a…

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi on Wednesday congratulated President Barack Obama on his re-election victory and said he hoped it would strengthen the “friendship” between their two countries. Morsi hoped for a “strengthening of the friendship between the two countries to serve their common interests, namely justice, freedom and peace,” in a telegram of congratulations released…

Turkey is planning to ask NATO for Patriot missiles to help defend its southern region from Syria, said an Ankara source quoted by international media. The missile defense battery would be stationed  along the country’s 910 kilometer (560 mile) border with Syria, said a senior Turkish foreign ministry official. “An imminent official request is to…

With more than a million households still without power in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut brace for another storm: a nor’easter. Some 1.4 million households still have no electricity in the Northeast, and the weather is getting colder. In New York City, some 30,000 people are homeless and now…

Britain is negotiating a military deal with the United Arab Emirates and if successful, will sell the Arab nation 60 new fighter jets. The two countries have already concluded an  agreement that includes a range of defense and bilateral partnerships. British Prime Minister David Cameron met Tuesday with Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah and other top Saudi…

Arab media are reporting that rebel forces have shelled the palace of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus. The military airport and intelligence headquarters in the capital allegedly were also bombed, according to the pan-Arab Al Arabiya television news network. The unconfirmed report came following an intense round of overnight mortar bombing in the pro-Assad Alawite…

The new chairman of the Jewish Home party, Naftali Bennett, made a victory speech shortly after midnight on Tuesday night. With all the ballots counted, Bennett defeated his rival, MK Zevulun Orlev, with a majority of 67%. “If there is anyone who still thinks that religious Zionism has finished its historical role, that it is…

President Barack Obama won 70 percent of the Jewish vote, compared with 74 percent in 2008, according to exit polls. At one point in the campaign, polls showed that Jews would support Obama by only 60-65 percent. In Israel, Romney won more than 80 percent of the vote of Jewish living in the Jewish State,…

A Border Guards officer was wounded Tuesday night when Arabs in the Shuafat area of Jerusalem rioted. The officer was stabbed by one of the rioters. At least seven other officers were injured by rocks thrown by the rioters. Three of the officers, including the stabbing victim, were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment,…

As Americans go to the polls, Kabbalists in Jerusalem are doing their part to help Mitt Romney pull through and win the presidency. Rabbis and students at Yeshivat Hatzot in Jerusalem were reading psalms and conducting special prayers to influence the election, and “turn the hearts of voters to Romney,” one student present at the…

According to an old bit of wisdom, an army marches on its stomach. It stands to reason that the healthier the food that goes into soldiers’ stomachs, the healthier soldiers will be, so the IDF has begun a program designed to encourage soldiers to eat more healthfully, exercise more, and take better care of their…

Seventy years ago Aryeh Sadeh’s life was saved thanks to Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved thousands of Jews during the Holocaust. This week he celebrated his bar mitzvah, and took the opportunity to thank his rescuer yet again. Sadeh, 84, became bar mitzvah 71 years ago but never had a chance to celebrate.…

Israel has filed a formal complaint with the United Nations about the military spillover over the northern border from Syria’s civil war. Ambassador to the United Nations Ron Prosor wrote a scathing letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, deeply critical of three tanks that crossed into the demilitarized zone between Syria and Israel last week.…

A Russian nuclear-powered attack submarine sailed within 200 miles of the U.S. East Coast, defense officials told the Washington Free Beacon. The report follows by three months a similar revelation by the newspaper that a Russian nuclear sub patrolled the Gulf of Mexico undetected for more than a month.   The submarine off the East…

The Harvard Kennedy School of Government has, once again, provided a platform for Israel’s detractors. Diana Buttu, a former Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) spokeswoman and current fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center, “delivered a lecture that purported to discuss the ‘reality’ of the Middle East peace process, but instead disseminated lies to her…

Israel has issued tenders for additional 1,213 homes in areas of Jerusalem restored to the country after the Six-Day War, according to the anti-nationalist Peace Now organization, quoted by AFP. The report was based on Peace Now’s citing tenders published by the Israeli Housing Ministry, for 607 units in the northern Jerusalem area of Pisgat…

According to websites associated with the Fatah movement, Hamas is planning to carry out suicide attacks against Israel from Judea and Samaria, in order to bring down the wrath of the IDF on the Arabs in that region and topple the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority there. The websites have published a document summarizing the contents of…

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has criticized the Ukrainian Opposition Party of Yulia Tymoshenko for having signed a parliamentary alliance that gave legitimacy to a far-right extremist party well known for its anti-Semitic views. ADL National Director, Abraham Foxman issued a statement in which he expressed “alarm” at the strong electoral support for the neo-Nazi Svoboda…

A Turkish court on Tuesday began what Israel calls an in absentia “show trial” of former IDF Chief of Gabi Ashkenazi and three other former senior military officers over the 2010 clash with the terror-linked IHH organization. The prosecutors are demanding multiple life sentences that would amount to 18,000 years in jail for the four officers…

Syrian security forces on Monday shut down all the offices belonging to Hamas in the country, Al-Jazeera reported. Despite previously being close allies, there has been a rift between Hamas and the Syrian regime ever since the uprising against President Bashar Al-Assad began. In the first months of the uprising, Hamas’ leaders expressed support in…

The Palestinian Authority will push on with a bid to achieve non-member status at the United Nations despite pressure to back down, PLO top negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Monday, according to AFP. “No matter what pressure we are facing… we will not go back on our decision,” Erakat said in Amman after talks between…

A Swiss laboratory team has arrived in Ramallah to prepare for the exhumation of former Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, PA sources told AFP on Monday. The team, along with French investigators, is expected to participate in Arafat’s exhumation on November 26, as part of a new investigation into the circumstances of the late leader’s…

Turkey on Monday hosted former Syrian Prime Minister Riyad Hijab, amid a four-day meeting of the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) in Doha. The Turkish daily Hurriyet reported that the country’s Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, met with Hijab in his second visit to Turkey since September, following his participation at the gathering of leading Syrian…

At least 50 are dead following a massive suicide bombing in central Syria, activists and state media report. “At least 50 government troops and loyalist militiamen were killed this morning in a car bomb explosion near a military post in the village of Ziyara,” UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman told…

United Nations nuclear agency chief Yukio Amano told the UN General Assembly Monday Iran is not cooperating with its investigation. In his annual report to the world body, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said talks have intensified over the past year. However, he added, “no concrete results have been achieved” thus far.…

An Israeli military jeep was hit Monday by Syrian gunfire on the Golan Heights, AFP reported. IDF soldiers were patrolling this evening near the northern border when they came under gunfire from the Syrian side of the border. The IDF Spokesperson told Arutz Sheva there were no casualties and that the incident is under investigation. According to…

The father of a Jewish family was badly beaten and the family home was completely trashed on Sunday by local youths in Marseille, France.Residents in their Jewish neighborhood are stunned following the incident. Marseilles is home to some 80,000 Jews – 10 percent of the general population but a small fraction compared to the 250,000…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu promised on Monday that by the time his term as Prime Minister is over, Iran will not have a nuclear weapons program. Speaking to Channel 2, Netanyahu said that if it is necessary, he will lead an independent Israeli attack against Iran, even without the support of the United States. “When…

Only 52 % of Arab-Americans back President Barack Obama, with 16% undecided, and their votes could be the deciding factor in several swing states, according to a poll by the Arab-American Institute. Obama won 67% of the Arab-American vote in 2008, and the new numbers are “signaling a potential loss of some 100,000 voters for…

Microsoft director Steve Ballmer met with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Monday on his fourth trip to Israel, this time to discuss cooperation on cloud technology. They discussed Microsoft’s commitment to Israel, its vast investments in the local market and the impact it is having, driving economic growth through national level activity and programs focused on…

Iranian experts have succeeded in building a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drone which will be unveiled in the coming months, the Mehr news agency reported on Sunday. According to the report, the new drone will be unveiled during the festivities marking the 34th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in mid-winter. Abbas Jam, the lead…

“When members of the Democratic Party booed the inclusion of G-d and Jerusalem in their party platform this year, I thought of my parents,” writes Jewish philanthropist Sheldon Adelson in the Sunday edition of The Wall Street Journal. “They would have been astounded.” Adelson, who has emerged as one of the largest patrons of Republican…

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas received a phone call from President Shimon Peres on Sunday, the PA-based WAFA news agency reported. According to the report, the two discussed the peace process. The conversation between the two came after comments Abbas made in an interview with Israel’s Channel 2 News over the weekend caused a hype…

French President Francois Hollande voiced support on Sunday for a transitional Syrian opposition government, AFP reported. According to the report, Hollande also called Iran’s nuclear ambitions a “threat” to the region and the world. “France is very keen on the formation by the opposition of a transitional government that would give it full legitimacy and…

A Channel 2 investigative report says that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered the military and intelligence service to prepare for a military strike on Iran in 2010, but met stiff opposition from then-IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi and then-Head of Mossad Meir Dagan. While Dagan and Ashkenazi…

Four IDF soldiers were slightly hurt Sunday when a jeep they were in overturned, near Ein Yahav, in the Arava region north of Eilat. The accident occurred in the course of routine military activity. Two soldiers were evacuated in ambulances to Yoseftal Hospital in Eilat, and two others were taken by helicopter to Be’er Sheva’s…

The Ministry of Defense officially announced Sunday that a series of tests to the Iron Dome anti-missile defense system has been successfully completed, in an important step in the IDF’s plans to upgrade the system. Following the tests, IDF forces will acquire an additional Iron Dome battery, this one with improved capabilities. The new battery,…

China’s Ministry of Industry in recent weeks published statistics on the growing kosher industry in the country. The bottom line: There has been a “kosher revolution” in China, with more kosher products produced for domestic use and export than ever. According to the report, the amount of kosher production rose 60% in 2012, compared to…

The United Kingdom’s Foreign Office has raised its terror threat level in Egypt from “general” to “high”, following reports of an al Qaeda-inspired plot to attack western tourists. In recent days, Egyptian police reported they had foiled a terror attack aimed at tourists in northern Sinai, close to the border with Gaza. The Foreign Office…

A huge bomb exploded Sunday morning at a Damascus hotel often used by United Nations observers, state media reported. Several people were wounded in the explosions at the Dama Rose hotel, and it is not known the extent of their injuries or if there were deaths. No one has taken responsibility for the bombing, which…

Russian police have detained 25 men wearing black field overcoats with images of Nazi swastikas in Moscow Sunday, the RIA Novosti news service reported. The arrests coincided with Unity Day, a national holiday established by the Kremlin in 2005 to replace commemorations of the Bolshevik Revolution. “The Moscow police have detained 25 people in black…

Gunmen killed three Egyptian policemen and seriously wounded a fourth on Saturday in El-Arish, in the Sinai Peninsula, state television said. “Armed men who might belong to a jihadist group attacked a police vehicle and fired on its passengers before fleeing,” a security source was quoted by AFP as having said. “The dead and wounded…

Arutz Sheva visited the annual Go4Europe conference, one of the most prestigious conferences in Israel. Go4Europe addresses the current issues of raising funds and establishing strategic alliances in Europe. “The conference was established ten years ago,” said Edouard Cukierman of Cukierman Co. Investment House, one of the organizers of Go4Europe. “We bring people from Europe…

Gaza terrorists attack Israel with their 611th rocket this year on Sunday, and media continue to ignore the missile strikes – so long as there are no injuries or damage. Sunday’s Qassam rocket struck in the early morning in the Western Negev and caused no physical damage or damage. The daily trauma of children having…

Iran has suspended 20-percent uranium enrichment in order to have Western-imposed sanctions lifted, a parliament member told the Al Arabiya network on Saturday. Earlier, according to the report, Foreign Policy and National Security Commission of Parliament Mohammad Hossein Asfari told the ISNA news agency that Tehran’s move was a “good will” gesture, hoping that Western…

The spokesman for the Palestinian Authority (PA), Nabil Abu Rudeineh, published a clarification Saturday evening following an interview PA head Mahmoud Abbas gave Israel’s Channel 2 television news. After Hamas accused Abbas of giving up the “right of return” of Arabs to territory officially within Israel, Abu Rudeinieh stated: “The Chairman of the PA and…

President Shimon Peres on Saturday saluted as “courageous” remarks by Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas in which he appears to relinquish the demand for a “right to return” of PA Arabs to their former homes in what is now Israel. “Abu Mazen’s courageous words prove that Israel has a real partner for peace,” Peres…

Welfare Minister Moshe Kahlon is expected to announce Sunday that he has made a final decision not to run for a Knesset seat in the coming election. Instead, it is reported, he will go the United States and study at Harvard University.   He will remain in the Likud party. Kahlon made his decision after…

A group of divorced men confronted Jewish Home Chairman MK Zevulun Orlev in an election meeting last week. The men are fathers who have had their children torn away from them as a result of accusations leveled by their ex-wives. They claim that Israel’s policies regarding such complaints are informed by radical feminist perceptions that…

Jews confronted Arabs outside the Jerusalem neighbor hood of Maaleh Zeitim on the Mount of Olives Saturday evening, 24 hours after Arabs stabbed a Jewish man there. The stabbing victim is Avraham Tau, son of the President of Har HaMor Yeshiva, Rav Rzvi Tau, a venerated leader in the religious Zionist camp. Avraham Tau, whose…

Three Syrian tanks entered the demilitarized buffer zone in the central Golan Heights on Saturday, leading the IDF to raise its alert level in the area. The Israeli army has also lodged a complaint with UN forces enforcing the ceasefire in the Golan Heights. The Syrian tanks entered the village of Bir-Ajam, located just a…

Hamas slammed Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Friday, in response to comments he made in an interview he gave to Israel’s Channel 2 News. In the interview, which aired on the network’s Friday evening news magazine, Abbas hinted he would be willing to give up on the so-called “right of return” and said that…

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has revived a plan to visit Gaza, the Turkish daily Todays Zaman reported on Friday. The report indicated that Erdogan once again demanded that Israel lift its blockade on Gaza as a precondition to restoring ties between the two countries. Erdogan told journalists on a plane en route to…

A 35-year-old Jewish man was stabbed and moderately wounded on Friday evening at the Ras al-Amud Square in eastern Jerusalem. An initial investigation found that the man was making his way with a friend from the Western Wall to his house, when suddenly two Arabs attacked them and stabbed the man in the back. His…

Defense Ministry security and diplomacy chief Amos Gilad warned on Friday against the radicalization of Egypt by its Muslim Brotherhood rulers. “A shocking dictatorship grew in Egypt out of the desire for democracy,” Gilad said in a speech in front of students in Herzliya. He said there is a disconnect between the political leadership in…

IDF forces were able to foil a terror attack on Friday morning when they opened fire towards a Palestinian Authority Arab terrorist, as he was trying to plant explosives near the security fence in central Gaza. The terrorist was seriously wounded and evacuated to a hospital in Gaza. The incident came ten days after IDF…

The IDF rabbinate has embraced new technology that will allow for rapid identification of the deceased in case of casualties. A wearable computerized system, already in use elsewhere in the military, will be able to identify bodies with a quick fingerprint scan. Previously such scans took up to 12 hours. “The improved technology will make…

Firebomb attacks continued to be the most common form of terrorism in Judea and Samaria during the month of October, according to the monthly report by the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet). The report, which reviews the number and nature of terror attacks each month, found that that 68 out of 70 terror attacks in…

The “Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Authority”, a Salafist group in Egypt, has attacked a man for not allowing its member to use his private toilet and ordered to cut his brother’s tongue for “cursing” Islam, Al Arabiya reported on Thursday. The report quoted Ahmed Gharib, a resident of Egypt’s eastern city of…

Muslim clerics have claimed that Hurricane Sandy, which hit the United States this week, was a divine punishment for a film mocking the prophet Mohammed. In Egypt, radical cleric Wagdi Ghoneim described the hurricane as revenge from Allah for the “Innocence of Muslim” film made that sparked waves of violent protests across the Muslim world…

Britain is considering stationing warplanes in the Persian Gulf as the confrontation with Iran over its nuclear program continues, The Independent reported on Thursday. The possible deployment of the Eurofighter Typhoons follows talks with the United Arab Emirates to bolster the UK’s presence in the region, said the newspaper. The decision on whether to send…

Intel Corp. CEO Paul Otellini arrived in Israel to launch the company’s $5 million investment in Israeli high schools over the next four years, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Globes news reported. Speaking at a press conference in Jerusalem’s David Citadel Hotel, he said the projects aim is “to double the number of…

Ahead of his latest unilateral statehood bid at the United Nations, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is claiming that he will never allow a third intifada. In an interview with Israel’s Channel 2 News, Abbas said, “There will be no intifada, and we will not, under any circumstances, return to using weapons or violence.” “As…

Dozens of IDF soldiers who are currently in the United States’ eastern seaboard area are unable to return to Israel as scheduled, due to the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy. The IDF’s Service Conditions (Tash) array has issued a special update following the storm in order to assist these soldiers. According to the update, soldiers…

The Chairman of the Jewish Agency (JA), Natan Sharansky, announced Thursday that the JA has established a new fund to grant emergency assistance to Jewish communities abroad. Sharansky made the announcement as he accompanied Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on a visit to the Ohr HaTorah school in Toulouse, France, where an Islamist terrorist murdered three…

French President Francois Holland and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, met in Toulouse Thursday with the families of the victims of the March terrorist attack at the Ohr Hatorah (formerly Otzar HaTorah) school. Both Holland and Netanyahu pledged to fight anti-Semitism, both in France and globally. During the meeting, Netanyahu said, “The fact that we…

iVoteIsrael, the leading organization facilitating the ability of Americans in Israel to vote in the US elections, has successfully completed its campaign to make voting from Israel more accessible to as many Americans in Israel as possible. “iVoteIsrael is proud to announce that 80,000 Americans from Israel have already submitted their ballots to their local…

The Shabak announced Thursday that it, together the southern division of the Israel Police, several months ago arrested an Arab scrap metal dealer who raised millions of dollars for Hamas terrorists, and donated or sold for a very low price large amounts of metal to the terror group. The metal was used to build smuggling…

A new wave of radical Islamist attacks has prompted Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki to extend the country’s state of emergency through January. “Marzouki decided Wednesday to extend the state of emergency by three months from November 2012,” announced the official TAP news agency. According to the statement, the extension was recommended by military and security…

In an ironic turn of events, the new Noah’s Ark film has been delayed by flooding caused by Hurricane Sandy. The movie, directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Russell Crowe and Emma Watson, was due to be filmed on Monday at locations in New York, but was postponed due to the torrential rains of the…

Israel will create a dual cyber security program to promote research and development to serve both civilian and defense goals, the PMO says. The government is to create a dual cyber security program to promote research development that will serve both civilian and defense goals, the Prime Minister’s Office announced Wednesday. The project, to be…

Huge swastikas were burned into the grass at a California golf course, CBS13 News reported. The culprits reportedly used herbicide to kill the grass at the Alta Sierra Country Club golf course in the shape of a large swastika, said general manager of the gold course John Renslow. The hate symbols reportedly cover the entire…

The United States said on Wednesday it was monitoring a visit by two Iranian warships to a Sudanese port this week, but had no details about it, AFP reported. The warships left Port Sudan on the Red Sea earlier, after a visit that coincided with Khartoum’s denial that Iran is making weapons in Sudan. Acting…

France on Wednesday expelled a Tunisian imam accused of anti-Semitism and of calling his followers to “violent jihad” and violence against women, the interior ministry said, according to a report by AFP. Mohamed Hammami was subject to “expulsion from French territory. He has been deported to Tunisia, where he is a citizen,” the ministry said…

PM Binyamin Netanyahu is set to visit a Toulouse Jewish day school where a radical Islamist terrorist slaughtered a rabbi and three children this year. Al Qaeda-linked Muslim extremist Mohammed Merah’s murderous rampage at the Otzar HaTorah school wounded several others. In the prior week, he had killed three French paratroopers of North African ancestry.  Merah’s…

Prices for food are going up in Israel, with the country’s largest supermarket chain, Shufersal, announcing Wednesday that it was raising prices across the board on thousands of products. The average price increase will be about 4% – although the chain said that the increases should be higher, because wholesale costs for products had risen…

French President Francois Hollande on Wednesday said he wanted to see Iran perform “concrete acts” to prove it was not pursuing a nuclear arms drive after his first face-to-face meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. At a press conference with Netanyahu, whose aim during a two-day visit to France is to seek more pressure…

The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) umbrella organization announced that it is establishing a Hurricane Relief Fund to contribute to recovery and rebuilding in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. “Jews have always wanted…to help, and the Jewish Federation is the voice of the Jewish community,” said Federation Executive Director Jason Moss. All funds collected…

The grandson of a wealthy Jewish businessman is demanding that a Swiss foundation return a Monet masterpiece that the family was forced to sell for a fraction of its value when they were forced to flee Europe during World War II, a Swiss newspaper reported Wednesday. Juan Carlos Emden, the Chilean grandson of Max Emden…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in France Wednesday for two days of talks with President Hollande on the Iranian nuclear threat and bilateral ties. It is Netanyahu’s “first opportunity to talk with President Hollande, and he hopes to build a good working relationship with the French leader,” a source close to the Israeli leader…

The Italian authorities have capitulated to hatred. Last week Italian education minister Francesco Profumo proposed that Islam be taught in public schools alongside the traditional teaching of Catholicism, while Bishop Mariano Crociata, secretary general of the Italian Episcopal Conference, announced that the Vatican is in favor of building new mosques in Italy. Tthe European Bishops…

French President Francois Hollande and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will visit the Ozar Hatorah school, in Toulouse, where terrorist Mohammed Merah murdered seven people, including a teacher and three Jewish children. Netanyahu, who arrived in France Wednesday for a two-day visit to the country, will participate in a memorial ceremony at the Jewish Ozar…

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Tuesday the European Union will lose his nation if it is not accepted as a member by 2023. At that time, Turkey will celebrate its 100th anniversary as a republic, created following the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1923. Erdogan’s comment was the first indication of how much…

A military strike on Iran would benefit the Arab world, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told a French magazine. In an interview with Paris Match, excerpts of which were published on Tuesday ahead of his visit to France, Netanyahu said, “Five minutes after [the strike], contrary to what skeptics say, I think a feeling of relief…

Two Brooklyn Jews were among the 40 victims of Hurricane Sandy, The New York Observer reported on Tuesday. The report said that the victims, the daughter of a prominent local activist and her male friend, were crushed by a fallen tree and killed in the Ditmas Park section of Brooklyn. The female victim was identified…

A high-level Bahraini delegation will arrive in Gaza on Thursday to open two UNRWA schools, the Hamas government said on Tuesday, according to AFP. A Hamas spokesman denied, however, the delegation would be led by one of the royal princes. “A high-level Bahraini delegation will visit Gaza on Thursday headed by Mustafa al-Sayyed, Secretary General…

French officials said on Tuesday that criminal investigators will order to exhume former Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat’s body from his Ramallah grave next month, to try to discover the cause of his death. According to the officials, they will visit Ramallah from November 26 to 28. The Palestinian Authority confirmed the scheduled visit and…

Rep. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.) is warning that the federal government is ignoring a growing Hizbullah presence in Mexico, with the Lebanese terror group increasingly joining forces with drug cartels, Fox News reported. There are reportedly hundreds of thousands of Middle Easterners living in Mexico, many of whom may be radicals using routes established by drug…

Israeli students prayed for the United States on Tuesday as Hurricane Sandy hit America’s east coast, killing dozens and causing an estimated $20 billion in damage. Students read Psalms (Tehillim) as a prayer for those affected by the storm in each of the 100 schools affiliated with the AMIT educational network. AMIT director Dr. Amnon…

n an interview Tuesday with the Daily Telegraph, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that Israel almost attacked Iran eight months ago – but that the “moment of truth” was postponed after Iran redirected part of its enriched uranium to civilian uses. Without that decision, a confrontation with Iran would have almost certainly developed, said Barak.…

Hurricane Sandy has killed 38 people, with deaths in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, North Carolina, West Virginia, Toronto, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. Seventeen of the victims lived in New York City. In Toronto, a woman was killed when a street sign was blown over by heavy winds and fell on her. Over 150 people were…

The Head of the Knesset’s Aliyah, Absorption and Diaspora Committee, MK Danny Danon, has written to Ukraine’s Ambassador in Israel, Hennadi Nadolenko, demanding that his country fight Islamist terrorism within its territory and provide protection to Jews from the anti-Semitic Svoboda party. The Ukraine must cooperate with Israeli security bodies in order to defeat Muslim…

Ancient wine presses have been found in Jerusalem – and will soon be part of a new park – thanks to a resident of Ramot who walked his dog several years ago. The dog fell into a hole and had to be rescued. It later turned out that there are more holes in the vicinity,…

The African National Congress said on Tuesday that its International Solidarity Conference resolved to support the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. ANC chairperson Baleka Mbete told reporters that the conference had pledged solidarity with the “people of Palestine”, North and South Sudan, Western Sahara, and Cuba. “As the international relations sub-committee…

The Holocaust Memorial at Buttonwood Park, Massachusetts was vandalized sometime Thursday night or Friday morning, South Coast Today reported. Police said the vandal or vandals spray-painted the word “Sudan” on two sides of the monument, in what seemed to be an apparent reference to news reports blaming Israel for the bombing of a Sudanese ammunition…

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will on Wednesday travel to France for talks with President Francois Hollande with the Iranian nuclear threat topping the agenda. Netanyahu will arrive in Paris during the morning and have a working lunch with the French leader. Later in the day, he will also meet with French Prime Minister Jean-Marc…

MKs from the Likud party welcomed Monday evening’s approval by the Likud Central Committee of the party’s joint election list with Yisrael Beytenu. The move was approved by an overwhelming majority. According to the agreement, details of which were revealed at the meeting, the heads of the list – Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Foreign…

The center of “Frankenstorm” Sandy aims at punishing New England after leaving behind 16 dead in the United States and virtually shutting down New York City. Two explosions at a power plant in the Big Apple contributed to blackouts that have left more than 700,000 people in the dark, but officials are thankful that the…

Syria has gone from bad to worse, with nationwide aerial bombings by Syrian President Bashar Assad’s warplanes and more bomb attacks by the opposition. The IDF remains on high alert at the Golan Heights border. Explosions shook Syria’s capital on Monday as warplanes launched their heaviest air raids yet and two car bombs struck, an…

Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) has proposed a resolution calling for the arrest and prosecution of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, The Hill reported. “President Ahmadinejad isn’t merely a pundit whose words can be dismissed: he is the leader of a country developing nuclear arms. He has called for the destruction of Israel and its people, and…

The Israeli Air Force and the Greek Air Force recently concluded a two-day joint exercise on Greek soil, Channel 2 News reported on Monday. According to the report, the Greek Air Force said that, as part of the exercise, F16i fighter pilots from both armies practiced dogfights, bomb raids and long term aerial refueling. As…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday sought to assure worried members of his Likud party that he is not going anywhere. Speaking at the Likud Central Committee meeting, where members of the party approved its joint election list with Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beytenu, Netanyahu said, “I have been hearing talk about heirs. Well,…

Egypt rejected an Israeli request to upgrade the relations between the countries, according to a report on Monday in the Ma’ariv daily newspaper. The report indicated that Israel was interested in expanding the cooperation between the two countries and raising it to a level of ministerial talks between Defense Minister Ehud Barak and his Egyptian…

The graphic in Ukraine’s English-language Kyiv Post said it all: The results of the parliamentary elections showed the East and South of the country, including cities with strong Russian populations such as Odessa, Sevastopol, Kharkhiv and Dnepropetrovsk, as a sea of blue – the color of president Viktor Yanukovych’s pro-Russia Party of Regions. Somewhere in…

The Likud’s Central Committee voted to approve the party’s joint election list with Yisrael Beytenu by an overwhelming majority at a meeting Monday night. According to the agreement, details of which were revealed at the meeting, the heads of the list – Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, chairmen of the Likud…

Israel has taken the next step in the process of building new homes for retired police and IDF troops in parts of Jerusalem restored to the city in the 1967 Six Day War. A plan to build the new neighborhood is being marketed to potential developers, according to the leftist Peace Now organization. A spokeswoman for…

U.S. President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency on Monday as Hurricane Sandy began to turn towards land. The Category 1 hurricane is speeding up and moving northwest at a speed of approximately 25-30 miles per hour. President Barack Obama spoke to reporters from the White House after a briefing in the  Situation Room. Millions…

Hareidi integration in the IDF and national service took another step forward Monday with the creation of a new program in which young hareidi men will serve in the Border Police. Dozens of young hareidi-religious men will form a new unit tasked with preventing Palestinian Authority Arabs from illegally entering Israeli territory in the Jerusalem…

The Jewish Agency for Israel will provide an additional NIS 40 million to the Israeli government’s proposed NIS 270 million in providing full protection for all Jewish communities 4.5-7 kilometers from the Gaza Strip. The funds will be used to build protected spaces in residential housing areas to protect Jewish residents against the barrage of…

Gaza terrorists fired 18 rockets at southern Israel Monday, with the armed wing of the ruling Hamas movement saying it was revenge after an IAF air raid killed one of their men. “At least 18 rockets were fired at Israeli territory, without causing injuries or damage,” police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP, saying the count…

A charter flight carrying approximately 240 new immigrants from Ethiopia is scheduled to arrive at Ben-Gurion Airport on Monday. The flight is the first of a series of monthly flights planned as part of Operation Dove’s Wings, a government initiative to speed up the place of aliyah and bring the remainder of the Falash Mura, members of the…

Maj. Gen. (res.) Dan Harel said Monday that it is time for Israel to stop bearing the responsibility for the humanitarian condition in Gaza. Harel, who was Head of Southern Command during the 2005 “Disengagement” from Gaza, told IDF Radio that before taking other measures to solve the rocket problem, the basic “equation of relations”…

At least ten people were killed and 41 others were wounded Monday in a car bombing on the outskirts of the Syrian capital of Damascus. The blast blew apart pieces of surrounding buildings in the Christian and Druze suburb of Jaramana.   Syrian state television said a “terrorist car bomb” was responsible for the deaths, which included…

The Shabak, along with the IDF and Israel Police, have uncovered extensive Hamas activity in the Binyamin area. A large group of Hamas terrorists have been working in recent months in the villages around Ramallah recruiting members, and terrorists, for the organization, it was released for publication Monday. The Shabak has been conducting a wide-ranging…

Gaza-based terrorists fired a barrage of 12 rockets at southern Israel on Sunday night. The rockets exploded in open areas in the Eshkol Regional Council, miraculously causing no physical injuries or property damage. Following the attacks, residents of the communities located near Gaza were asked on Monday morning to remain within 15 seconds from a…

Al-Qaeda has formed an all-female ‘Burkha Brigade’ to infiltrate and hit Western military bases and targets, as they are less likely than men to attract suspicion. A film posted online shows the all-female unit of al-Qaeda using an alarming array of weapons, including machine-guns, grenade rocket launchers and sniper rifles during their training session at…

An event in Copenhagen celebrating cultural diversity deliberately excluded the Israeli flag, the Copenhagen Post reports. Organizers say they were motivated by safety concerns. Jewish community leaders were initially told that none of the groups participating in the Mangfoldighedsfest diversity festival would be waving flags. However, at the festival it was clear that most groups…

Billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam, have donated another $10 million to a super PAC supporting Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Adelson, 79, chairman of Las Vegas Sands Corp, has emerged as one of the largest patrons of Republican causes, donating at least $47 million. The Adelsons gave $5 million each to…

This week, Chish Nofei Yisrael, Ltd. will sponsor a 3-day housing fair in the USA in three convenient locations in Brooklyn, Monsey and Los Angeles. Chish Nofei Yisrael, the leading Israeli housing and development company to represent the frum public, has gained worldwide repute for its personal, courteous and reliable service. The upcoming fair, which…

The IDF Spokesperson announced that IAF aircraft struck terror targets in Gaza overnight Sunday. The targets included a center of terrorist activity and a rocket launching area in northern Gaza, as well as a center of terrorist activity in southern Gaza, said the IDF statement. Direct hits were identified and all Israeli aircraft returned safely…

An anti-Semitic party has gained strength in Ukraine and has managed to pass the electoral threshold. The Svoboda (Freedom) party won 12% of the votes in Sunday’s elections and is expected to have anywhere from 21 to 37 seats in the 450-seat parliament. According to AFP report, Ukraine’s ruling party, the Regions Party of President…

Tel Aviv remains a very popular – and very expensive – place to live, with much of the high cost due to a severe lack of homes for all those seeking to buy. But those in the market for a Tel Aviv home are in luck: The government has authorized the demolishing of the Sde…

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that New York City will suspend its bus, subway and commuter rail service Sunday evening ahead of super-storm Sandy. “You don’t want to be over panicked and overly prepared, but you want to be prudent and do what’s necessary,” Cuomo said. The transit system will close at 7 p.m.…

Captain Ziv Shilon, the battalion commander from Givati Brigade who was badly wounded when a terrorist explosive device went off at the Gaza security fence, has spoken to the Israeli press, and his message is an inspiring one. Shilon spoke to Channel 2 TV news as he was being transferred from the Intensive Care Unit…

Be’er Sheva children are home from school today (Sunday) due to ongoing rocket fire launched – again – from Gaza. The Popular Resistance Committees terrorist group, which is linked to the region’s ruling Hamas terrorist organization, has claimed responsibility for the attacks. The group’s Nasser Saladin Brigades said it had fired the rockets and issued…

Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has called on Muslims to increase efforts to kidnap Westerners in exchange for imprisoned jihadists, citing the success in the abduction of American aid worker Warren Weinstein in Pakistan. In an undated two-hour video posted on jihadist websites, al-Zawahiri called for the abductions as part of a vow not to…

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, on Thursday slammed United Nations special rapporteur Richard Falk’s call for a boycott of private companies accused of profiting from the so-called “illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank” as being “irresponsible and unacceptable.” Falk singled out U.S. companies including Caterpillar, Motorola and Hewlett-Packard along with…

Guerrilla fighters from Lebanon’s Hizbullah terrorist organization are fighting in Syria’s civil war together with loyalists for President Bashar al-Assad. In a special report, a soldier from the Free Syrian Army told The Independent newspaper, published Sunday in the UK, the Shi’ite Muslim terrorists are full military allies of the Syrian regulars. Hizbullah has for…

Tens of thousands of people arrived at Kever Rachel (Rachel’s Tomb) on Saturday night for the annual celebration of her life, which takes place on the anniversary of her passing. About 13,000 people had arrived at the compound from Thursday evening to Friday afternoon. A total of about 70 thousand people are expected to by…

Satellite images of the aftermath of an explosion at a Sudanese weapons factory this past week suggest the site was hit in an airstrike, a U.S. monitoring group said Saturday. The images released by the Satellite Sentinel Project to The Associated Press on Saturday showed six 52-foot wide craters near the epicenter of Wednesday’s explosion…

Gaza-based terrorists fired a Grad missile at the southern Israeli city of Be’er Sheva early Sunday morning. The missile exploded in an open area near the city and did not cause any physical injuries or damages. The city has announced that schools will be closed on Sunday because of the attack. Overnight Saturday, IAF aircraft…

Fighting raged across Syria and air raids struck near Damascus and in the north on Saturday, after a ceasefire declared for a Muslim holiday collapsed, AFP reported. At least 221 people have been killed since the ceasefire was due to take effect, the report said. The truce for the Eid al-Adha holiday that started Friday,…

Former Head of Mossad, Meir Dagan, landed in Israel Saturday afternoon and was transferred to a hospital in central Israel for recovery from a liver transplant operation he underwent in  Belarus, in early October.  Channel 2 said that he is conscious and in stable condition. Several days ago, Dagan’s condition was reported to be improving.…

Sudan’s Information Minister, Ahmed Bilal Osman, has warned that his country would take “resolute steps” against Israeli interests following the bombing of an ammunitions factory in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum. Osman told the BBC that his country now sees Israeli interests as legitimate targets for attack. He said that Sudan possesses proof that Israel is behind…

Israeli security forces on Saturday arrested senior Hamas MP Mahmud al-Ramahi at a military roadblock in Samaria (Shomron), an army spokeswoman told AFP. “He was arrested on suspicion of illegal activity” at Hawara checkpoint, south of Shechem, and taken for questioning, she said. Arabs in al-Ramahi’s home town of Ramallah said he was detained and…

The ceasefire in Syria shattered on Friday, just several hours after it began, AFP reported. Deadly car bombings and artillery fire shattered the already fragile truce between the warring parties in the country. State television blamed “terrorists,” the regime term for rebels, for a car bomb attack in Damascus that killed at least five people…

Former MK Haim Ramon, one of the founders of Kadima, on Friday called on Israel’s center-left parties to unite in response to the unity between the Likud and Yisrael Beytenu parties. “Given the sense of emergency (because of the unity in the right –ed.), the center and the left should unite and place at the…

The British government reiterated on Friday that it does not believe military action against Iran would be appropriate at the moment, The Guardian reported. The statement was made following the disclosure by The Guardian that Britain has rebuffed U.S. requests to use UK military bases to support the buildup of forces in the Gulf. A…

Switzerland on Friday adopted new sanctions against Syria, AFP reported, falling into line with decisions taken by the European Union, a statement from the economy ministry in Bern said. It also took action against two men suspected of links with Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Switzerland, which is not part of the EU, added 28 names…

About a quarter of the Likud party’s voters are against the unity agreement between Likud and Yisrael Beytenu, a Channel 10 News poll released Friday found. The poll found that 26% of Likud voters said they were opposed to the move. Of that number, 22% of voters indicated they would not vote for the Likud…

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi spoke on Thursday with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and condemned Tuesday’s airstrike on a weapons factory in Khartoum. During the conversation, Morsi told Bashir he condemned what he termed the “Israeli aggression against Sudan.” Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal also telephoned Bashir to condemn the “barbarian attack” by Israel. On Tuesday…

More than 13,000 people visited Rachel’s Tomb (Kever Rachel) on Thursday as the anniversary of the Biblical matriarch’s passing approaches. This year the anniversary of the matriarch Rachel’s passing falls on the Sabbath, when observant Jews do not travel. Those marking the anniversary are compensating by moving celebrations of her life to the days immediately…

The United Nations official responsible for investigating Israel-PA affairs has openly expressed support for a boycott of all companies doing business with Israelis east of the 1949 armistice line. In his latest report, UN special rapporteur on Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories Richard Falk has called for a boycott on all companies tied to…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met on Thursday with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti. The two signed a joint statement in which they noted the progress that has been achieved in bilateral relations and emphasized their determination to further enhance and expand cooperation in the fields of security, economics, social issues and culture. The two leaders…

Many hoped that the expiration of the Tal Law would mean more hareidi-religious men in military or national service. However, in the meantime the repeal of the law is having the opposite effect. When the law was repealed, the option of civilian national service was closed to hareidi youth in anticipation of their enlistment to…