Tens of thousands of Israeli soldiers will stage a mock 10-day war against the Hezbollah terrorist group in northern Israel beginning Tuesday, marking the IDF’s largest exercise in nearly 20 years, the army announced Monday, amid tensions over growing Iranian influence in Syria and Lebanon.
Israel’s intensive diplomatic campaign in recent weeks, which included Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, trips by senior Israeli defense officials to the United States and more, comes on the heels of updated situation assessments within the defense establishment suggesting that if nothing is done, the weapon manufacturing facilities Iran is building in Syria and Lebanon, Israel’s neighbors to the north, will become operational in the foreseeable future.
Russia has reportedly stationed its advanced S-400 anti-missile defense system near an Iranian arms factory in Syria, which allegedly manufactures long-range guided missiles for Hezbollah to use against Israel.
US officials have agreed to let Iranian-backed militias take up positions in Syria less than ten kilometers from the Israeli Golan Heights, the Arabic daily Asharq Al Awsat reported Thursday.
Forced by a Supreme Court order to reveal the dates of his phone calls with the owner and chief editor of a newspaper seen as staunchly loyal to him, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed on Thursday that from 2012-2015 he spoke with American Jewish casino mogul Sheldon Adelson almost once a week and nearly double that with then-Israel Hayom editor Amos Regev.
The US and Israel are ‘of the same mind’ when it comes to opposition to any Iranian military presence in Syria, US Ambassador David Friedman told The Jerusalem Post in an exclusive interview this week.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a seething attack on the media Wednesday, accusing the press of playing up a pair of corruption investigations against him in an effort to end his premiership.
The United Nations will reportedly expand the mandate of its peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon following complaints from Israel over the international body’s failure to address Hezbollah’s weapons buildup in the area.
Israel’s Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs has reversed its opposition to allowing same-sex couples to adopt in the country.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, on his first visit to the Palestinian territories since taking office in January, embraced a two-state solution on Tuesday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday vowed there would be ‘no more uprooting of settlements in the Land of Israel’ at an event marking the 50th anniversary of Jewish settlement in the West Bank.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told visiting UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday that Iran is building sites to produce precision guided missiles in Syria and Lebanon.
The Gaza head of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas said on Monday (Aug 28) it had increased its military capabilities thanks to newly improved relations with Iran.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s senior adviser Jared Kushner asked Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during their meeting in Ramallah on Thursday to freeze diplomatic initiatives against Israel for a period of some four months, in exchange for an American commitment to submit a comprehensive diplomatic plan within that time frame to kick-start the moribund peace process, a senior Palestinian official told Israel Hayom over the weekend.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will reportedly reserve time during his upcoming trip to the United States to meet with President Donald Trump.
Senior members of the Trump administration and Israeli officials renewed talks over the possibility of moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a promise repeatedly made by the president in the 2016 election campaign, during high-level meetings in Israel last week, the Times of Israel has learned.
US President Donald Trump’s Mideast negotiating team held talks in Tel Aviv and Ramallah on Thursday, trying to revive the moribund diplomatic process, even as it pointedly refrained from any public commitment to a two-state solution.
The Jerusalem District Police announced Wednesday that starting next week it will allow lawmakers to visit the Temple Mount. The decision comes more than 18 months after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu barred all MKs, Jewish and Arab alike, from visiting the volatile site.
Netanyahu told Putin that Iran’s takeover of the Middle East and their stronghold in Syria present a threat to Israel, the Middle East, and the entire world.
A high level US delegation including senior White House adviser Jared Kushner arrived in Israel late Wednesday, ahead of meetings with Palestinian and Israeli leaders aimed at looking for way to jumpstart peace talks.