A parliamentary panel on Tuesday authorized Shin Bet security service to continue using mobile phone data to track people infected by the coronavirus until May 26, prolonging an initiative described by critics as a threat to privacy.
The Western Wall Plaza reopened to worshipers on Tuesday morning.
The High Court of Justice reconvened Monday for the second day of hearings on petitions against allowing indicted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a government, as well as against the unprecedented rotational unity deal he inked with Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz which demands significant changes to Israel’s semi-constitutional Basic Laws.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said that the High Court of Justice should not interfere with his efforts to form a government between his Likud party and Blue and White, and warned that if it did so it would increase the chances of a fourth election.
The High Court on Sunday heard petitions against the tasking of Netanyahu with forming a government, due to his indictment on graft charges, and on Monday considered petitions against the Likud-Blue and White coalition deal, which stipulates profound changes to Israel’s constitutional order.
Iran has suggested it will abandon an already shaky deal to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons if an arms embargo on Tehran remains in place. The United States wants to extend the ban, which was due to end in October this year.
Israel’s largest bank admitted to its role in a massive US tax evasion scandal and money laundering conspiracy that will cost it more than $904 million.
Syria accused Israeli helicopters of carrying out airstrikes in the Syrian Golan Heights in the early hours of Friday morning.
Iran has condemned Germany’s decision to ban the militant Hezbollah movement from carrying out activities on its soil. Tehran also threatened Berlin with unspecified consequences for designating Hezbollah as a “terrorist “organization this week, when German police raided mosques and venues linked to the group.
Syria accused Israeli helicopters of carrying out airstrikes in the Syrian-held Golan heights in the early hours of Friday morning.
The Arab League said Thursday that Israel’s controversial proposal to annex part of the West Bank constituted a ‘new war crime’ against the Palestinians, during a virtual conference chaired in Cairo.
Germany has banned Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah’s activities on its soil and designated it a terrorist organization, a move welcomed by Tehran’s rivals the United States and Israel.
A nationwide curfew ended Wednesday evening as Israel’s 72nd Independence Day came to a close, with further restrictions aimed at halting the spread of the coronavirus set to be eased in the coming days.
The Independence Day celebrations, characterized by barbecues in local parks, have been banned by the Health Ministry. Most local municipalities also canceled the traditional firework shows, deeming it ‘inappropriate’ at the time of the epidemic.
The US State Department said Monday it was prepared to recognize actions taken by Israel to extend Israeli sovereignty to parts of the West Bank. However, this recognition would be ‘in the context of the Government of Israel agreeing to negotiate with the Palestinians along the lines set forth in President Trump’s [peace plan],’ a State Department spokesperson told The Times of Israel.
The Arab League said Monday it will convene an urgent virtual meeting this week to discuss how to galvanize opposition to Israeli plans to annex parts of the West Bank.
Syria has accused Israel of conducting a pre-dawn airstrike on a military airfield near Damascus on Monday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said at least four Iranian militants and three civilians were killed, the Jerusalem Post reports.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that he was ‘confident’ US President Donald Trump would let him fulfill his election promise to apply Israeli sovereignty over parts of the West Bank “a couple of months from now.”
The High Court of Justice ruled Sunday that the Shin Bet security service’s cellphone tracking of confirmed coronavirus carriers cannot continue unless the government anchors the highly controversial practice in law.
Israel and the Islamic militant Hezbollah group have reportedly agreed on informal rules of engagement as they prepare for possible war while trying to avoid setting it off. The New York Times newspaper reports that Israel has mostly refrained from killing members of Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran and committed to destroying the Jewish state.
Constitutional scholars in Israel are crying foul about the new unity agreement signed by alternating Prime Ministers Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz, saying it destroys the separation of powers necessary to democratic governance.