Despite the festive atmosphere, guests of Monday’s inauguration of the American embassy in Jerusalem were acutely aware of the deadly violence taking place at the same time along Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip.
Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri, speaking in a recording released on Sunday, the eve of plans by the United States to move its embassy to Jerusalem, said that Tel Aviv was also Muslim land.
The United States is in the ‘late phases’ of finalizing its Israeli-Palestinian peace plan that will be presented to both parties for consideration, according to a senior White House official, who discussed progress on the matter ahead of a massive celebration in Israel to open the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem.
Following Israeli strikes on Iranian targets in Syria, Russia has positioned itself as a mediator between the Middle Eastern rivals as it has maintained good relations with both countries.
The Israeli army is deploying three additional brigades to Gaza and the West Bank at the start of what Israeli security officials believe could be an extremely violent week of Palestinian protests coinciding with the opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem on Monday, the military said Saturday.
The Gaza leader of Hamas said Thursday he hopes to see hundreds of thousands of Palestinians breach the border fence from Gaza into Israel at protests to coincide with next week’s US embassy move to Jerusalem.
During two pre-dawn hours, Israeli F-15 and F-16 fighter jets evaded ‘dozens of missiles’ and dropped ‘many dozens’ of bombs on over 50 Iranian targets throughout Syria as the Israel air force carried out an extensive campaign, dubbed ‘Operation House of Cards,’ to try and destroy Iran’s military presence in the country.
The leaders of Israel, Cyprus and Greece said Tuesday they are determined to push ahead with plans for a pipeline that would supply east Mediterranean gas to Europe as the continent seeks to diversify its supplies.
The Israeli military published pictures Friday that it said showed Iranian intelligence installations in Syria that it attacked during a massive bombardment a day earlier. The attack was in response to a volley of rockets shot toward northern Israel.
Iran still has long-range capabilities to strike Israel, a senior officer in the Israel Air Force said on Thursday, even though ‘every target we wanted to hit was struck and destroyed.’
Saudi Arabia will seek to develop its own nuclear weapons if Iran does, Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told CNN on Wednesday, amid spiraling tension between the regional rivals.
Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said Thursday morning that the IDF had destroyed ‘nearly all’ of Iran’s military infrastructure sites in Syria overnight in response to a rocket barrage on Israel’s north, and warned Tehran that attacks on Israeli territory will be met with ‘the strongest possible force.’
Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said Wednesday that a decision has not yet been made on supplying Syria with advanced air defense systems, a development that Israel fears could hamper its efforts to prevent Iranian military entrenchment in Syrian territory and transfers of arms supplies to the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon.
Senior PLO official Ahmad Majdalani said Tuesday that May 14, the day the US is expected to move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, will be ‘a day of rage.’
Wrapping up a day-long visit to Moscow, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday evening said he has no reason to believe the Kremlin will attempt to limit Israel’s freedom of operation in the region, an apparent reference to alleged Israeli airstrikes in Syria.
Some 20 rockets were fired at Israeli military bases by Iranian forces from southern Syria just after midnight on Thursday, sparking the largest ever direct clash between Jerusalem and Tehran, with Israeli jets targeting numerous Iranian-controlled sites across Syria.
Some 20 rockets were fired at Israeli military bases by Iranian forces in southern Syria just after midnight on Thursday, with some of the incoming missiles being intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system, the army said, amid sky high tensions on the northern border.
The Israeli army has prepared for possible rocket fire towards Israel with plans for a number of potential responses after a strike in Syria was attributed to Israel hours after U.S. President Donald Trump announced U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear accord with Iran.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left Israel for Moscow Wednesday morning, saying that his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin would be focused on ‘ensuring ongoing military cooperation in Syria.’
The Israeli army sounded alarms Tuesday night over irregular Iranian movements in Syria, advising Golan residents to ready bomb shelters and putting its air defenses on high alert.