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☆ At remote desert outpost, Israeli settlers triumphant despite Western anger
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Ronen Zvulun | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] An aerial view shows a cluster of mobile homes in Beit Hogla, a settlement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 15, 2023. REUTERS/Ronen ZvulunBEIT HOGLA SETTLEMENT, West Bank, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Between Jericho and the Dead Sea, Israeli settlers rejoice after the government granted their outpost retroactive approval. Drawing Western concern and Palestinian anger, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government authorised nine settler outposts in the occupied West Bank this week, in response to two Palestinian street attacks in which nine Israelis were killed. Israel disputes the illegality of the settlements and cites Biblical and historical ties to the West Bank, which it calls by its Biblical name - Judea and Samaria. More than 450,000 people, or less than 5% of Israel’s population, are Jewish settlers in the West Bank, home to about 3 million Palestinians who exercise limited self-rule there.

☆ Israeli parliament in uproar over Netanyahu plans for judiciary
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Maayan Lubell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JERUSALEM, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Israeli lawmakers engaged in a shouting match on Monday in a parliamentary committee deciding on government plans to overhaul the judiciary, a move President Isaac Herzog has warned risks tipping the country into "constitutional collapse". The plans, which would give rightist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greater control of appointments to the bench and weaken the Supreme Court's ability to strike down legislation or rule against the executive, have triggered widespread protests. Morning trains from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem were packed with people, many carrying Israeli flags and protest signs, heading to the demonstration. U.S. President Joe Biden has urged Netanyahu to build consensus before pushing through far-reaching changes, saying in comments published by the New York Times on Sunday that an independent judiciary was one of the foundations of U.S. and Israeli democracy. Additional reporting by Hannah Confino; Writing by James Mackenzie, editing by Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Explainer: Uproar over Israeli judicial changes - what's it all about?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Maayan Lubell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The government has been pushing for changes that would limit Supreme Court powers to rule against the legislature and the executive, while giving coalition lawmakers more power in appointing judges. Netanyahu has been formally barred from involvement in the initiative because he is on trial on corruption charges, which he denies. Critics fear Netanyahu wants to leverage the judicial push to freeze or void his trial. The opposition also says his nationalist allies want to weaken the Supreme Court to establish more settlements on land the Palestinians seek for a state. Some of the coalition's proposed changes have been approved at the Knesset's plenum in the first of three readings required for ratification.

☆ Explainer: Uproar over Israel judicial changes - what's it all about?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Many among Israel's right-wingers say the Supreme Court is left-leaning, elitist and overreaches into the political sphere, while often putting minority rights before national interests. The government has been pushing for changes that would limit the Supreme Court's powers to rule against the legislature and the executive, while giving lawmakers decisive powers in appointing judges. Critics fear Netanyahu wants to leverage the judicial push to freeze or cancel his trial, which he has denied. The left-wing opposition also says his nationalist allies want to weaken the Supreme Court to establish more settlements on land the Palestinians seek for a state. Some of the coalition's proposed changes now sit with the Knesset's plenum, where they await a first reading out of three needed to be written into law.

☆ Biden urges consensus in Israel on judiciary plans as protest mounts
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JERUSALEM, Feb 12 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden has called for wide agreement to be reached in Israel on sweeping changes to the judiciary pushed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right government which have sparked nationwide protests. Israel's parliament may on Monday begin the legislation process of the judicial overhaul, which would increase the government's sway in selecting judges while weakening Supreme Court power to strike down laws or rule against the executive. Building consensus for fundamental changes is really important to ensure that the people buy into them so they can be sustained." He was referring to a Supreme Court ruling on Friday instructing Netanyahu and his government to submit a response to a petition demanding the premier be declared incapacitated over his legal situation. Many legal experts, economists and former security and economic officials, who include Netanyahu confidants and appointments, have come out against the government's judicial plans.

☆ Israel says it's ready to send Syria quake aid soon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Dan Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] People search for survivors under the rubble, following an earthquake, in Aleppo, Syria February 6, 2023. Asked who had made the request regarding Syria cited by Netanyahu, an Israeli official told Reuters: "The Syrians". Asked if this referred to opposition members or to President Bashar al-Assad's government, the official said only: "Syria". Israel's public broadcaster Kan said in an unsourced report that Russia had relayed the request for Israel to assist Syria. Israel and Syria have been in a state of war for decades, with periods of ceasefire.

☆ Five dead in Israeli raid on Palestinian militants in W.Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Ali Sawafta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Bullet holes are pictured on a door at the scene where Israeli forces killed a number of armed fighters during a raid at a refugee camp near the city of Jericho in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Mohamad TorokmanJERICHO, West Bank, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Israeli forces killed a number of armed fighters on Monday during a raid on a refugee camp near the occupied West Bank city of Jericho aimed at capturing suspected Hamas militants, the Israeli military said in a statement. Five people were killed, governor of Jericho Jihad Abu al-Assal said, in the raid in Aqbat Jabr refugee camp in southern Jericho and eight were arrested, according to a statement published by official Palestinian news agency WAFA. The Palestinian health ministry said three people had been wounded, one critically, but gave no details on any dead. Ahead of discussions in Cairo with Egyptian officials hoping to prevent further escalation, Haniyeh indicated the raid could impact the talks.

☆ Israel's attorney-general tells Netanyahu to stay out of push for judicial changes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Maayan Lubell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

JERUSALEM, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must stay out of his government's push to overhaul the judicial system because he has a conflict of interest, the country's attorney-general said on Thursday, adding to growing friction over the plan. In a statement on why Netanyahu should not be involved, Gali Baharav-Miara cited the premier's ongoing corruption trial, in which he has denied wrongdoing. Coalition lawmaker Simcha Rothman said the judicial overhaul has nothing to do with the criminal case against Netanyahu and Baharav-Miara's instruction would have no impact on advancing the changes. Apparently seeking to assuage fears investors will bolt Israel if the changes become law, Netanyahu has defended the plan, saying it will help cut back unnecessary litigation. S&P Global Ratings director Maxim Rybnikov has told Reuters the judicial shake-up could pressure Israel's sovereign credit rating and dozens of economists have urged Netanyahu to scrap the plan.

GAZA, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Israeli aircraft struck in Gaza on Thursday in response to Palestinian rocket fire, days after the United States called for calm, but there was no immediate sign of a wider escalation in violence following days of tension. The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) said it had fired some of the rockets in response to the air strikes and the "systematic aggression" against Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. In Gaza, activists rallied in support of women prisoners held by Israel after far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees prisons, said he would push ahead with plans to toughen conditions for Palestinian prisoners. Ben-Gvir has vowed a crackdown on "benefits and indulgences" offered to Palestinian prisoners and ordered amenities including prisoner-operated bread ovens in some prisons to be curtailed. Cairo has also invited Hamas chief, Ismail Haniyeh, who currently resides between Qatar and Turkey, for separate talks next week, said a Palestinian official familiar with Egyptian mediation.

☆ Israel seals off home of Palestinian synagogue shooter
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Maayan Lubell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It was the worst such Palestinian attack on Israelis in the Jerusalem area since 2008 and followed a fatal Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank city Jenin on Thursday, the deadliest there in years. Still, there was no sign Israel was preparing for a large-scale military response to the shooting. With U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visiting this week, Israeli and Palestinian leaders were expected to try to contain violence. Most world powers consider as illegal Israel's settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, land it captured in the 1967 war. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has not remarked on Friday's attack and on Saturday blamed Israel for the spiralling violence.

[1/2] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks on as he convenes a weekly cabinet meeting amid surge of violence in Jerusalem and the West Bank, at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, January 29, 2023. The blue-chip Tel Aviv 35 index (.TA35) was 1.% lower in afternoon trade, while the broader TA-125 index (.TA125) dipped 1.7%. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office declined to comment to Reuters. Critics have said the move will compromise the independence of the judiciary and undermine Israel's democratic system of checks and balances. There was no sign of a large-scale military operation in the works, and Netanyahu said Israel was not seeking an escalation.

☆ Israeli army reinforces in West Bank after synagogue shooting
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Maayan Lubell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Friday night's shooting came a day after the deadliest Israeli raid in the West Bank in years and cross-border fire between Israel and Gaza that heightened fears of a spiral in bloodshed. On Saturday, the Israeli ambulance service said two people were hurt in what appeared to be another shooting attack. "Following an IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) situational assessment, it was decided to reinforce the Judea and Samaria (West Bank) Division with an additional battalion," the military said. It came days before a planned visit by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Israel and the West Bank. Violence in the West Bank surged after a spate of lethal attacks in Israel last year.

☆ Israeli military boosting forces in West Bank, spokesperson says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

JERUSALEM, Jan 28 (Reuters) - The Israeli military said on Saturday it was boosting forces in the occupied West Bank, a day after a Palestinian gunman shot seven people dead near a synagogue on the outskirts of Jerusalem. "Following an IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) situational assessment, it was decided to reinforce the Judea and Samaria (West Bank) Division with an additional battalion," the military said. Reporting by Maayan LubellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/4] Israelis protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new right-wing coalition and its proposed judicial reforms to reduce powers of the Supreme Court, in Tel Aviv, Israel January 21, 2023. Israeli tech isn't going anywhere. FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITYIn a country rife with divisions over the conflict with the Palestinians and matters of synagogue and state, Israel's tech sector has generally stayed out of sensitive political debates. For some of those running tech businesses in Israel the judicial reforms plans may have tipped the scales. Additional reporting by Rami Amichay and Emily Rose in Tel Aviv; Writing by Maayan Lubell; Editing by James Mackenzie and Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Israel Supreme Court tells Netanyahu he must fire minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Maayan Lubell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Interior and Health Minister Aryeh Deri gestures as he sits next to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a weekly cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, January 8, 2023. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/PoolJERUSALEM, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Israel's Supreme Court ordered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to remove a senior minister over a past tax fraud conviction, in a setback for the new right-wing coalition government. The 10-to-one ruling on Shas party leader Aryeh Deri looks likely to further stoke tensions between the Cabinet and Israel's Supreme Court over government reform plans which aim to rein in the top court. "Most of the judges have determined that this appointment is extremely unreasonable and thus the prime minister must remove Deri from office," said a court summary of the ruling. Political watchdogs had appealed to the Supreme Court to order Netanyahu to strike down Deri's appointment given his recent conviction as well as past offences.

☆ Israel's Netanyahu defends plan to rein in judiciary
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Maayan Lubell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In a video response to stark criticism by Supreme Court President Esther Hayut, Netanyahu said the draft law could be tweaked but critics were exaggerating the changes proposed. Hayut on Thursday said that if implemented as outlined by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, the reform would compromise judiciary independence. "If the plan is realized, (Israel's) 75th anniversary will be remembered as the year the country's democratic integrity suffered a mortal blow," he said. Backers of the bill have long accused the Supreme Court of overreach and elitism. They say the changes would restore balance between the judiciary, executive and legislature.

Rybnikov, the main credit analyst for Israel, said risks to the country's ratings are currently balanced but that could change. The past year has seen some of the worst violence in the West Bank in years. On Thursday, the pro-settlements Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich met with defence officials to begin transferring some West Bank administration powers over to him, according to a Finance Ministry statement. "Hardline rhetoric that undermines the fragile situation in the West Bank could generate risks as well," Rybnikov said. Rybnikov projects Israel's budget deficit at 2% of gross domestic product this year after a 0.6% surplus in 2022.

☆ Omicron COVID booster cuts hospitalization in over 65s, Israeli study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The study by researchers from healthcare provider Clalit, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Sapir College has not yet been peer reviewed. The study was carried out from the end of September until mid-December and looked at 622,701 people aged 65 and over who were eligible for the bivalent booster. "Hospitalization due to Covid-19 occurred in 6 bivalent recipients and 297 participants who did not" receive it, the study said. "Participants who received the bivalent vaccine had lower hospitalization and mortality rates due to Covid-19 than non-recipients up to 70 days after vaccination." While the bivalent vaccine targets the original strain and its BA.4/BA.5 Omicron subvariant, scientists have been closely watching another Omicron subvariant, XBB.1.5, which has been rapidly spreading in the United States.

Summary Abraham Accords meant to lead to wider normalisationBut four new Arab partners of Israel now in tough spotHow to deal with rightists without ditching Palestinians? It is expected to be the widest-ranging deal of its kind between Israel and an Arab state. "This is the proof that one can make peace without concessions, without capitulation - but rather, peace, peace, between people who have affection for one another," he said in comments published by the conservative Israel Hayom newspaper. “Arab countries who formed normalisation ties with the state of occupation are required more than ever to revise these agreements,” he told Reuters by phone. Netanyahu has pledged to build on the achievement during his previous term of the Abraham Accords that opened the way for a possible normalisation of relations with other Arab countries.

☆ Netanyahu says Israel not bound by 'despicable' U.N. vote
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

JERUSALEM, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday said a United Nations General Assembly vote asking the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to provide an opinion on Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories was "despicable." "The Jewish people are not occupiers on their own land nor occupiers in our eternal capital Jerusalem and no U.N. resolution can warp that historical truth," he said in a video message. Reporting by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Palestinians welcome U.N. vote on Israel's occupation as 'a victory'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Ali Sawafta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Dec 31 (Reuters) - The Palestinians on Saturday welcomed a vote by the United Nations General Assembly requesting that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) provide an opinion on the legal consequences of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories. Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem - areas the Palestinians want for a state - in a 1967 war. Senior Palestinian official Hussein al-Sheikh said on Twitter that the vote "reflects the victory of Palestinian diplomacy." The Palestinians have limited rule in the West Bank and East Jerusalem was annexed by Israel in a move not recognized internationally. The new Israeli government has pledged to strengthen its settlements in the West Bank but Netanyahu has given no indication of any imminent steps toward annexing them.

☆ Netanyahu set to retake power at head of far-right government
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Maayan Lubell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Israeli designate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a session at the plenum at the Knesset, Israel's parliament in Jerusalem December 28, 2022. Fending off criticism, Netanyahu has repeatedly pledged to promote tolerance and pursue peace. "We will establish a stable government for a full term that will take care of all Israel's citizens," Netanyahu said on Wednesday. Israel's longest serving leader, he was prime minister for three years in the 1990s and then from 2009-2021, albeit at times heading a caretaker government ahead of elections. Violence in the West Bank has surged this year.

☆ Israel's Netanyahu closer to hard-right government with new legislation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JERUSALEM, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu moved one step further on Tuesday toward establishing a government after parliament approved divisive legislation agreed with his far-right coalition partners. A second amendment will allow Aryeh Deri, leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, to serve as a minister despite a conviction for tax fraud. Deri is expected to serve as finance minister in two years, in a rotation deal with Religious Zionism leader Bezalel Smotrich. But soon after the legislation was passed, Israel's Supreme Court said it would hear an appeal against Deri's appointment by a group of scientists, academics and former diplomats called "Democracy's Bastion." In response, Netanyahu has repeatedly said that he will safeguard civil rights and will not allow any harm to the country's Arab minority or to the LGBTQ community.

☆ Twin blasts in Jerusalem kill one in suspected Palestinian attack
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Maayan Lubell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"There has not been such a coordinated attack in Jerusalem for many years," police spokesman Eli Levi told Army Radio. [1/6] A damaged bus is seen following an explosion at a bus stop in Jerusalem November 23, 2022. In Gaza, a spokesman for Palestinian militant group Hamas praised the Jerusalem explosions but stopped short of claiming responsibility. The coordinated blasts appeared to be a step up from a string of mostly Palestinian lone-wolf stabbing, shooting and car-ramming attacks this year. But families of slain Palestinian militants whose remains are in Israeli custody called for an exchange of corpses.

☆ Twin blasts in Jerusalem wound at least 15
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Maayan Lubell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] A damaged bus is seen following an explosion at a bus stop in Jerusalem November 23, 2022. Television images showed debris strewn around the scene of the first blast, which was cordoned off by emergency services. A spokesman for the Palestinian militant group Hamas praised the apparent bombings but stopped short of claiming responsibility. Hamas spokesman Abdel-Latif Al-Qanoua said the bombings "resulted from the crimes conducted by the occupation and the settlers". Reporting by Maayan Lubell; Writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Kim Coghill, Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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