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Brokering a reconciliation deal between Palestinian factions is a longer-term goal for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, Saudi officials say. Senior Saudi officials were planning to meet with leaders of the Palestinian militant and political group Hamas on Sunday to discuss renewing diplomatic ties which have been cool since 2007, part of a diplomacy spree led by Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman that has seen Riyadh move closer to Iran. Re-establishing ties between Iran-backed Hamas, which is a U.S. designated terrorist group, and the Saudi kingdom would mark a setback for efforts by the U.S. and Israel to establish a military alliance between Israel and other Sunni-majority countries against Iran and its allies. They also complicate Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ’s goal of normalizing relations with Riyadh, with opposition to Iran as their primary shared interest.

☆ Israel and Palestinian Militants in Gaza, Lebanon Exchange Fire
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | Dion Nissenbaum | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

JERUSALEM—Israel called up reserve soldiers, moving additional troops and firepower to its northern and southern borders after carrying out strikes early Friday in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, as the United Nations and others tried to prevent the situation from deteriorating. Israeli jet fighters carried out airstrikes in Gaza and Lebanon targeting Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that rules Gaza, which Israel said was one of the groups responsible for a major rocket barrage from Lebanon on Thursday. The militant rocket fire and Israeli strikes had mostly died down, but the situation remained tense on Friday afternoon.

☆ Israel Hit by Rocket Barrage From Lebanon
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

JERUSALEM—Dozens of rockets were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel Thursday in one of the largest such attacks in years, sparking fears of a broader conflict between Israel and its neighbors during a period of tension over one of Jerusalem’s holiest sites. Air-raid sirens wailed in towns across northern Israel packed with visitors celebrating the Passover festival, sending scores of Israelis running to bomb shelters. Most of the rockets were shot down by Israeli aerial defense or landed in open areas. At least one person was lightly hurt by shrapnel, Israeli first responders said.

☆ Israel Says Palestinian Militants in Lebanon Fired Rocket Barrage
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

JERUSALEM—Palestinian militant groups fired dozens of rockets from Lebanon into Israel on Thursday, the Israeli military said, sparking fears of a broader conflict between Israel and its neighbors during a period of tension over one of Jerusalem’s holiest sites. Air-raid sirens wailed in towns across northern Israel packed with visitors celebrating the Passover festival, sending scores of Israelis running to bomb shelters. Most of the rockets were shot down by Israeli aerial defense or landed in open areas. At least two Israelis were lightly wounded, Israeli first responders said.

☆ Tensions Are High After Cross-Border Fire Between Gaza Militants, Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

JERUSALEM—Militants in Gaza fired rockets and Israel responded with airstrikes early Wednesday following violent clashes at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site, raising fears of a wider conflict. Most of the 16 rockets fired from the Palestinian territory fell in open areas or were shot down by Israeli air defense, according to Israeli authorities. One of the rockets struck a factory in the southern city of Sderot, they said, but no casualties were reported. Air-raid sirens rang out in Israeli cities near the Gaza border at around 3 a.m. local time Wednesday, rushing residents in the area to bomb shelters.

☆ Tensions Rise After Cross-Border Fire Between Gaza Militants, Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Palestinians protest in Gaza on Wednesday, the eve of the Jewish festival of Passover and in the midst of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. JERUSALEM—Militants in Gaza fired rockets and Israel responded with airstrikes early Wednesday following violent clashes at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site, raising fears of a wider conflict. Most of the 16 rockets fired from the Palestinian territory fell in open areas or were shot down by Israeli air defense, according to Israeli authorities. One of the rockets struck a factory in the southern city of Sderot, they said, but no casualties were reported. Air-raid sirens rang out in Israeli cities near the Gaza border at around 3 a.m. local time Wednesday, rushing residents in the area to bomb shelters.

☆ Israel’s Netanyahu Delays Defense Minister’s Dismissal
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

JERUSALEM—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has temporarily suspended his decision to fire Defense Minister Yoav Gallant due to the tense security situation in the country, people close to the premier said Monday, days after the dismissal amplified mass protests across Israel. Mr. Netanyahu on March 26 said he was firing Mr. Gallant, who is a member of the prime minister’s own Likud party, a day after the defense minister called for a delay to the government’s controversial judicial overhaul plan. Mr. Gallant at the time said that protests within the military against the proposals had become a grave threat to the country.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ’s plan to overhaul his country’s justice system has stirred tensions with the U.S., with President Biden and congressional Democrats criticizing the proposal and Israeli lawmakers firing back that the legislation is an internal matter. Mr. Biden told reporters Tuesday that he was “very concerned” about a judicial overhaul in Israel that would grant the ruling coalition power to appoint more like-minded justices, allow the Israeli parliament to overrule the Supreme Court with a simple majority and sharply circumscribe judicial review. Mr. Netanyahu halted the legislation Monday after strikes rocked the country and dissent over the law inside Israel’s military escalated into a crisis.

☆ Israeli Protests Abate After Netanyahu Suspends Judicial Overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

JERUSALEM—Calm returned to Israeli cities Tuesday and protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ’s judicial overhaul dispersed after the premier agreed to suspend the controversial plan and Israeli President Isaac Herzog offered to host compromise talks between the two sides. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis demonstrated on Sunday and Monday after Mr. Netanyahu fired his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, for calling to delay passing the first part of the government’s plan to weaken Israel’s judiciary. The country’s largest labor union had called a general strike that grounded flights and closed banks and government offices.

TEL AVIV—Israel’s citizen soldiers, a pillar of the country’s identity, played a pivotal role in pressuring Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pause a planned judicial overhaul that divided the nation. For weeks, military reservists took to the streets in large numbers, joining huge popular demonstrations against Mr. Netanyahu’s proposed changes, and, for some at least, imbuing the protests with a sense of patriotism and duty. Then some reservists began saying they would refuse to report for duty in protest.

☆ Israel’s Netanyahu, Opposition Meet to Begin Talks Over Judicial Overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

JERUSALEM—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ’s coalition met Tuesday night with opposition leaders to begin negotiations over a judicial overhaul plan after widespread protests that shook the country. Negotiating teams representing Mr. Netanyahu and the opposition began their first direct discussions over a plan to limit the power of Israel’s Supreme Court, sending representatives to Israeli President Isaac Herzog ’s residence, a spokesman for the president said.

TEL AVIV—Strikes and protests rocked Israel on Monday as the country’s president warned that a controversial judicial overhaul planned by the government threatened the economy and national security—raising doubts about the future of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ’s coalition. Israeli President Isaac Herzog urged Mr. Netanyahu to immediately halt the overhaul, calling on the coalition government to put aside political considerations for the sake of the nation.

☆ What’s Happening in Israel? Protests and Strikes Over Netanyahu’s Judicial Overhaul Explained
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Aaron Boxerman In Jerusalem | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Tens of thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets across the country over the past three months to demonstrate against a judicial overhaul planned by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ’s government. The ruling coalition says the proposals are necessary to rein in activist judges, while critics counter the changes would deal a fatal blow to Israeli democracy. The proposals have divided the country, sparked concern from key allies such as the U.S., and caused scores of military reservists to say they will refuse to serve should the laws pass. Analysts warn the country could be headed for a constitutional crisis.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday suspended a controversial judicial overhaul plan that has sharply divided the country, a move that appeared to calm tensions after antigovernment protests and strikes rocked the nation. The announcement was welcomed by opposition leaders, who said they were ready to negotiate, and the country’s largest labor union called off a nationwide strike that grounded flights, closed banks, government offices and left hospitals working with skeleton crews.

☆ Israel’s Netanyahu Fires Defense Minister as Pressure Against Judicial Overhaul Mounts
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Dov Lieber | Aaron Boxerman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

JERUSALEM—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his defense minister on Sunday, as he attempts to rein in growing dissent within his own party over a judicial overhaul that has divided the country. The decision to fire Defense Minister Yoav Gallant came one day after the minister, who is a member of Mr. Netanyahu’s own Likud party, said the judicial overhaul should be delayed because protests over the proposals within the military had become a grave threat to the country.

☆ Israel’s Netanyahu Faces Mounting Pressure as Judicial Overhaul Barrels Ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Dov Lieber | Aaron Boxerman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This week could be one of the most fateful for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. JERUSALEM—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , facing deepening dissent within his own party over a judicial overhaul that has divided the country, is caught in a difficult balancing act as he tries to preserve his governing coalition. The Israeli Parliament, or Knesset, is set to vote as early as this week on legislation that would give the government an automatic majority on the panel that chooses judges, although some appointments would still require compromise.

☆ Israeli Lawmakers Call for Netanyahu to Delay Judicial Overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The judicial overhaul has sparked mass protests in Israel and sent the country into a monthslong political crisis. JERUSALEM—Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant called on Saturday for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ’s judicial overhaul plan to be delayed, saying it was causing a deep rift in society that was becoming a threat to the country’s security. Mr. Gallant is the most senior member of Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud party to call to delay passing the legislation. Three other Likud lawmakers on Saturday also called for delaying a vote on the overhaul, raising questions as to whether the prime minister has the votes necessary to pass the plan that has sharply divided the country.

BNAI BRAK, Israel—Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is rapidly moving ahead with a judicial-overhaul plan that could begin final passage through parliament next week, as the debate over the legislation exposes deep fissures between Israel’s secular and religious communities. Over the past three months, protests against the legislation have brought out hundreds of thousands of people in a country of nine million.

☆ West Bank Violence Flares as Israelis, Palestinians Meet to Calm Tensions
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The scene of the shooting in the Palestinian town of Huwara. The Israeli military said a Palestinian shot a U.S.-Israeli man as he drove through the Palestinian town of Huwara in the occupied West Bank, as Israeli and Palestinian officials met in Egypt in an attempt to curb a deadly wave of violence between the two sides. Huwara has become a flashpoint for violence between Israelis and Palestinians. Last month, two Israeli brothers were killed while driving through Huwara, which was followed by an attack by hundreds of Israeli settlers on the Palestinian town that left one Palestinian dead, hundreds injured and scores of homes and buildings destroyed.

☆ Saudi Arabia-Iran Pact Marks Setback to Israel’s Efforts to Counter Tehran
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Shayndi Raice | Aaron Boxerman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

JERUSALEM—Saudi Arabia’s surprise agreement to renew diplomatic relations with Iran marks a significant blow to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ’s key foreign-policy goal: creating a regional alliance built around isolating Iran. Mr. Netanyahu has long led the charge to garner international support for isolating Iran and halting its efforts to acquire nuclear weapons. Israel views Iran as its primary global foe due to its support for proxy militias across the Middle East that target Israel, such as Lebanon-based Hezbollah and Gaza-based Hamas, both designated as terrorist organizations by the U.S.

☆ U.S. Jews Set to Shun Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Washington Visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Major American-Jewish organizations say they will boycott Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich during his Sunday visit to Washington, underlining the divide between some of Israel’s staunchest allies in the U.S. and far-right officials in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ’s government. Mr. Smotrich, a longtime leader of Israel’s religious nationalists, is traveling to Washington for a conference organized by Israel Bonds, a U.S.-based organization that promotes the purchase of Israeli government securities. Israeli finance ministers have traditionally attended similar conferences to drum up investment interest.

☆ Tel Aviv Shooting Leaves Three Israelis Wounded as Hamas Claims Gunman as Member
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A member of an Israeli security unit worked the shooting scene in central Tel Aviv. A Palestinian gunman Thursday night shot three Israelis in downtown Tel Aviv, Israeli authorities said, amid one of the deadliest periods of violence between Israelis and Palestinians in recent years. The assailant was shot and killed by police officers and armed civilians at the scene, Israeli police commissioner Kobi Shabtai said. Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group, claimed the shooter, 23-year-old Muataz Khawaja, as a member of the organization’s armed wing.

☆ Israel’s President Condemns Netanyahu’s Proposed Judicial Overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

JERUSALEM—Israeli President Isaac Herzog criticized a proposal to overhaul the country’s justice system as wrong and destructive in a speech on Thursday evening, telling coalition lawmakers that the current legislation “must pass from this earth.”A plan by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to weaken Israel’s top court has divided the country and drawn hundreds of thousands to rallies opposing the move. Demonstrators filled the streets of Tel Aviv on Thursday for the 10th straight week to protest the judicial overhaul, which opponents say would deal a fatal blow to Israel’s democratic character.

☆ Israeli Military Officers Threaten to Refuse to Serve if Judicial Overhaul Passes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Dov Lieber | Aaron Boxerman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Protesters demonstrate against the Israeli government’s judicial plan. JERUSALEM—Dissent is growing inside Israel’s military over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ’s planned judicial overhaul, with the defense establishment warning that the proposal threatens to undermine morale and erode the country’s military capabilities. Hundreds of senior officers, including from the military-intelligence branch, ground forces and air force, have signed letters saying they would refuse to show up for reserve duty if the judicial overhaul passes. The threats from reserve officers—who are essential to the tiny country’s ability to wage wars—have further heightened tensions around the proposed legislation.

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