Tag: Israel

Israel ex-minister sentenced to 11 years for spying for Iran

  JERUSALEM (AFP) — An Israeli ex-minister was sentenced to 11 years in prison on Tuesday for spying for his country’s main enemy Iran after a plea bargain in the case, the prosecutor said. Gonen Segev, who served as energy and infrastructure minister from 1995 to 1996, had previously agreed to a plea bargain on charges of serious espionage and transfer of information to the enemy. Court hearings were held in secret due to the […]

Israeli spacecraft aims to make history by landing on Moon

by Ivan Couronne Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A rocket will take off from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Thursday night carrying Israel’s Beresheet spacecraft, which aims to make history twice: as the first private-sector landing on the Moon, and the first from the Jewish state. The 585-kilogram (1,290-pound) Beresheet, which means “Genesis” in Hebrew, is to lift off at 8:45 pm (0145 GMT Friday) atop a Falcon 9 rocket from the […]

Jewish graves vandalized as France rallies against anti-Semitism

  PARIS, France (AFP) — Nearly 100 graves were daubed with swastikas at a Jewish cemetery in eastern France, authorities said Tuesday, with President Emmanuel Macron vowing to crack down on hate crimes as the country grapples with a surge in anti-Semitic acts. Macron went immediately to the cemetery in Quatzenheim in the Alsace region near Germany, a few hours ahead of nationwide rallies to denounce a surge in anti-Jewish hate crimes. “We shall act, […]

Iran’s Zarif says Israel ‘looking for war’

MUNICH, Germany (AFP) — Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Sunday that Israel was “looking for war”, in an apparent reference to recent strikes against Iranian targets in Syria. “Certainly some people are looking for war,” Zarif said during a question and answer session at the Munich Security Conference, adding “Israel” when pressed to say who. Israel carried out a series of air strikes last month against what it said were facilities belonging to […]

Israel warns Iran that its missiles can travel ‘very far’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Iran Tuesday that Israeli missiles can travel “very far”, on the eve of a conference in Poland about peace and security in the Middle East. Speaking during a visit to a naval base in the northern port of Haifa, Netanyahu said: “The missiles you see behind me can go very far, against any enemy, including Iran’s proxies in our region” — an apparent reference to Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah movement. “We […]

Israel says strikes Iranian targets in Syria after rocket

by Mike Smith Agence France Presse JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Israel struck what it said were Iranian targets in Syria on Monday in response to missile fire it blamed on Iran, sparking concerns of an escalation after a report that 11 fighters were killed. Israel announced the strikes against facilities it said belonged to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force as they were occurring, continuing its recent practice of speaking more openly about such raids. […]

Israeli bombardment in Syria kills 11: monitor

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — Israeli strikes that hit several targets in Syria overnight to Monday killed at least 11 pro-regime fighters including two Syrians, a war monitor said. Israel’s military said it had targeted a number of Iranian installations in the country early on Monday, hours after intercepting a rocket fired from Syrian territory. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said they were the deadliest Israeli strikes in Syria since May last […]

Turkey, Israel in new war of words

Turkey on Sunday hit out at Israel’s “lawless occupation” of Palestinian territory after the Israeli prime minister accused Turkey of “massacres” against Kurds in a new war of words. Relations between Turkey and Israel have been tense this year over multiple issues including a controversial law passed by the Israeli parliament in July which defined the country as the nation state of the Jewish people. Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “should […]

Australia recognizes west Jerusalem as capital of Israel

  by Daniel DE CARTERET Agence France Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia now recognizes west Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Saturday, but a contentious embassy shift from Tel Aviv will not occur until a peace settlement is achieved. Canberra became one of just a few governments around the world to follow US President Donald Trump’s lead and recognize the contested city as Israel’s capital, but Morrison also committed to recognizing […]

Netanyahu avoids Israeli snap polls for now

by Stephen Weizman Agence France Presse JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — A key Israeli minister said Monday he will not quit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government for now despite sharp disagreements, handing the premier a victory and potentially ending a crisis that has threatened to provoke snap elections. The announcement by Education Minister Naftali Bennett was a dramatic climbdown from his Jewish Home party’s earlier threat to leave the coalition if he was not named defense […]

DFA urges Filipinos in Israel to take security precautions amid escalation of hostilities in Gaza

(Eagle News) — The Department of Foreign Affairs has urged Filipinos in Israel to take the necessary security precautions following the escalation of hostilities between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants in Gaza. Ambassador to Israel Neal Imperial said the Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv has advised the 29400 Filipinos to, among others, avoid public places, particularly in Netivot, Sha’ar Hanegev, Ashkelon, Eshkol, Ashdod, Sderot, Beersheba, and other areas near Gaza, the West Bank, and the Golan […]