Author: Josef Federman
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Israel resumes strikes on Gaza after rocket fire
JERUSALEM • Israel has resumed strikes on targets linked to the Islamic Jihad militant group in the Gaza Strip after it fired a number of rockets into Israel. The announcement by the Israeli military early Friday indicated that an unofficial cease-fire declared nearly 24 hours earlier was breaking down. The truce had ended two days…
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As rockets rain down, Israel intensifies its strikes in Gaza
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip • Israeli aircraft struck Islamic Jihad targets throughout the Gaza Strip on Wednesday while the militant group rained scores of rockets into Israel for a second straight day as the heaviest round of fighting in months showed no signs of ending. The death toll rose to 26 Palestinians, including a 7-year-old…
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Israel targets Islamic Jihad leader, sending message to Iran
JERUSALEM • Israel on Tuesday targeted two commanders from the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad, killing one in the Gaza Strip and missing the second in Syria as it stepped up its battle against Iran and its proxies across the region. The death of Bahaa Abu el-Atta and his wife as they slept in their…
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Israel: Netanyahu given chance to form new government
JERUSALEM • Israel’s president on Wednesday asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a new government, giving the longtime leader the difficult task of breaking a post-election deadlock that has paralyzed the country’s political system. After a divisive campaign, Netanyahu called for a “broad unity government” with his chief rival former military chief Benny Gantz.…
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Israel’s Netanyahu appears to suffer setback in exit polls
JERUSALEM • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fell short of securing a parliamentary majority with his religious and nationalist allies in national elections Tuesday, initial exit polls showed, setting the stage for a period of coalition negotiations that could threaten his political future and clear the way for him to be tried on corruption charges.…
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Netanyahu vows to begin annexing West Bank settlements
JERUSALEM • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Tuesday to annex the heart of the West Bank if he wins reelection next week, a move that could inflame the Middle East and extinguish remaining Palestinian hope of establishing a separate state. Arab leaders angrily condemned Netanyahu’s remarks, and a U.N. spokesman warned the step…
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Israel blamed for hit on Iran-backed militia depot in Iraq
JERUSALEM — Israel was responsible for the bombing of an Iranian weapons depot in Iraq last month, U.S. officials have confirmed, an attack that would mark a significant escalation in Israel’s long campaign against Iranian military entrenchment in the region. The confirmation comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is hinting strongly that his country…
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Netanyahu appears to edge toward re-election in Israeli vote
JERUSALEM • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to be headed toward re-election early Wednesday, as exit polls and partial results showed him edging ahead of his main competitor in a tight race that was seen as a referendum on the long-serving leader. Netanyahu and former military chief Benny Gantz, leader of the rival Blue…
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Israel’s Netanyahu jolted by corruption recommendations
JERUSALEM • Israel’s attorney general on Thursday recommended criminal charges against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a series of corruption cases, shaking up an already tumultuous election campaign and threatening to end the Israeli leader’s decades-long political career. The potential charges stretch across an array of embarrassing scandals that have painted Netanyahu as a hedonistic,…
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Poland backs out of summit with Israel over Nazi comments
JERUSALEM • Poland on Monday withdrew from a European summit in Jerusalem, derailing the meeting and embarrassing its Israeli hosts, to protest claims by Israel’s acting foreign minister that Poles collaborated with the Nazis and “suckled anti-Semitism with their mothers’ milk.” The abrupt cancellation marked a new low in a bitter and long-running conflict between…