Page 143 - Israel

Won't pursue entire judicial revamp, says Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu

In the interview, Netanyahu sought to project an image of a leader who remains above the political fray as he faces off against the largest anti-government protest movement

Israel: After terror attack, toned-down protests begin against overhaul

Some 105,000 people were estimated to have attended the main rally at Tel Aviv's Kaplan Street, which began following a march from Kikar Dizengoff at 7 pm

Disturbed by trivialisation of Holocaust in 'Bawaal': Israeli embassy

Israel Ambassador to India Naor Gilon has voiced concern over the "trivialisation" of Holocaust in Hindi movie "Bawaal" released on Prime Video, saying it had "poor choice of terminology and symbolism". The Varun Dhawan-starrer has stirred up a controversy for using the Holocaust to tell a story of marital discord as earlier in the week a prominent Jewish group slammed the movie and called for its removal from the OTT platform. The Israeli embassy in India on Friday issued a statement, saying it was "disturbed by the trivialisation of the significance of the Holocaust" in the movie, directed by Nitesh Tiwari of "Dangal" fame. "I did not and will not watch the film 'Bawaal' but from what I have read, there was a poor choice of terminology and symbolism. Trivialisation of the Holocaust should disturb all," Gilon wrote on Twitter. "I urge those who don't know enough about the horrors of the Holocaust to educate themselves about it, he added. "Bawaal" follows a high school history tea

Israel-Vietnamese Free Trade Deal opens Southeast Asia opportunities

By lowering customs taxes on Israeli products, Israel can better compete against similar products from other countries which Vietnam already has free trade with

Israeli military kills 3 alleged Palestinian gunmen in volatile West Bank

The Israeli military said it shot and killed three alleged Palestinian gunmen in the northern occupied West Bank on Tuesday, the latest bloodshed in one of the most violent stretches of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in years. Israeli security forces said they opened fire at Palestinian militants who had shot at them from a car in the West Bank city of Nablus, the territory's commercial capital and a major focus of the Israeli military's recently stepped-up raids. In the hilly neighbourhood of al-Tur shortly after the shooting, Israeli forces inspected a shattered black Skoda surrounded by spent bullet casings. Palestinian media described the Israeli killing of the gunmen as an ambush following the militants' attempted attack on Israeli forces near a Jewish settlement overlooking Nablus. The Israeli military said it confiscated three M-16 rifles and other equipment from their car. Israeli-Palestinian fighting has surged in the territory, which Israel captured from Jordan in the 19

Israel takes major step in Netanyahu's plan to overhaul judicial system

Israel's parliament on Monday approved the first major law in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's contentious plan to overhaul the country's justice system, triggering a new burst of mass protests and drawing accusations that he was pushing the country toward authoritarian rule. The vote, passed unanimously by Netanyahu's ruling coalition after the opposition stormed out of the hall, deepened the fissures that have tested the delicate social ties that bind the country, rattled the cohesion of its powerful military and repeatedly drew concern from Israel's closest ally, the United States. It came just hours following Netanyahu's release from a hospital. As Netanyahu's allies celebrated their victory and vowed to press ahead with more changes, thousands of protesters took to the streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and opponents said they would challenge the new law in the Supreme Court. It's a sad day, opposition leader Yair Lapid said after the vote. This is not a victory for the ...

Israeli parliament okays controversial judicial overhaul law amid protests

Multiple last-minute attempts within the Knesset to amend the bill or to come to a broader procedural compromise with the opposition failed

Israel PM Netanyahu released from hospital ahead of vote on legal overhaul

The hospital treating Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was released on Monday ahead of a key vote on legal changes. Netanyahu was rushed to the hospital over the weekend for an emergency pacemaker implantation. The procedure went smoothly and he said he planned to be out in time to vote for the first major piece of his government's legal overhaul. Protests against the overhaul have been intensifying while Netanyahu was undergoing treatment.

Israeli CEOs ditch the C-suite to lead the anti-government protests

Five other activists with inside knowledge gave behind-the-scenes details on condition of anonymity

Israel PM Netanyahu reportedly at hospital, undergoing pacemaker implant

Earlier, on his Twitter account, Netanyahu posted a video where he said that he was feeling 'excellent' and that he is adhering to his doctors' advice

Ex-security chiefs beg Netanyahu to halt legal overhaul as protesters march

Tens of thousands of protesters marched into Jerusalem on Saturday evening and hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets in Tel Aviv and other cities in a last-ditch show of force aimed at blocking Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's contentious judicial overhaul. Also Saturday, more than 100 of Israel's former security chiefs signed a letter pleading with the Israeli premier to halt the legislation, and thousands of additional military reservists said they would no longer report for duty, in a protest against the plan. In scorching heat that reached 33 degrees Celsius (91 degrees Fahrenheit), the procession into Jerusalem turned the city's main entrance into a sea of blue and white Israeli flags as marchers completed the last leg of a four-day, 70 kilometer (45-mile) trek from Tel Aviv to Israel's parliament. The marchers, who grew from hundreds to thousands as the march progressed, were welcomed in Jerusalem by throngs of cheering protesters before they set up camp in

Why fierce protests have been rocking Israel for seven straight months

Oceans of Israeli flags, steady drumbeats, cries of Democracy! Water cannons, police on horseback, protesters dragged off the ground. For seven straight months, tens of thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets in the most sustained and intense demonstrations the country has ever seen. The protesters are part of a grassroots movement that rose out of opposition to a contentious judicial overhaul spearheaded by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right allies. The overhaul calls for sweeping changes aimed at curbing the powers of the judiciary, from limiting the Supreme Court's ability to challenge parliamentary decisions, to changing the way judges are selected. While the government says the overhaul is needed to reduce the powers of unelected judges, protesters, who make up a wide cross section of Israeli society, say the overhaul will push Israel toward autocracy. With a key portion of the overhaul nearing a final vote early next week, protesters are vowing furth

Thousands march from Tel Aviv to protest govt's judicial overhaul plan

Thousands of Israelis joined a march from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on Friday in the latest protest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's vow to push through a controversial overhaul of the judiciary system. Hundreds of protesters became thousands as Israelis joined the 70-kilometer (roughly 45-mile) march throughout the day in a demonstration against one of Israel's most far-right governments in history. The demonstrators planned to camp overnight at Shoresh, about 18 kilometers (11 miles) from Jerusalem, before making their way to Israel's parliament on Saturday, the Jewish holy day of Shabbat. The march comes a day after Netanyahu vowed to press ahead with the plan, defying demonstrators, growing defections by military reservists and appeals from U.S. President Joe Biden to put the plan on hold. Ronen Rosenblatt, 58, a high-tech worker who'd joined the march following months of frustration with Netanyahu's government, described the event as jovial, with people united behind a commo

Israeli army fire kills Palestinian man during clashes at West Bank shrine

Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian man near a shrine in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, Palestinian health officials said, in the latest bloodshed in a cycle of violence that has gripped the region. The months of fighting with rising fatalities have shown no signs of abating and has become the worst violence between Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank in nearly two decades. Thursday's shooting took place as Israeli forces escorted Israeli worshippers, including the Israeli police chief and the head of the local Jewish settler council, to a site known as the biblical Joseph's Tomb in the Palestinian city of Nablus. The shrine has long been a flashpoint for clashes between Palestinians and Israeli troops. Nablus has also become a central point of violence in the current escalation. The Israeli military said that during the visit, suspects opened fire and threw explosives, rocks and burning tires at troops, who returned fire. Palestinian news agency Wafa identi

AI-powered warfare: Israel's deadly military tactics go high-tech

Israel has harnessed AI to select airstrike targets amid growing tensions in the occupied territories . But the integration of AI into military operations isn't without serious ethical questions.

Israeli Prez's speech highlights 'unbreakable bond' despite US unease

Israel's figurehead president speaks to Congress in an appearance Wednesday aimed at demonstrating what he calls the unbreakable bond between Israel and the United States, despite US concerns over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's controversial judicial overhaul and ongoing settlement construction in the West Bank. Isaac Herzog becomes the second Israeli president, after his father, Chaim Herzog, to address Congress. His speech will mark modern Israel's celebration of its 75th year. But the Israeli president's visit also is exposing the difficulties that Democrats face in balancing longstanding US support for ally Israel with disapproval of some actions by Netanyahu's government, a coalition of ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox parties. The House on Tuesday passed a Republican-led resolution reaffirming its support for Israel with strong bipartisan approval an implicit rebuke of a leading Democrat who, over the weekend, called the country a racist state, but later apologised.

Protesters block highways as Netanyahu moves ahead with judicial overhaul

Tens of thousands of protesters on Tuesday blocked highways and train stations and massed in central Tel Aviv during a day of countrywide demonstrations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's contentious judicial overhaul plan. The protests, now in their seventh month, have taken on a sense of urgency in recent days as Netanyahu and his allies in parliament march ahead with the program. The first bill in the package a measure that seeks to limit the Supreme Court's oversight powers could become law as soon as next week. The unrest also cast a shadow over a visit to the White House by Israel's figurehead president, Isaac Herzog, who was invited to Washington to celebrate Israel's 75th anniversary. Herzog, a political centrist, has been involved in behind-the-scenes efforts to broker a compromise on the judicial overhaul, which has strained relations between Netanyahu and President Joe Biden. It was unclear whether Herzog, a former rival of Netanyahu's who has shown little ...

Israeli protesters block highways against Netanyahu's judicial overhaul

Israeli protesters blocked highways and gathered outside Tel Aviv's stock exchange and military headquarters on Tuesday in the latest countrywide demonstration against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's planned judicial overhaul. The latest day of disruption came as longtime allies of the prime minister pushed a contentious piece of legislation through a parliamentary committee ahead of a vote expected next week. Additional protests are planned throughout the day. Demonstrators, many of them military reservists, created human chains and blocked one of the entrances to the Kirya, Israel's military headquarters in central Tel Aviv. Netanyahu heads the most ultranationalist and religiously conservative government in Israel's 75-year history. He proposed a series of drastic changes to the country's judiciary shortly after taking office in December. His government took office in the aftermath of the country's fifth elections in under four years, all of them regarded as referendums on h

Biden still concerned about judicial overhaul as he invites Netanyahu

President Joe Biden on Monday invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to meet with him in the US this fall, the White House said, even as he expressed ongoing concern about Netanyahu's controversial plans to overhaul his country's judicial system. Monday's phone conversation between the US and Israeli leaders came one day before Israel's figurehead president Isaac Herzog is set to visit to the White House and as Netanyahu's government pushes forward with the judicial changes that have sparked widespread protest in Israel. The Biden administration declined to say whether Biden would host Netanyahu at the White House as the Israeli leader has hoped or in New York on the margins of the UN General Assembly. White House visits are typically standard protocol for Israeli prime ministers, and the delay in Netanyahu receiving one has become an issue in Israel, with opponents citing it as a reflection of deteriorating relations with the US. National Security Council spokesman Jo

Netanyahu discharged from hospital after overnight stay after a dizzy spell

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was discharged on Sunday after an overnight hospital stay for check-ups and monitoring following a dizzy spell. Netanyahu, 73, was rushed to Sheba Medical Centre on Saturday after feeling mild dizziness. His office said he had left the hospital around midday after stating earlier that his test results were normal and that he was feeling very good. The medical centre said Netanyahu was in excellent condition after a series of tests, including cardiovascular ones. Netanyahu's office said he had spent the previous day at the Sea of Galilee, a popular vacation spot in northern Israel where temperatures climbed to about 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) amid a stifling country-wide heat wave. After a series of tests, the initial assessment was that the veteran Israeli leader was dehydrated. After being hospitalised, Netanyahu released a video on social media last night. Smiling, he said that he had been out in the sun on Friday witho