Opponents have accused Netanyahu, who is on trial on corruption charge he denies, of trying to use the reforms to quash possible judgements against him. The prime minister has rejected the accusation.

Protestors have kept up the pressure with weekly rallies against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who returned to power in December at the head of a coalition with ultra-Orthodox Jewish and extreme-right allies. Police used water canon to break up demonstrators, blocking a highway in the city.

A European envoy blasted Israel over the "proportionality" of the force it uses, as international envoys toured Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank following this week's deadly raid. His remarks echoed UN chief Antonio Guterres who had said, "there was an excessive force used by Israeli forces" in...

The raid, Israel's biggest military operation in years in the West Bank, employed hundreds of troops as well as drone strikes and army bulldozers that ripped up streets. During the raid on the Jenin camp in the West Bank, the army said it had uncovered militant hideouts, arms depots and...

The demonstrators have kept up the pressure with weekly rallies against Netanyahu, who returned to power last December at the head of a coalition with ultra-Orthodox Jewish and extreme-right parties. Although there were no figures immediately available for the number of people who demonstrated in Tel Aviv on Saturday, the...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had "thrown out" a key provision of his controversial judicial reform plan that has sparked one of the country's biggest ever protest movements. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Netanyahu said he intends to press on with the reforms.

On Sunday, the Ukrainian embassy charged that "the current Israeli government" had "opted for a path of close cooperation with the Russian Federation". It noted a "near absence of Israeli humanitarian assistance to Ukraine" and a recent statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel needed to cooperate with Russia...

The Biden administration has returned to the long-standing US position of calling for a two-state solution with the Palestinians and criticizing settlement expansion under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Washington has stopped short of any substantive effort at negotiating a peace deal, seeing prospects as highly unlikely with Netanyahu.

JERUSALEM- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday to advance the government's controversial judicial reforms, which have seen his premiership marred by mass protest against the proposed overhaul. "We will come together this week and begin the practical measures," Netanyahu said at the start of a weekly cabinet meeting...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right government's proposals would curtail the authority of the Supreme Court and give politicians greater powers over the selection of judges. Opponents regard them as a threat to Israeli democracy and US President Joe Biden is one of several Israeli allies to have voiced concern.

JERUSALEM -  Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid on Monday testified at a Jerusalem court in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ongoing corruption trial. His arrival at the court at around 9:00 am (0600 GMT) was confirmed by two AFP journalists. Lapid's testimony forms part of a case in which Netanyahu is...

Speaking at the opening of a cabinet meeting on Sunday, Netanyahu said his government had sent a "clear message" to Egypt: "We expect that the joint investigation will be exhaustive and thorough."

Neither the army nor the defence ministry commented on their role in Monday's developments at Homesh when contacted by journalists. The United States, Israel's top ally, said this month it was "deeply troubled by the Israeli government's order that allows its citizens to establish a permanent presence in the Homesh...

Protesters gathered in other major cities, Haifa and Beersheba, as well as at dozens of junctions and locales throughout the country, to decry what they perceive as a threat to Israel's democracy. The government's reform proposals would curtail the authority of the Supreme Court and give politicians greater powers over...

The Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spent recent weeks cutting deals with his ultra-Orthodox and extreme-right coalition partners, to meet a May 29 deadline to pass the budget or face fresh elections. Earlier this week, he said the state would grant married ultra-Orthodox Jewish men engaged in religious study rather than...

Thursday's march began in the western part of the city before passing into east Jerusalem and through the Old City to the Western Wall, where about 50,000 people took part in the Jewish evening prayer, according to local authorities. Those marching were mostly young men, with some wearing white T-shirts...

Thousands of Israelis protested for an 18th straight week against the hard-right government's controversial judicial reforms, despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shelving the overhaul more than a month ago. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in the central city of Rehovot, waving Israeli flags and blocking a major road junction.

Saturday's demonstration comes ahead of another mass protest planned for the coastal city on Sunday to coincide with a Netanyahu speech to the general assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America. The government's reform proposals would curtail the authority of the Supreme Court and give politicians greater powers over...

The 15th consecutive week of protest came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on March 27 announced a "pause" to allow for dialogue on the reforms which were moving through parliament and split the nation. "Let's save democracy" read signs in a sea of Israeli flags waved by demonstrators. AFP journalists...

The day after Israeli police on Wednesday stormed the prayer hall of Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque -- Islam's third-holiest site -- more than 30 rockets were fired from Lebanese soil into Israel. The Israeli army said the attack was most likely carried out by the Palestinian armed movement Hamas.

Abu Dhabi, UAE - The UAE president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan received a phone call from Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, during which they discussed bilateral relations. Sheikh Mohamed affirmed the UAE’s ongoing commitment to ties with Israel, describing their cooperation as a strategic approach to peace and...

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and "reaffirmed the importance of the enduring US– Israel bilateral relationship. The top US diplomat "emphasized the importance of refraining from unilateral actions that exacerbate tensions," a statement said.

Asked if Israel's democracy is at an inflection point -- a phrase Biden frequently uses to describe the danger facing democracies worldwide -- the US president said: "I don't know that they're at an inflection point but I think that's a difficult spot to be in and they've got to...

Lawmakers were scheduled to vote this week on a central part of the proposals, which would change the way judges are appointed. That has now been put off. A parliamentary committee has already amended the draft law to make it more acceptable to opponents.

The government argues the changes are needed to rebalance powers between lawmakers and the judiciary. Yoav Galant, the former defence minister and long-time ally of Netanyahu, earlier called for a halt to the reforms -- with lawmakers due to vote this week on a central part of the proposals, which...

The latest demonstration to hit Israel's commercial hub came days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to press on with the changes despite mounting international alarm. But his defence minister said Saturday that "we must stop the legislative process" for a month in view of the divisiveness of the reforms.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the parliamentary vote scraps "a discriminatory and humiliating law, that prohibited Jews from living in areas in northern Samaria, which is part of our historic homeland," using the biblical name for the northern West Bank.

"There are no Palestinians, because there are no Palestinian people," far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said at an event in Paris. Smotrich and his Religious Zionism group have a history of making incendiary remarks about Palestinians.

Demonstrators gathered in Jerusalem and the northern city of Haifa to denounce the overhaul that would, among other things, allow lawmakers to scrap supreme court rulings with a simple majority vote. Some opposition leaders joined a later rally in central Tel Aviv.

JERUSALEM- Israel's parliament took another step Tuesday to push forward a legal reform package that has sparked mass protests against the hard-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Lawmakers in a 3:00 am (0100 GMT) vote approved a bill in first reading that would, among other things, allow the Knesset...

The Israeli-UAE trade is likely to get an added boost in the next few weeks as an anticipated signing of a customs agreement will enable the FTA signed last year to go into effect.

Nablus, Palestinian Territories - Three Palestinian gunmen were shot dead after they fired at Israeli soldiers in the northern West Bank near Nablus, the Israeli army said on Sunday, as violence in the region continued. The military said that "armed gunmen opened fire" on soldiers at an army position near the...

A planned mass rally in Tel Aviv by Israeli protesters opposed to the government's controversial legal reform plans forced an 11th-hour change of venue for Lloyd Austin's talks, throwing an international spotlight on Israel's domestic divisions.

The Palestinian health ministry said six men had been killed, one aged 49 and the rest in their 20s, in clashes that the army said included soldiers launching shoulder-fired rockets amid ferocious gunfire. On Tuesday, Jordan foreign ministry spokesman Sinan Majali condemned what he called Israeli "aggression", warning it "will...

The latest rally in Tel Aviv came after a similar demonstration on Wednesday when police employed stun grenades and water cannon in a rare use of force that led to about 39 arrests and 11 injuries in the coastal city. Judicial reform is a cornerstone of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's...

Demonstrators in Tel Aviv blocked some streets, and police employed stun grenades, water cannon and officers on horseback in a rare use of force in the coastal city. Some 39 people were arrested for "allegedly rioting and not obeying instructions by police officials", police said in a statement

The latest deaths came amid talks in Jordan to discuss worsening violence in the occupied territory, and days after Israeli forces launched their deadliest West Bank raid in nearly 20 years, which left 11 Palestinians dead in the northern city of Nablus. The West Bank is home to about 2.9...

Israeli media reported the crowds were again in the tens of thousands, after lawmakers this week took a step towards approving the reforms which are a cornerstone of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's latest administration, which took office in December. Critics have condemned the reforms as an assault on the independence...

On Twitter, the Omani Civil Aviation Authority affirmed that "the Sultanate's airspace is open for all carriers that meet the requirements of the Authority for overflying". Netanyahu visited Oman in 2018 at the invitation of Sultan Qaboos, despite Muscat not officially recognizing Israel. "This is a day of great news...

Top Palestinian official Hussein Al Sheikh decried the incursion as a "massacre" and called for "international protection for our people". The Palestinian health ministry said those killed "as a result of the occupation's aggression on Nablus" were aged between 16 and 72.

Lawmakers voted by 63 to 47 to give more weight to the government in the committee that selects judges, and to deny courts the right to rule on legislation they deem in conflict with so-called Basic Laws, Israel's quasi constitution. Tens of thousands had protested on the streets of Jerusalem...

The measures, which were inching towards approval through a series of preliminary votes inside the chamber, have provoked widespread criticism and charges that they would give the legislative branch nearly unchecked authority.

Netanyahu said earlier Sunday during a meeting of his government he wanted to "strengthen settlements", which are illegal under international law. The measures apply to Israeli Arabs as well as to Palestinians with resident status in east Jerusalem, part of the city annexed by Israel. The measures apply to Israeli...

Carrying signs reading "Save Israel's democracy from Netanyahu", thousands of Israelis demonstrated in Tel Aviv on Saturday against controversial legal reforms touted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government. The demonstrators also held up signs labelling the new government a "threat to world peace."

Sudan in January 2021 formally agreed to normalize relations with Israel in a quid pro quo for the United States removing it from its list of "state sponsors of terrorism", but ties were never formalized. Israel's Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, then the intelligence minister, led that same month the first...

France agrees that "firmness" is needed in dealings with Iran, a diplomatic source told earlier, saying the nuclear program had reached "a dangerous point" and highlighting Tehran's role in the Ukraine war. Siding with Ukraine is not without risk for Netanyahu, as Russian air defences deployed in neighbouring Syria could...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold talks with French President Emmanuel Macron hoping to gain support against Iran's nuclear program. Israel's Paris embassy said the pair would discuss "the international effort to stop the Iranian nuclear program". The prime minister has also said Israel is considering sending military aid...

Israeli government announced that the home of a 13-year-old boy who shot two Israelis would be sealed off even though his attack caused severe injury and not deaths.

Jerusalem, Undefined - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu removed a top minister from office Sunday following a Supreme Court ruling against Aryeh Deri's appointment which has shaken the nascent cabinet. "It is with a heavy heart, with great sorrow and with an extremely difficult feeling that I am forced to transfer...

The demonstration was the largest so far since Lapid's successor Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power last month at the head of the most right-wing government in the country's history. Some 100,000 protesters turned out in central Tel Aviv, filling the streets with blue and white national flags.