Israel news

Hamas, fatah flirt with unity deal

May 23, 2013

Fatah and Hamas agreed to form a unity government within three months at talks in Cairo last week.

Similar agreements have been reached on several occasions over the past few years, but none have been implemented.

A Fatah official said both sides had agreed on a timetable that begins with creating laws to govern elections.

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Gaza tunnels used to smuggle KFC

May 23, 2013

Palestinians have started smuggling Kentucky Fried Chicken into Gaza, Haaretz has reported.

Yamama, a Gaza-based delivery service, employs motorcycle couriers to pick the chicken up from the border tunnels and deliver it to customers. The meals are made at KFC outlets in cities around the Sinai Peninsula.

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Expense probe won’t let Bibi sleep easily

By Anshel Pfeffer, May 23, 2013

The Israeli State Comptroller is investigating the sharp rise in the taxpayer-funded expenses of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his family.

The investigation was prompted by the emergence of new details on the costs of maintaining the Prime Minister’s family.

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Charedi school budget cuts on hold

By Anshel Pfeffer, May 23, 2013

Some of the more drastic cuts in the budgets of strictly Orthodox education have been dropped at the last moment from the new Israeli state budget.

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Israeli report: Muhammad al Durah not killed by Israeli soldiers

By Anshel Pfeffer, May 23, 2013

An Israeli government report published this week rebuts claims that Israeli troops killed a 12-year-old Palestinian boy, Muhammad al Durah, in 2000. The report has once again focused attention on the case that became a symbol of the second Palestinian Intifada.

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Israel plans to restrict gun ownership

By Zoe Winograd, May 22, 2013

The Israeli Public Security Ministry has announced new regulations to limit the number of guns in the country.

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Israeli military chief warns Syria of 'consequences' over attacks

By Zoe Winograd, May 22, 2013

Israeli military’s chief of staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz has warned Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad that he will “bear the consequences” if Syria continues to attack Israel.

Lt Gen Gantz told an audience at Haifa University on Tuesday: “We will not allow the area of the Golan Heights to become a comfortable place for Mr Assad.”

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Israel and Syria exchange fire in the Golan Heights

By Marcus Dysch, May 21, 2013

Israeli and Syrian forces have exchanged fire in the Golan Heights in the latest in a series of incidents on the border.

The Syrian army claimed it had destroyed an IDF jeep that it said had infiltrated into Syrian territory in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

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Israel bank raider and victims identified

By Sandy Rashty, May 21, 2013

Israeli police have identified the man responsible for the bank raid shootings that led to the death of four civilians in Be'er Sheva on Monday.

Itamar Alon, a reservist captain for the Israeli Defence Force, took a number of hostages during the attack at the Hapoalim Bank on Jabotinsky Street.

Alon, 40, had been refused an overdraft loan by the bank for around £1,000 (NIS 6,000).

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Five killed in bank raid in Israel

By Sandy Rashty, May 20, 2013

At least five Israelis have been killed in what appears to be a bank robbery in Israel this morning.

Another person is in critical condition after the attack, in which hostages were held, at the Hapoalim Bank on Jabotinsky street in Be’er Sheva.

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