Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the United Nations “completely ignored Israel’s security needs” when it granted Palestine non-member status.

Mr Netanyahu made the statement during a diplomatic visit to Prague on Wednesday, in which he thanked the Czech Republic for voting against the Palestinian UN bid.

Government sources have told Sky News that Britain has threatened to "revisit" EU trade agreements with Israel in the wake of Israel’s warning that it may build 3,000 new settlement homes east of Jerusalem.

Israel’s warning comes following the UN vote last week to upgrade the Palestinian Authority from ‘entity’ to ‘non-member observer’ status.

Is Avigdor Lieberman’s pencil-bearded, steely-grey-eyed visage Israel’s new face of moderation? Is the ex-Soviet immigrant leader with prime ministerial pretensions the next chain in Zionism’s long story of pragmatism triumphing — sometimes — over destructive dogmatism.

Naftali Bennett thinks he can burst Bibi’s bubble. Elected head of the main religious-Zionist party, Jewish Home, this month, the clean-shaven, 40-year-old hi-tech millionaire believes he can steal plenty of votes from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party.

President Barack Obama’s foreign policy “pivot” towards Asia, announced with an eye-catching visit to Myanmar and Cambodia at the start of his second term of office, appeared to be thwarted this week.

Operation Pillar of Defence derailed his visit, demanding attention he wanted to devote to advancing US trade relationships and encouraging political freedoms across Asia.

Sirens are being heard as far north as Tel Aviv after a day of sustained rocket fire sent by terrorists operating inside the Gaza Strip.

Hamas Chief of Staff Ahmed Jabari believed that the latest round of warfare between Israel and Palestinian terrorists in Gaza was over by Wednesday. The Israeli Air Force had not attacked any targets in the Strip in response to the barrage of rocket attacks on the south of Israel.