An Israeli soldier has complained that he was refused entry to a club because he was wearing a kippah.

In the latest incident to highlight the divide between religious and secular groups in Israeli society, the 27-year-old said he was barred from a Tel Aviv hotspot because he refused to remove his kippah.

The dispute was filmed by a fellow partygoer and shown to Israel's Ynet.

Exactly three years after Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, the IDF is preparing for a replay.

"The one thing we can know for certain is that the next major operation or war we will have to fight will be in an urban area filled with civilians," says Colonel Amir Baram, commander of the IDF's Paratrooper Brigade.

A group of Jewish extremists have been arrested in connection with an attack on an IDF base in the West Bank.

Six people, including one minor, are being held over the attack on the Ephraim base on December 12. The incident saw some 50 extremists target the base, setting fire to tyres and throwing stones, paint and nails at cars and trucks.

Israel's security forces are preparing to dismantle one of the largest illegal settler outposts, Ramat Gilad, in the West Bank.

Hundreds of Jewish settlers are expected to attempt to physically prevent the evacuation in what is set to be a violent standoff with the IDF.

The relationship between Jewish settlers in the West Bank and the IDF took another plunge this week after dozens of rioters attacked a brigade headquarters and a jeep in which two senior officers were travelling.

The attacks seem to have been part of a co-ordinated attempt to prevent the army from carrying out eviction orders against illegally-built outposts in Samaria.

The first incident oc

The Israeli prime minister has pledged to devote more resources to investigations into extremist activity in the West Bank as part of a crackdown into the groups behind the rash of so-called "price tag" attacks.

Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that administrative detention orders, usually reserved for Palestinians under suspicion, could now be issued for Jewish extremists.

Barbra Streisand is to entertain Israeli soldiers for an evening next week.

The globally celebrated star will perform at a gala dinner organised by friends of the IDF in Los Angeles on December 8.

Among the more than 1,000 guests will be the former IDF chief of staff, Gabi Ashkenazi, and Seinfeld actor Jason Alexander.

A British academic has stepped into a row over the Ben-Gurion University professor Idan Landau, whose pay was cut this week by the university because he was jailed in May for refusing to perform army reserve duty.

The Israeli Prime Minister has confirmed that a deal is underway to bring home the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

According to Mr Netanyahu's official Twitter feed, the 25-year-old will be coming home within days.

"We have concluded arduous negotiations with Hamas to release Gilad Shalit. He will be coming home in the next few days," said a message posted on Twitter.

The Israeli army general whose planned visit to Britain five years ago sparked a campaign to change the law on universal jurisdiction is finally to complete his aborted journey.

The battle for social justice, demanded by hundreds of thousands on the streets of Israel throughout the summer, is swiftly becoming the battle for the defence budget.

"So far, the Palestinians are sticking by our arrangements," said the senior IDF officer as he looked from afar at the small group of Palestinian youths throwing stones and bottles at the Kalandia Crossing, north of Jerusalem, on Wednesday.

The stone-throwing at what has become over years the "traditional" flashpoint between Israeli forces and Palestinian demonstrators, surprised no-one.

"We are preparing for the worst," said an officer in the IDF's Central Command this week, "but we honestly do not believe that there will be an escalation this month."

Tens of thousands of soldiers and police officers have undergone special training for dealing with mass non-violent demonstrations over the past three months and the army and police have stockpiled £13m worth of new riot-control

The Israeli army is facing criticism after it transferred four female soldiers from a unit because a group of Orthodox male soldiers were set to join.

The women were part of an Artillery Corps battalion and had all recently agreed to complete another year of service.