April Fools Day joke drama for Israeli Navy

The Israeli military is investigating after an April Fools Day joke went awry.

Israeli Navy Major General Ram Rothberg decided to wind his officers up on Sunday by asking them to prepare for a ten day mission. His intention was to tell them at the last minute that a drill, which he said would be conducted in the Mediterranean with the Italian navy, was not actually going to go ahead.

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Journalists 'linked with IDF'

Claims by Libyan militia linking two captive British journalists to the Israeli Defence Forces is "media manipulation", say human rights experts.

Faraj Swehli, commander of the Libyan militia, said the two Press TV journalists detained in Misrata were being held for "possible espionage" after IDF equipment was apparently found in the men's belonging.

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Anger at IDF ruling

The Charedi leadership is refusing to consider any form of compromise over a court ruling that ended the exemption of yeshivah students from IDF service.

Following the ruling of the High Court last week that the exemption was unconstitutional, rabbis and strictly-Orthodox politicians have laid down a clear marker that they are not prepared to allow their students to join the IDF.

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Resistance fighter who inspired Defiance meets Israeli soldiers

A Holocaust hero whose resistance efforts were immortalised in the film Defiance has praised the IDF for its exemplary conduct.

Aharon Bielski is the youngest of the four brothers who led a resistance effort against the Nazis in the forests of modern-day Belarus between 1942 and 1944.

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Budget cuts put IDF 'in crisis mode'

Israel's generals have warned the government that if the IDF does not receive an urgent supplement to its budget, it will be forced to ground part of the air force, cancel regular exercises and freeze most of its procurement plans.

In a blatant media campaign, the IDF's top brass leaked this week that, due to defence projects forced upon it by the government, the army has a NIS 3.6 billion (£6

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Hacker turns cyber soldier for the IDF

The Israel Defence Force is employing a former hacker to improve the security of its computer systems.

Known only as "Daniel", the new addition to the IDF is serving in a cyber-warfare unit in the Israeli Air Force, according to an IDF announcement on its website.

The 27-year-old has been writing code since the age of 12 and is now responsible for investigating security breaches.

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MKs helped settlers defy IDF

Knesset members have been supplying the settlers with information on military operations to help them prevent the IDF and police from demolishing illegal outposts in the West Bank.

Five settlers were indicted on Sunday with running an intelligence-gathering team that collected details on the army's movements.

The headquarters of the team in the Jerusalem neighbourhood of Kiryat Moshe was rai

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