3+ mon, 2+ week ago (256+ words) Friday, August 15th | 21 Av 5785 Gidon Ben-Zvi, former Jerusalem Correspondent for The Algemeiner, has died at the age of 51 after a fight with cancer. Ben-Zvi continued to write op-eds for The Algemeiner even after he left as a correspondent, including in the aftermath of Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel. An accomplished writer, Ben-Zvi left Hollywood for Jerusalem in 2009, moving back to Israel after spending 12 years in the United States. From 1994-1997, Gidon served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), in an infantry unit. In addition to writing for The Algemeiner, Ben-Zvi contributed to the Times of Israel, Jerusalem Post, CiF Watch, and blogged at Jerusalem State of Mind. Ben-Zvi joined HonestReporting as a senior editor in June 2020, becoming an integral part of the editorial department and writing dozens of articles and media critiques for the watchdog group exposing anti-Israel bias. He moved…...

4+ mon, 2+ day ago (327+ words) Monday, July 28th | 3 Av 5785 On Monday, Elbit Systems Ltd., a military contractor based in Israel, announced it had received a $260 million government contract from Germany to spend six years installing Directional Infrared Counter Measures (DIRCM) self-protection systems for defending Germany's A400M aircraft fleet. The contract is just the latest in a string of blockbuster deals between Israeli defense firms and international militaries. Israeli defense exports to Europe jumped to 54% of overall defense exports last year, up from just over 33% in 2023, according to the Israeli media outlet Globes. Elbit's defense system works to counter infrared-guided missiles, with a focus on mobile anti-aircraft weapons. It offers the ability to track missile threats as they happen and also provides automatic protection without needed human action. Other countries which have deployed the system include Israel, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Brazil. In February, Morocco announced plans…...

2+ mon, 2+ week ago (616+ words) Monday, September 15th | 22 Elul 5785 The fifth anniversary of the Abraham Accords was overshadowed on Monday as top Arab diplomats gathered in Doha for an emergency summit after Israel's strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar last week. Five years on, experts say that, despite war and political shocks, the US-brokered deals that normalized relations between Israel and several Araba countries have endured, though not without setbacks, and many argue that strengthening them is the most effective way to defeating the hatred and terrorism that led to Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel. Trade between Abraham Accord countries in 2025 increased from the year before, though it remained well below the levels seen before the Hamas-led attack. The UAE, Israel's most significant new trading partner, has dominated the commerce generated by the accords, signed on the lawn of the White House on Sept. 15, 2020. Asher…...

1+ week, 2+ day ago (422+ words) Friday, November 21st | 1 Kislev 5786 The Israeli Prime Minister's Office released a statement this week on behalf of the Mossad saying the agency, in cooperation with European counterparts, has dismantled a network of terror cells across Germany, Austria, and beyond " cells that stockpiled weapons and stood ready to strike Jewish and Israeli targets on the continent. Among the most striking details was a weapons cache seized in Vienna last September, consisting of pistols and explosives and traced to a certain Muhammad'Naim, who was identified by Israeli intelligence as the son of Basem'Naim. Investigators reportedly uncovered a meeting in Qatar between father and son, allegedly signaling leadership'level approval of the European operation. When one considers that Basem'Naim has been treated in the UK media as a mainstream political figure, flattered with copious airtime, speaking from Istanbul and Doha, questions must be asked. On…...

2+ mon, 1+ week ago (623+ words) Friday, September 19th | 26 Elul 5785 France and the UK are currently set to recognize a Palestinian state on September 22: erev Rosh HaShanah, the beginning of the Jewish High Holidays and the Jewish new year. The timing is, at best, callous and ignorant " or at worst, intentionally cruel. For that reason, we are once again sharing our prior analysis, with specific evidence, that this recognition is understood to be a reward for October 7 and an inducement to repeat it. In May of 2024, Spain, Ireland, and Norway officially recognized a Palestinian state, followed shortly thereafter by'Slovenia. Palestinian society, and the Arab world at large, declared this recognition to be a successful result of'the October 7 massacre against Israel, and an indication that such massacres are the appropriate direction for Palestinian society. Then Hamas leader'Ismael Haniyeh boasted'that, "Operation Flood of Al-Aqsa [the October 7 massacre] raised the…...

3+ week, 4+ day ago (368+ words) Wednesday, November 5th | 14 Heshvan 5786 China and Qatar are broadening ties and joint initiatives as both countries work to deepen their partnership amid shifting Middle East dynamics and China's efforts to expand its regional influence, according to recent statements from politicians of both countries. On Monday, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng held talks with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in Doha on the sidelines of the Second World Summit for Social Development, focusing on regional developments and expanding bilateral cooperation. The expanding Beijing-Doha relationship comes as Qatar seeks to position itself as a key player in the Middle East " pursuing a role in post-war Gaza and broadening its regional influence " while China aims to counter Western influence, navigate US sanctions, and expand its presence across the region. During their meeting, the Chinese top diplomat pledged to deepen ties with Qatar…...

2+ day, 11+ hour ago (136+ words) Friday, November 28th | 8 Kislev 5786 German Chancellor Friedrich'Merz'will travel to'Israel'on Dec. 6 and 7 for his first official'visit'since taking office, a German government spokesperson said on Friday. Merz'is scheduled to'meet'Prime Minister Benjamin'Netanyahu'on Dec. 7 to discuss bilateral relations, the ceasefire in Gaza, and other international issues, and will also'visit'the Yad Vashem memorial to the Holocaust and hold talks with local representatives from society, the spokesperson added during a regular government press conference. Germany has long been one of'Israel's staunchest supporters, but has also criticized'Netanyahu's government over its strategy in the Gaza war. This month, the German government moved to resume weapons sales to'Israel'that it had been suspended since August over the war, but said the decision is subject to the observance of the ceasefire and the large-scale provision of humanitarian aid....

1+ day, 7+ hour ago (142+ words) Saturday, November 29th | 9 Kislev 5786 i24 News " Qatar's Prime Minister Mohammed Al Thani will visit Beirut on Wednesday to meet with Lebanon's leaders, Al-Jadeed reported Saturday. The visit comes "as part of an effort inseparable from the efforts by Egypt in coordination with Arab countries, foremost among them'Saudi'Arabia." The trip coincides with a sensitive period for the country, ravaged by war and deep economic crisis. Lebanon is under growing pressure from both Israel and the United States to more swiftly disarm Hezbollah and other Islamist groups across the country, with Israel increasingly inclined to stop the Shiite militia from rearming and rebuilding its infrastructure. Hezbollah was left devastated in the aftermath of a nine-day war last year, that saw Israel take out its command structure and lay waste to a significant proportion of its missile arsenal....

4+ mon, 2+ week ago (211+ words) Saturday, July 12th | 16 Tammuz 5785 i24 News "Hamas rejected the Qatari offer for a hostage and ceasefire deal, accepted by Israel, an Israeli official told local media on Saturday. Nevertheless the talks in Doha are ongoing, the negotiation team is working with the mediators Egypt and Qatar and is in continuous contact with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and and Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, the source said. Rejection of the Qatari offer is consistent with the jihadist group's modus operandi of raising difficulties, refusing to compromise and and waging a war of ideas aimed at sabotaging the negotiations, misrepresenting the talks to the Gazan population and pressuring the Israeli public, the source said. The Israeli delegation was sent to Doha on the basis of the Qatari offer, to which Israel agreed and received the mandate required for the talks. Israel has shown…...

4+ mon, 5+ day ago (400+ words) Friday, July 25th | 29 Tammuz 5785 France's'highest'court'ruled on Friday that an'arrest'warrant'for former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad'was'invalid'as it was'issued'when he was still in office, but said a'new'warrant'can'now be issued as he is no longer a sitting head of state. French investigating magistrates'issued'the'warrant'in November 2023 following a French investigation into chemical weapons attacks in the Syrian city of Douma and Eastern Ghouta district in August 2013 that killed more than 1,000 people. Then-President'Assad's government denied using chemical weapons during the country's civil war that began in 2011.'Assad'was'toppled last December by Islamist rebels whose leader is now the interim president. The'Court'of Cassation's decision overturns'one'made by the Paris'Court'of Appeal, which ruled last year that the'warrant'was valid. Prosecutors, who would need to ask police to carry out the'warrant, challenged its validity. "International custom does not allow any exception to the personal immunity of a foreign head of state during the entire…...