Israel Matters!

Netanyahu Picked to Form New Israeli Government

After the failure of his last-ditch effort to muster Kadima leader Tzipi Livni’s support for a unity government, President Shimon Peres formally entrusted Likud chairman Benjamin (“Bibi”) Netanyahu with the task of building a national coalition government. The right-wing Netanyahu was given 42 days to put together a coalition that might draw on Labor and Kadima, though he also spoke favorably of including the ultranationalist Yisrael Beiteinu party, which made substantial gains in the national election. (more…)

Israeli Election Produces No Clear Winner

Both Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni’s Kadima party and Benjamin Netanyahu’s opposition Likud styled themselves the winners of Israel’s elections, after it became apparent that Kadima had won the most seats in the new Knesset, but the Likud-led right-wing would constitute the larger bloc. (more…)

Israel Kills Senior Hamas Leader

 GAZA CITY – January 15, 2009 (AFP) – Israel killed a top Hamas leader as tanks pressed into the heart of Gaza City. Said Siam, interior minister in Gaza’s Hamas government, was slain along with his brother and son in an air strike on the brother’s house north of Gaza City, Hamas said, as its armed wing vowed to avenge his death. (more…)

Israel Launches Operation “Cast Lead” Against Hamas

On December 27th, the sixth day of Hanukkah, the Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Cast Lead with the aim of striking the infrastructure of the Hamas terrorist organization as a result of the relentless terror attacks perpetrated by Hamas from the Gaza Strip and the continued firing of missiles at Israeli citizens. (more…)

Netanyahu Upbeat on Obama Plans for Iran

Benjamin Netanyahu, who many think will be Israel’s next Prime Minister said recently he saw the U.S. president-elect, Barack Obama as serious about denying Iran nuclear arms. Netanyahu, whose right-wing party leads in polls before the upcoming February 10th Israeli election, was responding to concerns raised by Israeli analysts that Obama did not explicitly say in recent televised remarks that he could resort to force against Tehran if it did not bow to U.S. demands over its nuclear program. (more…)

Israeli Leaders Congratulate Obama On Victory

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni congratulated US president-elect Barack Obama on his victory, saying that Israelis were “impressed by his commitment to the peace and security of Israel” during his recent visit. In a statement released after the election, Livni also thanked Sen. John McCain for his “long-standing friendship” with Israel, and congratulated him on an honorable campaign.
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US Approves “Stealth” Fighter Aircraft Sale to Israel

The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency has approved the $15.2 billion sale of 25 of the stealthy F-35 Joint Strike Fighters for Israel with an option for another 50, saying it is vital to US national security interests to assist Israel in the development of “a strong and ready self-defense capability.”
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Israel Absorbs Georgian Refugees From War

A total of 75 new immigrants fleeing the conflict between Georgia and Russia arrived in Israel with most of them settling in the cities of Bat Yam and Ashdod. The Immigrant Absorption Ministry approved an assistance package for the newcomers that will include Hebrew schooling, employment offers and subsidized rent. Underprivileged immigrants will also receive a grant of several thousand shekels. According to the Jewish Agency, some 120 additional Georgians are preparing to immigrate to Israel within the coming.
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ISRAEL THREATENS IRAN OVER NUKES

An Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear sites looks “unavoidable” given the apparent failure of sanctions to deny Tehran technology with bomb-making potential, one of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s deputies said recently. “If Iran continues with its program for developing nuclear weapons, we will attack it. The sanctions are ineffective,” Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz told the mass-circulation Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper. (more…)

Israel Says Farewell to Regev and Goldwasser: Thousands at Burials of Returned Israeli Soldiers

Thousands of mourners turned out for the burials of two Israeli soldiers returned in a prisoner exchange with Hezbollah, laying to rest the young men whose unknown fate had riveted Israel for two years. The pair’s 2006 capture in a raid by Hezbollah sparked a month long war. Though officials believed the two soldiers were dead, there was no proof until their bodies were returned in black coffins.
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