Israel's international relations
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Israel to US: We Need Four Iron Dome Batteries
( A hlul B ayt N ews A gency) - Although the words of the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, at the beginning of the week were, "We need more taxes for more batteries of Iron Dome", yet it seems that he funding source is completely different. Walla news has been reported on Wednesday that the Ministry of Defense quoted a request to the U.S. administration to allocate one extra billion shekels to "Israeli" defense systems. According to the request, NIS 700 million earmarked for the purchase of four Iron Dome batteries and an additional NIS 300 million budget for the system "Magic wand", which aims to protect "Israel" from middle range and naval missiles. These allocations are in addition to the security assistance provided by the U.S. Administration to "Israel" annually.
Tzipi Livni : "L'immobilisme met en danger Israël" - Géopolitique
L'ancienne ministre des Affaires étrangères Tzipi Livni , à la tête du parti centriste Kadima , dirige l'opposition à la Knesset. Je l'ai rencontrée à Jérusalem, en marge de la Israeli Presidential Conference 2011 , organisée par le président Shimon Pérès. Pensez-vous qu'Israël devrait répondre favorablement à l'initiative française pour relancer des négociations avant que les Palestiniens ne demandent à être reconnus en tant qu'Etat à l'ONU en septembre ?
Never have so many Jews lost so much sleep over the fate of one ailing Arab dictator. This would be the opening line to a Jackie Mason monologue if it wasn’t a pretty valid description of the way most Israelis spent their weekend. Judging by the extensive (if not borderline compulsive) manner in which the Israeli media has been covering the recent events in Egypt, one would be correct to assume that in a very strange, if not ironic, twist, Israel has come to see its own fate as tied to that of the waning regime of President Hosni Mubarak.
Borderline - by Yoav Fromer > Tablet Magazine - A New Read on Jewish Life
Nicolas Gros-Verheyde / Israel Liban Palestine / Les services de sécurité de l’Union européenne (Conseil et Commission) viennent de le confirmer dans une lettre adressée au directeur du Malmab, le contre-espionnage militaire israélien. Le dispositif israélien est conforme aux exigences européennes. « Nous pouvons confirmer qu’Israël est capable de protéger et sécuriser les informations classifiées de l’UE en conformité avec les arrangements de sécurité prévus par l’accord » est-il mentionné.
L’accord d’échange d’informations « classifiées » entre en vigueur avec Israël | Bruxelles2
Israel yesterday began using a simulation system to help domestic protection commanders prepare for a potential WMD attack, the Jerusalem Post reported today (see GSN , Aug. 19). The Israeli Home Front Command in 2008 commissioned production of the simulator at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The simulator is located at the central offices of Home Front Command not far from the city of Ramle.
Israel Begins Using WMD Attack Simulator
AFP - Israel suspended cooperation with UNESCO on Wednesday to protest at the cultural organisation's description of the tomb of the biblical matriarch Rachel, near Bethlehem in the West Bank, as a mosque. "Israel has suspended cooperation with UNESCO," Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon told parliament, according to a statement from his office. The move comes after the United Nations cultural organisation on October 21 adopted a series of decisions concerning the Palestinian territories, including one on what it called "Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque/Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem," a formula rejected by Israel. Ayalon said ties with UNESCO would remain frozen until it repealed the decision describing the tomb as a mosque, a definition Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described as "absurd." "The UNESCO decision was made by the automatic Arab majority and was another attempt to delegitimise Israel instigated by the Palestinian Authority," the statement said.
Israel cuts ties with UNESCO after holy site classified as 'mosque'
The village of Ghajar falls partly in Lebanon and partly in the occupied Golan Heights With tensions high along the border with Lebanon, it may look a strange time for Israel to be withdrawing from an albeit small piece of occupied land. Constantly warning about the threat from Hezbollah, for example, Israeli intelligence sources say the Iranian-backed Shia group now has four times as many rockets in southern Lebanon than it had during the 2006 war.
Israel approves pullout from Lebanon border village
U.S. Presses Israelis on Renewal of Freeze - NYTimes.com
But with Prime Minister so far resisting the administration’s entreaties, the United States is also weighing a fallback plan, officials said, that could involve reaching out to the with a pledge to formally endorse one of their central demands for the borders of a future Palestinian state. The American proposals to Israel came amid a frenzy of diplomatic horse-trading, with the administration maneuvering furiously to keep the talks alive while Mr. Netanyahu appeared to be trying to extract a high price for acquiescing on settlements.
Mavi Marmara incident
Turkey - Israël
The United States yesterday inked a deal to continue support for development of an Israeli defense system against short-range ballistic missiles, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency announced (see GSN , Aug. 4). The David's Sling system is also intended to counter cruise missiles and heavy rockets. The latest U.S.
U.S. Continues Aid to Israeli Missile Defense Effort
Israel to Complete Missile Defenses in Five Years
"In the next two to five years, we will turn this vision into a reality," Israeli air defense official Col. Zvika Haimovitch said during an aerospace conference in Jerusalem. "Within the coming five years, we will see this doctrine implemented." The shield would encompass Iron Dome antirocket technology, along with David's Sling, a system to counter rockets and short-range missiles that is expected to be finished by 2013, according to Haimovitch. The existing Israeli Arrow system fires interceptors that could be used against incoming Iranian or Syrian ballistic missiles.