Israel
Weekend COVID cases top 50,000; finance minister, Likud MK also test positive
January 17, 2022 — Serious cases rise to 387 as Omicron continues to rampage; but virus transmission rate continues steady decline in past few days
Residents stranded as torrential rains flood roads, cut off neighborhoods
January 17, 2022 — 18,000 in Lod find neighborhood accessible only by train; several people rescued from vehicles trapped by water
Israel said to secretly ink unprecedented deal to supply gas to Lebanon, via Jordan
January 17, 2022 — TV report says agreement brokered by US envoy will see natural gas piped through Syria, aimed to provide Lebanese with an alternative to Iran
Bennett government snubs egalitarian site in massive Western Wall funding
January 17, 2022 — How can it be that such a large sum is being allocated to the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, while the egalitarian prayer site remains abandoned?
Synagogue in West Bank’s South Hebron Hills torched in apparent arson
January 17, 2022 — Firefighting officials say several car tires found inside scorched building; prayer books, empty Torah ark damaged
Israel Air Force, US military hold joint aerial drill over Negev
January 17, 2022 — ‘Desert Falcon’ exercise is latest cooperation between IDF and America’s Middle East-focused Central Command
Number of seriously ill COVID patients rises, with over 48,000 new virus cases
January 14, 2022 — New case numbers are breaking records, serious illness and deaths still lower than rates in past waves; over 400,000 tested, 12% positive
Bennett discusses Iran talks in phone chat with Putin
January 14, 2022 — Leaders talk about regional security and ‘agreed on continued close cooperation in this area’
Initial IDF probe faults lack of coordination for ‘friendly fire’ that killed two officers
January 14, 2022 — Soldiers set out on patrol in two groups, without knowing about one another; officer thought he saw armed suspects and opened fire
Mossad chief Barnea meets with Libyan PM in Jordan to talk normalization
January 14, 2022 — Agency head meets with Libyan prime minister to discuss normalization, which may be difficult considering the ongoing chaos in Libya
2,000 Bedouin uproot disputed trees as Negev protests intensify
January 14, 2022 — Demonstrations continued Thursday as Ra’am Party threatened the future of Naftali Bennett’s government
IDF helicopter crash: Interim report unable to determine cause
January 14, 2022 — Military believes that the likely cause of the fatal crash was a fire that broke out in the left engine
