Israeli court limits use of spy agency to track virus cases
Israel’s top court ruled Tuesday the government must curb its use of the domestic spy agency to track coronavirus infections, saying “draconian” surveillance constituted a blow to democracy. The government began using the Shin Bet’s surveillance technologies in March 2020, when Covid-19 infections began to spike. But the supreme court quickly blocked such practice, saying […]
No deal with Israel, but Saudi pushes outreach to Jews
From scrubbing hate-filled school textbooks to a taboo-defying religious sermon, Saudi Arabia is pushing for another kind of normalisation after declining to establish formal relations with Israel — co-existence with Jews. Saudi Arabia has said it will not follow its allies Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates in establishing diplomatic relations without a resolution to […]
Israel announces 3-week nationwide coronavirus lockdown
Israel’s government announced Saturday it would impose a three-week nationwide lockdown in an effort to stem one of the world’s highest novel coronavirus infection rates after a surge in cases. The lockdown order, set to go into effect on Friday, makes Israel the first developed economy to take such a drastic measure to curb a […]
Saudi silent over Israel deal but covert ties under focus
The UAE’s decision to normalise ties with Israel could propel Saudi Arabia to deepen its furtive relations with the Jewish state as Riyadh seeks to entice investments to fund an ambitious economic transformation, analysts say. The United Arab Emirates on Thursday became the first Gulf state to normalise relations with Israel, in a historic US-brokered […]
World reacts to ‘historic’ Israel-UAE deal
Israel and the UAE agreed to normalise relations, a historic shift making the Gulf state only the third Arab country to establish full diplomatic ties with the Jewish state. Here is how the world has reacted to Thursday’s announcement: – United States – “HUGE breakthrough today! Historic Peace Agreement between our two GREAT friends, Israel […]
Iran condemns Israel-UAE deal as ‘strategic stupidity’
Iran on Friday strongly condemned an agreement between Israel and the UAE to normalise ties, blasting it as an act of “strategic stupidity” that would only strengthen the Tehran-backed “axis of resistance”. The agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, announced by US President Donald Trump on Thursday, is only the third such accord […]
