Israel and Israeli News

Country Profile
Israel is a country in the Middle East along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea.Israel is defined as a Jewish and Democratic State in its Basic Laws and is the World's only Jewish Majority State.
The State of Israel is divided into 6 main administrative districts, known as mehozot .Districts are further divided into fifteen sub-districts known as nafot.
Capital                                     Jerusalem
Currency                                  Shekel
Official Language                      Hebrew,Arabic
Population                                7.9 Million(2011 Estimate)
Ethnic Groups                           75% Jews,20% Arab and 5% Others


History
  
Israeli Declaration of Independence
Following the adoption of a resolution by the UN General Assembly on Nov 29, 1947 recommending the adoption and implementation of the UN plan to partition Palestine, on May 14, 1948 David Ben-Gurion, the Executive Head of the World Zionist Organisation and president of the Jewish Agency for Palestine,declared  the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel, a state independent from the British Mandate for Palestine.

1948 Arab-Israeli War
The armies of 5 Arab countries—Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon and Iraq—attacked Israel .After a year of fighting, a ceasefire was declared and temporary borders, known as the Green Line, were established. Jordan annexed what became known as the West Bank and East Jerusalem and Egypt took control of the Gaza Strip . The UN estimated that more than 700,000 Palestinians wereexpelled or fled  from what would become Israel during the conflict.


Politics and Government
Israel is a Parliamentary Democratic Republic where the President of Israel is the Head of State and Prime Minister of Israel is the Head of Govt .

President of the State of Israel
The President of the State of Israel is the Head of State elected by the Knesset(Israeli Parliament)by absolute majority for a 7 year term and cannot be re-elected for a second term.

The current President of Israel is Shimon Peres in office from July 15,2007 .

Prime Minister of Israel
The PM of Israel is the Head of the Govt and Head of the Cabinet

The current prime minister is Benjamin Netanyahu(Likud), the 9th person to hold the position (excluding caretakers)

Knesset(Parliament of Israel)

 

Israel is governed by a 120-member parliament, known as the Knesset. Membership of the Knesset is based on proportional representation of political parties with a 2% electoral threshold, which in practice has resulted in coalition governments.Parliamentary elections are scheduled every four years.

PM Benjamin Netanyahu calls early poll -Tuesday Oct 9,2012

 

Israel's PM has called an early general election, which could come as soon as January, nine months ahead of schedule.Benjamin Netanyahu said he had decided to pull the date forward because bickering among his coalition partners had made it impossible to pass a "responsible budget" for 2013.

Benjamin Netanyahu said the new elections for the 120-member Knesset - the Israeli parliament - would take place "as soon as possible."
His right-wing coalition government has been in power since 2009.
Although he remains a popular leader he has been unable to agree the annual budget with his coalition partners.

Israel's Air Attacks in Gaza - Nov 2012
At least 30 Palestinians and three Israelis have died since Israel killed Hamas's military chief on Wednesday Nov 14,2012.The group's military leader Ahmed Jabari was killed by an Israeli air strike on Wednesday. A senior commander was killed on Nov 16,2012 Friday, officials said.

Militants and civilians, including at least 7 children, have been among the Palestinians killed during the Israeli bombardment, Hamas says

Israel's army says the operation - codenamed Pillar of Defence - has hit more than 800 sites in Gaza, including underground rocket launchers & infrastructure.

It said some 550 rockets had been fired into Israel from Gaza since Nov 14,2012 Wednesday, a quarter of which had been intercepted by its radar defence system - Iron Dome.

Militants in Gaza have continued to fire rockets into Israel, aiming at Tel Aviv and Jerusalem on Nov 16,2012 Friday.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has accused Israel of carrying out "massacres".


Western leaders and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon have appealed for both sides to stop the escalation in violence.

Called by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, US President Barack Obama reiterated his country's support for Israel's "right to defend itself".

Israel Air Strikes hit Hamas Headquarters

Israeli air strikes hit the cabinet headquarters of Gaza'sHamas Govt. on Nov 17,2012 Saturday after militants fired rockets at Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.The Hamas government said its cabinet headquarters was targeted with four strikes, and witnesses reported extensive damage to the building.




Israel - Gaza Ceasefire -Thursday Nov 22,2012

Israel and Hamas finally agreed to ceasefire from 9:00 PM on Wednesday––eight days after the start of conflict.

According to Al-Ahram Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas at a Press conference in Cairo held Wednesday at 7:30pm local time. The ceasefire was set to come into effect at 9 PM.

A ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians appeared to be holding on Thursday Nov 22,2012 after eight days of fighting in the Gaza Strip that claimed more than 160 lives.

Under the truce, which will be guaranteed by Egypt on the Palestinian side, Israel agreed to "stop all hostilities in the Gaza Strip by land, sea and air including incursions and targeting of individuals".

In exchange it committed "all Palestinian factions" to "stop all hostilities from the Gaza Strip against Israel including rocket attacks and all attacks along the border".

Leaders on both sides(Israel and Palestinians) were quick to claim victory -

Khaled Meshaal, the exiled leader of Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, said at a press conference in Cairo that Israel had "failed in its adventure" when it launched attacks on Gaza and had been forced to accept Palestinian terms.

The Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, said Israel had destroyed thousands of missiles as well as Hamas installations.

Palestinians celebrate the beginning of the truce with Israel in Gaza City

Defence Minister Ehud Barak Quitting Politics - Nov 26,2012

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak shook up the Israeli political system on Monday Nov 26,2012 with the abrupt announcement that he is quitting politics and will not run in general elections in January 2013.
Ehud Barak,who is also a former prime minister, says he’ll stay on in his current post until a new government is formed following the Jan. 22,2013 balloting.
Ehud Barak and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who enjoyed a close working relationship for most of the past four years, reportedly have fallen out over whether to defer to the U.S. on any attack against Iranian nuclear facilities

 Avigdor Lieberman,Israeli Foreign Minister Resigns -Friday Dec 14,2012

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has resigned after prosecutors decided to charge him with breach of trust.The case against him relates to a financial scandal dating back more than a decade.

Avigdor Lieberman is the leader of Yisrael Beitenu, the second largest party in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud-led coalition government.