Bloomberg index places Israel as 5th ‘Most Innovative Economy’ in the world

The 2019 Bloomberg Innovation Index advanced Israel from 10th place last year to 5th place this year as a result of better patent registration, outpacing the US, China, the UK and Japan.

By ILANIT CHERNICK

 

Israel has been named as the fifth most innovative economy in the world, according to the 2019 Bloomberg Innovation Index.

Last year, Israel was ranked in 10th place but this year jumped to fifth place as a result of better patent registration, which has played a large part in its improvement in the rankings.

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Israeli Navy rescues French sailor drifting off Gaza coast

After several weeks lost in the Mediterranean, a French mariner is picked up by an Israel Naval patrol after his yacht malfunctioned and was discovered adrift off the Gaza coastline.

By Yoav Zitun

 

International rescue: The Israeli Navy recovered a lost and injured French sailor aboard a yacht floating in the waters off the Gaza Strip on Friday.

The small yacht’s steering system had malfunctioned during a storm several weeks ago, and since then the vessel had been drifting in the Mediterranean Sea. The stranded man had fallen ill during his time lost at sea, and was evacuated to a nearby Israeli hospital to recover. Continue Reading »

Following shots fired at Israeli troops, IDF tank destroys Hamas post

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said no Israeli soldiers were injured after being targeted by sniper gunfire, and no immediate reports of casualties following the tank’s response on the Hamas ruled enclave.

By i24NEWS

 

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Tuesday that one of its tanks attacked a Hamas observation post in the northern Gaza Strip after Israeli soldiers were targeted by gunfire near the volatile security fence.

The IDF said that no Israeli soldiers were injured in the shooting incident, and there were no immediate reports of casualties following the artillery strike in the Palestinian enclave.

IDF Merkava Mark IVm tank with Trophy APS, photographed on the Gaza border.

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UPDATE: Israeli airstrike in Syria killed 12 Iranian Revolutionary Guard Soldiers

Despite Tehran’s denials of Iranian soldiers in Syria, the updated report from a UK-based NGO has 12 Iranian from the Revolutionary Guard killed along with 6 Syrian soldiers and three other non-Syrian nationals in the Israeli airstrike that was carried out by three squadrons of IAF jets.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF

 

Twelve soldiers belonging to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps were killed in Sunday’s Israeli airstrikes on Damascus’s International Airport, the UK-based NGO Syrian Observatory for Human Rights charged on Tuesday.

The report said 21 people were killed in total, among them six members of Bashar Assad’s regime forces and 15 non-Syrian nationals. Continue Reading »

Israel Closes Toxic UNRWA Schools in Jerusalem

Former-Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat had been advocating for the closure of the Hamas endorsed UNRWA schools for years, arguing that all the schools in metropolitan Jerusalem should be overseen by the Israel Ministry of Education.

By Israel Today Staff

 

The Israeli government has decided to shut down schools operated by the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem.

While there are numerous refugee populations in the world, the only one enjoying the support of its own dedicated UN agency (UNRWA) is the so-called Palestinian “refugee” population (though it is debatable whether or not they can even be called genuine refugees). Continue Reading »

UPDATE: Jordan lodges complaint against Israel’s new Ramon International Airport

The new airport’s air strip is slated to open January 22 and is 18 kilometers (11.2 miles) away from the Kingdom’s border. Close to Israeli’s southern resort town of Eilat, the modern airport is expected to become a major regional transport hub.
– WATCH: PM Netanyahu speaks directly with Ramon International Airport control tower as first inbound flight prepares to land.

By i24NEWS

 

Jordan protested the opening of a new international airport just kilometers away from its border with Israel, local media reported on Sunday.

The Jordanian government has expressed concerns about the Ramon international airport as early as 2015. Continue Reading »

REPORT: Hezbollah leader arrested, guarded by Iranian forces for embezzlement

According to Saudi news outlet Al-Watan, Hezbollah’s leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah is reportedly still receiving medical treatment but under house arrest and guarded by Iranian forces until he divulges location of tens of millions of dollars missing from Hezbollah bank accounts.

By Israel Hayom Staff

 

Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah is suspected of embezzling millions of dollars from the terrorist organization’s coffers, the Saudi website Al-Watan Online reported Saturday.

According to Al-Watan, Nasrallah is under house arrest, guarded by Iranian forces, and is reportedly receiving medical treatment.

Hezbollah’s chief Hassan Nasrallah leaves his hidden underground bunker to deliver a rare speech in public.

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HISTORY MADE: Netanyahu flies over South Sudan from Chad to Israel

For the first time, Sudan, which retains air control over its Southern neighbor, has given PM Netanyahu’s state aircraft permission to fly over South Sudan from Chad’s capital of N’Djamena to Israel.

By HERB KEINON

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew back from Chad Sunday over South Sudan, the first time Sudan —  which still retains air control authority over South Sudan — has given an Israeli aircraft permission to fly over its southern neighbor.

This less circuitous route trimmed about an hour off the flight time from Chad’s capital of N’Djamena to Tel Aviv. However, the plane was still unable to fly the most direct route, which would have been north from Chad through the southwestern corner of Sudan into Egypt and then on to Israel.

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Ignoring Russia warning, IDF strikes Iranian targets in Syria, 11 killed

Report: 4 Syrians among 11 reportedly killed in IAF airstrikes on Iranian targets in Syria, including multiple Syrian surface-to-air missile batteries.
– WATCH IAF targets being hit.

By David Rosenberg

 

A total of 11 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Syria overnight, a monitor group claimed Monday morning.

Israeli fighter planes hit a number of Iranian positions in Syria, the IDF said Monday morning, in response to the launching of a surface-to-surface rocket that was carried out on Sunday by Iranian Quds forces operating in Syrian territory.

The targets of the predawn Israeli strikes Monday morning included Iranian weapons depots, an Iranian intelligence site, and a military training camp used by Iranian forces in Syria. Continue Reading »

REPORT: Palestinian-American exiled to U.S. for land sale to Jews

Palestinian autocrat Mahmoud Abbas has agreed to release 55 yr-old Issam Akel from “life in prison” and allowed him to be deported to the US after being convicted of selling home to Jews.

By i24NEWS

 

A middle-aged Palestinian-American man sentenced to life in prison and forced labor by a Palestinian Authority (PA) court in Ramallah for his alleged involvement in the sale of land to Jews, was released on Tuesday, Israel’s Kan media first reported following pressure from Israel and finally from the United States, local media reported.

55-year-old Issam Akel former hospital clerk from East Jerusalem has been detained for several months after being arrested in October at a time when the Palestinian Authority (PA) decided to crack down on land sales to Jews. Continue Reading »

USAID terminates Palestinian projects as ‘Pay to Slay’ continues by PA

Expressing deep concern over funding cuts, former USAID Mission Director Dave Harden thinks the U.S. administration “demonstrates again a lack of nuance,” relieving Palestinian leadership of all responsibility for preferring to continue policies that finance terror.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

 

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) will end all its projects in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on January 31 following the US administration’s decision to cut funding to the Palestinians, Dave Harden, former USAID Mission Director and Managing Director of the Georgetown Strategy Group, said on Thursday.

Critical graffiti on a USAID Advertisement by unappreciative Palestinians saying, “We don’t need your aid,” West Bank, Jan 2007 – Photo: Wikimedia,David Lisbona

Expressing deep concern over the move, Harden told The Jerusalem Post that the US administration “demonstrates again a lack of nuance, sophistication, and appreciation for the complexity of the situation.” Continue Reading »

Report: US won’t stop Israel from attacking Iranian targets in Iraq

Russia Today reports US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo telling the Iraqi PM that the US will not prevent Israel’s Air Force from attacking Iranian targets in Iraq.

By Elad Benari

 

The United States has told Iraq that it will not intervene if Israel attacks Iranian targets in the country, Russia Today’s Arabic-language news service reported on Thursday.

The network, which cited an unnamed Iraqi government official, said US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo conveyed the message during his meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi in Baghdad last week.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

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Mahmoud Abbas’ PA rejects US Peace Plan that was revealed on Israel 13News

Responding to the latest ‘Deal of the Century’ leak, Abbas’ spokesman said, “Any peace plan that does not include an independent Palestinian state – with all of East Jerusalem as its capital – on the 1967 borders, is destined to fail.”

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

 

The Palestinian Authority said on Wednesday that “any peace plan that does not include an independent Palestinian state – with all of East Jerusalem as its capital – on the 1967 borders, is destined to fail.”

The PA was responding to a report on Channel 13 News that claimed that US President Donald Trump’s “deal of the century” will include a Palestinian state on 85% – 90% of the West Bank and some parts of east Jerusalem. Continue Reading »

Hamas arrests 3 Italian security personnel mistaken for IDF soldiers

Only after the Italian Ambassador spoke with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh were the Italian security guards released, having fled into a UNESCO building in Gaza, then held for two days of questioning by Hamas security.

By Ynet

 

Hamas on Tuesday night released three Italian security guards held for two days at the UNESCO offices in the Gaza Strip on suspicion of being part of an IDF undercover force. The three were freed following intervention by the Italian ambassador to Israel.

The men, who were armed, entered the Strip to prepare for a visit of Italian Ambassador to Israel Gianluigi Benedetti on Wednesday. Continue Reading »

Israel 13News: Trump peace plan gives 90% of W.Bank to Palestinians, divides Jerusalem

President Trump’s “Deal of the Century” has both sides making concessions for a final peace settlement, but the Israeli government will have to “pay a higher price” in return for the President’s recognition of Jerusalem and his relocation of the US embassy there.

By i24NEWS

 

The United States Middle East peace plan will let Israel keep three major settlement blocs while 90% of the West Bank will be allocated for a Palestinian state, Israel’s Channel 13 reported on Wednesday.

Citing a “senior American official”, the report revealed that the peace plan will allow Israel to annex the settlements of the Etzion Bloc, Ma’ale Adumim and Ariel, while requiring Israel to dismantle a number of illegal outposts across the West Bank. Continue Reading »