s Iron Dome missile defence system has intercepted five rockets fired at the city of Ashkelon from the Gaza Strip and the military responded with a series of air strikes on the Hamas-controlled territory. No group has taken responsibility for firing the rockets, which were shot down on Thursday by Iron Dome's small radar-guided missiles over Ashkelon, a coastal city of about 125,000 people about seven...
alon dismisses US envoy as 'obsessive and messianic' Israel's defence minister has been forced to apologise for "offensive and inappropriate" remarks, in which he described John Kerry as obsessive and messianic, after the ensuing diplomatic row engulfed the secretary of state's mission to broker a peace deal in the Middle East. Moshe Ya'alon , an ally of Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, had...
s invisible force of Filipino carers of elderly people and those who are infirm was a little more visible on Wednesday after 47-year-old Rose Fostanes won Israeli X Factor, stunning judges and the public with her rendition of My Way. Fostanes, who has worked in the Middle East for 20 years to send money home to her family in the Philippines, said: "I'm speechless, I cannot say anything now. I can't...
t come clean? Deep beneath desert sands, an embattled Middle Eastern state has built a covert nuclear bomb, using technology and materials provided by friendly powers or stolen by a clandestine network of agents. It is the stuff of pulp thrillers and the sort of narrative often used to characterise the worst fears about the Iranian nuclear programme. In reality, though, neither US nor British intelligence...
s efforts to broker Middle East peace deal reported in Israeli newspaper American efforts to broker a peace deal in the Middle East were engulfed in a diplomatic row on Tuesday when the US state department lambasted a senior Israeli minister for "offensive and inappropriate" comments describing John Kerry as obsessive and messianic. Defence minister Moshe Ya'alon , an ally of Israeli prime minister...
s convoy for reckless driving in the West Bank, sparking a diplomatic spat. While the Israelis say they quickly allowed the convoy to pass on Tuesday, the Palestinians say the incident was a violation of their rights. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said Rami Hamdallah's car and another vehicle were stopped for speeding and "overtaking every vehicle in a dangerous way". Rosenfeld added that after...
s Final Journey. It was based on a discovery unearthed by Ehoud Netzer in May 2007 in the hills of Herodium, the tumulus south-east of Jerusalem. This find, the fruit of a 40-year quest by the Israeli archaeologist, was hailed as a revelation. However, some people now question whether the tomb really belonged to Herod, a major historical figure in Judeo-Roman history. One sceptic is the Israeli archaeologist,...
s iterations were based on the assumption that "there is no such thing as society"; Sharon's were based on the default that "there is no such thing as a Palestinian". Incompetent Keynesian elites were replaced with ideologically sound alternative incompetents. Both models are now irrevocably broken and contaminate the political debate in their respective countries, leaving those behind with far reduced...
s former prime minister is buried next to his late wife following formal state memorial ceremony at the Knesset His final journey was a fitting one for Israel's last great soldier-statesman. On the bare floor of an open-backed military truck, Ariel Sharon's flag-draped coffin jolted along a rough track to a hilltop spot overlooking his ranch on the edge of the Negev desert, where he was laid to rest...
s last great soldier-statesman. On the floor of an open-backed military truck, Ariel Sharon's coffin was brought up the hill overlooking his ranch on the edge of the Negev desert, to be placed in the ground next to his beloved late wife. The eight military generals first hoisted the flag-draped casket on to their shoulders with some difficulty, then manoeuvred it into the grave. Immediately they set...
Follow how events unfolded as Israel buried its former prime minister Ariel Sharon Matthew Weaver ...
Israel's former prime minister is remembered in Jerusalem. US vice-president Joe Biden and Middle East peace envoy Tony Blair join the ceremony ...
s legacy is the empowerment of some of the worst elements in Israel's dysfunctional politics Ariel Sharon, who died on Saturday after eight years in a coma, was one of Israel's most iconic and controversial figures. His long and chequered career as a soldier and politician largely revolved around one issue: the conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbours. As a soldier he was involved at the sharp...
s legacy is clear. They can see it from their windows: the monument of grey, graffitoed slabs topped with barbed wire and dotted with watchtowers that make up parts of the West Bank separation barrier . This aggressive line of control, which when complete will extend 700km, is the prime physical reminder of the life of a divisive leader whose affiliations and policies shifted dramatically but who could...
s death 'a holy day' In Israel, he was proudly known as "the bulldozer", but to Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and beyond, Ariel Sharon was "the butcher". His long record of overseeing violence, destruction and repression led many Palestinians to express joy at the news of the former Israeli leader's death at the weekend. In the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila, where hundreds of...
the bulldozer', polarised between war hero or war criminal, has intensified since his death Niri was in kindergarten when Ariel Sharon entered his eight-year twilight zone between life and death. Now, at the age of 12, she was on Sunday skipping school with two friends to pay her respects to the man who dominated Israel for decades and split the country, region and much of the world over his record...
Former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon has died aged 85 after being in a coma since 2006 ...
s passing away marks the end of an extraordinary eight-year journey from life to death after the former Israeli prime minister suffered a massive stroke at his farm in the Negev desert. Since 2006 Sharon had lain in a vegetative state in a private room at a long-term care centre near Tel Aviv, tended round the clock by dedicated nursing staff and watched over by two plain-clothes agents from the Shin...
s prime minister and wartime general who bestrode his country's history for more than 50 years Few global figures were as compelling as Ariel Sharon, the former Israeli prime minister who has died aged 85. A remarkable blend of maverick and mainstay, he fought in all of Israel's main wars and gave the impression of having been involved in every political development since the nation's birth in...
s military and political landscape for decades, has died eight years after a massive stroke left him in a vegetative state. The former army general and prime minister suffered multiple organ failure over the new year. His sons were at his bedside at the Sheba Medical Centre, a long-term care facility near Tel Aviv, where Sharon has lain since May 2006. His son Gilad said: "He has gone. He went when...