Israel is easing its blockade on Gaza, the Defense Ministry confirmed to local media. Israel will allow previously banned construction material into the coastal strip, it was reported Wednesday. The loosening of restrictions comes following the Egyptian-mediated truce last month between the Palestinian leadership in Gaza and Israel that ended Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense….
Actresses Natalie Portman and Kristen Stewart are Hollywood’s most bankable stars and provide studios with the highest average returns for their films, according to Forbes.com. Academy award winner Portman topped the list of best actors for the buck, providing about $42.70 for every dollar she earns. “Black Swan,” for which she won her best actress…
Ronald Perelman has notched a legal victory against fellow billionaire Ira Rennert, who has been ordered by a Delaware court to direct his business to turn over $48.7 million in a dispute over a jointly owned truck maker. The two moguls have battled in court for the past six months over a 2004 deal in…
The Hamas government in Gaza has forbidden local journalists from working with Israeli media outlets. The weekly Cabinet meeting in Gaza decided to ban Palestinian journalists from working “with all Zionist media and journalists,” which it declared “hostile,” it announced in a statement, the French news agency AFP reported. The Cabinet has forbidden the local…
A delegation of Arab ministers and high-ranking officials led by Arab League Chief Nabil Elaraby will visit Ramallah on Saturday to offer moral support and discuss financial aid for the Palestinian Authority, an Arab League source said on Wednesday. Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr and Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh are among those heading…
A temple and sacred vessels from the First Temple period were discovered near Jerusalem. The nearly 3,000-year-old temple was unearthed by the Israel Antiquities Authority during excavations at the Tel Motza archaeological site west of Jerusalem, prior to work being carried out on a planned expansion of Highway 1. “The ritual building at Tel Motza…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly has asked the Jewish Agency to come up with a solution for non-Orthodox women’s groups who want to pray at the Western Wall. Netanyahu asked Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky to examine the issue, the Associated Press reported citing an unnamed Israeli government official. The AP quoted Jewish Agency…
Russia’s upper parliament house unanimously approved a bill on Wednesday that would ban Americans from adopting Russian children, in retaliation for a U.S. law that punishes Russians accused of human rights violations. The bill, which President Vladimir Putin has hinted he will sign, would also outlaw some U.S.-funded non-governmental organisations and impose visa bans and…
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called an urgent meeting for Wednesday afternoon with members of his Likud party serving as council chairmen in the West Bank, to express his support for the these settlements. The meeting was scheduled in the wake of a media confrontation between Likud and the religious Zionist Habayit Hayehudi party, and…
A senior Hamas leader has called for a third intifada, including suicide bus bombings in Israel. Hamas Jerusalem bureau chief Ahmed Halabiyeh on Tuesday called for new, violent action against Israel on Tuesday, saying that that ”we must renew the resistance to occupation in any possible way, above all through armed resistance.” He called for…
Former Israeli Chief Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron was charged with fraud for his alleged involvement in a scam that issued false rabbinic credentials to civil servants. It reportedly is the first time a chief rabbi has been charged with fraud. Other charged levied against him on Monday include attempted fraud and breach of trust. He is…
