Paraguay will reopen its embassy in Israel in the coming weeks, after keeping it shuttered for almost a decade due to budgetary reasons. The country’s newly elected President Horacio Cartes informed Israeli officials of the decision on Wednesday. Elkin’s office quoted Cartes as saying that he was interested in strengthening...

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Moody’s yesterday affirmed Israel’s A1 rating, primarily citing the resilience and growth of the Jewish state’s economy. The rating agency declared that Israel’s “high-tech niche and entrepreneurial culture have continued to underpin its latent dynamism,” and noted that official reserves have risen “to record high levels.” The rating agency also emphasized, however,...

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Palestinian fighters in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip fired rockets at Israel on Tuesday night. At least once rocket fell on the Gaza side of the Israeli-Gaza border, while another struck Israel. The Times of Israel notes that Israel’s November Operation Pillar of Defense against Hamas’s military infrastructure – which Jerusalem...

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Earlier this week Palestinian diplomats expressed surprise and outrage at an Israeli announcement that Jerusalem had approved construction of new homes beyond the Jewish state’s 1948 borders. Foreign media outlets described the move as driven by a “secret deal” involving an “ultranationalist” party. Palestinian officials explicitly suggested that the new...

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Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Martin Dempsey met yesterday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a range of issues The Israeli leader afterward declared in a press conference that Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons “dwarfs” other regional threats. Yaakov Lappin, the Jerusalem Post’s defense correspondent, had contextualized Dempsey’s trip...

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Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system yesterday intercepted a rocket fired from the Egypt-controlled Sinai Peninsula and aimed at the southern resort city of Eilat. Islamist militants operating in the lawless desert peninsula said they fired the rocket at the city, which was packed with tourists, in retaliation for the killing of...

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An Egyptian military source told journalists over the weekend that a mysterious blast in the northern Sinai Peninsula last week – which had been ascribed to an Israeli drone strike – was in fact the result of an unannounced security operation to crack down on “terrorists and jihadists.” Confusion has swirled around...

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Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday lashed out against renewed Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, calling on the Muslim world to support the Palestinian cause and condemn Israel: “The Muslim world must not back down from its support for Palestine, and it should condemn the oppressive action of fierce Zionist wolves and...

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Palestinian Authority (PA) negotiators had long declared that they would not return to U.S.-backed peace negotiations unless Israel committed to releasing prisoners linked to violence and terrorism. Israel committed to releasing 104 such prisoners, emphasizing that the move was a good will gesture aimed at restarting talks. The list of...

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The United States has dispatched a series of its most senior military officers to Israel, where they have been meeting with counterparts and discussing a range of regional issues. High on all of the agendas is Iran. Gen. Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staffis, is due to...

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