Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Arab countries viewed Israel as an “indispensable ally” fighting Iran and the militant Islamic State group. That evaluation, he told Brazil's Globo TV during a visit to Rio, has caused “a revolution in relations with the Arab world.” The comments came as Israel has stepped up air strikes on Iranian positions in neighboring Syria, and as Israel digested an abrupt decision by President Donald Trump to withdraw US troops from Syria. Netanyahu has repeatedly warned that…

Israeli leaders have lauded Donald Trump for his list of decisions in support of their country since taking office, but the mercurial president's withdrawal of US troops from Syria will not rank among them. After Trump's surprise announcement of the pullout last week, Israel is concerned over whether its main enemy Iran will have a freer hand to operate in the neighbouring country, analysts say. Israel's response to the announcement has been measured — careful to point out that it respects the US decision, coupled with…

JERUSALEM: Israeli police on Sunday said their investigation had found sufficient evidence for bribery and fraud charges to be brought against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife in a third corruption case against the Israeli leader. Authorities allege Netanyahu awarded regulatory favors to Bezeq Telecom Israel in return for more positive coverage of him and his wife on a news website, Walla, owned by the company. Netanyahu denies any wrongdoing. If indicted, the four-term prime minister would be facing one of…

Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip announced an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire with Israel on Tuesday after a severe escalation of violence threatened to descend into full-blown war. The groups, including Hamas, issued a joint statement saying they would abide by the ceasefire as long as Israel did the same. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office and the military had not commented on the announcement. Israel's hardline defence minister, Avigdor Lieberman, issued a statement saying he did not…

JERICHO: The United States will not present its long-awaited plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace any time soon and is instead trying to unilaterally change the terms of reference for any future proposal, a senior Palestinian official said on Saturday. Echoing deep scepticism among the Palestinians, Arab countries and analysts, Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian chief negotiator, said that the Trump administration was siding with Israel on the core issues of the decades-old conflict, burying all chances for Middle East peace.…

CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York to discuss the Middle East peace process in their first public talks, his office said on Tuesday. Sisi emphasised the importance of "resuming negotiations between the Israeli and Palestinian sides to reach a comprehensive solution," the statement said. The two leaders discussed "ways to resume the peace process and establish a Palestinian state," the statement said. Peace efforts between Israel and the…

WASHINGTON: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the United States on Sunday to seek a better deal to curb Iran's nuclear program and said he would press American lawmakers not give Tehran "a free path to the bomb."

JERUSALEM: Benjamin Netanyahu's allies acknowledged on Sunday that his election-eve disavowal of a Palestinian state had caused a rift with the White House, but blamed U.S. President Barack Obama's unprecedented criticism on a misunderstanding.

JERUSALEM: Millions of Israelis voted on Tuesday in a tightly fought election, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing an uphill battle to defeat a strong campaign by the center-left opposition to deny him a fourth term in office.

HAR HOMA, West Bank: Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a final bid to shore up right-wing support ahead of a knife-edge vote on Tuesday, said he would not permit a Palestinian state to be created under his watch if he is re-elected.