Israeli university heads defend free speech in prize dispute

JERUSALEM (AP) — Presidents of Israeli universities released a joint letter Friday criticizing the government's decision to withhold the country's most prestigious prize from a scholar over his political views, saying it “severely harms free speech and free thought.” ...

Analysis: Attack on Iran ship off Yemen escalates shadow war

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An attack this week on an Iranian cargo ship that is said to serve as a floating base for Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard forces off the coast of Yemen has escalated a yearslong shadow war in Mideast waters. The development comes just as world...

Syria: Israeli strikes near capital Damascus wound 4 troops

BEIRUT (AP) — Israel carried out a missile attack near the Syrian capital of Damascus and its southern suburbs early Thursday that wounded four soldiers, Syria’s state media said. State news agency, SANA, quoted an unidentified military official as saying that Syrian...

On Holocaust Day, Netanyahu issues warning about Iran

JERUSALEM (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday urged the world not to revive the troubled international nuclear deal with Iran as he opened Israel's annual memorial day for the 6 million Jews who perished in the Holocaust. Speaking as world powers are...

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin picks Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to try to form a new government

Netanyahu asked to form new government, but faces long odds

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s president on Tuesday handed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the difficult task of trying to form a new government, giving the embattled Israeli leader a chance to extend his lengthy term in office. But with the newly elected parliament...

Israel, Palestinians at odds over deadly West Bank shooting

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel and the Palestinians put forth competing claims after Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian man early Tuesday at a temporary vehicle checkpoint in the occupied West Bank near Jerusalem. The military said the soldiers thwarted an attempted...

Israel's Netanyahu in court as parties weigh in on his fate

JERUSALEM (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial resumed Monday, with a key witness painting a picture of an image-obsessed Israeli leader forcing a prominent news site to flatter his family and smear his opponents. The testimony came as...

Former Netanyahu ally Bennett recommends himself for prime minister, deepening Israel's political deadlock

Arab Islamist shows clout with prime-time speech in Israel

JERUSALEM (AP) — The leader of an Arab Islamist party in Israel delivered a prime-time address in Hebrew on Thursday that was carried live by major TV networks, calling for coexistence between Arabs and Jews in a stunning display of the community's newfound political influence. ...