This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareJERUSALEM — Israel, like many high-income countries, is moving quickly to roll out newly approved coronavirus vaccines, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu getting the symbolic first shot Saturday. But next door in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the prospects for vaccinating almost 5 million Palestinians are far less certain, as financial, political and logistical hurdles could delay inoculations against the raging pandemic for months.The split highlights not only the tense disparities between Israel and the Palestinian...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareJERUSALEM — Israel, like many high-income countries, is moving quickly to roll out newly approved coronavirus vaccines, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu getting the symbolic first shot Saturday. But next door in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the prospects for vaccinating almost 5 million Palestinians are far less certain, as financial, political and logistical hurdles could delay inoculations against the raging pandemic for months.The split highlights not only the tense disparities between Israel and the Palestinian...WW…

This article was published more than 1 year agoCommentGift ShareTEL AVIV — Itamar Ben Gvir hails from a fringe of Israeli politics so extreme it was outlawed. A lawyer known for defending Jewish settlers accused of violence against Arabs, he has roots in the overtly racist Kach party, founded by radical American Rabbi Meir Kahane and banned by Israel decades ago.But now, Ben Gvir and thousands of new-generation ­Kahanists are on the verge of a political comeback, thanks to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s need for parliamentary seats in Tuesday’s national election.Backed by...…This article was published more than 1 year agoCommentGift ShareTEL AVIV — Itamar Ben Gvir hails from a fringe of Israeli politics so extreme it was outlawed. A lawyer known for defending Jewish settlers accused of violence against Arabs, he has roots in the overtly racist Kach party, founded by radical American Rabbi Meir Kahane and banned by Israel decades ago.But now, Ben Gvir and thousands of new-generation ­Kahanists are on the verge of a political comeback, thanks to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s need for parliamentary seats in Tuesday’s national election.Backed by...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareSHA’AR EFRAIM, Israel — Israel on Monday kicked off its two-week campaign to vaccinate more than 100,000 Palestinians carrying Israeli work permits even as inoculations remain a distant dream for most residents of the West Bank.At the crossing of Sha'ar Efraim, the Israeli military set up one of eight vaccination centers along the 440-mile-long barrier dividing Israel from the Palestinian territories with the capacity to vaccinate 1,000 people a day.“It is within both Israeli and Palestinian interests that we vaccinate...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareSHA’AR EFRAIM, Israel — Israel on Monday kicked off its two-week campaign to vaccinate more than 100,000 Palestinians carrying Israeli work permits even as inoculations remain a distant dream for most residents of the West Bank.At the crossing of Sha'ar Efraim, the Israeli military set up one of eight vaccination centers along the 440-mile-long barrier dividing Israel from the Palestinian territories with the capacity to vaccinate 1,000 people a day.“It is within both Israeli and Palestinian interests that we vaccinate...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareJERUSALEM — Israel's top environmental official on Wednesday accused Iran of deliberately causing the major oil spill that despoiled Israel's Mediterranean coastline last month, an act she described as "environmental terrorism."Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel said investigators from her ministry had traced the spill, which authorities have described as one of Israel’s worst ecological disasters, to an unregistered Libyan tanker. The ship had called on an Iranian port before approaching the Israeli coast...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareJERUSALEM — Israel's top environmental official on Wednesday accused Iran of deliberately causing the major oil spill that despoiled Israel's Mediterranean coastline last month, an act she described as "environmental terrorism."Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel said investigators from her ministry had traced the spill, which authorities have described as one of Israel’s worst ecological disasters, to an unregistered Libyan tanker. The ship had called on an Iranian port before approaching the Israeli coast...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareBNEI BRAK, Israel — The Shinfelds, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish family in this most religious of cities, are used to being a bit at odds with the rest of Israel. Their community's tradition of large families — the couple has 10 children and 30 grandchildren — strict observance and exemption from military service have long created friction with the more secular majority.But they say they have never felt hostility like they do now, as a pandemic-exhausted nation has turned its rage at ultra-Orthodox scofflaws.As Israel endures...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareBNEI BRAK, Israel — The Shinfelds, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish family in this most religious of cities, are used to being a bit at odds with the rest of Israel. Their community's tradition of large families — the couple has 10 children and 30 grandchildren — strict observance and exemption from military service have long created friction with the more secular majority.But they say they have never felt hostility like they do now, as a pandemic-exhausted nation has turned its rage at ultra-Orthodox scofflaws.As Israel endures...WW…