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TEL AVIV — Israel has blocked exports of unmanned aerial vehicles for foreign militaries. Industry sources said the Israeli Defense Ministry vetoed requests by major companies for UAV exports. They said the proposed exports stemmed from political pressure by the United States. Israel’s business daily Globes said the UAV deals affected such producers as the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries, Elbit Systems and Aeronautics Defense. Globes said the restrictions imposed by the Defense Ministry was dampening UAV and other military exports.

Four Israeli female soldiers have been disciplined after pictures of themselves dressed only in their underwear and combat gear were posted on Facebook. The Israeli military said yesterday the group of women were punished for their 'unbecoming behaviour' after the pictures emerged on local news sites. The images, published on Israeli news site Walla, showed the soldiers removing their fatigues to expose their underwear and back sides.

Israelis’ “sense of security” prevents them from feeling sufficient urgency to resume peace talks with the Palestinians, US Secretary of State John Kerry said in Jerusalem Thursday, warning of fast-approaching “challenges” that required a change of approach for the Jewish State. “I think there is an opportunity [for peace], but for many reasons it’s not on the tips of everyone’s tongue,” Kerry told reporters before entering a meeting with President Shimon Peres. “People in Israel aren’t waking up every day and wondering if tomorrow there will be peace because there is a sense of security and a sense of accomplishment...

Israeli officials on Saturday reportedly confirmed the Israeli Air Force carried out a strike against Syria and say it targeted a shipment of advanced missiles. The officials said the shipment was not of chemical arms, but of “game changing” weapons bound for the terror group Hezbollah. One official said the target was a shipment of advanced, long-range ground-to-ground missiles.

An Iranian citizen has been arrested for spying on Israeli sites in an apparent search for a target, Channel 2 news reports. The man was found to be in possession of a false Israeli passport. He had received the false passport in Malaysia and had successfully used it to enter Nepal and Sri Lanka. He was seen by an Israeli as he spied on the Israeli embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal. He reportedly confessed to the suspicions against him.

It's Passover, and although Barack Hussein Obama's lineage is far removed from that of Abraham, the man should at least put a little of the emergency transfusion blood that they bring along in the president's motorcade over the lintels of his door. Mr. Obama's first trip to Israel as president was similar to his Jakarta jaunt in 2010 and his "Return to Moneygall" tour in 2011. In Indonesia, the trip was cut short when Java's Mount Merapi began spewing ash in Air Force One's direction. In Ireland, while revisiting his roots, Obama's limo got hung up on a bump as...

"This is part of the lively debate we talked about," Obama said. "This is good." He added, "You know, I have to say, we actually arranged for that because it made me feel at home. You know, I wouldn't feel comfortable if I didn't have at least one heckler." The heckler appeared to be screaming in Hebrew, though it's not clear what he was saying. UPDATE: The White House pool reporter adds: There was a heckler about 15 minutes into remarks. Man standing to Obama’s left back near center press platform began shouting in Hebrew. A reliable Hebrew speaker seated...

The map of the Middle East displayed in an Obama administration video released days before President Barack Obama’s visit to Israel shows the Jewish state dispossessed of substantial parts of its current territory, including its capital. The map of Israel, displayed repeatedly during the video, shows the Golan Heights, Jerusalem, northern Israel, and areas surrounding what is currently the West Bank as non-Israeli territory. The Golan Heights is shown as part of Syria; Jerusalem is shown as part of the West Bank; and northern Israel is shown as part of Lebanon. The itinerary on the White House website also implies...

Channel 2 is broadcasting its interview with the president, ahead of his scheduled arrival in Israel on Wednesday Ahead of his first visit to Israel as president next Wednesday, Barack Obama was interviewed yesterday by Israel’s Channel 2. The interview at the White House, with news anchor Yonit Levy, is being screened this evening. Follow it here. Pollard committed a very serious crime Spy-for-Israel Jonathan Pollard “committed a very serious crime” and Obama has to follow the rules of review in his case. No plans to release him “immediately.” But he’ll be “accorded the same kinds of review” open to...

Three Israeli surfers went to the aid of eight children struggling in the waters off Hawaii on Saturday, Channel 2 television reported, after huge waves began surging toward the coast. The three - Tzvika Elias, Yair Naftali and Gabi Liptz - were hailed as heroes by the children’s parents. “We had gone to a remote beach half an hour from Honolulu,” 30-year-old Elias, who lives in New York, told Channel 2. “The waves there were high, huge breakers about four meters high, and as the minutes past, the waves got stronger and even higher.” Elias and his friends then saw...

More than a dozen Israeli citizens are facing immigration charges for overstaying their visas after federal agents arrested them working at kiosks in the Galleria and The Woodlands Mall. Shortly before the two malls closed late Wednesday night, federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations arrested 13 Israeli citizens along with an immigrant from Moldova. They were detained on administrative charges of remaining in the U.S. beyond the expiration date of their tourist and student visas, confirmed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Greg Palmore. The eight women and six men detained Treasury approved big

JERUSALEM – In a stunning setback, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-line bloc fared worse than expected in a parliamentary election Tuesday, exit polls showed, possibly forcing the incumbent Israeli leader to invite surprisingly strong moderate rivals into his government and soften his line toward the Palestinians. TV exit polls showed the hard-liners with about 61 seats in the 120-seat parliament, a bare majority, and the counts could change as actual votes are tallied. The unofficial TV results had Netanyahu winning only 31 seats, though he combined his Likud Party with the far-right Yisrael Beitenu for the voting. Running separately four...

The White House is closely following the elections in Israel, Channel 10 News reported on Tuesday. According to the report, the U.S. is particularly concerned over the growing strength of the Habayit Hayehudi (The Jewish Home) in the polls and over the fact that there is hardly talk about negotiations with the Palestinian Authority as part of the election campaign. The U.S. is concerned, according to Channel 10, that Bennett's strengthening will cause Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, in turn, to strengthen the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. The report comes on the heels of the harsh criticism by President...

Archaeologists have discovered a 2,750-year-old temple along with a cache of sacred artifacts, providing rare insight into religious practices at the time, the Israeli Antiquities Authority announced Wednesday. The temple was uncovered west of Jerusalem, at the Tel Motza archaeological site, in preparation for work on Highway 1. Among the finds are pottery figurines, fragments of chalices and decorated pedestals, which indicate the site was the stomping ground of a ritual cult. "The ritual building at Tel Motza is an unusual and striking find, in light of the fact that there are hardly any remains of ritual buildings of the...

Today the National Journal reported that Obama is reconsidering his decision to appoint Chuck Hagel Secretary of Defense. As I wrote in my previous post, there is no chance that Obama will appoint a supporter of a strong Israel to any senior foreign policy post because he wouldn't appoint someone who doesn't share his basic animosity towards Israel. But in Hagel, he chose someone even more outspoken in his animus towards the Jewish state than Obama. Hagel's looming appointment provoked angry responses from many leading Jewish voices in the US. Whether this opposition made a difference in driving Obama to...

For the second day in a row, the Obama adminstration criticized Israel on Tuesday for its decision to build new housing units in the northern Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo, often wrongly described by anti-Israeli media as an "illegal settlement in east Jerusalem". “We are deeply disappointed that Israel insists on continuing this pattern of provocative action,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters. “These repeated announcements and plans of new construction run counter to the cause of peace. "Israel’s leaders continually say that they support a path towards a two-state solution, yet these actions only put that goal further...

From 1900 to the late 1990’s, there were no mass school shootings. Lest it be thought that guns were uncommon in schools, that was not the case. Guns were commonly brought to school for shooting competitions, hunting after school, for teachers to trade or show to each other or their students, or for show and tell. Guns were even made in shop class under the supervision of the shop teacher. Guns were common in gun racks in pickup trucks in the school parking lot. Even today, many schools provide special dispensation for students to take off from school for deer...

Supporters and opponents alike of gun control will point to this fact in the coming days: Connecticut already has some of the toughest restrictions on gun laws in the United States. For gun control supporters, the shooting at a Newtown elementary school will be one more piece of evidence that even stronger laws are needed, including at the national level. “We have some of the strongest gun laws in the United States, but if you don’t have strong federal gun laws, that makes it that much more difficult,” said Ron Pinciaro, executive director of Connecticut Against Gun Violence. But advocates...

Israel's ambassador to the United States warned Sunday that any evidence of chemical weapons being passed from the Assad regime to extremist groups like Hezbollah would be a "game-changer," and said that would be a "red line" for Israel. The remark comes amid claims that the Syrian regime is mixing and moving the components for the deadly sarin nerve gas. Ambassador Michael Oren said he could not confirm those reports but made clear that Israel is watching the situation "very carefully." "Were those weapons to pass into the wrong hands -- Hezbollah's hands for example -- that would be a...

WASHINGTON - The White House said on Friday a new Israeli settlement expansion plan was "counterproductive" and could make it harder to bring Israel and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table. "We reiterate our longstanding opposition to settlements and east Jerusalem construction and announcements," White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said.