An Israeli minister lashed out at world media on Wednesday, accusing them of bias against Israel and defended Israel's handling of the case of an American graduate student held in detention at the country's international airport for the past week over allegations that she supports a boycott against the Jewish state.

Lara Alqasem, a 22-year-old American citizen with Palestinian grandparents, landed at Ben-Gurion Airport last week with a valid student visa and was registered to study human rights at Israel's Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

But she was barred from entering the country and ordered deported, based on suspicions that she supports the Palestinian-led boycott movement.

An Israeli court has ordered that she remain in custody while she appeals, although Israel says she can leave the country.

The weeklong detention is the longest anyone has been held in a boycott-related case.

Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan said in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday that Israel had the right to protect itself and decide who enters its borders despite growing international criticism.

His remarks come after the Times published an opinion piece by columnist Bret Stephens and editor Bari Weiss critical of Israel's handling of Alqasem's case.

More than 300 academics penned a letter in the British Guardian Wednesday calling the case "an attack on academic freedom."

While waiting for her appeal to be heard, Alqasem has been spending her days in a closed area with little access to a telephone, no internet and a bed that was infested with bedbugs, according to people who have spoken to her.

Erdan insisted Alqasem was not detained and was free to return to the US, but chose to remain at Ben Gurion airport in a move he suggested was part of an anti-Israel campaign.

Leora Baruch, a member of Alqasem's defence team said the case is a crucial one as it goes to the very heart of the debate about Israel's identity.

Alqasem, from the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Southwest Ranches, Florida, is a former president of the University of Florida chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine.

The group is a branch of the BDS movement, whose name comes from its calls for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel.

BDS supporters say that in urging businesses, artists and universities to sever ties with Israel, they are using nonviolent means to resist unjust policies toward Palestinians.

Israel says the movement masks its motives to delegitimise or destroy the Jewish state.

Alqasem's case is set to be heard at a Tel Aviv court on Thursday.

Jerusalem - 10 October 2018

1. Set up of Gilad Erdan, Israel's Minister of Public Security, Strategic Affairs and Minister of Information

2. Cutaway of hands

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Gilad Erdan, Israel's Minister of Public Security, Strategic Affairs and Minister of Information:

"Lara was the head of one of the most extremist BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) organisations known as SJP - Students for Justice in Palestine. And this is a BDS organisation, an anti-Semitic BDS organisation that is acting against pro-Israel speakers, that is bullying and trying to harm Jewish students in many campuses around the United States of America, and this is exactly one of the most extremist BDS organisations that we don't want to see their activists coming to Israel and trying to use our infrastructure to harm us and to destroy us."

4. Cutaway of Erdan

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Gilad Erdan, Israel's Minister of Public Security, Strategic Affairs and Minister of Information:

"World media most of the time is against the state of Israel. We know it. We will try always to expose the truth and to tell the truth about what is really happening in Israel. But, unfortunately it is not always working because the world media many time are against the state of Israel and that is not something that has to tell us to change our ideology or to change our mind. We are doing whatever we believe that is right for the security of the state of Israel and that is more important than whatever The New York Times or other newspapers around the world will say about our policy."

6. Cutaway of Erdan

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Gilad Erdan, Israel's Minister of Public Security, Strategic Affairs and Minister of Information:

"Even though she, under our criteria, under the law criteria, she should be banned from entering Israel, if she would say the she regrets all her activities against the state of Israel and she would commit not to be part of those anti-Semitic, anti-Israeli activities, so we will think again about allowing her to enter Israel. But until now I didn't get this kind of commitment."

8. Photograph of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Gilad Erdan, Israel's Minister of Public Security, Strategic Affairs and Minister of Information:

"It's also important to understand and to emphasise that Ms. Alqasem is not being detained. She can leave Israel whenever she wants but she decided, and it looks like a campaign, she decided to stay at the airport as long as her appeal to our court is continuing. We told her - we will pay for your flight and you can come back, fly back, home to the United States whenever you want. But she decided to stay at the airport."

10. Wide of Erdan

11. Photo of Netanyahu on wall

12. Set up of Leora Baruch, lawyer representing Lara Alqasem

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Leora Baruch, a lawyer representing Lara Alqasem:

"Lara's case is critical because we learned from it how the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Strategic Affairs has been implementing the Boycott Amendment to the Law on Entering into Israel and how they intend to implement it in the future. The law itself is actually quite ambiguous. It says that a person who, acting on their own behalf or on behalf of an organisation or a body for a public call to boycott, or who has made a commitment to boycott. I don't know what a commitment to boycott is. That's something that is very unclear."

14. Cutaway

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Leora Baruch, a lawyer representing Lara Alqasem:

"Lara Alqasem's case is being followed throughout Israel, all over the news and throughout the world. And what might happen tomorrow is we might learn whether this amendment should be used at all and how it should be used and how broad or how narrow it should be used. And whether there has been an abuse of power here and whether the Ministry of Interior has used the amendment for a case that clearly doesn't fall within the parameters of the amendment itself. And so there really is a lot at stake here and it's again part of a larger conversation about academic freedom, about freedom of speech, about being able to visit Israel even if you don't share the opinions of the consensus, of the majority of the party, the administration."

16. Cutaway of degree certificate

17. SOUNDBITE (English) Leora Baruch, a lawyer representing Lara Alqasem:

"With respect to Minister Erdan's statement, he's asked that Lara claim that BDS is an illegitimate movement, that it is an illegitimate form of protest. Lara is not willing to claim that BDS is illegitimate, even if she isn't a supporter of BDS. And we're currently in negotiations to see if there's a way of bridging the gap between the two parties."

18. Baruch at her computer

The top official of an international human rights watchdog, that has found itself at odds with the Israeli government, welcomed a delay in a court hearing on Wednesday about whether to deport its local director from the country.

Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), said he hoped the Israeli government would use the period to reflect and "reassess" its position.

For over a year, Israel has been working to expel the local director of the international group Human Rights Watch, Omar Shakir, accusing him of promoting boycotts.

The deportation issue had been scheduled to go before Israel's Supreme Court this week, but was postponed on Wednesday until September.

Roth had travelled to Israel to demonstrate the stakes at hand by attending the court hearing himself, adding there was mounting international pressure against the move.

Roth said the possible deportation would list Israel among a handful of governments that bar HRW researchers such as North Korea, Iran, Sudan, Cuba and Venezuela.

He accounted Israel's change in attitude towards the rights group to internal Israeli politics as well as the closeness of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to US President Donald Trump.

The BDS (Boycott Divest and Sanction) movement promotes boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israeli institutions and businesses in what it says is a non-violent campaign against Israeli abuses against Palestinians.

Israel says the campaign masks a deeper goal of delegitimising and even destroying the Jewish state.

Roth noted that neither the group nor Shakir, in his position at Human Rights Watch, has called for a boycott of Israel.

It says Shakir, who is a US citizen, is being targeted for the group's opposition to Israel's West Bank settlements and its calls for companies to stop working with the settlements.

The boycott movement's economic impact on Israel has been minimal, but it has enjoyed stronger success in the entertainment and academic worlds, gaining significant support on US college campuses.

Israel and its allies, however, have succeeded in promoting legislation in US states and elsewhere against BDS.

Jerusalem – 24 July 2019

1. Kenneth Roth, Human Rights Watch Executive Director seated

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Kenneth Roth, Human Rights Watch Executive Director:

"It's not every day that a government tries to deport one of Human Rights Watch's researchers and given that that's what the (Benjamin) Netanyahu government is trying to do, I thought it was very important to demonstrate the stakes at issue and come here myself for what we thought would be the Supreme Court hearing. Now, the hearing has been postponed which we take as welcome news because that comes at a moment when there really has been rapidly mounting global outrage at what almost everybody sees as an effort to censor legitimate human rights advocacy. And so I hope that the Israeli government uses this hiatus as a moment of reflection. To recognise that its effort to sort of pretend that this is only about one researcher and his past that everybody sees through that excuse, that everybody recognises that what's really at stake here is the ability to engage in human rights advocacy which may be uncomfortable for the Israeli government, but is completely legitimate and mainstream even within the Israeli public generally."

3. Cutaway

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Kenneth Roth, Human Rights Watch Executive Director:

"There currently is a court order enabling Omar Shakir to stay in Israel until there is a final decision on his case, which ultimately we hope will be a positive decision. So, the plan for now is that Omar Shakir continues to be Human Rights Watch's representative in Israel Palestine. And I hope that that continues for a long, long time because we anticipate a positive ruling in the end. But frankly, even if the Supreme Court were to go the other way, ultimately the decision to enforce a deportation order is the government's. So, while for the moment we're looking at the court in the end it's the government that has to act or not act. And we hope that either the Netanyahu government, or any successor government, will recognise that the world sees through the excuses that it's making with respect to Omar Shakir, recognises that what's really at stake is free speech and legitimate human rights advocacy. And so Israel does not want to join the narrow set of abusive governments that bar Human Rights Watch representatives"

5. Cutaway

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Kenneth Roth, Human Rights Watch Executive Director:

"Well the irony is that the Israeli government's position is driven by its fear of the so-called BDS movement - the Boycott Divest and Sanction movement. Now why they chose Human Rights Watch to make this case I don't know because Human Rights Watch actually has never advocated boycotting Israel and we don't endorse the BDS (Boycott Divest and Sanction) movement. But what they did is they looked back into kind of the ancient college history of the Human Rights Watch researcher and say well back then he did so we're going to penalise him. But the point is that even this Israeli war is not supposed to be punitive for the past, it's supposed to be preventative for the future. And the government was unable to come up with any evidence that Omar Shakir had ever deviated from Human Rights Watch's positions during the entire ten-year of his employment with Human Rights Watch. So this is really a misguided effort to strike back against BDS (Boycott Divest and Sanction) which everybody sees is in fact becoming just an effort to censor a widely respected, broadly viewed as legitimate organisation that is simply reporting what it is with respect to Israeli conduct in the occupied territories"

7. Cutaway

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Kenneth Roth, Human Rights Watch Executive Director:

"I mean many people have wondered why did the Netanyahu government try to pull this off this time? And you know frankly I think part of the explanation is just domestic Israeli politics. Things are moving to the right and so something that Netanyahu actually chose not to do just two years ago, he now feels he can get away with or maybe has to do in order to placate the far right within Israel. I think (US President Donald) Trump's embrace of Netanyahu as if Netanyahu can never do anything wrong may have emboldened him as well. But you know fortunately most of the world is not in the same place as Netanyahu and Trump. Most of the world still believes in the Geneva Conventions. Most of the world still believes in the legitimacy of human rights advocacy. And those are the things that are at stake here. And I think that given the global outrage at his effort to deport the Human Rights Watch researcher, this is an opportunity for the Netanyahu government to reassess and to recognise that, you know, it doesn't want to join the ranks of North Korea, Iran, Sudan, Cuba and Venezuela in being one of those handful of governments that bars Human Rights Watch researchers."

9. Cutaway

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Kenneth Roth, Human Rights Watch Executive Director:

"Actually what people don't recognise is that Human Rights Watch's programme on the United States is our largest country programme in the world. And indeed Human Rights Watch has been doing intensive work, most recently on the child separations on the border; the efforts to undermine the right to seek asylum; on the various Trump efforts to demonise immigrants, to promote racist views to really, you know, undermine human rights enforcement at home. And this of course presents a problem globally as well because traditionally, while the US government has never been a, you know, a regular promoter of human rights, it at least has been a government that we could look to from time to time. And that is not terribly productive under Trump. You know, Trump is so busy embracing autocrats. He's not the most credible articulator of human rights principles. So we've had to look elsewhere. But the good news is that there are other governments who've been willing to step up to the plate and whether it's you know Saudi abuses in Yemen or Russian indiscriminate bombardment in Syria or Myanmar crimes against humanity against Rohingya or even China's persecution of the Uighur Muslims. There are governments willing to stand up. And typically it's not the United States, but there are other coalitions of governments that continue to be a powerful voice for human rights and have caused all of those governments to react and to be less abusive than they might have been."

11. Cutaway

12. Omar Shakir, HRW director in Israel, Palestine

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday.

Speaking ahead of a weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, Netanyahu said the "important" talks would focus on ways to strengthen coordination between the Israeli and Russian armies in Syria.

Israel and Russia maintain a hotline to prevent their air forces from clashing over war-torn country.

Netanyahu added that Israel is working towards preventing Iran from using "Syria as a front in their war to destroy Israel".

Israel has acknowledged carrying out hundreds of airstrikes in Syria, primarily against Iranian targets and suspected arms shipments to Hezbollah militants.

Netanyahu also called last week's Middle East security conference in Poland "historic", noting that dozens of foreign ministers "sat together with Israel and also accepted our position against Iran".

He made the comments while seated next to Israel Katz, his newly appointed interim foreign minister, a post held by Netanyahu himself for the last four years.

Jerusalem - 17 February 2019

1. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other government officials at cabinet meeting

2. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister:

"This weekend, I came back from the Middle East Peace and Security conference that took place in Warsaw. I met there with US Vice President Mike Pence and with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. First I want to say that the ties between Israel and the US are stronger than ever. During this conference, something happened that you probably noticed - a historic change with great significance to Israel. Sixty foreign ministers and representatives attended, including Arab countries which we don't have ties with, sat together with Israel and also accepted our position against Iran. I told them the Iranian aggression is the main factor that is destabilizing the Middle East and the entire world. I said that we must prevent Iran from (obtaining) nuclear weapons and to stop Iran from establishing itself militarily in Syria and we will continue to act all the time to ensure the security of Israel."

3. Cutaway

4. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister:

"On Thursday, I will meet with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. I will discuss with him strengthening coordination mechanisms to avoid friction between the Israeli army and Russia's army. These talks are very important and are part of a continuing effort to ensure freedom of action of Israel against Iran and its proxies that declare their intention to use Syria as a front in their war to destroy Israel."

5. Netanyahu and newly appointed Israeli interim foreign minister, Israel Katz

6. Close of Katz

Israel's Prime Minister has said his country is "in the midst of a campaign against terror in Gaza."

During his cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on Sunday, Benjamin Netanyahu commented on the deadly violence that has taken place near the Israeli-Palestine border during the past months.

"It won't end with a single strike" Netanyahu said Sunday morning, adding, "our approach is clear, a complete ceasefire. We won't be satisfied with less than that."

He also stated that the Israeli military so far has destroyed "hundreds of Hamas military targets."

Three Palestinians were killed on Friday by Israeli fire during a Hamas-led protest along the Gaza border.

The incident came as Gaza's Hamas rulers and Israel honoured a cease-fire Friday that ended two days of an intense flare-up in violence.

During Sunday's meeting, Netanyahu also spoke about mass protests taking place in Tell Aviv on Saturday evening against the new Nation-State law, which critics say marginalises Israel's non-Jewish citizens.

"We received conclusive evidence of opposition against the existence of the state of Israel, and the necessity of the nation-state law. We saw PLO flags yesterday flying in the heart of Tel Aviv," Netanyahu told cabinet ministers.

Saturday's rally marked further fallout from the explosive Nation-State law and came a week after thousands of Druze, also members of the Arab minority, packed the same city square last week.

Israel's 1948 declaration of independence defined the country as a Jewish and democratic state and the government says the recently passed bill merely enshrines the country's existing character.

But critics say it undercuts Israel's democratic values and sidelines the country's non-Jewish population, namely the Arab community that makes up 20 percent of the country.

Jerusalem - 12 August 2018

1. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arriving for cabinet meeting

2. Pan left from Netanyahu over cabinet ministers during meeting

3. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister:

"We are in the midst of a campaign against terror in Gaza. There is an exchange of blows, and it won't end with a single strike. Our approach is clear: a complete ceasefire. We won't be satisfied with less than that. Until now we have destroyed hundreds of Hamas military targets, in every round of attacks, the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) has inflicted another heavy toll on Hamas. I won't disclose our operational plans here; they're ready."

4. Cutaway of cabinet meeting

5. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister (speaking about mass protests in Tel Aviv on Saturday against a contentious new law that critics say marginalises Israel's non-Jewish citizens):

"Yesterday we received conclusive evidence of opposition against the existence of the state of Israel, and the necessity of the Nation-state Law. We saw PLO flags yesterday flying in the heart of Tel Aviv, in the heart of Tel Aviv. We heard the chants 'With blood and fire we will redeem Palestine.' Many of the protesters want to cancel the Law of Return (a law which gives Jews the right to come and live in and gain citizenship in Israel), they want to annul the anthem, they want to fold up our flag, they want to nullify Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people and turn it - as some of them say - into an Israeli-Palestinian state, others say a state of all its citizens. Precisely for this reason we passed the Nation-state Law. We are proud of our country, we are proud of our flag, we are proud of our anthem. Israel is a Jewish and democratic state. Individual rights of its citizens are well anchored in the basic laws and other laws, and now it's clearer than ever that the nation-state Law is needed to ensure the future of the state of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people. We passed this law and we will keep this law."

6. Mid of meeting

Israel and Iran are on a collision course but it remains to be seen whether the recent confrontation between the countries will spiral into a more protracted battle, an Israeli Middle East expert said on Thursday.

Efraim Inbar, president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies, said Israel and Iran have conflicting aims in Syria, meaning they are bound to continue to clash.

"The Iranians want to establish a military presence that is threatening Israel, while Israel at the same time is trying to prevent - with the use of force - the establishment of such a presence," Inbar said.

The Israeli military on Thursday said it attacked nearly all of Iran's military installations in neighbouring Syria in response to an Iranian rocket barrage on Israeli positions in the occupied Golan Heights.

It is the most serious military confrontation between the two bitter enemies to date.

But it's unclear what the Iranian response to Israel's retaliation will be.

Inbar said US President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the US from the Iran nuclear deal has weakened Iran and has strengthened Israel's power of deterrence.

Iran's ability to hit back further could be limited.

Its resources in Syria pale in comparison to the high-tech Israeli military and it could also be wary of military entanglement at a time when it is trying to salvage the international nuclear deal.

Iran has sent thousands of troops to back Syrian President Bashar Assad, and Israel fears that as the fighting nears an end, Iran and tens of thousands of Shiite militiamen will turn their focus to Israel.

Jerusalem - 10 May 2018

1. Efraim Inbar, President of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies (JISS) think tank

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Efraim Inbar, President of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies:

"Definitely there is a course of collision between Israel and Iran, particularly since the two sides are determined to continue and attain their goals. The Iranians want to establish a military presence that is threatening Israel, while Israel at the same time is trying to prevent - with the use of force - the establishment of such a presence."

3. Cutaway to JISS website

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Efraim Inbar, President of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies:

"The Iranians will have to decide what they want to do in Syria. It is clear that Israel is determined to prevent an additional missile arsenal being accumulated in Syria, and it seems also that the Russians are actually allowing Israel a free hand. Under those circumstances it remains to be seen what kind of response we'll see from the Iranians."

5. Cutaway to screen

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Efraim Inbar, President of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies:

"After (US) President Trump removed the American participation in the JCPOA, the (Iran) nuclear deal, the Iranian hand is weaker. They are afraid, maybe, of an American intervention. In any case, following Trump's decision, Israel's deterrence seems to be enhanced."

7. End shot of Inbar

Israel's prime minister says he is making a "last effort" to prevent the collapse of his government.

Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday it would be wrong to go to early elections during a sensitive time for Israeli security.

The sudden coalition crisis was sparked by the resignation of Israel's hard-line Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who stepped down in protest over a cease-fire reached last week with Gaza militants.

Lieberman had demanded a far stronger response to the most massive wave of rocket attacks on Israel since the 2014 Israel-Hamas war.

The departure of Lieberman and his Yisrael Beitenu party leaves the coalition with a one-seat majority in the 120-member parliament.

Two other key coalition partners say that makes governing untenable.

Netanyahu is trying to convince them to stay.

Jerusalem - 18 November 2018

1. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a cabinet meeting

2. Netanyahu

3. Ministers and Netanyahu at meeting

4. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister:

"Tonight I will meet with Finance Minister Kahlon in a last effort to prevent the toppling of the government. During such a sensitive time for Israeli security, we should not and it is not right to go to elections. We remember well what happened when elements inside the coalitions took down a Likud governments in 1992 and in 1999 and we got the Oslo disaster and the Intifada disaster. We need to do everything we can to prevent repeating these mistakes."

5. Cabinet

6. Israel's Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan talking to the press

7. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Gilad Erdan, Israel's Public Security Minister:

"I think that there is no reason to shorten the term of a national government, not even by one day, and at this moment it's in the hands of the education minister and finance minister."

8. Israel's Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev speaking to the press

9. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Miri Regev, Israel's Culture and Sport Minister:

"I hope that we will not go to elections, there is no reason to go to elections. I think we can function as a coalition with 61.. (Regev notices Israel's Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon walking in, says "good morning to our Finance Minister") I am sure we can function and continue to do so with coalition of 61."

10. Netanyahu arriving at cabinet meeting

LEADIN

An interfaith group from the Gulf state of Bahrain has paid an unprecedented public visit to Israel.

The group says the visit is not political but it has still angered many in the Arab world.

STORYLINE

"We are so proud and so grateful that the group came despite all the hullabaloo of the last few days". Those are the words of Rabbi Abraham Cooper from the US-based Jewish human rights group, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, as he welcomes an interfaith group from the Gulf state of Bahrain to an event in Jerusalem.

The hullabaloo he refers to is last week's announcement by Donald Trump that the US will recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel - and the violence that followed that seismic shift in policy.

The group from the Gulf flew to Israel on Sunday as guests of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, in an unprecedented public visit which has generated uproar across the Arab world.

The trip comes at a time that Israel is boasting of warming, albeit covert, ties with moderate Arab countries in a shared front against archrival Iran. But the heavy criticism toward the group unleashed on Arab social media, along with the low profile they have taken, shows the limits on how far that goodwill can go.

The 25 participants include Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, and both Sunni and Shiite Muslims. While organisers and participants say the trip is non-political and unconnected to the government, it nonetheless is a possible test case for other Gulf Arab nations in seeing what could happen if they recognise Israel.

"People have been asking us, 'Oh why are you here now after there was an announcement that was made by the White House?' says Betsy Mathieson, President of This is Bahrain.

"We have nothing to do with politics," Matheison insists. "And if every time somewhere in the world a politician or a leader made a political announcement, or there was a new governmental issue, we would never get any of our work done."

But the early results seem decidedly mixed.

Shortly after the group arrived, it was forced to issue a statement on the state-run Bahrain News Agency that it "does not represent any official entity" in Bahrain after uproar on social media. People were especially angry that the visit came so close to President Donald Trump's comments.

The US President's statement has enraged Palestinians, who seek the city's eastern half as capital of a future state.

Throughout their time in Israel, the group has avoided the spotlight. Several Bahraini citizens in the group chose not to attend a dinner alongside the walls of Jerusalem's Old City to light candles for the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah on Tuesday. The few Bahrainis who did attend either refused to speak to The Associated Press or did so only if they were not identified.

Roughly half of the members of This is Bahrain that took part in the trip were Bahraini citizens. Israel and Bahrain do not have diplomatic relations, although the two are rumoured to be nurturing close covert ties. Israel's Interior Ministry said the participants entered the country legally after their arrival was coordinated in advance with Israeli authorities with the assistance of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, says the fact that the group arrived, defying expectations they would cancel because of Trump's statement, "speaks volumes."

"We're looking for the normalisation. We're not waiting for politicians, and we're going to try to stick to that narrative," he says.

Bahrain and other Sunni Arab states see themselves as sharing regional interests with Israel when confronting Shiite power Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly touted Israel's warming ties with Gulf Arab states in recent months. On Sunday, Netanyahu asserted that "many of the Arab countries now recognise that Israel is not their enemy but their indispensable ally." This shift, he said, "could help pave the way to an ultimate peace between us and our Palestinian neighbours and between us and the rest of the Arab world."

Netanyahu acknowledged last week that Israel won't be able to sign peace treaties with Arab countries without a deal with the Palestinians, but also implied that ties have already been established and have plenty of room to grow. "Peace treaties, no. Everything else below that, yes, and it's happening," he said just hours before Trump's declaration on Jerusalem.

The island nation of Bahrain, east of Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf, has long been seen as more liberal than its larger neighbour, but has faced major criticism in recent years for how it put down its 2011 Arab Spring protests with the help of the Saudi kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.

The tiny state is ruled by a Sunni king but has a majority Shiite population. According to the Bahraini government, 70 per cent of the population is Muslim and the remainder adheres to various faiths.

Shiites and others demonstrated in 2011 seeking more political freedoms. An official investigation found the government demolished 30 Shiite religious structures following the demonstrations, ranging from mosques to meeting halls and shrines, as part of a broader crackdown on dissent.

Bahrain is home to a small Jewish community, but no members of the community took part in the trip.

Jerusalem - 12 December 2017

1. Pan from Rabbi Abraham Cooper holding candle to group of visitors from Bahrain (English) UPSOUND "We are so proud and so grateful that the group came despite all the hullabaloo of the last few days."

2. Cooper speaking to group at candle lighting ceremony

3. Close of candle

4. Pull out of Cooper lighting candle

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Betsy Mathieson, president, "This is Bahrain"

"We're thrilled to be here in this beautiful city of Jerusalem. We've been so warmly received and we've been visiting the holy sites and making new friends and sharing our message of peaceful coexistence."

6. Group member lighting candle

7. Close of candle

8. Another group member lighting candle

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Betsy Mathieson, president, "This is Bahrain"

"People have been asking us, 'Oh why are you here now after there was an announcement that was made by the White House?' The thing is, as I said, we have nothing to do with politics. And if every time somewhere in the world a politician or a leader made a political announcement, or there was a new governmental issue, we would never get any of our work done. So you know, political things can change in a heartbeat, but what will not change is the message of This is Bahrain, and our message is one of peaceful coexistence. So we can't allow world leaders or politics to derail our mission."

10. Group members lighting candles

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associated dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center:

"I think that most observers here, in the days leading up to their arrival, assumed that there would be a postponement or a cancellation. That they came speaks volumes."

12. Pan left of group members watching Rabbi Abraham Cooper sing

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associated dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center:

"We're looking for the normalisation. We're not waiting for politicians, and we're going to try to stick to that narrative and we give them tremendous credit."

14. Various of group members around dining table at ceremony

++NIGHT SHOT++

15. Jerusalem's Old City walls

An Israeli official said Wednesday that the U.S. and Israel have the "closest possible intelligence relationship", following President Donald Trump's disclosure of classified information to senior Russian officials, which had been supplied by Israel.

Israel's Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy Michael Oren said that relationship between Washington and Jerusalem "will continue to be close and will grow stronger still in the future."

He made the statements days before Trump is due to arrive for a state visit in Israel.

Israel has yet to acknowledge claims from U.S. officials that it was the source of the highly classified information about an Islamic State plot that Trump divulged to Russian diplomats.

Trump himself said he had "an absolute right" as president to share "facts pertaining to terrorism" and airline safety with Russia. Yet U.S. allies and some members of Congress expressed concern bordering on alarm.

Trump appears to have shared the information without Israel's consent, which would mark a severe violation of the confidentiality of their intelligence-sharing agreement.

Even more remarkable is that Trump chose to confide in representatives of an adversary, who could relay the information to its allies Iran and Syria, bitter enemies of Israel, and potentially find the source.

Trump is due to arrive in Israel next week as part of his first overseas trip as president.

Israel has looked to Trump as a close ally but there has been growing apprehension over his unpredictability.

Jerusalem -17 May 2017

1. Establishing shot of former Israeli ambassador to the US and Deputy Minister Michael Oren

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Oren, Israel's Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy and former Israeli ambassador to the US:

"I'm not going to comment on the latest intelligence issues, all I can say is the Israel and the United States have the closest possible intelligence relationship, I'm speaking like someone who was ambassador in Washington for nearly five years, certainly in the Middle East there is no closer intelligence relationship and that relationship will continue to be close and will grow stronger still in the future."

3. Cutaway of Oren in front of his computer

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Oren, Israel's Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy and former Israeli ambassador to the US:

"No Russia talks (with Trump), no. Our relationship with Russia is, we have a good relationship with Russia, we kept open channels with Russia, and yet recognizing the reality, Russians are backing Assad in the Syrian civil war which is not our favourite and Russia is implicitly allied with Iran in that struggle and that creates challenges for us but we meet those challenges through direct contacts both on the diplomatic level, the government level and on the military level."

Question: Even when information is shared with them?

Michael Oren: "Again, I'm not going to comment on that issue but I'll only reiterate that our intelligence relationship has always been exceedingly close and will remain close, will continue to be close again."

5. Oren at his desk

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has thanked Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban for standing up for Israel during his official visit to Israel.

Netanyahu's warm embrace came despite outcry over the visiting populist, right-wing leader's past anti-Semitic remarks.

Orban arrived in Israel on Wednesday for a two-day visit.

The four-time Hungarian premier drew criticism last year for praising Miklos Horthy, the World War II-era Hungarian leader who introduced anti-Semitic laws and collaborated with the Nazis in the Holocaust.

Orban was also criticised for employing anti-Semitic tropes against billionaire financier and philanthropist George Soros during his re-election campaign.

Despite global Jewish condemnation of those remarks, Netanyahu praised Orban for combating anti-Semitism and thanked him for Hungary's pro-Israel stance.

Protesters are expected to demonstrate at Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust memorial, during Orban's visit there on Thursday afternoon.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jerusalem - 19 July 2018

1. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shaking hands with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel Prime Minister:

"We both understand that the threat of radical Islam is a real one, it could endanger Europe, it could endanger the world, it certainly endangers us and our Arab neighbours. We believe that, of all the sources of militant Islam, Iran is the greatest threat to our common civilisation. And by being here, in this country here, at the front line of the battle against radical Islam, in many ways Israel is defending Europe and I want to thank you for defending Israel. You have stood up for Israel time and time again in international forums, it is deeply appreciated."

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel Prime Minister: ++CAMERA REPOSITIONS DURING SOUNDBITE++

"Anti-Semitism has been the scourge of the Jewish people for thousands of years, it claimed horrible tragedies, culminating in the greatest tragedy of all, the holocaust in the 20th century. It must be fought continuously, relentlessly, unambiguously. In July, Hungary sponsored a statement in the UNHCR condemning anti-Semitism. In March you inaugurated the renovated synagogue, Subotica. You said it was, I quote, 'a moral duty that Jews live without fear and practice religion freely.'"

4. Netanyahu and Orban standing at lecterns

5. SOUNDBITE (Hungarian) Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban: ++TRANSLATOR'S VOICE CUTS THROUGH SOUNDBITES++

"I think the excellent ties between Israel and Hungary is in large part because of our excellent personal ties and I explain that it is that way because the two countries have patriots as leaders and I see proof in that, in our relationship, that a Hungarian patriot and a Jewish-Israeli patriot will always find common ground."

6. Netanyahu and Orban standing at lecterns with translator in shot

7.  SOUNDBITE (Hungarian) Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban: ++TRANSLATOR'S VOICE CUTS THROUGH SOUNDBITES++

"Prime minister, the place we live in, in Europe, we are experiencing a crisis of migration and terrorism. Terrorists exploit the routes of the migrants in order to come to Europe and we must take steps against this phenomenon."

8. Pan from Netanyahu to Orban, leaders shake hands

An Iranian blogger who wrote for an Israeli news website and who left her country for life in exile says she feels "safe now" after finally reaching Israel.

Neda Amin spoke at a news conference with David Horovitz, editor of the Times Of Israel, where her work has appeared.

The 32-year-old arrived in Israel on Thursday but has been living in Turkey since 2014.

She says she left Iran after being threatened with prison for writing material critical of the government in Tehran. Iran is a bitter enemy of Israel.

Amin says Turkish authorities recently told her she would be deported to Iran and that she was in "such danger."

Horovitz says he felt an obligation to Amin and that he persuaded Israeli authorities to help bring her to Israel.

Jerusalem - 10 August 2017

1. Various of Iranian blogger Neda Amin at news conference

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Neda Amin, Iranian blogger:

"I'm very happy. Israel (is) like my country, when I going to Israel, I think it's my country, and I think in my mind (that) I am safe now, and nothing want to attack me, arrest me."

3. Pan from media to Amin at news conference

4. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Neda Amin, Iranian blogger: ++TRANSLATED FROM HEBREW VIA ONSITE TRANSLATOR++

"Turkey told me they will deport me from their country and I will be sent to Iran, so this is why I left there. I was in such danger, and had such a difficult life and persecutions, so in the end, the state of Israel provided me with this, and I thank Mr. David Horovitz who helped me arrive in Israel."

5. SOUNDBITE (English) David Horovitz, editor of the Times Of Israel:

"She made it clear to me that she realistically thought her life was in danger, and her life was in danger, because I think Turkey is changing and she had written against the regime in Iran, and she had reason to fear that Turkey will kick her out, and that nobody would take her in, she might find herself on the way back to Iran. And I thought that there was a choice, which is - do nothing or we have to see if we can save her."

6. Wide of news conference

7. SOUNDBITE (English) David Horovitz, editor of the Times Of Israel:

"The Israeli authorities did far beyond what would be expected in my opinion, they made sure that she was able to leave, and that's why very soon after her case was brought to my attention and then to the attention of the officials in Israel. She is here in Jerusalem. I don't know what will be in the future, but the fact is she is not on a plane to Iran, she is not at risk in Turkey. "

8. Horowitz and Amin

9. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Neda Amin, Iranian blogger: ++TRANSLATED FROM HEBREW VIA ONSITE TRANSLATOR++

"Yes, I do have a family (in Iran) but most of them, because of the connection I had with the Israeli media, had cut ties with me. Maybe there was one time in all these months when they said 'hello' or something like that."

10. Wide of news conference

11. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Neda Amin, Iranian blogger:++TRANSLATED FROM HEBREW VIA ONSITE TRANSLATOR++

"I think they (the US and the UN) did the right thing (to impose more sanctions on Iran), the more pressure we put on the Iranian regime (the sooner) it will be possible to stop the wrongdoings and what goes on against human rights. They need to be kept under pressure, and this is what America is doing."

12. End of news conference

Al Jazeera has denounced Israel's decision to close the Jerusalem bureau of Qatar's flagship satellite network, saying that the measure is "undemocratic" and that it will take legal action.

Israel's move follows in the footsteps of four Arab countries that are aligned against Qatar as part of a months-long political dispute over Doha's politics and alleged support for extremists.

The channel and its affiliate sites have been blocked in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain.

Tomer Naor, head of litigation with The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, a non-governmental organisation that monitors the work of the authorities, says the scope of actions the authorities have might be limited.

Naor said the announcement by Communications Minister, Ayoob Kara - that he would revoke the press credentials of Al Jazeera journalists, effectively preventing them from working in Israel, and would move to block its transmission from the country - was aimed at the voters rather than having a direct impact.

The Government Press Office handles accreditation of media in Israel.

The GPO said it has asked security officials for guidance on Kara's request.

The news organisation, in turn, denounced the decision it said came from a country claiming to be "the only democratic state in the Middle East" and said it would take legal action.

Jerusalem - 7 August 2017

1. Various of Al Jazeera offices

2. Set up of Tomer Naor, government actions watchdog

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Tomer Naor, The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, government actions watchdog:

"Israel is a very strong democracy and as it is we have a very strong system of check and balances. Now, the minister, the government has to be very persuasive to make an independent agencies (under the government) to take and consider even their wishful thinking, let's call it. Now the agencies will take and consider the bad, the good, pro and con and will make a decision that in the end of the day is good for the state of Israel, is promoting the values of freedom of speech and the core institutional values. People have the right to hear different voices in this country and I believe that Al Jazeera, even though it's many times biased, still is a very important voice of the Arab world and as it is, we should let them speak out of Israel."

4. Cutaway of Naor

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Tomer Naor, The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, government actions watchdog:

"The minister can talk and you know he aims for a certain audience, his voters basically, they want to hear him speak out loud against Al Jazeera maybe, against biased media and all, and it's not a secret that Israel is suffering from biased media abroad. But, in the other hand he cannot interfere with the independent work of the agencies under the government."

6. Various of Al Jazeera signs in the office building

LEADIN

One of Jerusalem's most iconic sites is providing the backdrop to an unusual art form.

A model disappears amongst the stones of the Tower of David, thanks to an artist experimenting with body painting.

STORYLINE

The iconic Tower of David in Jerusalem's Old City is getting a splash of colour.

The ancient stones morph into a canvas as history was brought to life with a paint brush and a semi naked model.

Israeli artist Avi Ram, 31, who has been living in the United States for the past nine years, came back to Israel to create a calendar for 2018.

In addition to the Tower of David, Ram painted and photographed models in 12 various locations across the country including the Cesarea, Tel Aviv and the Dead Sea.

Ram has not yet decided what location will appear on calendar's cover.

"Israel is very dry so it's a lot of browns and dark greens, and every time when I'm trying to do camouflage in Israel, I'm trying to choose (a) location that is going to be more interesting, than just like brown, brown, brown, but the rocks and the stones of Israel, that what it means for Israel so it's very powerful" explains Ram.

Body painting is "always a challenge," says Ram. He must take into consideration the sun, shadows, clouds and other elements that may "mess up all the colours."

"It has to be quick and no more than hour and a half to two hours to make the perfect picture," he adds.

"It was a great experience, a little bit tough though" says model Mishael Midovsky who posed for two hours while Ram applied layers and layers of paint on his body.

"I had to stand in a specific position for the whole time, and basically because the photo shoot needs to be done in a specific angle, but I enjoyed it."

"The people behind us are standing on an ancient wall that was built 2400 years ago," says Caroline Shapiro of the Tower of David.

"You literally feel the layers upon layers of history, we often say if only these stones could talk, because they will be telling us all about kings, and conquerors and builders, every day people that have really been part of the colourful and long history of the city of Jerusalem," she adds.

Ram hopes his art will inspire Israelis to experiment with body painting and to showcase the "most beautiful locations in Israel".

Jerusalem - 27 April 2017

1. Various of model posing, camouflaged as ancient stones of Tower of David

2. Various of artist Avi Ram body painting on model

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Avi Ram, artist:

"Israel is very dry so it's a lot of browns and dark greens, and every time when I'm trying to do camouflage in Israel, I'm trying to choose (a) location that is going to be more interesting, than just like brown, brown, brown, but the rocks and the stones of Israel, that what it means for Israel so it's very powerful."

4. Wide of Ram painting on model, surrounded by ancient stones of Tower of David

5. Various of Ram painting on model

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Avi Ram, artist:

"The experience is the same experience when you do camouflage in the nature, its always a challenge, you have to run against the sun, you have to run, if you have clouds, if you have anything that can mess up all the colours, the shadows, everything. So, its very fun, I like it, very challenging, but it has to be quick and no more than hour and a half to two hours to make the perfect picture."

SOURCE: Avi Ram

Date: April 2017

7. Still image at the Dead Sea

8. Still image at Hula lake

9. Still image at Tel Aviv

10. Still image at Cesarea

Jerusalem - 27 April 2017

11. Model Mishael Midovsky

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Mishael Midovsky, model

"It was a great experience, a little bit tough though, I had to stand in a specific position for the whole time, and basically because the photoshoot needs to be done in a specific angle, but I enjoyed it."

13. Wide of Tower of David

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Caroline Shapiro, international public relations at the Tower of David museum:

"The people behind us are standing on an ancient wall that was built 2400 years ago, so when we talk about Jerusalem, when you're in the Tower of David, you can literally feel the layers upon layers of history, we often say if only these stones could talk, because they will be telling us all about kings, and conquerors and builders, every day people that have really been part of the colourful and long history of the city of Jerusalem."

15. Various of body painting

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Avi Ram, artist:

"I wanted to bring my art and inspire people and show.. to inspire people to start doing body painting here in Israel and to show the most beautiful locations in Israel in my way, when you're taking a model and make him disappear into the background and make the image very interesting."

17. Pan down from Old City wall to people walking street

18. People walking

19. Old city walls with David's Citadel in background

LEADIN

One of Jerusalem's most iconic sites is providing the backdrop to an unusual art form.

A model disappears amongst the stones of the Tower of David, thanks to an artist experimenting with body painting.

STORYLINE

The iconic Tower of David in Jerusalem's Old City is getting a splash of colour.

The ancient stones morph into a canvas as history was brought to life with a paint brush and a semi naked model.

Israeli artist Avi Ram, 31, who has been living in the United States for the past nine years, came back to Israel to create a calendar for 2018.

In addition to the Tower of David, Ram painted and photographed models in 12 various locations across the country including the Cesarea, Tel Aviv and the Dead Sea.

Ram has not yet decided what location will appear on calendar's cover.

"Israel is very dry so it's a lot of browns and dark greens, and every time when I'm trying to do camouflage in Israel, I'm trying to choose (a) location that is going to be more interesting, than just like brown, brown, brown, but the rocks and the stones of Israel, that what it means for Israel so it's very powerful" explains Ram.

Body painting is "always a challenge," says Ram. He must take into consideration the sun, shadows, clouds and other elements that may "mess up all the colours."

"It has to be quick and no more than hour and a half to two hours to make the perfect picture," he adds.

"It was a great experience, a little bit tough though" says model Mishael Midovsky who posed for two hours while Ram applied layers and layers of paint on his body.

"I had to stand in a specific position for the whole time, and basically because the photo shoot needs to be done in a specific angle, but I enjoyed it."

"The people behind us are standing on an ancient wall that was built 2400 years ago," says Caroline Shapiro of the Tower of David.

"You literally feel the layers upon layers of history, we often say if only these stones could talk, because they will be telling us all about kings, and conquerors and builders, every day people that have really been part of the colourful and long history of the city of Jerusalem," she adds.

Ram hopes his art will inspire Israelis to experiment with body painting and to showcase the "most beautiful locations in Israel".

Jerusalem - 27 April 2017

1. Various of model posing, camouflaged as ancient stones of Tower of David

2. Various of artist Avi Ram body painting on model

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Avi Ram, artist:

"Israel is very dry so it's a lot of browns and dark greens, and every time when I'm trying to do camouflage in Israel, I'm trying to choose (a) location that is going to be more interesting, than just like brown, brown, brown, but the rocks and the stones of Israel, that what it means for Israel so it's very powerful."

4. Wide of Ram painting on model, surrounded by ancient stones of Tower of David

5. Various of Ram painting on model

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Avi Ram, artist:

"The experience is the same experience when you do camouflage in the nature, its always a challenge, you have to run against the sun, you have to run, if you have clouds, if you have anything that can mess up all the colours, the shadows, everything. So, its very fun, I like it, very challenging, but it has to be quick and no more than hour and a half to two hours to make the perfect picture."

SOURCE: Avi Ram

Date: April 2017

7. Still image at the Dead Sea

8. Still image at Hula lake

9. Still image at Tel Aviv

10. Still image at Cesarea

Jerusalem - 27 April 2017

11. Model Mishael Midovsky

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Mishael Midovsky, model

"It was a great experience, a little bit tough though, I had to stand in a specific position for the whole time, and basically because the photoshoot needs to be done in a specific angle, but I enjoyed it."

13. Wide of Tower of David

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Caroline Shapiro, international public relations at the Tower of David museum:

"The people behind us are standing on an ancient wall that was built 2400 years ago, so when we talk about Jerusalem, when you're in the Tower of David, you can literally feel the layers upon layers of history, we often say if only these stones could talk, because they will be telling us all about kings, and conquerors and builders, every day people that have really been part of the colourful and long history of the city of Jerusalem."

15. Various of body painting

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Avi Ram, artist:

"I wanted to bring my art and inspire people and show.. to inspire people to start doing body painting here in Israel and to show the most beautiful locations in Israel in my way, when you're taking a model and make him disappear into the background and make the image very interesting."

17. Pan down from Old City wall to people walking street

18. People walking

19. Old city walls with David's Citadel in background

Israel and the United States say they have successfully tested a jointly developed missile defence system in Alaska.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a Cabinet meeting Sunday that the Arrow 3 gives his country the "ability to act against ballistic missiles fired against us from Iran and from any other location."

"All of our enemies should know that we will overcome them both defensively and offensively," said Netanyahu.

US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, said the Trump administration was "delighted" with the results, adding that the Arrow 3 would serve as a "critical element of Israel's missiles defence."

Arrow 3, along with the Iron Dome, David's Sling, and the Arrow 2 systems, is part of the multi-layered shield Israel is developing to defend against rockets fired from Gaza and Lebanon, as well as Iran's long-range missiles.

Jerusalem - 28 July 2019

1. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, watching tests of Arrow 3 missile during Cabinet meeting, zoom in on missile on screen  

2. Mid of Friedman

3. Camera

4. Netanyahu and Friedman clapping after observing successful test

5. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister: ++STARTS ON SHOT OF FRIEDMAN, PANS TO NETANYAHU++

"In recent weeks we've conducted three secret, breakthrough tests of the Arrow 3 missile. These tests were conducted in Alaska in the United States with full cooperation from our great ally, the United States. The tests succeeded beyond all expectations. The Arrow 3 fully succeeded in intercepting ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere at heights and speeds that we didn't know until now. The execution was perfect, every one hit target. Today, Israel has the ability to act against ballistic missiles fired against us from Iran and from any other location. This is a great achievement for Israel's security. All of our enemies should know that we will overcome them both defensively and offensively."

6. Mid of Netanyahu and Friedman

7. SOUDNBITE (English) U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman :

"On behalf of (US) President (Donald) Trump and the Trump administration, I just would like to tell you how delighted we were with the successful results of the test of the Arrow 3 missile system, a critical element of Israel's missiles defence. The results were extraordinary. We're very proud of our partnership with the state of Israel and the funding that we provide for this, the technical expertise that we added, obviously making our airspace available for this test over Alaska. This is an extraordinary and an unprecedented example of the cooperation between our two great countries, and from here may we continue to go upward and onward and making the world a safer place."

8. Netanyahu seated at end of Cabinet meeting

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday came to the defence of Israeli soldiers.

Speaking at a regular cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said soldiers protecting Israel "from annihilation" were being approached by people calling them terrorists, adding "nothing more absurd that this".

Netanyahu was referring to a video shot on the border with Gaza where a left-wing protester accused Israeli soldiers of being terrorists.

Netanyahu made his defence as Israel marked its annual Holocaust memorial day.

Since late March, 26 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds wounded by Israeli fire in mass border protests led by Hamas, but also driven by widespread desperation over the territory's decade-old border blockade by Israel and Egypt.

The protests are seen, in part, as an attempt by Hamas to break the blockade.

Israel has accused Hamas of using the protests as a cover for carrying out attacks and bringing infiltrators into Israel.

It has said some of those at the border tried to damage the fence, planted explosives or hurled firebombs.

Jerusalem - 11 April 2018

1. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arriving at cabinet meeting

2. Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman (middle) arriving at cabinet meeting

3. Netanyahu and ministers at cabinet

4. Cutaway of Netanyahu

5. Mid of cabinet meeting

6. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister:

"Today, actually this evening, we will commemorate Holocaust Memorial day. The memory of the Holocaust is always with us, and so is our appreciation to the courage that established the State of Israel and gives us hope to the future. This hope is first and foremost our ability to defend ourselves on our own against those who want to annihilate us. On this matter, I saw something outrageous and absurd, people approaching IDF (Israel Defence Forces) soldiers who are protecting us from annihilation and calling them terrorists. They are not calling Hamas terrorists, who are saying loud and clear that they intend to destroy the State of Israel, including those demonstrators - no terrorists calls to that. To the IDF soldiers who are acting to prevent this annihilation, they are being attacked. Nothing more absurd than this. I think that on every day, especially today, we all know IDF's soldiers incredible contribution to the security of Israel and the future of Israel. I am proud of our soldiers, and with the government ministers, we give the full and necessary back up to their sacred duty."

7. Wide of cabinet

An Israeli activist who works with a progressive Jewish advocacy group said on Sunday that she was "outraged" after an Israeli official stated the government had frozen a long-overdue plan to open a mixed-gender prayer area at Jerusalem's Western Wall.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered top aides to formulate a new plan.

Anat Hoffman, the Executive Director of the Israel Religious Action Center activist group, called the reported freeze "cowardice".

Sunday's decision dealt a blow to efforts to promote religious pluralism in Israel and is likely to upset liberal streams of Judaism that represent most Jews in the United States.

Israel approved a plan in January 2016 to officially recognise a special mixed-gender prayer area at the Western Wall - the holiest site where Jews can pray.

But the programme was never implemented due to opposition by powerful ultra-Orthodox political parties.

Under ultra-Orthodox management, the wall is currently separated between men's and women's prayer sections.

FILE: Jerusalem - 13 April 2017

1. Various of Jewish worshippers attending priestly blessing at Western Wall

Jerusalem - 25 June 2017

2. Anat Hoffman, Executive Director of Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC) speaking on phone

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Anat Hoffman, Executive Director of Israel Religious Action Center:

"I'm outraged by this government decision, I think it shows cowardice. For two years we negotiated in good faith with the government of Israel, we reached a compromise, this wasn't easy, I have a parking spot at the prime minister's office because we negotiated for two years. They've made a decision, overwhelming majority voted 15 to 5 to implement the compromise, and then today they decide that it is null and void, that they're not going to implement it, that equality is out the window, and the women ministers in our government, sat there and voted for it."

4. Hoffman talking on the phone

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Anat Hoffman, Executive Director of Israel Religious Action Center:

"We will continue to pray there, and we will do it fearlessly, despite the incitement against us, but if there's going to be bloodshed at the Wall, and if one of us is going to be injured, this is on (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu's hands, and if there's a rift between Israel and North American Jews, and Jews of the diaspora, it's on his conscience, because this compromise would have brought peace and harmony to the Jewish people. We have our faith in the supreme court of Israel. The supreme court of Israel may force Netanyahu's hand, to bring equality to the Wall as well."

FILE: Jerusalem - 13 April 2017

6. Various of women attending priestly blessing at Western Wall

7. Men praying at Western Wall

8. Wide of Jewish worshippers attending priestly blessing at Western Wall

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4221488, 4221490

Israeli work crews on Monday began demolishing dozens of Palestinian homes in an east Jerusalem neighborhood, in one of the largest operations of its kind in years.

The demolitions capped a years-long legal battle over the buildings, built along the invisible line straddling the city and the occupied West Bank. Israel says the buildings were erected too close to its West Bank separation barrier. Residents say the buildings are on West Bank land, and the Palestinian Authority gave them construction permits.

In the wake of a recent Supreme Court decision clearing the way for the demolitions, Israeli work crews moved into the neighborhood overnight. Massive construction vehicles smashed through the roofs of several buildings, and large excavators were digging through the rubble.

According to the United Nations, some 20 people already living in the buildings were being displaced, while 350 owners of properties that were under construction or not yet inhabited were also affected.

Hussein al-Sheikh, head of the civil affairs department of the Palestinians Authority, called Monday's demolition a "crime" and demanded international intervention.

Israel captured east Jerusalem and the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war. The international community considers both areas to be occupied territory, and the Palestinians seek them as parts of a future independent state.

Israel annexed east Jerusalem and considers it part of its capital - a step that is not internationally recognized. But the competing claims to the territory have created myriad legal complexities.

Israel built its separation barrier in the early 2000s in a step that it says was needed to prevent Palestinian suicide bombers from reaching Israel from the West Bank. The Palestinians say the structure is an illegal land grab because it juts into the West Bank in many places.

Sur Baher is one of those places. In negotiations with residents, Israel built the route of the structure in Sur Baher inside the West Bank to prevent dividing the village and disrupting life, according to court documents.

However, residents, claiming it is impossible to get Israeli building permits in east Jerusalem, began building the apartment buildings in the West Bank part of the village with permission from the Palestinian Authority. Early this decade, the Israeli military ordered the construction to stop, saying it could not permit high-rise buildings so close to the separation barrier.

Israel's Supreme Court this month rejected residents' final appeal, clearing the way for the demolitions.

According to Ir Amim, an Israeli advocacy group that promotes equality and coexistence in the city, Israel has stepped up demolitions of unauthorized Palestinian properties in east Jerusalem.

It said Israel demolished some 63 housing units in the first half of this year, compared to 37 during the same period last year. Palestinian residents of east Jerusalem say it is nearly impossible to get a building permit from Israeli authorities.

Sur Baher, East Jerusalem - 22 July 2019

1. Various of Israeli forces next to a bulldozer demolishing a Palestinian home in an east Jerusalem neighbourhood

2. Various of Palestinian homes being demolished

Israel's prime minister said the Palestinians are "determined to continue the conflict at any price."

Speaking at his weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday, Benjamin Netanyahu was referring to the Palestinian leadership's rejection of last week's Middle East peace conference in Bahrain aimed at providing economic assistance.

Netanyahu says while Israel welcomed the US' $50 billion Palestinian development plan, the Palestinians themselves denounced it and even arrested a Palestinian businessman who participated in it.

Netanyahu says: "This is not how those who want to promote peace act."

Palestinian forces have since released businessman Saleh Abu Mayala.

The Palestinian Authority accuses the Trump administration of being biased toward Israel and has boycotted it since it recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital in 2017.

They accuse the US of trying to replace Palestinian statehood with money.

Netanyahu also addressed the tension between Israel and Hamas.

"Last week we enacted heavy sanctions on Hamas, including halting fuel. If needed we will apply much tougher actions" he said.

On Friday, Israel restored fuel supplies to the Gaza Strip's sole power plant and expanded the permitted fishing zone off the enclave's coast, easing some recent restrictions.

The restrictions had been placed in response to incendiary balloons that recently sparked wildfires in southern Israel.

An Israeli official confirmed Palestinian reports that Israel had resumed fuel deliveries that were cut off earlier this week, and extended the fishing zone up to 15 nautical miles from 10 nautical miles.

The official said that in return, Hamas which rules Gaza "promised to halt the attacks on Israel," a reference to the balloons and marches along the border.

Jerusalem - 30 June 2019

1. Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu arriving at cabinet meeting

2. Netanyahu  and ministers at cabinet meeting

3. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minster:

"Over the last few days the Palestinian Authority even arrested a Palestinian business man, later they released him under American pressure, but they arrested him for participating in an economic conference aimed at improving the Palestinian economy. One thing is clear from all of this, the Palestinians are determined to continue the conflict at any price, including at the cost of their own prosperity, this is not the way peace seekers act. We on the other hand continue to strengthen ties with the Arab World including today, and this serves everyone."

4. Pan of meeting

5. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minster:

"Last week we enacted heavy sanctions on Hamas, including stopping fuel. If needed we will apply much tougher actions."

6. Close-up, photo of Netanyahu

7. Photos (from left to right) of Netanyahu, former prime minister Ehud Olmert, and late prime minister Ariel Sharon

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended an event in Jerusalem on Tuesday, marking one year since the transfer of the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Netanyahu and US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman unveiled a plaque commemorating the embassy move, and Netanyahu presented Friedman with a statue depicting Biblical David fighting Goliath.

The Israeli Prime Minister gave a speech at the event and spoke about Trump's decision to move the embassy, telling the crowd, "Nobody recognises Jerusalem until someone comes, who's politically incorrect, brash and unabashed, and one day out of the blue says, "That's right. Jerusalem is Israel's capital and I recognise it" - and that's what President Donald Trump did."

The decision to move the embassy was made by US President Donald Trump and sparked outrage among the Palestinians, causing an upsurge in violent protests in Gaza.

It also brought relations between Palestinian leaders and US officials to a near collapse.

Following the embassy move, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has severed all ties with American diplomats saying they are not a credible broker in efforts to find peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

The US administration is expected to unveil a plan this summer to end the dispute in what has been branded "The Deal of the Century."

Netanyahu also commented about the ongoing situation between the US and Iran saying that, "all the countries who seek peace in the world, should stand together with the United States against Iranian aggression."

Jerusalem - 14 May 2019

1. Various of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman on stage listening to US national anthem

2. Various of plaque commemorating US President Donald Trump's decision to move US Embassy to Jerusalem, being unveiled

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel:

"The world refuses to recognise Jerusalem (as capital of Israel), can you imagine? They refuse to recognise Jerusalem. One after the other. All the countries. Some of them had embassies here, kicked out by pressure in '67 and '73. And since then, it's almost half a century, since then, nobody recognises Jerusalem as our capital. The embassies are in Tel Aviv. I love Tel Aviv. But, it's Jerusalem, Yerushalaim. It's our capital, and what a capital. Nobody moves the embassy, and nobody recognises Jerusalem until someone comes, who's politically incorrect, brash and unabashed - and one day out of the blue says, "that's right. Jerusalem is Israel's capital and I recognise it" - and that's what President Donald Trump did."

4. Wide of stage

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel:

"There is a new effervescence, a new renaissance of relations between us and many of our Arab neighbours. And many non-Arab Muslim countries, many more than you can think. And it's true that we're united in our desire to stop Iranian aggression. And I believe that Israel and all the countries of the region, and all the countries who seek peace in the world, should stand together with the United States against Iranian aggression."

6. Friedman and Netanyahu shake hands on stage

7. Various of Friedman given statue depicting Biblical David fighting Goliath

8. Close of Friedman

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that the Israeli military would continue with operation 'Northern Shield' until the threat of Hezbollah tunnels from Lebanon into northern Israel were eliminated.

Netanyahu added that Israel was also "working in the political arena" as well as the military one, to condemn Hezbollah and Iran and to "increase the sanctions against both".

Israeli forces said on Saturday that they had uncovered another Hezbollah tunnel dug from Lebanon, an announcement that came shortly after troops fired at suspected members of the Lebanese militant group who approached the site of Israeli army engineering working to thwart tunnels.

The find makes it at least the second cross-border tunnel discovered since Israel began an operation this week to detect and "neutralize" attack passageways dug by the Iranian-backed group into northern Israel.

Netanyahu also said that he spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin and told him that Israel "will not allow Iran to establish itself in Syria" and that Israel "will continue operations against precise weapons from Lebanon" to eliminate the tunnel threat.  

Meanwhile, Israeli education Minister Naftali Bennett told reporters, before heading into the weekly cabinet meeting, that "Hezbollah has become an integral and central part of the sovereign state of Lebanon", adding that if any rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel, Israel would see it as an "act of war".

Jerusalem - 9 December 2018

1. Wide of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sitting in cabinet meeting

2. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister:

"Operation Northern Shield continues. IDF soldiers are working constantly systematically, with determination regardless of the weather, and the weather is stormy, to expose and neutralize tunnel after tunnel. We need patience, but with the same persistence we will continue this operation until it is completed and the tunnels threat is neutralized in the north. In parallel, we are working in the political arena to condemn the Hezbollah and Iran and increase the sanctions against both."  

3. Mid of cabinet minister sitting in meeting

4. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister:

"I told President Putin that we continue with our policy. We will not allow Iran to establish its self militarily in Syria. We will continue operations against precise weapons from Lebanon and we will complete the operation to eliminate the tunnels threat."

5. Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett speaking to media

6. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Naftali Bennett, Israeli Education Minister:

"Hezbollah has become an integral and central part of the sovereign state of Lebanon, and that's the reason that if god forbid rockets are fired from Lebanon at Israel, we will see it as an act of war of the sovereign state of Lebanon."

7. Netanyahu walking to cabinet meeting