Israel

ANNAPOLIS, MD (November 26, 2007) – Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley will host a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to welcome the Israeli delegation to the State of Maryland and the City of Annapolis for the Middle East peace conference tomorrow. Governor O’Malley met with Prime Minister Olmert during his visit to Israel in January 2005.    » read more »

25 November 2007 -- Israeli troops have killed three Palestinian militants in separate incidents in the occupied West Bank and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

Israel's military says troops entered the West Bank city of Tulkarm Sunday in search of two wanted militants. It says soldiers opened fire at the men as they tried to flee, killing one and wounding the other.

Palestinian officials say the dead militant was loyal to the Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The wounded man was taken to an Israeli hospital for treatment.    » read more »

24 October 2007 -- The Carter Center urges the government of Israel to cease consideration of a proposal to cut energy supplies in Gaza. On Sept. 19, 2007, Israel threatened to declare the Gaza Strip a "hostile territory" and cut off provision of essential services such as electricity and fuel to the civilian population as retaliation for rocket attacks being launched from the territory. The Associated Press today reported that, according to anonymous sources, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak will announce that Israel will carry out the plan beginning tomorrow.    » read more »

Critical humanitarian situation in Gaza

21-09-2007 -- "After three month of almost complete closure, the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is critical,” says Angelo Gnaedinger, Director General of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) after his recent visit to the Gaza Strip. The current situation has had a serious impact on the water and sewerage systems, on hospitals and on the economic situation of Gaza's inhabitants.

Water and sewerage    » read more »

21 September 2007 -- In a statement issued today (see below): The Carter Center deplores the decision taken Wednesday by Israel to declare the Gaza Strip a hostile territory and its threat to cut off provision of essential services such as electricity and fuel to the civilian population. The Center strongly believes that such actions would defy Israel's obligations toward the civilian population under international humanitarian and human rights laws, and urges Israel to rescind this decision.    » read more »

17 September 2007, Washington (By Ray McDonald) -- Local media in Israel reported Sunday that Madonna toasted the Jewish New Year with Israeli President Shimon Peres and declared herself an "ambassador for Judaism." The singer, raised a Roman Catholic, arrived September 12 in Israel to attend a conference on Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism.    » read more »

12 September 2007 -- Spain's Prince of Asturias Foundation has announced that this year's award for promoting peace and human rights will go to Israel's Yad Vashem holocaust museum and memorial.

The foundation cited Yad Vashem's determination to transmit to future generations the need for preserving human rights and respect for life, following the horrors of Nazism. It said the Jerusalem museum has become the most important repository of information, and an education center on one of the largest genocides in the history of mankind.    » read more »

Jerusalem, Israel, August 27, 2007 - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA) announced today that, following the expiration of pediatric exclusivity for U.S. Patent No. 4,743,450, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted final approval for the Company's Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) to market its generic version of Pfizer's hypertension treatment Accupril® (Quinapril Hydrochloride Tablets, 5 mg, 10 mg, 20 mg and 40 mg. Shipment of this product will commence shortly.    » read more »

August 23, 2007, Tel Aviv/London – Citi Venture Capital International ("CVCI"), a leading private equity investor focusing in growth markets, has committed to invest up to $20 million in Aviv Ventures II, L.P ("Aviv II"), a venture capital fund managed by Aviv Venture Capital, targeting mid- to late-stage technology investments in Israel. Aviv II has a target capitalization of $100 million and is expected to have its initial closing at $50 million.    » read more »

20 August 2007 -- The European Union says a Hamas plan to try to make money off EU fuel donations to the Gaza Strip means the suspension of fuel oil deliveries to the territory will continue.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been without electricity for days and there is no word on when power might resume.    » read more »

August 16, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today released the following statement on the news that the United States agreed to provide $30 billion in military aid to Israel over the next decade:    » read more »

08 August 2007 -- Israeli troops have shot and killed three Hamas militants in separate incidents along Israel's border with the Gaza Strip.

In the first incident Wednesday, Israeli soldiers killed two Hamas militants near the Karni cargo crossing.

Hours later, the Israeli military says troops opened fire at several gunmen who approached the border fence near the Erez crossing in northern Gaza. One Hamas militant was reported killed and two others were wounded.    » read more »

Jerusalem, 29 July 2007 (By Jim Teeple) -- Israel's Prime Minister on Sunday said he has no objections to a proposed massive U.S. arms sale to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States. VOA's Jim Teeple reports from Jerusalem.

Israel has long expressed wariness over U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia and other Arab states, but Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says the proposal by the U.S. to sell $20 billion worth of advanced weaponry to Saudi Arabia and other Arab Gulf states is understandable.    » read more »

30 July 2007 (By VOA News) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has announced a proposed $13 billion military aid deal with Egypt and a $30 billion military package for Israel.

Rice made the announcement in Washington before leaving Monday with Defense Secretary Robert Gates on a trip to the Middle East to seek support for stabilizing Iraq.

Rice said the military assistance deals with Egypt and Israel will be for a 10-year period. She also said the U.S. is forging new assistance agreements with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab states.    » read more »

July 17, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) today addressed the national convention of Christians United for Israel in Washington, DC. The remarks as prepared for delivery are below.

“Thank you for the honor of speaking before this gathering, and thank you for the work you do in support of the State of Israel. Your efforts are needed today more than ever, as it is harder to think of a time in recent memory when Israel’s national security has faced so many varied challenges.    » read more »