For 2nd day in row new virus cases top 500, number of seriously ill slowly rises timesofisrael.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from timesofisrael.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Yamina chief Naftali Bennett speaks during a press conference at the Knesset on May 5, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Senior officials in the bloc of Knesset parties opposing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were quoted Tuesday evening as saying a government had been nearly formed after the Yesh Atid party reached understandings with other opposition factions, though it is waiting for Yamina party leader Naftali Bennett.
Bennett has refused to commit to either the pro- or anti-Netanyahu blocs, keeping his options open. He has vowed to do “everything” to prevent the country from going to its fifth election in two and a half years.
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An IDF vehicle drives along the road parallel to the border fence separating the Israeli and Syrian regions of the Golan Heights, July 19, 2017. (AFP/MENAHEM KAHANA)
A business jet took off from Tel Aviv for Moscow Thursday night amid expectations that an Israeli woman held by the Syrian regime would soon be freed and transferred to Israel via Russia.
According to multiple Hebrew media reports, Yaron Bloom, government coordinator for negotiating the return of POWs and MIAs, was on board the plane and would bring the young woman back with him.
The woman, who has yet to be identified, has been in Russian custody since Wednesday and met with Bloom and National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat during their visit to Russia on Wednesday, reports said.
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David Horovitz is the founding editor of The Times of Israel. He is the author of Still Life with Bombers (2004) and A Little Too Close to God (2000), and co-author of Shalom Friend: The Life and Legacy of Yitzhak Rabin (1996). He previously edited The Jerusalem Post (2004-2011) and The Jerusalem Report (1998-2004).
Jerusalem s near-deserted Arena COVID-19 vaccination center on February 8, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
Israel’s world-beating vaccination drive has slowed, dramatically.
Anyone 16 and over has been eligible for vaccination for the past week and, by all accounts, Israel has both plentiful supplies and medical staff waiting to inoculate all comers an extraordinary privilege, when most of the rest of the world has neither.
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Ichilov Medical Center staff members at the coronavirus unit of the Tel Aviv hospital, December 15, 2020. (Flash90)
Israel’s daily coronavirus infections surged to almost 3,000 according to figures released Wednesday morning, the highest caseload in over two months, as the country’s outbreak raced toward the threshold set by the government for reimposing nationwide restrictions.
The Health Ministry said in its daily update that 2,867 new cases were diagnosed the previous day, the highest since October 12 and a significant leap compared to Tuesday, which had 2,279 cases confirmed.
The number of new cases was partly a reflection of the large number of tests conducted, 81,675, a daily record since the start of the pandemic.