TOI staff

Defense Minister Benny Gantz (left) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the swearing-in ceremony for the 24th Knesset, April 6, 2021 (Knesset spokesperson)

April 12, 2021, 8:27 pm

Likud, Blue and White trade blame as further vaccine purchases held up

Netanyahu’s party accuses Gantz of wanting to ‘bring back the lockdowns’; Gantz says he’ll approve deal if PM stops blocking appointment of permanent justice minister

By TOI staff

Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, is interviewed from his hospital bed on April 12, 2021, after being injured the day before in a reported fall at the Natanz nuclear facility. (Screen capture: Twitter)

April 12, 2021, 7:35 pm

Iran says Natanz was hit by ‘small explosion,’ claims damage quickly repairable

Blast occurred in the nuclear enrichment facility’s electricity distribution center, according to Iranian atomic agency spokesman, who vows ‘revenge on the Zionist regime’

By Agencies and TOI staff

Israeli air force aerobatic team flies during a military training session for the upcoming 73rd Independence day, in Jerusalem, on April 12, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

April 12, 2021, 6:31 pm

Ahead of its 73rd Independence Day, Israel’s population stands at 9.3 million

Latest stats find 73.9% of population are Jews, 21.1% are Arabs, and 5% are members of other groups

By TOI staff

Screen capture from video of Lebanon's Public Works Minister Michel Najjar. (YouTube)

April 12, 2021, 6:27 pm

Lebanon expands its demands in maritime talks, angering Israel

After Lebanese public works minister increases area claimed in sea border dispute, Israeli energy minister accuses him of ‘blowing up’ talks aimed at resolving issue

By AP and TOI staff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at a press conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem on April 12, 2021. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

April 12, 2021, 5:53 pm

Netanyahu to visiting US defense secretary: We won’t let Iran obtain nukes

Following attack on Iran’s Natanz facility, which has been blamed on Israel, PM says US-Israeli cooperation is ‘crucial’ to combat threats facing both countries

By TOI staff

Examples of fictitious profiles used by Iranian operatives to lure Israelis (courtesy of ISA).

April 12, 2021, 5:32 pm

Iran seeking to lure Israelis abroad, could kidnap or harm them – intel agencies

Shin Bet, Mossad say Iranian agents are using fake Instagram accounts to draw Israelis overseas with business offers, romantic propositions

By TOI staff

Yamina leader Naftali Bennett speaks during a faction meeting at the Knesset on April 6, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

April 12, 2021, 5:04 pm

Bennett says Likud can count on his party to back a right-wing government

But Yamina leader warns he will do everything to prevent fifth elections, leaving open option of joining anti-Netanyahu bloc if PM fails to set up a coalition

By TOI staff

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas wears a mask upon his arriving to head the Palestinian leadership meeting at his headquarters, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, May 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser, Pool)

April 12, 2021, 3:38 pm

Outgoing IDF liaison: PA’s Abbas a partner, we should have behaved differently

COGAT head Kamil Abu Rukun says Palestinian leader has proved he is against violence; was concerned annexation could have led to change in Palestinian Authority’s situation

By TOI staff

Prince Philip, delivering remarks a ceremony in honor of his mother, Princess Alice, at Jerusalem's Yad Vashem memorial, October 20, 1994. (Yad Vashem)

April 12, 2021, 3:13 pm

Prince Philip: ‘My mother never mentioned’ that she saved 3 Jews from the Nazis

In poignant 1994 address at Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust museum, honoring his mother as Righteous Among The Nations, Duke of Edinburgh bewailed ‘man’s capacity for inhumanity’

By TOI staff

This image released by Apple TV+ shows Niv Sultan as Tamar Rabinyan in a scene from 'Tehran.' (Apple TV+ via AP)

April 12, 2021, 3:10 pm

Daily Briefing Apr. 12 – The latest twist in the plot of a real-life ‘Tehran’

Tune in Sunday through Thursday to hear ToI editors and reporters quickly catch you up on what’s important today

By TOI staff

Centrifuge machines in the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in central Iran, November 5, 2019. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP)

April 12, 2021, 3:10 pm

Ex-Mossad head: Political leaders want Iran sabotage attributed to Israel

Efraim Halevy says potential retaliation by Tehran dependent on its upcoming elections, nuclear talks with US; adds Iran has means to hit Israel that it hasn’t previously used

By TOI staff

Former CEO of Walla news website Ilan Yeshua arrives for his testimony in the case against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the District Court in Jerusalem, April 12, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

April 12, 2021, 3:10 pm

At trial, Yeshua says Netanyahu was allowed to edit own interview to his liking

As his testimony continues, former CEO of Walla news site recalls ‘any negative item led to outburst’ from premier’s vicinity

By TOI staff

A child wearing a face mask at the Kramim school in Jerusalem on November 1, 2020. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

April 12, 2021, 2:01 pm

Health Ministry backs full reopening of schools, without pods

Ministers to meet on plan, which would only require students, teachers directly exposed to coronavirus carriers to get tested

By TOI staff

File: Iran's nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz, Iran (AP Photo/Hasan Sarbakhshian)

April 12, 2021, 1:42 pm

After Natanz incident, EU warns against attempts to ‘undermine’ nuclear talks

Germany says reported sabotage at facility ‘not positive’ for negotiations in Vienna, as sides set to reconvene Tuesday

By Agencies and TOI staff

Students take part in a lesson in their makeshift outdoor classroom in the coastal city of Ashkelon, February 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

April 12, 2021, 12:24 pm

Ministers set to discuss further easing of restrictions on education system

Cabinet to decide whether to scrap limit on class sizes for grades 5-9; finance minister meets with Blue and White representatives in bid to end deadlock over vaccine purchase

By TOI staff