JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday brushed off world condemnation of Israel’s plans to expand Jewish settlements after the Palestinians won de facto U.N. recognition of statehood.

“We will carry on building in Jerusalem and in all the places that are on the map of Israel’s strategic interests,” a defiant Netanyahu said at the weekly cabinet meeting.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Circumcision is one of Judaism’s most important laws and for generations of faithful it has symbolized a Biblical covenant with God.

But in Israel, more and more Jewish parents are saying no to the blade.

“It’s such a taboo in Israel and in Judaism,” said Gali, nursing her six-week-old son, about the decision not to have him circumcised.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Discontent over the ceasefire Benjamin Netanyahu struck with Hamas in Gaza has cost the Israeli prime minister support but he should still win a January 22 election, an opinion poll showed on Friday.

Maariv newspaper conducted the survey after an eight-day Israeli offensive against Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip ended on Wednesday with an Egyptian-mediated truce that Netanyahu’s critics said was premature.

GAZA/JERUSALEM, Nov 20 (Reuters) – The U.N. chief called for
an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday and U.S.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton headed to the region with a
message that escalation of the week-long conflict was in
nobody’s interest.

Nevertheless, Palestinian rocket fire and Israeli air
strikes continued for a seventh day.

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – International pressure for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip puts Egypt’s new Islamist president in the spotlight on Tuesday after a sixth day of Palestinian rocket fire and Israeli air strikes that have killed more than 100 people.

Israel’s leaders weighed the benefits and risks of sending tanks and infantry into the densely populated coastal enclave two months before an Israeli election, and indicated they would prefer a diplomatic path backed by world powers, including U.S. President Barack Obama, the European Union and Russia.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – The Israeli military on Monday said it could not yet provide an explanation about an air strike on Gaza that killed 11 Palestinian civilians, including nine members of a single family.

The attack brought a three-storey home crashing down on the al-Dalu family inside and killed two of their neighbors. It was the highest number of deaths in a single incident since an Israeli offensive began on Wednesday with the declared aim of ending years of sporadic cross-border rocket fire.

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli aircraft hit two Gaza media buildings on Sunday, wounding eight journalists and drawing concern from press covering the fighting between Palestinian militants and the Jewish state.

The Israeli military said the attacks were pinpoint strikes on Hamas communication devices located on the buildings’ roofs, and accused the Islamist group of using reporters as human shields to try and protect their operations.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – A TV personality-turned-politician whose centrist party could be a key player in Israel’s parliament after elections made a bid for right-wing voters on Tuesday with a call for Palestinians to accept some Israeli West Bank settlements.

Yair Lapid, head of the Yesh Atid (There is a Future) party gave his first speech on Israel’s relations with the Palestinians at a settlement in the occupied West Bank, a move commentators said was calculated to appeal to voters from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter on Monday said the Israeli-Palestinian peace process had reached a crisis point and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government was not pursuing a two-state solution.

“That policy of promoting a two-state solution seems to be abandoned now and we are deeply concerned about this move towards this catastrophic so-called one-state choice … this is a major concern,” Carter told a news conference.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – An ultra-Orthodox party has brought back a popular former leader after a 13-year absence that included jail time, a move that could draw votes away from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel’s January election.

The religious Shas party announced late on Wednesday that Aryeh Deri, 53, had joined its new triple-headed leadership for the January 22 national ballot that opinion polls predict will give Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a new governing mandate.