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Israeli General Says Hamas Needed for Gaza Stability

The general responsible for Israel's border with the Gaza Strip says that continued rule by the territory's Islamist militant group Hamas is necessary for its stability, a newspaper reported Tuesday.

"There is no substitute for Hamas as ruler in the strip. The alternative would be the Israeli military and chaos in governance," top-selling Yediot Aharonot quoted Major General Sami Turgeman as telling heads of southern Israel local authorities in the Gaza border area on Monday.

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Israeli, German Presidents Condemn Rising Anti-Semitism

The presidents of Israel and Germany warned Tuesday of growing anti-Semitism as they marked half a century of diplomatic ties, 70 years after the end of World War II and the Holocaust.

"I am very worried. Worldwide anti-Israeli and anti-Jewish slogans are on the rise," said Israel's President Reuven Rivlin, who was on a state visit to Berlin to mark the anniversary of bilateral relations.

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After Threats, Israel Assigns Guards to Incoming Minister

Israel said Monday it would assign a protection detail to a controversial rightwing female MP who is slated to become justice minister after she received death threats.

"We were shocked to see threats and photomontages online of Ayelet Shaked in a Nazi uniform," parliamentary speaker Yuli Edelstein told army radio.

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Israel to Buy Patrol Boats from Germany to Protect Gas Installations

Israel on Monday signed a deal to buy four navy patrol boats from Germany's ThyssenKrupp to protect its offshore gas installations, Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said.

The deal, valued at 430 million euros ($480 million), will significantly improve the navy's ability to protect natural gas fields in the Mediterranean.

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Israel PM's wife hits back after employee abuse claims

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's wife Sara has hit back at what she says is a smear campaign over her alleged mistreatment of domestic employees, media reported on Monday.

She railed that her "blood has been spilled publicly" at an ongoing trial Sunday over her alleged abuse of the former caretaker at the premier's residence, just months after she was alleged to have pocketed public funds through bottle deposits.

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Hamas Jails Gazan for 15 Years for Spying for Israel

A military court in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip on Monday jailed a Palestinian convicted of "spying" for Israel to 15 years, judicial sources said.

In March two other men were given the same sentence for the same offense.

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West Bank Village Challenges Israel's Iron Grip on Planning

It was a large house with three floors and freshly painted pale blue shutters that had just been built for a family of 17.

But within a few hours of work by a pair of Israeli bulldozers, all that was left was a mountain of rubble and twisted metal.

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Gaza Teenager Seriously Wounded by Israeli Gunfire

Israeli troops shot and seriously wounded a 17-year-old Palestinian in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday, medics said.

The youth, whose name was not immediately released, was hit in the head north of Beit Lahiya near the border with Israel, Gaza health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said in a statement.

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Israel to Vote on Enlarged Cabinet before Forming New Govt.

Israel's parliament is to vote next week on enlarging the cabinet, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party said Friday, reportedly to satisfy senior party members demanding portfolios.

After six weeks of intensive post-election negotiations, Netanyahu on Thursday signed a deal with the far-right Jewish Home party, completing his new coalition government.

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Naftali Bennett: Israel's Hardline Kingmaker

Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett, a social media savvy former entrepreneur and vocal opponent of a Palestinian state, is the new kingmaker of Israeli politics with a key role in the government.

The 43-year-old's meteoric rise has turned his nationalist-religious party into a political force able to demand several key portfolios in return for joining Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's incoming coalition.

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