37+ min ago (267+ words) Sunday, November 30th | 10 Kislev 5786 i24 News " Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday submitted a formal request for a presidential pardon to President Isaac Herzog, i24NEWS Hebrew legal commentator Avishai Grintzig revealed. What happens next? The request now enters a detailed, multi-stage review process involving the Ministry of Justice, law-enforcement bodies, and the President's Residence. Once a request is filed, it is first transferred to the Pardons Department in the Ministry of Justice. The department begins gathering extensive information, seeking input from the Prison Service, Israel Police, the State Attorney's Office, welfare and medical authorities, and the Enforcement and Collection Authority. After assembling the material, the Pardons Department submits its opinion to the Minister of Justice. The minister then issues his own recommendation. If a conflict of interest arises, the government must appoint another minister to handle the matter. The minister's recommendation is then…...

1+ hour, 5+ min ago (594+ words) Sunday, November 30th | 10 Kislev 5786 i24 news " Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu submitted a formal request for a presidential pardon to President Isaac Herzog on Sunday, igniting a political firestorm across Israel's political landscape. Opposition leader and Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid called on President Herzog to reject the request outright. "You cannot grant him a pardon without an admission of guilt, an expression of remorse, and his immediate departure from political life," Lapid said. Yair Golan, head of the Democrats party and a retired major general, condemned the move as an implicit admission of guilt. "The only acceptable arrangement is for Netanyahu to take responsibility, admit guilt, leave politics, and release the nation from this crisis. Only then can unity be restored." National Unity Party chairman Benny Gantz accused Netanyahu of using the request to distract the public from the controversial draft-exemption bill....

1+ hour, 45+ min ago (338+ words) Sunday, November 30th | 10 Kislev 5786 Pope Leo said on Sunday that the only solution in the decades-long conflict between'Israel'and the Palestinian people must include a Palestinian state, reaffirming the Vatican's position. "We all know that at this time'Israel'still does not accept that solution, but we see it as the only solution," Leo, the first US pope, told journalists on a flight from Turkey to Lebanon during his first in-flight press conference. "We are also friends with'Israel'and we are seeking to be a mediating voice between the two parties that might help them close in on a solution with justice for everyone," added the pope, speaking in Italian. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reaffirmed opposition to a Palestinian state after even its biggest ally the US indicated support for Palestinian independence. Leo spoke in a brief eight-minute press conference focused on his…...

2+ hour, 40+ min ago (347+ words) Sunday, November 30th | 10 Kislev 5786 i24 News " Cairo has launched a major initiative to train Palestinian police officers who are expected to join a future security force in Gaza once the ongoing conflict concludes. The program was first announced last summer by Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty during a meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa. The training began with an initial cohort of more than 500 officers in March, and resumed in September with new groups. The program aims to prepare a total of 5,000 police officers, all from Gaza, with funding provided by the Palestinian Authority. "We aspire to a definitive end to the fighting and hope to serve our homeland and fellow citizens," said a 26-year-old trainee, expressing satisfaction with the program. He added that the goal is to establish a security force "autonomous, loyal only to Palestine, and free from external…...

4+ hour, 46+ min ago (674+ words) Sunday, November 30th | 10 Kislev 5786 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the plenum of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem, November 10, 2025. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked the country's president on Sunday for a pardon in his long-running corruption trial, arguing that criminal proceedings were hindering his ability to govern and a pardon would be good for Israel. Netanyahu, the country's longest-serving prime minister, denies the bribery, fraud, and breach of trust charges. His lawyers said in a letter to the president's office that the prime minister still believes the legal proceedings would result in a complete acquittal. "My lawyers sent a request for pardon to the president of the country today. I expect that anyone who wishes for the good of the country support this step," Netanyahu said in a brief video statement released by his political…...

1+ day, 3+ hour ago (218+ words) Saturday, November 29th | 9 Kislev 5786 Iran'intends to boycott next week's World Cup draw due to the limited number of visas allocated to the country's football federation. According to the Tehran Times, the United States issued visas to only four members of'Iran's delegation, with requests for three additional visas denied, including one for'Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI) President Mehdi Taj. "We have informed FIFA that the decisions taken are unrelated to sport and that the members of the'Iranian delegation will not participate in the World Cup draw," FFIRI spokesman Mehdi Alavi said on Friday, per the report. Alavi said the federation has been in contact with FIFA in an effort to resolve the situation. The World Cup draw will take place on Dec. 5 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The expanded 48-team World Cup is being hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico…...

1+ day, 4+ hour ago (152+ words) Saturday, November 29th | 9 Kislev 5786 i24 News " Citing the Gaza war, Dublin city council voted to rename a park honoring Israel's sixth president, the Irish-born Chaim Herzog, in further manifestation of anti-Israel sentiment in the country. While a new name is yet to be chosen, reports cite efforts by pro-Palestinian activists to change it to the "Free Palestine Park." The Jewish Representative Council of Ireland issued a statement regarding the renaming of Herzog Park. "It sends a hurtful and isolating message to a small minority community that has contributed to Ireland for centuries. We call on Dublin City Councillors to reject this motion. The removal of the Herzog name from this park would be widely understood as an attempt to erase our Irish Jewish history." Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar slammed the decision, saying that Ireland's "antisemitic and anti-Israel obsession is sickening."...

1+ day, 4+ hour ago (142+ words) Saturday, November 29th | 9 Kislev 5786 i24 News " Qatar's Prime Minister Mohammed Al Thani will visit Beirut on Wednesday to meet with Lebanon's leaders, Al-Jadeed reported Saturday. The visit comes "as part of an effort inseparable from the efforts by Egypt in coordination with Arab countries, foremost among them'Saudi'Arabia." The trip coincides with a sensitive period for the country, ravaged by war and deep economic crisis. Lebanon is under growing pressure from both Israel and the United States to more swiftly disarm Hezbollah and other Islamist groups across the country, with Israel increasingly inclined to stop the Shiite militia from rearming and rebuilding its infrastructure. Hezbollah was left devastated in the aftermath of a nine-day war last year, that saw Israel take out its command structure and lay waste to a significant proportion of its missile arsenal....

1+ day, 5+ hour ago (748+ words) Saturday, November 29th | 9 Kislev 5786 Pope Leo XIV visits the Sultanahmet Mosque, known as the Blue Mosque, during his first apostolic journey, in Istanbul, Turkey, November 29, 2025. REUTERS/Kemal Aslan Pope Leo visited Istanbul's Blue Mosque on Saturday, removing his shoes in a sign of respect but not appearing to pray in his first visit as leader of the Catholic Church to a Muslim place of worship during his four-day visit to Turkey. Leo, walking in white socks, smiled during the 20-minute visit and joked with one of his guides, the mosque's lead muezzin " the official who leads the daily calls to prayer. The Vatican appeared surprised that Leo had not stopped to pray during the visit and that he had not been welcomed to the mosque by the head of Turkey's state-run religious organization, known as the diyanet, as had been planned....

1+ day, 6+ hour ago (510+ words) Saturday, November 29th | 9 Kislev 5786 A drone view shows a fishing boat anchored in the Gulf of Paria, and the coast of Venezuela in the back, in Cedros, Trinidad and Tobago, November 17, 2025. REUTERS/Marco Bello US President Donald Trump said on Saturday the airspace above and surrounding'Venezuela'should be considered "closed in its entirety," but gave no further details as Washington ramps up pressure on President Nicolas Maduro's government. "To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING'VENEZUELA'TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY," Trump said in a Truth Social post. US officials contacted by Reuters were surprised by Trump's announcement and unaware of any ongoing US military operations to enforce a closure of'Venezuelan airspace. The Pentagon did not respond to requests for comment and the White House did not provide any further explanation. Venezuela's communications ministry,…...