News
Sharon Tzur, a pro-Israel media campaigner considered to be close to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, is to be summoned by the Israel Police in the ongoing corruption investigation in the US against the premier. The 36-year-old is thought to have been present when Mr Olmert allegedly received envelopes of cash from American millionaire Morris Talansky.
More than 90 per cent of investigations into attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank end without an indictment being served, according to a new report by human rights organisation Yesh Din. Out of 205 inquiry files opened in recent years, only 13 ended with charges being filed against individuals.
Israel ordered the closure of a West Bank shopping centre after accusing the company which owns it of links to Hamas. The move against the Al-I'itiman Investment Co in Nablus is part of a stepped-up Israeli campaign against civil institutions, businesses and charities with alleged ties to Hamas.
Three mortar shells were fired from Gaza on Tuesday, interrupting the fragile ceasefire. No injuries or damages were reported in the incidents, which were not claimed by a Palestinian group. Also on Tuesday, Israel agreed to an Egyptian request to open its border crossings into Gaza.
Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu was admonished by the Knesset Ethics Committee over a trip to London during the summer of 2006. Following claims of ethical irregularities in the funding of the trip, the committee said they were satisfied Mr Netanyahu paid his own expenses, but questioned the presence of his wife Sara on the trip.
The Shin Bet security service arrested two Israeli Bedouin on suspicion of passing information to al-Qaida. Taher Abu Sakhut, 21, and Omar Abu Sakhut, 20, both from Rahat, allegedly transferred information about IDF bases and key Tel Aviv sites to the terror network.
A large meteor which streaked across the sky over central Israel sparked numerous calls to the police from concerned members of the public who feared the country was under attack. Callers were afraid the fiery object was a missile from one of Israeli's regional enemies - or a UFO.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates is to receive the inaugural Einstein Award from the US arm of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. It will be handed to Mr Gates in New York in December by the American Friends of the Hebrew University, which raises some $60 million (£30m) annually.
Arts
Rock star Joe Cocker is to play in Israel at the opening night of the Gilboa Coexistence Festival on August 26. The Coexistence Festival will include joint performances by Jewish and Arab musicians in Israel, as well as sporting activities, educational programmes, and nature trips in four locations in the Gilboa region.
New details about the author Franz Kafka may soon come to light. The remains of his estate were kept for years in a Tel Aviv flat by Esther Hoffe, the secretary of his friend and executor Max Brod, who refused to release them. Following her death, aged 101, researchers hope to finally gain access to them.
Acclaimed Israeli film The Band's Visit is to finally be shown in Egypt. The feature, which follows the story of an Egyptian police band which gets lost in Israel, was rejected by the Cairo International Film Festival and shunned by numerous cinemas in Egypt, but is to be shown next week at an event hosted by the Israeli embassy at Cairo's Four Seasons Hotel, with a Q&A session with director Eran Kolirin.
The Batsheva Dance Company studio in Tel Aviv's Suzanne Dellal Centre is to host a 12-day workshop starting next week on "GaGa" dance language. The discipline, developed by dancer Ohad Naharin, is a theory of movement which attempts to unite body and mind.
Business
Business magnate Arcadi Gaydamak was ordered to sell his shares in radio station 99 FM by Israel's Second Authority for Television and Radio. They ruled that Mr Gaydamak - who heads the Social Justice party and has said he wants to run for Jerusalem mayor in November's elections - faced a conflict of interest as he could use the station to further his own political ambitions.
Israel's top 15 multinational enterprises are worth $7.5 billion (£3.75bn) in foreign assets and over $21 billion (£10.5bn) in foreign sales. A survey by the Manufacturers Association of Israel, Tel Aviv University, the Hebrew University and the Vale-Columbia Centre on Sustainable International Investment in New York also indicated that foreign sales and employment both increased by 40 per cent between 2004-2006.
Youth hostels across Israel are raising prices due to the weak dollar and mounting running costs. A single bed now costs NIS 97 for foreign tourists (£15) with Israelis shelling out more as they have to pay VAT.
El Al announced this week that it is raising prices by an average five per cent, effective from July 14. It blamed the price adjustment on rising fuel costs. This is the fourth price rise El Al has levied this year.