Home Front Commands opens fifth major drill to prepare civilians in case of attack; sirens to sound across country on Wednesday, when citizens will be requested to retreat to nearby shelters.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman warned that Israel will renounce past agreements, including the Oslo Accords, with the Palestinians if they continue to seek unilateral UN recognition of a state in September.
Four people were killed, two of them French-Israelis, when a huge blast caused by a gas leak levelled a building in the Israeli coastal town of Netanya, police and relatives said on Friday.
Exercise will involve Navy commandos from Shayetet and other special forces in operation that will include lessons learned from 'Marmara' raid; Navy preparing for wide range of scenarios aboard ships.
Salah al-Bardaweel, a high-ranking Hamas leader in Gaza, refutes press reports that the group may exclude itself from a future government to avoid international isolation.
Mosque in village near Ramallah torched and sprayed with graffiti; Defense Minister Barak echoes PM's condemnation and says IDF will take steps to catch the perpetrators.
IDF soldiers fire tear gas at stone-throwing protesters in Druze village of Majdal Shams, where demonstrations were held marking 44 years since onset of Six-Day War.
