https://www.scmp.com/rss/524729/feed The latest news and top stories on Yair Lapid, opposition leader in Israel. He is known for founding the centrist Yesh Atid party in 2012 after a career as a journalist. He served as Israel’s Prime Minister from July to December 2022 and held ministerial portfolios including Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Finance. Lapid also authored several books. His party advocates for economic and secular-liberal reforms. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Israel’s parliament approved the country’s 2026 budget early on Monday, providing for a significant increase in military spending as the country remains engaged in wars on multiple fronts. Lawmakers passed the budget with 62 votes in favour and 55 against. The vote averted an automatic government collapse and snap election that would have followed failure to pass the budget by March’s end, under Israeli law. The proposed total expenditure budget for 2026 amounts to around 850 billion Israeli... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3348339/israel-adds-us10-billion-its-war-chest-defence-budget-increase?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3348339/israel-adds-us10-billion-its-war-chest-defence-budget-increase?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2026 02:26:31 +0000 Agencies Agencies Four European countries have called on Israel to abandon a bill seeking to revive the death penalty for people convicted of acts of terrorism, a measure opponents say would target only Palestinians. In a joint statement on Sunday ahead of an anticipated final vote in the Knesset on Monday, foreign ministers from France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom expressed their “deep concern” about the bill. “The death penalty is an inhumane and degrading form of punishment without any deterring... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3348328/european-countries-appeal-israel-abandon-plans-revive-death-penalty?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3348328/european-countries-appeal-israel-abandon-plans-revive-death-penalty?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Mar 2026 22:26:50 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Friday that they had turned back three ships trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz, adding the route was closed to vessels travelling to and from ports “belonging to allies and supporters of the Zionist-American enemies”. “This morning, following the lies of the corrupt US president claiming that the Strait of Hormuz was open, three container ships of different nationalities … were turned back after a warning from the IRGC Navy,” the Guards said on their... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3348177/iran-says-hormuz-closed-shipping-and-enemy-ports?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3348177/iran-says-hormuz-closed-shipping-and-enemy-ports?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 10:48:54 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Kharg Island, a scrubby stretch of land in the northern Gulf, handles almost all of Iran’s crude exports and any attempt to seize it would mark a major escalation in the conflict, analysts have said. The US and Israel have so far treaded carefully around the island, but an Axios report over the weekend cited Trump administration officials saying capturing Kharg was on the table as the war in the Middle East persists. The island, located around 30km (19 miles) off the Iranian mainland, handles... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346181/irans-vital-oil-hub-kharg-island-americas-crosshairs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346181/irans-vital-oil-hub-kharg-island-americas-crosshairs?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2026 05:15:17 +0000 Reuters Reuters 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... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3334687/netanyahu-corruption-trial-impossible-demand-seeks-pardon-amid-protests?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3334687/netanyahu-corruption-trial-impossible-demand-seeks-pardon-amid-protests?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Nov 2025 13:41:09 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press After repeated delays, Israel’s government has agreed to launch an investigation into the government failures that led to the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, that triggered the war in Gaza. But questions about the investigation’s independence drew accusations on Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to evade personal responsibility in the worst attack in Israel’s history. Israel has traditionally appointed an independent state commission of inquiry, led by a retired judge,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3333142/netanyahu-puts-himself-charge-october-7-hamas-probe-slammed-over-lack-independence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3333142/netanyahu-puts-himself-charge-october-7-hamas-probe-slammed-over-lack-independence?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Nov 2025 13:58:35 +0000