The Latest Breaking News from Jerusalem

Owing to a quirk in the Jewish lunar calendar Hanukkah coincides with Christmas this year. While it predates the Christian festival – it is mentioned in the Bible, in the gospel of St John (“And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus…

The Israeli antiquities authority says archaeologists are excavating an ancient tomb traditionally associated with Jesus’s midwife in the hills southwest of Jerusalem

Hanukkah, the Jewish “festival of lights,” commemorates a story of a miracle, when oil meant to last for one day lasted for eight. Today, Jews light the menorah, a candelabra with eight candles – and one “helper” candle, called a shamas – to remember the Hanukkah oil, which kept the…

Surge in violence either side of the ‘green line’ has led people to wonder if a third intifada is on the cards

Israel's parliament on Tuesday elected a new speaker closely allied to the country's likely next prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, setting the stage for a flurry of contentious new legislation to appease the former leader's expected coalition partners. Lawmaker Yariv Levin's election as speaker comes as Netanyahu continues negotiations to forge…

Israel will have to wait to deport a Palestinian lawyer and activist to France for at least several weeks

Deportation of Salah Hammouri, Palestinian-French human rights lawyer comes after Israel revoked his Jerusalem residency

Salah Hamouri expected to be deported after decision on grounds of ‘breach of allegiance’ to state

Israel says it has stripped a Palestinian lawyer of his Jerusalem residency and will deport him to France, claiming the man is an activist in a banned militant group