Consul general to Jerusalem gives National Order of Merit to Raji Sourani, who represented hundreds of Gazans at The Hague; Israel accuses him of maintaining close ties with Hamas

Key diplomatic positions were left unfilled by last government, some for over a year

FM Ashkenazi tells envoy that comment by Le Drian was 'far from reality' and a prize to terrorists; says Israel expects its friends not to drive anti-Israel activities

'We will not suffer any hypocritical and false moral rebukes on this matter,' says PM, following lament by French foreign minister on lack of peace talks, Jewish-Arab violence

EU vows to increase efforts for political solution; Germany says work must be done on causes of conflict; France hails 'fundamental role' played by Egypt as a mediator

French police fear violent 'acts against synagogues and Israeli interests' Saturday, like those that took place during anti-Israel protests amid 2014 Gaza war

IDF chief tells French president that Lebanon has been taken 'captive' by Hezbollah and that Israel has 'thousands of targets picked out' in case of need for retaliation

Ahead of meeting with Macron, president pens op-ed in French daily, warning that investigation could hurt peace efforts and insisting that Israel respects international law

'Compelling reason' no longer required for trips to and from selected destinations, though negative test still needed

Presidents of Germany, France, and Austria invite Israeli counterpart for meetings about Tehran's nuclear program, ICC war crimes probe