Chancellor's office requested matter be kept under wraps due to uncertainty surrounding trip; German official: 'Nothing is certain,' especially during the pandemic

Ministerial panel reportedly accepts recommendation from security agency to shorten requested 2-year detail; committee also extends security for former PMs Barak, Olmert

Infections appear to plateau; top health official Sharon Alroy-Preis gets health minister's support after report suggests education minister seeking her ouster

Request for billions of shekels comes as government begins preparing for possibility that talks to revive nuclear deal fall apart; Netanyahu accused of neglecting issue

Prime minister says Israel carefully monitoring situation in Lebanon and that IDF currently in better place than it was in 2006 war against Hezbollah

Bakr Natour, 43, was a local politician and restaurant owner; 46 Arab Israelis have died in homicides since the beginning of 2021

Timeframe for Biden meeting would be very tight due to coalition's wafer-thin majority, opposition filibusters, Shabbat observance and US presidents not holding meetings on Sundays

PM says Israel can avert another closure if rules heeded, urges Israelis to cancel trips abroad, blames renewed outbreak on the previous government's 'serious neglect'

Number of serious cases rises to 53; officials to test all of them for new subvariant, fearing it may be more contagious and virulent than predecessors

Health Ministry proposal would once again limit access to some public venues; government prepares to set up rapid virus test sites across the country