Gaza rocket strikes Ashkelon, two mortar shells hit west Negev

Grad-type rocket explodes near apartment building in coastal city just after 8:30 A.M., causing no casualties but some damage to structure and parked cars.

27 comments Police sapper removing Grad in Ashkelon
IAF team arrives home after Romania crash
Israeli airmen killed in Romania crash repatriated for burial

Funerals for helicopter crash victims to take place at military cemeteries across the country on Friday, beginning at noon; several victims promoted posthumously.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. President Barack Obama, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Israel believes Abbas will bide time on direct talks until settlement freeze nears end

Arab League gives green light, but leaves ultimate decision up to Palestinian president; U.S. welcomes approval as encouraging.

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Palestinian security forces
MESS Report / From lynch to escort - cooperating with the PA is bearing fruit

Radical change in level of security coordination between Israel and the PA in the West Bank has allowed the government to make more confidence-building gestures to the Palestinians.

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A student accepts a prize for a project on underground movements
Pre-state Jewish undergrounds enjoy a renaissance among settlers

In recent years, interest in the pre-state Revisionist underground movements has grown among West Bank settlement youth.

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The American Colony Hotel In Jerusalem
East Jerusalem's perfect spot for secret spy meetings

Considered one of the best boutique hotels in the Middle East, the American Colony has served for decades as a meeting place for politicians, journalists, diplomats and spies.

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Detained U.S. hikers in Iran
U.S. hikers detained in Iran are like 'three Rachel Corries', says friend

Shon Meckfessel says he and his friends have spent their life fighting injustice in the Middle East.

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Tel Aviv nightlife
National Geographic ranks Tel Aviv among world's top beach cities

'Call it Miami Beach on the Med. Tel Aviv is the Dionysian counterpart to religious Jerusalem.'

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Diplomacy & Defense

Arab League meeting in Cairo

U.S. 'encouraged' by Arab support for direct Israeli-Palestinian talks

Arab League announces it would support Palestinian decision to enter direct talks; Hamas rejects Arab League endorsement.

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Israeli family 'breaks into' Jerusalem home centered in ownership controversy

The group of Jews have documents proving they purchased the building and were the rightful owners, but Palestinians claim it is their own.

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Abbas resisting direct talks with Israel, despite Obama pressure

The Arab League was to set out its position on direct talks on Thursday at a meeting of foreign ministers from 10 key League members in Cairo.

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IAF helicopter pilot recounts pulling friends' bodies from wreckage of Romania crash

Pilot who participated in joint training mission and rescue efforts says that rescue efforts were necessary due to the need 'to bring our friends home.'

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Blogs

Sigmund Freud

Strenger than Fiction / Psychoanalysis and Jewish thought - an evolving relationship

A look at a timely and welcome collection of essays by Jewish psychoanalysts exemplifying the whole range of Jewish denominations including ultra-Orthodoxy.

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MESS Report / Romania crash raises questions about IAF's ageing helicopter fleet

Decisions to replace helicopters, like the CH-53 that crashed in Romania on Monday, are complex, involve heavy costs and take a long time.

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Focus U.S.A / Whatever happens, Israel can always count on U.S. evangelicals

Thousands of Christian activists descended on Washington this week in a show of strength by America's pro-Israel Christians.

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National

Participants hold flags during the gay pride parade in Jerusalem July 29, 2010.

Jerusalem hosts subdued gay pride march

Thousands of Israelis marched in Jerusalem's longest gay pride parade despite opposition from anti-gay demonstrators.

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Multiple drowning incidents leave 2 people dead, two seriously injured

7-year-old boy drowns to death in Lake Kinneret; 62-year-old French man drowns to death while swimming at unguarded beach in Ashdod.

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Book condoning murder has another rabbi in hot water

Head of yeshiva in West Bank settlement of Yitzhar detained by police over book permitting murder of non-Jews who threaten Israel.

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Business

Turkey resort

Exports to Turkey remain strong, at $100m a month

Israel exports to Turkey did not drop after the Gaza flotilla incident in May, the Israeli Credit Insurance Company reports; Israeli travel agents start offering tour packages to Antalya again.

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The half-full shot glass

Israeli drinkers are mourning the ban on nighttime retail alcohol sales, but for others it's cause for popping corks.

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Ministers vow: There will be cheap TV

Communications Minister Moshe Kalon says he will force cable providers HOT and Yes to offer customers low-cost plans with a limited package of channels.

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International

Syrian President Bashar Assad

Syria president visits Lebanon for first time since Hariri assassination

Many fear that new clashes between Lebanon's Shiite and Sunni communities could break out if the international tribunal investigating former PM's death implicates Hezbollah, which is Syria's main ally in Lebanon.

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Damascus: Syria-Saudi ties are none of U.S.'s business

Saudi King Abdullah visits Syria to hold talks with Assad ahead of joint trip t Lebanon; Syrian Foreign ministry says U.S. 'has no right to define our ties with other countries.'

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Iran, U.S. signal continued talks on nuclear swap deal

Iran last discussed sending some low-enriched uranium abroad in exchange for fuel for a Tehran reactor in October.

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Culture

Sabbar Kashur

The lies that blur lines

The rape conviction of an Arab who posed as a Jew not only reeks of racism, it poses a danger to the distinction between sex and sexual violence. And: How can you measure Hollywood's testosterone level?

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The designer's soft spots

Ehud Joseph's clothing collections have been inspired by the summer camps of his childhood in Israel. More important than the garments themselves, he says, is the story behind them

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What's so funny?

'Arab Labor,' whose second season premiered this month, chooses cheap laughs over political reckoning

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Sports

Herschel Gutman

Cricket / Captain's innings from Gutman lifts Israel to historic win over Germany

Israel dropped a close match to Norway and fell to Guernsey and France before recovering for a win over Gibraltar and its historic victory over Germany, which finished second in the six-team tournament.

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Soccer / Home comfort for Haifa, but Tel Aviv throws it away

Visitors allowed Haifa to navigate around midfield almost unimpeded, remaining firmly hunkered in defense.

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Soccer / Bold Turkey

Istanbul's Big Three have pockets deep enough to lure top talent.

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Gaza attempts kite flying record

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