Israel Advances Plans for New Construction in East Jerusalem

Israel has given the final go-ahead for new construction in a Jewish area of east Jerusalem — the area of the city the Palestinians demand as the capital of a future state.

The Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now says it is the first time in nearly a year that Israel has issued building tenders in east Jerusalem.

The Israel Land Authority published tenders for 77 housing units in Neve Yaakov and Pisgat Zeev. Israel considers both areas — already home to tens of thousands of Israelis — to be neighborhoods of its capital. The international community considers them settlements.

Israel captured east Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed it.

Lior Amihai of Peace Now said Monday that construction could begin within months.

Israel Says It Launched Airstrike at Syrian Border

Israeli Forces Kill Two Knife-Wielding Palestinians: Cops

Israeli Police: 2 Palestinians Shot Dead After Knife Attacks

Israeli police officers on Saturday shot dead two knife-wielding Palestinians in response to separate stabbing attacks against Israeli officers, police said.

In the first incident, police spokeswoman Luba Samri said a 17-year-old east Jerusalem resident named Ali Mohammed Abu Ghannam approached a roadblock with a butcher's knife and tried to attack officers there. Samri said officers shot Abu Ghannam dead after he refused to lay down his weapon. Dozens of Palestinian youth clashed with police forces following the incident. The youths hurled rocks at the police, who responded with tear gas.

Later, in the West Bank city of Hebron, a Palestinian attacked a police officer there, stabbing him several times in his head and chest. The officer was evacuated to a hospital and was in stable condition. Sabri said other officers on the scene opened fire on the assailant and killed him.

The attacks come a week after Israeli authorities say a 37-year-old Palestinian man intentionally rammed his car into a group of Israeli Jews near Jerusalem, killing one man and seriously injuring a woman.

Israel has seen a number of isolated vehicular and stabbing attacks in Jerusalem in recent months, raising fears of a renewed wave of Palestinian violence like the one that gripped the country a decade ago.

Israelis Honor War Dead With Somber Memorial Day

Israelis have come to a standstill as sirens wailed on Memorial Day, honoring fallen soldiers, those killed in fighting with Palestinians and victims of militant attacks.

Across the country, Israelis stopped what they were doing at 11 a.m. Wednesday and stood silently for two minutes to honor and remember the dead.

Israel says 23,320 security personnel have been killed since 1860, when Jews began moving back to the area of present-day Israel. Of those, 116 died last year, including 67 soldiers during a 50-day war in Gaza.

It's one of the most somber dates on the Israeli calendar. Places of entertainment shut down while radio and TV air documentaries about the fallen.

The sad atmosphere ends sharply at sundown when Israelis joyfully take to the streets for Independence Day celebrations.

Church Official in Israel Says Cemetery Vandalized

A Catholic Church official in Israel says a Christian cemetery has been desecrated, with graves damaged and crosses smashed.

Wadie Abunassar said some 20 gravestones at the cemetery in Kufr Birim in northern Israel were found vandalized early Wednesday. He said some were shattered, with pieces of stone strewn about.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said Thursday that police have opened an investigation. But Abunassar said the church is concerned that no one will be held accountable.

A number of Christian sites, including churches and monasteries, have been vandalized in recent years in attacks by suspected Jewish extremists. Critics charge that Israel often fails to apprehend and prosecute the assailants.

Israel's President Reuven Rivlin this week met with top church officials and denounced violence on holy sites.

Israeli Ultra-Orthodox Site Cuts Kim Kardashian From Photo

An Israeli ultra-Orthodox Jewish news website has cut Kim Kardashian — one of the world's most photographed women — from a photo taken of her in Jerusalem this week.

The original photo of Kardashian, her husband Kanye West and Jerusalem's Mayor Nir Barkat was altered to put Kardashian behind a restaurant receipt. Kardashian was blurred in another.

Nissim Ben Haim, an editor at the Kikar HaShabbat website, said Wednesday they removed Kardashian because she is a "pornographic symbol" who contradicts ultra-Orthodox values.

In an article chiding Barkat for dining with them at a non-kosher restaurant, Kardashian was referred to as "West's wife."

Within the insular Ultra-Orthodox community, pictures of women often aren't shown out of modesty. In January, an ultra-Orthodox newspaper removed German chancellor Angela Merkel from a photo.