Israel

 This article by David Haggithwas first published on the Great Recession Blog: 

Israel’s attorney-general has ordered police to open a criminal investigation into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.  According to the Justice Ministry, an update will be issued “in due time” regarding the ongoing probe into suspicions around Netanyahu. Reuters reports: A Justice Ministry spokeswoman said in a statement that checks in the matter “are still ongoing and this is neither confirmation or denial of what has been alleged”.

Following his earlier tweet to president-elect Trump thanking him for his "warm friendship," Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out at US Secretary of State John Kerry's speech as "biased against Israel," as he said Israel "will never have true peace" with the Arab world if it does not reach an accord based on Israelis and Palestinians living in their own states.

This follows acusations that The White House was being the vote...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLgaLSqxEgk

As Reuters reports,

Israel says it is “reducing” ties with those nations who voted for last week’s UN Security Council resolution demanding a halt to their settlement expansion on Palestinian territory. On Tuesday Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said that Israel was “temporarily reducing” visits and work with embassies, without elaborating further.

Israel have begun an aggressive pesticide spraying campaign along the Gaza border between 25 December and 5 January, despite claims by Palestinian farmers that it damages crops and harms the health of those nearby.  The Palestinian ministry of agriculture has condemned the spraying by Israeli occupation authorities, and have warned local residents to expect a loss of crops as a result. Middleeastmonitor.com reports: The ministry’s statement was reported by a number of media outlets.