Relations between Israel and the Kurds, particularly in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, have resurfaced following the referendum for independence of this region. According to results of the referendum, held on 25 September 2017, 92 percent of the population in the Kurdistan region north of Iraq voted for independence and separation from the Iraqi state.
Emanuel Gross, Professor of Law at the University of Haifa and Netanya Academic College, stressed that the “attempts made by the Minister of Justice (Ayelet Shaked of the Jewish Home Party) to pull out the carpet from under the High Court of Justice pose a grave danger to democracy in Israel”. In a statement he made to Ynetnews on 16 September 2017, Gross said that “any enlightened democratic system gives its high court the power to check its laws and examine how constitutional they are.
The Regional Unit for Combating Corruption and Organised Crime (Lahav 433) of the Israeli Police has recently extended investigations into corruption cases. The primary suspect in two of three cases is the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. In the third case, corruption suspicions surround confidantes of Netanyahu.
The three cases are as follows:
Election of Avi Gabai as a leader of the Israeli Labour Party on Monday, 10 July 2017, was not as big a surprise as it had been expected. However, the political centre-left wing seemed to be happy that Gabai had won.
On 6-8 June 2017, the Israel Defence (ISDEF) was organised in Tel Aviv. The exhibition featured weapons, security gear, IT equipment which are custom designed for cyber war and social media espionage. Exhibits are made by public and private Israeli companies as well as foreign manufacturers.
