'Had firefighters arrived two minutes later, nothing would have been left of this place,' says Haifa rabbi.

Winds, rains and floods expected in Israel in coming days, especially in Haifa, which was recently hit by brushfires; snow could fall in Golan Heights.

Steven Mnuchin is the business partner of James Packer, whose gifts to the Netanyahu family are being probed by the Israel Police.

Crushed between rising extremes, the establishment's wish to stay liberal but support Netanyahu is no longer sustainable.

Nir Gontarz was interrogated for more than two hours for calling Yael German 12 times in two days. His phone was apparently hacked to check his conversations.

During 'hostile takeover' of Israeli television, images of Muslim holy sites were shown along with images from recent fires and the words 'Allah is great' in Hebrew.

Vote comes as Palestinian leadership convenes for Fatah's general conference in Ramallah.

Transport Ministry acts after complaints by Be'er Sheva mayor and residents about new buses bearing electronic signs, which a protest ringleader says 'insulted her eyes and ears.'