Defense and finance ministries announce first pay increase for troops in 5 years - set to go into effect January 2022 - following public backlash over low pay for regular soldiers, while pensions of retired career officers continue to rise

After years in political wilderness, pro-Palestinian statehood Meretz and Labor are back in government, but they are finding their influence is limited, with right-wing pro-settler coalition partners showing little appetite for compromise

Defense minister reveals UAV shot down by Israel in 2018, was launched from Syria's T-4 airbase and was packed with TNT meant for terrorists in West Bank; he also accuses Tehran of using island in Gulf of Oman to launch attacks on maritime targets

Gantz — the first-ever Israeli security chief to visit the North African kingdom — is set to sign MOU outlining defense cooperation between the two countries, as Rabat is embroiled in a standoff over Western Sahara

PM tells security conference Iranians encircled Israel with missiles, while they sit safely in Tehran; adds Iran is at most advanced stage of nuclear program, indicating Jerusalem's cyber skills and international standing to be enlisted in response

In remarks to security forum, Finance Minister Liberman says he believes resuming talks to revive tattered 2015 pact would do little to hamper Tehran's efforts to obtain nuclear armaments