TV News LIES

Israel is preparing to spend nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars on its propaganda arm as it seeks to counter a worsening global image shaped by the genocide in Gaza and regional wars, according to its national budget passed in March.

First reported by The Jerusalem Post, a total of $730m has been allocated to the national public diplomacy directorate, known by its Hebrew name Hasbara, which oversees Israeli propaganda.

The figure marks a sharp increase from the $150m set aside the previous year, which had already surged to roughly 20 times pre-2023 levels.

The scale of the spending points to an intensified effort to improve Israel’s international standing as negative perceptions grow, including in allied countries such as the United States.

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Ukraine said its air defenses repelled most of a Russian drone wave targeting the south overnight, as Moscow struck energy infrastructure in Mykolaiv, port facilities in Izmail in Odesa region, and a district of Kharkiv, according to regional officials.

The attacks underscored Russia’s continued pressure on Ukraine’s energy, logistics and urban infrastructure, even as Ukrainian forces reported intercepting most of the UAVs aimed at Izmail.

A Russian UAV struck Kharkiv’s Shevchenkivskyi district, injuring one person, according to Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration.

“An enemy UAV hit has been recorded in Kharkiv’s Shevchenkivskyi district,” Syniehubov wrote on Telegram.

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A video of an attack on a French Catholic nun and archeological researcher in Jerusalem has caused widespread revulsion and been denounced as a “shameful act” by Israel’s foreign ministry.

In the video, a man runs up behind the nun as she walks down a street and pushes her over with force, so that the victim comes close to hitting her head on a block of stone. After walking away a few paces, the attacker, who appears to be Jewish, returns to kick the nun as she lies on the ground and only stops when a passerby intervenes.

The nun’s face was grazed but she was not reported to be seriously injured. The Israeli police said they had arrested a 36-year-old man, and that the force would “continue to act with a heavy hand and zero tolerance in order to preserve and maintain the proper and safe fabric of life for all ethnicities and religions in the city of Jerusalem”.

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Israeli forces killed a Palestinian teenager in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron late on Wednesday.

Ibrahim al-Khayyat, 16, was shot in the abdomen by troops during a raid in the al-Hawooz area, according to medics.

Local media said Israeli forces stormed the area with a large number of military vehicles, closed the main road and forced shop owners to shut their businesses.

The raid was accompanied by live gunfire and tear gas fired at residents, resulting in two people being wounded, including al-Khayyat.

The wounded were taken to the Red Crescent hospital in the city, where al-Khayyat was pronounced dead.

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Israel’s Chief Rabbinate has declined to condemn the smashing of a statue of Jesus by a soldier in southern Lebanon earlier this month, according to Army Radio.

The report on Thursday said military officials had asked the Rabbinate, the highest Jewish religious authority in Israel, to issue a statement condemning the incident, which drew widespread criticism.

According to the report, the army requested that the Rabbinate denounce the act as contrary to Jewish law, but no such condemnation was issued.

Instead, the Rabbinate reportedly agreed to coordinate with the military and Israel’s propaganda apparatus, known as hasbara, in handling similar incidents in the future.

The Israeli military did not deny the report.

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Donald Trump has again lashed out at Germany’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, saying he should focus on “fixing his broken country” and trying to end the Russia-Ukraine war – and spend less time “interfering” in Iran.

Trump’s latest outburst came a day after he suggested the US military presence in Germany was being reviewed, with a “possible reduction” of troops under consideration. Then on Thursday, the president was baited into saying he may consider withdrawing troops from other US bases in Europe.

During an Oval Office event for correspondents from partisan, rightwing outlets, Trump was asked if he would consider withdrawing troops from bases in Spain and Italy, over their unwillingness to get involved in his ruinous war on Iran.

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