2010 in Israel - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Incumbents

Prime Minister of Israel
Prime Minister of Israel
The Prime Minister of Israel is the head of the Israeli government and the most powerful political figure in Israel . The prime minister is the country's chief executive. The official residence of the prime minister, Beit Rosh Hamemshala is in Jerusalem...

– Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is the current Prime Minister of Israel. He serves also as the Chairman of the Likud Party, as a Knesset member, as the Health Minister of Israel, as the Pensioner Affairs Minister of Israel and as the Economic Strategy Minister of Israel.Netanyahu is the first and, to...

(Likud
Likud
Likud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had...

)
President of Israel
President of Israel
The President of the State of Israel is the head of state of Israel. The position is largely an apolitical ceremonial figurehead role, with the real executive power lying in the hands of the Prime Minister. The current president is Shimon Peres who took office on 15 July 2007...

– Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres
GCMG is the ninth President of the State of Israel. Peres served twice as the eighth Prime Minister of Israel and once as Interim Prime Minister, and has been a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years...
Chief of General Staff – Gabi Ashkenazi
Gabi Ashkenazi
Gavriel "Gabi" Ashkenazi , was the Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defence Forces from 2007 to 2011.- Background and early life :...
Government of Israel – 32nd Government of Israel

Events

June 16 – Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...

soldiers stop three armed men entering Israel from Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

, 40 kilometers north of the Israeli city of Eilat. One of them is killed, and the other two flee, leaving behind an explosive device.
June 17 – Immanuel Beit Yaakov controversy
Immanuel Beit Yaakov controversy
The "Immanuel Beit Yaakov controversy" concerns the founding of a Chassidic girls' school in the town of Immanuel in September 2007. A Shas-Mayan Sephardic girls' school, "Ohel Rachel VeLeah", was also founded in Immanuel in September 2007...

– Haredi parents of girls in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...

settlement of Immanuel
Immanuel (town)
Immanuel is an Israeli settlement and a town with local council status in the West Bank. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics ,...

begin a two-week jail sentence after the parents refused to follow an Israeli Supreme Court order, without a trial, requiring their daughters to return to the original school. This imprisonment is followed by mass protests in Jerusalem and Bnei Brak by both religious and secular Israelis who oppose judicial activism.
June 22 – The Israeli reconnaissance satellite Ofek-9
Ofek-9
Ofek-9, also known as Ofeq 9, is part of the Ofeq family of reconnaissance satellites designed and built by Israel Aerospace Industries for the Israeli Ministry of Defense....

is launched from the Palmachim Airbase
Palmachim Airbase
Palmachim Air Force Base is an Israeli military facility and spaceport located near the cities of Rishon LeZion and Yavne on the Mediterranean Sea. It is named after nearby Kibbutz Palmachim on the Mediterranean shore....

.
July 10 – A new bill is introduced in the Knesset
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...

that would force Haredi Jewish
Haredi Judaism
Haredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....

schools to teach core subjects such as mathematics, science, English, and civics, or lose state funding.
July 26 – 2010 Israeli helicopter disaster in Romania
2010 Israeli helicopter disaster in Romania
The 2010 Israeli helicopter disaster in Romania was an Aviation accident which occurred on 26 July 2010 when an IAF Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion Yas'ur helicopter crashed during a training flight at high altitude in the Carpathian mountains, near the city of Brasov in Romania...

: Six Israeli Air Force (IAF)
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...

officers (four pilots and two mechanics) and one Romanian Air Force
Romanian Air Force
The Romanian Air Force is the air force branch of the Romanian Armed Forces. It has an air force headquarters, an operational command, four air bases and an air defense brigade...

officer die when an IAF Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion
CH-53 Sea Stallion
The CH-53 Sea Stallion is the most common name for the Sikorsky S-65 family of heavy-lift transport helicopters. Originally developed for use by the United States Marine Corps, it is also in service with Germany, Iran, Israel, and Mexico...

helicopter (known in Israel as a "Yasur") crashes, during a joint Israeli-Romanian aviation exercise in the Carpathian Mountains
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...

in northern Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

.
July 27 – Following a court order, Israeli police demolish the Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...

village of Al-Araqeeb
Al-Araqeeb
Al-Araqeeb is a village of the Al-Turi Arab Bedouin tribe in Israel, five miles north of Beersheba, with a population 200–300. The village is regarded as an illegal settlement by the Israeli government, and the Jewish National Fund plans to include the land in a new forestation project...

north of Beer Sheva, evicting 200 residents.
August 3 – Lebanon border clash
2010 Israel–Lebanon border clash
The 2010 Israel–Lebanon border clash occurred on August 3, 2010, between the Lebanese Armed Forces and Israel Defense Forces , after an IDF team attempted to cut down a tree on the Israeli side of the Blue Line, near the Israeli kibbutz of Misgav Am and the Lebanese village of Adaisseh...

– An IDF
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...

officer is killed and another seriously wounded when they come under fire from Lebanese Armed Forces
Lebanese Armed Forces
The Lebanese Armed Forces or Forces Armées Libanaises in French, also known as the Lebanese Army according to its official Website The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) (Arabic: القوات المسلحة اللبنانية | Al-Quwwāt al-Musallaḥa al-Lubnāniyya) or Forces Armées Libanaises in French, also known as the...

, while on a brush-clearing operation on Israel's side of the border with Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

, near kibburz Misgav Am
Misgav Am
Misgav Am is a kibbutz in the Upper Galilee in northern Israel. Located close to the border with Lebanon near the town of Kiryat Shmona, it falls under the jurisdiction of Upper Galilee Regional Council....

and the Lebanese village of Adaisseh
Adaisseh
Adaisseh is a village in South Lebanon. It is located close to the Blue Line border with Israel, near the Israeli kibbutz Misgav Am.-History:...

. The IDF returns fire resulting in the death of two Lebanese soldiers and a Lebanese journalist. Several Lebanese soldiers and another journalist are reportedly wounded.
August 6 – The Israeli Channel 2 reveals the Galant document, a document which allegedly is a purported PR plan designed to ensure that Yoav Galant would become the next Chief of Staff. Eventually a police investigation finds evidence that the document was forged and the appointment process of the Chief of General Staff is renewed.
August 19 – Israeli mathematician, Elon Lindenstrauss
Elon Lindenstrauss
Elon Lindenstrauss is an Israeli mathematician, and a winner of the 2010 Fields Medal.Since 2004, he has been a professor at Princeton University...

, is awarded the 2010 Fields Medal
Fields Medal
The Fields Medal, officially known as International Medal for Outstanding Discoveries in Mathematics, is a prize awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians not over 40 years of age at each International Congress of the International Mathematical Union , a meeting that takes place every four...

, becoming the first Israeli recipient of this award.
October 10 – The Israeli cabinet
Cabinet of Israel
The Cabinet of Israel is a formal body composed of government officials called ministers, chosen and led by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister must appoint members based on the distribution of votes to political parties during legislative elections, and its composition must be approved by a...

approves a loyalty oath
Loyalty oath
A loyalty oath is an oath of loyalty to an organization, institution, or state of which an individual is a member.In this context, a loyalty oath is distinct from pledge or oath of allegiance...

bill requiring all future non-Jews applying for an Israeli citizenship to swear loyalty to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

as a Jewish and democratic state.
November 10 – An Israeli Air Force
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...

F-16I crashes in Makhtesh Ramon
Makhtesh Ramon
Makhtesh Ramon is a geological feature of Israel's Negev desert. Located at the peak of Mount Negev, some 85 km south of the city of Beersheba, the landform is not actually an impact crater from a meteor, but rather is the world's largest makhtesh. The crater is 40 km long, 2-10 km wide and 500...

while on a training over the Negev
Negev
The Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The Arabs, including the native Bedouin population of the region, refer to the desert as al-Naqab. The origin of the word Neghebh is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...

desert in southern Israel, killing both the pilot and navigator of the plane.
November 14 – The Israeli cabinet
Cabinet of Israel
The Cabinet of Israel is a formal body composed of government officials called ministers, chosen and led by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister must appoint members based on the distribution of votes to political parties during legislative elections, and its composition must be approved by a...

approves a plan to allow a further 8,000 Falasha Mura, descendants of Ethiopians Jews
Beta Israel
Beta Israel Israel, Ge'ez: ቤተ እስራኤል - Bēta 'Isrā'ēl, modern Bēte 'Isrā'ēl, EAE: "Betä Ǝsraʾel", "Community of Israel" also known as Ethiopian Jews , are the names of Jewish communities which lived in the area of Aksumite and Ethiopian Empires , nowadays divided between Amhara and Tigray...

who converted to Christianity, into the country.
November 30 – After about four years of construction, the Carmel Tunnels
Carmel Tunnels
The Carmel Tunnels are a set of road tunnels in and around Haifa, Israel. The tunnels' purpose is to reduce road congestion in the Haifa area and to provide an alternate route of reaching the eastern and central parts of the city, Haifa Bay and the Krayot area to and from Israel's central coastal...

were inaugurated and opened to traffic, cutting the current travel time from the Haifa South interchange in the west to the Checkpost interchange in the east from 40 minutes down to 8 minutes.
December 2 – The largest forest fire
Mount Carmel forest fire (2010)
The Mount Carmel forest fire was a deadly forest fire that started on Mount Carmel in northern Israel, just south of Haifa. The fire began at about 11:00 local time on 2 December 2010, and spread quickly, consuming much of the Mediterranean forest covering the region...

in Israel's history engulfs a bus carrying cadets from the Israel Prison Service
Israel Prison Service
The Israel Prison Service , commonly known in Israel by its acronym Shabas , is the prison service of Israel. It is responsible for maintaining civilian prisons in Israel, as well as detention centers for security prisoners. It is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Public Security...

's officer course on route to evacuate prisoners from the Damun Prison in the area of the fire, taking 44 lives, including 37 of the cadets and their officers. "The fire devastates hundreds of acres of pine forest on Mount Carmel
Mount Carmel
Mount Carmel ; , Kármēlos; , Kurmul or جبل مار إلياس Jabal Mar Elyas 'Mount Saint Elias') is a coastal mountain range in northern Israel stretching from the Mediterranean Sea towards the southeast. Archaeologists have discovered ancient wine and oil presses at various locations on Mt. Carmel...

in northern Israel, close to the city of Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...

, and is eventually brought under control late on December 5, 2010.
December 27 – Israeli researchers at the Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...

report that they may have found the earliest evidence yet for the existence of modern man (Homo sapiens) at the archaeological site Qesem Cave
Qesem Cave
The Qesem Cave is an archeological site 12 km east of Tel-Aviv in Israel that is dated during the Lower Paleolithic as having been occupied by early humans from before 382,000 BP to around 200,000 BP....

located near Rosh HaAyin
Rosh HaAyin
Rosh HaAyin is a city in the Center District of Israel. To the west of Rosh HaAyin is the fortress of Antipatris and the source of the Yarkon River. To the southeast is the fortress of Migdal Afek...

.
December 30 – Israel's former President Moshe Katsav
Moshe Katsav
Moshe Katsav is an Israeli politician. He served as the eighth President of Israel, a leading Likud member of the Israeli Knesset, and a Cabinet Minister in its government....

is convicted of two counts of rape, obstruction of justice
Obstruction of justice
The crime of obstruction of justice, in United States jurisdictions, refers to the crime of interfering with the work of police, investigators, regulatory agencies, prosecutors, or other officials...

and other sexual offences by a court in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...

.

Israeli–Palestinian conflict

The most prominent events related to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict which occurred during 2010 include:

March 10 – Israel's government approves construction of an additional 1,600 apartments in a large Jewish housing development in northeastern Jerusalem called Ramat Shlomo
Ramat Shlomo
Ramat Shlomo Heights) is a large Jewish housing development in northern East Jerusalem. The population, mostly ultra-Orthodox, is 18,000-20,000....

. The Israeli government's announcement occurs during a visit by U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden
Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama...

and the U.S. government subsequently issues a strongly worded condemnation of the plan.
May 31 – Israeli naval forces raid and capture a flotilla of ships
Gaza flotilla raid
The Gaza flotilla raid was a military operation by Israel against six ships of the "Gaza Freedom Flotilla" on 31 May 2010 in international waters of the Mediterranean Sea...

, organized by the Free Gaza Movement
Free Gaza Movement
The Free Gaza Movement is a coalition of human rights activists and pro-Palestinian groups formed to challenge the Israeli-Egyptian blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip by sailing humanitarian aid ships to Gaza...

and the Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief
IHH (Insani Yardim Vakfi)
IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation or İHH is an Islamic Turkish NGO active in more than 100 countries.Established in 1992 and officially registered in Istanbul in 1995, İHH...

(IHH), which are attempting to break the Israeli and Egyptian blockade of Gaza. During the takeover, a violent confrontation erupts on board the largest ship of the flotilla
MV Mavi Marmara
MV is a Comoros-flagged passenger ship, which was formerly owned and operated by İDO Istanbul Fast Ferries Co. Inc. on the line Sarayburnu, Istanbul-Marmara Island-Avşa Island in the Sea of Marmara. Built at the Golden Gate Shipyard by Turkish Shipbuilding Co...

. As a result, nine activists are killed and several dozen passengers and seven IDF
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...

soldiers are wounded.
June 14 – The Israeli government announces the formation of the Turkel Commission of Inquiry to investigate the Gaza flotilla raid
Gaza flotilla raid
The Gaza flotilla raid was a military operation by Israel against six ships of the "Gaza Freedom Flotilla" on 31 May 2010 in international waters of the Mediterranean Sea...

and the blockade of Gaza.
September 2 – 2010 direct talks
Direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians in 2010
Direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority have been taking place since September 2010, between United States President Barack Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and ended when Netanyahu refused to extend...

: U.S. launches direct negotiations between Israel and The Palestinian Authority in Washington D.C.
September 14 – 2010 direct talks
Direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians in 2010
Direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority have been taking place since September 2010, between United States President Barack Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and ended when Netanyahu refused to extend...

: A second round of Middle East peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority concludes in Sharm el-Sheikh
Sharm el-Sheikh
Sharm el-Sheikh is a city situated on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, in South Sinai Governorate, Egypt, on the coastal strip along the Red Sea. Its population is approximately 35,000...

, Egypt.
September 26 – The Israeli 10 month moratorium in construction of new settlement homes in the West Bank expires at 22.00 (GMT).
September 28 – The Israeli Navy intercepts the ship Irene, heading from Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

towards Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...

and carrying nine Jewish activists from the US, the UK, Germany and Israel, which was attempting to break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza.

Notable Palestinian militant operations against Israeli targets

The most prominent Palestinian militant acts and operations

Palestinian political violence

Palestinian political violence refers to acts of violence undertaken to further the Palestinian cause. These political objectives include self-determination in and sovereignty over Palestine, the liberation of Palestine and establishment of a Palestinian state, either in place of both Israel and...

committed against Israeli targets during 2010 include:

February 1 – The Popular Resistance Committees
Popular Resistance Committees
The Popular Resistance Committees are a coalition of various armed Palestinian factions that oppose the conciliatory approach adopted by the Palestinian Authority and Fatah towards Israel...

(PRC), a Palestinian Arab militant group in the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...

with close ties to Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...

, tries to carry out an attack on Israel by means of bombs placed in barrels and sent into the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

from the Gaza coast.
March 26 – A team of IDF soldiers from Golani Brigade
Golani Brigade
The Golani Brigade is an Israeli infantry brigade that is subordinated to the 36th Division and traditionally associated with the Northern Command. Its symbol is a green tree on a yellow background, and its soldiers wear a brown beret. It is one of the most highly decorated infantry units in the...

, who cross the border into the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...

pursuing several people are seen placing explosive devices near the Israeli border fence, is ambushed and attacked with mortar shells and gunfire from inside the Strip. Two IDF soldiers are killed and three are injured. Hamas and Islamic Jihad
Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine
The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine known in the West as simply Palestinian Islamic Jihad , is a small Palestinian militant organization. The group has been labelled as a terrorist group by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Australia and Israel...

claim responsibility for the attack.
June 11 – A Palestinian Arab attempts to run over two Israeli border policemen in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Wadi Joz, close to the Old City Walls. Other members of the border police force, who are at the scene, shoot and critically wound the driver as he tries to escape. The two policemen are lightly injured and receive medical treatment on the spot.
June 14 – One Israeli policeman is killed and three policemen are injured when Palestinian Arab militants open fire on their vehicle on Highway 60
Highway 60 (Israel)
Highway 60 is a north-south intercity road in Israel and the West Bank that stretches from Beersheba to Nazareth.-Route:The route is also known as the "Route of the Patriarchs" since it follows the path of the ancient highway that runs along the length of the central watershed, and which...

, south of Hebron
Hebron
Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...

.
August 31 – 2010 Palestinian militancy campaign
2010 Palestinian militancy campaign
The 2010 Palestinian militancy campaign is a coordinated effort by 13 Palestinian militant groups, led by Islamist group Hamas, to derail peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The campaign consists of attacks against Israel in which, according to a Hamas declaration in early...

: August 2010 West Bank shooting
August 2010 West Bank shooting
The August 2010 West Bank shooting attack was an attack near Kiryat Arba, carried out by Hamas militants. Four Israeli settlers were killed after gunmen attacked their vehicle...

– Four Israelis, including a pregnant woman, are killed by Palestinian Arab militants in a shooting in the West Bank next to Kiryat Arba
Kiryat Arba
Kiryat Arba or Qiryat Arba , lit. "Town of the Four," is an Israeli settlement in the Judean Mountains region of the West Bank on the edge of Hebron. Its settlers consist of a mix of Russian immigrants, American immigrants, and native-born Israelis numbering close to 10,000...

, when a gunman opens fire on their car. Hamas claim responsibility for the attack.
September 1 – 2010 Palestinian militancy campaign
2010 Palestinian militancy campaign
The 2010 Palestinian militancy campaign is a coordinated effort by 13 Palestinian militant groups, led by Islamist group Hamas, to derail peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The campaign consists of attacks against Israel in which, according to a Hamas declaration in early...

: Rimonim junction shooting: Palestinian Arab militants open fire on a Israeli car near Kochav HaShachar
Kochav HaShachar
Kokhav HaShahar is an Israeli settlement in the Binyamin region of northern West Bank. It is located on a mountain ridge overlooking the Jordan Valley, and is accessible via the Allon Road. Kokhav HaShahar falls under the municipal jurisdiction of the Matte Binyamin Regional Council...

in the West Bank moderately injuring an Israeli man and lightly injuring an Israeli woman. Hamas has claimed responsibility for the attack.
September 26 – 2010 Palestinian militancy campaign
2010 Palestinian militancy campaign
The 2010 Palestinian militancy campaign is a coordinated effort by 13 Palestinian militant groups, led by Islamist group Hamas, to derail peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The campaign consists of attacks against Israel in which, according to a Hamas declaration in early...

: Palestinian Arab gunmen open fire on a pregnant woman and her husband in their car, wounding them both in the legs. The gunmen also shoot at another car, whose occupants evade injury. Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...

and Palestinian Islamic Jihad claim responsibility for the attack.
December 18 – An American Christian missionary, Kristine Luken, is murdered and her British-born Israeli friend is seriously wounded by two knife-wielding Arabs while hiking in a forest near Beit Shemesh, on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Four Palestinian Arabs, members of a Palestinian terror cell, are later indicted for the attack, which was described as nationalist orientated.

Notable Israeli military operations against Palestinian militancy targets

The most prominent Israeli counter-terrorist

Counter-terrorism

Counter-terrorism is the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt to prevent or in response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.The tactic of terrorism is available to insurgents and governments...

operations (military campaign

Military campaign

In the military sciences, the term military campaign applies to large scale, long duration, significant military strategy plan incorporating a series of inter-related military operations or battles forming a distinct part of a larger conflict often called a war...

s and military operations) carried out against Palestinian militants during 2010 include:

May 26 – Israel launches two night-time air strikes on the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...

in response to mortar attacks
Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel
Palestinian rocket and mortar attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip have occurred since 2001. Between 2001 and January 2009, over 8,600 rockets had been launched, leading to 28 deaths and several hundred injuries, as well as widespread psychological trauma and disruption of daily life.The weapons,...

and the detonation of 200 kg of explosives laden on a donkey-cart next to the border fence.
July 21 – Two militants of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine
Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine
The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine known in the West as simply Palestinian Islamic Jihad , is a small Palestinian militant organization. The group has been labelled as a terrorist group by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Australia and Israel...

are killed and another six wounded by Israeli shelling as they approached the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...

-Israel border near Beit Hanoun
Beit Hanoun
Beit Hanoun is a city on the north-east edge of the Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 32,187 in mid-year 2006. It is administered by the Palestinian Authority...

. A ten year old girl is also wounded.
September 5 – Israeli F-16 warplanes launch airstrikes on Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...

smuggling tunnels, with one Palestinian Arab dead and several injured, in retaliation for recent attacks from the Gaza Strip.
September 12 – IDF soldiers
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...

identify a group of armed men approaching Israel from Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...

near Kibbutz Erez, killing three; Palestinian Arab
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....

sources claim that two were farmers.
September 14 – One Palestinian Arab
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...

gunman is killed and four more are wounded in a Gaza
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...

firefight after launching RPGs and missiles at IDF soldiers
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...

.
September 28 – Three al-Quds Brigades militants are killed by an Israeli airstrike. The IDF
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...

claims they were preparing to fire into Israel.

Notable deaths

January 9 – Bruria Kaufman
Bruria Kaufman
Bruria Kaufman was an Israeli theoretical physicist. She contributed to Albert Einstein's Theory of general relativity and to statistical physics. She is well-known for her studies of derivation using spinor analysis of the exact result of Lars Onsager on the partition function of the...

(b. 1918
1918 in the United States
-January–March:* January 8 – Woodrow Wilson delivers his Fourteen Points speech.* March 4 – A soldier at Camp Fuston, Kansas falls sick with the first confirmed case of the Spanish flu.* March 19 – The U.S...

), American-born Israeli physicist.
January 9 – Nadav Levitan
Nadav Levitan
Nadav Levitan was an Israeli film director, screenwriter, writer and songwriter. He directed nine films between 1981 and 1999. His film Yaldei Stalin was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival.. He was married to Israeli singer Chava Alberstein, who had recorded...

(b. 1945
1945 in the British Mandate of Palestine
Events in the year 1945 in the British Mandate of Palestine.-Incumbents:* High Commissioner - John Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort until 5 November; Sir Alan Cunningham* Emir of Transjordan - Abdullah I bin al-Hussein...

), Israeli film director and screenwriter – lung disease.
January 20 – Abraham Sutzkever
Abraham Sutzkever
Abraham Sutzkever was an acclaimed Yiddish poet. The New York Times wrote that Sutzkever was "the greatest poet of the Holocaust."-Biography:...

(b. 1913), Polish-born Israeli poet
February 3 – Elazar ben Tsedaka ben Yitzhaq
Elazar ben Tsedaka ben Yitzhaq
Elazar ben Tsedaka ben Yitzhaq was the Samaritan High Priest from 2004 until his death. He was born in Nablus....

(b. 1927
1927 in the British Mandate of Palestine
Events in the year 1927 in the British Mandate of Palestine.-Incumbents:* High Commissioner - Herbert Onslow Plumer* Emir of Transjordan - Abdullah I bin al-Hussein* Prime Minister of Transjordan - Hasan Khalid Abu al-Huda-Events:...

), Samaritan
Samaritan
The Samaritans are an ethnoreligious group of the Levant. Religiously, they are the adherents to Samaritanism, an Abrahamic religion closely related to Judaism...

High Priest
Kohen Gadol
The High Priest was the chief religious official of Israelite religion and of classical Judaism from the rise of the Israelite nation until the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem...

.
February 4 – Meir Pichhadze
Meir Pichhadze
Meir Pichhadze was an Israeli artist and painter.Pichhadze began studying art as a child with the sculptor Razu Ramishvili. He moved with his family to Israel in 1973...

(b. 1955), Soviet (Georgian)-born Israeli artist and painter – cancer.
February 10 – Yosef Azran
Yosef Azran
Yosef Azran was an Israeli rabbi and politician who served as a member of the Knesset between 1988 and 1996, and as Deputy Minister of Finance from 1990 until 1992.-Biography:...

(b. 1941), Moroccan-born Israeli rabbi and politician, member of Knesset (1988–1996) – liver failure.
February 21 – Menachem Porush
Menachem Porush
Menachem Porush was an Israel politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Agudat Yisrael and its alliances between 1959 and 1975, and again from 1977 until 1994.-Biography:...

(b. 1916), Israeli politician, member of Knesset (1959–1975, 1977–1994).
February 28 – David Bankier
David Bankier
David Bankier was a holocaust historian and head of the International Institute for Holocaust Research at Yad Vashem.-References:...

(b. 1947), German-born Israeli Holocaust scholar.
March 8 – David Kimche
David Kimche
David "Dave" Kimche was a British-born Israeli diplomat, a deputy director of the Mossad and a spymaster. He was also a journalist early in his career...

(b. 1928
1928 in the United Kingdom
Events from the year 1928 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Stanley Baldwin, Conservative-Events:...

), British-born Israeli diplomat, Mossad
Mossad
The Mossad , short for HaMossad leModi'in uleTafkidim Meyuchadim , is the national intelligence agency of Israel....

agent (1953–1980) – brain cancer.
March 26 – Shemuel Katz
Shemuel Katz
For the writer and MK, see Shmuel Katz .Shmuel Katz was an Israeli artist, illustrator, and cartoonist...

(b. 1926), Austrian-born Israeli caricaturist and illustrator.
April 29 – Avigdor Arikha
Avigdor Arikha
Avigdor Arikha was a painter, draughtsman, printmaker, and art historian.-Biography:Avigdor Arikha was born to German-speaking Jewish parents in Rădăuţi, but grew up in Czernowitz , in Bukovina, Romania., His family faced forced deportation in 1941 to the Romanian-run concentration camps of...

(b. 1929), Romanian-born Israeli painter – complications of cancer.
May 14 – David Maimon
David Maimon
David Maimon was an Israeli general of Yemenite origin. He held various posts including military governor of the Gaza Strip, head of the Israel Prison Service and president of the military court of appeals.-References:...

(b. 1929
1929 in the British Mandate of Palestine
Events in the year 1929 in the British Mandate of Palestine.-Incumbents:* High Commissioner - Sir John Chancellor* Emir of Transjordan - Abdullah I bin al-Hussein* Prime Minister of Transjordan - Hasan Khalid Abu al-Huda-Events:...

), Israeli general, head of the Israel Prison Service.
May 30 – Arie Eliav (b. 1921), Russian-born Israeli politician – after long illness.
June 7 – Mordechai Eliyahu
Mordechai Eliyahu
Mordechai Tzemach Eliyahu ) was a prominent rabbi, posek and spiritual leader. He served as the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1983 to 1993.-Biography:...

(b. 1929
1929 in the British Mandate of Palestine
Events in the year 1929 in the British Mandate of Palestine.-Incumbents:* High Commissioner - Sir John Chancellor* Emir of Transjordan - Abdullah I bin al-Hussein* Prime Minister of Transjordan - Hasan Khalid Abu al-Huda-Events:...

), Israeli rabbi, Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel (1983–1993).
July 9 – Yehuda Amital
Yehuda Amital
Yehuda Amital was an Orthodox rabbi, the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion and a former member of the Israeli cabinet.-Biography:Amital was born in Oradea in Romania. When Germany occupied the area in 1944, the Nazis sent his entire family to Auschwitz where they were killed. Amital was sent to...

(b. 1924), Romanian-born Israeli rabbi and politician.
July 27 – Tzvi Kamil (b. 1935), Polish-born Israeli scientist and inventor.
September 2 – Shmuel Eisenstadt
Shmuel Eisenstadt
Shmuel Noah Eisenstadt was an Israeli sociologist. In 1959 he was appointed to a teaching post in the sociology department of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. From 1990 until his death in September of 2010 he had been a professor emeritus...

(b. 1923), Polish-born Israeli sociologist.
September 8 – Israel Tal
Israel Tal
Israel Tal , also known as Talik , was an Israel Defense Forces general known for his knowledge of tank warfare and for leading the development of Israel's Merkava tank.-Biography:...

(b. 1924
1924 in the British Mandate of Palestine
Events in the year 1924 in the British Mandate of Palestine.-Incumbents:* High Commissioner - Sir Herbert Louis Samuel* Emir of Transjordan - Abdullah I bin al-Hussein...

), Israeli general known for leading the development of Israel's Merkava tank.
September 21 – Shabtai Rosenne
Shabtai Rosenne
Shabtai Rosenne , formerly known as Sefton Wilfred David Rowson was a Professor of International Law and an Israeli diplomat....

(b. 1917
1917 in the United Kingdom
Events from the year 1917 in the United Kingdom. This year is dominated by World War I.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - David Lloyd George, coalition-Events:...

), British-born Israeli diplomat and professor of international law – cardiac arrest.
September 28 – Israel Dostrovsky (b. 1918), Russian (Ukraine)-born Israeli scientist.
October 27 – Ehud Netzer
Ehud Netzer
Ehud Netzer was an Israeli architect, educator and archaeologist, known for his extensive excavations at Herodium, where in 2007 he found the tomb of Herod the Great; and the discovery of the oldest Jewish synagogue, located at Jericho....

(b. 1934
1934 in the British Mandate of Palestine
Events in the year 1934 in the British Mandate of Palestine.-Incumbents:* High Commissioner - Sir Arthur Grenfell Wauchope* Emir of Transjordan - Abdullah I bin al-Hussein* Prime Minister of Transjordan - Ibrahim Hashem-Events:...

), Israeli archaeologist – injuries from a fall.
October 29 – Yisrael Katz (b. 1927), Austrian-born Israeli politician and former minister.
November 2 – Sarah Doron
Sarah Doron
Sarah Doron was a former Israeli politician who served as a Minister without Portfolio from July 1983 until September 1984.-Biography:Born in Kaunas in Lithuania, Doron made aliyah to Mandate Palestine in 1933...

(b. 1922), Lithuanian-born Israeli politician and government minister.
November 9 – Amos Lavi
Amos Lavi
Amos Lavi was an Israeli stage and film actor. He won three Ophir Awards for the roles he played in the films Sh'Chur, Nashim and Zirkus Palestina.-Career:...

(b. 1953), Libyan-born Israeli actor.
December 9 – Dov Shilansky
Dov Shilansky
Dov Shilansky was an Israeli politician and Speaker of the Knesset from 1988 to 1992.-Biography:Dov Shilansky was born in Šiauliai, Lithuania. He survived the Holocaust and joined the Irgun, operating in Rome and Germany. He made aliyah in 1948, arriving in Israel on the Altalena, and served as a...

(b. 1924), Lithuanian-born Israeli politician, Speaker of the Knesset.
December 18 – Max Jammer (b. 1915
1915 in Germany
-National level:* Kaiser - Wilhelm II* Chancellor - Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg-Kingdoms:* King of Bavaria - Ludwig III of Bavaria* King of Prussia - Kaiser Wilhelm II* King of Saxony - Frederick Augustus III of Saxony...

), German-born Israeli physicist.
December 28 – Avi Cohen
Avi Cohen
Avraham "Avi" Cohen was an Israeli footballer who played as a defender. He was best known for his spell playing for Liverpool in England. After retirement from active football and management, he was the chairman of the Israel Professional Footballers Association for over five years until he was...

(b. 1956), Egyptian-born Israeli footballer – motorcycle accident.

Major public holidays

Tu Bishvat
Tu Bishvat
Tu Bishvat or Tu B'Shevat is a minor Jewish holiday, occurring on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat . It is also called "The New Year of the Trees" or...

– sunset, January 29 to nightfall, January 30
Fast of Esther
Fast of Esther
The Fast of Esther is a Jewish fast from dawn until dusk on Purim eve, commemorating the three-day fast observed by the Jewish people in the story of Purim...

– February 25 (dawn to nightfall)
Purim
Purim
Purim is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian Empire from destruction in the wake of a plot by Haman, a story recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther .Purim is celebrated annually according to the Hebrew calendar on the 14th...

– nightfall, February 27 to nightfall, February 28
Shushan Purim, Jerusalem – nightfall, February 28 to nightfall, March 1
Fast of the Firstborn
Fast of the firstborn
Fast of the Firstborn ; is a unique fast day in Judaism which usually falls on the day before Passover...

– March 29 (dawn to sunset)
Passover and Chol HaMoed Pesach
Chol HaMoed
Chol HaMoed, a Hebrew phrase meaning "weekdays [of] the festival" , refers to the intermediate days of Passover and Sukkot. During Chol HaMoed the usual restrictions that apply to the Biblical Jewish holidays are relaxed, but not entirely eliminated...

– sunset March 29 to nightfall, April 5 (7th day) (an additional day is observed outside Israel)
Holocaust Remembrance Day
Yom HaShoah
Yom HaZikaron laShoah ve-laG'vurah , known colloquially in Israel and abroad as Yom HaShoah and in English as Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Holocaust Day, is observed as Israel's day of commemoration for the approximately six million Jews and five million others who perished in the...

– nightfall, April 11 to nightfall, April 12
Fallen Soldiers Remembrance Day
Yom Hazikaron
Yom Hazikaron is Israel's official Memorial Day. In 2011, Israel honored the memory of soldiers killed in the line of duty and the civilian casualties too.-Observance:...

– nightfall, April 18 to nightfall April 19
Israel's Independence Day – nightfall, April 19 to nightfall, April 20
Lag Ba'omer
Lag Ba'omer
Lag BaOmer , also known as Lag LaOmer amongst Sephardi Jews, is a Jewish holiday celebrated on the thirty-third day of the Counting of the Omer, which occurs on the 18th day of Iyar. One reason given for the holiday is as the day of passing of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Modern Jewish tradition links...

– nightfall May 1 to nightfall, May 2
Jerusalem Day
Jerusalem Day
Jerusalem Day is an Israeli national holiday commemorating the reunification of Jerusalem and the establishment of Israeli control over the Old City in June 1967...

– nightfall May 11 to nightfall, May 12
Shavuot
Shavuot
The festival of is a Jewish holiday that occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan ....

– sunset, May 18 to nightfall, May 19 (a second day is observed outside Israel)
Seventeenth of Tammuz fast
Seventeenth of Tammuz
The Seventeenth of Tammuz is a minor Jewish fast day commemorating the breach of the walls of Jerusalem before the destruction of the Second Temple. It falls on the 17th day of the Hebrew month of Tammuz and marks the beginning of the three-week mourning period leading up to Tisha B'Av.The day...

– June 29 (dawn to nightfall)
Ninth of Av fast
Tisha B'Av
|Av]],") is an annual fast day in Judaism, named for the ninth day of the month of Av in the Hebrew calendar. The fast commemorates the destruction of both the First Temple and Second Temple in Jerusalem, which occurred about 655 years apart, but on the same Hebrew calendar date...

– sunset, July 19 to nightfall, July 20
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah , , is the Jewish New Year. It is the first of the High Holy Days or Yamim Nora'im which occur in the autumn...

– sunset, September 8 to sunset, September 10
Fast of Gedalia
Fast of Gedalia
The Fast of Gedalia , also spelled Gedaliah, is a Jewish fast day from dawn until dusk to lament the assassination of the righteous governor of Judah of that name, which ended Jewish rule following the destruction of the First Temple.-Origins:...

– September 12 (dawn to nightfall)
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...

– sunset, September 17 to nightfall, September 18
Sukkot
Sukkot
Sukkot is a Biblical holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei . It is one of the three biblically mandated festivals Shalosh regalim on which Hebrews were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem.The holiday lasts seven days...

and Chol HaMoed Sukkot
Chol HaMoed
Chol HaMoed, a Hebrew phrase meaning "weekdays [of] the festival" , refers to the intermediate days of Passover and Sukkot. During Chol HaMoed the usual restrictions that apply to the Biblical Jewish holidays are relaxed, but not entirely eliminated...

– sunset, September 22 to sunset, September 29
Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah or Simḥath Torah is a celebration marking the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle...

/Shemini Atzeret
Shemini Atzeret
Shemini Atzeret is a Jewish holiday. It is celebrated on the 22nd day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei. In the Diaspora, an additional day is celebrated, the second day being separately referred to as Simchat Torah...

– sunset, September 29 to nightfall of September 30 (a second day is observed outside Israel)
Hanukkah
Hanukkah
Hanukkah , also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE...

– sunset, December 1 to sunset, December 9
Tenth of Tevet fast
Tenth of Tevet
Tenth of Tevet , the tenth day of the Hebrew month of Tevet, is a minor fast day in Judaism. It is a "low fast" observed from sunrise to sunset. The day has no relationship to Hanukkah, but it happens to follow that festival by a week...

– December 17 (dawn to nightfall)

External links