BEIRUT (Sputnik) - The Syrian Foreign Ministry on Monday denied reports about alleged contacts with Israel, reiterating its "firm" stance on "Israeli occupiers."

Despite being mostly formed from GOP members, the political action committee chose to campaign against re-electing Republican President Donald Trump – a known ally of Israel and its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

A leading political strategist says the Israeli prime minister cannot be underestimated and claims his resilience is not only derived from his ability to manoeuvre but also from Israel gradually but surely moving towards becoming a more conservative society.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Israeli air force struck military targets of Palestine's Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, responding to rocket firing, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Monday.

Earlier in the day, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that B-52 bomber aircraft had conducted a second "presence patrol" in the Middle East, calling it a "key part of CENTCOM’s defensive posture".

The rabbi also reportedly believes that efforts to vaccinate people against the virus could be part of a scheme to impose "a new world order."

The city design was presented by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman himself, who explained why he believes that a concept of a conventional city should be transformed “into that of a futuristic one”.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - At least 13 Israelis have suffered mild facial paralysis as a side effect after getting the Pfizer vaccine, media reported, citing health ministry officials.

The desire to unlock millions of dollars in US assistance and improve relations with Europe have pushed the Palestinian factions to agree on dates for an election, believes the director-general of a Palestinian think tank. But what also triggered the decision was the determination to silence the voices of dissatisfaction in the West Bank and Gaza.

Earlier in the day, reports emerged suggesting that Biden officials had already began negotiations with their Iranian counterparts on a potential return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that Trump unilaterally pulled the US out of in 2018.

Jim Jeffrey retired from his post as President Trump’s special representative for Syria and envoy for the Western coalition against Daesh (ISIS)* in November. Shortly before doing so, he frankly admitted to disobeying the president’s orders to reduce the US military contingent in Syria, and to playing “shell games” with the White House.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force on Saturday launched long-range ballistic missiles as part of annual military drills that struck maritime targets over 1,000 miles away, media reported.

Several major fault lines cross through Iran, which makes the nation highly prone to seismic activity. In early June, southern Iran was rattled by a 5.7 magnitude earthquake.

Earlier this week, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz made a rare move of approving hundreds of Palestinian building permits as he concurrently approved 800 new Israeli settler construction projects in the West Bank.

The Biden transition team has hinted at the need to return the United States to the Iran nuclear deal, which the Trump administration pulled out of in 2018. Tehran has cautiously welcomed the idea, but only if the US drops its anti-Iran sanctions, and does not attempt to tie negotiations to the Islamic Republic’s ballistic missile programme.

Last week, the State Department announced that the US would add Yemen's Houthi militia to its list of terrorist organisations. The United Nations warned that the decision would likely "have serious humanitarian and political repercussions."

Israeli warplanes carried out a series of intense air strikes near the Syrian towns of Deir ez-Zor, Mayadeen and Boukamal along the border with Iraq on Wednesday, amid heightened tension in the region, driven by fears of retaliation for the US killing of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard commander Qassem Soleimani last year in Baghdad.

TEL AVIV (Sputnik) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday created a Russian language channel on the Telegram messaging app.

Russia was the first country to register a coronavirus vaccine for emergency use. Since then, several countries around the world have expressed interest in testing, buying, and even locally producing the medicine.

In late December, Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif signalled the Islamic Republic's readiness to defend its "security and vital interests" amid the US military buildup near the country's borders. He accused Washington of wasting hefty sums to repeatedly send B-52 bombers to the region instead of focusing on the fight against COVID-19.