Events in the year 2021 in Israel.
Incumbents President of Israel – Reuven Rivlin until 7 July; Isaac Herzog Prime Minister of Israel – Benjamin Netanyahu until 13 June; Naftali Bennett President of the Supreme Court – Esther Hayut Chief of General Staff – Aviv Kochavi Government of Israel – thirty-fifth government of Israel and thirty-sixth government of Israel
Events January
1 January – Israel becomes the first country to reach the milestone of one million COVID-19 vaccinations, over 11% of the population, since the inoculation campaign began on 20 December 2020. 13 January – The Israeli Air Force launches a series of airstrikes against Iranian targets in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate of Syria, killing dozens. 5 January – The Israeli Cabinet agrees to tighten the nationwide lockdown by closing schools and non-essential shops for 14 days. The measures will come into force at midnight between Thursday and Friday. 6 January – Israel launches airstrikes against IRGC and Hezbollah bases near Damascus, Syria. Sudan formally signs the Abraham Accords as part of an agreement to normalize relations with Israel. 8 January – Another hearing of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu standing trial on charges of a litany of corruption accusations, including bribery, breach of trust, and fraud is postponed due to quarantine lockdown. 9 January – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu becomes the first Israeli to get a second dose of Pfizer's tozinameran vaccine as the country begins administering second doses of the vaccine to the public. 13 January – 57 killed and 28 injured in 18 Israeli airstrikes on Iranian arms depots in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Syria, on "intelligence provided by the CIA. 17 January – The government approves the appointment of Kobi Shabtai as the Commissioner of the Israel Police, following a two-year period without a permanent appointee. 19 January – Israel extends their third nationwide lockdown until January 31 due to the highest number of cases reported and announces the requirement all travelers to present a negative COVID-19 test result within 72 hours of arrival or face a fine of ₪ 2,500 ($772). 22 January – A family of four, with two children killed in Israeli airstrikes on five Syrian military targets in Hama, Syria, destroys five Syrian military sites. Six ultra-Orthodox Jews are arrested in a riot in Bnei Brak that started when an unmarked police was stoned. Israeli businessman Beny Steinmetz is sentenced by a court in Geneva, Switzerland to five years in prison for corruption in obtaining mining rights to an iron ore deposit in Guinea, and is ordered to pay a fine of CHF 50 million (US$56 million) to the canton of Geneva. 24 January – Israel opens an embassy in the United Arab Emirates with Eitan Na'eh as head of mission, in a temporary office until a permanent location is set up. Haredi protestors riot in Bnei Brak against COVID restrictions. 25 January – Israel extradites Malka Leifer to Melbourne, Australia, where she faces 74 charges in the Adass Israel School sex abuse scandal, after a six-year legal battle to extradite her. The government bans all commercial flights into Israel until 31 January, to prevent the spread of more contagious variants of the COVID-19 virus. Clashes broke out in three cities across Israel as police attempted to enforce coronavirus lockdown restrictions in a number of ultra-Orthodox communities. Israel is currently in a COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. (Times of Israel) Several cases of a faster-spreading variant of SARS-CoV-2 is reported in Israel, which was recently discovered in the United States. 26 January – A Palestinian man is shot and killed by an IDF soldier for attempting to stab two soldiers at a road junction near Nablus in the West Bank, is shot and killed by an Israeli commander. 31 January – The first reinfection case of the South African 501.V2 variant is reported in a 57-year-old man who recently travelled to Turkey and who previously recovered from COVID-19. The Israeli Health Ministry agrees to transfer 5,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to the Palestinians to immunize frontline medical workers.
February 1 February – In an online signing ceremony, Kosovo and Israel establish diplomatic relations, and Kosovo becomes the first Muslim-majority state to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, committing to open its embassy in Jerusalem. 3 February – IAF launches airstrikes on Southern Syria, with Syrian forces responded. 5 February – The International Criminal Court announces that it will pave the way for investigations into alleged war crimes in Palestinian territories. Israel and groups like Hamas could be investigated. Israel announces that it will ease its lockdown measures beginning February 7. People will no longer be restricted to within one kilometer of their homes, many services will be allowed to operate, and all national parks will reopen. However, international borders will remain closed until February 20. 8 February – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears in the Jerusalem District Court for a hearing in his corruption trial and formally denies the charges against him. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sign an accord that would allow vaccinated travellers to visit freely between the two countries without any restrictions in order to revive their battered tourism sector. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pleads not guilty to charges of bribery, breach of trust and fraud at the Jerusalem District Court. 11 February – Aharon Haliva is appointed head of Aman. 14 February – Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announce an agreement to allow vaccinated travelers to travel between the countries without the need to quarantine in order to restore their countries' tourism industries. 15 February – Six foreign nationals killed in Israeli airstrikes on the Syrian Army's 4th Armoured Division headquarters and Iranian weapons and missile depots near Damascus, Syria. 16 February – Health Minister Mai al-Kaila accuses Israel of blocking the delivery of 2,000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine to the Gaza Strip, intended for ICU and emergency staff. 17 February – The Israeli Maccabi Healthcare Services confirm that, in a trial of 602,000 people who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the vaccine's effectiveness was 95%. The first shipment of the Sputnik V vaccine donated by Russia arrives in Gaza after Israel allows the shipment of 1,000 vaccines, which was previously blocked. 18 February – Israel and Syria carry out a Russian-mediated prisoner exchange. An Israeli woman who crossed the border into Syria's Quneitra Governorate and was detained by the Syrian military, is returned in exchange for two Syrian shepherds held by the Israel Defense Forces. 19 February – Equatoguinean President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo announces that the Equatoguinean embassy will be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem following discussion with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 20 February – More than half of Israel's Mediterranean coastline is contaminated by tar from oil spilled at sea, causing a major ecological disaster including widespread death of marine and coastal wildlife and illness to a number of volunteers who assist with clean up on the beaches. The Israel Nature and Parks Authority calls the spill "one of the most serious ecological disasters" in the country's history. The Health Ministry reports that data of COVID-19 vaccines are 99.2% effective against serious illness, reduce mortality by 95.8% and decrease the chance of hospitalization by 98.9%. 21 February – Israel reopens many sectors of their economy as part of an easing of lockdown restrictions, with the exception of access to leisure sites is limited to people who have received a vaccine or who have recovered from COVID-19. 26 February – An explosion occurs on the Israeli-owned cargo ship MV Helios Ray in the Gulf of Oman with no injuries reported of the ship's crew with Iran suspected as being responsible.
March
1 March – The Israeli Supreme Court rules that the government must recognize Reform and Conservative converts to Judaism in Israel as Jews for the purpose of the Law of Return, entitled to Israeli citizenship in the same way as Orthodox converts. 7 March – Three Palestinian fishermen are killed in an explosion off the coast of Gaza. The blast is caused by an unknown weapon, suspected to be a rocket. Israel announces the reopening of restaurants, bars, and other entertainment venues for the vaccinated with some middle-school reopened in some areas and university classes also resume for the vaccinated. Israeli citizens are also allowed to return to Israel without any special permissions. 8 March – Cyprus, Greece, and Israel sign an agreement to build the world's largest and deepest submarine power cable that will connect the three Mediterranean countries' power grids at a cost of about $900 million. The project is expected to be completed by 2024. 11 March – U.S. and Arab officials disclose the confirmation of Israeli naval vessels clandestinely operating against Iranian vessels in the Persian Gulf, Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea transporting of oil fuel and weaponry to Syria since 2019. At least twelve Iranian vessels have been attacked with limpet mines, according to U.S. officials. 17 March – Archaeologists announce the discovery of additional Qumrannic Scrolls for the first time in 60 years. Israel becomes the country with the highest vaccinated population per capita in the world against COVID-19. 23 March – The fourth legislative election in two years takes place to elect the 120 members of the 24th Knesset, with no bloc apparently winning a majority.
April 6 April – An Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy reconnaissance vessel Saviz is struck by several Israeli limpet mines off the coast of Eritrea in the Red Sea in retaliation for earlier Iranian strikes on Israeli vessels. A Pentagon spokesperson denies any U.S. involvement in the attack on the Iranian ship and that the IDF announces responsibility. The cabinet of Sudan repeals a 1958 law that prohibits establishing relations with Israel, nearly five months after the two countries agreed to normalize ties. 11 April – Israeli media claims that Mossad is responsible for a cyber attack on the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran that caused a blackout. An Israeli study finds that the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine may be less effective against the South African variant when compared to other strains of the virus. 13 April – A missile strikes the Israeli-owned cargo ship MV Hyperion Ray off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. Iran is suspected as being responsible. 15 April – Israeli airstrikes hit a Hamas armaments production facility and a weapon smuggling tunnel in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for rocket attacks. 18 April – The outdoor mask mandate is lifted and schools fully reopened following the reduction of COVID-19 cases and majority vaccination, with the exception of mandatory masks in indoor public spaces. 21 April – An IDF veteran sets himself on fire near the Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Department for injured soldiers. Israeli airstrikes launched against Syrian military targets after a Syrian launched S-200 missile landed away from the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center in Southern Israel. 23 April – More than 120 people are injured in clashes in Jerusalem between ultra-nationalist Jewish demonstrators (including Lehava extremists), Palestinian protestors, and Israel Police in response to a TikTok video showing Palestinians assaulting members of the Jerusalem ultra-Orthodox community. 24 April – Israel is hit by at least 35 Hamas rockets amidst yesterday's clashes between far-right Jewish demonstrators and Palestinians in Jerusalem. Israel retaliates with shelling of the Gaza Strip.