2022 in Israel

Incumbents

• President of Israel - Isaac Herzog
• Prime Minister of Israel - Naftali Bennett until 30 June; Yair Lapid until 29 December; Benjamin Netanyahu since 29 December
• President of the Supreme Court - Esther Hayut
• Chief of General Staff - Aviv Kochavi
• Government of Israel - Thirty-sixth government of Israel and Thirty-seventh government of Israel

  Events

January

• 1 January –
• *Two rockets fired from Gaza explode off the coast, one close to Tel Aviv and the second near Palmachim; the Israeli Air Force responds with strikes on Hamas targets in Gaza and tanks fire at Hamas military posts near Gaza's border with Israel.
• * The first case of "florona," which is believed to be a double infection of COVID-19 and influenza, is identified in an unvaccinated pregnant woman in labor at the Rabin Medical Center.
• 2 January – The first stage in a reform of Israel's kosher certification system comes into effect, allowing food retailers and manufacturers to select any religious council in the country to provide them with kashrut supervision, rather than only their local council.
• 3 January
• * Two Israel Air Force pilots are killed when a Eurocopter AS565 Panther helicopter crashes during a training exercise off the coast near Haifa, while a third crew member survives with moderate injuries.
• * Omar Hajirat, a four-year-old child is shot dead by a gunman in Bir al-Maksur.
• * The official homepage of the Jerusalem Post newspaper is suspected to be hacked by the Iranian Cyber Army, which was replaced with a threat targeting the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center and an apparent reference to Qasem Soleimani, who was assassinated exactly two years earlier in Baghdad, Iraq.
• 5 January –
• *President Isaac Herzog and First Lady, Michal Herzog, receive their fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as a second booster dose vaccination campaign begins in Israel.
• * A record 11,978 new cases of COVID-19 is reported in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1,423,289.
• 9 January – Israel mostly reopens its borders, closed to tourists since November, and abolishes its "red list" of restricted travel countries, as coronavirus rates rise to record-high levels due to the Omicron variant, making the impact of travel bans negligible.
• 11 January - The Israeli Health ministry approves a reduction of the isolation period for asymptomatic positive COVID-19 patients from ten to seven days in order to keep the economy running despite an increase in the number of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant cases. The changes will be in effect on January 13.
• 12 January - Israel and the Argentine foreign ministry separately issue condemnations against the presence of Iranian minister Mohsen Rezaee, allegedly connected to the 1994 Buenos Aires Argentine Israelite Mutual Association bombing, at the inauguration of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.
• 13 January – Several days of clashes in the Negev Desert between Bedouin protesters and the police triggered by a forestation project leads to a coalition crisis and the government advancing a comprehensive plan to formalize the status of some unrecognized Bedouin settlements as permanent villages.
• 20 January
• * The United Nations General Assembly approves by consensus a resolution co-sponsored by Israel and other countries to combat Holocaust denial, on the 80th anniversary of the Wannsee Conference at which Nazi leaders decided on the "final solution to the Jewish question" for the systematic annihilation of European Jewry.
• * The Attorney General, Avichai Mandelblit, opens an investigation into claims that the Israel Police used NSO spyware on Israeli's cellphones.
• 23 January
• * Israel and the United Arab Emirates establish a multimillion-dollar joint research and development fund to support private sector collaboration and investment in the next ten years.
• * The government decides to establish a state commission of inquiry into submarine and naval vessel purchases from German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp for $2 billion that occurred under the government of former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu for possible corruption and bribery.
• 24 January – An earthquake registering slightly more than 4.1 on the Richter scale centered northeast of Beit She'an, south of the Sea of Galilee, is felt throughout the country; no injuries or damage are reported.

• 26 January - The Health ministry approves the second round of booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for people aged above 18 years who have underlying medical conditions.
• 27 January – Storm Elpis blankets the cities Jerusalem and Safed and the mountains of northern and central Israel, with heavy snow.
• 30 January – President Herzog makes the first official visit of an Israeli president to the United Arab Emirates, meets with Emirati government and business leaders, and members of the Jewish community, and opens an Israel national day at Expo 2020 in Dubai.

  February

• 1 February – Former minister and leader of the Shas Party, Aryeh Deri, is sentenced to a 12-month suspended prison term along with NIS 180,000 fine in a plea deal for tax offences.
• 2 February – Defense Minister Benny Gantz visits Bahrain in his first official visit to sign security agreements as the two nations further bolster their ties, and meets top Bahraini officials, including King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
• 4 to 20 February – Six athletes represent Israel at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, in Figure Skating, Short Track Speed Skating and Alpine Skiing.
• 8 February -
• *Israel says that the Syrian military fired an anti-aircraft missile towards its territory, which exploded in mid-air over the north of the country, triggering air raid sirens. However, Syrian state television reports that an Israeli Air Force airstrike occurred near Damascus.
• *The IDF says it has struck several Syrian air defense batteries and radars in response to the missile entering Israeli airspace.
• *Shin Bet officers kill three Palestinian al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades militants in the West Bank after opening fire on their vehicle. Israel says that the men were armed and were responsible for a series of drive-by shootings in recent weeks. Protests occur in the West Bank in response to the killings.
• 11 February –
• * Israeli State Department begins evacuating embassy staff and diplomats’ families from Kyiv, Ukraine and also orders a travel warning for all Israelis, saying that a large scale Russian offensive may occur soon.
• * Mossad announces the arrest of eight alleged Iranian spies for organizing a plot to kill an Israeli businessman in Istanbul in retaliation for the 2020 assassination of the chief of Iran's nuclear program, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, in joint co-operation with counterpart Turkish intelligence agency and several Turkish operatives were also among those arrested.
• 12 February – Bahraini authorities confirm that an Israeli military officer will be stationed inside the country as part of an upcoming international coalition consisting of 34 countries. This is the first time an Israeli officer has been sent to a military post in the Arab World.
• 13 February – One killed and two injured in a car bombing in Ashkelon, Israel, is most believed to be related to organized crime in Israel.
• 15 February – Prime Minister Bennett meets with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, senior government officials, businesspeople, and representatives of local Bahraini Jewish community, during the first visit to Bahrain by an Israeli premier, to discuss the development of trade, technology and innovation, and defense ties.
• 16 February –
• * Syrian state media agency SANA reports that Israel has fired missiles at the Syrian town of Zakiyah, with no recorded casualties.
• * The Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, leads a congressional delegation on a visit to Israel and reaffirms the United States' "ironclad" guarantee of Israel's security in the face of threats from Iran posed by its nuclear program and support for terrorist organizations.
• * The Israel Innovation Authority and the Defense Ministry allocate some $62 million to develop the infrastructure for quantum computational ability and ultimately, a quantum computer.
• 17 February – Bnei Herzliya win the State Basketball Cup in the final match against Hapoel Tel Aviv with a score of 87–82.
• 18 February – Israel's Iron Dome fails to intercept a Hezbollah-operated military drone from Lebanon that penetrated seventy kilometers into Israeli airspace. The drone flew for forty minutes before returning to Lebanon. Israeli jets fly at very low altitude over Beirut in response to the incident.
• 21 February – Morocco's trade minister, Ryad Mezzour, and Israel's economy minister, Orna Barbivai, sign a trade deal in Rabat.
• 24 February –
• * Israel fires several missiles towards Damascus, Syria, killing three Syrian soldiers.
• * Foreign Minister Yair Lapid condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine as "a grave violation of the international order" and offers humanitarian assistance to the citizens of Ukraine.
• 25 February –
• * President Zelenskyy calls for Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to serve as a mediator in talks between Ukraine and Russia.
• * 40,000 runners participate in the Tel Aviv Marathon; Vincent Kipsang Rono of Kenya and Bikaya Mantamar of Israel are the men's and women's winners, respectively.
• 26 February – Thousands of Israelis rally in Tel Aviv to protest Russia's invasion of Ukraine and to demand that the Israeli government take stronger measures in support of Ukraine.
• 27 February – Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett offers to mediate a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.