Israeli Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit gave an official notification Friday morning to Sara Netanyahu, wife of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that she is likely to be indicted in the “Prime Minister’s Residence Affairs” which include allegations of unethical behavior regarding the running of the Jerusalem home officially designated for the leader of the country. A pre-indictment hearing, set to take place in the near future, will give her a chance to give her side of the story and possibly avoid further legal proceedings.

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman gave an interview to Radio FM 100Thursday evening in response to accusations by the Assad regime in Syria that Israel had hit regime military facilities and weapons convoys meant for the Lebanese Shi’ite terror militia Hezbollah earlier in the day. “We are not looking for any military adventure in Syria, but we are determined to prevent our enemies from harming, or even creating the opportunity to harm, the security of Israeli citizens,” Liberman said.

Israel-based international aid agency iAID’s Search & Rescue teams, already engaged in relief efforts in Texas following Hurricane Harvey and on the alert in case they’re needed in Florida as Hurricane Irma approaches, are also prepared to go to the southern coast of Mexico to help in the recovery efforts following Thursday’s 8.1 magnitude earthquake. “iAID is in touch with its local partners and UN officials who are monitoring the current crisis on the ground,” said founding director of iAID, Shachar Zahavi.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius was in Jerusalem for a brief visit this week, meeting with senior Israeli officials and journalists on a tour meant to strengthen already cordial relations between the two countries. Lithuania is an eager consumer of Israeli goods and services and in turn has actively supported Israel diplomatically at the UN, EU and other international forums.

In yet another defeat for the international effort to Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) Israel, Billy Cobham, the 73 year old drummer who has been one of the leading artists in the global jazz scene for decades, will perform this month at the Jaffa Jazz Festival, along with artists from France, Germany, Romania, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland and Israel. In related news, industrial mega-corporation Hyundai announced plans this week to grant millions of dollars to the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology for the development of driverless cars.

The central issue discussed in the recent meeting between Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Putin was the growing Iranian involvement in Syria and the role that Russia is assigning to Iran in shaping the future political arrangement there. Israel’s struggle against Iran’s growing influence in Syria will be determined by the ability of both Iran and Israel to exercise effective levers of influence on Russia.

IDF Major General Yair Golan provides an assessment of the major national security challenges confronting Israeli planners and indicates how they might meet them.