Palestinians oppose mixed-gender area at Western Wall

Histradut planning general strike next week

The Histadrut labor federation is planning to hold a strike of municipality workers to begin on February 10, over a refusal by the Federation of Local Authorities to pay workers a one-off bonus as part of a new wage agreement.

The strike will see some 100,000 municipal employees down tools, and will primarily affect the education and construction sectors, Ynet says.

“It is inconceivable to think that the framework agreement will not to be paid in full to the employees of the authorities,” says Histadrut chairman Avi Nissenkorn, according to Channel 2.

Israeli bus pelted by stones in West Bank

An Israeli bus is hit by stones in the Etzion settlement bloc in the West Bank.

There are no injuries in the incident, Maariv reports, without detailing the state of the vehicle.

Iran: $100b in assets ‘fully released’ under nuclear deal

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran says it now has access to more than $100 billion worth of frozen overseas assets following the implementation of the nuclear deal with world powers.

Government spokesman Mohammad Bagher Nobakht says much of the money had been piling up in banks in China, India, Japan, South Korea and Turkey since international sanctions were tightened in 2012 over Tehran’s nuclear program. His comments are posted on the website of state-run Press TV on Monday.

The landmark agreement led to an end to international sanctions last month, after the UN verified that Iran had curbed its nuclear activities.

Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency meanwhile quotes Central Bank official Nasser Hakimi as saying nine Iranian banks are now reconnected to SWIFT, a Belgian-based cooperative that handles wire transfers between financial institutions.

— AP

Vote on controversial NGO bill delayed

The first vote on the controversial NGO bill, which seeks to identify organizations receiving funds from foreign governments, is postponed from this evening until next week.

The delay is due to the large amount of legislation scheduled for voting in the Knesset, Israel National News says.

Hebrew U magics up Hogwarts logo for Facebook fad

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem is using the Hogwarts insignia for Facebook’s now traditional “doppelganger week,” which currently ongoing.

J.K. Rowling, who created the British school for witchcraft and wizardry in her Harry Potter series, recently publicly opposed calls for a cultural boycott on Israel.

New A-G: Rule of law cannot be taken for granted

Incoming attorney general Avichai Mandelblit tells the audience at his swearing-in ceremony in Jerusalem that Israel must strive to uphold the rule of law.

“In my view, the words of rule of law are not meaningless words. The rule of law is the knowledge that anyone harmed by a state institution will have the legal system by his side. We must work ceaselessly to uphold the independence of the attorney general; the attorney general is not subject to the authority of man,” Mandelblit says.

“It is important to remember that the rule of law does not mean the rule of the attorney general,” he adds.

Israeli institute publishes satellite images of Russia army in Syria

An Israeli space institute publishes satellite images of Russian military deployments in Syria.

The images show dozens of planes and surface-to-air missile batteries at the coastal army base of Latakia, where Russia has centered its military presence in Syria.

Tal Inbar, the head of the space research center at the Fisher Institute, says that the images show more than 30 warplanes parked at Latakia air base, Ynet reports.

“The photos show that the Russians have set up and started operating the S-400 anti-missile systems, deployed alongside the Pantsir SA-22, which has also been purchased by Iran, to protect them from attack,” Inbar says.

The images will be published in full at the 11th Ilan Ramon International Space Conference, which starts tomorrow in Herzliya.

Hotovely: Etzion bloc is front line for terror

The Etzion settlement bloc has become the new front in the war on terror, says Deputy Foreign Minister Hotovely during a visit to the area.

“At this moment, as the Etzion bloc becomes a front line in the war on terror, it is important to send a message to everyone trying to oust us from our land that we will continue to be steadfast and deepen our hold,” she says, according to the NRG website.

State extends detention of Jewish extremist Meir Ettinger

The state extends the administrative detention of Jewish extremist Meir Ettinger for another four months, after receiving approval today from Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon.

Ettinger, the grandson of murdered far-right rabbi Meir Kahane, is suspected of involvement in attacks on non-Jewish targets in Israel. He has been on hunger strike for about two weeks to protest his detention.

Vehicles damaged in Jerusalem’s Abu Tor

The tires of three vehicles in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Abu Tor are punctured.

Police launch an investigation into the incident.

Man arrested on suspicion of planning ‘price tag’ attack

Jerusalem police arrest Elhanan Astrobitz, a resident of the capital, on suspicion that he planned to carry out a “price tag” attack and had stolen the license plates of a vehicle belonging to the Armenian Patriarch in the city.

Astrobitz was arrested four years ago for spraying graffiti on a monument at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem.

Researchers summoned for urgent meeting on Haifa pollution

Researchers from the University of Haifa who conducted a comprehensive study and discovered that air pollution in the Haifa Bay area may have caused serious defects in newborns are called for an urgent meeting with Health Minister Yaakov Litzman and Environment Minister Avi Gabbay at the Knesset.

At the same time, the Rambam Hospital in Haifa instructed its doctors not to discuss the study until further notice.

The new research suggests a link between a high rate of infant disorders in the Haifa region and air pollution caused by heavy industry situated next to the northern port city. Symptoms of pollution-related disorders include smaller-than-average heads and relatively low weight, in addition to the high rates of cancer identified in previous studies, Channel 2 News reported Sunday.

Pollution in the Northern Israeli city of Haifa. April 15, 2015. Photo by Basel Awidat/FLASH90

The Haifa Bay is home to oil refineries, power plants, manufacturers of chemicals and metals and a major port, all of which have been a source of concern for residents after recent studies found higher cancer rates in the surrounding towns.

Gaza residents arrested for forging documents to enter Israel

The Shin Bet security service and the police arrested two Palestinians, one of whom is a member of the Hamas terrorist group, who entered Israel using forged medical documents issued in the Gaza Strip, it is cleared for publication.

According to the Shin Bet, on January 7, the two entered Israel presenting documents showing that Mahmoud was in need of immediate hospitalization at a hospital in East Jerusalem.

The next day, however, it turned out that they had left the hospital and arrived in the Arab Israeli city of Umm al-Fahm on their own and in good health. During their interrogation, the two admitted that they had are forged medical documents with the help of a relative who was in contact with a doctor in Gaza.

Syrian opposition to meet UN envoy over humanitarian demands

Members of the main Syrian opposition group say they plan to give UN envoy Staffan de Mistura a “roadmap” for implementation of their humanitarian demands on Syria that they say must happen before they formally join indirect peace talks with a government delegation in Geneva.

Farah Atassi, a member of the opposition coalition known as the High Negotiations Committee, says the top priority should be to stop the “unprecedented bombardment by the Syrian regime” of rebel-held suburbs of the Syrian capital Damascus.

The group was to meet with De Mistura at UN offices in Geneva. But his spokeswoman, Khawla Mattar, says indirect talks between the two sides were unlikely before Tuesday. De Mistura rescheduled a planned meeting with the government delegation Monday morning because he wanted to hold an official meeting with the opposition before launching indirect talks.

— AP

Report: Netanyahu to visit Egypt next month

An Egyptian paper reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to visit Egypt next month, according to Army Radio.

The Prime Minister’s Office is unavailable for comment on the matter.

PMO denies Netanyahu visit to Egypt next month

The Prime Minister’s Office denies reports that surfaced in an Arabic-language newspaper that Netanyahu is scheduled to visit Egypt next month.

Obama to request millions from Congress for cancer research

US President Barack Obama is expected to request $755 million from Congress to fund research on cancer, Reuters reports.

US commander: More US, coalition forces likely to fight IS

The commander of military operations against the Islamic State group says there is a “good potential” he will need more US and coalition forces to ramp up the fight as it extends across Iraq and Syria.

Army Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland is telling Pentagon reporters that he is working on ways to increase pressure on the Islamic State, and some options may require more troops on the ground to assist local Iraqi or Syrian forces. He would not detail whether those would be trainers or combat troops.

He says that while Iraqi leaders didn’t accept the offer of US Apache helicopters during the ultimately successful fight for Ramadi, they may decide to use the aircraft in a later battle.

— AP

Haifa mayor says pollution in city ‘government’s fault’

Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav says alleged infant disorders linked to pollution in Haifa Bay are the government’s fault.

New research published yesterday suggests a link between a high rate of infant disorders in the Haifa region and air pollution caused by heavy industry situated next to the northern port city. Symptoms of pollution-related disorders include smaller-than-average heads and relatively low weight, in addition to the high rates of cancer identified in previous studies, Channel 2 News reported Sunday.

The Haifa Bay is home to oil refineries, power plants, manufacturers of chemicals and metals and a major port, all of which have been a source of concern for residents, after recent studies found higher cancer rates in the surrounding towns.

“We requested the study and we support the research, we want to know the truth,” Yahav says during an interview with Channel 2. “The government is to blame for what has happened and for years making Haifa the state capital of heavy industry.”

At the same time, Avi Gabai, the minister of environmental protection, says his office will run an independent study on Haifa air pollution and will decide on further steps based on the results.

Police bar manager of Al-Aqsa Mosque compound from entering site

The Jerusalem Police issue a six-month restraining order from the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound area to the site’s manager, Najah Bacirat. The restraining order will come into effect on January 31, Ynet reports.

Avshalom Peled, deputy commander of the Jerusalem District of the Israel Police, writes in a letter that the order is “necessary in order to prevent serious harm to security.”

Egypt releases cartoonist pending investigations

An Egyptian cartoonist, whose work is occasionally critical of government figures, is released pending investigations into his alleged operation of a webpage without a license, his lawyer says.

The Sunday arrest of Islam Gaweesh in the capital, Cairo, appeared to be part of a government clampdown on activists and journalists. In recent months, many have been detained, questioned and even forcibly disappeared.

“We don’t believe the charge will lead to a full-blown trial … (Gaweesh) has a license,” Gaweesh’s lawyer, Mahmoud Othman, tells The Associated Press.

Gaweesh was undeterred by his brief stint in custody, according to Othman. The cartoonist “believes in his the right to draw. He was not afraid then and he is not afraid now,” he says.

After the military overthrew Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in 2013, the government launched a crackdown on dissent, killing hundreds of protesters and jailing thousands of Morsi’s supporters and young pro-democracy activists.

— AP

Far-right activist to be released from administrative detention

Jewish far-right extremist Eviatar Slonim, who has been in administrative detention for the past six months, will be released from custody in the coming days under restricted conditions.

Slonim and Meir Ettinger, the grandson of the slain far-right mentor Rabbi Meir Kahane, were arrested in August 2015 for suspected extremist activity.

Under administrative detention — an anti-terror measure more commonly used for Palestinian prisoners — one can be held for six months without being charged or tried. The order can be renewed indefinitely in six-month increments.

Ettinger will remain in custody.

Trump says evangelicals ‘really get me’

Donald Trump says evangelical Christians “really do get me.”

He’s bragging about his support from the group also pursued by rival Ted Cruz just hours before the leadoff Iowa caucuses.

Trump says at a rally in Waterloo Monday morning that “the evangelicals have been unbelievable to Donald Trump.

“Boy, do they understand me. They understand me better than anybody,” he adds.

The thrice-married Trump may seem an unusual fit for the conservative Christian voters that play a large role in Iowa. But he has won the support of many, including Liberty University founder Jerry Falwell, Jr.

Trump says Monday that if he’s president, he’ll “protect Christianity,” which he says is under siege. He also says believing in God is “so important” to happiness.

Trump spoke to a smaller-than-usual crowd at the Ramada Waterloo Hotel and Convention Center, where many seats were left unfilled.

Supporters may have been dissuaded by the heavy fog that blanketed local roads all morning.

— AP

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attends a news conference, Las Vegas, January 21, 2016. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images/AFP)

Sanders plans for long campaign

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders says that win or lose in Iowa, he’s planning for a long campaign.

Sanders says in a brief availability with reporters on his campaign bus that if Clinton “ends up with two delegates more of many, many hundred delegates, you tell me why that’s the end of the world?”

Sanders adds, “This is a national campaign. We are in this to win at the convention. We’re taking this all the way.”

— AP

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaks in Birmingham, Alabama, on January 18, 2016. (Hal Yeager/Getty Images/AFP)

Palestinians oppose new section at Western Wall

Palestinian Minister of Waqf and Religious Affairs Youssef Ideiss says the plans to build a mixed-gender prayer section at the Western Wall violates the status-quo agreement.

The plan, approved by the cabinet on Sunday, “is another Israeli attempt to change the status quo at the Temple Mount,” he says, according to the Walla news website. Israel will use the expansion of the non-Orthodox section to carry out archaeological digs and “Judaicize the holy site.”

He says the Western Wall is part of the Temple Mount compound and “a holy Islamic site expropriated by Israel in 1967.”

‘IDF working on assumption tunnels reach Israel’

The IDF is operating on the assumption that Hamas has successfully managed to dig tunnels into Israeli territory, Channel 10 reports.

The army continues its searches along the southern border on Monday, after residents complain they hear digging under their homes.

Russia turning Assad into ‘new Hitler’ — Syria opposition

Syria’s main opposition group accused Damascus-ally Russia Monday of helping to turn Syrian President Bashar Assad into a “new Hitler” by supporting his forces in the war-ravaged country.

“Russian regime will create a new Hitler. We are suffering from a Hitler in Syria,” says High Negotiations Committee spokesman Salem al-Meslet after the group’s first formal talks with UN envoy Staffan de Mistura in Geneva.

— AFP