Jerusalem mayor hails Trump as ‘true friend’ for mulling embassy move

Abbas’s office rails at ‘extremist policy’ after Jerusalem building approved

A spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas says Jerusalem city hall’s decision to approve hundreds of new apartments in East Jerusalem violated December’s UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which he says “emphasized the illegality of Israeli settlements.”

“We call on Security Council for urgent action based on resolution 2334, to put an end to the extremist policy of the Israeli government which is destroying the two-state solution,” Nabil Abu Rudeineh says in a statement.

Traffic deaths up six percent in 2016

There was a six point increase in traffic casualties in Israel in 2016 compared to the year prior, the Central Bureau of Statistics reports. The annual report says that in the 12,430 traffic accidents reported in 2016, there were 378 deaths.

US drone strikes kill 3 al-Qaeda fighters in Yemen

Suspected US drone strikes have killed three alleged al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen’s southwestern Bayda province, security and tribal officials said, the first such killings reported in the country since Donald Trump assumed the US presidency Friday.

The two Saturday strikes killed Abu Anis al-Abi, an area field commander, and two others, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release the information to journalists.

US drone strikes against suspected al-Qaeda targets have been commonplace in the years since the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington, as a retaliatory measure against the group. The use of unmanned aircraft as well as airstrikes in the Arab world’s poorest country rose dramatically under president Barack Obama, with data from the Britain-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism showing spikes in attacks, especially in 2012 and 2016.

— AP

Ministerial committee okays bill to recognize terror victims abroad

The Ministerial Committee for Legislation approves a bill to recognize Israeli and Jewish terror victims injured or killed in incidents abroad.

Teen seriously hurt in school brawl

A 14-year-old boy was seriously injured in a brawl at a a high school in the southern town of Rahat. Police are on site.

Hamas says Trump’s threats destabilize region

The deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, Moussa Abu Marzouk, says the orientations of US President Donald Trump “do not serve stability of the region, and tempt Israelis to more radicalism.”

In an official statement on Hamas’s website, Marzouk takes specific aim at Trump’s promise to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

“The threat to transfer the US Embassy to Jerusalem constitutes an increasing threat, especially as it comes from a state the size of the US,” the Hamas leader says.

He adds, however, that there is a difference “between word and deed” for US presidents, especially those issued during the “first period” of their presidency.

As an example, Marzouk cites the “best proof” of former US president Barack Obama, who he says did “not implement at all” his early promises made in Egypt and Turkey to find peace in the Middle East.

— Dov Lieber

Palestinian arrested on suspicion of cleaning out Tel Aviv realtor

A Palestinian man who worked as a cleaner at a Tel Aviv realtor’s office is suspected of stealing NIS 2.5 million ($658,000) from his employer.

The suspect was arrested after security camera footage captured him leaving the scene with large bags and entering a waiting car. He was arrested in the West Bank at the beginning of this month and charges are expected to be brought against him tomorrow.

White House said to announce US Embassy to move tomorrow

Channel 2 cites an anonymous source saying that tomorrow Washington time, the White House will announce moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The station’s reporter says there’s no confirmation of the claim.

Palestinian who shot Israeli given life plus 30 years

An Israeli military court handed down a life sentence plus 30 years to Abdallah Ashak, a Palestinian man who was found guilty of murdering Malachi Rosenfeld in June 2015. The court also ordered Ashak pay NIS 250,000 in damages for attempted murder of Rosenfeld’s friend, who was riding in the car when it was shot.

A group of terrorists involved in the terror attack near Shvut Rachel on June 29, where Malachi Rosenfeld was murdered, is seen at Israel’s Ofer military court near the West Bank city of Ramallah on August 17, 2015. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Knesset committee shelves bill banning investigation of PM

The Ministerial Committee for Legislation shelved a proposed bill that would ban the investigation of a sitting prime minister. The Likud party-sponsored legislation was put forward as police probe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged malfeasance.

The next time the proposed law can be discussed is three months hence, Army Radio says.

At least 66 dead in fresh Yemen fighting

Airstrikes and heavy clashes between rebel and pro-government forces in Yemen have killed at least 66 people in 24 hours, medics and security sources say.

Air raids by a Saudi-led coalition and fighting near the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait killed at least 52 fighters among Shiite Huthi rebels and allied troops loyal to ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, the sources say. Fourteen members of pro-government forces were also killed.

— AFP

Family of soldier killed in Gaza calls for release of 2014 war report

The family of late IDF Lt. Hadar Goldin, whose remains are held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip after he was killed in Operation Protective Edge, calls on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to release the full state comptroller’s report on the 2014 conflict.

“The government abandoned Hadar in Gaza and hasn’t done anything for his return,” the family says in a statement.

PA, Jordan agree on measures if US moves embassy to Jerusalem

PA President Mahmoud Abbas says after meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II that the two sides agreed upon “a series of steps we’ll take if the US moves the embassy to Jerusalem.”

Cabinet postpones settlement annexation bill

The Israeli cabinet has decided to push off voting on a bill to annex the West Bank settlement of Ma’ale Adumim until a future date.

Trump, Netanyahu to chat at 8:30 p.m.

US President Donald Trump will speak with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone at 8:30 p.m. Israel time, the White House says.

Don’t worry about Jordan and Abbas fighting the embassy move, minister says

Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz reacts to Abbas’s comments, saying that there’s no cause for concern about the coordination between the PA and Jordan about responding to the US moving its embassy to Jerusalem. The embassy needs to move to Jerusalem, he says, and other countries’ embassies will follow suit.

Netanyahu to announce major settlement bloc expansion

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he’ll announce major West Bank settlement bloc expansion soon, after coordinating with Washington, Channel 2 reports. The announcement to the security cabinet comes about an hour before Netanyahu is to talk with US President Donald Trump.

Netanyahu says he’ll lift restrictions on East Jerusalem construction

Netanyahu also tells the security cabinet that he will lift restrictions on the construction of new buildings in areas of Jerusalem over the Green Line, which was a major sticking point with the Obama administration and runs contrary to international law.

White House ‘at very beginning stages of even discussing’ moving embassy

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer says about the rumors of moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem that “we are at the very beginning stages of even discussing this subject, CBS’s Mark Knoller reports.

“We are at the very beginning stages of even discussing this subject," says @PressSec of moving US Embassy to Jerusalem

— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) January 22, 2017

Amona residents call for protest against evacuation

Residents of the illegal West Bank outpost of Amona say they feel the government betrayed their agreement to compensate them for evacuating peacefully, and call on the public to protest the demolition later this month.

Jerusalem mayor hails White House announcement

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat praises Trump for his “historic announcement” that the administration was in the very beginning stages of discussing moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem. “We will offer them all the assistance necessary,” the mayor says in a statement.

“Trump proves that he’s a true friend. The US has sent a message to the world that it recognizes Jerusalem as the united capital of Israel.”

Prosecutors may file charges against Netanyahu ‘in coming weeks’

Police are expected to recommend charging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in two inquiries into alleged misconduct, Channel 10 reports, and that prosecutors may follow through in the coming weeks.