Kerry says Iran talks ‘will not be open ended’

Hamas says free prisoners before talking

Hamas official Hassan Yussef, one of the movement’s leaders in the West Bank, tells Israel Radio that his movement will not even begin to talk about the release of two Israelis held captive in Gaza until Israel releases prisoners re-arrested after being freed in the 2011 exchange for Gilad Shalit.

According to the report, there are some 60 Palestinians from the 1,027 released by Israel in the deal currently being held. Many of them were rounded up last year during a crackdown on Hamas in the West Bank following the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teens.

Yussef himself was recently released from Israeli prison

Hamas has so far been coy about whether it is holding the two. According to an Israeli official, the group has been insistent that it released Avraham Mengistu, who left in the direction of Sinai, but Israel believes this to be a lie.

A Hamas spokesperson earlier said he had no information about the captives.

Brother says Mengistu not well

Ilan Mengistu, the brother of captive Avraham Mengistu, tells a press conference that he is seeking help from the international community in securing the release of his brother, which he says is a humanitarian case.

He says his brother is not in good health and calls on Israel to “do everything” to free Avraham.

He also makes an appeal to Hamas.

“I turn to Hamas to think about the condition of my brother and to return him immediately,” he says.

Shalit-deal prisoner re-arrested near Jerusalem

A Palestinian man who was released from an Israeli jail as part of the prisoner swap to release Gilad Shalit was arrested in Abu Dis, near Jerusalem, on allegations that he was involved in throwing Molotov cocktails and rocks at security forces, it’s reported today.

Hamas today said it would not release Avraham Mengistu, an Israeli held in the Gaza Strip, unless Israel released prisoners who were released in the Shalit prisoner swap and re-arrested since then.

Rivlin urges Hamas to be ‘humane’

President Reuven Rivlin says during a tour of Gaza periphery communities that Hamas should release Avraham Mengistu out of humane considerations.

“From the information we have it arises that Mengistu is held by Hamas. We will continue to make every effort to end this affair as soon as we can,” Rivlin says. “This is a case with humane implications and we expect the persons holding him to act appropriately and return him in good health.”

Israel unimpressed by Obama’s ‘less than 50-50’ remark

A senior official at the Prime Minister’s Office dismisses US media reports from yesterday that quoted US President Barack Obama as assessing the odds of an Iran deal at “less than 50-50.”

“We are unimpressed by reports that the odds of reaching a deal in Vienna are low. The nearly complete collapse of the P5+1’s positions in the interim agreement, in the Lausanne framework and in the current talks, almost guarantees that the sides will reach a deal and that the world will face a nuclear-armed terrorist state, which will receive a cash bonanza of hundreds of billions of dollars to fund its aggression and terror,” the source says.

— Raphael Ahren

Joint Chiefs nominee says he will assess strategy against IS

The Marine general nominated to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says the US and its coalition partners are making moderate progress in the fight against the Islamic State extremist group but that the strategy should be re-evaluated if efforts to improve governance and build reliable local ground forces stall.

Gen. Joseph Dunford says that if he is confirmed by the Senate he also wants to assess whether the US should focus more on the Islamic State group’s “shifting geographic reach” and confront the militants where they are now and where they are most likely to go in the future.

A hearing on the nomination of Dunford, the commandant of the Marine Corps, is slated for Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee. His written answers to a broad range of national security questions posed by the committee were obtained by The Associated Press.

The 75-page questionnaire included a number of queries about whether the White House strategy is working in the battle against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria. A number of senators, including Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the panel chairman, voiced sharp criticism during a hearing earlier this week, as they grilled Defense Secretary Ash Carter and the current Joint Chiefs chairman, Gen. Martin Dempsey, on the status of the fight.

During the hearing, Carter acknowledged that the US has only 60 trainees in a program to prepare and arm thousands of moderate Syrian rebels in the fight against IS militants. That topic is sure to come up Thursday, as lawmakers press Dunford for answers on how more progress can be made.

— AP

Hamas trolls Israel over captive Mengistu

In a cynical tweet, Hamas says racism is the reason it took so long to reveal that an Israeli is being held in Gaza and that efforts are underway to secure his release:

Obviously, the real Israeli motto is "leave no 'Ashkenazi' man behind". #RacistIsrael

— Hamas Movement (@HamasInfoEn) July 9, 2015

Liberman says Israel hasn’t learned its lesson on prisoner swaps

Yisrael Beytenu chief and former foreign minister Avigdor Liberman says during a tour of the north that he was not made aware an Israeli was held by Hamas and was surprised to hear about it.

“I’m afraid this shows the lesson of past such incidents was not learned,” says Liberman. “Since the Jibril prisoner exchange [a 1985 prisoner exchange in which 1,150 Palestinian prisoners were released in exchange for three captive soldiers] we paid high and unreasonable prices. I hope decision makers in this case act according to the recommendation of the Shamgar Commission appointed by the government itself.”

Liberman is referring to a commission appointed by then-prime minister Ehud Barak in the early 2000s to formulate Israel’s policy on releasing captives and POWs.

Ya’alon confirms Hamas holding both missing Israelis

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon says after returning from a work trip to Italy that “two Israeli citizens are held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas.” The comment is the first official confirmation that the second missing Israeli is also being held by Hamas.

“The State of Israel is investing great effort to return them to their families. We see Hamas as responsible for their fate and demand their return. I met with the family of Mengistu, I updated them on our actions and expressed my wishes that they remain strong. We are also in touch with the family of the other Israeli held in the Gaza Strip and updating them on developments,” says Ya’alon.

PM calls on world to seek 2 Israelis’ release

“We are working to secure the release of both Israelis who crossed the border fence into Gaza. We see Hamas as responsible for their wellbeing,” says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“I appointed a representative to coordinate all activity on the issue including contact with the families. Yesterday I spoke to the parents and brothers of Avraham Mengistu and I told that from the moment we became aware of the incident, no effort is being spared in order to bring him to Israel. We decided to meet soon. I expect the same international community that expresses its concern over the humanitarian situation in Gaza to issue a clear call to release these civilians and make sure they return.”

Israel may come under massive cyber attack ‘immediately’

Israel may be targeted by a wide-scale cyber attack in the coming hours, the Cyber Authority in the Prime Minister’s Office warns.

All government ministries and security agencies were alerted to look out for any changes in their computer systems.

The warning is effective immediately and includes computer systems and cellular phones. Security officials were instructed to prepare for “any possible scenario.”

Israel has been investing a lot in upgrading its information security, and its enemies have also invested in upgrading their offensive capabilities. Over the past two years the country was targeted by large-scale attacks, and officials assess that they originated from Hezbollah in one case and Iranian hackers in another.

Last year, Haaretz reports, Chinese hackers succeeded in penetrating Israeli security firms and stealing information about Israel’s Iron Dome system, the Arrow missile, drone fleets and other security systems.

Mengistu family asks Israelis ‘to show restraint’

The brother of Avraham Mengistu calls on all citizens of Israel to “act with restraint.”

In a press conference in which he pleads with Hamas to release his brother and take into account his condition, Asho Mengistu says the family decided several months ago to trust “the government on this and we decided to act with restraint. I also would like to ask all the citizens of Israel to show this restraint.”

PA official: We have intel on Mengistu talks

A senior official with the Palestinian Authority says the PA’s intelligence apparatus has information on the negotiations Israel has been conducting with Hamas to return Avraham Mengistu, a man in his twenties who Israel claims is being held by Hamas in Gaza.

According to Hebrew-language website NRG, the information regarding Mengistu was gleaned as part of intense PA efforts to learn about contact between Israel and Hamas, in which Egypt is also reportedly involved.

Two months ago, NRG reports, PA President Mahmoud Abbas was present at a gala dinner in his honor, and surprised attendees by saying he had in the back of his car, parked outside, a thick and well researched file detailing all secret contact between Hamas and Israel.

Abbas then said initial contact between the sides started not long after the end of Operation Protective Edge. The first contact began following a request through an Ethiopian-Jewish official seeking details on the fate of an Israeli citizen of Ethiopian descent inside Gaza. After that, secret talks moved to wider-ranging diplomatic implications and the fact that a Israeli civilian is being held by Hamas was suppressed by Israel’s military censor.

Father of missing Bedouin: We’re not even sure he’s alive

The father of an Israeli-Bedouin youth said to be held inside the Gaza Strip says the family is “waiting for the picture to become clearer” on regarding the whereabouts and condition of his son.

The youth is a second living Israeli said to be held by Hamas, whose name was not released for publication.

The young man is mentally unstable, the family says. He has not made contact with his family since April and they are not sure whether he is alive or dead. “If he’s indeed in Gaza then this is new information that at least tells us something about his location. Before that we didn’t know anything. Now we are waiting to know for sure, to verify what has been published. From what we hear my son is still alive. He disappears a lot but usually comes back after 24 hours. This is the first time he’s been missing for so long,” the father tells Ynet.

The family says they have been waiting for months to learn any news about their son. “If he’s held by Hamas then we ask them to release him because he is unaware of his actions. It still hard for us to digest this. We are all worried and we won’t calm down until we know whether he is alive or dead,” the father said.

Israeli who hacked Madonna’s computer gets jail time

Adi Lederman, an Israeli who hacked the personal computer of Madonna’s manager and sold demos for songs from an as-yet unreleased album was sentenced to 14 months in prison, and a NIS 15,000 ($4,000) fine.

Lederman admitted that from the beginning of 2014 to his arrest in February this year he hacked the computer of Kevin Anthony, Madonna’s musical manager, as well as several other computers. Lederman pulled files for song demos for the album “Rebel Heart,” and parts of Madonna’s meeting schedule.

Lederman’s attorney, Efrat Nahmani-Bar, said Lederman is “an over-zealous fan who went a bit too far” and maintained that he did not cause any harm and did not breach Madonna’s privacy.

Lederman confessed to hacking the computer, to breaching Madonna’s privacy and to copyright theft.

Tel Aviv Magistrate Court Judge Tzachi Uziel wrote in his ruling that “the ease in committing such offenses for those who have the necessary skills, like the defendant, and the difficulty in exposing the offenses and the offender, necessitate an appropriate penalty which sends a deterrent, uncompromising message.”

He mentioned Lederman’s confession and lack of criminal history as mitigating circumstances.

Kerry to give update on Iran talks this evening

US Secretary of State John Kerry will give a statement to update reporters about ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran at 8 p.m. Israel time (1700 GMT) Thursday, a US official says.

Kerry will speak after he is due to meet with foreign ministers from global powers seeking to nail down a deal putting a nuclear bomb out of Iran’s reach.

— AFP

Putin, Rouhani discuss nuclear and security cooperation

The presidents of Russia and Iran have held talks that Vladimir Putin’s spokesman say covered military and nuclear cooperation, as well as the fight against the Islamic State group.

Putin and Iran’s Hassan Rouhani met Thursday in the Russian city of Ufa, which is hosting a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in which Iran has observer status.

The Russian president’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Putin noted “positive dynamics” in the ongoing Vienna talks regarding a final agreement on Iran’s nuclear program, according to Russian news agencies.

Peskov declined to say whether the talks touched on the delivery of S-300 advanced air-defense systems to Iran. After a framework agreement on Iran’s nuclear program was reached this spring, Putin lifted Russia’s suspension on sending the S-300s, but no deliveries have been reported.

— AP

Christians urge Western powers to take firmer line in Iran talks

Over recent months, more than 80,000 Christians from dozens of countries worldwide have signed on to an urgent plea by the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem that the Western powers engaged in the current negotiations should hold firm in demanding the complete dismantling of the Iranian nuclear facilities until any sanctions relief is given to Tehran.

The results of the ICEJ’s global petition, which was signed by over 30,000 Christians from several dozen Western democracies, were delivered this week to UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, as well as to EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Last week, the ICEJ-USA branch handed over the final results of its recent USA petition, which was signed by over 50,000 American Christians and also endorses the right of Congressional review of any Iran deal.

The petition notes that Iran’s renegade nuclear program poses an intolerable threat to the Middle East and the entire world. It also stresses that Iran is the world’s foremost sponsor of global terrorism, repeatedly threatens to annihilate Israel, and is engaged in military aggression that is undermining the stability and independence of countries throughout the region.

The petitioners demanded that any international agreement concerning Iran’s nuclear program must require that Iran completely dismantle its nuclear program, and leave sanctions in place until Iran also relinquishes its destructive goals of spreading terrorism, destroying Israel, and achieving regional hegemony.

The petition states: “While we appreciate the ongoing diplomatic efforts to resolve the Iranian nuclear crisis, we fear the agreement now under consideration will not prevent Iran from producing nuclear weapons. It contains too many concessions given the enormity of this threat and the untrustworthy nature of the Iranian regime. We feel we must speak up before it is too late, for the safety of ourselves and our children.”

Iran nuke talks set to bust another deadline

Negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program appear set to burst through yet another deadline amid persistent uncertainty and vague pronouncements from participants.

US Secretary of State John Kerry will deliver a statement on the status of the talks, but there is no indication he will announce either success or failure.

After a day of mixed public comments and contradictory reports, diplomats say that a breakthrough is not imminent and that the talks will bleed into at least Friday. That will break a midnight Thursday deadline in Washington for the Obama administration to submit an agreement to Congress if it wants to avoid an extended legislative review.

The diplomats speak on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the ongoing negotiations. If the administration misses the Thursday target, the congressional review period will double from 30 to 60 days, possibly delaying the sanctions relief that the US would have to give to Iran under the terms of an agreement.

The current round of talks has already been extended twice since it started on June 27, as has an interim nuclear accord with Iran that these negotiations are meant to finalize. The interim deal was due to expire on June 30, then July 7 and then Friday. It would have to be renewed a third time if the talks go beyond Friday.

— AP

Erlich-Petschner win 1st set at Wimbledon semifinal

Israeli Yoni Erlich and his partner Phillipp Petzschner of Germany win the first set (6-4) in the men’s doubles semifinals at Wimbledon.

They are playing against Jamie Murray of the United Kingdom, brother of Andy Murray, and John Peers of Australia.

According to the website Wimbledon.com, soccer player David Beckham is watching the game.

Palestinian envoy to Chile recalled over anti-Semitic remarks

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas recalls the Palestinian ambassador to Chile over a speech in which he evoked the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

Mahmoud Abbas summons PA ambassador in Chile over his anti-Semitic remarks, b/c they are in "contradiction to official Palestinian position"

— Raphael Ahren (@RaphaelAhren) July 9, 2015

Ambassador Nabil Jada’a said at the Conference for Peace in Palestine and Israel on May 15, 2015 in Santiago, Chile:

“Until 1896 when a group of academic intellectuals, financial advisers, majority being non-Jewish Europeans, decided to create the Zionist movement with one pretext/excuse: the creation of a homeland for the Jewish people.

“Although the truth is that this (the goal) is to protect their plans of dominating life in the entire planet. According to the book The Protocols of the Elders of Zion published in 1923, discovered by Lenin after the triumph of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia was over. In that book they mention the destruction of the moralities of other religions. In that book they put plans of the manipulation of all the apparatus of the financial, economic and industrial of the entire world. They discuss about the manipulation of the local political forces from all different countries.”

VIDEO: Kerry statement on Iran nuke talks

Watch US Secretary of State John Kerry make a statement on the Iranian nuclear deal:

Kerry says talks will ‘not be open-ended’

“This is not open-ended. If some tough decisions don’t get made we are absolutely prepared to call an end to this process,” says Kerry in Vienna.

Diplomats from Iran and world powers are on their third deadline to reach a nuclear deal with Iran.

Murray-Peers win 6-3 in 2nd set against Erlich-Petzschner

Jamie Murray and John Peers win 6-3 in the second set against Yoni Erlich and Phillipp Petzschner in the men’s doubles semifinals at Wimbledon.

UK tells Britons to leave Tunisia, another attack ‘likely’

All British citizens should leave Tunisia as another terror attack is “highly likely,” BBC quotes Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond as saying.

Hammond does not cite a “specific or imminent threat,” but the Foreign Office is advising against all non-essential travel to the African country.

Tunisia is a favored destination for UK travelers, with up to 3,000 tourists currently in the country. Additionally, there are several hundred British nationals who reside there.

Thirty of the 38 tourists killed in an attack there last month were British.

Obama ‘told Kerry to walk extra mile’ for Iran

Iranian journalist Amir Taheri tweets that Obama told Kerry to acquiesce to Iranian demands:

VIENNA- In nuke talks cliff-hanger, Obama has ordered Kerry to go extra mile to meet Iran's final demands, according to Iranian sources.

— Amir Taheri (@AmirTaheri4) July 9, 2015

‘FBI nabbed IS activists who planned to murder Americans ahead of July 4th’

FBI chief James Comey says US authorities intercepted an attempt to murder US citizens on the days leading up to July 4th, America’s Independence Day.

According to Reuters, Comey says more than 10 people were arrested after answering an Islamic State effort to recruit fighter via online platforms.

IS offshoot claims responsibility for Sinai attack

The Islamic State offshoot in the Sinai Peninsula, Wallayat Sinai, claims responsibility for an explosive device detonated Thursday morning in which at least 20 police officers were wounded.

The military is fighting an Islamist insurgency in North Sinai, which grew since the 2013 ouster of president Mohammed Morsi by then army chief and now president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.

Erlich-Petzschner lose 6-4 in third set

Erlich and Petzschner lose the third set to Murray and Peers 6-4 in the men’s doubles semifinals at the Wimbledon.

Erlich-Petzchner Wimbledon run comes to an end

The UK’s Jamie Murray and Australian John Peers beat Israeli Yoni Erlich and his partner Philipp Petzschner of Germany in the men’s doubles semifinals at Wimbledon, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.

More than 4 million refugees have fled Syria, UN says

More than 4 million Syrians have fled the country since the 2011 outbreak of civil war, the largest number from any crisis in almost 25 years, the United Nations said Thursday.

The 4 million refugees are the most to flee a conflict since the Afghan civil war forced 4.6 million out of their country beginning in 1992.

A recent wave of people leaving Syria and an update of Turkish statistics confirmed the tragic milestone, according to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR. The agency said 7.6 million additional people have been displaced from their homes within Syria by the fighting.

“This is the biggest refugee population from a single conflict in a generation,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said. “It is a population that needs the support of the world but is instead living in dire conditions and sinking deeper into poverty.”

The flow of refugees is accelerating only 10 months after the agency said more than 3 million Syrians had fled their country.

— AP

‘Israel will not do another prisoner swap’

Channel 10 TV’s Alon Ben David quotes senior Israeli officials as saying Israel will not carry out another prisoner swap to return Israelis Avraham Mengistu and another unnamed Bedouin youth said to be held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.