Hamas beefs up Egypt border force in bid to ease tensions

Liberman says Netanyahu holding ‘secret negotiations’ with Abbas

Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has secretly negotiated with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

Liberman tells Ynet that there are “some strange signs on the ground that I interpret as an attempt by the prime minister to hide from the the cabinet his political negotiations with Abbas.”

Herzog: Conditions of Holocaust survivors ‘disgraceful’

Opposition leader Isaac Herzog says the government should “declare a state of emergency” concerning the living conditions of Holocaust survivors Israel.

“Minister Haim Katz revealed the shameful reality about Holocaust survivors,” Herzog says.

“It is a disgrace to all of us. The shame is even bigger for this government. A government that humiliates humiliated hundreds of thousands of people who survived horrendous atrocities, built lives here and are now hungry, and have to beg for alms.”

Hebron shooter’s remand extended by five days

The detention of an IDF soldier accused of shooting dead a disarmed Palestinian attacker in Hebron last month will be extended by five days.

Earlier today, the military prosecution lodged a declaration with the court that it will file a manslaughter indictment against the soldier next week.

The soldier under investigation, whose name has been withheld by a gag order, was filmed shooting 21-year-old Abdel Fattah al-Sharif in the head on March 24, minutes after Sharif and another assailant stabbed and moderately wounded a soldier in Tel Rumeida, an Israeli enclave of Hebron. The two assailants were shot — one was killed, while Sharif was wounded — by an army officer during the course of their attack.

The soldier, who shot and killed Sharif some 10 minutes after he’d already been incapacitated and disarmed, was arrested by military police, but has been out of jail in supervised detention on an army base, amid a roiling political scandal over his actions and the military’s response.

2 Palestinian children suspected of planning stabbing attack

Two 12-year-old Palestinian children are arrested at the Old City of Jerusalem after security forces discovered knives hidden in their coats. Letters detailing a planned stabbing attack are found in the possessions of the two as well.

Soldier reports stabbing attack near Hebron

A Palestinian attacks a soldier with an ax near al-Aroub, north of Hebron. According to reports from the scene, the soldier is lightly wounded and the attacker is shot dead.

"البلطة" التي كانت بحوزة الشهيد إبراهيم براذعية الذي ارتقى برصاص الاحتلال على مدخل مخيم العروب شمال الخليل قبل قليل. pic.twitter.com/lEafGRYfVD

— Pal.Info.Center (@PalinfoAr) April 14, 2016

No other injuries are reported.

Netanyahu warns of attempts to ignite violence ahead of Passover

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that “there are attempts to restart the agitation and violence, especially around Passover and the Temple Mount.”

He adds that there are “all sorts of extremists, who spread lies about our policies on the Temple Mount in order to cause riots. We are working against such instigators of and against elements of incitement… we are also discussing the matter with Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and the Arab world.”

Name of suspected attacker near Hebron published

The name of a Palestinian who allegedly attempted to attack soldiers near Hebron with an ax is published.

Ibrahim Brad’aih, 54, a resident of the refugee camp of Al-Aroub, where the suspected attack took place, was shot and killed by IDF soldiers after charging at them with the weapon.

The ax apparently hit a soldier in the helmet, and he was unharmed, according to unconfirmed accounts of the incident.

EU approves anti-terror plan to collect air passenger info

European Union lawmakers approve a scheme to share airline passenger information that nations hope to use to track foreign fighters traveling to and from conflict areas like Syria and who might pose a danger in Europe.

The move ends years of wrangling over how to balance security needs and privacy rights. Lawmakers came under great pressure to adopt the scheme in the wake of the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris that killed 130 and last month’s suicide bombings in Brussels, which left 32 dead.

The so-called Passenger Name Record law is approved at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, by 461 votes to 179, with nine abstentions.

“PNR will be a precious tool for boosting the security of European citizens by helping to detect early the movement of jihadi terrorists that take air transport throughout Europe, but also between Europe and other regions of the world, to prevent them taking action,” Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve says.

Critics say that many of those linked to the attacks were already known to the authorities, and that the scheme will needlessly collect private information about ordinary citizens, as well as be costly and cumbersome to operate. They say that the 28 EU countries are simply not sharing the information they already have.

Under the scheme, law enforcement agencies in all 28 nations would have access to traveler details gathered by airlines, including names, travel dates, itineraries, and credit card details.

The data will be collected on any flights entering or leaving the EU and on flights between member countries. The information will be kept for five years, but identifying details like name, address and contact details will be masked out after six months to protect people’s identities.

— AP

Iraq MPs vote to remove parliament speaker amid row

Iraqi lawmakers vote to remove the parliament speaker and his deputies amid a major row over the cabinet lineup that has caused chaos in parliament, a lawmaker and parliamentary officials says.

But the vote, which was held without speaker Salim al-Juburi or his two deputies present, could be challenged on procedural grounds.

— AFP

Turkey official says Israel agreed to lift Gaza blockade

An adviser to the President of Turkey, Arshad Hormuz, says that Turkey’s demand that Israel lift its blockade on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip has been accepted as part of reconciliation negotiations between the two countries.

He adds that the deal will soon be sealed, and that Israel has agreed to apologize over an IDF raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla in 2010.

NATO member Turkey was a key regional ally of Israel until the two countries fell out over Israel’s policy n the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and the deaths of Turkish nationals in the raid on the flotilla.

European envoys visit Libya for first time since 2014

A group of European ambassadors flies into Libya’s capital for the first time since 2014 to support the unity government’s struggle to end years of chaos exploited by jihadists.

French ambassador Antoine Sivan, Peter Millett of Britain and Spain’s Jose Antonio Bordallo hold talks with the Government of National Accord (GNA) at the Tripoli naval base where it has set up operations.

The French government says the visits were a show of solidarity with GNA chief Fayez al-Sarraj and that Paris “stands alongside the national unity government in Tripoli.”

“The unity government must exercise its authority over all (Libya’s) administrations and financial institutions,” says foreign ministry spokesman Romain Nadal, adding it could count of French support “in the struggle against the terrorist threat”.

It is the first such mission since European Union member states closed their embassies in 2014 because of unrest.

France and Italy have said they are studying plans to reopen their embassies in Tripoli.

“Meeting GNA members to reaffirm strong UK commitment to support their efforts to restore peace,” Britain’s Millett says on Twitter.

— AFP

Israeli military dismisses transgender soldier

The Israeli military says it has dismissed a transgender teenager who had objected to joining the army on ideological grounds.

Aiden Katri was jailed about two weeks ago after saying she opposed Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians. Katri, who wears a beard and has not undergone transitional surgery, then requested to be moved to a female military prison. Her supporters say the request was denied.

In a statement Thursday, the IDF says Katri was referred to a psychiatrist and it was determined she was not fit for military service. It says the decision was unrelated to being transgender, noting that “dozens” of transgender soldiers are currently in the military.

Military service is compulsory for most Jewish Israelis.

— AP

IDF bulldozers reported operating along Gaza border

Palestinian news agency Ma’an reports that IDF bulldozers are operating along the Gaza border.

Rocket sirens sound in Nahal Oz

Rocket sirens sound in the Nahal Oz area, in southern Israel.

No injuries or damage are reported, and the projectiles are not yet located.

Rocket siren in south Israel is false alarm

The IDF says that the rocket siren activated in the south earlier today was a false alarm.

Right-wing activists burn Palestinian flag in Tel Aviv

Right-wing activists Michael Ben Ari, Lehava Chairman Benzi Gopstein, and Baruch Marzel burn a Palestinian flag in Tel Aviv, in protest of the IDF decision to punish two soldiers who torched a Palestinian flag near Nablus.

IDF brigadier general accused of rape says he is target of smear campaign

IDF brigadier general Ofek Buchris, who is being investigated for alleged instances of rape, sodomy and sexual assault, protests reports concering the case, and says he is the target of a smear campaign.

Buchris, 47, a highly decorated officer who had been considered to be on the fast track to the IDF’s highest echelons, has vehemently denied the accusations by two female former subordinates.

John Kasich links Jesus’ blood to Passover at Hasidic matzah bakery

If Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s visit to Hasidic Brooklyn this week had yielded only one amusing moment, Dayenu – it would have been enough.

But, thank God, there were many in the Republican presidential candidate’s visit to a Jewish bookstore, shmura matzah bakery and Hasidic school in Borough Park on Tuesday.

“It’s a wonderful, wonderful holiday for our friends in the Jewish community – the Passover,” Kasich told reporters after emerging from the matzah bakery, a box of the fresh-baked stuff in hand.

Yes, Jews are known to love The Passover, almost as much they love The Pre-Election Drop-By from vote-seeking politicians.

Flanked by Hasidic publicist Ezra Friedlander, Kasich then launched into a brief appraisal of the links between Passover and, um, the blood of Jesus Christ.

“The great link between the blood that was put above the lampposts” – er, you mean doorposts, governor — “the blood of the lamb, because Jesus Christ is known as the lamb of God. It’s his blood, we believe …”

Kasich’s only saving grace was that his remarks kept getting interrupted by the subway rumbling on the elevated tracks overhead.

Talking about Christ’s blood during a visit to Borough Park? Oy vey. Please, somebody, prep this guy. Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn want to hear about food stamps, affordable housing, Medicaid. Ix-nay on the Jesus-nay.

— JTA/Uriel Heilman

IDF conducting major drill in south

The IDF is conducting major drill in south to simulate a terrorist attack from the Gaza Strip.

Earlier, Palestinian media reported that the IDF was operating with bulldozers along the Gaza border.

Uman hotel refuses to rent rooms to Jews, Ukrainian Jewish leader says

A hotel in Uman is refusing to rent out rooms to Jews, a leader of Ukraine’s Jewish community says.

Eduard Dolinsky, the director of the Ukrainian Jewish Committee, writes on Facebook that an administrator at Uman City Plaza told him the policy was in place because the last time that Jews were allowed to stay at the hotel, it required repairs.

Each year around the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, Uman sees the arrival of approximately 25,000 Jewish pilgrims from Israel, the United States and Europe. They congregate there for the holiday because it is the final resting place of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, an 18th-century luminary, who is buried in Uman. During his lifetime, Rabbi Nachman called on his followers to be with him on Rosh Hashanah.

Dolinsky says he called the hotel, a small establishment with just 17 rooms, because he read an online review by a Jew who was turned away.

“I didn’t believe it, so I called myself,” Dolinsky writes. “Yes, indeed, rooms are not rented out to Jews,” was the reply, Dolinsky writes, adding that the administrator said that “last time, repairs were necessary after the Jews stayed in the rooms.”

Most Jews who visit Uman stay in the Pushkina area, where Ukrainian police, along with Israeli officers who are sent especially for the holiday, restrict non-Jews, including locals, from entering during the holiday to prevent violence.

In Uman, many locals resent the Jewish pilgrimage because they say it invites criminality and does not contribute to the local economy because most pilgrims pay other Jews for various services, including housing in apartments in Pushkina and kosher food.

— JTA

Hamas beefs up Egypt border force in bid to ease tensions

Hamas begins deploying additional forces on the Gaza border with Egypt, the interior ministry says, in an apparent effort to ease Cairo’s concerns about security.

“National security forces started today to increase the number of its troops and double the security bases along all the southern border with Egypt to be able to control the border better,” spokesman Iyad al-Bazm told AFP.

He says they had established three new bases immediately.

“This is a message that we are concerned with border security and stability,” Bazm says, adding nobody would be allowed “to touch the security of Egypt.”

Security forces were seen setting up about 10 temporary buildings along the border. Bulldozers flatten the land near the frontier in apparent preparation for more temporary structures.

A Palestinian security officer calls the measures “important new security arrangements to reassure the brothers in Egypt the border is secure”.

— AFP