Jewish Home MKs to push bill on asylum seeker deportations, skirting High court

EU ‘deeply alarmed’ by Israeli use of live fire to disperse Palestinian protests

The European Union criticizes Israel’s use of lethal force to disperse Palestinian protesters, and urges security forces to show restraint as well as investigate every fatality.

In a statement, the Office of the European Union Representative to the West Bank and Gaza Strip says several Palestinian minors have been killed in recent months, but did not specify details of the incidents.

“The EU continues to be deeply alarmed about the use of live ammunition by Israeli Security Forces as a means of crowd control,” the statement says. “The EU reiterates its calls on Israeli authorities to employ proportionate force in their response to demonstrations, to exercise the utmost restraint in its use of force for law enforcement, to open adequate investigations following each fatality and to initiate prosecution where appropriate.”

Egypt arrests news editor amid media crackdown

Egyptian authorities arrest the editor of an independent news website for operating without a license, the latest episode in a widening crackdown on independent media, officials say.

They said Adel Sabri was arrested late last night and taken to a Cairo police station, while the offices of the Masr al-Arabia website were shuttered. Prosecutors are questioning Sabri today, they say.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The arrest came a day after President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi won a second, four-year term in office, with 97 percent of the vote in last week’s election. He faced no serious competition, after a string of potentially strong candidates were arrested or withdrew under pressure, leaving a single opponent who made no effort to challenge him.

— AP

Egypt sentences 35 to life on terror charges

Egypt sentences 35 alleged Muslim Brotherhood members to life in prison for allegedly forming “terrorist cells” to attack security forces and state institutions.

The Sohag Criminal Court in central Egypt sentences another 155 defendants to three to 15 years in prison on similar charges, including plotting to kill public figures and security officials, and joining an outlawed group, a reference to the Brotherhood.

Today’s verdict can be appealed, and 124 suspects who remain at large will be re-tried once they are apprehended.

The Brotherhood won a series of free elections after Egypt’s 2011 uprising, and a senior Brotherhood figure, Mohammed Morsi, was elected president in 2012.

A year later, the military overthrew Morsi amid mass protests against his rule. Authorities have since branded the Brotherhood a terrorist organization.

— AP

Leaders of Russia, Iran and Turkey to meet on Syria

The leaders of Russia, Iran and Turkey are meeting in the Turkish capital for talks on Syria’s future.

The leaders are expected to reaffirm their commitment to Syria’s territorial integrity and the continuation of local ceasefires when they meet today.

The three countries have been working to try and resolve the conflict, which is now in its seventh year. Russia and Iran have provided crucial support to President Bashar Assad’s forces, while Turkey has backed the rebels seeking to overthrow him.

They have sponsored a series talks in the Kazakh capital, Astana, and have set up “de-escalation zones” aimed at reducing the fighting.

— AP

Austria to ban headscarf for elementary school students

Austria’s government announces its intention to bring in a ban on the headscarf for girls in kindergartens and elementary schools.

Education Minister Heinz Fassmann says the draft law would be ready by the summer. He added that it would be a “symbolic” act, regardless of how many children were actually affected.

Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache of the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) had floated the idea of a ban over the weekend, saying that girls “under the age of 10 must be protected” and be able to “integrate and develop freely.”

Chancellor Sebastian Kurz of the center-right People’s Party (OeVP) also backed the idea, telling the Oe1 radio station: “We want all girls in Austria to have the same opportunities,” and that he wanted to avoid the development of “parallel societies.”

The Kurier newspaper reports that neither the education ministry nor various experts asked by the paper were able to provide figures for how many girls currently wear the headscarf in kindergartens and primary schools.

— AFP

Ultra-Orthodox protesters in Jerusalem against baby autopsy block light rail

Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox protesters rallying against a police decision to perform an autopsy on a baby who drowned in a jacuzzi earlier this week are blocking the tracks of Jerusalem’s light rail train.

Police say a number of roads in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh have been closed due to the ongoing protests.

The family of a baby who drowned in an Ashdod hotel jacuzzi two days ago are attempting to halt the autopsy on religious grounds.

>> השוטרים הודפים את המפגינים החרדים בתחנת הרכבת הקלה ברחוב בר לב בירושלים (צילום: "מחאות החרדים הקיצונים") @uriyaelk pic.twitter.com/aMGlo0utsT

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) April 4, 2018

State tells High Court it struck a deportation deal with new, unnamed country

The state reportedly informs the High Court of Justice that a new, unnamed third country has agreed to accept African asylum seekers deported from Israel under a controversial deportation plan.

The state tells the court that a special envoy is currently in the country to finalize the details of the deportation agreement, which has been approved by the Attorney General’s Office, according to reports in Hebrew-language media.

B’Tselem urges soldiers to refuse to shoot protesters in Gaza

Israeli human rights group B’Tselem is launching a campaign urging IDF soldiers to refuse orders to open fire on Palestinian protesters.

In a statement, the left-wing group says “shooting unarmed protesters is illegal, and a command to do so is a grossly illegal command.”

B’Tselem says it is taking the “unusual step” of appealing directly to soldiers in light of the deadly Gaza border clashes last week.

Russia expels a Hungarian envoy over spy case

Russia’s Foreign Ministry says it is expelling one Hungarian diplomat after Hungary joined other Western nations in kicking out Russian diplomats.

The United States and many European countries last week expelled a total of over 150 Russian diplomats in a show of solidarity with Britain, which accuses Russia of being behind the nerve agent poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter last month.

Hungary said last week that it was expelling one Russian diplomat who was carrying out intelligence activities.

The Russian Foreign Ministry says in a statement that it has summoned the Hungarian ambassador to Moscow and informed him of Russia’s decision to expel one diplomat from the Hungarian embassy.

— AP

House panel says Facebook’s Zuckerberg to testify April 11

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify before a House oversight panel on April 11 amid a privacy scandal that has roiled the social media giant, the panel announces this afternoon.

Reps. Greg Walden (Republican, Oregon) and Frank Pallone, (Democrat, New Jersey) said the House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing will focus on the Facebook’s “use and protection of user data.” Announcement of the hearing date comes as Facebook faces scrutiny over its data collection following allegations that the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica obtained data on tens of millions of Facebook users to try to influence elections. Walden is the committee’s Republican chairman and Pallone is the panel’s top Democrat.

“This hearing will be an important opportunity to shed light on critical consumer data privacy issues and help all Americans better understand what happens to their personal information online,” Walden and Pallone says.

Their committee is the first of three congressional panels that requested Zuckerberg’s testimony to announce a hearing date. The Senate Commerce and Judiciary committees also have called for Zuckerberg to appear before them.

— AP

Iran’s Rouhani says ‘Zionist interference’ worsened Syrian war

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani claims that along with US intervention, the intermittent Israeli strikes on Iran-backed military positions in Syria in recent years has exacerbated the years-long civil war in the country.

“The Americans are against the Syrian government establishing its authority throughout the whole country and are even thinking of a breakup [of the country],” he says at Tehran’s Mehrabad airport before departing to Ankara according to Reuters.

“There’s interference from Zionist forces in Syria which has increased problems. They don’t respect Syrian national sovereignty. They bomb areas in Syria. They support terrorists. These are all issues which have increased Syria’s problems,” he adds.

Decision made on Syria pullout, announcement soon, says US intel chief

The United States has reached a decision on a possible withdrawal of troops from Syria, the top US intelligence official says, adding that an announcement was imminent.

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats says leading administration figures took part in “a significant discussion” on the US commitment in Syria at the White House on Tuesday.

“There will be a statement shortly relative to the decision that was made,” Coats said.

President Donald Trump said yesterday he wants American troops to “get out” of Syria, even as top US officials stressed the need to stay for the long term.

— AP

Arab League chief wants The Hague to probe Gaza killings

The head of the Arab League says his organization wants the International Criminal Court in The Hague to investigate the deaths last week of 16 Palestinians during protests near Gaza’s border with Israel.

Ahmed Aboul-Gheit says during an official visit to Lisbon, Portugal that the Arab League also supports UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ call for an independent investigation of the killings by Israeli forces.

Aboul-Gheit says Palestinians are demanding their rights “and they will not be forgotten or diminished.”

He says he hopes the killings would stop “because the demonstrations will continue at least until May 15” — the 70th anniversary of Israel’s creation.

— AP

Ultra-Orthodox MK attacked in Beit Shemesh for supporting IDF draft

Deputy Education Minister Meir Porush was attacked earlier today by an angry mob of ultra-Orthodox residents of Beit Shemesh over his support for Israeli draft laws.

Videos of the incident show Porush escaping several dozen men who chased him out of the neighborhood and damaged his car.

שר הבטחון ליברמן דורש תמיד מחברי הכנסת החרדיים לגנות את הקיצוניים בזמן שהם עצמם מותקפים. הנה מה שעשו אותם סיקריקים הבוקר לסגן השר פרוש אחרי התפילה. pic.twitter.com/fSN7NdMbB4

— ישראל כהן (@Israelcohen911) April 4, 2018

Porush himself is ultra-Orthodox, and was in the city for a visit to his rabbi’s home.

Turkey, Russia, Iran commit to Syrian unity

The leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran say they stand against “separatist” agendas that would undermine Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In a joint statement released at the end of their summit meeting in Ankara, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan say they “rejected all attempts to create new realities on the ground under the pretext of combating terrorism.”

They reaffirm their commitment to working toward achieving ceasefires between conflicting parties in Syria and emphasized commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria.

The statement says the countries reaffirmed determination to continue cooperation “in order to ultimately eliminate” the Islamic State group and other entities associated with al-Qaeda.

The leaders said their next summit meeting would take place in Iran.

— AP

Shlomo Artzi selected to light a torch at state Independence Day ceremony

Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev announces that singer-songwriter Shlomo Artzi has been selected to light a torch at the official Independence Day celebrations next month.

“In his unique style, Artzi expresses the experience of Israeli life in his songs, writings and radio broadcasts,” Regev says in a statement.

After the announcement, Artzi said he was “really honored” to have been selected, but regrets that “my [deceased] parents and sisters will not get to share this moment with me.”

This year’s torch lighting ceremony has been overshadowed by an escalating political feud between Regev and Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, who is objecting to her plan to have Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak at the event, bucking years of tradition.

Leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran urge world to give Syria more aid

The leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran are urging the international community to provide more aid for war-ravaged Syria.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Russian President Vladimir Putin are calling for bigger humanitarian aid supplies, as well as assistance in clearing landmines and aid to help restore the destroyed infrastructure.

Speaking after today’s summit in Ankara, Erdogan points at the EU’s failure to deliver 3 billion euros in assistance he said it promised for helping restore Syria’s north. He adds that Turkey will continue to invest its own funds in rebuilding Syria.

Putin also issues a strong call to other nations to participate more actively in Syria’s restoration efforts.

— AP

High Court okays autopsy on drowned baby against parents’ wishes

The High Court of Justice approves a police request to perform an autopsy on a baby who drowned in a jacuzzi earlier this week, despite objections from the parents.

The parents were seeking an emergency injunction to stop the procedure, which is forbidden in most cases by Jewish law, telling the court that an autopsy constituted a “grave violation of the sanctity of the dead, is totally forbidden and a grave offense according to the Torah.”

The baby’s parents have been detained as suspects in the death of the infant and have had their remand extended. The mother is suspected of criminal wrongdoing, while the father is reportedly suspected of obstructing justice.

Israel to release dozens of jailed asylum seekers after deportation plan nixed

Israel will release 58 African asylum seekers from the Saharonim Prison this afternoon after a controversial deportation plan that would have seen them forcibly expelled to unnamed third countries fell apart.

The asylum seekers had been imprisoned for refusing to be “voluntarily” deported to Rwanda by April 1 under a government plan that was partially invalidated by the High Court in March.

After Rwanda categorically denied the existence of a deal with Israel, the Population, Immigration and Border Authority said it would release the 58 from the detention center in the Negev.

Earlier this afternoon, the state told the High Court of Justice that it was still working to broker a deportation deal with another unnamed country (widely reported to be Uganda). If that deal will also fall through or is rejected by the attorney general, the government said it would release the remaining 270 asylum seekers held at Saharonim.

Liberman decries tripartite summit on Syria that snubbed UN, US

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman slams today’s tripartite summit on the future of Syria between Iran, Turkey and Russia, saying the meeting snubbed the United States and the United Nations.

“This is the first time since World War II that such a meeting has taken place without the approval of the United Nations,” Liberman tells Army Radio.

They are determining the future of Syria without any representative from the United States,” he says, adding that he does not believe Israel should “get involved” in Syria.

WH: Military mission in Syria coming to ‘rapid end,’ but not over yet

The White House says the US military mission to eradicate the Islamic State in Syria is coming to a “rapid end” but offers no timetable for withdrawal.

US President Donald Trump said yesterday that he wants to bring troops home to start rebuilding the US.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Wednesday that the US and its partners remain committed to eliminating the small Islamic State group presence that continues in Syria.

Sanders says the administration will continue to consult with allies regarding future plans.

Trump discussed Syria in a meeting with his national security team yesterday.

— AP

PM says Rouhani claim of Israeli terror attacks in Syria ‘absurd’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hits back at Iranian President Hassan Rouhani who earlier accused Israel of exacerbating the Syrian civil war with its intermittent strikes on Iran-backed military sites.

“There is no limit to this absurdity,” Netanyahu says. “The octopus of Iranian terrorism accuses Israel of terrorism.”

“If Rouhani is not familiar with the terror attacks and acts of sabotage at the [Iranian] Quds Forces carry out on a daily basis in Syria, Israel will be happy to update him,” Netanyahu says.

Rouhani earlier said that there is “interference from Zionist forces in Syria which has increased problems. They don’t respect Syrian national sovereignty. They bomb areas in Syria. They support terrorists. These are all issues which have increased Syria’s problems.”

US forces setting up positions in north Syria

US President Donald Trump the past week has spoken of pulling out of Syria “very soon.” But American forces have been setting up new front-line positions outside the strategic northern town of Manbij, west of the Euphrates River.

The area is the scene of a tense standoff where US-backed Kurdish-led forces who hold Manbij face Turkish-backed Syrian fighters. Turkey has vowed to retake Manbij and other Kurdish-held territory along the Syrian-Turkish border; the US troops stationed here are a key reason why they are holding back.

The US-led coalition in Syria had said there are no US bases in the area and that US patrols were not static. There was no immediate comment from the coalition this afternoon.

— AP

Israeli liaison to Palestinians urges WHO to prevent tire burning at protests

Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai is urging the World Health Organization to help stem the “unprecedented” air pollution caused by Palestinian protesters burning tires at regular anti-Israel demonstrations.

“This is a serious environmental issue that will harm the health of the residents and will cause unprecedented air pollution,” he says in a letter to the world body according to Army Radio.

The letter comes a week after 30,000 Palestinians took part in demonstrations along the Gaza border, during which rioters threw rocks and firebombs at Israeli troops on the other side of the fence, burned tires and scrap wood, sought to breach and damage the security fence, and in one case opened fire at Israeli soldiers.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said 16 Palestinians were killed in subsequent clashes with IDF forces.

Police shoot, injure alleged car thief in West Bank

Israel Police shoot a Palestinian who they say was trying to run officers over after stealing a car in the West Bank earlier this afternoon.

Officers opened fire at the vehicle after the driver failed to stop at the checkpoint at Vered Yericho. The alleged car thief lost control of the vehicle and crashed.

Police said in a statement that the suspect was evacuated to Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center. A hospital spokesperson says the suspect was in moderate condition.

Jewish Home to advance bill on asylum seeker deportations, sidestepping High Court

Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and Education Minister Naftali Bennett of the Jewish Home party will propose legislation next week to circumvent a High Court of Justice ruling that nixed the controversial plan to expel nearly 40,000 African asylum seekers.

Bennet tells coalition leaders the legislation will seek to amend Israel’s Basic Law so that the African migrants can be deported under the Prevention of Infiltration Law, without violating a number of High Court rulings that have struck down the plan as unconstitutional.

Lod woman who fell out of plane door in Budapest airport flown to Israel

An Israeli woman who was seriously injured after falling out of the doorway of a passenger jet in the Budapest airport during a chaotic aircraft evacuation last month is airlifted home to continue treatment.

Dikla Abitbul, 38, a mother of two from the central city of Lod, has been hospitalized in the Hungarian capital since the accident on March 23.

According to reports, Abitbul has been transferred to the Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva for further treatment. A hospital spokesperson said Abitbul remained in serious but stable condition.

Ultra-Orthodox demonstrate against autopsy of drowned infant

Hundreds of hardline ultra-Orthodox protesters are blocking the Bar Ilan intersection in Jerusalem to protest a court decision to allow an autopsy on a baby who drowned in a jacuzzi earlier this week, despite objections from the parents.

Police forces are dispersing protesters from the usually congested intersection.

The parents of the infant appealed the police decision to perform an autopsy on the infant on religious grounds.

They have been detained as suspects in the death of their baby and have had their remand extended. The mother is suspected of criminal wrongdoing, while the father is reportedly suspected of obstructing justice.

Russia requests UN meeting on ex-spy poisoning

Russia’s UN ambassador has called for an open meeting of the UN Security Council tomorrow on the poisoning of a former spy and his daughter in Britain.

Vassily Nebenzia makes the request at the end of his speech to a council meeting on chemical weapons in Syria.

Nebenzia says Russia requested the council meeting because it shares the principle that the use of chemical weapons anywhere “is not acceptable and must be investigated and perpetrators punished, and that impunity is unacceptable.”

Kuwait’s UN Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaibi told reporters the meeting is scheduled at 3 p.m. EDT on Thursday.

Nebenzia’s request follows a meeting of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons requested by Russia on the incident in the English city of Salisbury.

— AP

PM hails alertness of security forces in Passover greeting

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praises the alertness of Israel’s security forces in a Passover greeting, hours after authorities revealed that a Palestinian terror plot to sink an Israeli naval patrol boat and kidnap any survivors had been thwarted last month.

“We send blessings and wishes for a happy holiday to all the people of Israel, and a special blessing to the soldiers and members of the Shin Bet [security service] who thwarted an attempt to attack our forces,” the prime minister says in the video filmed while on vacation in the Golan Heights.

“Great job, I’m proud of you. A very happy holiday to those who are always watching over us, even during the holidays,” he adds.

Iran’s Khamenei blasts Arab states who ‘betrayed’ Islam by talking to Israel

In a thinly veiled criticism of Saudi Arabia, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blasts Arab states for “betraying” Islam by negotiating with Israel.

In a series of tweets, Khamenei says negotiating with “the deceptive, lying, & usurper regime is an unforgettable error that will impede the victory of the Palestinian nation. “The act of betrayal by some Arab heads of states — which is gradually being revealed — pursues the same goal.”

The remark appears to be aimed at Iran’s regional enemy Saudi Arabia, whose crown prince earlier this week publicly recognized Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state.

Today the return of dignity and power to the Islamic nation is exclusively linked to resistance—while confronting arrogant powers and their wicked plots; and the issue of #Palestine is at the top of #Islam’s international issues in the face of the arrogant front.

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) April 4, 2018

In his tweet storm, Khamenei goes on to say that the issue of Palestine is central to “the return of dignity and power to the Islamic nation,” and that resistance against Israel is the “only way to free oppressed Palestine.”