Three killed after bus loses control, plows into bus stop on major Jerusalem road

Meretz MK says IDF an ‘occupation army,’ but cautions against oversimplifying matter

MK Yair Golan speaks during a conference hosted by Democrat TV in Jaffa, June 7, 2022. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Asked by the Kan public broadcaster whether the IDF is an “occupation army,” Meretz MK Yair Golan, who is running a long-shot race to become party chairman, answers in the affirmative.

However, the former deputy IDF chief of staff says he prefers not to oversimplify the situation with buzzwords, arguing that Israel did not originally intend to take over the West Bank and the millions of Palestinians living there.

Magen David Adom raises death toll from Jerusalem crash to three

Police and rescue personnel at the scene of a deadly bus crash in Jerusalem, August 11, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Magen David Adom has raised the death toll from tonight’s Jerusalem crash from two to three.

The victims are a woman in her 30s, a roughly three-year-old girl and a roughly seven-year-old girl.

Six others were injured, including one seriously, two moderately and three lightly.

Magen David Adom says 2 killed in Jerusalem crash, not 3 as Zaka had claimed

The scene of a bus crash on Jerusalem's Shamgar Street on August 11, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flasg90)

The Magen David Adom service says that two people were killed in the crash on Jerusalem’s Shamgar street earlier this evening, not three people as rival emergency service Zaka had initially declared.

A third person is in serious and unstable condition, while one is moderately hurt and another is lightly injured, MDA says.

3-year-old girl, woman in her 30s among fatalities in Jerusalem crash

The scene of a bus crash on Jerusalem's Shamgar Street on August 11, 2022. (Screen capture/Courtesy)

A 3-year-old girl and a woman in her 30s are among the fatalities from the crash on Shamgar Street in north Jerusalem, Magen David Adom says.

התאונה הקשה בירושלים: אישה בשנות ה-30 לחייה וילדה כבת 3 נהרגו, חשד ללכודים מתחת לאוטובוס@VeredPelman @carmeldangor pic.twitter.com/LyBcQAaoSX

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) August 11, 2022

Firefighters working to rescue three people trapped under bus at Jerusalem crash site

The scene of a bus crash on Jerusalem's Shamgar Street on August 11, 2022. (Rescuers without Borders)

Firefighters are currently working to rescue three people who are trapped under the bus that crashed into a storefront on Shamgar street in north Jerusalem.

Three people were killed according to the Zaka emergency service.

Police open probe into deadly Jerusalem crash

The scene of a bus crash on Jerusalem's Shamgar Street on August 11, 2022. (Screen capture/Courtesy)

Police say they have opened an investigation into the deadly crash on Jerusalem’s Shamgar Street in which a bus driver apparently lost control and plowed into pedestrians, killing at least three.

3 killed after bus loses control, plows into store on major Jerusalem highway

The scene of a bus crash on Jerusalem's Shamgar Street on August 11, 2022. (Screen capture/Courtesy)

Three people have been killed and another has been seriously injured after a bus in Jerusalem lost control and plowed into a storefront on Shamgar street, a major road in the Romema neighborhood of north Jerusalem, the Zaka emergency service says.

Zaka says the seriously injured victim has been rushed to the hospital and that their condition is not stable.

Soon-to-be new Likud MK allegedly led smear campaigns against domestic violence victims

Hanoch Milwidsky (C) stands with supporters outside a ballot station for the Likud primaries on August 10, 2022. (Hanoch Milwidsky/Twitter)

Among the new faces on Likud’s list after yesterday’s primaries is Hanoch Milwidsky at the 26th spot.

Milwidsky is a former Yesh Atid member who also served as a legal adviser for the Bnei Baruch religious community that some critics have likened to a cult.

According to Channel 12, Milwidsky in his role with Bnei Baruch coached a woman to make false accusations against an opponent of the community and made sure she was paid $20,000 in exchange.

The Marker business daily reports that he also engaged in a smear campaign against one woman who was beaten by her husband — a member of the community — and another who testified to having been a victim of sexual abuse.

Milwidsky denies the allegations against him.

Former editor of pro-Netanyahu daily poised to enter Knesset with Likud

Boaz Bismuth seen during a conference of the Israeli Television News Company in Jerusalem on March 7, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Former editor of the pro-Netanyahu Israel Hayom daily Boaz Bismuth is poised to enter the Knesset in November after a strong performance in his first Likud primary yesterday.

He will be placed at 27 on the list for Likud, which is expected to receive between 30 and 35 seats in the next Knesset.

Eisenkot meets with Lapid and Gantz, will announce whether he’s entering politics next week

IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot attends a State Control Committee meeting in the Knesset on March 22, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot met this week with Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Defense Minister Benny Gantz and will announce whether he will enter politics — and if so, with which party — next week, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

After poor primary performance, Edelstein said threatening to bolt Likud if not made minister

Likud MK Yuli Edelstein at a conference hosted by Channel 13 in Jerusalem on July 26, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

After a poor performance in yesterday’s Likud primaries, MK Yuli Edelstein told confidants that he will quit the party if he is not named minister in the next government, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

It is not immediately clear whether Edelstein means he’ll quit politics or jump ship and start his own party or join another one. If three other Likud MKs were to join him, they would be able to form a new party.

After being No. 2 on the list in the last election, Edelstein has dropped to 18, likely over his decision to briefly try and challenge Benjamin Netanyahu for the chairmanship post.

Top Taliban cleric killed in Kabul suicide blast by Islamic State

An Afghan man rushes to the target with his horse as a Taliban fighter stands guard during a spear racing in the sprawling Chaman-e-Huzori park in downtown Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, May 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

A senior Taliban cleric known for his fiery speeches against the Islamic State (IS) has been killed at his madrassa in the Afghan capital in a suicide attack claimed by the jihadist group.

Rahimullah Haqqani, who had recently spoken publicly in favor of girls being allowed to attend school, had survived at least two previous assassination attempts — including one in Pakistan in October 2020.

“He is the only one martyred,” Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran tells AFP, adding that at least four others were wounded in the blast.

Government spokesman Bilal Karimi confirms his death “in an attack carried out by a cowardly enemy,” but did not offer further details.

Hours later, IS claims the attack on its telegram channels, saying the bomber had detonated his explosive vest inside the office of the cleric.

Haqqani was one of the most “prominent advocates for the Taliban and one of the biggest of them who incited to fight” IS, jihadist monitoring group SITE says, translating a statement from IS.

Russian strikes near Ukraine nuclear plant kill 14

People fleeing fighting in the southern city of Mariupol meet with relatives and friends as they arrive in a small convoy after the opening of a humanitarian corridor, at a registration center for internally displaced people in Zaporizhzhia, on April 21, 2022. (Ed Jones/AFP)

Ukraine has accused Russia of carrying out rocket strikes that killed 14 civilians in areas near a nuclear power plant, as the G7 warned that Russian control of the facility “endangers the region.”

Overnight strikes in the Dnipropetrovsk region in central Ukraine killed 13 people and injured 11, with five reported to be in serious condition, regional governor Valentin Reznichenko wrote on Telegram.

“It was a terrible night,” he says, urging residents to shelter when they hear air raid sirens.

“I am asking and begging you… Don’t let the Russians kill you,” he writes.

A woman died after Russian missiles slammed into a village in the Zaporizhzhia region on Wednesday morning, local governor Oleksandr Starukh writes on Telegram.

Most of the casualties were in the town of Marganets, just across the Dnipro River from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s biggest.

Regional council head Mykola Lukashuk says the strikes had hit a local power line, leaving thousands of people without electricity.

‘Hero’ Lebanon hostage-taker turns self in after bank drama

An armed Lebanese man takes Beirut bank staff hostage, demanding his trapped savings, August 11, 2022. (Twitter)

Bystanders hail as a hero an armed customer who held bank staff hostage for hours earlier today in Lebanon because he couldn’t access funds frozen after the country’s economic collapse.

The suspect, identified only as Bassam, was armed with a rifle and had doused the interior of the bank with gasoline, security sources say.

But after eight hours the incident has ended peacefully.

“Bassam you are a hero!” cheering bystanders chanted outside the bank.

The incident was the latest involving local banks and angry depositors unable to access savings that have been locked in Lebanese banks since the country’s economic crisis began in 2019.

Official media says the suspect turned himself in when the bank agreed to give him $30,000 out of his more than $200,000 in trapped savings.

“Employees taken hostage have also begun to leave the bank,” Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) says.

An AFP correspondent at the scene saw hostages and the suspect being escorted away in police cars from the Federal Bank branch where the drama unfolded, near west Beirut’s commercial center of Hamra Street.

Protesters at the scene had chanted “down with the rule of the banks,” while others took to social media to express their support for the shaggy-bearded suspect wearing shorts and flip-flops.

Local residents say the incident began at about 10:30 a.m. (0730 GMT).

The man had “a pump-action rifle and flammable material, and threatened employees to give him his savings,” a security source tells AFP, requesting anonymity.

Another security source said a man in his forties “poured gasoline all over the bank, and closed the bank’s front door, holding employees hostage.”

He demanded savings worth more than $200,000, the source says.

The man “threatened to set himself on fire and to kill everyone in the branch, pointing his weapon in the bank manager’s face,” NNA says.

He said he stormed the bank because his father “was admitted to hospital some time ago for an operation and could not pay for it,” NNA reports.

US backs demilitarized zone at Ukraine Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

The United States supports calls by the United Nations and others to establish a demilitarized zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine, now occupied by Russian forces, the State Department says.

“We continue to call on Russia to cease all military operations at or near Ukrainian nuclear facilities and return full control to Ukraine, and support Ukrainian calls for a demilitarized zone around the nuclear power plant,” says a State Department spokesperson.

Russia launches Iranian satellite amid Ukraine war concerns

In this handout photo taken from video released by Roscosmos on August 9, 2022, a Russian Soyuz rocket lifts off to carry Iranian Khayyam satellite into orbit at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome near Baikonur, Kazakhstan. (Roscosmos via AP)

An Iranian satellite launched by Russia has blasted off from Kazakhstan, reaching orbit amid controversy that Moscow might be using it to boost its surveillance of military targets in Ukraine.

As Russia’s international isolation grows following Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin is seeking to pivot towards the Middle East, Asia and Africa and find new clients for its embattled space program.

Speaking at the Moscow-controlled Baikonur Cosmodrome in the Kazakh steppe, Russian space chief Yury Borisov hails “an important milestone in Russian-Iranian bilateral cooperation, opening the way to the implementation of new and even larger projects.”

Iran’s Telecommunications Minister Issa Zarepour, who is also attending the launch of the Khayyam satellite, calls the event “historic” and “a turning point for the start of a new interaction in the field of space between our two countries.”

Nasser Kanani, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, says on Twitter that “the brilliant path of scientific and technological progress of the Islamic republic of Iran continues despite sanctions and the enemies’ maximum pressure.”

Trump invokes right not to answer questions over 400 times in deposition over alleged fraud

Former President Donald Trump waves as he departs Trump Tower, August 10, 2022, in New York, on his way to the New York attorney general's office for a deposition in a civil investigation. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Former US president Donald Trump invoked his legal right not to answer questions more than 400 times during a deposition about alleged fraud at his family real estate business, US media reports.

The 76-year-old Trump was questioned for four hours on Wednesday at the Manhattan office of Letitia James, the New York state attorney general, who is investigating the business practices of the Trump Organization.

The Washington Post says Trump stated his name and then cited the Fifth Amendment — which allows individuals to decline to answer questions to avoid self-incrimination — more than 400 times.

In response to queries from investigators about his businesses, property valuations and loans, Trump repeatedly replied “Same answer,” the Post says, a reference to the Fifth Amendment.

NBC News, citing a source with knowledge of the deposition, said Trump invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 440 times.

In a statement, Trump, whose Florida home was the target of an FBI search on Monday, defended his use of the Fifth Amendment.

“I declined to answer the questions under the rights and privileges afforded to every citizen under the United States Constitution,” he says.

“When your family, your company, and all the people in your orbit have become the targets of an unfounded, politically motivated Witch Hunt supported by lawyers, prosecutors, and the Fake News Media, you have no choice,” he adds.

Ukraine says fresh Russian shelling of nuclear plant damaged radiation sensors

This image made from a video released by Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant shows a bright flaring object landing in the grounds of the nuclear plant in Enerhodar, Ukraine, on March 4, 2022. (Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant via AP)

Russian shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has damaged “several radiation sensors,” Ukraine’s nuclear agency says.

Energoatom says the new strikes were close to one of the Russian-controlled Ukrainian plant’s six reactors and there was “extensive smoke,” adding that “several radiation sensors are damaged.”

Armed man reportedly threatening FBI office in Cincinnati days after Mar-a-Lago raid

Police direct traffic outside an entrance to former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, Monday, August 8, 2022, in Palm Beach, Fla. Trump said in a lengthy statement that the FBI was conducting a search of his Mar-a-Lago estate and asserted that agents had broken open a safe. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)

An armed man is threatening an FBI building in Cincinnati, according to the local NBC news affiliate, which says there are unconfirmed reports that the suspect is firing at police from an adjacent cornfield.

The incident comes days after the FBI raided Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida amid reported suspicions that the former president was withholding federal documents. The raid led to a massive uptick in violent rhetoric by Republican lawmakers against the FBI.

Former minister laments lack of Druze representation on Likud list

Communications Minister Ayoub Kara at a press conference in the northern city of Safed, July 10, 2018. (David Cohen/Flash90)

Former communications minister Ayoub Kara laments the lack of Druze representation on the Likud list in an interview with 103 FM Radio.

“We must correct the situation whereby the minority representative is only placed at 44th on the Likud list,” Kara says.

The longtime Likud member is slated to fill that spot after yesterday’s primaries, but he is unlikely to make it into the next Knesset, given that Likud is only polling between 30 and 35 seats.

Longtime lawmaker Tzachi Hanegbi drops 33 spots on Likud list, likely booted from Knesset

Likud MK Tzachi Hanegbi attends an event at Likud party headquarters in Tel Aviv. September 17, 2019. (Gili Yaari/Flash90)

Longtime lawmaker Tzachi Hanegbi has dropped from the eighth spot on the Likud list to what likely will be the unrealistic 46 spot after a horrendous showing in yesterday’s primaries.

Hanegbi is one of the longest-serving lawmakers in the Knesset, entering in 1988 with Likud and serving the party every election since, except for a four-year stint in the Kadima party.

Netanyahu in message to Likud candidates who didn’t fair well: ‘There’s always the Norwegian Law’

Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu casts his vote in the party primaries at a polling station in Tel Aviv on August 10, 2022. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu congratulates party members for electing an “excellent team” in yesterday’s primary elections.

In a message reported by Army Radio, Netanyahu adds, “I also want to thank those who did not enter [the Knesset], although you have to remember — there is always the Norwegian law.” The aforementioned legislation allows ministers to resign from the Knesset and give their spot to the next person in line on their party’s list.

“I remind you that we are still in campaign discipline and ask you to adhere to it,” Netanyahu says, urging party members to toe the line.

Meretz MK lambastes Likud for electing attorney who’s defended alleged rapists

Tally Gotliv on July 27, 2022. (Screen capture/YouTube)

Meretz MK Yair Golan lambastes Likud party members for electing Tally Gotliv who has defended a handful of alleged rapists and suspected sexual predators in her career as an attorney.

Gotliv, who has spoken out against the feminist movement, will be placed at the 25 spot, reserved for new female candidates.

“Today is a good day for rapists as the sex offenders’ lawyer Tally Gotliv has won a realistic spot on the Likud list,” Golan tweets.

Party-jumper Orly Levy-Abekasis likely to be on outside looking in at next Knesset

Likud MK Orly Levy-Abekasis is ejected from the Knesset House Committee hearing on Yamina's request to declare MK Amichai Chikli a "defector" from the party, April 25, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Likud MK Orly Levy-Abekasis is almost certain not to make it into the next Knesset after a poor showing in yesterday’s primaries.

She will likely be placed at 50th on the slate for the Likud party, which is expected to win between 30 and 35 seats, according to recent polling.

Levy-Abekasis first entered the Knesset on the joint Likud-Yisrael Beytenu list in 2009. She remained with Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu in the next election before splitting from his party over disagreements with its chairman.

She then started her own Gesher party, which failed to enter the Knesset in its first try. In the second round, it merged with Labor and she squeaked into parliament. In the third of five consecutive elections, Labor-Gesher joined with Meretz, but won just seven seats.

Levy-Abekasis then bolted the joint left-center slate to join the pro-Netanyahu bloc, which led to her being named community empowerment minister. The decision earned her ridicule from much of the anti-Netanyahu camp but also guaranteed her a spot on the Likud slate in the next election.

But a year later, her luck appears to have run out and she will be on the outside looking in come November.

Police arrest Petah Tikva resident who allegedly sent online threats to Meretz MK

Meretz MK Gaby Lasky during a Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee discussion in Jerusalem on Shin Bet phone tracking against suspected carriers of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, November 30, 2021. (Danny Shem Tov/Knesset)

Police arrest a man suspected of making online threats against Meretz MK Gaby Lasky.

The suspect is identified as a 32-year-old resident of the central city of Petah Tikva. He is due to appear before a court for a remand hearing.

The arrest comes a day after Lasky, a left-wing lawmaker, said she was informed by the Knesset Guard that it had filed a police complaint over death threats made on social media against her. Police said they launched “an intensive and speedy” investigation after receiving the complaint.

“For years incitement against the left has been allowed and not received a fitting response — until the next disaster,” Lasky tweeted Wednesday.

“It’s not the first time I’ve been threatened because of my struggle to end the occupation,” she added, referring to Israeli military control in the West Bank. “Don’t get it twisted — I won’t stop my just fight for peace and ending the occupation.”

Jerusalem municipality shelves plans to radically redevelop International Convention Center

Jerusalem's International Convention Center. (Screen capture/YouTube)

The Jerusalem municipality has decided to shelve plans to radically redevelop the International Convention Center building in Jerusalem also known as Binyanei Ha’uma.

The building was slated to be gutted under the City Entrance project, a NIS 1.8 billion investment aimed at reinvigorating the entrance to the city with new office buildings, hotels, leisure and cultural spaces and two light rail lines.

Under the original plans, the Binyanei Ha’uma redevelopment was to see the congress hall expanded to seat 4,500 people, or 6,000 with standing room sections.

According to a report in the Haaretz daily, with the municipality’s decision to shelve the new plans, architects have been tasked with creating a new design that will see the building’s original style maintained.

The municipality’s conservation committee met last week in a fiery session to decide the fate of the building.

According to the Haaretz report, those in favor of maintaining the original building argued “conserving only a small part of the building is a crime… destroying the building would mean the erasure of a unique architectural period in Israeli history and in global architectural history.”

Canadian immigrant poised to be among Likud rookies to make it into next Knesset

Likud candidate Dan Illouz. (Dan Illouz/Twitter)

Canadian immigrant Dan Illouz is slated to enter the Knesset after beating out MK Gadi Yevarkan and several others for the spot on the Likud slate reserved for immigrants in yesterday’s party primaries.

He will be placed at No. 33 on the list, which will likely be among the last spots to make it into the Knesset, according to recent polling.

“I will promote the values of the nationalist and liberal camp[s] in the Knesset,” he tweets. “I will be a faithful messenger.”

Kyiv street to be named after Golda Meir, Israeli envoy says

Golda Meir smokes a cigarette during an interview. (Kan Archive)

A Kyiv street will soon be named after Golda Meir, announces Israel’s envoy to Ukraine Michael Brodsky after meeting with Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.

Meir, the fourth prime minister of Israel, was born in Kyiv before her family fled amid antisemitic violence.

Ukraine is “de-Russifying” street names in the wake of the Russian invasion of the country. Names of Ukrainian nationalists who collaborated with Nazi Germany have also been proposed by a government body.

During the war, Meir’s words have appeared in pro-Ukrainian memes, been quoted by Ukrainian diplomats and even been carried in the backpack of a battle-ready Ukrainian soldier.

Brodsky returned to Kyiv from Poland on Tuesday night to reopen the embassy for another two-week period. The ambassador also discussed with Klitschko the arrival of 25,000 ready-made meals to Kyiv funded by Israel.

Brodsky was at Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry earlier in the day.

Israeli, Moroccan police chiefs reportedly agreed to advance extradition treaties

The national flags of Israel and Morocco are projected on the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, December 23, 2020. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Israel and Morocco agreed to advance extradition treaties and other efforts against crime and terror during Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai’s visit to the North African kingdom last week, Hebrew media reports.

Unofficial sources say Israel’s police chief secured several understandings with Morocco during his 5-day visit, including information and technology sharing with regards to the war against crime and terrorism, as well as the deportation of lawbreakers, according to the Ynet news site.

During his visit, Shabtai met with the head of Morocco’s intelligence service Abdellatif Hammouchi, as well as other senior police and security officials. He also paid a visit to the Jewish community in the city of Marrakesh, where he prayed at the city’s historic synagogue.

UAE convicts Khashoggi ex-lawyer of money-laundering, overturns jail sentence

In this October 2, 2019, photo, a Turkish police officer walks past a picture of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi near the Saudi Arabia consulate in Istanbul. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)

The former US lawyer of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi has been convicted of money-laundering and fined but has a jail sentence overturned by a court in the UAE.

Asim Ghafoor is convicted of “money-laundering crimes linked to a US-based tax evasion operation,” the official WAM news agency says.

The Abu Dhabi Money Laundering and Tax Evasion Court rescinds a three-year jail term but raises a fine against Ghafoor to five million dirhams ($1.4 million) and orders his deportation.

Ghafoor received the prison term and a three-million dirham fine following his arrest last month, reportedly as he was transiting Dubai airport.

Khashoggi, Ghafoor’s former client and associate, was murdered by Saudi agents in Istanbul in 2018, an incident that triggered a diplomatic backlash.

The case in the United Arab Emirates follows an “assistance request” from US officials investigating Ghafoor’s “involvement in tax evasion and suspicious money transfers,” WAM says.

“It was found that there was a money-laundering crime that occurred in the country, by the accused making international money transfers without proving their source,” it adds.

The US embassy in Abu Dhabi did not respond to a request for comment.

In July, after the initial sentencing, the US State Department denied having requested Ghafoor’s arrest and said the case did not appear to be connected to his ties with Khashoggi.

Ghafoor, who attended Wednesday’s hearing, runs a private law firm and is a board member of Democracy for the Arab World Now, a rights group founded by Khashoggi that called for his release in July.

UN rights chief slams ‘unconscionable’ killing of Palestinian children

A Palestinian child injured in the aftermath of Israeli air strikes receives treatment at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on August 6, 2022. (Mahmud Hams/AFP)

The UN rights chief voices alarm at the number of Palestinian children killed and wounded and demands those responsible be brought to account.

Last week saw three days of intense conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the densely populated Palestinian enclave of Gaza.

“Inflicting hurt on any child during the course of conflict is deeply disturbing,” Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, says in a statement.

“The killing and maiming of so many children this year is unconscionable.”

The Israeli air and artillery strikes targeted positions of the Iran-backed Islamic Jihad group.

Bachelet’s office says that, also in violation of international humanitarian law, Palestinian terror groups also launched hundreds of rockets and mortars in indiscriminate attacks, causing civilian casualties and damage to civilian objects in both Israel and Gaza.

Her office says that 19 Palestinian children had been killed in the Palestinian territories in the recent unrest, taking the total number this year to 37.

Seventeen children were killed during the Gaza hostilities from August 5 to 7, while two more were killed on Tuesday in IDF operations in the West Bank.

The UN Human Rights Office OHCHR says that among the 48 Palestinians killed in last week’s Gaza conflict, there were at least 22 civilians. They included the 17 children and four women.

Of the 360 Palestinians reported injured, nearly two-thirds were civilians, including 151 children, 58 women and 19 older people, OHCHR says.

“In a number of incidents, children were the majority of casualties,” Bachelet’s office says.

“Launching an attack which may be expected to incidentally kill or injure civilians, or damage civilian objects, in disproportionate manner to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated, is prohibited,” she says.

Israel insists that some of the civilian deaths including children were killed by Islamic Jihad rockets that fell short or misfired.

Just 2 women among Likud’s top 20 as final primary votes counted

MK Miri Regev holds a phone to her ear in the Knesset in Jerusalem, on February 7, 2022 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Likud has finished tallying up all the votes from yesterday’s primary and the results are in.

Female candidates managed to grab just two of the first 20 spots on the party’s slate ahead of the November election.

Former minister Miri Regev will be No. 9 on the list and firebrand MK Galit Distel Atbaryan will be No. 20. It’s possible that another woman will be added to the upper part of the list when Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu announces the names of candidates who will be given reserved spots. One of those may be former Yamina MK Idit Silman.

One of the main ways the party brings in new energy is through 10 spots earmarked for new lawmakers, chosen on a regional basis. Six of these spots appear in the first 35, including Eliyahu Revivo (Judean Foothills), Nissim Vaturi (Galil and Valleys), Shalom Danino (Negev), Hanoch Milwidsky (Dan Region), Eli Dallal (Coastal Plain), and Ariel Kallner (Haifa).

Families of Israeli athletes killed in attack at Munich games threaten to boycott memorial over compensation dispute

The 11 Israeli Munich Olympics victims.

The families of the Israeli athletes murdered by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Munich Olympics say they will boycott a memorial ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the attack due to a dispute with the German government over compensation, The New York Times reports.

The ceremony is scheduled to take place in Munich on September, with Israeli President Isaac Herzog scheduled to attend.

The 11 families believe that the German government owes them more money, while the NYT reveals that Berlin has already forked over $4.8 million.

Germany has offered an additional $5.58 million to 23 remaining family members, according to an internal memo obtained by The Times, but lawyers for the bereaved families are seeking 20 times that amount.

“We expect President Herzog to also announce, immediately, that he is not coming,” Ankie Spitzer tells NYT. Her late husband Andrei Spitzer was the coach of the Israeli fencing team and was among the 11 athletes killed at the Munich games. “If the families don’t travel, he shouldn’t travel either because if he is there, even to lay a wreath, it will legitimize this cruel German behavior.”

‘You’ll get whatever you want’: Deri reveals extent of Netanyahu’s courting of Abbas to hold on to power

Ra'am party leader MK Mansour Abbas speaks during a conference at Reichman University in Herzliya, May 17, 2022. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

In a last-ditch effort to prevent the establishment of Israel’s 36th government last year, dubbed the “change government,” then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered Mansour Abbas, head of the Arab Ra’am party, unparalleled power in issues relating to the Arab sector.

The offer, mediated by Aryeh Deri, the leader of the Haredi party Shas, is first revealed by Israeli journalist Mohammad Magadli.

“Minutes before the change government was established, Deri was sent by Netanyahu to talk to Abbas, and he tells him: ‘Don’t join this government, we will reach 61 seats and can establish this government and you’ll get whatever you want,'” Magadli says while speaking in a podcast hosted by former journalist Nadav Perry.

Abbas, however, wasn’t convinced, according to Magadli, raising concerns of Netanyahu’s proven record of breaking agreements with supposed political partners and citing the agreement Netanyahu had made with then-alternate prime minister Benny Gantz that was never implemented.

“Why should I believe you,” Abbas is said to have asked Deri, to which Netanyahu’s ally responded: “You have my word that you’ll have exclusivity within the Interior Ministry in all issues relating to the Arab sector.”

Judge who signed FBI’s Mar-a-Lago warrant facing violent antisemitic threats

Security moves in a golf cart at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, August 9, 2022, in Palm Beach, Florida. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Bruce Reinhart, the federal judge in Florida who signed the warrant allowing the FBI to raid former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property on Tuesday, has been hit with a wave of antisemitic threats online.

The outburst has appeared on right-wing social media platforms and message boards, where users have published the judge’s name, address and personal information. Threats have been directed at his children and supposed family members as well.

Reinhart, who appears to be a member of the board of Temple Beth David in Palm Beach Gardens, has been a magistrate judge for the Southern District of Florida since 2018.

Calls for violence have accompanied antisemitic slurs and conspiracy theories, many referencing how Reinhart represented former employees of Jeffrey Epstein during a case involving the late convicted sex trafficker in 2008. Prior to the Epstein case, Reinhart worked as a federal prosecutor and then in a private practice until 2018.

One user on 4chan, an online message board known for racist activity, wrote: “About that Judge that signed the search Warrant…Bruce Reinhart once quit his job as a U.S. Attorney to work for Jeffrey Epstein.” Another responded writing, “That is a k***. And a pedophile … He should be tried for treason and executed.”

“I see a rope around his neck,” wrote a user on the separate pro-Trump message board formerly called TheDonald, according to Vice News.

The Mar-a-Lago raid concerned confidential documents that Trump allegedly removed from the White House when he left in 2021. Subsequent right-wing outrage from many of his supporters has included calls for civil war and abolishment of the FBI and IRS.

With 10% of polling stations left to tally, Netanyahu loyalists poised to party over Likud primary results

Likud supporters outside a Likud primary polling station in Jerusalem on August 10, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

With 10% of polling stations left to tally, preliminary Likud primary results indicate a list rewarding loyalists to party leader Benjamin Netanyahu, and slaps on the wrist to well-established lawmakers who have threatened his authority over the party.

Led by Netanyahu confidant Yariv Levin, the top ten feature five additional MKs considered tightly allied with the former prime minister: Eli Cohen, Amir Ohana, Yoav Kisch, Miri Regev, and Miki Zohar.

Prominent lawmakers with their own brand within Likud who were pushed down the list include Yuli Edelstein, David Bitan, Israel Katz, and Haim Katz.

Health of hunger striking Palestinian prisoner deteriorates to ‘life-threatening’

Palestinian Dalal Awawdeh poses with a poster of her husband Khalil Awawdeh, who is a prisoner in Israel, at the family house, in the West Bank village of Idna, Hebron, Aug. 9, 2022. (Nasser Nasser/AP)

A Palestinian prisoner on a protracted hunger strike was moved today from an Israeli jail to a hospital because of his worsening condition, the prisoner’s wife says.

Khalil Awawdeh has refused food for just over 160 days in a bid to draw attention to his detention by Israel without trial or charge. His case was thrust into the spotlight after a flare-up of violence last weekend between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group, which demanded that he be released as part of a ceasefire that ended the fighting.

A senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad official warned Israel against “playing with Awawdeh’s life,” the Ynet website reports

“Israel will bear full responsibility if he dies,” said the PIJ official, who was not identified in the report.

The 40-year-old father of four was arrested by Israel in December and accused of being a member of a terror group, a charge Awawdeh’s lawyer said he denies. Recently, he has been using a wheelchair and was showing memory loss and speech difficulties, according to his lawyer, Ahlam Haddad.

Dalal Awawdeh, Khalil’s wife, said his condition had deteriorated, prompting Israeli authorities to move him to a hospital. The Palestinian Prisoners Club, which represents former and current prisoners, confirmed that Awawdeh’s condition had worsened.

“He is in a real life-threatening situation,” said Qadura Fares, the head of the organization. “He could die at any moment.”