AG gearing up to indict PM on quid pro quo deal with Yedioth’s Mozes — report

Bahrain FM says country will ‘eventually’ establish ties with Israel

Bahrain Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa tells The Times of Israel that his country will “eventually” establish ties with Israel.

Asked if he thought such a scenario would eventually come about, al-Khalifa says, “Yes, eventually” before entering a meeting at Warsaw Conference.

The remark comes days after a Channel 13 report said Manama had informed Israel more than two years ago that it was interested in normalizing relations.

Pence says Warsaw talks agree Iran ‘greatest threat’ in Middle East

US Vice President Mike Pence says countries at the Warsaw talks have agreed that Iran is the ‘”greatest threat” in the Middle East.

— AFP

Pence demands EU allies leave Iran nuclear deal

US Vice President Mike Pence demands that European Union allies leave the Iran nuclear deal and warns of further US sanctions on Tehran.

— AFP

Pence accuses Iran of plotting ‘new Holocaust’ with its regional ambitions

Speaking at a conference in Poland attended by Israel and senior Arab leaders, US Vice President Mike Pence denounces Iran as the “greatest threat to peace and security in the Middle East” and accuses the clerical regime of plotting a “new Holocaust” with its regional ambitions.

— AFP

Netanyahu reportedly tells Kushner that he won’t prejudge US peace plan

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells US President Donald Trump’s senior adviser Jared Kushner that he will refrain from prejudging the American peace plan before he sees it and says that he hopes the Palestinians do the same, the New York Times reports.

Settlers say Palestinians escaped after being spotted sneaking into nearby outpost

Residents of the Israeli settlement in Yitzhar are told they can return to normal activity after a brief security alert was sounded throughout the community.

According to a spokesman for the settlement, three Palestinians were spotted by the community’s security coordinator sneaking into an adjacent outpost. The suspects fled the scene shortly thereafter, evading capture.

Pence: US-Israel bond stronger than ever

US Vice President Mike Pence tweets that the bond between the US and Israel is “stronger than ever.”

Always good to see @IsraeliPM @Netanyahu. I confirmed the @realDonaldTrump Administration’s strong support for #Israel’s right to defend itself. The bond between our nations is stronger than ever. pic.twitter.com/YIJsneF9YR

— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) February 14, 2019

Egypt’s Parliament extends president term limits

Egypt’s Parliament has overwhelmingly approved constitutional changes to remove term limits for President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, allowing him to stay in power possibly until 2034.

The changes are part of a package of amendments that will be further examined before final approval in the chamber and a national referendum.

On Thursday, 485 lawmakers in the 596-seat body backed the amendments.

Parliament Speaker Ali Abdel-Al said they would now be discussed by the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee for 60 days before being put to a referendum.

The national referendum will likely take place before early May, the start of the Muslim Holy Month of Ramadan.

— AP

Roadside bomb kills 8 militia fighters north of Baghdad

An Iraqi security official says a roadside bomb has exploded north of Baghdad, killing eight fighters from a militia headed by an influential Shiite Muslim cleric.

The ambush has been confirmed by a spokesman with the Peace Brigades, or Saraya al-Salam militia, which is commanded by Muqtada al-Sadr. They both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. The militia spokesman said among those killed was a militia commander, Hussein Attiyeh.

The ambush occurred west of the holy city of Samarra, some 60 miles (96 kilometers) north of the capital Baghdad.

There is no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. Al-Sadr’s political coalition came first in last year’s May elections.

— AP

Erdogan says Kurds must be driven from Manbij

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the territorial integrity of Syria can only be preserved if Kurdish militia forces are driven out of the northern city of Manbij and regions east of the Euphrates River.

The Kurdish forces allied with the United States against the Islamic State group helped to rout Islamic extremists from much of northern and eastern Syria. Turkey considers the Kurdish fighters terrorists because of their links to outlawed Kurdish rebels fighting inside Turkey.

Erdogan, who is in Russia’s Sochi for three-way Syria talks with the presidents of Russia and Iran, says in opening remarks at his meeting with President Vladimir Putin that Syria’s “territorial integrity cannot be ensured” without the Kurdish military “cleared” from Manbij and from the east of the Euphrates. He did not elaborate.

Russia, a key backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad, is getting increasingly impatient about militants in the Idlib province.

Russia and Turkey, which supports the Syrian opposition, had brokered a ceasefire for Idlib, the last remaining rebel stronghold that averted a major government offensive but that deal has been strained as al-Qaida-linked militants seized towns and villages in Idlib.

— AP

PM and Pence visit Holocaust museum in Warsaw

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Vice President Mike Pence visit the POLIN Jewish Museum in Warsaw where the two will lay wreaths commemorating the Warsaw ghetto uprising.

PM @Netanyahu arrived at the POLIN Jewish Museum in Warsaw, where he and @VP Pence will lay wreaths at monument commemorating the Ghetto uprising pic.twitter.com/MKMm3iDDZU

— Raphael Ahren (@RaphaelAhren) February 14, 2019

Police make arrests in Holon homicide

Police have arrested three suspects in the murder of a man in Holon earlier today.

The man in his 50s was shot dead in a crime the police said was not related to terrorism.

Parkland massacre survivors privately mourning anniversary

The communities and families terrorized by the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre will spend today’s anniversary visiting graves, packing meals for the needy and contributing to other service projects as they quietly remember the 14 students and three staff members who lost their lives.

Victims’ families say they will mourn out of the public eye. The Parkland school will be on a half-day schedule: Stoneman Douglas students will serve breakfast to first responders and will be dismissed nearly three hours before the time the shooting began, about 2:20 p.m. Many say they will avoid school altogether. Students at other Broward County schools will also work on service projects and observe a moment of silence.

A ceremony honoring the victims will be held in a park near the school where students also will prepare meals for disadvantaged children. A nondenominational, temporary temple will open in neighboring Coral Springs, where half the school’s students live. Visitors will be allowed to mourn, contemplate, leave mementos and write message on its walls. The temple will remain open until May, when it will be burned in a purification ceremony.

— AP

PM to appoint replacement foreign minister following High Court petition

Following a High Court of Justice appeal from the Movement for Quality Government against the number of government portfolios currently being held by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the premier has agreed to appoint a foreign minister to replace him and will bring his pick before the cabinet on Sunday for their approval.

His pick is expected to be a member of his own Likud party.

Jerusalem 15-year-old seriously injured after metal bar falls on her on school grounds

A 15-year-old girl is seriously injured after a metal bar from a construction site adjacent to her school in Jerusalem fell on her head.

She is currently being treated at the Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem.

Gantz’s party releases new list of candidates

The Israel Resilience party has released a new list of candidates who will be joining its slate in the April elections.

Eitan Ginzburg, Asaf Zamir, Gadi Yevarkan, Omer Yankelevich, Moshe “Mutz” Matalon, Orly Fruman, and Alon Shuster have officially joined the Israel Resilience party’s list.

Eitan Ginzburg is a former mayor of Raanana and Israel’s first openly gay mayor.

Asaf Zamir is the deputy mayor of Tel Aviv.

Gadi Yevarkan is the former chairman and founder of the Be’eri pre-military academy.

Omer Yankelevich is an ultra-Orthodox social activist and founder of the “Just Begun Foundation,” which promotes the integration of peripheral and marginalized populations.

Moshe “Mutz” Matalon is the chairman of the IDF Disabled Veterans’ Organization and a former Yisrael Beytenu MK.

Orly Fruman is an education activist and a former director general of the Culture Ministry.

Alon Shuster is a former head of the Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Council.

Israel leads Western world in measles cases — report

Israel leads the Western world in cases of measles, Channel 13 reports.

Tiberias mayor receives death threats after launching bus line on Sabbath

Tiberias Mayor Ron Kobi gets a boosted security detail after receiving death threats over the past week since he inaugurated a new public bus line that will operate on Shabbat in the city.

Ultra-Orthodox officials in Tiberias have vehemently opposed the plan.

Liberman: PM’s breaking of ambiguity policy on Syria strikes ‘barbaric’

Former defense minister Avigdor Liberman lambasts the recent decisions by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to publicly take responsibility for Israeli strikes in Syria, saying it was “barbaric” and “risking lives.”

“There is something irresponsible here, especially during an election. Netanyahu is bringing us closer to a confrontation on the northern front,” he says.

Ex-FBI official was concerned Russia probes could ‘vanish’

Former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe says in an interview aired today that he worried that investigations into US President Donald Trump’s ties to Russia and possible obstruction of justice would be shut down after Trump fired FBI director James Comey.

According to CBS, which conducted the interview, McCabe said Justice Department officials discussed bringing the Cabinet together to consider using the Constitution’s 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office.

— AP

Yesh Atid MK Haim Jelin to step down from Knesset

Yesh Atid MK Haim Jelin will not run on the party’s slate in the upcoming general elections, Channel 12 reports.

Before entering the Knesset in 2015, Jelin served as the chairman of the Eshkol Regional Council in southern Israel.

Deputy minister Litzman probed by police’s anti-corruption unit

Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman has been summoned for questioning at the police’s Lahav 433 anti-corruption unit on suspicions of ethical violations.

The investigation is being conducted under the supervision of the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office and with the approval of the State Prosecutor’s Office and the Attorney General’s Office.

Litzman suspected of using position to prevent extradition of alleged sex abuser Malka Leifer

Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman is suspected of illicitly using his position in the government to prevent the extradition of Malka Leifer, an Israeli citizen wanted on 74 charges of child sexual abuse in Australia.

The chairman of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party is alleged to have sought to draft a falsified legal opinion deeming Leifer as mentally unfit for extradition.

Malka Leifer’s accusers blast Israeli ‘corruption’ that’s prevented her extradition

Three sisters who accuse their former headmistress, Malka Leifer, of repeatedly sexually abusing them lambaste what they referred to as the “corruption” of the Israeli government that has prevented Leifer’s extradition to Australia to face charges.

Earlier today, Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman was questioned by the police’s anti-corruption unit regarding allegations that he ordered the drafting of a false psychiatric opinion deeming Leifer unfit for extradition.

After fleeing to Israel in 2008 amid the allegations against her, it took authorities six years to arrest her. However, since 2014 she has claimed to be too mentally ill to be extradited to Australia, where she faces 74 charges of sex abuse.

“Waiting this many years for justice has been tremendously difficult and painful. However we waited patiently with the understanding that these criminal proceedings take time. To learn that this may in fact be due to corruption at the highest levels of the Israeli government is truly devastating,” said Dassi Erlich, Ellie Sapper and Nicole Meyer, the three sisters who accuse Leifer of repeatedly molesting them. “We hope this will be a significant step as the pieces come together to paint a clearer picture and bring us the justice we’ve been fighting for!”

AG gearing up to indict PM on quid pro quo deal with Yedioth’s Mozes — report

Avichai Mandelblit is said to be leaning toward the opinion of the prosecution, which is recommending that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be charged for bribery in Case 2000, Channel 12 news reports.

Case 2000 involves a suspected illicit quid pro quo deal between Netanyahu and Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper publisher Arnon Mozes that would have seen the prime minister weaken a rival daily, the Sheldon Adelson-backed Israel Hayom, in return for more favorable coverage from Yedioth.

Bahrain FM says confronting Iranian more pressing than Israeli-Palestinian conflict

WARSAW, Poland — Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa on Wednesday said confronting Iranian aggression is more pressing than solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“We grew up talking about the Israel-Palestine issue as the most important issue” that has to be “solved, one way or another,” he said at the opening gala of the Warsaw Middle East conference.

“But then, at a later stage we saw a bigger challenge, we saw a more toxic one, in fact the more toxic one in our history, that came from the Islamic Republic,” he said, according to a video of the event sent to Israeli reporters by the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

If it wasn’t for Iran’s malign activities in the region, “we would have been much closer today in solving this issue with Israel,” Khalifa added, with Netanyahu looking on.

“But this is a serious challenge that is preventing us now from moving forward anywhere, be it Syria, be it Yemen, be it Iraq, be it anywhere.”

At the same panel, the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, indicated that Israel is justified in attacking Iranian targets in Syria.

“Every nation has the right to defend itself, when it’s challenged by another nation, yes,” he responds to a questions by the moderator, former US Middle East peace negotiator Dennis Ross, about Israeli strikes on Syria.

— Raphael Ahren

12 workers at construction site where metal bar fell, seriously injuring girl detained for questioning

Twelve construction workers, who were at a site in Jerusalem where a metal bar fell, struck and seriously injured a 15-year-old girl, have been detained by police for questioning on suspicion of gross negligence that led to the injury.

Croatia outraged as school curriculum drops Anne Frank

A decision to drop Anne Frank’s diary from Croatia’s school curriculum has sparked outrage in the Balkan country, with nearly 3,000 people signing a petition today demanding its restitution.

The Jewish teenager wrote “The Diary of a Young Girl” while hiding from the Nazis in an Amsterdam attic from June 1942 to August 1944. More than 30 million copies have been sold in 67 languages.

The book was on an optional reading list which has been entirely removed from the curriculum.

— AFP

Likud’s Oren Hazan to start own party — report

Likud MK Oren Hazan has decided to establish his own political party ahead of the April elections, Channel 12 news reports.

Hazan faired poorly at the Likud primary last week, securing a spot on the slate that is unlikely to make it into the next Knesset.

The backbencher held talks with a number of parties, including the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, but ultimately decided to start his own party to run in the upcoming elections. Hazan reached the conclusion after conducting an internal poll that saw him receiving five seats if formed his own party.