Energy minister said appointed to committee on pluralistic area at Western Wall

Cabinet green-lights bill on ultra-Orthodox military enlistment

The cabinet approves a bill formalizing military enlistment for ultra-Orthodox students, setting up the bill for a first Knesset reading tomorrow.

All the ministers vote in favor of the bill except Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, who skipped the vote.

Both Deri and Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman, who respectively head the ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties, have expressed their opposition to the legislation in its current version, though the bill is still likely to pass with the support of the opposition Yesh Atid party.

Liberman praises Defense Ministry, IDF for ultra-Orthodox conscription bill

After the cabinet approves a bill on ultra-Orthodox military enlistment, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman praises the committee from his ministry that crafted the legislation.

“I congratulate the members of the members of the IDF and Defense Ministry committee for their professional and practical work, which a short while ago won the government’s confidence,” says Liberman.

“This is the law of the defense establishment — for security and for the State of Israel,” he adds.

The bill formalizes exemptions to mandatory military service for ultra-Orthodox seminary students by setting yearly conscription targets. Seminaries that fail to meet the targets would be hit by economic penalties under the legislation.

Pope Francis decries Syrian regime assault near Israel border

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis decries intensified attacks in southern Syria, asking that people there be spared more suffering.

In remarks Sunday at the Vatican, Francis cites Syria’s Daraa province, near the Israeli Golan Heights, where a Syrian government offensive that began June 19 has killed scores of people and forced 50,000 to flee.

Francis laments that “the military actions of recent days have struck even schools and hospitals and triggered thousands of new refugees.”

He renews his appeal for peace so that Syrians, after years of fighting, could be “spared further suffering.”

The pope notes that Saturday he will make a “pilgrimage of peace and unity” to Bari in southern Italy. There he’ll pray and reflect with the heads of Christian churches and communities from the Middle East, a region where “so many brothers and sisters in the faith continue to suffer.”

— AP

Netanyahu looking to pass ‘Jewish state’ bill into law next week

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells coalition leaders he’ll push for the “Jewish state” bill to be voted on in its second and third readings next week.

Approving the proposed legislation would allow it to be voted into law before the Knesset breaks for its summer recess later this month.

The bill, which would cement Israel’s status as “the national home of the Jewish people” as a so-called Basic Law, has been criticized as discriminatory toward the country’s Arab population and other minorities.

Iran to allow private firms to export oil in order to bypass US sanctions

Iran’s vice president says the country will let private companies export oil in a bid to bypass US sanctions on Iranian oil.

“We have friendly countries to which we sell our oil, and we’ve started negotiations with them,” Eshaq Jahangiri is reported as saying by the official IRNA news agency. “The private sector can openly buy oil and export it.”

Jahangiri says the oil will be sold through the country’s stock exchange.

In November the US will begin sanctioning all Iranian oil purchases as part of the re-imposition of sanctions accompanying its withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.

Fire sparked by flaming kite flown from Gaza

A flaming kite launched from the Gaza Strip sparks a fire near Kibbutz Sa’ad in southern Israel.

Firefighters are at the scene battling the blaze.

שריפה פרצה באזור קיבוץ סעד סמוך לגבול רצועת עזה, בעקבות עפיפון תבערה ששוגר מהרצועה (צילום: רפי בביאן) @pozailov1 pic.twitter.com/2kCezHPWdv

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— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) July 1, 2018

Likud MK says ‘Jewish state’ bill must pass before other legislation can advance

Likud MK Avi Dichter informs coalition parties they must first pass his “Jewish state” bill before any proposed laws they favor can advance.

“This is the flagship legislation of the Likud and a very important law for the State of Israel and the Jewish people. The coalition factions are aware that the path to passing their laws depends upon the Jewish state bill passing first,” tweets Dichter after Netanyahu says he’ll push to pass the legislation into law before the Knesset breaks for its summer recess later this month.

Palestinians enter Israel from Gaza, burn abandoned army post

A group of Palestinians cross into Israeli territory from the southern Gaza Strip and set fire to an abandoned IDF post along the border before rushing back into the coastal enclave, the army says.

A military spokesperson says IDF troops spotted the breach, but the Palestinians had already fled back into Gaza by the time they arrived.

— Judah Ari Gross

Monitor: Rebels, Russia in talks over bombarded southern Syria province

DARAA, Syria — Syrian rebels and local officials are pursuing talks with regime ally Russia on Sunday over the fate of a key southern region facing a government offensive, a Britain-based monitor says.

The Jordan-backed talks come as a tentative calm reigns over most fronts in the southern province of Daraa, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group says.

A “ceasefire has largely held since Saturday at 7:00 p.m. to facilitate the ongoing negotiations,” Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman says.

Since June 19, Russia-backed regime forces have ramped up bombardment against opposition fighters in southern Syria as Damascus pushes to retake the area.

The region borders Jordan and the Israeli Golan Heights and is considered to be the cradle of the uprising against President Bashar Assad seven years ago that sparked the civil war.

— AFP

Public official grilled by anti-graft investigators

Officers from the anti-corruption unit Lahav 433 finish questioning a public official, police say.

Hebrew media reports name the suspect as a deputy mayor of Jerusalem.

Police say the investigation is being conducted with the assistance of the State Attorney’s finance and tax department.

Iraq building fence on Syrian border to block jihadists

BAGHDAD — Iraq is building a fence along its border with Syria to stop jihadists from the Islamic State terror group from crossing into the country, a border guards spokesman says Sunday.

“Ten days ago we started to set up a barbed wire security fence with surveillance towers along the border with Syria,” says Anwar Hamid Nayef, spokesman in Iraq’s Anbar province.

The frontier barrier includes a six-meter-wide trench and involves thermal cameras and drones scanning the border for jihadists attempting to cross from Syria.

Baghdad declared victory over IS at the end of last year, but the group holds pockets of territory in the vast deserts of eastern Syria and maintains its ability to strike inside Iraq.

The new fence so far runs for 20 kilometers (12 miles) north from the area around the border town of Al-Qaim, which Iraqi forces retook from IS in November.

In total the frontier stretches for some 600 kilometers.

Border spokesman Nayef says that experts from Baghdad’s ministry of defense and an anti-IS coalition spearheaded by the United States would come “to evaluate the effectiveness of the fence.”

“If they approve the installations, we will continue along the whole border with Syria,” he says.

— AFP

Iraq has started building a long fence and surveillance towers on #Iraq – #Syria border. pic.twitter.com/mQyve0i5pU

— Zaid Benjamin (@zaidbenjamin) June 30, 2018

Khamenei: Iranian people’s hatred of US grows daily

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei launches a diatribe against the United States and implores Iranians to remain steadfast as the country’s economy is battered by American sanctions.

In a tweet, Khamenei says though “US’s animosity increases on a daily basis, so does Iranian nation’s hatred for US.”

“Enemies of Iran represent enmity against nation’s dignity, independence, progress & elevation. Foes won’t give up mischief as long as they can but surely their mischief won’t bear any results,” he adds.

While acknowledging the cost “resistance” has taken on Iranians, Khamenei says surrendering is even dearer.

“#Resistance may have a price but it also has great feats that are worth 100 times the price nations pay. Yet, surrendering to arrogant & vicious enemy brings about nothing but the trampling, humiliation & loss of identity of a nation,” Khamenei says.

“Surrender has a higher price than resistance.”

#Resistance may have a price but it also has great feats that are worth 100 times the price nations pay. Yet, surrendering to arrogant & vicious enemy brings about nothing but the trampling, humiliation & loss of identity of a nation. Surrender has a higher price than resistance.

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) July 1, 2018

Sappers called after suspicious balloon lands near Kiryat Gat

Police are investigating a suspicious balloon flown from the Gaza Strip that landed in a forested area near the southern city of Kiryat Gat.

Sappers have been called to the scene to deal with the balloon, which appears to have flammable material attached to it.

Bolton: US has plan to dismantle North Korea nuclear program in a year

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump’s national security adviser says the US has a plan that would lead to the dismantling of North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs in a year.

John Bolton says top US diplomat Mike Pompeo will be discussing that plan with North Korea in the near future. Bolton adds that it would be to the North’s advantage to cooperate to see sanctions lifted quickly and aid from South Korea and Japan start to flow.

Bolton’s remarks on CBS’ “Face the Nation” appear to be the first time the Trump administration had publicly suggested a timeline for North Korea to fulfill the commitment leader Kim Jong Un made at a summit with US President Donald Trump last month for the “complete denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula.

— AP

Reports: Israeli aircraft fire missiles at group of Gazans

Palestinian media reports say an Israeli missile aircraft fired a missile at a group of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

There are no reports of injuries.

Woman moderately wounded in shooting on road by Petah Tikva

A woman is moderately wounded after being shot while driving on Route 444 near Petah Tikva.

She is taken to the city’s Beilinson Hospital for treatment.

The circumstances of the shooting are being investigated.

Host Russia defeats Spain in shootout at World Cup

MOSCOW — Russia shockingly eliminates Spain from the World Cup, surviving two hours of dominance by the 2010 champions in a 1-1 draw, and then winning a penalty shootout 4-3.

Russia’s captain and goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev saved spot-kicks from Jorge “Koke” Resurreccion and Iago Aspas, and four of his teammates all scored.

Spain dominated the ball during the game — completing more than 1,000 passes — but was too passive against a well-organized Russian defense.

Spain led in the 12th minute when captain Sergio Ramos helped force Russia’s Sergei Ignashevich into an own goal when his back was turned to the play. The 38-year-old defender diverted a crossed ball into the net with his heel.

An error in Spain’s defense let Russia level in the 41st, after Gerard Pique’s raised arm blocked a header by Artyom Dzyuba at a corner.

Dzyuba’s penalty kick fooled goalkeeper David De Gea to dive the wrong way.

Russia next plays Croatia or Denmark, who play later Sunday. The quarterfinal is on Saturday evening in Sochi.

— AP

Jordan’s PM visits border shut to displaced Syrians

JABIR AS SIRHAN, Jordan — Jordan’s prime minister visits a key crossing with Syria on Sunday, inspecting aid deliveries by the Jordanian army to the tens of thousands of displaced Syrians gathering at the border Amman has kept sealed.

Jordanian army trucks stream slowly to the Jabir border crossing in northern Jordan, carrying tents and medical supplies. Two ambulances carrying injured Syrians cross into Jordan.

Tens of thousands of Syrians are stranded at the border with Jordan as Syrian government forces, backed by Russia, stepp up their offensive to retake the southern city of Daraa, one of the last rebel-held areas in Syria.

Jumana Ghunaimat, spokeswoman for Jordan’s government, briefs reporters, after the prime minister’s visit, defending Jordan’s position not to open the border to the fleeing refugees.

“Jordan has priorities… its security and safety in the first place and secondly easing its economic crisis,” she tells the reporters.

Referring to extremists that could potentially be among the displaced, she adds: “Jordan cannot take that risk and allow the refugees in.”

She calls for creating safe zones inside Syria and increasing aid and medical supplies to the country while trying to broker truces with the warring sides there.

— AP

رئيس الوزراء الدكتور #عمر_الرزاز يتفقد الحدود الشمالية للمملكة ويعلن عن حملة وطنية لإغاثة الأشقاء السوريين داخل بلدهم للتخفيف من أوجاعهم، وسيتم ذلك من خلال الهيئة الخيرية الأردنية الهاشمية.@OmarRazzaz#أردن_الخير pic.twitter.com/A2Hso19x6t

— Prime Ministry JO (@PrimeMinistry) July 1, 2018

Energy minister said appointed to committee on pluralistic area at Western Wall

Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz will be appointed to a committee tasked with expanding the pluralistic prayer pavilion at Jerusalem’s Western Wall, according to Hebrew media reports.

Steinitz’s appointment comes after Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked pulled out of the committee earlier today, and other Likud ministers declined to fill the vacant spots.

Police say shooting on road near Petah Tikva was criminal

Police say a shooting earlier this evening on Route 444 near Petah Tikva was a criminal incident, and not terror related.

Police also say the victim is a 33-year-old woman from the central city of Ramle and was shot at from another vehicle.

She was taken to Petah Tikva’s Beilinson Hospital in moderate condition after she was shot.