Netanyahu: Israel examining how to stave off a ‘humanitarian collapse’ in Gaza

Jordanian PM meets with king as rumors swirl on his fate

AMMAN, Jordan — An official website says Jordan’s embattled prime minister is heading to a meeting with King Abdullah II, in the wake of the largest anti-government protests in the kingdom since 2011.

Thousands have filled the streets of the kingdom in recent days to protest planned tax increases and have called for the resignation of Prime Minister Hani Mulki.

The Hala Akhbar site, linked to Jordan’s military, says Mulki was on his way to the palace.

The summoning of Mulki by the monarch has fueled speculation he might be asked to resign. It’s unclear if his departure would suffice to defuse growing public anger over a series of austerity measures.

The king, who has final say on all policy issues, has frequently disbanded governments to manage crises of public confidence.

— AP

Yesh Atid suspends mayor implicated in graft probe

The Yesh Atid party suspends the mayor of the northern city of Hadera after he was questioned this morning on corruption suspicions.

“The rule in Yesh Atid is clear and explicit: A public official who is under criminal investigation will suspend himself from all his duties immediately and his membership in the party will be discontinued until the matter is clarified. We hope the suspicions will turn out to be baseless,” the party says in a statement.

Hadera Mayor Zvi Gendelman and three other officials were questioned this morning over suspected bribery, corruption and tax-related offenses.

According to police, the suspects “illegally utilized their role in order to advance the interests of others.”

IAEA chief renews call to Iran to cooperate on inspections

VIENNA — The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog is renewing calls for Iran to provide “timely and proactive cooperation” in inspections that are part of the deal meant to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons.

Yukiya Amano speaks to the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. Last month, in its first report since the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal that Israel also opposes, the IAEA said that Iran continues to stay below the maximum level to which it allowed to enrich uranium and appears to be fulfilling other obligations. But it said Iran is slow when it comes to “complementary access” inspections.

Amano says that “timely and proactive cooperation by Iran in providing such access would facilitate implementation … and enhance confidence.”

— AP

Zionist Union head says government must ‘initiate’ in its response to Gaza violence

Zionist Union chairman Avi Gabbay slams the response to recent violence on the Gaza border, saying that the government has failed to provide security to residents of the south of Israel.

“Yesterday we went to the Gaza border area and to Sderot. We met citizens and local leaders. We saw strong leadership there, but we didn’t see security,” he tells his faction meeting in the Knesset.

“We are part of a ongoing cycle of violence,” he says, “and the right wing government of Bennett, Netanyahu and Liberman is not bringing security to the people of Israel.”

Tensions along the Gaza border have been heightened in recent days, after terrorist groups in the coastal enclave last week launched over 100 mortar shells and rockets at southern Israel and the IDF retaliated by bombing over 65 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad targets in the Strip.

Gabbay says it’s not enough for Israel to just respond to the mortar and rocket fire and must “initiate, initiate, initiate.”

“What we are doing now is not the Zionist way,” he charges, urging the government to “listen to the defense establishment, which is saying the same thing as us.”

— Raoul Wootliff

Lapid mocks Netanyahu ‘for declaring victory’ after Gaza violence

Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid mocks Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “for declaring victory in the previous round of fighting” in the Gaza Strip.

After over 100 mortar shells and rockets were fired at southern Israel and the IDF retaliated by bombing over 65 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad targets in the Strip, Netanyahu said last week that the IDF has dealt Hamas “the harshest blow they have received in years.”

Speaking to his faction in the Knesset, Lapid asks rhetorically: “If over 170 rockets and shells landed in Jerusalem, would you also declare victory? If the forests around Jerusalem or parks in the city went up in flames, would you also declare how pleased you are with the result?​”

Lapid goes on: ​”​Netanyahu has no policy when it comes to Gaza except to wait for the next round and the next arson attack. The residents who live around Gaza deserve better.​”

— Raoul Wootliff

Jordan’s PM submits resignation after anti-tax protests

AMMAN, Jordan — Official media say Jordan’s embattled prime minister has submitted his resignation amid mounting anti-government protests over a planned tax increase and recent price hikes of fuel and other basic goods.

Websites Hala Akhbar and Al-Rai report that Hani Mulki informed Jordan’s King Abdullah II of his decision on Monday. Hala Akhbar is linked to Jordan’s military and Al-Rai is a state-run daily.

It’s unclear if Mulki’s departure will suffice to defuse growing public anger, manifested in the past few days in the largest street protests in the kingdom in recent years.

— AP

Liberman: Israel will settle score with Hamas, Islamic Jihad

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman says Israel still has scores to settle with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, after the Gaza-based terror groups fired over 100 rockets and mortars at Israeli territory last week.

Israel struck dozens of Hamas targets in the Strip in response to the fire. An unofficial ceasefire has largely held since Wednesday, although a number of projectiles were fired toward Israel on Saturday evening and early Sunday.

“I just want to stress that we’ll act in accordance with Israel’s interest, at a time that is convenient for us,” says Liberman at a faction meeting of his Yisrael Beytenu party.

“In any case I don’t let scores go unsettled and we’ll settle the score with Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the other terrorists operating against us from the territory of the Gaza Strip,” he adds.

Addressing the ongoing clashes at the border, Liberman says Israel won’t tolerate the flying of flaming kites toward Israel, rioting along the security fence or attempts to breach the border.

He says 600 flaming kites have been flown toward Israel since the start of the violent “March of Return” protests in late March. He says 400 were intercepted and 200 landed in Israeli territory, sparking 198 fires and burning 9,000 dunams of farmland and forests.

Turning to the northern border, Liberman says Israel won’t tolerate the presence of Iranian and Hezbollah forces in Syria.

“Our position is very clear: We want a clear and explicit arrangement that neither the Iranians or Hezbollah are present on Syrian soil, and the rest is really not our business,” he says.

Netanyahu lands in Germany, to meet with Merkel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lands in Berlin on the first leg of his trip to Europe.

He is set to meet in the coming hours with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Merkel slams far-right leader’s ‘shameful’ Nazi remark

BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday condemns as “shameful” remarks by a leader of Germany’s far-right AfD party likening the Nazi era to a mere “speck of bird shit” in the country’s long history.

“It is shameful that we have to respond to such comments made by a member of the German Bundestag (lower house of parliament),” Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert tells reporters in Berlin.

“The government completely and unequivocally rejects any relativisation, any downplaying of the Nazi crimes,” Seibert says, describing Hitler’s regime and the Holocaust as “a singular crime against humanity.”

It was only because Germans acknowledged their “everlasting responsibility” for the “immense suffering” caused, he adds, that the country has been able to once again become a “good partner to other nations.”

Seibert is reacting to comments made at the weekend by AfD co-leader Alexander Gauland, who told members of the party’s youth wing that there was more to the country’s history than the 12 years of the Nazi regime.

— AFP

Bill Clinton bristles at questions on Lewinsky, #MeToo

WASHINGTON — Former US president Bill Clinton says the #MeToo movement is overdue. But he’s bristling at questions about Monica Lewinsky.

In an interview with NBC’s “Today Show” released Monday, Clinton is asked whether he should have resigned 20 years ago for his sexual relationship with the White House intern and whether the #MeToo movement has changed his perspective.

Clinton says his critics are “omitting facts” to lump him in with other men accused of sexual assault and harassment.

Lewinsky has said their relationship “was not sexual assault” but “constituted a gross abuse of power.”

Clinton tells NBC: “I dealt with it 20 years ago, plus … And I’ve tried to do a good job since then, and with my life and with my work. That’s all I have to say.”

— AP

Kahlon: Gaza-area farmers to immediately get 50% of damages from ‘kite terror’

Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon says his office will “immediately” give Gaza-area farmers 50 percent of the estimated costs in damages to their fields caused by flaming kites flown toward Israel from the Gaza Strip.

“Already last month, when the phenomenon of flaming kites began I went to the Gaza area and declared that the State of Israel recognizes the phenomenon as terror for all intents and purposes and the residents will be compensated up to the last shekel,” he says at the faction meeting of his Kulanu party.

Kahlon says 25 claims have been filed, which relate to damage to 5,000 dunams of wheat fields, orchards and irrigation systems.

“In order to make it easier for the farmers to get through this difficult period, we decided today to grant advances of 50% of the estimated cost of damages and the rest will be dealt with as quickly as possible without delays,” Kahlon says.

“Our farmers are strong people who have gone through difficult periods and won’t be broken by the kite terror,” he adds.

Netanyahu arrives for meeting with Merkel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives for his meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Germany is his first stop on a three-leg European tour Netanyahu has said will focus on Iran’s nuclear program and military entrenchment in Syria.

Rivlin calls Abbas, wishes him good health and a happy Ramadan

President Reuven Rivlin calls Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas, wishing him a happy Ramadan and successful recovery following his hospitalization last month, the PA’s official Wafa news agency says.

Abbas last month was hospitalized for over a week with pneumonia, leading to extensive speculation about his health and who would succeed him as PA president.

Highway shuttered due to fire apparently sparked by flaming Gaza kite

Traffic has been stopped along the southbound lanes of the Route 34 highway in southern Israel because of a fire that was apparently started by an incendiary kite flown into Israel from the Gaza Strip, officials said.

A police car is blocking the highway at the Sderot Junction, as a fire rages along the side of the road.

— Judah Ari Gross

Highway in Gaza-area reopened after closure due to fire

The southbound lanes of the Route 34 highway have reopened, after they were temporarily closed because of a fire in the area, according to a spokesperson for the Sha’ar Hanegev region.

— Judah Ari Gross

Israel Aerospace Industries names new North America chief

Israel Aerospace Industries names Swami Iyer, a former military pilot and veteran executive in the aerospace, defense and cybersecurity industries, as chief executive of its North American operations.

Iyer most recently was president of cyber and network security company Ultra Electronics, 3eTI, and previously was an executive at Honeywell Aerospace. He also was a lieutenant colonel in the US Air Force.

State-owned Israel Aerospace is the country’s leading aerospace and aviation company, serving the civilian and defense markets. It reported over $3.5 billion in sales last year.

Harel Locker, chairman of the board, says the US represents 75 percent of the company’s global market. He says Monday he is confident Iyer “will succeed in unlocking the potential available to IAI in the US market.”

— AP

UNESCO publishes report on combating anti-Semitism through education

UNESCO publishes a 94-page report on combating anti-Semitism through education.

“The fight against antisemitism should not only be fought by Jewish institutions. It is a threat that corrupts society as a whole,” UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay says. “Combating antisemitism is fighting for freedom and human rights.”

Israel and the US are set to leave the organization due to its alleged anti-Israel bias by the end of the year.

— Raphael Ahren

Merkel: Germany supports demand to remove Iranian troops from Syria

In Berlin, German Chancellor Merkel tells PM Netanyahu that she agrees with Israel’s demand that Iranian troops be removed from Syria, especially the area close to the Israeli order.

Merkel says the two leaders also discussed the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, invoking the need for a two-state solution.

“There isn’t agreement on all points. But we’re partners, we’re friends,” she says.

Merkel says she and her government will visit Jerusalem in October

— Raphael Ahren

Netanyahu: Iran seeking nukes to fulfill its ‘genocidal designs’

Speaking alongside German Chancellor Merkel in Berlin, Netanyahu says Iran seeks to destroy Israel, pointing to recent remarks by its supreme leader.

“Iran calls for our destruction but it is also seeking nuclear weapons to carry out its genocidal designs. We know that for a fact,” he says.

Netanyahu also warns against Iranian efforts “to conquer the Middle East.”

Iran’s presence in Syria should also concern Germany, the prime minister says, arguing that Shiite militia there want to try to convert Sunnis. This will incite a new religious war that will many more refugees, who will end up in Europe.

“Iran must not be allowed to have a military foothold in Syria. “Iran should leave Syria. All parts of Syria,” he says.

— with Raphael Ahren

Saudi Arabia starts issuing driving licenses to women

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia on Monday begins issuing its first driving licences to women in decades, state media reports.

“The general directorate of traffic today started replacing international driving licenses recognized in the kingdom with Saudi licenses, in preparation for allowing women to drive from June 24,” the official Saudi Press Agency says.

— AFP

A video being circulated for first #Saudi woman to receive a driving license in #KSA #saudiwomendriving pic.twitter.com/GW9XTiDJ2r

— Rima Maktabi (@rimamaktabi) June 4, 2018

Netanyahu to meet US envoy in Germany who wants to ’empower’ European right

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will meet with US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell at Berlin’s airport later today.

He says Grenell requested the meeting.

Grenell sparked controversy after telling the right-wing Breitbart news site that he wants to “empower” right-wing politicians in Europe.

His comments were criticized by a number of European lawmakers and the German foreign ministry earlier today asked for a clarification of his remarks.

French carmaker PSA to exit Iran over US sanctions risk

PARIS — France’s PSA says that it will pull out of two joint ventures to sell its cars in Iran to avoid the risk of US sanctions, after Washington decided to withdraw from a key nuclear deal with Tehran.

“The group has begun to suspend its joint venture activities, in order to comply with US law by August 6, 2018,” the automaker says in a statement.

— AFP

Israeli embassy in US trolls Khamenei with ‘Mean Girls’ clip

After Iran’s supreme leader calls Israel a “cancerous tumor” that must be “removed and eradicated,” the Israeli embassy in the US hits back with a quote from “Mean Girls” character Regina George.

pic.twitter.com/1dRRE7Nv1s

— Embassy of Israel (@IsraelinUSA) June 4, 2018

Israel’s consulate in New York also joins the Twitter face-off, tweeting that anyone who supports the Iran nuclear deal “should be made to rewrite this tweet from [Iran’s] supreme leader 100 times on a blackboard, Bart Simpson style.

Netanyahu: Israel examining how to stave off a ‘humanitarian collapse’ in Gaza

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is “examining various possibilities to prevent a humanitarian collapse in Gaza.”

Netanyahu makes the remarks after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He blames the humanitarian situation on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s decision to freeze the salaries of PA employees in Gaza, as well as Hamas’s investment in terror.

Suspect in vandalism to Shabbat boundary heads to court

SHARON, Massachusetts — A Massachusetts man charged with vandalizing the ritual outdoor boundary relied on by some Orthodox Jews known as an eruv is heading to court.

Police say 28-year-old Yerachmiel Taube, of Sharon, is scheduled to be arraigned Monday on charges including malicious destruction of property and destruction to a religious organization.

Taube was arrested Saturday in connection with the vandalism in Sharon that has been going on for several weeks.

The eruv is a series of poles and string that mark the boundaries of the Orthodox Jewish community’s “household,” in which they can carry certain items on the Sabbath.

Taube was held over the weekend. It is not clear if he has a lawyer.

The Sharon eruv has been in the community since 1990 and is maintained by 40 volunteers.

— AP

Khameni says Iran won’t tolerate both nuclear curbs and sanctions

TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian Supreme Keader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warns European leaders against their “dream” of Tehran continuing to curb its nuclear program while finding itself under new economic sanctions.

“From some European countries we get the message that they expect the Iranian people to both tolerate the sanctions, deal with the sanctions, and go along with them, and give up our nuclear energy activities and continue with the restrictions,” he tells an audience in a Tehran suburb.

“I would tell these countries that they should be aware that this is a dream that will never come true.”

Khamenei was speaking nearly a month after US President Donald Trump announced the United States was pulling out of the landmark Iran nuclear deal.

The remaining partners — Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia — have scrambled to save the 2015 accord as the US readies to reimpose sanctions on Tehran.

“The people of Iran and the government of Iran will never tolerate both suffering from sanctions and nuclear restrictions,” says Khamenei.

“This will never happen,” he says during a ceremony to mark the 29th anniversary of the death of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

— AFP