Controversial police recommendations bill clears first Knesset hurdle

Hamas vows it won’t disarm, threatens to expand into West Bank

The Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas is vowing to expand its activities to the West Bank despite demands by the rival Fatah movement that it disarm as part of a reconciliation agreement.

A senior Hamas official, Khalil al-Hayya, says the group’s arsenal “can’t be divided or talked about in any dialogue.”

His remarks highlight the stark antagonism between Hamas and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah as the rivals negotiate steps for reconciliation.

Fatah, which holds sway in the West Bank, wants Hamas’s rockets, explosives and attack tunnels in Gaza neutralized.

Hamas seized Gaza from Fatah in 2007, provoking an Israeli-Egyptian blockade on the territory and three wars with Israel.

Last month, Fatah and Hamas signed a reconciliation deal under which Hamas began ceding control to Abbas but differences remain.

— AP

Strike on IS-held village in Syria said to kill 25 civilians

Syrian activists say an airstrike on a village held by the Islamic State killed at least 25 people, all of them civilians.

That’s according to the Deir Ezzor 24 activist group. The group blames Russian warplanes for yesterday’s strike on the village of Shaafa in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour.

The village is near the town of Boukamal, which Syrian troops and their allies captured this month. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights gave a higher death toll, saying 53 people were killed, including 21 children.

The Russian Defense Ministry says six Tu-22M3 long-range bombers scrambled from Russia and carried out a massed airstrike on “terrorists’ objects” in Deir el-Zour.

Syria’s violence hasn’t abated ahead of the resumption of UN peace talks in Geneva on Tuesday.

— AP

Lebanese president holds talks on government’s future

Lebanese President Michel Aoun opens two days of consultations with the country’s political leaders over the government’s future in the wake of Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s suspended resignation.

Hariri resigned on November 4 from Saudi Arabia, throwing his coalition government and the country into crisis, but rescinded the move after returning home, to allow time for negotiations.

He has demanded that his coalition ally, the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group, remove itself from regional conflicts, from Syria to Iraq and Yemen. Hezbollah denies playing a military role in Yemen but has fighters in both Iraq and Syria.

Aoun is meeting with the head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, Mohammed Raad, who later told reporters they discussed “reactivating” the government.

Raad declines to answer questions about Hezbollah’s disassociation from regional conflict.

— AP

Knesset panel okays bill barring police from recommending charges

A Knesset panel passes an amended version of a controversial bill that would ban police from informing prosecutors whether there were grounds for indictment upon wrapping up their investigations.

The proposed legislation clears its first reading in the Knesset’s Internal Affairs Committee with nine coalition lawmakers in favor, six opposition MKs opposed.

It’s expected to be brought to its first reading later in the afternoon.

The bill would jail investigators who issue recommendations for indictment as well as police officials who leak information from ongoing investigations to the press. An earlier clause, which would have jailed journalists for publishing that information, has been excised.

The bill is opposed by both police and the attorney general and is seen as an attempt by Likud lawmakers to shield Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the public fallout should police find sufficient evidence to warrant criminal charges by prosecutors.

— Marissa Newman

Unknown attackers smash windows in Warsaw’s Muslim center

Warsaw police say they are searching for attackers who have smashed windows in the city’s Muslim cultural center.

The police were notified early yesterday that some dozen windows were smashed during the night in the center that was opened in 2015 and includes a mosque. No one was hurt.

Warsaw police spokesman Mariusz Mrozek says CCTV monitoring was being reviewed and has appealed for people who might have any information about the attack to come forward.

Warsaw’s Muslim community has a few thousand members.

Acts of hatred and xenophobia are being reported more frequently in Poland since the Law and Justice party came to power two years ago. The government promotes Catholicism and refuses to take in non-Catholic refugees as part of an EU relocation plan.

— AP

Lapid slams recommendations bill as the ‘Netanyahu law’

Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid slams the so-called Recommendations Law approved earlier this afternoon by a Knesset panel, calling it the “Netanyahu Law.”

The revised bill bans police, upon wrapping up an investigation into public officials, from informing prosecutors whether there are grounds for indictment. Last-minute changes to the legislation will permit the attorney general to seek police input in the existing corruption probes into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“After Netanyahu said the law would not relate to him personally, they fought like crazy so that the law would apply to him,” Lapid says at the start of a Yesh Atid faction meeting.

“They made sure that this law will apply to the Netanyahu investigations,” he says. “It’s a law made for a single person.”

Gabbay denounces coalition as ‘gang members’

Zionist Union chairman Avi Gabbay says Netanyahu’s government has “crossed the point of no return” after it advanced a controversial bill that would bar police from recommending charges at the end of their investigations.

The bill is widely seen as an attempt by Likud lawmakers to shield the prime minister from public fallout should police find sufficient evidence to warrant criminal charges by prosecutors.

At the start of a faction meeting, Gabbay directs his remarks to members of the coalition who voted in favor of the controversial bill: “Look what’s become of you?”

“Like low-level gang members who are sent to disrupt investigations and clean up crime scenes, that’s who you’ve become,” he says.

Netanyahu, Rivlin meet with visiting Ukrainian foreign minister

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin that Israel is not dismissing Iran’s threats against Israel.

“Israel is taking the threats from Iran seriously,” he says. “This is a lesson we’ve learned from our history.”

Klimkin also holds a working meeting with President Reuven Rivlin, who expresses his concern of the growing anti-Semitism and racism in Europe.

“Never again is an imperative for the whole world, not just for the Jewish People,” Rivlin says. “I am certain you will continue to fight uncompromisingly against anti-Semitism and all racism.”

Eilat woman arrested for attempting to throw her baby out a window

A 23-year-old Eilat woman is reportedly arrested for allegedly attempting to throw her infant son out of a window.

The woman tells police that she and her husband beat their children regularly, and that her husband threatened to kill one of them.

The Eilat Magistrate’s Court extends her detention by three days.

Netanyahu says ‘government is stable’ after brief coalition crisis

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is touting the stability of his coalition, following a brief government crisis yesterday that saw MK Yaakov Litzman step down as health minister over state-sanctioned train maintenance on the Jewish day of rest.

“This government is strong, this government is stable,” says Netanyahu at the weekly Likud faction meeting, thanking his coalition partners.

He also lists his upcoming visits to Kenya, Brussels, and India.

Israel “is facing unprecedented diplomatic flourishing,” he says, also hailing its economic, security, and social conditions.

While there are “challenges,” he says, “Israel is in the best situation it’s been in since its establishment.”

— Marissa Newman

Amal high school teachers to strike on Tuesday

High school teachers in the Amal system will strike tomorrow as the teachers union continues its dispute with the treasury over better wages, the teacher’s union says.

The strike is announced Amal’s 120 schools around the country as teachers demand higher salaries and claim the government is procrastinating over talks.

The union has called a number of strikes in recent weeks as negotiations with the Finance Ministry over a monthly gross wage increase from NIS 6,400 ($1,820) to NIS 8,000 ($2,275) have stalled.

Iraq to receive bids for developing oil, gas fields next year

Iraq says it will start receiving bids next June for projects to develop nine oil and gas fields in an attempt by the war-ravaged nation to boost energy revenues.

Abdul-Mahdi al-Ameedi, who heads the Oil Ministry’s Licensing and Petroleum Contracts Department, says that detailed energy information on the nine areas in question will be disclosed at the end of this month.

Al-Ameedi says companies that bid on the projects will for the first time be able to take part in the drawing up of the contract, as an incentive for the bidders.

He says five of the nine fields or blocs as they are called are shared with Iran, three with Kuwait and one is located in the Persian Gulf.

Iraq has the world’s fourth largest oil reserves.

— AP

Rivlin invites Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to honeymoon in Israel

President Reuven Rivlin congratulates Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on their engagement and invites the couple to honeymoon in Israel.

“Sending our warmest regards to Her Majesty the Queen, Duke of Edinburgh, all the Royal Family & the British people, from Nechama & me, & all the Israeli people,” he posts on Twitter. “We invite them to enjoy their honeymoon in Israel!”

Earlier today, palace officials announced that Prince Harry is engaged to Meghan Markle, confirming months of rumors that the couple was close to tying the knot.

Mazal Tov to HRH Prince Harry & fiancé @MeghanMarkle. Sending our warmest regards to Her Majesty the Queen, Duke of Edinburgh, all the Royal Family & the British people, from Nechama & me, & all the Israeli people. We invite them to enjoy their honeymoon in Israel!

— Reuven Rivlin (@PresidentRuvi) November 27, 2017

Amnesty urges Greece to scrap arms sale to Saudi Arabia

A leading global rights organization is urging Greece’s government to scrap a controversial arms sale to Saudi Arabia, saying the weapons could be used against civilians in the ongoing war in Yemen.

Amnesty International voices deep concern over the proposed deal, saying there was a “real danger” that the artillery shells would be used by the Saudi-led military coalition fighting Shiite rebels in the impoverished country.

The agreement has been strongly criticized by Greek opposition parties, while at least two lawmakers in the governing left-wing Syriza party have called for its cancellation on grounds that the arms could be used in Yemen.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is expected to address the issue during a parliamentary debate later today.

— AP

Kahlon rejects ‘unfounded and absurd’ criticism of recommendations bill

Kulanu leader Moshe Kahlon rejects criticism from the opposition after his party votes in favor of the police recommendations bill, clearing it for a first plenum reading.

The criticism is “unfounded and absurd,” the coalition party leader says. “From the first moment, I said we’d support the recommendations bill and at the same time I said it won’t apply to Netanyahu’s investigations.”

The bill, as approved by lawmakers for the first vote, would allow the attorney general to consult with police in Netanyahu’s corruption probes but would ban publication of the police conclusions in the two cases.

— Marissa Newman

Syria denounces critical report at chemical weapons organization meeting

Syria and its allies clash with other nations at the annual conference of member states of the global chemical weapons watchdog, underscoring how politicized the body has become since Damascus joined.

Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad uses the opening day of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons meeting to denounce an international investigation that last month accused Damascus of launching a deadly sarin attack in April.

European Union representative Jacek Bylica, however, says that the investigation’s report showed “a clear case of violation” of the treaty outlawing chemical weapons and said “the perpetrators of such horrific crimes must be held accountable.”

Russia, Syria’s staunch ally, recently vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution that would have extended the mandate, which expired earlier this month, of the UN-OPCW Joint Investigative Mission.

— AP

Coach forces Iranian wrestler to lose to avoid Israeli opponent

An Iranian freestyle wrestler was instructed by his coach to lose at the world championships in Poland in order to avoid competing against an Israeli in the next round.

Videos uploaded online show Alireza Karimi leading his match against Russia’s Alikhan Zhabrailov 3-2 in the fourth minute, when his coach can be heard from the sidelines instructing him to lose.

Karimi was slated to face Israel’s Uri Kalashnikov in the following round in the 86kg category of the Senior U23 World Championships.

Iran does not recognize Israel and forbids its athletes from competing against Israeli opponents in international competitions.

Netanyahu joins calls urging Rivlin to reconsider pardoning Hebron shooter

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signs on to a letter calling on President Reuven Rivlin to reconsider his decision not to pardon an IDF soldier convicted of killing an incapacitated Palestinian attacker.

According to Army Radio, Netanyahu is joined by Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon in urging the president to rethink the decision.

Rivlin’s decision last week to reject Elor Azaria’s pardon request drew harsh criticism from many Israelis on social media. An image of him in an Arab keffiyeh circulating online prompted police to open an investigation.

Rivlin’s decision was also criticized by senior government officials, including Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman and Culture Minister Miri Regev.

Solider reports assault, gun theft to police

An IDF soldier tells police he was attacked and his gun was stolen while he was standing at an intersection in southern Israel.

Officers are searching for the perpetrators, police say.

— Judah Ari Gross

UN envoy says Syria talks to focus on election

The UN special envoy for Syria says his plan for talks in Geneva, assuming the Syrian government participates, focuses on the end goal of a 2012 road map adopted by major powers — free and fair elections under UN supervision with Syrians everywhere eligible to vote.

Staffan de Mistura told the UN Security Council that the plan would work backward, saying elections must be preceded by the drafting and popular ratification of a new constitution.

This would put off one of the contentious issues between the government and opposition — the future of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The road map, approved by the Security Council, calls for the creation of a transitional Syrian government with full executive powers followed by the drafting of a new constitution and elections.

De Mistura says the government has not confirmed its attendance at the Geneva talks scheduled to start tomorrow, but the opposition delegation agreed to a meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is arriving.

He stresses that “we will not accept any preconditions by either party.”

— AP

Lapid slams Netanyahu for urging Rivlin to reconsider Azaria pardon

Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid denounces Netanyahu for joining lawmakers in urging President Reuven Rivlin to reconsider his decision not to pardon an IDF soldier convicted of killing an incapacitated Palestinian attacker.

“Netanyahu’s signing of the petition to Rivlin is a direct attack on the president of Israel, the chief of staff and the IDF,” he posts on Twitter.

Other opposition lawmakers including Meretz leader Zehava Galon, Zionist Union MK Nachman Shai, and Joint (Arab) List MK Dov Khenin also criticized Netanyahu for joining calls to pardon Azaria.

Rivlin’s decision last week to reject Elor Azaria’s pardon request drew harsh criticism from many Israelis, including senior lawmakers.

Ship-based Iron Dome system declared operational

Israel’s Iron Dome system is declared ready for use on a Sa’ar 5-model corvette in what the military describes as a “significant milestone” in its ongoing efforts to counter the threat of ballistic missiles.

The maritime interception system, designed to protect Israel’s gas fields and shipping lanes from short-range missiles, “added another operational layer” to Israel’s multi-tiered air defenses, joining the long-range Arrow 3 system and mid-range David’s Sling, which were each made operational earlier this year, says Brig. Gen. Tzvika Haimovitch, the head of the IAF’s Aerial Defense Command.

The so-called “Iron Dome of the Sea” was a multi-year joint collaboration between the Israeli Air Force and the Israeli Navy.

“For the navy, it’s a very high-valued capability because we are trying to defend Israeli land, ships and, of course, our strategic assets,” says Col. Ziv Barak, head of the Weapons Department in the Israeli Navy, referring to Israel’s natural gas extraction platforms.

For now, the Iron Dome has only been installed on one naval ship, the Sa’ar 5-class INS Lahav. But according to Haimovitch, there are plans in the works to put the system on additional corvettes.

— Judah Ari Gross

Renewed bombing of Syria’s Eastern Ghouta reportedly kills 18

Renewed Syrian army bombardment of rebel-held Eastern Ghouta outside Damascus on Monday killed 18 people, including two children, despite a ceasefire deal for the region, a monitor says.

Eastern Ghouta, one of the last remaining opposition strongholds in Syria, is among four so-called “de-escalation zones” set up earlier this year under a deal agreed by regime allies Russia and Iran, and rebel supporter Turkey.

But despite the deal, violence has spiraled in the area in recent days.

— AFP

TV report accuses UN ambassador Danon of systemic corruption

A report on Hadashot news (formerly Channel 2) accuses Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon of widespread political corruption.

Danon, a high ranking member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, established a mechanism to distribute salaries to dozens of party activists and their relatives in exchange for political support, the report claims.

Visiting Russian intelligence chief briefing Israeli officials on Syria peace talks

The director of Russia’s foreign intelligence agency SVR, Sergey Naryshkin, is meeting Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman and other senior Israeli officials to discuss the eighth round of Syrian peace talks scheduled to begin tomorrow in the Russian city of Sochi.

Channel 10 reports the meeting with Naryshkin at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem also includes Mossad chief Yossi Cohen and National Security Adviser Meir Ben Shabbat.

Naryshkin is reportedly briefing the Israeli officials on the upcoming talks in Sochi that will include Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

According to the TV station, the Israeli officials are expected to tell Naryshkin that Israel will not be bound to a a future peace deal, and will continue to operate in Syria in accordance with its security interests.

Lawmakers debate controversial recommendations bill in stormy Knesset session

Lawmakers clash in a particularly stormy Knesset session ahead of a plenum vote on the controversial police recommendations bill.

Zionist Union MK Tzipi Livni slams the legislation as an effort by Netanyahu to “prevent the public from knowing the truth.

The author of the bill, Likud’s David Amsalem, slams opposition lawmakers for criticizing the legislation as an attempt to undermine Netanyahu’s right-wing government.

The bill is widely seen as an attempt by Likud lawmakers to shield the prime minister from public fallout should police find sufficient evidence to warrant criminal charges by prosecutors.

Controversial police recommendations bill passes first Knesset vote

Lawmakers advance a contested bill restricting police authority to recommend criminal charges in its first plenary vote.

The proposed legislation was cleared with 46 lawmakers in favor, 37 opposed, after hours of heated debate.

Coalition lawmakers Rachel Azaria (Kulanu) and Benny Begin (Likud) skipped the vote in protest.

The bill is widely seen as an attempt by Likud lawmakers to shield Netanyahu from the public fallout should police find sufficient evidence to warrant criminal charges by prosecutors.

The revised bill, approved by a Knesset panel a short while earlier, banning police — upon wrapping up an investigation into public officials — from informing prosecutors whether there are grounds for indictment, as well as publicizing information or leaking their conclusions to the media.

A last-minute change inserted in the legislation would permit the attorney general to seek police input in the existing corruption probes into Netanyahu, though, critically, he and police would be banned from publicizing those recommendations.

— Marissa Newman