Israel Lands Authority transferred to Finance Ministry

‘New gas draft is threat to Antitrust Authority’

Antitrust Authority director David Gilo resigns, citing an intra-governmental disagreement on dismantling the natural gas monopoly. Gilo tells recently appointed Economy Minister Aryeh Deri that he intends to step down by August.

Gilo announces his decision as the new government backtracks on an outline drafted jointly by the Antitrust Authority and the government that was presented in February, before the election, on dismantling the gas monopoly. The government intends instead to follow an outline that would leave US company Noble Energy, operator of the Tamar and Leviathan offshore gas rigs, in a position of control in the energy market.

The government’s revised draft would reduce Noble’s holdings in the Tamar reservoir from 36 percent to 24% within six years, and remove Noble’s veto rights in the partnership. But the American firm would still have the privilege of marketing gas from both reservoirs, Tamar and Leviathan.

“My decision stems from several considerations, mostly the knowledge that the government and specifically the Prime Minister’s Office, the Finance Ministry and the Energy Ministry will do all in their power to promote the new draft on natural gas – a draft which I am certain will not bring competitiveness to this important market. This all may even include harm to the independence of the Antitrust Authority, or harm to the authority’s capability of taking unilateral actions,” Gilo writes in his letter to Deri.

“All along the way, I believed it would be right to reach a solution on competitiveness with the gas companies without resorting to the court system, because the gas companies threatened to cease development of the reservoirs if I turn to the courts,” he continues.

“Over the past few weeks, I announced to the gas partnership and government ministries that I cannot be part of the recent draft, since I am convinced, as I said, that it will not bring competitiveness in the natural gas market,” Gilo writes in his letter.

Yachimovich begs Gilo not to go

Zionist Union MK Shelly Yachimovich writes on Facebook that David Gilo’s resignation is “nothing less than a bombshell” and a “huge hit to the public in Israel.”

“It is shameful that the government caters to capital holders in such a servile manner and makes its most senior regulator, the Antitrust Authority chief, to step down.”

Yachimovich says Gilo’s resignation is “the result of a violent pressure campaign by the gas tycoons and their minions in the government and I call on Gilo, a super-professional, solid, honest and esteemed person to take back his resignation. For us, for the public in Israel.”

“Gilo understood the obvious: It cannot be that our gas treasures will be deposited with the Tshuva-Noble Energy monopoly, it cannot be that a private monopoly holds the country by the throat and determines everything: the state’s revenue, the cost of living, the fate of industry and employment and our energy independence,” writes Yachimovich.

“If a professional of the first degree, an academic with international reputation with a record like the one Prof. Gilo has prefers to resign solely in order not to have his name connected to this program – then this is telling in itself,” Yachimovich writes, finishing her post with a call to the Israeli public to write to his office and ask him not to resign. She provides the Antitrust Authority’s email address: lishka@aa.gov.il.

Pols weigh in on David Gilo resignation

Economy Minister Aryeh Deri expresses his regret over the resignation of Antitrust Authority chief David Gilo.

Gilo is “a first-rank professional and has done his job with honesty, loyalty and the highest level of professionalism,” he says.

Meretz MK Zehava Gal-on says the government is responsible for Gilo’s stepping down.

“Instead of backing the brave and determined Gilo, the prime minister threw him to the dogs and gave [gas tycoon Yitzhak] Tshuva inconceivable economic and political power,” Israel Radio quotes Gal-on as saying.

 

Eilat beach evacuated upon infiltration fear

An Eilat beach was evacuated when bathers reported a suspicious figure in the water, Ynet reports.

The IDF scanned the shoreline and the waters to see whether there was an infiltration. During the IDF search, two divers got out of the water and after a short interrogation it was found that the two are Israelis.

The military was restoring the beach to routine activity.

Eilat has in the past been targeted by rockets fired from the Sinai Peninsula, which it borders.

During Operation Protective Edge, the IDF intercepted a Hamas cell that tried using frogmen to carry out a terror attack near the Gaza Strip.

More than 430 dead in India heatwave

More than 430 people have died in two Indian states during a heatwave that has seen temperatures nudge 50 degrees Celsius and force Kolkata’s iconic yellow taxis off the road, officials say.

Officials warn that the toll is almost certain to rise, with figures still being collected in some parts of the hard-hit Telangana state in the country’s south, and with no end in sight to the searing conditions.

Large parts of India, including national capital New Delhi, have endured days of sweltering heat, prompting fears of power cuts. But the highest temperatures have been recorded in Telangana and neighboring Andhra Pradesh state.

Andhra Pradesh authorities are urging laborers and others not to work long hours in the heat of the day after 246 people died from the high temperatures there in the last week.

— AFP

Mortar kills 4 in Alawite stronghold Latakia

Four people were killed, children among them, when a mortar shell hit a house in the center of the seaside city of Latakia in Syria. Three civilians were wounded in the attack, Ynet reports.

Latakia is the stronghold of the Alawite minority in Syria, a minority to which the family of President Bashar Assad and the top echelon of army generals also belong.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights meanwhile says battles continue between regime forces and opposition groups, led by the Nusra Front, near the village of Hamidia. The village, near Quneitra, is one of the Syrian settlements closest to the border fence with Israel. Both sides are suffering losses, the Observatory says.

PM says Gilo was alone in opposing gas draft

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says at a Likud faction meeting that Antitrust Authority chief David Gilo was the only person who opposed the revised government draft on the natural gas market.

“I appreciate his work very much, [but] in this case he was the only person who opposed the draft offered by professional experts. Apart from him all other participants support the draft, which can help realize the present we were given by nature, “Netanyahu says.

Erdan approved as minister, will be sworn in today

Likud No. 2 Gilad Erdan is confirmed as the new minister in charge of public security and public diplomacy. Erdan will also be in charge of the Iran dossier, a position previously held by Yuval Steinitz.

Erdan is expected to head a team in charge of fighting international efforts to delegitimize Israel and blocking attempts to boycott Israeli products or cultural initiatives.

Erdan was approved in a telephone poll conducted among Likud ministers. He will be sworn in today.

Deri threatens government over 0% VAT

Economy Minister Aryeh Deri says that if the Finance Ministry reneges on the agreement to lower VAT to zero on basic products, “I will see it as a breach of the [coalition] agreement so severe that it may affect the wholeness of the government.”

Deri is speaking after reading media reports saying the Finance Ministry does not intend to cancel the value added tax on basic food products, an issue that for Shas, Deri’s party, was a deal-breaker for signing the coalition agreement.

“I saw stories in the press so I decided to respond immediately so that this issue is clear […] We will stand up to our commitments and I expect them to stand up to theirs,” says Deri.

His threat to the government’s wholeness refers to the fact that in a 61-strong coalition, even one resignation could make the government collapse.

Palestinians bent on ousting Israel from FIFA

RAMALLAH — The head of the Palestine Football Association says he is pressing forth with his bid to oust Israel from FIFA despite efforts from its president to defuse the crisis.

Jibril Rajoub says Monday that he “will not withdraw the motion and will not accept any compromise and any side deals.”

FIFA President Sepp Blatter was recently in the region on a self-described “mission of peace” to resolve tensions between the two sides.

Palestinians say Israeli security restrictions are limiting the movement of Palestinian players, visiting teams and equipment and have put forward a proposal to suspend Israel from world soccer at the 209-nation FIFA meeting on May 29. Blatter opposes the suspension vote, saying Israel has not broken FIFA statutes in a political issue outside of soccer’s control.

— AP

Herzog, Shai slam Erdan appointment

Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog criticizes the appointment of Gilad Erdan as minister, speaking during the weekly Zionist Union faction meeting.

“This week – it’s musical chairs,” says Herzog. Netanyahu “cooked porridge and brings it to the Knesset for approval,” says Herzog, quoting a famous Hebrew children’s lullaby. “[Ze’ev] Elkin gets authorities and budgets from [Yoav] Galant to Erdan, from Elkin to [Moshe] Kahlon, from Elkin to Silvan [Shalom], from [Tzipi] Hotovely to the minister of space [referring to Danny Danon], from the minister of space to the minister of stars… and there was none left for [Benny] Begin.”

Zionist Union MK Nachman Shai says “there was never a farce like this in the history of establishing governments in Israel. Five days after the picture was taken at the President’s Residence, and already a photo-montage is necessary: Begin needs to be removed and Erdan added.

“A ministry for intelligence and strategy did not exist for 60 years, and ever since it was established it’s teetering and is now being divided in two. It’s a caricature,” says Shai.

Elkin said to be furious after losing Strategic Affairs Ministry

Likud MK Ze’ev Elkin is said to be furious over the prime minister’s decision to transfer the Strategic Affairs Ministry from him to Gilad Erdan. Elkin, according to Ynet, did not take part in the telephone poll of ministers whereby Erdan’s appointment was approved.

Initially, there was uncertainty as to whether Elkin would attend Erdan’s swearing-in, but his associates say he will be at the Knesset. Erdan is expected to be sworn in this evening.

Elkin wanted the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs in lieu of the Strategic Affairs Ministry, but Netanyahu did not immediately agree. Netanyahu promised Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat before the election that he would not appoint a minister in charge of Jerusalem affairs, which was also why Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett did not receive the position.

Opposition candidate Duda wins Polish presidential vote with 52%

Conservative newcomer Andrzej Duda from the Law and Justice (PiS) opposition party wins Poland’s presidential run-off with 51.55 percent of the vote, official results show.

The 43-year-old lawyer and MEP’s shock victory spells a possible return to power of the eurosceptic PiS — and its leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski — in the autumn parliamentary election. Rival liberals Civic Platform (PO) have governed the Central European heavyweight since 2007.

 

— AFP

Health Ministry files against man who injected Botox illegally

The Health Ministry files a complaint against Shlomo Levin, a man who is alleged to have impersonated a surgeon and injected patients with Botox, without ever having received a physician’s permit.

Levin, who operated from a clinic at the Dizengoff Center mall in Tel Aviv, used the name Dr. Anatoli Bahrav, Ynet reports.

Malaysia finds 139 grave sites, camps used by people-smugglers

Malaysian police say they found 139 grave sites and 28 abandoned detention camps used by people-smugglers and capable of housing hundreds, laying bare the grim extent of the region’s migrant crisis.

Thailand, meanwhile, deploys a helicopter carrier to serve as a temporary medical and processing center as the United States offers to launch flights to locate vessels carrying migrants but abandoned by smugglers, with rights groups warning that thousands of boat people may still be at sea.

Malaysia’s national police chief Khalid Abu Bakar announces the discovery of the grave sites and camps, but says it remains unclear how many bodies were buried in the inaccessible area of mountainous jungle along the Thai border.

The findings appear to indicate a system of camps and graves larger than those discovered by Thai police in early May, a finding which ignited regional concern about human smuggling and trafficking.

— AFP

Knesset approves passing ILA to Finance Ministry

The Knesset plenum approves the government’s request to redistribute authorities among government ministries, with a majority of 58 MKs versus 56 against.

As part of the redistribution, the Israel Lands Authority will come under the purview of the Finance Ministry. Previously, the ILA was under the authority of the Housing Ministry.

Some of the authorities until now held by the Ministry of Intelligence Affairs were transferred to the control of the Ministry of Strategic Affairs, Ynet reports.

‘Know your place,’ Turkey’s Erdogan tells NY Times

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a critical editorial, accuses The New York Times of meddling in Turkey’s affairs, and angrily tells the US daily to “know your place.”

In a growing controversy over media rights in Turkey — ahead of the June 7 legislative polls — Erdogan blasts an “impolite” editorial in The New York Times last week which, he claimed, “literally gave orders to the United States.

“As a newspaper, you [The New York Times] should know your place,” he said in a televised speech in Istanbul.

“You are meddling in Turkey’s affairs by writing something like this. By publishing this editorial, you are overstepping the limits of freedom,” he went on.

The New York Times had on Friday published a editorial entitled “Dark Clouds over Turkey,” which was deeply critical of Erdogan’s rule, and accusing him of a crackdown ahead of the polls.

“The United States and Turkey’s other NATO allies should be urging (Erdogan) to turn away from this destructive path,” wrote The New York Times editorial.

Erdogan spat back: “Who are you? Could you say something like this to the US administration?”

The editorial referred to attacks by Erdogan on the Dogan Media Group, which owns the Hurriyet daily, over its coverage of the death sentence handed to former Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi.

— AFP

Biden tries to smooth Iraq ties after Pentagon outburst

US Vice President Joe Biden on Monday sought to end an embarrassing rift between Washington and Baghdad after Pentagon boss Ash Carter blamed Iraqi forces for the fall of Ramadi.

The White House said Biden called Iraqi’s prime minister Haider al-Abadi, just hours after the US defense secretary suggested that the Islamic State group won control of the city because “Iraqi forces showed no will to fight.”

Biden “recognized the enormous sacrifice and bravery of Iraqi forces over the past 18 months in Ramadi and elsewhere,” the White House said.

As well as rowing back Carter’s comments, Biden called to “reaffirm US support for the Iraqi government’s fight against” Islamic State jihadists.

Carter’s comments were seen as undercutting a US-Iraqi collective front in the fight against the radical militants.

They were also seen as humiliating for Iraq’s prime minister, as he desperately tries to hold his country together with a thinly stretched army and assorted ethnic and sectarian militias whose loyalties lie outside Baghdad.

— AFP