Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and Israeli Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz
An Israeli minister on Wednesday threatened to strike Iranian positions in Syria, hours after the announcement of a Syrian-Iranian agreement under which Iran would rebuild Syrian military forces.
"Israel will not allow Iran to settle in Syria. We will act with all our might against any Iranian position in Syria that threatens the State of Israel," Israeli Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz told the Israeli Public Broadcasting Authority.
He said the Syrian-Israeli agreement is “crossing the red line we have set”.
Referring to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Katz said that if he defended Iranian forces, "he would bear the consequences immediately."
On Monday, Iranian media said Tehran and Damascus signed military and reconstruction agreements during Iranian Defense Minister Amir Hatami’s visit to Syria.
Israel frequently accuses Tehran of exploiting the ongoing conflict in Syria -- where Iran supports the Assad regime -- to establish a permanent military presence near Israel’s border.
Meanwhile, Katz described the policy of Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman on the blockaded Gaza Strip as “totally a failure”.
"Israel should take a strategic decision that would change the reality in the Gaza Strip", he said.
"I support a unilateral move on Gaza without dialogue with Hamas, which would achieve three strategic objectives: complete separation of Israel and Gaza in all civil issues and complete separation of security and demography between Gaza, Israel, and the Palestinian Authority," he said.
While the third objective, he added “is to reinforcing the policy of deterrence along the Gaza border”.
"I do not believe in any arrangement with Hamas, neither at the basic level nor at the operational level," Katz said,” he said.
Home to nearly two million people, the Gaza Strip has been reeling under an 11-year Israeli blockade, which has gutted the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its inhabitants of many basic commodities.
A former Israeli soldier who shot dead an injured Palestinian said that he has “no regret” for his action.“I know what I have done was right, and I go with it all the way with my head up,” Elor Azaria said in an interview with Israel Hayoum newspaper, excerpts of which were released on Wednesday."I do not regret it,” he said “and if time goes back to that moment in Hebron. I will do exactly what I did, because it was the right thing to do.”Azaria shot a Palestinian in the head after an alleged attack in the West Bank city of Hebron in 2016 despite the fact that he was injured and unarmed.The soldier was caught on camera while shooting dead the Palestinian by an activist with Israeli rights group B’Tselem.Azaria was sentenced to 18 months in prison after being found guilty of killing the Palestinian man.But in September 2017, his jail sentence was reduced by Israeli Army Chief-of-Staff Gadi Eizenkot to only 14 months behind bars.Azaria accused the army of being responsible for his imprisonment, citing statements by former Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon and army Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot in which they called for his conviction."If they kept their mouths closed, nothing would have happened,” he said, “and what happened was injustice”.
Israeli soldier has ‘no regret’ for killing Palestinian
Jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti has called for healing the rift between rival groups Fatah and Hamas.“It is necessary to call for a national conference for a comprehensive dialogue with the participation of all powers, parties, women, youth, and Palestinians inside [Israel],” Fadwa Barghouti quoted her jailed husband as saying.The remarks came in a Wednesday conference organized by Masarat Center for Political and Strategic Studies.Barghouti, a Fatah leader, called for “partnership” in all Palestinian institutions, including the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and for holding general elections.Fatah and Hamas, two major Palestinian groups, have been at odds since 2007 when the latter seized control of the Gaza Strip from the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority.Ever since, all efforts aimed at healing the rift between the two movements have been fruitless.Barghouti has spent more than 15 years behind bars since being arrested by Israel in 2002 during the second Palestinian Intifada ("uprising") when he took part in armed resistance activities against the Israeli occupation.While Israel views Barghouti as a security threat, opinion polls have consistently shown him to be the most popular choice among Palestinians to succeed Fatah leader and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.Israel razes home of Palestinian youthIsrael expands mixed-gender prayer area at Western WallIsraeli army arrests 8 Palestinians in West Bank raidsIsraeli police arrest seven Palestinians in Jerusalem
Jailed Fatah leader calls for healing Palestinian rift
The Israeli army on Wednesday rounded up 27 Palestinians in overnight raids carried out across the occupied West Bank, according to an Israeli army statement.The individuals were detained for “suspected involvement in popular terrorist activities”, the army said without elaborating on the nature of the activities.They have since been remanded into custody for further investigation, according to the same statement.Dozens of Jewish settlers storm Al-Aqsa compoundThe Israeli army frequently conducts sweeping arrest campaigns across the occupied West Bank on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians.According to Palestinian figures, some 6,500 Palestinians are currently languishing in Israeli prisons, including scores of women, roughly 350 minors, and at least six members of the Palestinian Legislative Council.Israel razes home of Palestinian youth
27 Palestinians detained in West Bank raids
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran could abandon its nuclear accord with world powers after the U.S. withdrawal if it does not serve its interests, casting doubt on negotiations with European countries to salvage the deal."The nuclear deal is a means, not the goal, and if we come to this conclusion that it does not serve our national interests, we can abandon it," Khamenei was quoted as saying by his official website on Wednesday.He said Tehran should "give up hope" on Europe to save the deal.In a meeting with President Hassan Rouhani and his cabinet, Khamenei said Tehran would not negotiate with the "indecent" U.S. officials at any level to reach a new agreement on its nuclear programme.Iran's Khamenei tells Rouhani, ministers, to solve economic problemsIran warns foreign forces in the Gulf to follow international lawsPressure builds on Iran's Rouhani as parliament targets two more ministers
Iran's Khamenei says nuclear deal can be abandoned if does not serve interests
Iranian lawmakers launched impeachment proceedings against the education minister on Wednesday, stepping up pressure on President Hassan Rouhani who is under attack from parliament over his handling of the economy following new U.S. sanctions.Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, meeting with Rouhani and his cabinet on Wednesday, told the government to work "day and night" to resolve economic problems."We need to be strong in the economic field ... The officials should work hard day and night to resolve the problems," Khamenei was quoted as saying by state television.The impeachment move came only three days after lawmakers sacked the minister of economy and finance blaming him for the collapse of the rial currency and surging unemployment. They had, weeks earlier, dismissed the labour minister.Iran warns foreign forces in the Gulf to follow international lawsAnother motion, signed by 70 lawmakers, aims to impeach the minister of industry, mines and business.Rouhani won two landslide elections on a platform of economic reform and opening Iran up to the outside world, and his pragmatic supporters have a majority in the parliament.But his reputation and political influence have taken a sharp hit as his promised economic gains have failed to materialise.He is, in particular, facing a backlash at home since U.S. President Donald Trump in May pulled out of an international accord that had curbed Iran's nuclear ambitions in return for sanctions relief.Pressure builds on Iran's Rouhani as parliament targets two more ministersWashington has imposed sanctions on the acquisition of U.S. dollars by Iran and it will reimpose sanctions on Tehran's oil exports and banking sector in November.A group of 20 lawmakers signed a motion on Wednesday accusing Education Minister Mohammad Bathaei of failing to reform the education system and rejuvenate schools, state news agency IRNA reported.That is enough votes to force Bathaei to come to parliament to answer questions on his record in the next 10 days. If lawmakers are unhappy with his answers, they can vote to impeach and sack him.Iran's parliament voted on Tuesday to reject Rouhani's explanations for economic hardship after a dramatic grilling, a sign his pragmatic faction is losing sway to hardline rivals as new U.S. sanctions begin to bite.Some hardline lawmakers are now considering to refer the case to the judiciary as a breach of law, but the Speaker of the Parliament, Ali Larijani said on Wednesday that was not "legally feasible."A senior member in a top Iranian constitutional body also was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency that there were "ambiguities" about the authority lawmakers could exercise to open a judicial case against Rouhani after summoning him to the parliament.Iran's official unemployment rate is 12 percent, with youth unemployment as high as 25 percent in a country where 60 percent of the 80 million population is under 30. The rial has lost more than two-thirds of its value in a year.
Iran's Khamenei tells Rouhani, ministers, to solve economic problems