2021.05.07 國際新聞導讀-美國政府反對以色列在東耶路撒冷興建屯墾區並驅逐巴勒斯坦居民、以色列未來黨Yair Lapid開始組閣、約旦缺水嚴重、伊朗威脅攻擊以色列航運
2021.05.07 國際新聞導讀-美國政府反對以色列在東耶路撒冷興建屯墾區並驅逐巴勒斯坦居民、以色列未來黨Yair Lapid開始組閣、約旦缺水嚴重、伊朗威脅攻擊以色列航運
以色列正在受傷：拉皮德說，他將組建的聯盟將治愈內亂
自從成立政府以來，耶什·阿迪德（Yesh Atid）負責人在第一份講話中說：“我們已經充滿了憤怒和仇恨，”他說將努力“開始一些不同的事情”。
通過拉烏爾WOOTLIFF 今天，晚上10:19 1
Yesh Atid黨主席Yair Lapid將於2021年5月6日在特拉維夫舉行新聞發布會。（Avshalom Sassoni / FLASH90）
自從總統魯文·里夫林（Reuven Rivlin）成立新政府以來，耶什·阿迪德（Yesh Atid）領導人耶爾·拉皮德（Yair Lapid）在周四發表的首次講話中，提出了他希望建立的聯盟，以平息以色列的內部衝突，他將這種內部衝突歸咎於多年的反手政治交往。
拉皮德在黃金時段講話中說：“我告訴總統，以色列統一政府不是妥協，這是一個目標。”他指的是他為組建一個由各政治派別組成的政府而作出的努力。
里夫林星期三宣布，他已命令拉皮德組建以色列的下一屆政府，此前一天，總理本傑明·內塔尼亞胡（Benjamin Netanyahu）承認，他在成立後的28天內未能建立聯盟。
拉皮德在承認組建統一政府時遇到的困難時說：“它將有一個簡單的目標：使該國擺脫這場危機-冠狀病毒危機，經濟危機，政治危機以及我們內部，內部的大部分危機。以色列人民。”
他說，“內部爭論”使應對安全挑戰以及改善經濟和教育體系更加困難。
“如果我們設法組建政府，那麼它將也以不同方式對待反對派。我們不會發動攻擊或貶低。我們將尊重他們，我們將應對那些沒有投票支持我們的人所面臨的挑戰。”他補充說。
Yesh Atid領袖Yair Lapid在2021年5月6日在特拉維夫舉行的新聞發布會上發表講話（美聯社照片/ Oded Balilty）
Lapid和Yamina領導人納夫塔利·本內特（Naftali Bennett）最近幾週一直在就聯盟條款進行談判，據報導，許多地區已經達成協議，耶什·阿迪德（Yesh Atid）領導人表示，他準備讓貝內特首先擔任輪換協議總理。
在談到內塔尼亞胡在周三和周四發表的抨擊他的政治對手的講話時，拉皮德說：“這正是我們想要改變的。”
“我們已經充滿了憤怒和仇恨。我們已經爭論了很多。以色列正在受到傷害，它需要安靜，它需要團結，它確實需要一個運轉的政府。” “以色列厭倦了戰鬥。以色列社會正在尋找政客，並問 他們 何時將停止爭論並開始工作？現在是我們的答案。”
在周四下午的利庫德派會議上發表講話時，總理在貝內特猛烈抨擊，考慮加入拉皮德。
納夫塔利·貝內特（Naftali Bennett）試圖掩蓋事實。內塔尼亞胡說：“這將是一個左翼政府，一個面對國際壓力而屈服的軟弱政府。”
屏幕截圖來自總理本傑明·內塔尼亞胡（Benjamin Netanyahu）的視頻，2021年5月5日。（基帕）
拉皮德指出，貝內特（Bennett）週三發表講話說，統一政府將阻止第五次選舉。
他堅持認為：“主要目標，主要挑戰是，開始不同的事情-清潔，體面且切實可行。”
在談到組成統一政府的政黨的不同組合時，拉皮德承認他們“是不同意見的人，但有人不同意我們的事實並不能使他們成為敵人。”
除了解決自己的分歧外，拉皮德和貝內特還必須召集右翼，左翼和中間派政黨以及伊斯蘭教拉姆政黨這種不太可能的混合多數黨，這使事情變得複雜，並提出瞭如何解決問題的問題。建立這樣一個穩定的政府就可以了。他們必須安撫自己的黨員，他們可能會努力與新出現的聯盟夥伴調和自己的觀點。
談到貝內特在3月23日大選前的承諾，他將不允許與Lapid組建輪換政府-Yamina MK Amichai Chikli週三表示，他將不再繼續投票，因此將投票反對這樣的政府-Yesh阿迪德（Atid）負責人說，他不想把重點放在過去。
“我們不是在為過去而戰，而是為未來而戰。誰想打架和生氣就可以做到。我們更願意為以色列公眾服務。”他說。
在演講後被問及是否擔心亞米納州的任何進一步立法者決定反對一個未來的統一政府時，拉皮德說：“在我看來，情況正在得到控制。”
以色列議會的許多成員星期四說，內塔尼亞胡一直在試圖說服他們從黨中叛逃，並宣布反對加入左翼派別的聯盟。他們說他們拒絕了這些努力。
Yamina負責人納夫塔利·貝內特（Naftali Bennett）在2021年5月5日在以色列議會的新聞發布會上發表講話（Yonatan Sindel / Flash90）
在星期四下午與超正統派領導人舉行會議之後，內塔尼亞胡和右翼集團呼籲貝內特和該黨的立法者“信守對選民的承諾，不要與雅伊爾·拉皮德（Yair Lapid），梅拉夫·米凱利（Merav Michaeli）一起加入政府。和尼采·霍洛維茨（Nitzan Horowitz），分別是耶什·阿迪德（Yesh Atid），工黨和梅雷茲（Meretz）政黨的領導人。
利庫德將內塔尼亞胡的失敗歸咎於貝內特及其黨，聲稱亞米納不同意加入內塔尼亞胡及其右派和宗教黨派。
然而，儘管貝內特承諾如果總理能獲得多數席位，就加入內塔尼亞胡，但總理無法說服堅硬右翼的宗教猶太復國主義從聯盟外部支持由伊斯蘭教拉姆黨支持的政府。
如果拉皮德未能在6月2日結束的為期28天的窗口中湊齊一個聯盟，則多數議員可以嘗試認可任何以色列議會議員為總理。在這段時間裡，以色列從未選舉過一位領導人。如果那21天的時間不能達成聯盟，該國將被迫進入前所未有的方案，即在兩年半的時間內舉行第五次選舉。
‘Israel is hurting’: Lapid says coalition he’ll form will heal internal strife
In first speech since being tasked with forming government, Yesh Atid chief declares, ‘We’ve had enough of anger and hate,’ says will work to ‘start something different’
By RAOUL WOOTLIFF Today, 10:19 pm 1
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Yesh Atid party chair Yair Lapid holds a press conference in Tel Aviv, May 6, 2021. (Avshalom Sassoni/FLASH90)
In his first speech since being tasked by President Reuven Rivlin with forming a new government, Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid on Thursday presented the coalition he hopes to build as an opportunity to heal Israel’s internal strife, which he blamed on years of backhanded political dealings.
“I told the president, an Israeli unity government isn’t a compromise, it’s a goal,” Lapid said during his prime-time address, referring to his efforts to put together a government made up of parties spanning the political spectrum.
Rivlin announced Wednesday that he had tasked Lapid with forming Israel’s next government after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a day earlier admitted he had failed to build a coalition in the 28 days he was given to do so.
While acknowledging the difficulties in forming a unity government, Lapid said: “It will have a simple goal: to take the country out of this crisis — the coronavirus crisis, the economic crisis, the political crisis and mostly the crisis within us, within the people of Israel.”
He said “internal arguments” are making it more difficult to address security challenges and to improve the economy and education system.
“If we manage to form a government then it will also treat the opposition differently. We won’t attack or belittle. We’ll respect them and we will deal with the challenges faced by those who didn’t vote for us,” he added.
Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, speaks during a news conference in Tel Aviv, May 6, 2021/ (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Lapid and Yamina leader Naftali Bennett have been negotiating coalition terms in recent weeks, reportedly closing in on agreements in many areas, with the Yesh Atid leader saying he is ready to let Bennett serve first as prime minister in a rotation agreement.
Referring to Netanyahu’s Wednesday and Thursday speeches slamming his political rivals, Lapid said “that’s exactly what we want to change.”
“We’ve had enough of anger and of hate. We’ve argued enough. Israel is hurting and it needs quiet, it needs unity and it really needs a functioning government,” he said. “Israel is tired of fighting. Israeli society is looking to its politicians and asking when they will stop arguing and start working? Our answer is now.”
Speaking at a Likud faction meeting Thursday afternoon, the prime minister lashed out at Bennett for considering joining with Lapid.
“Naftali Bennett is trying to hide the truth. This will be a left-wing government, a weak government that bows its head in the face of international pressure,” Netanyahu said.
Screen capture from video of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, May 5, 2021. (Kippa)
Noting Bennett’s remark Wednesday that a unity government would prevent fifth elections, Lapid said that was only part of the reason it’s needed.
“The main aim, the main challenge, is to start something different – cleaner, decent and which actually works,” he insisted.
Referring to the disparate mix of parties that would be part of the unity government, Lapid acknowledged they are “different people with different views but the fact that someone doesn’t agree with us doesn’t make them an enemy.”
In addition to resolving their own differences, Lapid and Bennett must muster a majority coalition from an unlikely mixture of right-wing, left-wing and centrist parties as well as the Islamist Ra’am party, which complicates matters and raises the question of how stable such a government would be to begin with. And they must placate their own party members, who will likely struggle to reconcile their views with their emerging coalition partners.
Referring to Bennett’s pledge before the March 23 election that he would not allow the formation of a rotation government with Lapid — a promise that Yamina MK Amichai Chikli said on Wednesday he would not go back on and would therefore vote against such a government — the Yesh Atid head said he wasn’t looking to focus on the past.
“We’re not here to fight about the past but for the future. Whoever wants to fight and be angry can do that. We prefer to get to work for the Israeli public,” he said.
Asked following the speech if he was worried about any further lawmakers in Yamina deciding to oppose a prospective unity government, Lapid said that “it appears to me the situation is under control.”
A number of Yamina Knesset members said Thursday that Netanyahu has been attempting to persuade them to defect from the party and declare their opposition to entering a coalition with left-wing factions; they said they had rejected the efforts.
Yamina chief Naftali Bennett speaks during a press conference at the Knesset on May 5, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
After a meeting Thursday afternoon with the leaders of the ultra-Orthodox parties supporting him, Netanyahu and the right-wing bloc called on Bennett and the party’s lawmakers “to keep their promises to the voter and not join a government with Yair Lapid, Merav Michaeli and Nitzan Horowitz,” the heads of the Yesh Atid, Labor and Meretz parties, respectively.
Likud blames Bennett and his party for Netanyahu’s failure, claiming Yamina did not agree to join with Netanyahu and his bloc of right and religious parties.
However, while Bennett had committed to joining Netanyahu if the premier could muster a majority, the prime minister was unable to convince the hard-right Religious Zionism to back a government supported by the Islamist Ra’am party from outside the coalition.
If Lapid fails to cobble together a coalition during his 28-day window, which ends June 2, a majority of lawmakers could try to endorse any Knesset member as prime minister. A leader has never before been elected during that time period in Israel. If that 21-day period fails to yield a coalition, the country would be forced into the unprecedented scenario of a fifth election in two and a half years.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
總理表示一再駁斥美國反對在“綠線”之外進行建設的異議
拜登高級官員在過去一個月中曾3次表示不同意東耶路撒冷，西岸的建設。內塔尼亞胡（Natanyahu）在一次交易中回應說：“耶路撒冷不是定居點”
由雅各布馬吉德 今天下午11:11 2
2021年5月5日，法院判決前夕的抗議中，以色列警察在定居者佔領的巴勒斯坦人住房前守衛，該判決可能會強行將巴勒斯坦家庭驅逐出東耶路撒冷謝赫·賈拉（Sheikh Jarrah）居民區的住所。瑪雅人（Maya Alleruzzo）
根據周四的一份報告，總理本雅明·內塔尼亞胡（Benjamin Netanyahu）一再否認拜登政府在過去一個月中對以色列在東耶路撒冷和西岸擴張的反對意見。
據《第12頻道》報導，自4月初以來，美國官員已三度與總理辦公室接觸，表示反對以色列越過綠線的步驟。
跳過廣告
上個月初，以色列計劃委員會在東耶路撒冷哈馬區附近推進了540個新的單位，這是自美國總統喬·拜登就職以來在巴勒斯坦佔多數的東部地區的第一座猶太建築。
反對意見是美國駐耶路撒冷大使館的代辦喬納森·謝里爾（Jonathan Shrier）提出的。報導稱，內塔尼亞胡駁回了這一擔憂。
美國國家安全顧問傑克·沙利文（Jake Sullivan）在2021年2月4日在華盛頓舉行的白宮新聞發布會上發表講話。（美聯社/埃文·沃奇）
當月晚些時候，美國國家安全事務高級顧問傑克·沙利文（Jake Sullivan）對東耶路撒冷和西岸的建築批准提出了類似的擔憂。內塔尼亞胡反駁說：“耶路撒冷不是定居點，而是以色列的首都。”報告沒有具體說明總理如何反對美國對在約旦河西岸建設的擔憂。
美國星期三發送了第三條消息，表達了對東耶路撒冷謝赫·賈拉（Sheikh Jarrah）鄰里的關切，超民族主義猶太團體正在那裡尋求驅逐數十名巴勒斯坦人的家園。
在這種交流中，據說美國的擔憂也被消除了。
巴勒斯坦人認為，以色列在西岸和東耶路撒冷的建設問題是未來國家不可或缺的一部分，預計這將成為耶路撒冷與拜登政府之間的爭論點，拜登政府支持以色列對以色列的兩國解決方案。巴勒斯坦衝突。
但是，拜登對這個問題的批評沒有他的一些進步派同事和與政府接近的人說的那麼有力，他們說華盛頓希望避免在這個問題和其他問題上與耶路撒冷發生公開爭吵。當拜登擔任巴拉克·奧巴馬（Barack Obama）副總統時，這種爭執相當普遍。他將以巴問題列為優先事項，遠遠超過了現任總統。
總理本傑明·內塔尼亞胡（Benjamin Netanyahu）參觀了將在2020年2月20日在哈馬的東耶路撒冷定居點建立新社區的地區。
但是當拜登政府發誓要維護“基於規則的國際秩序”時，它可能會受到越來越進步的民主黨人越來越大的壓力，要求他們更嚴厲地譴責以色列，因為他們認為違反國際法的行為超出了綠線。
眾議院至少有六名民主黨人周三發布了推文，反對迫在眉睫的謝赫·賈拉驅逐令和警方鎮壓抗議這些裁決的抗議活動。
威斯康星州眾議員馬克·波坎（Mark Pocan）寫道：“以色列警察在謝赫·賈拉（Sheikh Jarrah）對巴勒斯坦人的暴力行為是完全不能接受的。”
“以色列軍方正迫使數百名巴勒斯坦人離開家園。他補充說，顯然是指眾議員貝蒂·麥科魯姆（Betty McCollum）提出的立法，該立法旨在禁止美國提供援助以逮捕巴勒斯坦未成年人，拆除巴勒斯坦房屋或拆除巴勒斯坦人的住房。進一步吞併西岸土地。
該法案預計不會通過，甚至不會投票通過，但引發了主流親以色列組織的強烈反對。
最高法院將在下週一舉行討論，討論四個巴勒斯坦家庭（超過70人）的上訴，反對他們在謝赫·賈拉（Sheikh Jarrah）的驅逐行為。
2021年5月5日，在法院裁決前夕，一名以色列警察在抗議中克制了一名巴勒斯坦人，該判決可能會強行將巴勒斯坦家庭驅逐出東耶路撒冷謝赫·賈拉（Sheikh Jarrah）居民區的住所。（美聯社照片/ Maya Alleruzzo）
根據以耶路撒冷為重點的左翼人權組織Ir Amim的說法，東耶路撒冷約有200個家庭受到類似的威脅，案件正在行政機構和以色列法院中慢慢審理。這些家庭中約有70個居住在謝赫·賈拉（Sheikh Jarrah）。
驅逐在一定程度上是基於1970年以色列法律，該法律允許猶太人在1948年之前收回猶太人擁有的東耶路撒冷土地。對於在1948年戰爭期間在如今的以色列失去家園並逃往當時的巴勒斯坦人的巴勒斯坦人，沒有類似的法律存在。約旦控制的領土。
法國，德國，意大利，西班牙和英國也與美國一道反對在周四在哈馬的建設計劃。
五個歐洲國家發表了聯合聲明，敦促以色列“改變其在被佔領的西岸的哈霍馬E地區推進540個定居點建築的決定，並停止在整個巴勒斯坦被佔領土擴大定居點的政策。”
他們補充說：“如果得到執行，加快在東耶路撒冷和伯利恆之間在哈爾霍馬定居的決定，將進一步損害一個有生存能力的巴勒斯坦國的前景，而耶路撒冷是以色列和巴勒斯坦國的首都。”
右邊的本傑明·內塔尼亞胡總理於2016年3月9日在耶路撒冷總理辦公室會見了時任美國副總統喬·拜登。（Amos Ben Gershom / GPO）
長期以來，哈爾霍馬河的建設已許諾但已延期。內塔尼亞胡（Natanyahu）在2020年3月的選舉前夕宣佈內塔尼亞胡（Natanyahu）在哈馬霍（Har Homa）增建部隊的最新動議始於2月。
以色列宣稱耶路撒冷為整個城市，包括在1967年的“六日戰爭”中佔領的街區或後來在綠線之外建造的街區，這是耶路撒冷一成不變的永恆首都。
星期三，國務院發言人對以色列時報表示，以色列對議會的推進表示“深切關注”，該立法將使整個西岸的70個非法定居點合法化。
“正如我們長期以來所說，至關重要的是，以色列不要採取加劇緊張局勢或使我們進一步遠離和平的單方面步驟。發言人說：“這包括驅逐，定居活動和房屋被拆毀，當然還包括以色列在西岸的哨所合法化，這些哨所即使在以色列法律之下也一直是非法的。”
國務院官員的言論代表了拜登政府的一些更為重要的公開言論，拜登政府定期將其呼籲與以色列避免對巴勒斯坦人發出類似警告的單方面舉動相結合。
PM said to repeatedly dismiss US objections to building beyond Green Line
Senior Biden officials conveyed disapproval of East Jerusalem, West Bank construction 3 times in past month; in one exchange, Netanyahu responded, ‘Jerusalem is not a settlement’
By JACOB MAGID Today, 11:11 pm 2
Israeli police stand guard in front of a Palestinian home occupied by settlers during a protest on the eve of a court verdict that may forcibly evict Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem on May 5, 2021. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly dismissed objections made by the Biden administration in the past month over Israeli expansion in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, according to a Thursday report.
Three times since the beginning of April, US officials reached out to the Prime Minister’s Office to express their opposition to Israeli steps beyond the Green Line, Channel 12 reported.
The first appeal came early last month after an Israeli planning committee advanced 540 new units in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Homa, the first Jewish construction in the city’s majority-Palestinian eastern part since US President Joe Biden’s inauguration.
The objection was issued by the chargé d’affaires of the US embassy in Jerusalem, Jonathan Shrier. Netanyahu dismissed the concern, according to the report.
US National security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during a press briefing at the White House on Feb. 4, 2021, in Washington. (AP/Evan Vucci)
Later that month, the more senior US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan raised similar concerns over both construction approvals in East Jerusalem as well as in the West Bank. Netanyahu retorted that “Jerusalem is not a settlement, but the capital of Israel,” the report said, not specifying how the premier objected to US concerns over building in the West Bank.
A third message by the US was sent on Wednesday expressing concerns in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, where ultranationalist Jewish groups are seeking to evict dozens of Palestinians from their homes.
In that exchange as well, American concerns were said to have been dismissed.
The issue of Israeli construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which Palestinians view as integral parts of their future state, was expected to be a point of contention between Jerusalem and the Biden administration, which backs a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
However, Biden has been seen as less forceful in his criticism of the issue than some of his more progressive colleagues and those close to the administration say Washington is hoping to avoid public spats with Jerusalem on this and other issues. Such quarrels were rather common when Biden was vice president under Barack Obama, who prioritized the Israeli-Palestinian issue far more than the current president.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the area where a new neighborhood is to be built in the East Jerusalem settlement of Har Homa, February 20, 2020. (Debbie Hill/Pool Photo via AP, File)
But as the Biden administration vows to uphold a “rules-based international order,” it will likely come under increasing pressure from more progressive Democrats to come down harder on Israel over what they view as violations of international law being carried out beyond the Green Line.
At least six Democrats in the House published tweets on Wednesday against the looming Sheikh Jarrah evictions and police crackdowns against protests over those rulings.
“The Israeli police violence against Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah is completely unacceptable,” wrote Wisconsin Rep. Mark Pocan.
“The Israeli military is forcing hundreds of Palestinians out of their homes. US taxpayer dollars should not fund annexation of Palestinian land or destruction of Palestinian homes,” he added, apparently referring to legislation introduced by Rep. Betty McCollum which seeks to prohibit US aid from going toward arrests of Palestinian minors, demolition of Palestinian homes or the furthering of annexation of West Bank land.
The bill is not expected to pass, nor even come to a vote, but has sparked massive backlash from mainstream pro-Israel groups.
The Supreme Court will hold a discussion next Monday on an appeal by four Palestinian families — more than 70 people — against their evictions in Sheikh Jarrah.
An Israeli police officer restrains a Palestinian during a protest on the eve of a court verdict that may forcibly evict Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem on May 5, 2021. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
According to Ir Amim, a left-wing human rights group focusing on Jerusalem, around 200 families in East Jerusalem are under similar threat, with cases slowly moving through administrative bodies and Israeli courts. Around 70 of those families live in Sheikh Jarrah.
The evictions are based in part on a 1970 Israeli law that allows Jews to reclaim East Jerusalem land owned by Jews before 1948. No similar law exists for Palestinians who lost their homes in what is now Israel during the 1948 war and fled to what was then Jordanian-controlled territory.
Joining the US in its opposition to building plans in Har Homa on Thursday were France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Britain.
The five European countries issued a joint statement urging Israel “to reverse its decision to advance the construction of 540 settlement units in the Har Homa E area of the occupied West Bank, and to cease its policy of settlement expansion across the Occupied Palestinian Territories.”
“If implemented, the decision to advance settlements in Har Homa, between East Jerusalem and Bethlehem, will cause further damage to the prospects for a viable Palestinian State, with Jerusalem as the capital of both Israel and a Palestinian State,” they added.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, meets with then US vice president Joe Biden at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, on March 9, 2016. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)
The Har Homa construction has been long-promised but long-delayed. The most recent push to build more units in Har Homa began last February, when Netanyahu announced on the eve of the March 2020 elections that he had lifted restrictions on construction there, sparking controversy.
Israel claims all of Jerusalem, including neighborhoods captured in the 1967 Six Day War or later built beyond the Green Line, as its undivided, eternal capital.
On Wednesday, a State Department spokesperson told The Times of Israel that it was “deeply concerned” over the Knesset’s advancement of legislation that would legalize 70 wildcat outposts throughout the Wes Bank.
“As we have long said, it is critical that Israel refrain from unilateral steps that exacerbate tensions or take us further away from peace. This includes evictions, settlement activity and home demolitions, and certainly includes the legalization of Israeli outposts in the West Bank that have long been illegal even under Israeli law,” the spokesperson added.
The comments by the State Department official represented some of the more critical public ones made by the Biden administration, which has regularly coupled its calls on Israel to avoid unilateral moves with similar warnings to the Palestinians.
Netanyahus起訴前PM Olmert稱他們患有精神疾病
誹謗訴訟要求賠償837,000新謝克爾；前總理聳了聳肩，稱其為“有趣”
由TOI工作人員今天下午9:31 3
總理本傑明·內塔尼亞胡，他的妻子薩拉和他們的兒子耶爾（L）；前總理埃胡德·奧爾默特（Rash。）（FLash90）
總理本傑明·內塔尼亞胡（Benjamin Netanyahu）的家人對他的前任埃胡德·奧爾默特（Ehud Olmert）進行了誹謗訴訟，稱其在採訪中稱讚總理，妻子薩拉和長子Yair精神病。
該訴訟要求賠償奧爾默特“出於嫉妒和深深的挫折而在公眾場合損害自己的好名聲的過度努力”，要求賠償837,000新謝克爾（約合257,000美元）。
在兩次單獨的採訪中，一次是在第12頻道，另一次是在新聞網站Democratic TV，奧爾默特在內塔尼亞胡發表了批評，並說：“總理，他的妻子和兒子的精神病是無法彌補的，”指的是耶爾·內塔尼亞胡（Yair Netanyahu） 。
“他們需要精神病治療，”奧爾默特在四月告訴新聞網站。
在對這起訴訟的回應中，這位前總理表示，他被《馬科夫日報》（Maariv Daily）報導為“被野蠻人樂隊逗樂了”。
奧爾默特先於內塔尼亞胡（Natanyahu）擔任以色列總理，在正式因腐敗指控被起訴之前結束了他的任期。他於2014年被判犯有欺詐罪，並被判處27個月監禁16個月。
去年， 奧爾默特在接受陸軍電台採訪時對內塔尼亞胡提出了類似的批評。
據稱，內塔尼亞胡（Netanyahu）在2014年至2017年擔任總理和傳播部長期間濫用權力，通過推動有利於Bezeq控股股東Shaul Elovitch的監管決定，以換取Bezeq擁有的Walla新聞網站的積極報導。
所謂的交流進入了4000案的核心，這是針對內塔尼亞胡最嚴重的案件，其中他被指控賄賂，欺詐和違反信任。內塔尼亞胡已對所有指控表示不認罪。
除了他在4000號案件中的指控外，內塔尼亞胡還被指控在另外兩個案件中欺詐和違反信任，其中之一還涉嫌以交易有利於監管為由進行正面擔保。
Netanyahus sue ex-PM Olmert for calling them mentally ill
Defamation suit seeks NIS 837,000 in damages; former premier shrugs it off as ‘amusing’
By TOI STAFFToday, 9:31 pm 3
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his wife Sara and their son Yair (L); former prime minister Ehud Olmert (R).(FLash90)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s family has filed a defamation suit against his predecessor Ehud Olmert for calling the premier, his wife Sara and eldest son Yair mentally ill in interviews.
The suit seeks NIS 837,000 (some $257,000) in damages for Olmert’s “obsessive efforts to harm their good name in public, out of jealously and deep frustration.”
In two separate interviews, one with Channel 12 and another with the news site Democrat TV, Olmert leveled criticism at Netanyahu and said that “what is irreparable is the mental illness of the prime minister, his wife and his son,” referring to Yair Netanyahu.
“They are in need of psychiatric treatment,” Olmert told the news site in April.
In response to the lawsuit, the former prime minister said he was “amused by the band of wackos” the Maariv daily reported.
Olmert preceded Netanyahu as Israel’s prime minister, ending his term before being formally indicted on corruption charges. He was convicted of fraud in 2014 and served 16 months of a 27-month prison sentence.
Last year, Olmert leveled similar criticism against Netanyahu in an interview with Army Radio.
Netanyahu is alleged to have abused his own powers when he served as both premier and communications minister from 2014 to 2017 by pushing regulatory decisions benefiting Bezeq’s controlling shareholder Shaul Elovitch in exchange for positive coverage from the Bezeq-owned Walla news site.
The alleged exchanges goes to the heart of Case 4000, the most serious of the cases against Netanyahu, in which he is charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust. Netanyahu has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
In addition to his charges in Case 4000, Netanyahu is charged with fraud and breach of trust in two other cases, one of which also involves suspicions of trading regulatory favors for positive coverage.
Agencies contributed to this report.
約旦面臨“嚴重”乾旱，但許多人警告說，最嚴重的災難尚未到來
哈希姆王國是世界上最缺水的地方，其水壩極低，人們擔心地球變暖將使情況變得更加嚴峻
通過卡邁勒·塔哈今天晚上7:172個
2021年4月20日，一名約旦婦女在首都安曼以南80公里處的Ghor al-Haditha的一個農場裡收割青豆。（Khalil MAZRAAWI /法新社）
約旦GHOR AL-HADITHA（AFP）-Ahmad Daoud在約旦死海附近調查了他枯萎的番茄植株，那裡已經是世界上最缺水的國家之一，那裡的干旱嚴重。
“看看土地的渴求情況，”他說，在他的農場五公頃（12英畝）的土地上揮舞著，上面佈滿了白色的鹽漬，在開裂的土地上行走。“我種的一切……都死了。”
他檢查了一個番茄，它大小像大理石，在大理石成熟之前就已經變乾了。
他說：“如果有水，這個西紅柿就和我的拳頭一樣大。”
25歲的約旦農民艾哈邁德·達烏德（Ahmad Daoud）展示了一個番茄植物的樹枝，該植物因嚴重干旱而枯竭，他在2021年4月20日在首都安曼以南約80公里的Ghor al-Haditha租用的土地上。（哈利勒馬薩諸塞州/法新社）
25歲的Daoud在首都安曼以南約80公里（50英里）的Ghor al-Haditha租用土地。
肥沃的地區擁有許多市場花園，但乾旱造成了沉重的代價。
達烏德說：“我們通常缺水，但今年情況更糟。” “當它出現時，流量太低，無法澆灌我們的農作物或填滿我們的坦克。”
附近死海的鹹水高度也急劇下降。
2021年4月20日，因嚴重干旱而高度急劇下降的死海全景（Khalil MAZRAAWI /法新社）
最近的雨季（通常從十月到四月底）很差。
水和灌溉部通信主管奧馬爾·薩拉梅（Omar Salameh）說，降雨已大大減少，僅佔正常降雨量的60％。
他說：“情況很危急。”
最差的來了嗎？
專家說，約旦現在正處於其歷史上最嚴重的干旱之一。
但是許多人警告說，最糟糕的時刻還沒有到來。
環境部說，約旦是世界上最缺水的國家之一，並擔心地球變暖會使情況變得更加嚴峻。
該部在其《國家氣候變化政策》中說：“氣候變化導致的溫度升高和降水減少，將對作物和水的供應產生不利影響。”
根據世界銀行的預測，到2050年，年平均氣溫預計將增加2攝氏度，降雨量減少五分之一。
在附近一個佔地9公頃（22英畝）的農場中，43歲的易卜拉欣·德格海默特（Ibrahim Dgheimat）坐在他的小皮箱中，被炎熱的天氣淹沒。他看著幾個女人在摘豆子。
2021年4月20日，約旦婦女在首都安曼以南80公里處的Ghor al-Haditha的一個農場從事青豆的收穫工作（Khalil MAZRAAWI /法新社）
他說：“通常，我種辣椒，西紅柿，茄子，西葫蘆和白菜。”
“但是今年，缺水毀壞了我三分之二的農作物。”
財務損失沉重，多達42,000美元。
Dgheimat說：“我沒有任何辦法付給工人薪水。”
更糟糕的是，由于冠狀病毒相關的邊境封鎖，去年出口下降了五分之一，農產品價格暴跌。
這種流行病還嚴重打擊了像旅館和飯店這樣的大客戶。
'灰飛煙滅'
達烏德（Daoud）生於約旦，父母是巴基斯坦人。他們像1960年代以來成千上萬的同胞一樣，其中許多人正在鄰國沙特阿拉伯麥加朝聖。
“與他的兄弟和他們的孩子一起工作的達烏德說，五個月的工作將變得煙消雲散。”
除了農作物灌溉以外，乾旱還會減少飲用水的獲取。
2021年4月20日，在首都安曼以南約80公里處的Ghor al-Haditha的一個農場，由於缺乏灌溉水，番茄植株幹dried了。（Khalil MAZRAAWI / AFP）
薩拉姆說，約旦每年需要約13億立方米的水，但可用水量約為850至9億立方米，短缺的原因是“降雨量少，全球變暖，人口增長和難民不斷湧入”。
今年，三個飲用水大壩的儲量已達到臨界水平，現在僅是其正常容量的三分之一。
同時，自大流行開始以來，由於人們在限制條件下待在家裡，家庭用水量已激增了10％。
據薩拉梅（Salameh）說，該國今年缺水總計將達4000萬立方米，他敦促居民盡量減少用水。
2021年4月20日，水倒入首都安曼以南80公里處的Ghor al-Haditha的一個農業灌溉池中（Khalil MAZRAAWI / AFP）
安曼說，根據與鄰國1994年達成的和平協議，以色列有義務每年免費向該國提供5500萬立方米的水。
今年，約旦要求以色列再提供800萬立方米的水，但達成了僅出售300萬立方米的協議。
薩拉米說，要彌補這一缺口，約旦將不得不從地下水位上抽水。
而且還必須設法防止人們闖入管道，這是獲得自由水的普遍做法。
Jordan faces ‘critical’ drought, but many warn the worst is yet to come
With its water dams crucially low, Hashemite Kingdom, among world’s most water-deficient places, fears a warming planet will make the situation even more severe
By KAMAL TAHAToday, 7:17 pm2
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A Jordanian woman harvests green beans at a farm in Ghor al-Haditha, around 80km south of the capital Amman, April 20, 2021. (Khalil MAZRAAWI / AFP)
GHOR AL-HADITHA, Jordan (AFP) — Ahmad Daoud surveyed his shriveled tomato plants near the Dead Sea in Jordan, where severe drought in what is already one of the world’s most water-deficient countries is hitting hard.
“Look at how the land thirsts,” he said, walking on cracked earth stained with white salt patches, waving at the five hectares (12 acres) of his farm. “Everything I planted… is dead.”
He inspected a tomato the size of a marble that had dried up before it ripened.
“If there had been water, this tomato would have been as big as my fist,” he said.
Jordanian farmer Ahmad Daoud, 25, shows a branch of a tomato plant that has dried out because of severe drought, at the land which he rents in Ghor al-Haditha, around 80km south of the capital Amman, April 20, 2021. (Khalil MAZRAAWI / AFP)
Daoud, 25, rents the land in Ghor al-Haditha, around 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of the capital Amman.
The fertile area is home to many market gardens, but drought has taken a heavy toll.
“We usually suffer from a lack of water, but this year, it is much worse,” Daoud said. “When it comes, the flow is too low to water our crops or fill our tanks.”
The salty waters of the nearby Dead Sea are dropping dramatically in height too.
Al view of the Dead Sea, which is dropping dramatically in height because of severe drought, on April 20, 2021 (Khalil MAZRAAWI / AFP)
The recent rainy season, which usually runs from October to the end of April, was poor.
Rains were massively reduced, totaling just 60 percent of normal fall, said Omar Salameh, head of communications at the water and irrigation ministry.
“The situation is critical,” he said.
Worst yet to come?
Experts say Jordan is now in the grip of one of the most severe droughts in its history.
But many warn the worst is yet to come.
The environment ministry says Jordan is among the world’s most water-deficient countries and fears that a warming planet will make the situation more severe.
“The increased temperatures and lower precipitation resulting from climate change would adversely affect crops and water availability,” the ministry says, in its National Climate Change Policy.
Mean annual temperature is expected to increase by two degrees Celsius, and rainfall cut by a fifth, by 2050, according to projections used by the World Bank.
On a nearby nine-hectare (22-acre) farm, 43-year-old Ibrahim Dgheimat sits in his pickup, overwhelmed by the heat. He watches as several women pick beans.
Jordanian women work on a harvest of green beans at a farm in Ghor al-Haditha, around 80km south of the capital Amman, April 20, 2021. (Khalil MAZRAAWI / AFP)
“Normally, I grow peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, zucchini and cabbage,” he said.
“But this year, the lack of water destroyed two-thirds of my crops.”
The financial losses have been heavy — as much as $42,000.
“I don’t have any way to pay the workers,” Dgheimat said.
To make matters worse, prices of produce slumped after exports dropped by a fifth last year due to coronavirus-related border closures.
The pandemic has also hit big customers like hotels and restaurants hard.
‘Up in smoke’
Daoud, born in Jordan to Pakistani parents — who like thousands of compatriots arrived in the 1960s onwards, many of them en route to pilgrimage in Mecca in neighboring Saudi Arabia — says all he can do is torch the failed crop.
“Five months of work is going to go up in smoke,” says Daoud, who works with his brothers and their children.
Beyond crop irrigation, the drought could reduce access to drinking water too.
Tomato plants are dried out because of the lack of irrigation water, at a farm in Ghor al-Haditha, around 80km south of the capital Amman, April 20, 2021. (Khalil MAZRAAWI / AFP)
Jordan needs about 1.3 billion cubic meters of water per year, but the quantities available are around 850 to 900 million cubic meters, with the shortfall “due to low rainfall, global warming, population growth and successive refugee inflows,” Salameh said.
This year, the reserves of the three drinking water dams have reached critical levels, now just a third of their normal capacity.
At the same time, household water consumption has surged by 10 percent since the start of the pandemic, as people stay home amid restrictions.
In total, the country will be 40 million cubic meters short of water this year, according to Salameh, who urged residents to use as little as they can.
Water pours into an agricultural irrigation pool in Ghor al-Haditha, around 80km south of the capital Amman, April 20, 2021. (Khalil MAZRAAWI / AFP)
Amman says that under a 1994 peace agreement with its neighbor, Israel is obliged to provide the kingdom with 55 million cubic meters of water a year free of charge.
This year, Jordan has asked Israel to provide a further eight million cubic meters of water, but a deal was struck to sell only three million cubic meters.
To make up the shortfall, Jordan will have to pump from its water table, said Salameh.
And it will also have to try to prevent people breaking into pipes, a common practice for obtaining free water.
伊朗衛隊首長威脅要破壞以色列海上貿易活動
在聖城日前，侯賽因·薩拉米（Hossein Salami）說，最近對船隻的攻擊表明以色列的海路多麼脆弱。FM Zarif抨擊“種族隔離政權”
由TOI工作人員今天下午 2時29分2
文件：伊朗伊斯蘭革命衛隊司令侯賽因·薩拉米少將在2019年11月25日在首都德黑蘭市中心的Enghelab廣場舉行的親政府集會上發表講話。（Atta Kenare /法新社）
伊朗強大的伊斯蘭革命衛隊總司令侯賽因·薩拉米少將周三表示，伊朗很容易破壞以色列的海上貿易路線，他說，最近對貨船的襲擊已顯示出脆弱性。
薩拉米在穆斯林聖月齋月的最後一個星期五舉行的Quds Day（伊朗抗議以色列的一天）前夕對伊朗電視台進行採訪時，談到了德黑蘭和耶路撒冷之間的海上陰影戰爭。
同時，伊朗外交部長穆罕默德·賈瓦德·扎里夫（Mohammed Javad Zarif）在一條推文中將以色列稱為“種族隔離政權”。巴勒斯坦是正義的尺度。幾乎沒有措施。但伊朗自豪地與巴勒斯坦人民站在一起-他們抵制種族隔離政權的殘酷對待。《聖城日報》每年提醒人們，巴勒斯坦必須在全球範圍內實現全球團結。”他寫道。
薩拉米（Salami）提到最近發生的一系列襲擊歸咎於伊朗的以色列擁有的貨船的事件時說，這些事件表明“猶太復國主義政權的航運和商業航運在世界任何地方都很脆弱”，據法爾斯通訊社報導。
“沒有人認為猶太復國主義政權會在海上貿易領域造成如此巨大的破壞。嚴重破壞猶太復國主義政權的海上貿易非常容易。”薩拉米說。
這位將軍還聲稱以色列的國家安全基礎設施“脆弱”，理由是最近發生的事件包括在防空系統工廠進行的火箭發動機試驗，該工廠製造了一個大火球，這是官員所說的計劃試驗的一部分，最近在海法發生了大火。一家煉油廠，本古里安機場附近的另一場大火，對以色列公司的網絡攻擊，以及對伊拉克北部Mossad哨所發動襲擊的指控，當地當局將其駁回。
薩拉米斷言，由於這些事件，以色列的國家“安全泡沫”已經破裂。
他補充說，以色列的政治動盪已經結束了該國，以色列的政治動盪已經結束了兩年，這次選舉已經結束了四年。
薩拉米說：“以色列人處於衰落狀態，生活在政治日落中，這一次，猶太復國主義政權的崩潰似乎可以從內部來。”
他說：“我們目睹了他們政治效率低下和政治動盪導致的社會凝聚力的喪失，”他還指的是本傑明·內塔尼亞胡總理在其官邸外舉行的每週抗議活動，示威者呼籲他辭職。
他說：“到目前為止，他們已經舉行了四次選舉以任命總理，但他們未能做到這一點，很可能將參加第五屆選舉。”
薩拉米還聲稱，美國在該地區的影響力正在下降，它不再能幫助其盟友-特別是以色列和沙特阿拉伯。
法爾斯通訊社援引他的話說：“我們看到以色列國家安全體系脆弱而脆弱，但是美國不能幫助猶太復國主義政權。”
他發表上述言論之際，以色列和伊朗之間最近的緊張局勢不斷加劇，這兩個國家互相指責對方在該地區的船隻遭到襲擊，造成了輕微損失，並且伊朗德黑蘭重要的納坦茲核設施也發生爆炸歸因於以色列。
薩拉米（Salami）上個月警告說，如果以色列在該地區採取更多的“惡作劇”，伊朗將作出巨大反應。
伊朗於1979年伊斯蘭革命時期，發起了Quds Day（耶路撒冷日）。它以反以色列的演講，事件和威脅將其從以色列控制下“解放”耶路撒冷來紀念。
Iran Guards chief threatens to disrupt Israeli maritime trade operations
Ahead of Quds Day, Hossein Salami says recent attacks on ships show how vulnerable Israel’s sea routes are; FM Zarif blasts ‘apartheid regime’
By TOI STAFFToday, 2:29 pm 2
File: Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards commander Major General Hossein Salami speaks during a pro-government rally in the capital Tehran's central Enghelab Square on November 25, 2019. (Atta Kenare/AFP)
The commander-in-chief of Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, , Major General Hossein Salami, said Wednesday that Iran can easily disrupt Israel’s sea trade routes, which he said recent attacks on cargo ships have shown to be vulnerable.
Salami spoke about the shadow maritime war between Tehran and Jerusalem during an interview he gave to Iranian television on the eve of Quds Day, Iran’s day of protest against Israel, held on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Meanwhile Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif branded Israel “an apartheid regime” in a tweet. “Palestine is a yardstick for justice. Few measure up. But Iran has proudly stood with Palestinian people — who resist the brutality of an apartheid regime #QudsDay is yearly reminder of moral imperative of global solidarity for Palestine,” he wrote.
Referring to a recent spate of attacks on Israeli-owned cargo ships that were blamed on Iran, Salami said the incidents showed that “the Zionist regime’s shipping and commercial shipping are vulnerable anywhere in the world,” according to the semi-official Fars News Agency.
“No one thought that the Zionist regime would have such great damage in the field of maritime trade. It is very easy to seriously disrupt the Zionist regime’s maritime trade,” Salami said.
The general further claimed that Israel’s national security infrastructure was “fragile,” citing recent incidents including a rocket motor test at an air defense systems factory that created a large fireball as part of what officials said was a planned test, a recent fire at a Haifa oil refinery, another blaze near Ben Gurion Airport, a cyberattack on Israeli companies, and a claim of an attack on a Mossad post in northern Iraq that was dismissed as false by local authorities.
Israel’s national “security bubble” has burst as a result of the incidents, Salami asserted.
He added that Israel’s political turmoil, which has seen four inconclusive elections in two years, was bringing an end to the country.
“The Israelis are in a state of decline and are living in a political sunset, and this time it seems that the collapse of the Zionist regime can be from within,” Salami said.
“We are witnessing the loss of social cohesion in their political inefficiency and political turmoil,” he said, also referring to the weekly protests outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s official residence in which demonstrators have called on him to resign.
“So far, they have held four elections to appoint a prime minister, but they have not been able to do so and will probably go to the fifth election,” he said.
Salami also asserted that US influence in the region was on the decline and that it could no longer help its allies — Israel and Saudi Arabia in particular.
“We see fragility and vulnerability in the Israeli national security system, but the United States cannot help the Zionist regime,” the Fars news agency quoted him saying.
His comments came amid recent rising tensions between Israel and Iran that have seen the two countries blame each other for attacks on each other’s ships in the region, which have caused minor damages, and also an explosion at the key Iranian nuclear facility of Natanz that Tehran has attributed to Israel.
Last month Salami warned that if Israel gets up to any more “mischief” in the region Iran will respond with great force.
Iran initiated Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day, in 1979, the year of the Islamic Revolution. It commemorates it with anti-Israel speeches, events and threats to “liberate” Jerusalem from Israeli control.