The Times of Israel blogged Wednesday’s events as they occurred.
Syria’s official SANA news firm said air defenses were wearing out for a moment in the Israeli airstrike, now on the capital, Damascus.
SANA claims that several “hostile missiles” shot down Damascus and the surrounding countryside.
There are no immediate reports of the alleged attack.
Syria’s official SANA news agency said that Aleppo International Airport in Israel last night.
SANA says the airstrikes are causing damage to Syria’s northern airport, giving more details.
There are no specific reports of the alleged attack.
— أخبار سوريا الوطن Syrian???????? (@SyriawatanNews) August 31, 2022
A ballot released tonight indicates that the left-wing Labour and Mertz parties will fare better in the next election if they run separately, despite pressure on them to unite.
The Channel 12 ballot predicts that party will win five seats individually, but only nine if they run together.
The ballot predicts an ongoing political stalemate, with pro-Netanyahu parties winning 59 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, the anti-Netanyahu coalition 56 and Joint List five.
The ballot indicates that if elections were held today, the Likud would win 33 seats; Yesh Atid 24 years old; National Unit 12; religious Zionism 11; Shas 8; United Torah Judaism 7; Israel Beitenou 6; Work five; Merets five; Common list five and Ra’am 4.
The Zionist spirit of Ayelet Shaked would manage to cross the electoral threshold.
Palestinian media, mentioning the circle of relatives of hunger-striking detainee Khalil Awawdeh, say he will end his nearly six-month fast after reaching an agreement with the Israeli government to release him from administrative detention.
Awawdeh, 40, will reportedly end her hunger strike, after the government agreed in writing to grant her full freedom on 2 October.
Israel suspended his arrest earlier this month, remains detained at Asaf Harofeh Hospital in central Israel.
The High Court has rejected Awawdeh’s appeals for full release.
Israel says administrative detention is to keep harmful terrorists off the streets without revealing sensitive information. Palestinians and human rights teams say it denies detainees the fundamental right to due process.
Islamic Jihad demanded his release as part of a ceasefire that ended an outbreak of violence in Gaza earlier this month, but identified him as a member.
A Likud court rejects an appeal opposing granting leader Benjamin Netanyahu several reserved spots on the list ahead of the Nov. 1 election.
Likud has reserved spots on its list at numbers 14, 16, 28, 37 and 43, at Netanyahu’s discretion.
Two incumbent MPs who are likely to win two of the reserved seats are former party members Yamina Idit Silman and Amichai Chikli, whose separate rebellions opposed to Naftali Bennett were key to the collapse of the coalition government.
The number of new coronavirus cases and deaths reported worldwide has continued to decline almost globally in what the World Health Organization describes as a “welcome decline. “
The United Nations fitness firm says 4. 5 million new cases of COVID-19 were reported last week, down 16% from last week. Deaths also decreased by 13%, with around 13,500 deaths. Internationally while deaths have decreased except in Southeast Asia, where they have risen up to 15%, and in the western Pacific, where they have exceeded 3%.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warns that with the coming of winter in the northern hemisphere and the conceivable emergence of a new, more damaging variant of COVID-19, experts expect to see an increase in hospitalizations and deaths. Tedros says vaccination rates, even in rich countries, were still too low, considering that 30% of fitness staff and 20% of the elderly are still not immune.
“These immunization gaps pose a threat to all of us,” he says. “Please get vaccinated if you’re not and a booster if you’re going to have one. “
The United States is “cautiously positive about its return to Iran’s nuclear deal with Tehran,” a senior official said.
“We are closer now than we have been in recent weeks and months, largely because Iran was willing to abandon some of its demands that were nothing like the deal,” the White House national security spokesman said. John Kirby told reporters.
“So we’re cautiously confident that things can continue to move in the direction,” he says.
Kirby confirms a call between U. S. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Yair Lapid.
Lapid says they spoke “extensively” about the nuclear deal, which Israel opposes.
Former U. S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will finally reveal their official portraits at the White House next week after Donald Trump denied them the honor.
The Sept. 7 ceremony, announced through the administration, historically provides presidents with an opportunity to pay tribute to their predecessors.
But Trump, who ruled the United States for a period of singleness after Obama’s 8 years in power and attacks his predecessor, refused to continue the custom.
Instead, President Joe Biden, who served as Obama’s vice president, and his Jill Biden will welcome the couple.
Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton hails a “historic” between the teachers’ union and the Treasury.
“The agreement addresses so many facets that have been discussed for many years. This is a historic agreement that puts the Israeli student at the forefront,” he told a news conference with Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman and the head of the Israeli teaching organization. union, Yaffa Ben David.
Liberman says the deal offers stability until 2026, but acknowledges that “it’s not ideal, but it’s the most that can be achieved. “
Ben David praises the deal.
“We have brought wonderful news for those who are in school, the agreement advances the school formula.
Prime Minister Yair Lapid will meet with US President Joe Biden, and talks will focus on the emerging nuclear deal with Iran, Lapid said.
He said the two men had “spoken at length” about negotiations for the U. S. and Iran to rejoin the deal.
The verbal exchange also focuses on “various efforts to prevent Iran’s advance toward nuclear weapons” and Iran’s terrorist activities “in the region. “
There is no reading of the White House appeal.
The funeral of the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, who died at the age of 18, will take place on Saturday in Moscow, Russian news agencies report about Gorbachev’s daughter and his foundation.
The rite will take place on September 3 in Moscow’s Hall of Columns, and then Gorbachev will be buried in the prestigious Novodevichy cemetery, the Interfax news agency reports, mentioning Gorbachev’s daughter, Irina.
The EU’s foreign policy leader said he expected the Iran nuclear deal to be revived “in the coming days” after receiving “reasonable” responses to his proposed text from Iran and the United States.
“I hope that in the coming days we will lose this momentum and be able to conclude the agreement,” Borrell said after an informal assembly of EU foreign ministers in Prague.
“It’s transparent that there is no unusual terrain, that we have an agreement that takes into account, I think, everyone’s concerns,” he said.
A Jew killed in France in an alleged anti-Semitic attack will be buried tonight in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba, Diaspora Affairs Minister Nachguy Shai said.
Eyal Haddad, 34, was killed by his Muslim roommate, who told police he committed the crime for the hundred euros he was owed and because the victim was Jewish.
Haddad, originally from Djerba, Tunisia, had a circle of relatives in Beersheba and an Israeli citizen.
Shai calls on France to crack down on anti-Semitism.
“I call on the French government to bring the killer to justice and impose the harshest sentence,” Shai said, noting that “in months a series of horrific anti-Semitic attacks have been perpetrated against Jews in France. “
A senior U. S. diplomat travels to the domain for talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials, Axios News reports.
Barbara Leaf, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, will arrive in Israel tomorrow.
The report says Leaf will primarily try to convince the Palestinians not to seek a bid for the U. N. Security Council for a full U. N. member.
The United States is authorizing its first update of COVID-19 vaccines, booster doses that target the non-unusual maximum omicron strain to date. Filming can begin in a few days.
The Food and Drug Administration’s ruling modifies the recipe for injections made by Pfizer and rival Moderna that have already saved millions of lives. The hope is that the modified reinforcements will mitigate the winter increase.
So far, COVID-19 vaccines have targeted the original strain of the coronavirus, though incredibly other mutants have emerged. The new U. S. boosters are combined or “bivalent” injections. They involve part of the original vaccine prescription and part of the coverage opposite to the most recent versions of omicron, called BA. 4 and BA. 5, which are the most contagious to date.
The mixture aims to build cross-protection against various variants.
Israel and Germany announced that a payment agreement had been reached between Germany and the families of the victims of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre.
“We welcome the fact that some time before the 50th anniversary of the bloodbath of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics, an agreement was reached for a historical investigation, responsibility and adequate payment for the families of the victims,” a group said. through President Isaac Herzog and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
“We welcome the final results of the discussions. This agreement heals the wounds, but includes an acceptance of duty by Germany and its recognition of the terrible suffering of the victims, whom we will commemorate next week, and their enjoyment. “some.
Members of the Palestinian terrorist organization Black September stormed the Olympic Village, killed two athletes from Israel’s national team and took nine other hostages on September 5, 1972. The attackers hoped to force the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, as well as two left-wing extremists in West German prisons.
The nine hostages and a West German policeman were killed in a rescue attempt by German forces. Relatives of the athletes accuse Germany of failing to safeguard the Olympic Village, refusing Israeli aid and then spoiling the rescue operation.
The families of 11 Israeli athletes killed by Palestinian assailants at the 1972 Munich Olympics reached an agreement with the German over a long-contested compensation claim, German media reported.
Ankie Spitzer, a spokesman for the families, told the German RND that an agreement with the federal government had been finalized. “Families will come to Munich,” Spitzer told RND.
Earlier this month, families threatened to boycott Monday’s 50th anniversary rite in Munich organized by the German government because they said the amount presented to them was too small.
Several media outlets reported that Germany has an offer in excess of 28 million euros (dollars) for families.
German media reported that in the negotiations of recent weeks, the German government first handed over 10 million euros to the families, who would come with the invoices already made. The government has not publicly disclosed how much cash it has submitted.
AP contributed to this report.
The Labour and Meret parties announce that they have signed a surplus vote-sharing agreement ahead of the November Knesset elections.
One group quotes Ram Shefa of the Labour Party and Michal Rozin of Meretz, saying that the upcoming elections are imperative to prevent the far right from entering government.
Split-vote agreements, which are widely used in Israeli elections, allow parties to ensure that the additional votes they win that do not correspond to a seat in the Knesset are not wasted. Instead, one party transfers the votes to another party through a special agreement.
Under the law, the remaining combined votes go to the party that is closest to winning another seat, and are enough to load that seat into its count, making the votes potentially decisive in a close contest.
Such agreements count if either party exceeds the electoral threshold of 3. 25% of the vote.
Yesterday, two Lebanese government ministers were filmed throwing stones at the Israeli border on an excursion through the south of the country.
In the video, Energy Minister Walid Fayad and Social Affairs Minister Hector Hajjar can be seen throwing stones, laughing and “they have to train. “
The video has sparked complaints on social media in Lebanon, which is in the midst of a primary economic crisis, with one commentator noting that Fayad manages to supply the country with an hour of electricity a day and Hajjar is expected to take care of the 80% of the country that is below the poverty line.
Internet blackouts have spread to cash-strapped Lebanon since workers at the country’s state-owned telecommunications company went on strike, which is not easy to raise wages.
It is the latest reflected picture of one of the world’s worst economic disasters, which has plunged three-quarters of Lebanon’s other 6 million people into poverty. The Lebanese pound has lost more than 90% of its value against the US dollar in three years. .
The salaries of employees at Ogero and other public sector establishments have been adjusted to take into account the depreciation of the pound and skyrocketing inflation.
“Unfortunately, at my level, there is very little to do,” Ogero President Imad Kreidieh told The Associated Press. “Ogero doesn’t have the budget to fix the problem. “
Kreidieh added that the issue will be resolved through the Lebanese parliament and the interim government.
According to Lebanon’s National News Agency, the closures have affected several cities in the country, adding several neighborhoods in Beirut.
Acting Telecoms Minister Johnny Corm was quick to respond to the AP when asked if the government was executing the internet shutdowns.
Lawmaker Paula Yacoubian told the AP that the parliament’s telecommunications committee would meet on Monday next week to discuss the issue.
The last Israeli soldier killed in the latest tank crash in northern Israel is Eitan Fichman.
The 19-year-old from Beersheba was posthumously promoted to sergeant.
Fichman, a mag of the 82nd Armored Corps Battalion, was discovered unconscious with a “serious head injury” inside a tank during live-fire training in the Golan Heights.
He was later pronounced dead.
He has opened an investigation into his death.
A published poll shows that some Israelis plan to vote for the same party as in the last 2021 elections, with 25% undecided.
According to the poll through the Israel Democracy Institute’s Viterbi Family Policy and Public Opinion Research Center, despite the fluidity, only about 6% say they will vote for a party from another bloc.
The last 4 elections have largely focused on a department between which Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu and those who oppose him.
However, the survey found that when asked what would influence their vote, respondents ranked the parties’ economic agendas as the maximum influencing factor.
“The identity of the party leader only emerges in the moment, with the exception of Likud voters, for whom the identity of the party leader is cited as the most important thing to vote for that party,” the poll said.
Among Israeli Jews, the poll shows greater indecision among those who voted for a coalition member, with 25% saying they did not yet know who they would vote for.
Of those who voted for opposition parties last time, only 12% are undecided.
Most of those who want to replace blocs are also from the existing coalition, most of them Yamina voters, according to the poll.
Among Israeli Arab voters, 65% of those who voted for the Joint List say they intend to do so again, while only forty-five% of those who voted for Ra’am plan to do so.
Authorities today inaugurate Route 16, a new stretch of road that enters Jerusalem.
The 6-kilometer (3. 7-mile) segment connects motorists on Highway 1 with the community of Givat Shaul and is expected to greatly facilitate traffic for those heading to the city’s southern and western communities.
The road, composed of 4 tunnels and seven bridges, will officially open to traffic after midnight.
– נעם בנעט – نوعم بنعط – Noam Bannett (@aravimislam) August 31, 2022
Two years before the fall of the Soviet Union, its leader Mikhail Gorbachev won a letter from the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, inviting him to embrace Islam.
The last leader of the USSR died in Moscow at the age of 91, leaving a legacy that polarized observers on both sides of the Iron Curtain.
But in January 1989, when European communist regimes were breathing for the last time, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini sent a delegation to Moscow to deliver a letter to Gorbachev.
“Mr. Gorbachev, it is transparent to all that communism belongs to the museums of political history of the world, because Marxism fulfills any of the genuine desires of humanity,” Khomeini wrote.
Iran’s ideal leader chose to send the letter because, according to him, Gorbachev had “entered, since taking office, into a revisionist of the Soviet system. “
“Mr. Gorbachev, you will have to face the truth: your country’s greatest challenge is not the question of property, the economy and freedom, but the lack of true trust in God. The same challenge has led or will lead the West into decay and stagnation,” Khomeini wrote in his letter.
The ayatollah said that communism has not lasted long “because it is a materialistic school, incapable of saving men from the crisis of disbelief towards spirituality, the maximum basic suffering of the enormous society in the West and the East. “
The solution, according to the ideal leader, who died five months after the letter sent, islam.
“I ask Islam seriously. The supreme and universal values of Islam can be the source of convenience and salvation for all nations and resolve the basic disorders of humanity,” the letter read.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz issues an order imposing economic sanctions on 20 Americans and organizations accused of laundering cash around the world for the Hamas terror group.
According to a member of Gantz’s office, Hamas manages investments worth millions of dollars through a network of fictitious corporations “that operate under the guise of valid corporations and conceal Hamas’ control over its assets. “
Among those sanctioned is Osama Ali, known as the head of the investment formula and a member of Hamas’ governing council.
The named corporations come with Al-Rowad for Real Estate Development Company Ltd (Sudan); Anda, a Saudi real estate and structure company; Sidar Company and Agrogate Holding.
“This is an operational and foreign announcement,” Gantz said.
“Our policy is clear: we will continue to help the flow of cash going to civilians (in Gaza) and we will continue to thwart any attempt to send cash destined for the army functions of the Hamas terrorist organization,” he added. . said.
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