From Russia Today
Obama downplays Russia S-300 supply to Iran, ‘jaws drop’ in Israel
After President Vladimir Putin lifted the ban on S-300 supply to Iran last Monday, Obama made his first official comment on Friday. He downplayed the significance of the deal, which gives advanced air defense missiles systems to Israel’s archrival in the region.
“I’m frankly surprised that it [the ban on S-300 deliveries to Iran] held this long, given that they were not prohibited by [UN Security Council] sanctions from selling these defensive weapons,” Obama said on Friday at a news conference in the White House, after talks with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.
Obama recalled that Moscow held off the deal for six years at America’s request.
“This is actually a sale that was slated to happen in 2009, when I first met with then-Prime Minister [Vladimir] Putin. They actually stopped the sale, paused or suspended the sale, at our request,” Obama said.
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From The Times of Israel
IDF opens fire at boat off Gaza coast
No injuries reported after Palestinian vessel sails beyond area permitted by Israel for fishing
Israeli naval forces opened fire Saturday at a Palestinian boat sailing off the coast of the northern Gaza Strip, after the vessel crossed out of the area permitted by the IDF for sailing and fishing. No injuries or damage were reported in the incident.
An Israeli blockade on the Strip, also enforced by Egypt, has been in place since Hamas seized Gaza in 2007.
Israel and Egypt say they need to maintain the closure because Hamas, shunned by much of the world as a terror group, poses a security threat.
Israel has fought three wars with Hamas in the past six years, in part to try to halt repeated Gaza rocket fire on Israeli towns.
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From Russia Today
Polish general ‘calls back support’ of Ukraine over nationalist glorification
The angry U-turn in attitudes towards the Ukrainian government was published on Friday in the Gazeta Prawna newspaper. Skrzypczak said he is outraged with a law that the Ukrainian parliament passed hours after Polish President Bronisław Komorowski spoke before the MPs to express support for Ukraine.
The law gave benefits to all people who fought for Ukraine’s independence throughput history. Those include fighters of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, or UPA, which was responsible for mass killings of Polish citizens in 1943-44. The tragic events are known as Volhynian slaughter in Poland.
“I realized that Ukraine has no concern for Polish people. I am talking about what happened in Volhynia, the slaughter of 100,000 Poles by the UPA,” the ex-general said.
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From The Times of Israel
Rouhani says Saudi airstrikes will breed hatred in Yemen
Iranian president criticizes Riyadh for killing civilians in military campaign to rid region of Houthi rebels
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani harshly criticized Saudi Arabia Saturday, warning that the Saudi royal family in Riyadh will harvest the hatred it is sowing in Yemen through its airstrike campaign.
Since March 26, the Saudi-led coalition has been attacking Shiite rebels known as Houthis and allied fighters loyal to Yemen’s ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Iran backs the rebels but denies providing any military support.
Addressing an army parade in Tehran, in a speech broadcast live on state TV Saturday, Rouhani said killing civilians in Yemen will bring neither power nor pride for Saudi Arabia.
“What does bombing the innocent … Yemeni people mean? What goals are you pursuing? Will killing children bring power to you? You planted the seeds of hatred in this region and you will see the response sooner or later,” Rouhani said. “Don’t bomb children, elderly men and women in Yemen. Attacking the oppressed will bring disgrace … for the aggressors.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has already called the Saudi-led airstrikes in Yemen “genocide” and a “major crime.”
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From The Times of Israel
Israel, PA agree on transfer of frozen tax monies
Jerusalem to release $471m next week despite Palestinian move to join International Criminal Court
Israel agreed Friday to release hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue owed to the Palestinian Authority, a Palestinian official told the Times of Israel Saturday, after Jerusalem had since early January delayed the transfer of funds as a punitive measure following the Palestinian initiative to join the International Criminal Court.
The agreement was reached following a meeting between the Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and Minister of Civil Affairs Hussein a-Sheikh with the IDF’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai.
Nickolay Mladenov, the UN special coordinator for Middle East peace efforts, welcomed the deal as an important step “in the right direction.”
Last month, Israel indicated it would release the frozen funds, but the payment remained held up over a dispute regarding the size of the PA’s unpaid electric bill. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas refused to have Israel deduct electricity costs and said that if the issue remained unresolved, he would turn to The Hague.
According to a-Sheikh, Israel will transfer the tax monies owed for the months of March and April without deducting the PA’s debt due for electricity, water and medical services. A-Sheikh added that the rest of the money owed by Israel for the months of December to February would be transferred with a deduction of the said costs.
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From The Times of Israel
Suicide attack in Afghanistan kills 22 people
More than 50 people injured in assault at Jalalabad, the provincial capital of Nangarhar; another blast reported in area as well
A security official said that at least 22 people have been killed after a suicide bomber attacked a bank branch in eastern Afghanistan. Gen. Fazel Ahmad Sherzad, provincial police chief for Nangarhar province, said on Saturday that more than 50 people were also wounded in the attack in Jalalabad, the provincial capital.
Another blast was reported near a shrine in Jalalabad Saturday morning in which no one was hurt, said Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, spokesman for the provincial governor in Nangarhar.
The attacker riding a motorbike detonated his explosives while both military personnel and civilians were waiting to receive their salaries from the bank, Sherzad said.
Islamic State later claimed responsibility for the attack.
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From The Times of Israel
At least 21 killed in fighting near Libyan capital
Pro-goverment, Islamist forces battle near Tripoli as rival parliaments meet in bid to form unity government
At least 21 people were killed in fighting near Libya’s capital Tripoli Friday, military sources said, as the country’s rival parliaments met in Morocco for UN-brokered peace talks aimed at forming a unity government to end the unrest.
Pro-government forces clashed with fighters from the Islamist-backed Fajr Libya militia alliance in Tajoura, 30 kilometers (19 miles) east of Tripoli, as the forces of the internationally recognized government launched an attack against the militia’s camp in a new attempt to regain control of the capital.
“14 soldiers, four fighters from Fajr Libya, and three women were killed today in Tajoura,” a pro-government military source told AFP, adding that the women were killed accidentally in rocket fire.
Another 24 people were wounded, he said, without giving a breakdown.
A Fajr Libya spokesman in Tripoli, Mohamad Shami, confirmed the attack but gave a much higher death toll on the pro-government side.
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