From The Independent
From PressTV
Hamas welcomes ICC probe into Israel war crimes
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has welcomed a decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to launch an investigation into Israel’s war crimes against Palestinians.
Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for Hamas, on Saturday expressed the group’s appreciation for the move.
“What is needed now is to quickly take practical steps in this direction,” he said in a statement, adding, “We are ready to provide (the court) with thousands of reports and documents that confirm the Zionist enemy has committed horrible crimes against Gaza and against our people.”
In a statement on Friday, the ICC prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, said she would conduct the examination in “full independence and impartiality.”
During the latest Israeli war on Gaza, which ended in August 2014 under an Egypt-brokered truce, more than 2,140 Palestinians were killed and over 11,100 others were wounded.
The Palestinians also want the ICC to investigate Israel’s illegal construction activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.
More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 illegal settlements built since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank including East al-Quds (Jerusalem) in 1967.
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From PressTV
Israel expresses outrage over an ICC probe into Tel Aviv’s crimes in Gaza
Israel has expressed outrage over a move by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to launch a preliminary investigation into Tel Aviv’s war crimes against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that he rejected the “scandalous” ICC decision, claiming the court has no jurisdiction over Palestine as it is not a state.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians were killed or injured in Israel’s war on Gaza last summer.
Netanyahu described the probe as “absurd” and claimed that Israel “fights terror while maintaining international law and has an independent justice system.”
In a statement on Friday, the ICC prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, said the court launched a preliminary probe into Israel’s war crimes against the Palestinian people.
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From PressTV
Israel crossing all boundaries: Swedish FM
Sweden’s Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom has slammed Israel over its reaction to Stockholm’s recognition of the Palestinian state, stressing that Tel Aviv is crossing all boundaries.
Speaking to Dagens Nyheter, a popular Swedish daily, the minister said the overall reaction of Israel to Sweden’s recognition of the State of Palestine had been expected, but that Tel Aviv’s latest comments were unacceptable.
“They have a rhetoric that crosses all lines,” she said.
Her remarks came after Emmanuel Nahshon, the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s spokesman, said on January 15 that the Swedish foreign minister would have been rejected by the regime’s officials if she had traveled to the occupied territories.
According to Israeli media reports, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has refused to meet with his Swedish counterpart.
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From Ynet News
Israel told Swedish FM they would not secure her visit
Swedish FM Margot Wallstrom canceled her visit to Israel after she was notified that she would have to bring her own security and that her visit would not be considered an official state visit, senior government official says. A high-ranking government official revealed on Saturday that Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom canceled her trip to Israel after she was notified that she would have to bring her own security personnel and that her trip would not be considered an official state visit.
The very public breakdown in relations between Sweden and Israel began after Sweden officially recognized Palestine as a state in October. After a series of jabs thrown between Foreign Minister Lieberman and Wallstrom, Wallstrom continued the battle, which has played out in the media, this weekend, calling Israeli policies were “extremely aggressive.”
From the Jewish Daily Forward
Jim Clancy Quits CNN After ‘Cripple on Edge of Herd’ Tweet on Israel
Anchor Got Embroiled in Twit-Spat Over Charlie Hebdo
Veteran CNN anchor Jim Clancy stepped down on Friday, one week after a series of Twitter posts in which he mocked pro-Israel tweeters on a thread discussing the Charlie Hebdo massacre.
Neither CNN nor Jim Clancy gave a reason for his departure, which was reported by AdWeek. Clancy had worked at CNN for 34 years.
Although Clancy’s Twitter account no longer existed as of Thursday, the tweets have been preserved on a number of websites, including Twitchy and Mediaite, and by Tablet journalist Yair Rosenberg.
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From Ynet News
Iran: Nuclear agreement possible with US ‘good will’
‘Both parties want to reach an agreement, but problems, chasms and differences also exist,’ says top Iranian negotiator. A top Iranian negotiator voiced optimism Saturday that talks with the United States seeking to nail down a complex nuclear deal could succeed if Washington showed “good will”.
“We remain hopeful and I think that if the other side has the necessary good will and determination, it will be possible to reach a deal,” Iran’s deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi told the Fars news agency.
