From PressTV
Israeli troops attack rally, wound five in West Bank
Israeli troops have attacked Palestinian demonstrators in the West Bank city of Nablus, wounding five people, including an Italian journalist and a Palestinian photographer working for international news agencies.
Israeli troops fired rubber bullets and tear gas grenades to disperse Palestinian demonstrators marking the Nakba (Catastrophe) Day, who resisted the attack by throwing rocks and stones at the regime forces, Palestinian sources said on Saturday.
The day marks the expulsion in 1948 of more than 700,000 Palestinians from their homeland by Israeli forces.
Palestinian sources said that the Israeli attack on the demo also injured an Italian freelance photographer and a Palestinian photographer working for Xinhua news agency.
On Friday, 21 Palestinians were wounded by Israeli troops who fired tear gas as well as rubber and live bullets at protesters marking the ‘Nakba Day.’
From PressTV
Israel troops fire upon Gazan farmers, fishermen
Israeli forces have opened fire on Palestinian farmers in the central parts of the Gaza Strip and on fishing boats in the southern part of the besieged enclave.
On Saturday, Israeli soldiers and armored military vehicles fired rounds of live ammunition across Gaza’s border fence on the farmers and a number of shepherds east of the al-Maghazi refugee camp, the Middle East Monitor publication reported.
The residents were forced to flee the area fearing an intensification of the attack, according to local media.
This is while Israeli navy ships fired several rounds of live ammunition on a number of Palestinian fishing boats in Gaza waters, near the Khan Younis shore south of the enclave.
The targeted fishermen sailed back to shore to avoid further fire by the Israeli navy ships.
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From PressTV
UN chief deplores Israel’s settlement plans
United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned Tel Aviv’s latest plans to construct illegal settlement units in Palestinian territories, calling on the Israeli regime to scrap the projects.
Ban “strongly deplores the advancement of settlement activities on three occasions over the past three consecutive weeks” in the West Bank and in East al-Quds (Jerusalem), the UN chief’s spokesperson said in a statement released on Friday.
The UN chief reiterated that Israeli settlements are “illegal under international law” and urged Tel Aviv “to halt and reverse such decisions in the interest of peace and a just final status agreement.”
“The international community will not recognize unilateral actions on the ground and that the status of Jerusalem can only be resolved through negotiations,” Ban added.
The remarks came a day after the Israeli Housing Ministry issued new tenders for the constructions of 85 settlement units just five kilometers northwest of occupied al-Quds and of 1,500 hotel rooms in the city’s Jabal al-Mokabber neighborhood.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Obama to to mark Jewish heritage month at D.C. synagogue
WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Barack Obama will address a Washington congregation to mark Jewish American Heritage Month.
White House spokesman Eric Schultz, announcing the president’s schedule for next week, said that next Friday, May 22, Obama would speak at Adas Israel, a Conservative movement synagogue in the city’s northwest quadrant.
“On Friday, The president will travel to the congregation of Adas Israel, one of the largest congregations here in Washington, to deliver remarks in celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month, which recognizes contributions of Jewish Americans to American society and culture,” Schultz said Friday.
Obama’s visit would be during the daytime, and would not coincide with Sabbath eve services, an Adas congregant said.
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From Russia Today
Turkish jet shoots down Syrian aircraft after it ‘violated air space’
Two Turkish F-16s has shot down Syrian aircraft that allegedly violated Turkey’s airspace in the southern province of Hatay. Syria says the target was a small unmanned surveillance plane, while Turkey claims it was a helicopter.
According to Turkey’s Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz, a helicopter went seven miles into Turkish territory, for a period of five minutes, before the two jets fired two missiles into it.
Locals reported seeing the aircraft break into several parts, then hitting the ground on the Syrian side of the border.
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From Ynet News
US special forces kill senior ISIS commander in Syria raid
Pentagon confirms rare raid by US special forces kills Abu Sayyaf while Syrian state media reported earlier that Assad forces killed a top commander who they identified as Abu al-Teem al-Saudi. US commandos mounted a rare raid into eastern Syria overnight, killing a senior Islamic State commander and about a dozen others in a firefight, capturing his wife and rescuing a Yazidi woman held as a slave, the Pentagon said Saturday.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter identified the militant as Abu Sayyaf, who helped direct the Islamic State’s oil, gas and financial operations.
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From The Times of Israel
Clintons made $25M from recent speeches
Democratic frontrunner’s wealth has raised questions on left and right on her ability to identify with the middle-class
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton and former President Bill Clinton reported Friday they earned more than $25 million combined in speaking fees since January 2014.
Clinton’s presidential campaign reported the income in a personal financial disclosure report filed with the Federal Election Commission. The report, required of every candidate for the White House, also shows Hillary Clinton earned more than $5 million from her 2014 memoirs, “Hard Choices.”
The details of the report were described by a Clinton campaign official who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss a report not yet publicly available from the FEC. The report was expected to be released publicly later Friday.
While Clinton has begun her second campaign for president by casting herself as a champion for middle-class voters, she’s long drawn criticism from Republicans about the wealth she and Bill Clinton have amassed since he left the White House. That includes their ability to command six-figure fees for delivering speeches.
From The Times of Israel
Obama: Peace between Israel, Palestinians unlikely this year
President says reaching final agreement ‘nearly impossible’ in near future due to internal challenges facing both sides
President Barack Obama asserted Saturday that it was unlikely Israel and the Palestinians would reach a peace agreement throughout the coming year, due to the various political challenges facing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Speaking with the Al Arabiya news network, Obama noted that while the US government was committed to relaunching negotiations, the internal state of affairs within both Israel and the Palestinian Authority meant striking a deal would be “nearly impossible.”
At the first meeting of Israel’s 34th government on Friday morning, Netanyahu said that Israel would pursue a diplomatic settlement with the Palestinians while working with regional states to attain that goal.
Like the coalition agreement published this week, Netanyahu’s statement made no mention of a two-state solution — the concept of a sovereign Palestinian state alongside Israel which is favored by the US, EU, United Nations and Arab League and which Netanyahu has sometimes said he endorses in principle.
Soon after its narrow approval by parliament late Thursday, the new Orthodox and right-wing government was warned by Washington that it must forge a deal with the Palestinians for its own good.
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