25 May 2020
Netanyahu: The case against me was trumped up in a toxic investigation.......
PM Binyamin Netanyahu delivered his j’accuse outside the Jerusalem District Court minutes before the opening of his trial on Sunday, May 24, on three counts of corruption.
Repeating the demand for live broadcast of the proceedings (which the court had already denied) “to prevent editorial distortions and censorship,” he also called for the publication verbatim of the investigation conducted against him.
This would expose what he called the illegal practices of “intimidation and threats against witnesses’ families,” which were used to extract evidence against him. Failing to bring the “right down in election after election”, Netanyahu, said, they resorted to foul methods “to remove the national camp from power” for years to come.
“I go into court with a straight back and my head held high,” said Netanyahu, “because I know the people are with me and I’m not alone.”
Outside the court, several hundred flag-waving, shouting demonstrators showed their support for the prime minister, who arrived in court after the first cabinet meeting of the new unity government over which he presided. A large group of Likud ministers and lawmakers in face masks took seats in the public gallery.
Repeating the demand for live broadcast of the proceedings (which the court had already denied) “to prevent editorial distortions and censorship,” he also called for the publication verbatim of the investigation conducted against him.
This would expose what he called the illegal practices of “intimidation and threats against witnesses’ families,” which were used to extract evidence against him. Failing to bring the “right down in election after election”, Netanyahu, said, they resorted to foul methods “to remove the national camp from power” for years to come.
“I go into court with a straight back and my head held high,” said Netanyahu, “because I know the people are with me and I’m not alone.”
Outside the court, several hundred flag-waving, shouting demonstrators showed their support for the prime minister, who arrived in court after the first cabinet meeting of the new unity government over which he presided. A large group of Likud ministers and lawmakers in face masks took seats in the public gallery.
The trial of PM Binyamin Netanyahu and his three co-defendants will continue on July 19, the three-judge panel of the Jerusalem District Court announced at the opening session on Sunday, May 24.
The charges of bribery, fraud and breach of faith were read out to the defendant, the prime minister, and he confirmed, “I have read and I understand the charges.”
Netanyahu’s co-defendants are Yediot Aharonot chief editor, Arnon Mozes, the controlling shareholder of Bezeq telecom, Shaul Elovitch and his wife, Iris.
All four lawyers asked for enough time before the next session to study the mountainous volume of investigative material on their cases. The judges agreed to schedule the next session on July 19. They added that the defendants were not required to attend, only their attorneys.
The Elovitch’s lawyer, Jack Chen asked the court to caution the witnesses against conducting a parallel trial through the media. “We want the trial to go forward before this court. If prosecution witnesses give press interviews, it will be a circus,” he said.
At the end of the session, Prosecutor Liat Ben Ari promised to caution the witnesses against granting press interviews.
At the end of the session, Prosecutor Liat Ben Ari promised to caution the witnesses against granting press interviews.
Khamenei: The Zionist regime will be obliterated........
May 24, 2020
In another poisonous speech marking Al Qods (Jerusalem) Day. Iran’s supreme leader declared on Friday, “The Zionist regime will not survive and will be obliterated.”
Israel, he said, “is a cancerous growth in the Middle East.” He spoke after an upsurge of cyberwarfare between the two enemies.
PM Binyamin Netanyahu said on Friday: “Let us repeat – those who threaten Israel with destruction will bring the same peril on themselves.”
Defence Minister Benny Gantz warned: “Don’t try and test us. Israel and the Zionist dream are an accomplished fact, unlike the Iranian pawns attempting to destabilize the region,”: he said.
“The boasts of our enemies betoken weakness. We will deal with every threat by every means.”
Khamenei’s depiction of Israel as “a cancerous growth in the Mid East” destined for destruction was condemned by the European Union together.
Defence Minister Benny Gantz warned: “Don’t try and test us. Israel and the Zionist dream are an accomplished fact, unlike the Iranian pawns attempting to destabilize the region,”: he said.
“The boasts of our enemies betoken weakness. We will deal with every threat by every means.”
Khamenei’s depiction of Israel as “a cancerous growth in the Mid East” destined for destruction was condemned by the European Union together.
Hundreds of Russian, Syrian Mercenaries Quit Libya’s Front Lines...........
More than 1,000 Russian and Syrian mercenaries in Libya have pulled back from the front lines after a Turkish military intervention helped block an assault on the capital.
The intervention halted an attempt to capture Tripoli by the Moscow-backed strongman Khalifa Haftar.
The mercenaries with the Wagner company, headed by a confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin, descended on the city of Bani Walid as they and Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army withdrew from Tripoli’s suburbs over the past few days, the city’s mayor Salem Alaywan said in a phone interview on Sunday.
Western officials had said that more than 1,400 Russian mercenaries were deployed last year to assist Haftar, who is also supported by the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. His aim is to dislodge the internationally recognized government in Tripoli, which in turn is backed by Turkey.
Haftar had seemed poised to make inroads into Tripoli before Turkey escalated its military intervention in January, helping the government regain swathes of territory.
Alaywan said about 1,500 Russian and Syrian mercenaries had flown from Bani Walid to Haftar’s Juffra airbase in central Libya. The mayor said the mercenaries were still arriving but the city, which wants to remain neutral in the war and does not support their presence.
“We are opposed to any foreign mercenaries in Bani Walid or Libya,” he said.
Call to Arms
Both sides have relied heavily on mercenaries. In January, Turkey began sending thousands of Syrian militiamen to support the government in Tripoli, while Haftar is also supported by Syrian and Sudanese fighters.
The redeployment came as Haftar issued a renewed call to arms in an audio statement on Saturday, and days after his air force chief warned they would launch a campaign targeting Turkish assets in Libya.
The Tripoli-based government’s interior minister Fathi Bashagha told Bloomberg that Haftar had received a new fleet of Soviet-era jets from a Russian-controlled base in Syria.
The reason behind the mercenaries’ withdrawal was not immediately clear. The United Nations acting envoy to Libya Stephanie Williams had warned last week that the yearlong conflict could further escalate as both sides’ foreign backers double down on military support.
But a renewed arms race could also prompt Turkey and Russia to step back from the brink and pressure their local clients to sign a cease-fire. In January, Moscow had hosted a meeting where the Tripoli-based government agreed to a cease-fire, but Haftar refused.
Turkey and Russia have again announced their support for ending the fighting that has killed more than 2,000 people, a call backed by U.S. President Donald Trump. He spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by phone on Saturday, according to the White House.
Iranian militias and Hezbollah redeploy their troops in southern Syria............
A member of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia set to create a terrorist entity against the state of Israel .............
In recent days, there have been reports of withdrawal or downsizing of the Iranian militias and Lebanese “Hezbollah” militia in Syria, mainly in the south region. However, facts on the ground show otherwise, they indicate that Iran’s recent military movements are part of its tactic to diminish the effectiveness of Israeli strikes on military positions.
These movements also point out that Iran’s military leadership in Syria is redeploying and repositioning its troops, reflecting its determination to remain and to consolidate its military presence.
He added that those patrols are clear evidence that officers were closely monitoring the front lines with Israel.
The “ImageSAt International“, satellite- imagery and data analysis website, published on 13 May photos showing expansion work at the “Imam Ali” military base of Iranian militias in al-Bukamal city.
According to the website, Iran is building new tunnels in the base, indicating that these tunnels are used to store weapons.
A day after the publication of this information about the al-Bukamal base, journalist Gareth Browne, who works for the British newspaper The Telegraph and Foreign Policy news magazine, published photographs taken by the mobile phone of a fighter in the pro-Iranian Iraqi militias.
The images illustrated Iran’s deployment of missiles and radar near its militias’ headquarters in the vicinity of Damascus International Airport.
In addition to these measures, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) published a video recording, on 10 April, showing the presence of military leaders from the Syrian regime and the Lebanese Hezbollah in the Syrian part of the Golan Heights.
The video, published by the IDF Spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, showed the commander of the “First Corps” of the Syrian regime’s forces, Major General Ali Ahmad Asaad, accompanied by the head of Hezbollah’s southern command, al-Hajj Hashem.
Adraee said that Assad, along with Hashem, made a tour that included moving between observation sites known to be used by “Hezbollah.”
“Hezbollah aims to be positioned in Syria in general and in the Syrian side of the Golan Heights in particular, to create a terrorist entity against the state of Israel with the cooperation and auspices of the Syrian regime,” Adraee said.
In an interview with Enab Baladi on 15 May, the media activist Nour al-Rifai, who is a close observer of events taking place in southern Syria, said that the last days witnessed the patrolling of a number of Syrian regime officers accompanied by commanders of Hezbollah in Daraa and al-Qunaytirah provinces, especially at the border regions.
Expansion of military bases and border monitoring.....
The news about Iran’s withdrawal from Syria is contrary to its movements on the ground, as new satellite photos revealed that Iran has been expanding its bases and deploying air defence systems there.The “ImageSAt International“, satellite- imagery and data analysis website, published on 13 May photos showing expansion work at the “Imam Ali” military base of Iranian militias in al-Bukamal city.
According to the website, Iran is building new tunnels in the base, indicating that these tunnels are used to store weapons.
A day after the publication of this information about the al-Bukamal base, journalist Gareth Browne, who works for the British newspaper The Telegraph and Foreign Policy news magazine, published photographs taken by the mobile phone of a fighter in the pro-Iranian Iraqi militias.
The images illustrated Iran’s deployment of missiles and radar near its militias’ headquarters in the vicinity of Damascus International Airport.
In addition to these measures, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) published a video recording, on 10 April, showing the presence of military leaders from the Syrian regime and the Lebanese Hezbollah in the Syrian part of the Golan Heights.
The video, published by the IDF Spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, showed the commander of the “First Corps” of the Syrian regime’s forces, Major General Ali Ahmad Asaad, accompanied by the head of Hezbollah’s southern command, al-Hajj Hashem.
Adraee said that Assad, along with Hashem, made a tour that included moving between observation sites known to be used by “Hezbollah.”
“Hezbollah aims to be positioned in Syria in general and in the Syrian side of the Golan Heights in particular, to create a terrorist entity against the state of Israel with the cooperation and auspices of the Syrian regime,” Adraee said.
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