Israel News for 6-26-2019

Defense Summit
PM Netanyahu met with US National Security Advisor John Bolton and Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev in Jerusalem to discuss issues related to Iran. Patrushev said Israeli air strikes on Syria were “undesirable” and condemned attempts to isolate Iran. He said the attempts to present Iran as the main threat to the region and equate it to international terrorist groups are “not acceptable,” urging Israel and the United States to show “restraint” toward the Islamic Republic. He also said, “Iran is contributing a lot to fighting terrorists on the Syrian soil and stabilizing the situation there.”

Bolton said that US suctions would push Iran to the negotiating table and that all options remain open in the event that Iran moves ahead with nuclear production. He said, “They’ll either get the point or … we will simply enhance the maximum pressure campaign further. It will be, I think, the combination of sanctions and other pressure that does bring Iran to the table.”

Netanyahu said, “All three of us would like to see a peaceful, stable and secure Syria. We also have a common objective to achieve that larger goal, and that is no foreign forces that arrived in Syria after 2011 remain in Syria. We think there are also ways to achieve this common goal, which will create a more stable Middle East. The departure of all foreign forces from Syria – will be good for Russia, good for the United States, good for Israel, and may I add, good for Syria.”

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Bahrain Meetup
Kicking off the Bahrain economic workshop yesterday, Jared Kushner said, “My direct message to the Palestinian people is that, despite what those who have let you down in the past say, President Trump and America have not given up on you. This workshop is for you.”

He said economic growth and prosperity for the Palestinians were not possible without an “enduring and fair political solution” to the conflict – one that guaranteed Israel’s security and respected the dignity of the Palestinian people. But he added that political issues would be addressed when the full peace plan is released, at a later time.

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Right Wing Block
Far-right Otzma Yehudit member Itamar Ben-Gvir announced his party is pulling out of the agreement reached with the United Right Party,  before the April 2019 elections, uniting political parties to the right of the ruling Likud in order to garner the maximum amount of right-wing votes. Ben-Gvir claims that he was not given a Knesset seat as promised in the original agreement.

Election Reversal
During the past few days, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein has been examining a move that would eliminate the dispersion of the 21st Knesset and the elections to the 22nd Knesset The first stage of the process is the convening of the Knesset Presidium by the speaker and the annulment of the Knesset’s election recess.

The second stage is the formulation of new legislation that will create a legal basis for canceling the dispersion of the Knesset, a basis that does not yet exist today. The legislation must be passed by a majority of at least 80 Knesset members, so it is contingent on the formation of a broad coalition that will allow it.

PM Netanyahu is apparently fully behind the proposal.

The Attorney General has reportedly told politicians privately that there is no feasible way to cancel the elections.

Ehud Barak, who is in the process of setting up a new party to run in the September elections tweeted that canceling the elections would be ‘corruption Netanyahu-style.’

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Chilean Visit
Chile’s President Sebastian Pinera is in Israel for a 3 day visit. He has already visited the Western Wall and Had Vashem. Pinera is also scheduled to meet with President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Tuesday and Wednesday. In 2011, Chile recognized Palestine as an independent state.

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Rwanda Air
Rwanda Air, Rwanda’s national airline, launched its inaugural direct flight to Israel on Monday.

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