ISRAEL AND WORLD JUDGEMENTS ON HEAVENLY SIGN DAYS

  DISEASES-ANIMAL TO HUMAN

REVELATION 6:7-8 (500 MILLION DEAD EACH FROM THE 4 JUDGEMENTS)(2 BILLION TOT DEAD HERE)
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth,(2 billion) of (8 billion) to kill with sword,(WEAPONS)(500 million) and with hunger,(FAMINE)(500 million) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES)(500 million) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE)(500 million).

THE COVID-19 TOTALS.
WORLD OVER ALL CASES 149,296,682 DEAD 3,147,257 AS OF WED APR 28,21

DR ZELENKO ON COVID-19 RECOVERY-TAMAR YONAH
https://soundcloud.com/israel-news-talk-radio/while-cautious-im-not-so-afraid-of-the-coronavirus-anymore-the-tamar-yonah-show
DR VLADMIR ZE'EV ZELENKOS MIXTURE FOR RECOVERY OF COVID-19
https://www.vladimirzelenkomd.com/
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TaRDwXMhQHSMsgrs9TFBclHjPHerXMuB87DUXmcAvwg/editReuters

THIS IS THE STORY YESTERDAY CNN WAS PROPAGANDIZING AGAINST ISRAEL. AS THE DISTRACTION.

Human Rights Watch lodges ‘apartheid’ accusation at Israel, which dismisses it-Rights group alleges Israel acts ‘to maintain the domination of Jewish Israelis over Palestinians’ in Israel, West Bank, Gaza; Israel: Preposterous, false claims, by biased group-By AP and TOI staff-APR 28,21-Today, 2:05 pm

One of the world’s best-known human rights groups said Tuesday that Israel was guilty of the crimes of apartheid and persecution because of discriminatory policies toward Palestinians within its own borders and in the Palestinian territories — accusations Israel immediately rebuffed.In a sweeping 213-page report, the New York-based Human Rights Watch joined a growing number of commentators and rights groups that view the conflict not primarily as a land dispute but as a state of affairs in which Palestinians — who, including Arab Israelis, make up roughly half the population of Israel, the West Bank and Gaza — are systematically denied basic rights granted to Jews.Israel rejected the report. Human Rights Watch “is known to have a long-standing anti-Israel agenda,” the Foreign Ministry said. “The fictional claims that HRW concocted are both preposterous and false.”Israel has long adamantly denied apartheid accusations, saying its Arab minority enjoys full civil rights, as well as the term “occupation” to describe its activities in the West Bank and Gaza. It views Gaza, from which it withdrew soldiers and settlers in 2005, as a hostile entity ruled by the Islamic terror group Hamas, and it considers the West Bank to be disputed territory subject to peace negotiations — which collapsed more than a decade ago.Human Rights Watch focused its report on the definitions of apartheid and persecution used by the International Criminal Court, which launched a probe into possible Israeli war crimes last month. Israel rejects the court as biased.Citing public statements by Israeli leaders and official policies, HRW argued that Israel has “demonstrated an intent to maintain the domination of Jewish Israelis over Palestinians” in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, coupled with “systematic oppression” and “inhumane acts.”“When these three elements occur together, they amount to the crime of apartheid,” it said.As to the charge of persecution, the group cited “grave abuses” in the territories, including land confiscation, the systematic denial of building permits, home demolitions and “sweeping, decades-long restrictions on freedom of movement and basic human rights.”The report cited a range of policies it said are aimed at ensuring a Jewish majority in Israel and lands it intends to keep, while largely confining Palestinians to scattered enclaves under overarching Israeli control, with policies that encourage Palestinians to leave.While such policies are far more severe in the territories, HRW said they can also be found in Israel itself, where Arab citizens of Israel, who make up roughly 20% of the population, face widespread discrimination when it comes to housing, land access and basic services.Omar Shakir, the author of the report, said that from the heady early days of the peace process in the 1990s up until the Obama years, “there was enough there to question whether there was an intent for permanent domination.”But with the demise of the peace process; Israel’s plans to annex up to a third of the West Bank, which were put on hold but never abandoned; its massive expansion of settlements and infrastructure linking them to Israel; and the passing of a nation-state law that critics say favors Jews — groups like HRW say it’s no longer possible to view the current situation as temporary.“Prominent voices have for years warned that Israeli conduct risked turning into apartheid,” Shakir said. “This 213-page report finds that the threshold has been crossed.”Israel adamantly rejects the term apartheid, saying the restrictions it imposes in Gaza and the West Bank are temporary measures needed for security due to repeated terror attacks emanating from those regions.It also points to the existence of the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the West Bank under agreements signed in the 1990s.The Palestinian Authority praised the report on Tuesday and called on the international community to “consider its recommendations,” according the official spokesperson for the Palestinian presidency, Nabil Abu Rudeineh.He described the HRW report as “strong and righteous international testimony to the struggle and suffering of the Palestinian people under the Israeli military occupation and its colonial and oppressive policies.”“We firmly believe that justice based on international legitimacy decisions, not impunity, is the only way to achieve lasting peace in Palestine, Israel and the region as a whole,” Abu Rudeineh continued.“This report comes at a time when Israeli violations and crimes are escalating fiercely against our Palestinian people,” he added, referring to violence between Jews and Palestinians in East Jerusalem since the start of Ramadan two weeks ago.Israel and the Palestinians have held several rounds of peace talks since the Oslo Accords signed in the 1990s. They included discussions of Palestinian independence but were unable to reach a final agreement.Eugene Kontorovich, director of international law at the Kohelet Policy Forum, a conservative Israeli think tank, said the Palestinians were responsible for their fate because of their intransigence in negotiations. “They have chosen it by rejecting alternatives,” he said.Kontorovich, voicing a common Israeli criticism, accused HRW of unfairly singling Israel out and trying to delegitimize it.“Why say it’s apartheid? Why not just say Israel has some discriminatory policies that we don’t like?” he said. “Because for discriminatory policies, what do you do? You change the policies…. What do you do with an apartheid regime? You have to replace it.”HRW and other rights groups say that despite the existence of the Palestinian Authority, Israel maintains overarching control over nearly every aspect of Palestinian lives in both the West Bank and Gaza.B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization that controversially adopted the term apartheid to refer to Israel in January, said it welcomed the HRW report as an “urgent wake-up call.”“Firmly grounded in a careful research of the unfolding reality between the river and the sea, the alarming findings by HRW are essential reading for anyone who desires to truly come to terms with Israel’s domination over Palestinians and its systematic oppression of them,” B’Tselem said in a press release. “To date, the international community has by and large refused to wake up to the reality of Israel’s apartheid regime.”Israel has exclusive control over 60% of the West Bank, its borders and airspace, and imposes restrictions on movement and residency. The nearly 500,000 Jewish settlers living in the West Bank have full Israeli citizenship, while the territory’s 2.5 million Palestinians live under military rule.A recent point of contention was centered on Israel’s successful coronavirus vaccination campaign, with shots freely offered to settlers but largely denied to their Palestinian neighbors. Israeli officials maintain that the Palestinians are responsible for vaccinating their own people according to bilateral agreements, though Israel has undertaken to vaccinate some 100,000 Palestinians employed inside Israel.In Gaza, an Israeli blockade imposed after the Hamas terror group seized power has largely confined 2 million Palestinians to the coastal strip and decimated the economy. Israel imposes heavy restrictions on the movement of people and goods in and out of Gaza, as does neighboring Egypt, maintaining that a blockade is necessary to prevent the entry of weapons that could be turned upon residents of Israel’s south. Israel and Hamas, which is sworn to the destruction of the Jewish state, have fought several large-scale and many smaller battles in the past decade-plus.The agreements reached in the 1990s were intended to be temporary, pending a historic peace accord that would establish a Palestinian state in most of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. Israel captured East Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan and the Gaza Strip from Egypt in the 1967 Six Day War — lands that are home to nearly 5 million Palestinians and which the Palestinians want for a future state.But a peace agreement appears farther out of reach than at any point in the last three decades.

CDC says vaccinated Americans can now go outside without a mask-US health agency recommends people still wear face coverings in big crowds-By Mike Stobbe-APR 28,21-Today, 11:49 pm

NEW YORK (AP) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eased its guidelines Tuesday on the wearing of masks outdoors, saying fully vaccinated Americans don’t need to cover their faces anymore unless they are in a big crowd of strangers.And those who are unvaccinated can go outside without masks in some situations, too.The new guidance represents another carefully calibrated step on the road back to normal from the coronavirus outbreak that has killed over 570,000 people in the US.For most of the past year, the CDC had been advising Americans to wear masks outdoors if they are within 6 feet of one another.“Today, I hope, is a day when we can take another step back to the normalcy of before,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said. “Over the past year, we have spent a lot of time telling Americans what you can’t do. Today, I am going to tell you some of the things you can do, if you are fully vaccinated.”The change comes as more than half of US adults — or about 140 million people — have received at least one dose of a vaccine, and more than a third have been fully vaccinated.Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, speaks during a House Select Subcommittee meeting on the coronavirus, in Washington on April 15, 2021. (Amr Alfiky/The New York Times via AP, Pool)-Walensky said the decision was driven by rising vaccination numbers; declines in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths; and research showing that less than 10% of documented instances of transmission of the virus happened outdoors.Dr. Mike Saag, an infectious disease expert at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, welcomed the change.“It’s the return of freedom,” Saag said. “It’s the return of us being able to do normal activities again. We’re not there yet, but we’re on the exit ramp. And that’s a beautiful thing.”Some experts portrayed the relaxed guidance as a reward and a motivator for more people to get vaccinated — a message President Joe Biden sounded, too.“The bottom line is clear: If you’re vaccinated, you can do more things, more safely, both outdoors as well as indoors,” Biden said. “So for those who haven’t gotten their vaccinations yet, especially if you’re younger or thinking you don’t need it, this is another great reason to go get vaccinated now.”The CDC, which has been cautious in its guidance during the crisis, essentially endorsed what many Americans have already been doing over the past several weeks.The CDC says that whether they are fully vaccinated or not, people do not have to wear masks outdoors when they walk, bike or run alone or with members of their household. They can also go maskless in small outdoor gatherings with fully vaccinated people.But unvaccinated people — defined as those who have yet to receive both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or the one-shot Johnson & Johnson formula — should wear masks at small outdoor gatherings that include other unvaccinated people. They also should keep their faces covered when dining at outdoor restaurants with friends from multiple households.And everyone, fully vaccinated or not, should keep wearing masks at crowded outdoor events such as concerts or sporting events, the CDC says.The agency continues to recommend masks at indoor public places, such as hair salons, restaurants, shopping centers, gyms, museums and movie theaters, saying that is still the safer course even for vaccinated people.“Right now it’s very hard to tease apart who is vaccinated,” Walensky explained.She said the CDC guidance should be a model for states in setting their mask-wearing requirements.The advice to the unvaccinated applies to adults and children alike, according to the CDC. None of the COVID-19 vaccines in use in the US are authorized for children under 16.Dr. Babak Javid, a physician-scientist at the University of California, San Francisco, said the new CDC guidance is sensible.“In the vast majority of outdoor scenarios, transmission risk is low,” Javid said.Javid has favored outdoor mask-wearing requirements because he believes they increase indoor mask-wearing, but he said Americans can understand the relative risks and make good decisions.He added: “I’m looking forward to mask-free existence.”“The timing is right because we now have a fair amount of data about the scenarios where transmission occurs,” said Mercedes Carnethon, a professor and vice chair of preventive medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.What’s more, she said, “the additional freedoms may serve as a motivator” for people to get vaccinated.

The question is what might be the nature of this event? - THE BLOOD MOONS

Traditionally, Judaism views eclipses with a sense of foreboding; for example, Succah 29a of the Talmud (rabbinic rulings and discussions about Bible passages) speaks of a solar eclipse (which will occur in the midst of the Blood Moon Tetrad) as being a bad omen for the entire world.To illustrate the nature of this, a parable is given in which a man prepares a banquet for his servants but then becomes upset with them and removes the lamp, saying to one of his servants, “Take away the lamp from them, and let them sit in the dark.”Eclipse-moon-Lucien Rudaux-This painting by Lucien Rudaux shows what a lunar eclipse might look like when viewed from the surface of the moon.  The moon’s surface appears red because the only sunlight available is refracted through the Earth’s atmosphere on the edges of the earth, as shown in the sky in this painting.In the Talmud, Rabbi Meir says, “Whenever the luminaries are in eclipse, it is a bad omen for Israel since they are inured to blows.”The Talmud also discusses the differences between solar and lunar eclipses:  “Our Rabbis taught, when the sun is in eclipse it is a bad omen for idolaters; when the moon is in eclipse, it is a bad omen for Israel, since Israel reckons by the moon and idolaters by the sun.“If it is in eclipse in the east, it is a bad omen for those who dwell in the east; if in the west, it is a bad omen for those who dwell in the west; if in the midst of heaven it is bad omen for the whole world.“If its face is red as blood, [it is a sign that] the sword is coming to the world; if it is like sack-cloth, the arrows of famine are coming to the world; if it resembles both, the sword and the arrows of famine are coming to the world.”-Lunar-eclipse-Lunar eclipse in November 2003-According to this interpretation then, if we interpret sword as war, a Blood Moon Tetrad may be a sign that war is coming to the world.Noting the Talmud’s analysis of lunar eclipses, Biltz also stated that the tetrad may signal war.

Super Pink Moon 2021: Spiritual Meaning And Rituals You Should Know-By Alexis Ty-04/23/21 AT 7:51 AM-KEY POINTS

The Pink Moon may not literally be pink in color, but it is associated with various meanings. This month, April's Pink Moon will reach its peak illumination on the eve of April 26 at approximately 11:33 p.m. EDT. A supermoon is an event when the full moon is closest to Earth. Compared to the average full moon, super moons are 7% bigger and about 15% brighter and are also believed by some to have spiritual meanings. According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, the Pink Moon is associated with fertility and offers the best time to start anew.The belief that the Pink Moon is the perfect opportunity to start over stems from the fact that it most commonly occurs in springtime. The blossoming of flowers is seen as a symbol of starting fresh in order to fully bloom, as per Bust.The Pink Moon is also believed to be a symbol of optimism for the future. During this time, one can expect to have some of his goals and dreams achieved, according to the Peculiar Brunette. In order for this to happen, however, one must figure out which parts to let go of in order to move forward in life."Trust yourself as you attempt to change and grow. Allow yourself the chance to fail and the courage to try again. Be willing to adapt and redirect from your initial strategy to help make your intentions and goals successful and long-lasting," said Amanda Brethauer, who runs The Peculiar Brunette blog.Other than fertility, progress and optimism, the Pink Moon is also linked to other spiritual meanings such as light-heartedness, adaptability and generosity.Full moons are seen as powerful tools to manifest wishes and goals. This Monday, when the Pink Moon places itself high above the evening sky, manifest some of the goals you wish to achieve by listening to music that triggers happy emotions, speaking with gratitude and imagining yourself already hearing about the good news.If you're not into manifesting, you can simply revel in the beauty of the Pink Moon by connecting with nature. Sit outside, be still and allow nature's beauty to bring about good energy.

News12 full moons in 2021 will include 3 supermoons, a blue moon and 2 lunar eclipses-Updated Jan 01, 2021; Posted Jan 01, 2021-By Len Melisurgo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Sky watchers have a lot to look forward to in 2021, with three “supermoons,” one blue moon and two lunar eclipses all taking place during the new year.Astronomy experts say the three supermoons — full moons that appear to be slightly bigger and brighter than a typical full moon because of their closer orbit to Earth — will be rising in the sky during consecutive months: April, May and June.The last time we saw a supermoon trifecta was during the first three months of 2019. After that, two supermoons appeared in 2020, one in March and one in April.While 2020 featured a rare Halloween “blue moon” — the second of two full moons during the same calendar month — the blue moon that will be appearing in 2021 is a different type of blue moon.The Aug. 22 full moon will be considered a seasonal blue moon, which is the third of four full moons appearing during the same season. In this case, it will be the third full moon of summer. (The others are June 24, July 23 and Sept. 20.)-West Michigan Spring 2020-Three supermoons are on tap in 2021. Pictured here is a supermoon rising over Kalamazoo, Michigan, on May 7, 2020.Joel Bissell-Total lunar eclipse in May-Some astronomy experts, including Brian Lada at AccuWeather, are billing the May lunar eclipse as “the best astronomical event of all of 2021.”The total eclipse will occur during the morning of May 26, when the Earth’s shadow will block the sun’s light from shining on the moon’s surface as all three celestial bodies line up in a straight row. During the eclipse, the moon’s color will grow darker and appear to be a rusty-reddish tint, which is why some sky watchers will call it a “blood moon.”The May full moon is normally nicknamed the “flower moon,” because that’s the time of year when many plants are blooming. But this year it will garner many nicknames, including the blood moon, supermoon or super blood moon.Note: Because of its morning timing, only part of this lunar eclipse will be visible in the eastern United States and most areas of North America, according to AccuWeather and other experts.“The total eclipse itself will only be visible from the High Plains, the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Coast” in the United States, AccuWeather says. “The eclipse will also be visible for parts of South America, Asia and eastern Asia.”moon photos-The moon often appears to be reddish-orange during a lunar eclipse, which is why many sky watchers call it a "blood moon." This image was snapped during a lunar eclipse in Mercer County in December 2010.SL-Partial lunar eclipse in NovemberEven though a second lunar eclipse in November 2021 will be a partial one instead of a total one, sky watchers in the eastern United States should get a very good view, AccuWeather says, assuming the skies are clear at the time.You’ll also need to wake up early to see it.The partial lunar eclipse will occur during the pre-dawn hours on Nov. 19, when the moon will officially be at its fullest phase — shortly before 4 a.m. Eastern time.“November’s lunar eclipse will be very close to a total lunar eclipse, with just a sliver of the moon missing Earth’s dark inner shadow,” AccuWeather notes. “Because of this, it may be possible for the moon to briefly appear rusty orange or red, similar to what occurs during the height of a total eclipse.”Dates, times, nicknames of this year’s full moons-If you want to mark your calendar for the best days to do some moon watching in 2021, here’s a list of the dates and times of each full moon, along with their most common nicknames. (Special thanks to the Farmers’ Almanac, the Old Farmer’s Almanac and TimeAndDate.com for the details.)

Israel and God’s Judgment on the Nations-October 1, 2015-albund/shutterstock.com

September 28 we watched the final blood moon in a series of four that occurred on Feast Days. Called a tetrad, this rare celestial event has had the world watching. On September 14 the shmitah year (sabbatical rest year for the land) was completed. Jewish tradition says that the Messiah will come in the year following a shmitah year. That would definitely be a blessing! Many are closely observing these events. Is God speaking? What is He saying? Does it mean blessing for Israel? Is it a signal of judgment on the nations? Is Messiah coming soon? Judgment is Coming-The Bible says God is going to judge the nations. In Matthew 25 Yeshua talks about the judgment of the nations and says they will be judged by how they treated His brethren, for example feeding, clothing, visiting prisoners. He taught this in the first century to His Jewish disciples, and there is no doubt in my mind that they assumed He was talking about the Jewish people. I think that is still true—God is going to judge the nations concerning how they treat the Jewish people.Joel 3:2 also talks about the judgment of the nations. In this case the nations are judged because they scattered the Jewish people and divided the Land. Today the nations are again pressuring Israel to divide the Land.In Ezekiel 38–39, a future battle is described when a confederation of nations will come with great force against Israel. Zechariah also talks about a day when the nations will come against Jerusalem. In both instances the God of Israel fights on behalf of His people.God told Abraham “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you…” (Gen. 12:3).Right now the nations are choosing and it seems that those that curse outnumber those who bless. The P5+1 (US, Russia, China, UK, France plus Germany) have made an unholy agreement with Iran, a state sponsor of worldwide terrorism. Iran wants to destroy Israel and western civilization. We watched in horror as the United Nations confirmed the agreement. I believe that God is angry with the nations that have abandoned the security of Israel.A Holy Nation-Today we think of a nation as a political entity with specified borders—a country; but in biblical times nations were also people groups. Certainly both will be judged for their actions toward Israel. But, I would like to suggest to you that there is another biblical idea of nationhood.1 Peter 2:9 says, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a HOLY NATION, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (emphasis added).“‘And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel” (Exod. 19:6).We are a HOLY NATION! Regardless of how our country acts, we can act righteously; we can stand with God and His ways in the midst of evil. We can choose to be holy. We can choose to stand with the God of Israel and the Israel of God.Messiah is Coming! Certainly these events need to be carefully observed. I don’t know when we will see the judgment of God poured out. I don’t know when the Messiah is going to appear. But I do know that we need to prepare ourselves for both.Representatives from the P5+1 countries who made an agreement with Iran that threatens Israel-In the Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24–25) Yeshua describes the events that will happen in the end times. Many Christians are reading and re-reading the list and comparing it to our times. But, there is more. He tells us how to live in these times! We need to be alert, ready (prepared), and faithful! Matthew 24:45–47 talks about the faithful and wise servant who provides food during his master’s absence. That servant is called blessed because when the master returns he finds him so doing! Bridges for Peace is doing just this! We feed the needy in Israel. 26,000 people in 53 communities receive food each month because righteous servants of the Lord provide for their needs. We are also preparing for difficult times by storing food.Matthew 24:42, 44 tells us to be watchful and ready. “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming…Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”We need to be ready for the Lord to come today, and prepared for the future in case He delays His return. The parable of the virgins in Matthew 25 shows the importance of staying prepared. I believe this is a spiritual preparation, but have no problem if the Lord leads you to prepare in the natural as well.The parable of the talents in Matthew 25 is all about being faithful with the resources the Lord has given us. What is a talent? It is money!  God blesses us with finances so we can care for our families and for others. Remember the parable of the rich man who wanted to build new barns? He was abundantly blessed. His barns were already full; he had no room to store all his grain, so he decided to build bigger barns. God was displeased—why? Because, instead of using his excess to bless others and God’s kingdom, he was selfishly hoarding his wealth (Luke 12:13–21).The third theme in Matthew 25 is caring for the unfortunate. During these perilous times, as we seek God, we need to open our hearts to those around us. Let’s bless the natural family of Yeshua, the Jewish people, as God brings them back to Israel in accordance with the promises written in the Bible.Let’s be a Holy Nation. When our country curses Israel—we will bless Israel. When our country tries to force Israel to divide its Land—we will stand with Israel. We will pray for Israel. We will feed the hungry in Israel. We will help the Jewish people come home. We will be a Holy Nation! I believe that God will see your donation for Israel as a holy action showing that you are standing with the God of Israel and the people of Israel.Blessings from Israel,Rebecca J. Brimmer-International President and CEO

‘It’s an illegal vote!’: Cabinet meeting descends into chaos, fury, defiance-In leaked recordings, Netanyahu defies attorney general’s forceful warnings that appointing a Likud ally as justice minister is against the very law that the PM amended-By Jacob Magid and Raoul Wootliff-28 April 2021, 1:00 am

Leaked recordings of Tuesday’s cabinet meeting reveal that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu openly defied the attorney general’s forceful warnings that appointing one of the premier’s Likud allies as justice minister was illegal and pushed through the appointment anyway.“Don’t think that this vote will pass, it is an illegal vote!” roared Mandelblit at one point during the zoom meeting, according to recordings broadcast by the Kan public broadcaster.“The vote I am bringing is illegal? That’s absurd.” Netanyahu retorted, pushing ahead with the vote to install Likud’s Ofir Akunis as justice minister. The appointment was temporarily frozen hours later by the High Court of Justice.Under a quasi-constitutional Basic Law, amended last year by Netanyahu and Benny Gantz, the position of justice minister is reserved for a candidate backed by Gantz’s Blue and White-led bloc.“This whole thing sounds like unacceptable manipulation and I’m telling you we’ll get into a bad place,” the prime minister warned the government’s chief legal advisor.Gantz, who had failed in his efforts to secure the justice ministry for himself, told Netanyahu that he would not take part in the vote, calling it an “illegal action.”“You can do whatever you want with your political power — you are 17 (cabinet members) and we are 10. It doesn’t matter what I want anyway,” a furious Gantz told ministers as the vote went ahead with the Likud-led right-wing bloc within the government outnumbering the Blue and White leader’s bloc of center-left parties.“For me, this debate and this illegal move are over. I will not be a partner to illegal actions,” Gantz said. “I’ve had enough!”Israel has been without a justice minister for nearly a month since Gantz’s term as interim justice minister ended at the end of the beginning of April. The office has since been significantly constrained in its ability to operate, and various government panels, including the coronavirus cabinet, have also been brought to a standstill due to the vacancy.The High Court convened on Sunday to hear a petition against the government over its failure to appoint a justice minister and gave ministers 48 hours to do so before it would be forced to intervene with its own ruling. Netanyahu notified the High Court that day that he would bring the issue of the justice minister before the cabinet but avoided making any additional commitments.Likud Minister Ofir Akunis in Jerusalem on May 28, 2019. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)-As part of Gantz’s power-sharing coalition agreement with Netanyahu, the position of justice minister was reserved for members of Gantz’s Blue and White-led bloc. Avi Nissenkorn held the post until elections were called late last year, at which point he resigned to run on a separate party’s list. Gantz, who is also defense minister, subsequently took on the post in an interim capacity and over the past several weeks has called on Netanyahu to hold a vote to appoint him permanent justice minister.The Likud leader has refused to hand Gantz the portfolio, due to what is widely viewed as part of an effort to maintain control of the justice system while he is on trial in the three corruption cases brought against him by Mandelblit.When Gantz once again sought to bring his appointment as justice minister to a vote at Tuesday’s meeting, Netanyahu initially pushed back, telling the Blue and White minister that there was no need for an “artificial” permanent minister when there is only a caretaker government running the country and a new coalition will hopefully be formed in the near future.Netanyahu then instead recommended farming out the justice minister’s responsibilities to other cabinet members — a proposal the attorney general and High Court have flatly rejected.The cabinet meeting quickly descended into a shouting match, with Gantz yelling, “I demand to bring my appointment as justice minister to a vote now. I am the candidate for the job. There is no other candidate. The prime minister is leading a hazing here. I demand a vote now and not in another 48 hours.”Netanyahu went on to claim that “there are questions” as to whether his coalition agreement with Gantz, which reserves the justice post for the Blue and White bloc, remains in effect after last month’s election.Mandelblit rejected this assertion, saying the coalition deal stands until a new government is sworn in. He said the swearing-in of a new Knesset does not nullify the agreement.“You are playing games, and it’s not clear to me why,” Gantz snapped at Netanyahu.In response, the prime minister charged that Blue and White ministers had no right to lecture him when it had been holding up votes on purchasing millions of additional coronavirus vaccine doses. Gantz’s party initially blocked the deal, which has since been approved, claiming it was not given enough information regarding the necessity for so many more vaccines at such a high price.With the virtual meeting descending into chaos, cabinet secretary Tzachi Braverman repeatedly threatened to mute ministers who were engaging in shouting matches.Gantz finally managed to bring his own candidacy to a vote — but was defeated by the Likud and its allies.Netanyahu then shocked the ministers present by submitting Likud Regional Cooperation Minister Akunis as a candidate for the post. “I want to submit the candidacy of Miniter Ofir Akunis as our candidate,” he said. “I ask that we vote.”Voting began, as Gantz attempted to interrupt.“Just a moment, prime minister. That was not on today’s government agenda, and therefore you cannot raise it,” said Gantz, referring to the coalition agreement requirement that he and Netanyahu agree on the cabinet agenda, and that no other matters can be raised. “Today’s government agenda refers only to [a vote on] me [as justice minister], yes or no.”“Of course you object,” said Netanyahu, and pressed ahead.Blue and White ministers boycotted the vote, allowing the motion to pass.After the vote, Mandeblit declared that it was void and that by law Akunis has not been appointed justice minister.“You passed an illegal measure against the opinion of the attorney general — an unprecedented move. Minister Akunis is not Israel’s justice minister,” Mandelblit said.Following the cabinet meeting, High Court justices ruled that Akunis could not serve as justice minister until the court decides otherwise and said the position would remain vacant in the interim.Netanyahu and Akunis have until Wednesday morning to justify why they believe the appointment should still go through, in violation of Likud’s coalition agreement with Blue and White, which was enshrined into a Basic Law.The judges will then reconvene on Wednesday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. to discuss the arguments before reaching a final decision, the ruling stated.

PROOF HALF ON EARTH DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD (8 BILLION ON EARTH)

REVELATION 6:7-8 (8 BILLION- 2 BILLION = 6 BILLION)
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth,(2 BILLION) to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).

REVELATION 9:15,18 (6 BILLION - 2 BILLION = 4 BILLION)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,
18 By these three was the third part of men killed,(2 BILLION) by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMBS)

HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)

LUKE 17:34-37 (8 TOTAL BILLION - 4 BILLION DEAD IN TRIB = 4 BILLION TO JESUS KINGDOM) (HALF DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD JUST LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS)(GOD DOES NOT LIE)(AND NOTICE MOST DIE IN WAR AND DISEASES-NOT COMETS-ASTEROIDS-QUAKES OR TSUNAMIS)
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other shall be left.(half earths population 4 billion die in the 7 yr trib)
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten by the birds).THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES.BECAUSE NOT HALF OF PEOPLE ON EARTH ARE CHRISTIANS.AND THE CONTEXT IN LUKE 17 IS THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION OR 7 YR TREATY PERIOD.WHICH IS JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH.NOT 50% RAPTURED TO HEAVEN.

MATTHEW 24:37-42 (THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-SURE NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
42 Watch therefore:(FOR THE LAST DAYS SIGNS HAPPENING) for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

AMERICA (POLITICAL BABYLON)(NUKED BY SNEAK ATTACK FROM RUSSIA)

IN REVELATION 17 & 18 IS THE DESTRUCTION OF THE RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL BABYLONS.IF YOU CAN NOT DECERN BETWEEN THE 2 BABYLONS IN REV 17 & 18.YOU WILL JUST THINK THEIR BOTH THE SAME.BUT NO-THERES A RELIGIOUS BABYLON (THE VATICAN IN REV 17)(AND THE POLITICAL BABYLON IN REV 18 (AMERICA OR NEW YORK TO BE EXACT)

ISAIAH 34:10
10  It (AMERICA-POLITICAL BABYLON) shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.

JEREMIAH 51:29-32 (CYBER ATTACK 1ST)
29  And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon,(AMERICA-NEW YORK) to make the land of Babylon (AMERICA) a desolation without an inhabitant.
30  The mighty men of Babylon (AMERICA) have forborn to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.
031  One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the king of Babylon (NEW YORK) that his city is taken at one end,
32  And that the passages are stopped,(THE WAR COMPUTERS HACKED OR EMP'D) and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.(DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO)

COMPLETE SILENCE AFTER AN EMP GOES OFF
REVELATION 8:1
1 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

JEREMIAH 50:3,24
3 For out of the north (RUSSIA) there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.
24 I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon,(AMERICA) and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the LORD. (RUSSIA A SNEAK CYBER,EMP ATTACK,THEN NUKE ATTACK ON AM

US scientists claim to find huge Pacific dump site of 25,000 toxic DDT barrels-With underwater drones using sonar technology, oceanographers map ‘staggering’ quantities of chemical waste on seafloor between Santa Catalina Island and Los Angeles coast-By JULIE WATSON-APR 28,21-Today, 8:02 pm

SAN DIEGO, California (AP) — Marine scientists say they have found what they believe to be as many as 25,000 barrels that possibly contain DDT dumped off the Southern California coast near Catalina Island, where a massive underwater toxic waste site dating back to World War II has long been suspected.The 27,345 “barrel-like” images were captured by researchers at the University of California San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography. They mapped more than 36,000 acres of seafloor between Santa Catalina Island and the Los Angeles coast in a region previously found to contain high levels of the toxic chemical in sediments and in the ecosystem.Historical shipping logs show that industrial companies in southern California used the basin as a dumping ground until 1972, when the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act, also known as the Ocean Dumping Act, was enacted.Resting deep in the ocean, the exact location and extent of the dumping was not known until now.The territory covered was “staggering,” said Eric Terrill, chief scientist of the expedition and director of the Marine Physical Laboratory at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.Underwater drones using sonar technology captured high-resolution images of barrels resting 3,000 feet (900 meters) below the surface all along the steep seafloor that was surveyed. They also were seen beyond the dumpsite limits.“It really was a surprise to everybody who’s worked with the data and who sailed at sea,” he told reporters Monday.The survey provides “a wide-area map” of the barrels, though it will be up to others to confirm through sediment sampling that the containers hold DDT, Terrill said. It’s estimated between 350 and 700 tons of DDT were dumped in the area, 12 miles (20 kilometers) from Los Angeles, and 8 miles (12 kilometers) from Catalina Island.The long-term impact on marine life and humans is still unknown, said Scripps chemical oceanographer and professor of geosciences Lihini Aluwihare, who in 2015 co-authored a study that found high amounts of DDT and other man-made chemicals in the blubber of bottlenose dolphins that died of natural causes.“These results also raise questions about the continued exposure and potential impacts on marine mammal health, especially in light of how DDT has been shown to have multi-generational impacts in humans,” said Aluwhihare, who was not part of the survey expedition.Diana Aga, a chemistry professor at University at Buffalo who is not affiliated with the study, said the findings were shocking if the barrels are proven to contain the toxic chemical. “That’s a lot of DDT at the bottom of the ocean,” she said.If the barrels haven’t leaked, they could be moved to a place where disposal is safer, Aga said. If they leaked, scientists could take samples from the water, sediment and other marine life to gauge the damage.Scientists conducted the survey from March 10-24 following a Los Angeles Times report last year about evidence that DDT was dumped into the ocean.“Unfortunately, the basin offshore Los Angeles had been a dumping ground for industrial waste for several decades, beginning in the 1930s. We found an extensive debris field in the wide area survey,” Terrill said.Scientists started the search where University of California Santa Barbara professor David Valentine had discovered concentrated accumulations of DDT in the sediments and spotted 60 barrels about a decade ago.High levels of DDT have been detected in the area’s marine mammals, and the chemical has been linked to cancer in sea lions.The Los Angeles Times reviewed shipping logs from a disposal company supporting Montrose Chemical Corp. of California, a DDT-producing company. The logs showed 2,000 barrels of DDT-laced sludge were dumped in the deep ocean each month from 1947 to 1961 off Catalina, and other companies also dumped there until 1972.Scripps researchers say they hope their survey will support clean-up efforts.The expedition on the Sally Ride research vessel included a team of 31 scientists, engineers, and crew conducting 24-hour operations and two autonomous underwater vehicles.

The Times of Israel-InterviewCancer is rampant among those who cleaned up 1986 meltdown-On 35th Chernobyl anniversary, 1st responder reflects on the day after disaster-Alla Shapiro’s new memoir, ‘Doctor on Call,’ traces her journey from the wake of nuclear chaos in Ukraine to a career in the US developing radiation countermeasures for FDA-By Renee Ghert-Zand-26 April 2021, 11:41 aM

Dr. Alla Shapiro was in Kiev when the explosions at the No. 4 reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant near Pripyat, Ukraine, occurred 35 years ago April 26. The medical first responder was immediately called into action and as a young pediatrician and hematologist, she was charged with examining and treating hundreds of children streaming into her hospital with their panicked parents. It was the worst nuclear accident in history.Up to 30 percent of Chernobyl’s 190 metric tons of uranium was released into the atmosphere. Ukraine and neighboring Belarus were the most affected, but radiation contamination was also detected in other parts of the Soviet Union and throughout northern Europe. The Soviet government eventually evacuated 335,000 people, establishing a 30 kilometer (19 mile) “exclusion zone” around the reactor. It is estimated that the area will remain uninhabitable for tens of thousands of years.Shapiro was eventually dispatched to clinics in other locations in Ukraine affected by the disaster. She did all this without any training on how to treat radiation exposure, or any protective clothing to wear.Worse yet, authorities prohibited Shapiro and her colleagues from seeking guidance from medical books and journals. All materials containing the word “radiation” were pulled from the shelves of Kiev’s main medical library. The government, which had imposed a 10-day media blackout on the disaster, maintained that less knowledge would lead to less panic. Any physician daring to challenge this approach was threatened with permanent job loss.In a recent interview, Shapiro told The Times of Israel that she learned firsthand “that not telling the truth and not sharing the scientific information with the doctors and the public could lead to dangerous and sometimes deadly consequences.”Shapiro chronicles her experiences in the immediate aftermath of Chernobyl in her new memoir, “Doctor on Call: Chernobyl Responder, Jewish Refugee, Radiation Expert,” published on April 27.The title also refers to Shapiro’s emigration with her family from the USSR to the United States in 1989, and her subsequent 20-year career in developing medical countermeasures to radiation exposure at the FDA’s Counter-Terrorism and Emergency Coordination Staff (CTECS). Shapiro hadn’t initially planned a research career, and certainly not one focused on nuclear radiation, but the events of April 26, 1986, changed the course of her life.She didn’t come through the experience unscathed: A decade ago, Shapiro, 66, was diagnosed with colon cancer, which is believed to have been caused by her radiation exposure in Ukraine. Now in good health and retired since late 2019, she remains as busy as ever working on various research projects and consulting to a pharmaceutical company.Soon after her retirement, Shapiro, who lives in Bethesda, Maryland, was also tapped by Vanity Fair to analyze scenes from HBO’s “Chernobyl” miniseries, which aired in 2019. The video has been viewed more than 8 million times on YouTube.The Times of Israel asked Shapiro about the somatic and psychological effects of radiation exposure, advances in medical countermeasures to radiation, and whether she thinks the US is more prepared for a nuclear disaster than it was for the COVID-10 pandemic.It is good to hear that you are cancer-free a decade after you were diagnosed and treated aggressively for colon cancer. How can you be sure that your cancer can be directly attributed to your radiation exposure in Kiev? I had a genetic test for colon cancer, and it was negative. So, in my case, the strongest assumption, based on the medical literature and data, is that it was caused by radiation exposure.There are lots of uncertainties about some cancers, but in the literature there is no doubt that there has been an elevated occurrence of colon cancer.Four regions in Ukraine that were the most affected by radiation were analyzed for colon, stomach, and other cancers. Kyiv, where I lived, turned out to have the highest rate of colon cancer.What are other somatic effects of radiation exposure from Chernobyl? In terms of medical consequences, people are still debating some of them. There are explanations for many things, but with many other things we are still in the dark. Thyroid cancer is statistically dramatically increased in women, and especially in children. It is one of the most common late effects of radiation. There is an explanation to that. This is not debatable. There is no consensus on whether children who were in utero at the time [of the radiation exposure] had IQ differences by age 7-10. There is also no consensus on leukemia in children, but there is consensus on higher rates of leukemia — as well as breast cancer — in liquidators [people brought in from around the Soviet Union to clear up after the disaster]. We have also seen increased rates of urinary/bladder cancer, especially in men, among people who lived in Kiev. Did these cancers show up right away, or only later? In the first few years nothing was pronounced except that after 6-8 years thyroid cancer started increasing. This was the first cancer that dramatically went up. It peaked and plateaued about 15 years after the disaster. The latest data is from 2017, and it is still high.Was any attention paid to the psychological impact of the disaster? The mental impact wasn’t taken as seriously from the beginning… Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) did not get any attention for years and years. The first time I heard about it was in 2005 when the World Health Organization (WHO) had a big meeting and it was said that the Chernobyl disaster unleashed the worst PTSD ever, and that the long-term effects could last forever. People started paying attention to this very, very late. Suspicion was growing over the years, but the first official data was in 2005.Israel is a very reliable source of data on this. Lots of people immigrated to Israel after Chernobyl. Those willing to participate in studies were put in different groups based on the regions they came from, and they were screened for PTSD, anxiety and depression. You and your colleagues were not trained to treat radiation exposure when Chernobyl happened. Were American doctors better prepared at the time? Unfortunately in the US it was the same grim situation with knowledge, training and education. Even now I am amazed when I communicate with doctors from emergency rooms. It is not even in the back on their mind that such-and-such symptoms could be caused by radiation. What are the kinds of nuclear radiation threats that people in the US and other countries face? The radiation that comes from a nuclear power station or a terrorist’s dirty bomb, causes mainly panic or physical damage, and not so much radiation. But the main scenario those of us working in the US government have been focused on is that of a 10-kiloton nuclear bomb exploding in one of the largest cities in America. In this case, radiation comes as acute and high-dose in a short period of time. How prepared is the US to deal with such a situation?We are doing much better than 30 years ago. We have much more understanding what needs to be done. We conduct regular tabletop exercises… The group that I was a part of develops medical countermeasures that go to the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS). We have plenty of supply of potassium iodide (KI) (to protect the thyroid gland against radiation) and other drugs, and protocols available to everybody. I would not recommend that a person go online and get KI. This should all be directed by scientists and doctors. Information should not be coming from politicians. If something has to be done, the directions will be coming from medical personnel. How many radiation countermeasure drugs are in the SNS? We have seven drugs that are approved by the FDA in our SNS. There is KI to protect the thyroid. Another is Leukine, which comes from the oncology world. Drugs approved in the past for neutropenia caused by cancer and chemotherapy are now in the SNS and would be used in patients with low blood cell counts with Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS). Lots of other drugs are under development, such as Genistein (which I discuss in my book) has not been approved, but it is in phase 2 of development to be approved for ARS. Doses of this drug are being used in trials with patients receiving radiation treatment for lung cancer to protect healthy tissues. Based on what we have seen in terms of the politicization of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the US, do you fear the same could happen in a nuclear disaster? We knew nothing about this virus, so everything that was evolving was new to us. This is not the case with radiation, which we are familiar with. We have data on [the nuclear explosions at] Hiroshima, Chernobyl and Fukushima. We just have to be very organized and put response systems in place.With Covid, people have different opinions and are trying to push different studies, sometimes without waiting for results and analysis. The media is also problematic, picking up stories as we go and not waiting until we have true information.This article contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something, The Times of Israel may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

Pentagon says US Navy fired warning shots at Iran boats in Gulf-American vessel opened fire after three Revolutionary Guards fast inshore attack craft come within 60 yards, refuse to heed warnings; incident occurred in international waters-By AFP-28 April 2021, 1:41 am

WASHINGTON — A US Navy vessel fired warning shots toward three Iranian military speed boats in the Gulf this week to warn them after they sped close to the ship, the Navy said Tuesday.The three fast inshore attack craft operated by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy came within 68 yards (62 meters) of the USS Firebolt and the US Coast Guard vessel Baranoff on Monday in international waters in the northern part of the Gulf, the Navy said.“The US crews issued multiple warnings via bridge-to-bridge radio and loud-hailer devices,” a statement from the US Fifth Fleet said.As the Iranian boats continued to move closer, “The crew of Firebolt then fired warning shots, and the IRGCN vessels moved away to a safe distance from the US vessels,” it said.The US side said the Iranian actions “increased the risk of miscalculation and/or collision,” and warned that the US ship commanders “retain the inherent right to act in self-defense.”On April 2 four Revolutionary Guard vessels, three fast attack craft and on large Harth 55 catamaran, similarly came close to two US Coast Guard patrol ships, crossing their bows while ignoring warnings, the Fifth Fleet said earlier Tuesday.US navy footage showed the Harth 55 cutting in front of a US vessel, which abruptly steered off course to avoid collision.The confrontations came amid talks in Vienna between Iran and major powers on the mechanics of a US return to a landmark 2015 nuclear deal abandoned three years later by then president Donald Trump.In offering to rejoin the agreement in February, US President Joe Biden stressed the need to reduce “Iran’s destabilizing activities across the Middle East.”

After a day of quiet, Gaza terrorists fire 2 rockets toward Israel-IDF says projectiles fell inside Strip, triggering alarms in Kissufim region; dozens of rockets were fired into Israel over weekend, prompting warnings of harsh response-By TOI staff-28 April 2021, 12:42 am

Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip fired two rockets toward Israel after midnight Tuesday, with both projectiles falling inside the coastal enclave, the IDF said.There were no reports of injuries or damage.The launches triggered rocket warning sirens in Israeli communities near Kissufim and came after a one-day lull in attacks.The latest violence began late Friday night, when terrorists in the Strip launched at least 36 rockets and mortar shells at southern Israel, causing light damage in a number of Israeli communities near the border. The attacks resumed on Saturday night, when more than four rockets were fired toward Israel, some of them failing to clear the border and landing inside Gaza, and then again late Sunday night, when five more projectiles were fired from the Strip at southern Israel.The security cabinet on Monday signed off on a major military response if terrorists in the Gaza Strip continue to fire rockets into Israel, after dozens of projectiles were launched from the enclave over the past three days.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz were authorized to determine what steps to take should the violence persist, according to Israeli officials.The decision came following a security cabinet meeting in which defense officials presented a number of potential military options in response to further rocket attacks. The officials warned that a large strike on the Hamas terror group could lead to an outbreak of further violence not only in Gaza, but also in Jerusalem and the West Bank.The IDF responded to the Friday night attacks with strikes on Hamas infrastructure, but has refrained since then from retaliating violently. Instead, on Monday morning, the military announced it was closing the Gaza fishing zone until further notice, cutting off a major source of income for the beleaguered enclave.The terror groups that conducted the launches — the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Fatah — said in statements that they were a response to ongoing unrest in Jerusalem, which has seen violence between Jews and Arabs, as well as clashes between Arab youths and Israeli police, in recent days.The attacks and Hamas’s presumed approval of them have also been tied to internal Palestinian competition, ahead of elections that were scheduled for next month — the first elections in some 15 years — but which the Palestinian Authority has indicated it plans to postpone indefinitely.

Saudi Arabia says it destroyed explosives-laden attack boat targeting port-Private security firms suggest commercial maritime traffic may have been hit in assault on remote-controlled, ‘booby-trapped’ vessel-By Jon Gambrell and Isabel Debre-APR 28,21-Today, 3:22 pm

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A remotely piloted boat packed with explosives targeted the Saudi port of Yanbu in the Red Sea on Tuesday, the kingdom said, with the blast sending black smoke into the sky off the coast.Saudi Arabia claimed to have intercepted and destroyed the attack boat. However, private security firms suggested commercial traffic near the port may have been hit in the assault.Details remained scarce, but the incident comes after a series of attacks on shipping in the wider Mideast region amid a shadow war between Iran and Israel and against the backdrop of ongoing negotiations between Tehran and world powers over Iran’s tattered nuclear deal.The incident also comes amid the kingdom’s yearslong war against Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The Houthis have in the past used bomb-laden drones and explosive-packed boats in attacks targeting the kingdom. However, the rebels did not immediately claim any assaults on Tuesday.The state-run Saudi Press Agency quoted Saudi military spokesman Col. Turki al-Maliki saying the port was targeted by the drone boat.“The booby-trapped boat was dealt and destroyed according to the rules of engagement,” the report quoted al-Maliki as saying, without providing evidence to support his claim.The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, run by the British navy, simply said it was “aware of reports of an incident” and that investigations were ongoing. Private maritime security firm Dryad Global said it had reports that a ship had been “attacked,” without elaborating.Maritime security firm Neptune P2P Group reported that black smoke was seen billowing near the south entrance of the Yanbu port.British maritime security firm Ambrey reported an “incident” off western Saudi Arabia, between the ports of Yanbu and Rabigh. Earlier Tuesday morning, smoke was seen rising from a vessel off the Saudi oil-shipping port of of Yanbu, the firm said. Multiple tankers remain anchored or drifting in the area.Yanbu port control broadcast a message by marine VHF radio, warning vessels to increase their level of alertness and monitor for any suspicious activity, Ambrey said.The US Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet declined to immediately comment on the incident.Meanwhile, American and Iranian warships had a tense encounter in the Persian Gulf earlier this month, the first such incident in about a year, the US Navy said Tuesday. Footage released by the Navy showed a ship commanded by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard cutting in front of the USCGC Monomoy, causing the Coast Guard vessel to come to an abrupt stop with its engine smoking on April 2.The Guard also did the same with another Coast Guard vessel, the USCGC Wrangell, said Cmdr. Rebecca Rebarich, a 5th Fleet spokeswoman. Such close passes risk the ships colliding at sea.The incident came as Iran negotiates with world powers in Vienna over Tehran and Washington returning to the 2015 nuclear deal, talks due to resume Tuesday. It also follows a series of incidents across the Mideast attributed to a shadow war between Iran and Israel, which includes attacks on regional shipping and sabotage at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility.

Iran’s Zarif praises ‘vital’ Iraqi efforts to broker Saudi Arabia rapprochement-Visiting Baghdad on the back of de-escalation talks with Riyadh, top Iranian diplomat says he hopes for ‘more negotiations and understandings in the region’-By AP-APR 28,21-Today, 5:38 pm

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iran’s foreign minister on Monday praised Baghdad’s efforts aimed at bolstering regional stability, saying he hopes they would lead to “more negotiations and understandings” in the region.Mohammad Javad Zarif spoke to reporters during a visit to the Iraqi capital, which earlier this month hosted the first round of direct talks between regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran. The talks signaled a possible de-escalation following years of animosity that often spilled into neighboring countries and at least one still-raging war.Zarif also extended Iran’s condolences after a massive fire at a Baghdad hospital for coronavirus patients over the weekend killed 82 people. Officials said the blaze, which also injured 110 people, was set off by an exploding oxygen cylinder.Riyadh has been trying to end its years-long war in Yemen against Iran-backed Houthi rebels who have increasingly launched missiles and bomb-laden drones at the kingdom to targeting crucial sites and oil infrastructure. Ending that war could be a bargaining chip for the Iranians as they seek sanctions relief from nuclear talks in Vienna.“We welcome Iraq’s vital role in the region and we hope that day after day that strengthens Iraq’s role for the stability of the region,” Zarif said during a joint news conference with his Iraqi counterpart, Fouad Hussein.“We thank the Iraqi government for exerting its efforts,” Zarif said, without confirming the Saudi-Iran talks were indeed held in Iraq. “We hope that these efforts will lead to more negotiations and understandings in the region.”All foreign powers will eventually leave, Zarif added, but “we will stay here and we should base our relations on good neighborhood, no interference and mutual respect.”Iraq, which has ties with both the US and Iran, has often borne the brunt of Saudi-Iran rivalry.Hussein said Iraq’s foreign policy is to build a “balanced relation with everyone and calm things.”Neither Iran nor Saudi Arabia have confirmed the talks took place, though Iranian officials have alluded to them and welcomed them.Iran-Saudi relations worsened considerably in 2016, when Riyadh removed its diplomats after protesters attacked the kingdom’s embassy in Tehran and consulate in Mashhad in retaliation for Saudi Arabia’s execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr. Those posts have remained closed. At the time, Iraq offered itself as a possible mediator between the two countries.During his Iraq visit, Zarif is scheduled to meet top officials, visit the holy Shiite city of Najaf and also the Kurdish region in the north.The visit coincided with a firestorm within Iran set off by a leaked recording of Zarif speaking in an interview to a well known economist. Zarif took no questions from journalists after giving his brief statement in Baghdad and did not address the issue.

Israel not seeking to thwart Palestinian election, official tells EU envoys-Foreign Ministry official meets with ambassadors from bloc, urges them not to believe Ramallah’s claims that Israel blocking vote in East Jerusalem-By TOI staff-APR 28,21-Today, 8:57 pm 0

Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday stressed to a group of European Union ambassadors that it has no interest in thwarting the upcoming Palestinian elections.The Foreign Ministry’s political director Alon Bar met with 13 ambassadors from EU countries and urged them not to heed claims of Israeli interference in the election by officials close to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.The meeting came as Ramallah appeared poised to delay next month’s vote, citing Israel’s alleged refusal to allow voting to be held in East Jerusalem.“During the meeting, Alon Bar emphasized to the ambassadors that the elections in the Palestinian Authority are an internal Palestinian issue, and that Israel has no intention of intervening in them nor preventing them,” a Foreign Ministry statement said.Tuesday’s meeting was initiated by the EU member states, who stressed the importance of Israel allowing the Palestinians to hold their elections uninhibited — a move they said would strengthen the PA. They also asked Israel to authorize the entrance of EU observers to the West Bank and Gaza in order to monitor the election. Elections in East #Jerusalem pic.twitter.com/0WyfQ3MIkf — ???? ????? Hussein Al Sheikh (@HusseinSheikhpl) April 27, 2021-Bar told the diplomats that Israel has made a decision not to comment publicly on the elections scheduled for next month, adding that Jerusalem has not yet decided whether to allow them to take place in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem where nearly 400,000 Palestinians live, according to the Walla news site. Those Palestinians have Israeli residency rights, and in principle can apply for Israeli citizenship, but face considerable hurdles in doing so.The Foreign Ministry official speculated that Abbas would ultimately decide to delay the elections due to growing concerns that the Gaza-ruling Hamas terror group would win, Walla reported. Bar also said that Israel would oppose any future Palestinian government to which Hamas is a party.Bar reminded those present of Hamas’ role in encouraging increased violence in Jerusalem, as well as the firing of rockets from Gaza at Israeli civilians, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.Bar also said Hamas’s rise “could have implications on the ground for security stability in the region, the promotion of civilian projects in Palestinian Authority areas, as well as attempts to advance contact between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.”Bar “emphasized that Israel is acting cautiously and responsibly to prevent the situation on the ground from deteriorating, and expects that the European countries will act in the same manner,” the ministry said.Attending the meeting were the EU’s ambassador to Israel Emmanuele Giaufret, along with the envoys of France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Ireland, Greece and Portugal.Abbas is widely reported to be leaning toward delaying the elections.Palestinians are currently scheduled to head to their first national vote in 15 years on May 22. The last Palestinian national elections were held in 2006, when Hamas defeated Abbas’s Fatah movement in a landslide.At a Monday meeting of the Fatah Central Committee, Abbas reiterated that he would not permit the elections to take place without the residents of East Jerusalem being permitted to vote.The Palestinian leadership — including leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad — is scheduled to meet on Thursday to decide whether the elections can go forward without Israel officially permitting East Jerusalem Palestinians to participate.Abbas’s opponents have charged in recent days that the unpopular PA president, fearful of political defeat, is using Israel’s alleged refusal to formally permit East Jerusalem voting as a pretext to back away from holding the election. The vote, originally scheduled for 2010, sees his once-dominant Fatah movement under challenge from breakaway factions as well as Hamas.The Oslo Accords, a series of bilateral agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, stipulate that Palestinians can vote at designated post offices throughout Jerusalem.The Palestinian election commission says 150,000 voters will be able to cast ballots on the outskirts of East Jerusalem, in a process that does not require a green light from Israel. And a symbolic 6,300 will get to vote within the holy city itself under Israeli supervision.But Palestinian authorities fear that arrangement could still leave thousands of the city’s inhabitants disenfranchised.The Palestinians view East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, while Israel officially considers the entire city its undivided capital and bars any PA activity from taking place in the city. About 60 candidates in the Palestinian elections are from East Jerusalem.

IDF: Hezbollah drone downed after breaching Israeli airspace-Military says unmanned aircraft was constantly under surveillance; troops also find a second drone belonging to the Lebanese terror group that was shot down weeks ago-By TOI staff-APR 28,21-Today, 9:57 pm

Israeli soldiers on Tuesday downed a drone belonging to Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror organization after it entered Israeli airspace, the military said.Soldiers also located a second drone that was downed on the Israel-Lebanon border several months ago, according to the Israel Defense Forces.The IDF said the UAV that was shot down Monday was identified by troops after it entered Israeli skies, before it was targeted.“The drone was under surveillance by the forces throughout the incident,” an IDF statement said.The other drone was shot down several weeks ago after entering Israeli airspace, the military added, without further elaborating.The incident came on the heels of a number of recent Israeli warnings toward Hezbollah, including Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s threat last week that the Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite terror group will suffer “heavy consequences” if it acts against Israel.“We are aware of Hezbollah’s attempts to challenge us in new ways,” Gantz said, without elaborating on the new tactics. “We will deal with any threat. If Hezbollah challenges the IDF and the State of Israel, it will suffer very, very heavy consequences and I hope they don’t do that.”In February, Hezbollah fired anti-aircraft missiles at an advanced Israeli drone in a significant escalation in the level of violence along the border. A few days prior to that, a small, off-the-shelf IDF drone was allegedly downed by Hezbollah using small arms fire.Also in February, the Israeli Air Force held a three-day snap drill simulating a large-scale war with Hezbollah, which the military said included targeting some 3,000 mock strikes in a day.