Tag: Yair Lapid

Israeli Parties To Form Emergency Unity Government

The unity government will only be tasked with the security situation in Israel and will not sign off on any legislation or make decisions not tied to the ongoing conflict.

Israeli opposition politician Benny Gantz has agreed to form a national unity government with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the Hamas terror attacks.

A statement from Gantz also said a five-member “war-management” cabinet would be established.

The unity government will only be tasked with the security situation in Israel and will not sign off on any legislation or make decisions not tied to the ongoing conflict, according to the statement.

It’s unclear how the national unity government will impact Netanyahu’s partners in his current governing coalition. Netanyahu’s coalition mostly consists of ultra-orthodox and far-right parties.

Gantz belongs to the centrist Blue and White alliancewhile Benjamin Netanyahu belongs to the conservative Likud party.

Gantz and Netanyahu will be a part of a “war Cabinet” directing operations against Hamas, the Islamist militant organisation in charge of the Gaza Strip.

“Following a meeting… held today, the two agreed on establishing an emergency government and war cabinet,” a joint statement read.

Defence minister Yoav Gallant will also be a part of the war cabinet. Gadi Eisenkot, a member of the Israeli parliament, or Knesset, who earlier served as Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), will be an observer in the Cabinet, along with Israeli minister of strategic affairs Ron Dermer.

Yair Lapid, a member of the centrist Yesh Atid party, has not yet signed onto the war cabinet, but a seat will be left open for him. Lapid is a frequent critic of Netanyahu and the far-right and orthodox religious parties in Netanyahu’s coalition.

The decision to form a unity government and war cabinet between Netanyahu and Gantz is significant, as Gantz had previously chided Netanyahu over his judicial reform plans.

The unity government means that for the duration, there will likely be no movement at all on the judicial reform issue, which had divided Israel and led to massive protests in Tel Aviv and other cities.

This article was originally published on DW.


Amid Protests, Israeli Parliament Approves Contentious Judicial Reform Law

Thousands of protesters gathered near parliament in the hours leading up to the vote, with some of them having camped there as a show of opposition to the proposal.

Israeli lawmakers on Monday approved a key portion of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s divisive plan to reshape the country’s judicial system.

The plans have split the nation since they were unveiled in January, sparking one of the biggest protest movements in Israel’s history.

Failed attempt at compromise

All 64 lawmakers from the ruling right-wing coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voted in favour of the text, with opposition members of parliament boycotting the vote.

The vote – which is the second of three needed for the overhaul – came after a heated session in which opposition lawmakers chanted “shame” and stormed out of the chamber.

Lawmakers debated the divisive legislation through the night into Monday, with Israel’s President Isaac Herzog seeking a compromise and meeting Netanyahu at the hospital.

Despite Herzog’s efforts to mediate, Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid said efforts to reach an agreement had failed. “With this government, it is impossible to reach agreements that will preserve Israeli democracy,” Lapid was reported as saying ahead of the vote.

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir condemned the last-minute attempts at compromise.

The minister said he regretted that “parts of the coalition are negotiating and seeking a compromise that undermines the law”.

The Bill limits the Supreme Court’s ability to strike down government decisions that the judges deem “unreasonable”.

Protesters block roads 

Thousands of protesters gathered near parliament in the hours leading up to the vote, with some of them having camped there as a show of opposition to the proposal.

Some banged on drums and blew horns as they blocked a route leading to the Knesset, while police used water cannons to push the demonstrators back. Police said 19 people had been arrested in the protests as lawmakers began the voting process.

Proponents of the changes – a core part of a wider judicial restructuring – say they are needed to curb the powers of the Supreme Court.

Critics say the legal revamp, driven by a governing coalition that includes religious extremist and ultranationalist parties, will undermine Israel’s democratic values.

They say the plan will erode Israel’s system of checks and balances, and could open the door for authoritarian rule.

Only hours earlier, the Israeli prime minister was released from the hospital on Monday after an emergency cardiac procedure, hours ahead of the parliamentary session.

The Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv admitted Netanyahu late on Saturday after doctors said a monitor had detected an irregular heart rhythm. Medics said the following day that an operation to fit a pacemaker had gone smoothly.

This article first appeared on DW. Read the original piece here. 

Al Jazeera Files Suit at ICC Against Israeli Forces Over Journalist’s Killing

The International Criminal Court must identify the individuals who were directly involved in Shireen Abu Akleh’s killing, Al Jazeera lawyer Rodney Dixon KC said.

Dubai: Al Jazeera on Tuesday said it has filed a lawsuit at the International Criminal Court against Israeli forces over the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot during an Israeli raid in the West Bank in May.

The lawsuit following an investigation by the television news network’s legal team, Al Jazeera said on Twitter.

The ICC must identify the individuals who were directly involved Abu Akleh’s killing, Al Jazeera lawyer Rodney Dixon KC told a news conference in The Hague on Tuesday.

“The rulings of the International Criminal Court stipulate that those responsible be investigated and held accountable. Otherwise, they bear the same responsibility as if they were the ones who opened fire,” Dixon said.

The circumstances of Abu Akleh’s killing are disputed.

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said on Tuesday that no one would question Israeli soldiers.

“No one will interrogate IDF soldiers and no one will preach to us about morals of combat, certainly not the Al Jazeera network,” Lapid said.

Lebanon, Israel Clinch Historic Maritime Border Deal

While limited in scope, a deal would mark a significant compromise between states with a history of war and hostility, opening the way for offshore energy exploration and easing a source of recent tensions.

Beirut/Jerusalem: Lebanon and Israel have reached a historic agreement demarcating a disputed maritime border between them following years of US-mediated negotiations, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said on Tuesday.

While limited in scope, a deal would mark a significant compromise between states with a history of war and hostility, opening the way for offshore energy exploration and easing a source of recent tensions.

“This is a historic achievement that will strengthen Israel’s security, inject billions into Israel’s economy, and ensure the stability of our northern border,” Lapid said in a statement.

In Lebanon, President Michel Aoun said the terms of the final US proposal were satisfactory and he hoped the deal would be announced as soon as possible.

He received a congratulatory call on Wednesday from US President Joe Biden, who told him the US stood by Lebanon as it sought to strengthen the economy through possible gas wealth, Auon’s office said.

The agreement is meant to resolve a territorial dispute in the eastern Mediterranean sea in an area where Lebanon aims to explore for natural gas. Israel is already producing natural gas at fields nearby.

It sets a border between Lebanese and Israeli waters for the first time and also establishes a mechanism for both countries to get royalties from TotalEnergies’ exploration of an offshore gas field that straddles the boundary.

The deal does not touch on their shared land border.

Lebanese negotiator Elias Bou Saab told Reuters that the latest draft “takes into consideration all of Lebanon’s requirements and we believe that the other side should feel the same.”

It was also endorsed by the heavily armed, Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, which until recently has threatened to attack Israeli gas facilities, according to two officials.

A senior Lebanese government official and an official close to Hezbollah said the group had agreed to the terms of the deal and considered negotiations “over.” Hezbollah has yet to formally comment.

While Israel has moved ahead with production and export of natural gas, Lebanon’s efforts have been hamstrung by political dysfunction.

A gas find would be a major boon for Lebanon, which has been mired in financial crisis since 2019, and could fix Lebanon’s long-standing failure to produce adequate electricity for its population.

A senior delegation from TotalEnergies met with Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and energy minister Walid Fayyad in Beirut on Tuesday.

Mikati said TotalEnergies would begin exploration as soon as a deal was formally announced. TotalEnergies has not commented on the meeting.

While Lebanon, Israel and the United States have hailed the end of negotiations, the deal itself has yet to receive final stamps of approval in either Tel Aviv or Beirut.

Lapid, who faces a November 1 election, plans to seek approval on Wednesday for the deal from his security cabinet and then the government, before it is reviewed by parliament. An Israeli official said final approval was expected within the next three weeks.

Lebanon’s president, prime minister and speaker of parliament are expected to issue their approval of the deal without sending the draft to parliament. Opposition parliamentarians have criticised Lebanon’s approach to the deal, saying it had made too many concessions.

Aoun has said a deal would not signify a “partnership” with Israel, a country Lebanon does not recognise and officially regards as an enemy.

“We are avoiding a sure-fire war in the region,” Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said last week.

I2U2 Summit: Leaders Lay Emphasis on Food Security and Clean Energy

The joint statement said that the United Arab Emirates will invest $2 billion to develop a series of integrated food parks across India under the framework of the four-nation grouping.

New Delhi: Food security and clean energy were in focus as the four leaders of the ‘I2U2’ grouping issued a joint statement on Thursday in which they discussed innovative ways to ensure longer-term, more diversified food production and food delivery systems.

The I2U2 (India, Israel, the US and UAE) grouping has established a “positive agenda” and its framework is a good model for practical cooperation in the face of increasing global uncertainties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the first summit of the coalition.

Two initiatives were highlighted in the joint statement, with the UAE investing $2 billion to develop a series of integrated food parks across India, while the group will advance a “hybrid renewable energy project” in Gujarat consisting of 300 megawatts (MW) of wind and solar capacity.

With US President Joe Biden, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan listening, Modi – who attended the summit virtually – said the grouping would make an important contribution in areas of energy security, food security and economic growth.

“We have identified joint projects in many areas, and have also prepared a roadmap to move forward in them,” he said in his televised address. “We have agreed to increase joint investment in six critical areas of water, energy, transportation, space, health and food security under the I2U2 framework,” Modi added.

He said the cooperative framework of the grouping is a good model for practical cooperation in the midst of increasing global uncertainties. “It is clear that the vision and agenda of I2U2 is progressive and practical.”

“By mobilising the mutual strengths of our countries – capital, expertise and markets – we can accelerate our agenda, and contribute significantly to the global economy,” Modi said.

“I am confident that with I2U2, we will make a significant contribution towards energy security, food security and economic growth at the global level,” he added.

UAE investment, renewable energy project

The United Arab Emirates will invest $2 billion to develop a series of integrated food parks across India under the framework of the four-nation grouping.

“India will provide appropriate land for the project and will facilitate farmers’ integration into the food parks. The US and Israeli private sectors will be invited to lend their expertise and offer innovative solutions that contribute to the overall sustainability of the project,” the joint statement said.

It said the investments will help maximise crop yields and, in turn, help tackle food insecurity in South Asia and the Middle East.

The statement also said the I2U2 group will advance hybrid renewable energy project in Gujarat consisting of 300 megawatts of wind and solar capacity. The leaders also expressed determination to leverage well-established markets to build more innovative, inclusive, and science-based solutions to enhance food security.

The statement said the I2U2 aims to harness the vibrancy of our societies and entrepreneurial spirit to tackle some of the greatest challenges confronting our world.

The I2U2 grouping was conceptualised during the meeting of the foreign ministers of the four countries held on October 18 last year.

The statement said “these are only the first steps in a long-term strategic partnership to promote initiatives and investments that improve the movement of people and goods across hemispheres, and increase sustainability and resilience through collaborative science and technology partnerships”.

Infamous Spyware Maker NSO Is Lobbying To Get off US Trade Blacklist

The cybersecurity firm has invested heavily in top lobbyists and law firms in an effort to lift restrictions on doing business in America.

ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.

Israeli cybersecurity company NSO Group, the company behind the notorious Pegasus spyware, has been conducting a broad campaign in the United States to get off the US government’s blacklist.

Pegasus is a hacking tool that could be used to vacuum up a phone’s contents remotely without the target having to fall into a phishing trap by clicking on a deceptive link. The spyware can even use the phone to remotely track and record its user.

The Biden administration added NSO to a Commerce Department list of restricted companies last November after a series of investigations revealed that Pegasus had been used by foreign governments against journalists and human rights activists. A forensic analysis from last July, for example, revealed that two people close to journalist Jamal Khashoggi were targeted by the spyware before and after his assassination in October 2018. Khashoggi, an exiled Saudi Arabian journalist and American resident, was murdered in Turkey by Saudi authorities. The NSO Group has said its technology “was not associated in any way with the heinous murder of Jamal Khashoggi.”

NSO has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in the past year in payments to lobbyists, public relations companies and law firms in the US, in the hope of reversing the Biden administration’s November decision, according to public records filed under the Foreign Agent Registration Act and conversations with people familiar with the effort. These firms have approached members of the US House and Senate, as well as various media outlets and think tanks across the US, on NSO’s behalf.

Companies on the Commerce Department’s blacklist, officially called the “Entity List,” are not completely prohibited from doing business in the US. However, they are subject to licensing and other trade restrictions, making it more difficult to conduct business in the country or with Americans. NSO’s business has reportedly suffered since the designation.

NSO is trying to get the matter raised during a meeting between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid when the former visits Israel this week. In addition, NSO lobbyists unsuccessfully tried to set up a meeting between representatives of the company and US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, but it did not take place.

Asked for comment, an NSO spokesperson declined to comment on the campaign but “thanked” Shomrim for publishing an article on its efforts, which he described as “supportive.”

The American military contractor L3Harris also held talks to try to purchase NSO, with backing from the Defense Department, according to The New York Times. L3Harris has abandoned the effort, the paper said.

Placement on the Entity List is a serious sanction but less significant than being placed on the Specially Designated Nationals list. In the past, companies have won removal from the Entity List after settling charges with the US government and promising reforms.

NSO said at the time of the US administration’s decision to add it to the list that it would work to have the move reversed. Public records show that the firm started recruiting various North American consultants even before it was blacklisted. In July last year, it hired the Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman law firm to advise it on tenders and various compliance requirements in the United States. The firm was initially hired for six months at a cost of about $75,000 per month. NSO continued to retain its services at least into the first half of 2022.

Pillsbury then hired strategic advisory group Chartwell for six months at a cost of $50,000 to $75,000 per month, according to public records. Chartwell met with representatives of the House Intelligence Committee, whose members called last year for more serious sanctions of NSO under the Magnitsky Act. The lobbying firm also approached, among others, Senators Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and Mike Rounds, R-S.D., as well as Reps. Tom Malinowski, D-N.J. and Mike Turner, R-Ohio. Romney, Rounds, Malinowsky and Turner did not respond to a request for comment. Chartwell has also reached out to various media outlets on behalf of NSO, and distributed material in which the company reiterated its assurances that it would investigate any misuse of its products.

In January 2022, the company hired the services of the Paul Hastings law firm for $10,000 a month. Hastings then had a call with Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., on behalf of NSO. Moreover, less than four months ago, NSO signed an agreement with Washington, D.C.-based public relations and media consulting firm Bluelight Strategies, which has strong ties with the Democratic Party. The firm’s managing director, Aaron Keyak, went on unpaid leave to join Biden’s campaign staff in July 2020 and currently serves as the State Department’s deputy special envoy to combat and monitor antisemitism. NSO paid Bluelight $100,000 in February for two months of work, with an option to extend the contract for $50,000 a month.

The contract between the parties, signed by NSO founder Shalev Hulio and Bluelight President Steve Rabinowitz, also allows Bluelight to hire a sub-consultant at a cost of up to $20,000 a month. “NSO’s tools provide limited and specifically targeted intelligence capabilities that have been repeatedly used for instance to help rescue scores of children from human trafficking as well as stopping numerous terrorist attacks,” wrote Brian E. Finch, a partner at Pillsbury, to Rep. Malinowsky earlier this year. “NSO’s Pegasus customers are solely law enforcement and intelligence agencies, and by far are mainly democratic allies of the US and Israel in Western Europe,” he added.

NSO Group “worries about improper or otherwise abusive use of its tools against journalists, human rights advocates, and others,” wrote Finch. “NSO has strict protocols in place to avoid misuse of its products and to terminate access to such products in cases where misuse has been alleged.” The attorney wrote that “NSO stands ready and willing to work with the US government to identify and develop global standards that reflect shared values — protecting citizens of the United States and safeguarding human rights and privacy concerns.”

In a different letter distributed by the firm this year, NSO states it has “developed a human rights governance compliance program,” saying it would conduct a review of all users to see whether they might use the technology used to “violate human rights.”

Pillsbury, Chartwell, Paul Hastings and Bluelight did not respond to a request for comment. The Department of Commerce did not respond to a request for comment.

NSO representatives have approached various people within the administration in order to get a clear understanding of what steps the company could and should take to be taken off the blacklist. They presented NSO’s “kill switch,” which allows the company to terminate contracts when their product is misused, and have warned that if NSO shuts down, Chinese and Russian companies will take its place. So far, the lobbying campaign has generated little response. NSO has not been told what it needs to do to remove itself from the list, according to the people familiar with the campaign.

This article is co-published with Shomrim, an Israel-based nonprofit and nonpartisan independent news organisation.

This article was originally published by ProPublica.

Israel’s Support to Ukraine Involves No Policies, Only Disgrace and Shticks

Israel’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is no more than a public relations campaign meant to blunt international criticism against the government’s inaction.

Instead of applying the ‘never again’ principle, we repeatedly see shameful behaviour by Israeli governments in the face of atrocities and war crimes. The conduct of the Bennett-Lapid government in the face of Putin’s criminal war in Ukraine is a disgrace. Instead of policies, we only see shticks (gimmicks) and PR stunts.

The head of the Meretz party, Minister of Health Nitzan Horovitz bragged on Twitter about the government’s decision to establish a field hospital in Ukraine.

“Emergency room, maternity ward, X-ray laboratory and paediatric wards, women and men, all part of the field hospital that will go to Ukraine. Our humanity is measured first and foremost in times of crisis and we are committed to helping wherever possible the Ukrainian people who are under brutal attack. Great respect for our delegation. Return home in peace,” the tweet reads.

There is nothing to get excited about in the establishment of an Israeli field hospital in Ukraine. This is a shtick intended for public relations that the second Rabin government also made.

In the summer of 1994, the Rabin government sent a medical aid delegation to the genocide survivors in Rwanda, headed by late minister of environment protection, Yossi Sarid. This was done as part of a PR stunt to cover the fact that arms shipments from Israel to the genocidal Hutu regime, including Uzi submachine guns and hand grenades, took place before and during the extermination. When Minister Sarid was asked about the arms shipments, he replied, “We have no control over where our weapons go”.

Of course, this was a lie, since planes with weapons cannot take off without the approval of the authorities in Israel. 

Also read: Ukraine’s Prosecutor Office Says 112 Children Killed in War

The Israeli field hospital in Ukraine will be built while Putin’s forces are deliberately bombing hospitals across the country and impairing the power supply and the ability to deliver drugs and other medical equipment to the hospitals that have not yet been bombed – exactly like Putin’s forces also did earlier in Syria.

Unlike the Hutu regime in Rwanda, Putin does not need weapon shipments from Israel for the war crimes he commits in Ukraine; he just needs Israel to continue to serve as a loophole that will allow his regime and oligarchs to circumvent international sanctions. As long as the loophole in Israel and other countries is not closed, sanctions will mainly affect the ordinary Russian citizen and not the oligarchs and elites who are directly responsible for preserving Putin’s regime.

Instead of foreign affairs minister Yair Lapid demanding an immediate convening of the Israeli government and its vote on a decision to close the loophole, the government is engaged in a public relations campaign on the Ukrainian border, which serves both Lapid’s personal political interests and the Israeli government’s need to soften international criticism. Without having any authority to do so, the minister announced vaguely, “Israel won’t be used as a means to bypass the sanctions on Russia” – a genius shtick. Afterwards, journalists and others published fake celebratory reports that Israel announces publicly for the first time it will comply with the international sanctions against Russia.

Lapid was not asked what actual steps the Israeli government intends to take, and the oligarchs’ flights continue to land in Israel. It is no coincidence that neither Prime Minister Naftali Bennett nor anyone else in the government has issued a clarification to Lapid’s announcement. It is very convenient for the Israeli government that the world will think that Israel joined the sanctions, without actually joining the sanctions. 

The Bennett-Lapid government’s excuse that Israel lacks a sanctions law is also a shtick. A government decision is enough; if not, then three weeks have passed since the beginning of the war during which time the law could have been legislated, since the government fully controls the Knesset. There is not even a government bill for sanctions, which proves this bluff.

Anyway, Israel is not an autarkic economy; it is part of the global economy. For example, The European Union is Israel’s biggest trade partner, accounting for 29.3% of its trade in goods in 2020. The main Israeli banks have branches in countries that have already declared sanctions and if Israeli companies and banks do not comply with the sanctions set by the EU and the US, European and American companies and citizens will not be able to do business with them, so as not to take risks.

There is no excuse for the oligarchs’ flights being allowed to continue landing in Israel. In recent years, the State of Israel has repeatedly prevented Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) activists and critics of the Israeli occupation (of Palestine) from entering both Israel and the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Recently, a new military procedure restricting foreign lecturers and researchers’ entrance into Palestinian territories was published. If the Israeli government can prevent Noam Chomsky from entering the West Bank, there is no question that the Israeli government could also prevent oligarchs associated with Putin’s kleptocratic regime – and that help him finance the war – from landing, if only there was the political will to do it.

No Mossad investigation is needed to identify them. Foreign Minister Lapid can simply search Google for the lists of Russian people and companies under the sanctions that the EU and the US have published on their official websites.

Watch: West Will ‘Shrug and Do Nothing’ If India Buys Russian Oil During Ukraine Crisis

As long as the Bennett-Lapid government does not close this loophole, Bennett’s talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky seem like a shtick meant to whitewash the immorality and illegality of the Israeli government’s conduct.

This conduct comes despite the fact the Ukraine had close relations with Israel. Two years ago, when the former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Zelensky, Netanyahu said, “I am very, very happy with the way that our relations are going, the visit I had in the Ukraine with you, the deepening relations that we have”.

This is reminiscent of how Israel dumped the president of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios III, under the tank in July 1974 after the coup carried out by the Greek military junta and the Turkish invasion of the island in its wake. According to documents from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the state archives, in the years prior to the coup, Israel had built close relations with the military junta in Greece, which encompassed arms sales, oil transportation and diplomatic support.

Israel did not mind that thousands of Greek opposition members were arrested and tortured – and some also murdered – by the junta, as it identified them as its critics and recognised the potential for business relations with the military generals. Israel was aware that the junta in Greece had transferred military equipment to its forces and militias it held on Cypriot soil. According to a document in the archives, two months before the coup, on May 2, 1974, the Israeli Foreign Ministry approved handing over unmarked 81 mm mortars to the Greek army in Cyprus, “And over time, this can be brought to Makarios’ notice”.

After the coup, on July 22, 1974, the exiled President Makarios sent a telegram to the then Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin, in which he asked for assistance in maintaining the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cyprus. The Israeli government decided to send him only a “warm greeting” from the former Israeli ambassador to Cyprus, Rahamim Timur, who asked how Makarios was and wished him health and all the best.

All those who support the freedom and independence of the Ukrainian people should condemn the conduct of the Israeli government, that again chooses to be on the wrong side of history, and that of those who continue to help Putin’s war machine.

Eitay Mack is a human rights lawyer and activist based in Jerusalem.

At First Foreign Ministers’ Joint Meeting, US, Israel, UAE, India Discuss Harnessing Strategic Ties

In his remarks, US Secretary of State Blinken described Israel, the UAE and India as three of “our most strategic partners”.

New Delhi: At a closed-door virtual conference in Jerusalem, minister of external affairs S. Jaishankar met with his counterparts from the United States, Israel and the United Arab Emirates – their joint meeting indicating Washington’s interest to bring India into its embrace in West Asia, after the Indo-Pacific.

Jaishankar, who is currently on a five-day visit to Israel, was accompanied by the home nation’s foreign minister, Yair Lapid, during the quadrilateral-level meeting on Monday, while US secretary of state Antony Blinken and UAE foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan participated virtually from Washington and London, respectively.

According to the Israeli foreign ministry’s readout, the four-nation meeting was proposed by Lapid during his visit to Washington last week.

It also said that the primary outcome of the meeting was an in-principle agreement to establish an “international forum for economic cooperation”.

“At the end of the conversation, it was decided that each minister will appoint senior-level professionals to a joint working group that will formulate options for cooperation in the aforementioned areas,” said the Israeli press statement.

They also discussed a quick follow-up in-person meeting of the four ministers “in the coming months at Expo 2020 in Dubai”.

In his remarks, Blinken described Israel, the UAE and India as three of “our most strategic partners”. He said by “bringing friends together in new ways, we are making these partnerships even greater than the sum of their parts”.

“I think that is what this gathering is about. Sitting here in Washington I can say very simply that with Israel, the UAE and India we have three of our most strategic partners. And given so many overlapping interests – energy, climate, trade, regional security – this seems like a really interesting and good idea to try and use this new format and very complementary capabilities in very many areas to just see many more things get done. That’s the idea,” Blinken said.

Lapid, who is also Israel’s Alternate Prime Minister, noted that “one of the things we are looking for is synergy, and that is what we will try and create after this meeting.”

“Synergy which will help us work together in all the areas that pre-occupies us. Around this table we have a unique set of capabilities, knowledge and experiences that can be used to create a network that we all want to create,” Lapid said.

The Israeli leader felt that the key to achieving what they were aiming at was quickly moving from government-to-government to business-to-business.

He emphasised the need for this quadrilateral grouping to quickly put adequate mechanisms in place to translate efforts into real businesses around the globe.

“During the meeting, the four ministers held a discussion on possibilities for joint infrastructure projects in the fields of transportation, technology, maritime security, and economics and trade, as well as for additional joint projects,” said the Israeli readout.

The US state department spokesperson listed the following agenda items – “expanding economic and political cooperation in the Middle East and Asia, including through trade, combating climate change, energy cooperation, and increasing maritime security”. He also added two more topics – people to people ties in technology and science, and global public health concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.

There were no separate official press releases from India or the UAE.

The UAE’s Al Nahyan thanked Blinken and Lapid for graciously “proposing the idea” of creating this kind of a forum to boost cooperation.

Talking about India, the UAE minister said, “Minister Jaishankar is an old friend, I could say, but also India and the UAE have such a strong and diverse relationship.”

Touching upon bureaucratic hurdles that often slow down such initiatives, Al Nahyan suggested businesses should be surprised by opportunities and then it should be observed how the trading community responds, in terms of putting a robust plan forward.

Jaishankar, in his brief comment, said, “The three of you are among the closest relationships we have, if not the closest”.


He agreed with Blinken that this kind of forum could work much better than three different bilateral engagements. Jaishankar cited the fight against COVID-19 at a difficult time as an example of the benefits of such cooperative mechanisms where bilateral ties tend to fail.

“I think it is very clear that on the big issues of our times we all think very similarly and what would be helpful would be if we could agree on some practical things to work upon,” Jaishankar said.

Later, the four foreign ministers entered a closed discussion to draw a strategy to make this quadrilateral cooperative plan a reality.

Also read: What We Can Expect From Joe Biden’s Policy Towards West Asia

Reports have indicated a new quad post the Abraham accords being inked last year. In August 2020, Israel, the UAE and the US signed Abraham Accords. The accord helped Israel and the UAE normalise their ties. India had welcomed the agreement, saying it “has always supported peace and stability in West Asia which is our extended neighbourhood.”

India and Israel elevated bilateral relations to a strategic partnership during the historic visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Israel in July 2017.

Since then, the relationship between the two countries has focused on expanding knowledge-based partnership, including collaboration in innovation and research.

Speaking to The Wire, India’s former ambassador to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, Talmiz Ahmad, stated the meeting seemed to have “cobbled” together to get the maximum publicity. “India already has substantial ties with all of them… I would say that the grouping has no strategic value. Basically, they are exploring that areas they can work together, which mostly would be in the area of technology,” he said.

While the more well-known ‘Quad’ had been formed with an eye on China, the four countries that met on Monday shared no similar strategic challenge in the region.

In recent weeks, the Biden administration has been actively projecting the Abraham Accords as a diplomatic turning point for Israel. The Israeli paper Haaretz observed that Blinken had stated that the US wants more international cooperation agreements based on the Abraham Accords and would work to get additional countries to sign similar deals with Israel. The newspaper cited Israeli sources as asserting ahead of the Tuesday meeting that the signing of the Abraham Accords bolstered Israel’s standing internationally and has drawn political and economic interest among various countries.

After the meeting, the US state department spokesperson noted that Blinken had “reiterated the Biden Administration’s support for the Abraham Accords and normalisation agreements and discussed future opportunities for collaboration in the region and globally”.

Ahmad said the Abraham Accords had been drafted “in a specific context” in the last year of the Trump administration. Most analysts had agreed that the deal had been crafted to give political momentum to Donald Trump’s re-election campaign, with both the Israeli and Emirati leadership keen to see him return to the White House. Over a year later, neither Trump nor Benjamin Netanyahu are at the helm of their countries.

So far, the UAE has been joined by Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco in the Abraham Accords. However, only UAE and Bahrain have exchanged diplomatic personnel, with Sudan and Morocco yet to fully go ahead due to strong domestic opposition.

(With PTI inputs)

Note: This article was originally published at 11:15 am on October 19, 2021 and was updated with additional details at 7:35 pm on October 19, 2021.

India, Israel Agree to Resume Negotiations on Free Trade Agreement From Next Month

“Our officials … are very confident that we would be able to conclude the negotiations by next June,” external affairs minister S. Jaishankar announced.

Jerusalem: India and Israel on Monday agreed to resume negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) from next month as the two sides are confident to conclude the long-pending deal by June next year.

“Our officials have actually agreed on the resumption of the India-Israel free trade negotiations starting in November. They are very confident that we would be able to conclude the negotiations by next June,” external affairs minister S. Jaishankar announced after he met alternate prime minister and foreign minister Yair Lapid.

Discussions around the FTA have been going on between the two sides for more than a decade but it is the first time that a definite deadline has been set, providing seriousness to the process.

Several announcements on the issue have been made by the two sides over the years but the agreement has remained elusive.

On his part, Lapid also stressed that the FTA will be “finalised as fast as we can” in the interest of both the countries and business communities.

“I am looking forward to deeply strengthening friendship between our countries, he said, describing India as “one of our most, not only a strategic partner but also a friend.”

“We see India as an important ally for many years. India also brings new opportunities for cooperation”, Lapid stated.

The two ministers also discussed further cooperation in the areas of water and agriculture.

Israel has also joined the International Solar Alliance (ISA), a global initiative that India has spearheaded, with Jaishankar and Israel’s energy minister Karine Elharrar signing the agreement.

“First of all let me say what a great pleasure it is to see Israel joining the international solar alliance. I think you bring a lot of value to the table and as we approach COP 26, it is very important in our growing agenda and green road, green economy,” Jaishankar said.

“We understand that only a global action will succeed in addressing the climate crisis securing the future of our children and our loved ones,” Elharrar said after signing the MoU.

“Joining the ISA, along with over 80 countries that are blessed with sunlight and are advancing solar energy, will allow Israel to contribute and gain from the global battle against climate change and promote solutions together for a greener future,” Elharrar said.

Israel’s former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in November 2020 had said that his country is a partner to India in its quest for less carbon and less pollution while attending a digital conference of the ISA at the personal invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

ISA is an initiative of Prime Minister Modi and is said to have already brought about 80 countries into its fold.

In order to ease travel between the two countries amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, India and Israel have also agreed to mutually recognise vaccination certificates.

Israel and India helped one another during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lapid said. “That is how friends and partners act.”

Jaishankar, who arrived here on Sunday on his maiden visit to the country, would also call on President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

He will also be holding talks with leading academics from all over Israel, business community leaders and interacting with the Indian Jewish community.

Jaishankar will also be visiting places of historical significance to India, demonstrating its long-term presence in the region and constructive role played in shaping the history of the region.

India and Israel elevated bilateral relations to a strategic partnership during the historic visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Israel in July 2017.

“Since then, the relationship between the two countries has focused on expanding knowledge-based partnership, which includes collaboration in innovation and research, including boosting the ‘Make in India’ initiative,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement ahead of the minister’s departure.

(PTI) 

Explainer: Who’s Who in Israel’s New Patchwork Coalition Government

The coalition spans the far left to the far right and includes, for the first time, a small Islamist faction representing Israel’s Arab minority.

Jerusalem: Israel’s new government is a hodgepodge of political parties that had little in common other than a desire to unseat veteran right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The coalition, sworn in on Sunday, spans the far left to far right and includes, for the first time, a small Islamist faction representing Israel’s Arab minority.

It is expected to focus mostly on economic and social issues rather than risk exposing internal rifts by trying to address major diplomatic matters such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Here are the people who are leading the new government:

Naftali Bennett: Prime minister

Bennett leads the ultranationalist Yamina (Rightwards) party that champions Jewish settlement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. He made a fortune in Israeli high-tech before entering politics in 2013. Bennett, 49, served in previous Netanyahu-led governments, most recently as defence minister.

Now he says he joined with opponents to save the country from political turmoil that could otherwise have led to a fifth election in just over two years. A plan he has floated, to annex much of the West Bank, seems unfeasible given his new partners. He opposes the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

Under the coalition deal, Bennett will serve as Prime Minister for two years whereupon he is to be replaced by Yair Lapid. He is Israel’s first leader to wear a kippah, a skullcap worn by Orthodox Jews.

Yair Lapid: Foreign minister

Lapid heads the centrist Yesh Atid (There is a Future) party and was the architect behind the new government. His party is the biggest in the coalition but he agreed to share power with Bennett to secure a parliamentary majority.

Lapid, 57, whose late father was a justice minister in a previous governing coalition, quit his job as a TV anchor in 2012 and formed his own party, running on a promise to ease financial pressures on the middle-class.

He also seeks to end many of the state-funded privileges enjoyed by ultra-orthodox Jews, a long-running source of grievance to many secular Israelis.

Lapid initially served as finance minister before moving to the opposition, which he led until Sunday. He will serve as foreign minister for two years and then take over as prime minister until the end of the government, if it lasts that long.

Benny Gantz: Defence minister

Just two years ago, Gantz, a former armed forces chief of staff heading the centrist Blue and White Party, was the opposition’s best hope to unseat Netanyahu.

But he agreed to join Netanyahu in a “unity” government, a decision that angered many of his supporters. Gantz, 62, is remaining as defence minister in the new coalition.

Avigdor Lieberman: Finance minister

A far-right immigrant from Moldova who lives in an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, Lieberman, 63, has been a political wildcard over the past decade. He has joined Netanyahu governments, including as defence minister, but also quit.

As finance minister, he will have to rein in a budget deficit that ballooned during the coronavirus crisis.

He has also said he will try to change the status quo between the government and Israel’s politically powerful ultra-orthodox minority, which was a mainstay of Netanyahu’s outgoing government.

The ultra-Orthodox community has low participation rates in the workforce and relies heavily on government handouts while focusing on religious studies. Lieberman has said he will work to integrate them more into the economy.

Gideon Saar: Justice minister

Saar was Netanyahu’s main rival within Likud, but Netanyahu did his best to keep him out of the spotlight and away from the highest-level portfolios. Frustrated, Saar launched an ultimately failed leadership bid and then spun off his own party.

As head of the New Hope Party, Saar, 54, will serve as justice minister, where he will oversee the legal system and become a member of the security cabinet.

Mansour Abbas

Abbas’s small United Arab List is the first party in an Israeli government to be drawn from Israel’s 21% Arab minority – Palestinian by culture and heritage, but Israeli by citizenship.

He split with other Arab politicians who prefer to remain outside government and cast aside differences with Bennett and other right-wingers to tip the scales against Netanyahu.

Abbas, 47, is expected to serve as a deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s office. He aims to negotiate a big increase in government spending in Arab towns and villages.

But his presence is a potentially destabilising factor. He has been criticised by Palestinians for agreeing to support an Israeli government while Israel continues to occupy territories it captured in a 1967 war and which Palestinians seek a state. Addressing these tensions, Abbas told the Italian daily La Repubblica on Friday: “There will be difficult decisions to be made, including security decisions. We have to juggle our identity as Palestinian Arabs and citizens of the State of Israel, between civil and nationalistic aspects.”

(Reuters)