|
Advert – Mishloach Manos in Yerushalayim |
 |
|
|
|
Advert |
 |
|
|
| World News |
| Putin Extends Rule in Preordained Russian Election After Harshest Crackdown Since Soviet Era |
 |
|
President Vladimir Putin sealed his control over Russia for six more years on Monday with a highly orchestrated landslide in an election that followed the harshest crackdown on the opposition and free speech since Soviet times. While the result was never in doubt, Russians attempted to defy the inevitable outcome, heeding a call to protest Putin’s repression at home and his war in Ukraine by showing up at polling stations at noon on Sunday. But from the earliest returns, it was clear Putin would extend his nearly quarter-century rule with a fifth term. With nearly all the precincts counted Monday, election officials said Putin had secured a record number of votes — an unsurprising development underlining the Russian leader’s total control of the country’s political system. Putin has led Russia as president or prime minister since December 1999, a tenure marked by international military aggression and an increasing intolerance for dissent. At the end of his fifth term, Putin would be the longest-serving Russian leader since Catherine the Great, who ruled during the 18th century. As early results came in, Putin hailed them as an indication of “trust” and “hope” in him — while critics saw them as another reflection of the preordained nature of the election. “Of course, we have lots of tasks ahead. But I want to make it clear for everyone: When we were consolidated, no one has ever managed to frighten us, to suppress our will and our self-conscience. They failed in the past and they will fail in the future,” he said at a meeting with his campaign staff after polls closed. Any public criticism of Putin or his war in Ukraine has been stifled. Independent media have been crippled. His fiercest political foe, Alexei Navalny, died in an Arctic prison last month, and other critics are either in jail or in exile. Beyond the fact that voters had virtually no choice, independent monitoring of the election was extremely limited. Russia’s Central Election Commission said Monday that with nearly 100% of precincts counted, Putin got 87% of the vote. Central Election Commission chief Ella Pamfilova said that nearly 76 million voters cast their ballots for Putin, his highest vote tally ever. Western leaders denounced the election as a sham, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky particularly criticized voting in Ukrainian areas that Russia has illegally annexed, saying “everything Russia does on the occupied territory of Ukraine is a crime.” Germany sharply criticized the vote with Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s spokeswoman, Christina Hoffmann, saying that “in our opinion, it was not a democratic election.” “There is no freedom of expression in Russia,” she told reporters in Berlin. “Russia, as the chancellor has already said, is now a dictatorship and is ruled by Vladimir Putin in an authoritarian manner.” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis also said the exercise didn’t deserve the name “election.” “It’s a procedure that is supposed to resemble elections,” he said. “Some might call it reappointment, lacking any legitimacy.” Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un quickly congratulated Putin, along with some Central and South American leaders and presidents of nations that have historic and close current ties to Russia, such as Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. In the tightly controlled environment, Navalny’s associates urged those unhappy with Putin or the war to go to the polls at noon on Sunday — and lines outside a number of polling stations both inside Russia and at its embassies around the world appeared to swell at that time. Among those heeding the call was Yulia Navalnaya, Navalny’s widow, who spent more than five hours in the line at the Russian Embassy in Berlin. She told reporters that she wrote her late husband’s name on her ballot. Asked whether she had a message for Putin, Navalnaya replied: “Please stop asking for messages from me or from somebody for Mr. Putin. There could be no negotiations and nothing with Mr. Putin, because he’s a killer, he’s a gangster.” A voter in Moscow, who identified himself only as Vadim, said he hoped for change, but added that “unfortunately, it’s unlikely.” Like others, he didn’t give his full name because of security concerns. Meanwhile, supporters of Navalny streamed to his grave in Moscow, some bringing ballots with his name written on them. Putin brushed off the effectiveness of the apparent protest and rejected Western criticism of the vote as he tried to turn the tables on the West, charging that the four criminal cases against U.S. Republican candidate Donald Trump were a use of the judiciary for political aims and denigrating democracy in the U.S. as a “catastrophe.” “The whole world is laughing at it,” he said. Putin referenced Navalny by name for the first time in years at the news conference, declaring that he was ready to release him in a swap for unidentified inmates in Western custody just days before the opposition leader’s death. Some people told the AP that they were happy to vote for Putin — unsurprising in a country where state TV airs a drumbeat of praise for the Russian leader and voicing any other opinion is risky. Dmitry Sergienko, who cast his ballot in Moscow, said, “I am happy with everything and want everything to continue as it is now.” Voting took place over three days at polling stations across the vast country, in illegally annexed regions of Ukraine and online. |
|
|
|
Advert |
 |
|
Get in touch with us on |
|
|
| Israel News |
| EasyJet to Resume Flights to Israel |
 |
|
Low-cost British airline EasyJet announced Friday that it will resume flights to and from Israel, following a suspension due to the war in Gaza. Flights will begin March 25, to Amsterdam, Berlin, Basel, London, Milan and Geneva, the airline said. |
|
|
| Senior Hamas Terrorist Killed in Raid at Gaza’s Shifa Hospital |
 |
|
The IDF reported Monday afternoon that in a raid conducted in the morning at Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital, troops successfully neutralized a high-ranking Hamas terrorist. Faiq Mabhouh, who held a prominent position as the head of operations within Hamas’s internal security force, was discovered armed and in hiding within the Shifa compound. The IDF stated that Mabhouh was actively involved in promoting terrorist activities from within the hospital complex. During an attempted arrest, an exchange of gunfire occurred, resulting in Mabhouh’s death, as confirmed by the IDF. Additionally, troops uncovered a cache of weapons in a nearby room during the operation. According to both the IDF and the Shin Bet, Mabhouh was tasked with coordinating various Hamas units throughout the Gaza Strip, including during periods of conflict. As the head of operations for internal security, Mabhouh played a significant role in overseeing a clandestine police force primarily responsible for suppressing political dissent within Gaza, as reported by the European Council on Foreign Relations. |
|
|
| U.S.: Netanyahu Agreed to Send Israeli Officials to Discuss Rafah Operation in Talk With Biden |
 |
|
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu agreed during a Monday talk with President Joe Biden to send a team of Israeli officials to Washington to discuss a prospective Rafah operation as each side is looking to make “clear to the other its perspective,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said. While speaking to Biden for the first time in over a month, Netanyahu reiterated the goals that Israel must achieve to defeat Hamas in Gaza. “We discussed the latest developments in the war, including Israel’s commitment to achieving all of the war’s goals,” Netanyahu said. “Eliminating Hamas, freeing all of our hostages and ensuring that Gaza never gain constitutes a threat to Israel – while providing the necessary humanitarian aid that will assist in achieving these goals.” The White House has been skeptical of Netanyahu’s plan to carry out an operation in the southern city of Rafah without a plan to protect the 1.5 million Palestinians who are currently there, and this concern was raised again during Monday’s call. “Our position is that Hamas should not be allowed a safe haven in Rafah or anywhere else, but a major ground operation there would be a mistake,” Sullivan said, adding that it would lead to more civilian deaths and further isolate Israel internationally. Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant have held off on going into Rafah, but have repeatedly stated that it is the last stronghold of Hamas, and that victory over the terrorist organization cannot be accomplished without dismantling the six remaining Hamas battalions, believed to be located in Rafah. |
|
|
|
Advert |
 |
|
|
 |
|
Advert GOLDVIP MEATBOARD 020 88024540 |
 |
|
|
|
To advertise click here or [email protected]:
|
|
The email was sent to [email protected] |
