Latest news with #Barkat
France 24
4 days ago
- Business
- France 24
'We don't want a Palestinian state,' Israeli economy minister says
Israel 's Economy Minister Nir Barkat was categorical about his country's position. "We don't want a Palestinian state," he told FRANCE 24, proposing instead an "emirate model" for Palestinians in the West Bank, arguing that "successful Arab countries are tribal based". Barkat also dismissed the Oslo Accords as a failure, noting that 99 out of 120 Israeli lawmakers had voted against a Palestinian state. This week has seen a string of deadly incidents near aid distribution sites in Gaza operated by the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Barkat insisted that Israel was working with the Americans to ensure aid reaches civilians directly, bypassing Hamas. "We want to separate, make sure that the aid goes directly to the people and Hamas wants to fight that. They want to control the people through the aid that is passed to Gaza," he claimed. Despite Western pressure, 'nobody's going to stop us' Since Israel launched its expanded Gaza offensive known as "Operation Gideon's Chariots" in May, Western capitals including the UK, France and Canada have issued strongly-worded joint statements threatening "concrete" actions against Israel. 09:35 "Nobody's going to stop us because it's our neck on the line", Barkat said in reaction to this criticism. "I expect the world to understand who the real enemy of the free world [is]: the jihadists, the terrorists ... Don't support them." The minister also issued a warning to France, one of the countries that could soon recognise a Palestinian state. "Don't take the wrong route," he said, urging Paris to instead "support the only democracy in the Middle East" and "help us finish the war quickly".
Indian Express
08-05-2025
- Indian Express
Jaipur woman travels to Mumbai to kill ‘lover' in hotel room, arrested after wording in ‘suicide note' puts her in dock
The Dindoshi police Tuesday arrested a 44-year-old Jaipur woman who allegedly travelled to Mumbai, killed her 'lover' in a Malad hotel room, put a misleading message on the family's WhatsApp group showing that he died by suicide, and then travelled back home the same night. Barkat Rathod had allegedly been in an extramarital affair for the last two years with her husband's brother-in-law Imamuddin Ansari, a Malad-based interior decorator businessman living in Mira Road. The police said Barkat's husband left her after discovering her affair with Ansari and that she had been living with her mother at her place in Jaipur for the past two years, Barkat allegedly strangled Ansari in the Malad hotel room on May 4 and put out a message from his phone on the family WhatsApp group saying that he was taking the drastic step due to harassment from his wife, who suspected that there was an extramarital relationship between him and Barkat. The message further stated that there was no affair between them and that the allegations were merely rumours deliberately spread by Ansari's wife, the police said. Barkat then travelled to Surat and moved to her mother's place in Jaipur, said the police. After Ansari's family saw the message on the family WhatsApp group, they became suspicious about the language used as he was illiterate. The family subsequently informed the Naya Nagar police in Mira Road. After discovering that Ansari's mobile phone's last location was Malad, his 23-year-old son went there and started enquiring about him at nearby hotels, showing his photo. At the Shalimar hotel near the Malad railway station, a staffer identified Ansari as a guest who had checked in the hotel along with a burqa-clad woman. The staffer presented copies of the two Aadhaar cards submitted by Ansari and 'his wife'. Ansari's son identified the burqa-clad woman from the CCTV footage at the hotel as his relative Barkat, said the police. When the police checked the hotel room, they found Ansari lying semi-naked on the floor. He was rushed to the Siddharth hospital, where he was declared dead. After the postmortem report revealed there were nail marks around his neck and that he was strangled to death, the police registered a murder case and launched an operation to trace Barkat. Based on her mobile location, she was traced to Jaipur and was subsequently detained and brought to Mumbai. After due verification of the circumstantial and technical evidence, she was placed under arrest on murder charges, said a police officer.
Epoch Times
06-05-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
Israel Imposes Anti-Dumping Tariffs on Aluminum Imports From China
Israel will implement a tariff rate as high as 146 percent on Chinese aluminum imports entering the country. In July 2024, the Israeli government launched an investigation into evidence that 25 Chinese companies were flooding their domestic market with artificially cheap aluminum products and putting Israeli producers at a disadvantage. Officials declined to wait for the report's conclusion and proceeded with anti-dumping levies. The Ministry of Economic will impose tariffs on imports of aluminum profiles and rods, ranging from 61 percent to 146 percent. United Nations In a May 5 statement Danny Tal, the ministry's commissioner of levies, defended the move, comparing it to actions to those taken by other countries facing China's dumping of its subsidized exports. For example, the U.S. government maintains an 86 percent import duty on aluminum imports from Beijing . Related Stories 5/5/2025 5/5/2025 'The policy of the ministry and Minister Barkat is to support a free market without barriers and minimal government intervention but with the caveat of protecting local industry from practices of unfair and illegal trade in international markets,' the ministry said. Ministry officials noted that its new aluminum tariffs highlight the need for nations to 'protect their producers from unfair trade if they want to survive.' The Manufacturers Association of Israel supported the decision, writing on the social media platform X that the nation's 'industry must be protected.' 'This is an essential step designed to protect the local manufacturers that support thousands of families and constitute a critical infrastructure for the construction industry,' the organization said in a May 5 This comes soon after Israel removed all remaining levies on imported U.S. products. Plugging China's Aluminum Flood For years, the global economy has experienced aluminum dumping activities by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). According to a September 2024 Because of its price advantage, China increased its aluminum exports by 17 percent last year to an all-time high of 6.7 million tons worth about $40 billion. In December, China abolished its 40-year-old export tax rebate, a program established to make its products more competitive in worldwide markets. Officials say this policy decision was likely in response to the CCP's trade practices coming under intense international scrutiny. The move could lead to higher cost pressures, since advanced and developing economies have relied on cheap Chinese aluminum products. 'Meanwhile, end-users might also have to face higher costs for their raw material, which could be eventually passed on to consumers. This could have an effect on the automotive, construction, and packaging industries,' Inga Fechner, a senior economist at ING, However, it could also facilitate a further diversification in international trade. 'In the longer term, this policy change could lead to further shifts in global trade dynamics, benefitting other commodity producers as countries try to diversify their raw material source dependency on China,' she stated. Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States and China were inching closer to trade negotiations. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to reporters outside the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 9, 2025. Travis Gillmore/The Epoch Times 'I think we could see substantial progress in the coming weeks. We will see, as I think it's Stein's Law, that which is not sustainable doesn't continue,' Bessent Stein's Law originates from Herbert Stein, an economist who advised former Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Appearing before Congress in 1986, when discussing ballooning trade deficits, he stated that 'if something cannot go on forever, it will stop.' President Donald Trump confirmed to NBC's 'Meet the Press with Kristen Welker' that he could lower levies on China in negotiations for fair trade. 'At some point, I'm going to lower them because otherwise, you could never do business with them, and they want to do business very much,' he said in an interview aired on May 4. China's Ministry of Commerce announced on May 2 that it is 'evaluating' the White House's offer to engage in trade discussions. Recent data suggest Trump's tariffs are taking a toll on China's economy, from a sharp slowdown in factory activity to an enormous decline in shipments to the United States.
Bloomberg
30-04-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Israel to Expand Trade Eastward as It Looks Beyond War Economy
Israel is turning to markets in the Arabian Peninsula and India to boost trade as the government seeks to increase exports from $150 billion to almost $1 trillion over the next 15 years, according to Economy and Industry Minister Nir Barkat. The government has identified Dubai, the Middle East's center for trade, finance and tourism, as a hub for the expansion, Barkat said in an interview in the city last week. About 600 Israeli companies have started working in the United Arab Emirates since the two countries established diplomatic relations as part of the US-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020, he said.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Israel optimistic on reaching trade deal with US, economy minister says
By Federico Maccioni ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Israel is hopeful that it will reach a trade agreement with the United States before a pause to a barrage of U.S. tariffs on global imports expires on July 9, Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat told Reuters on Tuesday. "There are a number of things under discussion... but I can tell you that both sides are optimistic that we can reach an agreement," Barkat said in an interview during a visit to Abu Dhabi. U.S. President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on dozens of countries on April 2, leading to a rout in global financial markets and raising concerns of a recession. He later temporarily lowered most of those tariffs for a 90-day period, except for imports from China. The United States is Israel's largest trading partner and closest ally, with bilateral trade worth $34 billion in 2024. The two countries signed a free trade agreement 40 years ago and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the first foreign leader after the announcement of the new tariff policy to meet Trump at the White House, on April 7. Netanyahu failed to secure a reprieve during his visit, when Trump also announced that the U.S. would engage in indirect talks with Iran, Israel's arch-foe, over Tehran's nuclear program. Trump and Netanyahu again discussed trade issues and Iran on Tuesday during a call which the U.S. president said "went very well". Before April 2, Israel had moved to cancel its remaining tariffs on U.S. imports, but under the new U.S. policy, when fully implemented, Israeli goods would face a 17% U.S. tariff. The United States had a $7.4 billion goods trade deficit with Israel last year. SEEKING 'GOOD UNDERSTANDING' While Israel is not immune to the tariffs, most of its exports comprise services, high-tech and software so they would not be impacted, Barkat said. Barkat declined to comment on whether Israel was currently benefiting from the pause, but said it has been discussing with Washington how to reduce the trade deficit between the two countries, echoing Netanyahu's words earlier this month. "I believe that we could most probably get to a good understanding within that time-frame," Barkat said, referring to the 90-day pause that expires on July 9. Barkat was speaking during his second visit to the United Arab Emirates since he became minister in 2023. The Gulf country became the most prominent Arab state in 30 years to establish formal ties with Israel in 2020 under a U.S.-brokered agreement dubbed the Abraham Accords, and the two countries have since rapidly built a close economic partnership. A trade deal was signed in 2022 and the UAE has maintained the relationship during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Israel launched its assault on Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed across the border on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. More than 51,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Gaza health ministry. Much of the heavily built-up enclave has been flattened and most of its 2.3 million people displaced multiple times, humanitarian agencies say. Hamas still holds 59 Israeli hostages.
