Latest news with #Lod
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Police warn against allowing Urich to return to work, ‘place where he executed alleged crimes'
A new court hearing examined whether Yonatan Urich, a key suspect in the "Qatargate" case, should face lighter release conditions amid allegations of leaked documents. A tense hearing took place at the Lod District Court on Tuesday morning, a hearing before Judge Amit Michles over whether to lighten the restrictive release conditions of Yonatan Urich, an aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and one of the chief suspects in the 'Qatargate' investigations. His legal defense has made two main arguments. The first is that he wasn't really a public servant, but rather a private citizen. Therefore, there is no danger in allowing him to return to his employment and make contact with anyone connected to the Prime Minister's Office. The second is that there is no justification for not matching his release conditions to those of Eli Feldstein, the former military spokesman for the PMO and the first individual to be interrogated in connection with the case. Feldstein was arrested in November, while Urich was apprehended in March, on suspicion of alleged connections to Qatar and having organized a public relations campaign for the Gulf state, while it serves as a negotiator in the Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks and has close connections to the terrorist organization. Israel Police, in contrast, tried to establish that Urich indeed did function as a public servant, and that his actions undermined the interests of the PMO and the Israeli public at large. Police representative Supt. Aviv Porat said on Tuesday that materials coalesced in the interrogation indicate a 'significant suspicion that after October 7 and as criticism bloomed against Qatar for its connections with and involvement in Hamas, that the Gulf state reached out to Israeli figures to initiate a public-relations campaign to better its image in the eyes of the Israeli public.' Porat added that this alleged plan was approved by Qatari elements and kicked off. The plan allegedly included several courses of action, all aimed at shifting the impression Israelis had of the Gulf state post-October 7 - 'and Urich and other figures played a central role in the execution.' Urich's specific strength allegedly was formulating and pushing the messages out to the public. Porat emphasized that at the core of the issue is the nature of the messaging. 'If it was a different state working with Qatar on public relations for an electrical company, there would be a greater doubt as to whether state security was compromised,' he said. He specified, 'The suspicions that a man who was employed by the Likud and, in practice, worked in diplomacy in the PMO during the war, and, per the suspicions, was bribed by a foreign state to which he provided similar services - all without coming clean about it, not in the legal realm nor in the moral one.' Porat pointed out that several of the individuals who provided testimony in the case attested to Urich being a public servant. He added that there is more work required from investigators. When Michles responded that by that logic, the investigation will never reach a concluding point, Porat responded that the conditions under which Urich will be allowed to return to his place of work 'may enable an obstruction of the investigation.' The police representative added that by current estimates, the investigation against Urich is due to wrap up within the next 45 days. 'This is a man who is under investigation and may legitimately be allowed to return to the very same place from which he carried out the alleged crimes,' said Porat. Noa Milstein, Urich's lawyer, noted that anyone else who was interrogated or provided testimony was allowed to return to their place of work. She added that the list of forbidden contacts was never actually approved by the court, and that the list indicates 'the intentions of the interrogators.' Michles asked the police for an update, specifically on the hypothesis of him being a public servant. Last week, Rishon Lezion Magistrate's Court Judge Menahem Mizrahi released Urich from all restrictions - allowing him to return to work at the PMO and at Perception, the company at the heart of the Qatargate investigations - but gave police the option to appeal the decision. It did, leading up to the Tuesday hearing. 'Leaked documents affair' The crux of the investigation, as it has been released to the public so far, is the 'leaked documents affair,' in which Feldstein allegedly leaked classified military documents to the German tabloid Bild, after permission for their publication was denied by the Israeli military censor. This was allegedly done at the direction of Urich and Israel Einhorn, another aide who was interrogated in connection with the case last month, from where he resides in Serbia. The documents were eventually published, allegedly to sway public opinion on the hostage negotiations. This was around August 2024, when six hostages were killed by their Hamas captors in a tunnel: Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Almog Sarusi, Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Carmel Gat, and Alex Lobanov.
Sky News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News
'Not in our name': Israelis protest against Gaza war - but Netanyahu seems unmoved
The coordinates came through last minute. The instruction was to get there fast. People organising demonstrations, blocking motorways and major intersections, did not want police getting wind of their plans. The one we found ourselves at, near the town of Lod, halfway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, felt a bit like a flash-mob protest, done and dusted in less than half an hour. The protestors had set fire to tyres, which blazed across the motorway, filling the sky with thick black smoke. They waved the Israeli flag and other yellow flags to show solidarity with the remaining hostages still in Gaza, whose photos they carried - their faces and names seared on the collective consciousness now - a collective trauma. "We want the war to end, we want our hostages back, we want our soldiers back safe home, and we want the humanitarian disaster in Gaza to end", one of the protestors told me. "We do not want to have these crimes made in our name." And then she was gone, off to the next location as the group vanished in a matter of minutes, leaving police to put out the fire. This was a day of stoppage, a nationwide strike - a change of tactics by the hostage families to up the ante with the government in their calls to stop the war, make a deal and bring the hostages home. Benjamin Netanyahu was unmoved. "Those who are calling for an end to the war today without defeating Hamas are not only hardening Hamas's stance and delaying the release of our hostages, they are also ensuring that the horrors of October 7 will recur again and again", he said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting. Netanyahu 'broke contract' with us Ahead of the day of strike action, we spoke to a former Air Force reservist who quit in April in protest over Netanyahu's decision to break the ceasefire. "I felt he hadn't broken the contract with Hamas, he'd broken the contract with us - with the people, releasing the hostages, stopping the war. That was my breaking point." He wanted to be anonymous, identifying himself by the call sign 'F'. He had done three tours since the war began, mostly spent with eyes on Gaza - coordinating air strikes to support ground operations and ensuring the Air Force gets the target right. 2:55 'This is eternal war' "It's very complicated, very demanding and very hectic. The main problem is to see that you follow the rules and there are lots of rules - safety rules, international law rules, military doctrine rules. "And to see that there are no mistakes because you can check all the rules, you can make everything perfect, if there's a mistake, it bypasses everything you did and the bomb would fall on someone you didn't want it to fall on." I ask him how he feels about the huge death toll in Gaza. "Look, the uninvolved death toll is tough. It's tough personally, it's tough emotionally, it's tough professionally. It shouldn't happen. "When you conduct a war at this scale, it will happen. It will happen because of mistakes, because of the chaos of war." 1:05 He is softly spoken, considered and thoughtful, but says he's prepared to take part in the more radical protest actions, such as blocking motorways and starting fires, to try and get the message through. "Hamas is probably the weakest enemy we have had since 1948," he says. "In '48, in the liberation of Israel, we fought seven armies, much better equipped, better ordered than us, and the war took less time. "We stopped the war with Iran after 12 days. They are much more dangerous than Hamas. We stopped a war with Hezbollah in a couple of months, and they are still a much bigger threat than Hamas.
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
U.S. Open Cup: Minnesota rally past 10-man Chicago
The U.S. Open Cup continued on Tuesday with two thrilling quarter-final matches across the United States. Here is what went down. Minnesota rally past 10-man Chicago Scorers: Gutiérrez 26' (P), Yeboah 95', 120' (P); Lod 47'. Red: Gonzalez 25' Advertisement Minnesota United secured a spot in the next round of knockout competition after a 3-1 win over Chicago Fire in extra time. The match was tame throughout the initial 25 minutes of play, with neither side truly on the attack. However, that all changed with a series of theatrical events which occurred within seconds of each other. Chicago Fire first went down to 10 men when Omar Gonzalez used his elbow to hit Julian Gressel in the face. The celebrations of having a man advantage were short-lived for Minnesota, however. Seconds later, more fireworks ensued. Despite just 10 men on the pitch, a challenge from Wil Trapp on Philip Zinckernagel led to a penalty. A confident Brian Gutiérrez subsequently stepped up and scored the opener. Coming out into the second half, Minnesota finally managed to capitalize on that man advantage. The Loons swung possession in their favour (61%) and registered 26 shots to Chicago's 11. Advertisement That surge in attack led to the equalizer. The Fire's back line was caught flatfooted as Minnesota cut through the defence with ease. Robin Lod eventually tapped home at the back post. The tie pushed the match into extra-time, where the man advantage, in addition to tired legs, presumably played a role in deciding the winner. Kelvin Yeboah ultimately snuck behind Jack Elliot to blast home for 2-1. Unlucky for the Fire, they were defending with just nine men at the time of the goal. He later went one better on the stroke of full-time with a penalty of his own for 3-1. Next up on Tuesday, San Jose face Austin. Advertisement Feature image credit: © Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Hindustan Times
26-06-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Three quick second-half tallies lift Loons over Dynamo
Bongokuhle Hlongwane scored a brace as Minnesota United tallied three times in a 11-minute span midway through the second half en route to a 3-1 victory over Houston Dynamo on Wednesday night in Saint Paul, Minn. HT Image Robin Lod also scored a goal and Wessel Speel finished with one save for the Loons , who sit in third place in Major League Soccer's Western Conference. Felipe Andrade scored a goal and Jonathan Bond had one save for Houston , which took its third straight loss. Hlongwane gave the Loons a 1-0 lead in the 60th minute. The midfielder finished a right-footed redirect from the left side of the 6-yard box off a Jefferson Diaz flick-on header from Michael Boxall's long throw-in. Three minute later, Hlongwane smashed in an Anthony Markanich cross from the left baseline to make it 2-0 with his third goal of the season. Lod extended the lead to 3-0 in the 70th minute, drilling a left-footed shot from the left side of the box into the far right corner off a long curling Julian Gressel cross from the right wing. Andrade broke up Speel's bid for his first career MLS clean sheet in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time when he netted a left-footed shot from the middle of the box into the left corner for his third goal. With both teams coming in off two-goal home losses, defense dominated during a chippy, foul-plagued scoreless first half. The two teams combined for just nine shot attempts compared to 20 total fouls, with each side getting just one shot on goal and one yellow card. Houston's best early scoring chance came in the eighth minute when defender Erik Sviatchenko fired a spinning left-footed shot from the center of the box that Speel easily saved. Minnesota's best attempt came in the 33rd minute after Lod stole the ball and passed to a wide-open Markanich at the left edge of the 6-yard box. Markanich scuffed his shot into the side of the net. Boxall, named to his first MLS All-Star team earlier in the day, was originally called for a foul in the penalty box after a slide tackle on Sebastian Kowalczyk in first-half stoppage time. However, after a lengthy video review, it was determined that the foul occurred just outside the box. Ezequiel Ponce's ensuing free kick was then blocked by the wall. Field Level Media This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Two cousins killed in Kafr Kassem shooting, suspect arrested
The two victims, cousins Said and Udai Shaaban, both 27, were from Lod and were pronounced dead at Beilinson Medical Center in Petah Tikva. Two people were murdered in a parking lot next to a restaurant in the city of Kafr Kassem on Friday night, police stated. The two victims, cousins Said and Udai Shaaban, both 27, were from Lod, according to Israeli media, and were pronounced dead at Beilinson Medical Center in Petah Tikva. Police arrested a 22-year-old suspect in the murders on Highway 40. The suspect is a resident of Ramle, and he will be brought to a hearing with a request to extend his detention. Police are further investigating the incident, with the background likely being criminal, and that it originated from a conflict between two families in the city. Video documentation released from the shooting showed many people trying to take cover, with some shouting for help. Another person was moderately wounded in the incident and was evacuated for medical treatment, Israeli media reported. Magen David Adom personnel said they found the two murdered victims already not breathing when they arrived at the scene of the attack, Israeli media reported. The day before the attack in Kafr Kassem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara due to her absence from a meeting that discussed combating violence and crime in Arab society. "I'm the prime minister, and I'm here—she doesn't show up. Isn't human life important enough?" KAN quoted him as saying.
