A fisherman holds tar that washed onto the docks in the Israeli village of Jisr al-Zarqa on Feb. 25 after an oil spill along the country’s Mediterranean coast. (Ariel Schalit/AP)

“The operator of the ship has black blood on their hands,” she said in a news briefing.

Gamliel, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, said the findings of the two-week investigation provided strong “circumstantial evidence” that the ship was the source of the leak and its behavior deliberate. She said the government would pursue payment for damages through an international oil pollution compensation program and the ship’s insurance.

But other Israeli government officials, including some in her own ministry, expressed skepticism about her claim, according to local media reports.

Intelligence and naval officials told the Israeli daily Haaretz that their agencies were not involved in the investigation and were unaware that the minister’s accusation was coming.

A military official declined to comment.

The investigation into the oil spill has been underway since mid-February when massive amounts of sticky black tar appeared along Israel’s 120-mile shoreline. Thousands of volunteers continue to clean the beaches and rocks of up to 1,000 tons of tar. Teams are racing to save turtles, mammals, and birds from a sludgy coating.

At least one 55-foot fin whale died of tar poisoning, and health officials slapped a temporary ban on seafood from the area.

The spill also spread north to Lebanon, where the Tyre Coast Nature Reserve serves as an important nesting site for endangered loggerhead and green sea turtles.

Officials said many of the large, visible patches of tar and oil had been scrubbed from the coast. But the complete cleanup was expected to take several months, possibly years. The government has approved an emergency allocation of almost $14 million for the effort.

The spill is believed to have occurred in early February, more than two weeks before the oil was discovered ashore. Investigators, with help from oceanographic agencies in the United States and Europe, have examined imagery of the sea lanes to identify ships in the area, narrowing vessels of interest down to a shortlist.

Inspectors from the Environmental Protection Ministry boarded one of the suspect tankers, the Greek-owned Minerva Helen, at an Athens port Saturday. The next day, after an Israeli court lifted a gag order on the names of the suspected ships, the ministry said the Minerva Helen had been cleared.

Since then, Gamliel said, investigators had identified the Emerald, a Libyan-owned and Panamanian-flagged ship, as the culprit. She described what she characterized as the vessel’s suspicious behavior in early February, re-created by analysts, as it turned its tracking signal on and off while steaming through the Suez Canal and making its way to the Israeli coast.

There, in radio silence, it floated offshore for almost a day, she said, discharging its cargo.

The ship subsequently returned to Iran, Gamliel said. While acknowledging that her investigation hadn’t produced “forensic” proof of Iran’s involvement, she nonetheless directly held Tehran responsible.

“They’re not just hurting Israel,” she said. “Nature and animals don’t just belong to one nation. This is a battle that crosses borders.”

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Steve Hendrix

Jerusalem bureau chief Steve Hendrix has written for just about every section of the paper since coming to the Washington Post 20 years ago, reporting from the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Asia, and most corners of the United States. Follow

Shira Rubin

Shira Rubin is a reporter for The Washington Post based in Tel Aviv. She covers news from Israel, the Palestinian territories, and the region, with a focus on politics, culture, science and women’s health. Follow

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Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/israel-says-iran-caused-oil-spill/2021/03/03/ec5c44ac-7c5c-11eb-8c5e-32e47b42b51b_story.html

[Disclaimer]

The post Israeli environment minister says Iran caused oil spill that coated country’s coastline first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands after delivering press statements before an official dinner in Jerusalem on May 22, 2017. Credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP

Israel and the United Arab Emirates reached a historic peace deal on Thursday that will lead to a full normalization of diplomatic relations between the two Middle Eastern nations in an agreement that U.S. President Donald Trump helped broker.

Under the agreement, Israel has agreed to suspend applying sovereignty to areas of the West Bank that it has been discussing annexing, a joint statement by all three parties to the agreement said.

Trump, in a tweet, called the agreement a “HUGE breakthrough,” describing it as a “historic peace agreement between our two GREAT friends.”

Benjamin Netanyahu@netanyahu

Donald J. Trump@realDonaldTrump

HUGE breakthrough today! Historic Peace Agreement between our two GREAT friends, Israel and the United Arab Emirates!

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The joint statement said the three leaders had “agreed to the full normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.”

“This historic diplomatic breakthrough will advance peace in the Middle East region and is a testament to the bold diplomacy and vision of the three leaders and the courage of the United Arab Emirates and Israel to chart a new path that will unlock the great potential in the region,” the statement said.

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Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump

Joint Statement of the United States, the State of Israel, and the United Arab Emirates

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The peace deal was the product of lengthy discussions between Israel, the UAE, and the United States that accelerated recently, White House officials said.

The agreement was sealed in a phone call on Thursday between Trump, Netanyahu, and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed, crown prince of Abu Dhabi.

• UAE Says ‘Israeli Annexation Talk Must Stop,’ Warns of ‘Serious Setback for Peace’
• Israeli Defense Contractors Partner With UAE Tech Firm to Fight Coronavirus
• UAE Says Netanyahu-touted Collaboration With Israel Against Coronavirus Is a Private Deal

The officials described the agreement, to be known as the Abraham Accords, as the first of its kind since Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty in 1994. It also gives Trump a foreign policy success as he seeks re-election on November 3.

Annexation on hold

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised speech Thursday night that “Today marks a new era in Israel’s relations with the Arab world” and that the two countries agreed on “a full, formal peace.”

“For years, Israel has been portrayed as an enemy…now more countries will join us in this circle of peace,” the prime minister said.

He added that annexation is “still on the table,” and that it is a promise Netanyahu said he is “committed to.”

Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a press briefing in Jerusalem, August 13, 2020. Credit: Jonathan Zindel/Pool via Flash 90

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“Extending sovereignty will be done only alongside the United States,” Netanyahu said. “Without coordination, in the best case, will do nothing, and in the worst case, will harm relations between us. The United States asked that Israel temporarily postpone annexation.”

The joint statement by the three leaders said that as “a result of this diplomatic breakthrough and at the request of President Trump with the support of the United Arab Emirates, Israel will suspend declaring sovereignty” over areas of the West Bank that were envisioned in the U.S. Middle East plan unveiled by Trump in January.

“Israel for the foreseeable future will be focused on building this relationship and pursuing all the advantages that can come from having this new relationship with this country, and we also breaks the ice for doing more normalizations and peace agreements with other regional players as well,” one White House official told Reuters.

A senior political source told Haaretz that annexation is still on the agenda and that Israel is committed to it. “The Trump administration asked that we temporarily postpone declaring [sovereignty over parts of the West Bank] in order to achieve the beginning of this historic peace agreement with the Emirates.”

A senior Likud official praised the agreement, saying: “The Israeli and international left always said that it is impossible to bring peace with Arab nations without peace with the Palestinian people. That there is no other way except from withdrawing from the ’67 borders, clearing out the settlements, dividing Jerusalem, and establishing a Palestinian state. This is the first time in History that Prime Minister Netanyahu broke the paradigm of ‘land for peace’ and brought ‘peace in exchange for peace.'”

Sources involved said that Netanyahu discussed the agreement with Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi only after the agreement was formally announced by Washington. Both Gantz and Ashkenazi deny that they were previously unaware of the agreement.

Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he “rejects and denounces the surprising announcement by Israel, the United States, and the UAE,” and called it a “betrayal of Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Palestinian cause.” A senior adviser to Abbas read the statement from outside the PA president’s Ramallah headquarters.

PLO Executive Committee member Dr. Hanan Ashrawi condemned the agreement and its terms on Twitter. “Israel got rewarded for not declaring openly what it’s been doing to Palestine illegally and persistently since the beginning of the occupation,” she wrote, referring to the annexation agreement. “The UAE has come out in the open on its secret dealings/normalization with Israel. Please don’t do us a favor. We are nobody’s fig leaf!”

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Hanan Ashrawi@DrHananAshrawi

Israel got rewarded for not declaring openly what it’s been doing to Palestine illegally & persistently since the beginning of the occupation. The UAE has come out in the open on its secret dealings/normalization with Israel. Please don’t do us a favor. We are nobody’s fig leaf!

Sarah Leah Whitson@sarahleah1

BREAKING: #UAE and #Israel “normalize” relations. The trade? Israel won’t formally annex and exercise sovereignty over the land it has for all intents and purposes already annexed and exercises sovereignty over… ZERO for the rights of Palestinians

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‘A win for diplomacy’

UAE Ambassador to the United States Yousef Al Otaiba released a statement calling the agreement “a win for diplomacy and for the region” and “a significant advance in Arab-Israeli relations that lowers tensions and creates new energy for positive change.”

He added that the move “immediately stops annexation and the potential for violent escalation. It maintains the viability of a two-state solution as endorsed by the Arab League and international community. It creates new dynamics and possibilities in the peace process.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a phone call with Washington and Dubai, August 13, 2020.Credit: Kobi Gideon / GPO

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MohamedBinZayed@MohamedBinZayed

During a call with President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, an agreement was reached to stop further Israeli annexation of Palestinian territories. The UAE and Israel also agreed to cooperate and setting a roadmap towards establishing a bilateral relationship.

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Al Otaiba’s statement concludes with a reassurance that “The UAE will remain a strong supporter of the Palestinian people – for their dignity, their rights, and their own sovereign state.  They must benefit from normalization.  We will forcefully advocate for these ends, now directly and bolstered with stronger incentives, policy options, and diplomatic tools.”

Next steps

White House officials said Trump senior adviser Jared Kushner, U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, and Middle East envoy Avi Berkowitz were deeply involved in negotiating the deal, as well as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien.

Pompeo congratulated Israel and the UAE in both Arabic and Hebrew in a tweet, calling the agreement “a significant step forward for peace in the Middle East.”

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Secretary Pompeo@SecPompeo

US government account

Today is an historic day. After vigorous diplomatic outreach by President @realDonaldTrump, Israeli Prime Minister @netanyahu and Emirati Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed have signed an agreement to fully normalize relations between their two great nations.

Secretary Pompeo@SecPompeo

US government account

The United States congratulates Israel and the Emirates for this remarkable achievement, which is a significant step forward for peace in the Middle East. Blessed are the peacemakers. Mabruk and Mazal Tov.

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In a statement, the U.S. secretary of state called the agreement “a remarkable achievement for two of the world’s most forward-leaning, technologically advanced states, and reflects their shared regional vision of an economically integrated region. It also illustrates their commitment to confronting common threats, as small – but strong – nations.

The United States hopes that this brave step will be the first in a series of agreements that end 72 years of hostilities in the region. Although the peace treaties between Israel and Egypt and Jordan have not yet fulfilled their full potential, since the 1978 Camp David Accords and the 1994 Wadi Arava Agreement, we have witnessed significant economic development in Egypt and Jordan, an unmistakable dividend of peace.”

Delegations from Israel and the United Arab Emirates will meet in the coming weeks to sign bilateral agreements regarding investment, tourism, direct flights, security, telecommunications, and other issues, the statement said.

The two countries are expected soon to exchange ambassadors and embassies.

The agreement envisions giving Muslims greater access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem by allowing them to fly from Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv, White House officials said.

The joint statement said the United Arab Emirates and Israel will immediately expand and accelerate cooperation regarding the treatment of and the development of a vaccine for the novel coronavirus amid the pandemic.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report

Source: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/with-trump-s-help-israel-and-the-uae-reach-historic-deal-to-normalize-relations-1.9070687

The post Israel Suspends West Bank Annexation in Deal to Normalize Relations With the UAE first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu points at a map of the Jordan Valley as he gives a statement, promising to extend Israeli sovereignty to the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea area, in Ramat Gan on September 10, 2019. (Menahem Kahana/AFP)

Eleven European ambassadors to Israel on Thursday warned Jerusalem of severe consequences if it moves ahead with plans to annex parts of the West Bank as part of a government coalition deal.

The envoys from the UK, Germany, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, and the EU issued a formal objection to the Foreign Ministry against the move, Channel 13 reported.

The ambassadors made the protest during a video conference with the Foreign Ministry’s Europe deputy, Anna Azari.

“We are very concerned about the clause in the coalition agreement that paves the way for annexing parts of the West Bank. The annexation of any part of the West Bank constitutes a clear violation of international law,” the ambassadors said. “Such unilateral steps will harm efforts to renew the peace process and will have grave consequences for regional stability and for Israel’s standing in the international arena.”

The envoys also demanded a freeze on government plans to allow construction in the Givat Hamatos neighborhood in East Jerusalem.

Also on Thursday, the Arab League said that the planned annexation constituted a “new war crime” against the Palestinians during a virtual conference chaired in Cairo.

“The implementation of plans to annex any part of the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, including the Jordan Valley… and the lands on which Israeli settlements are standing represents a new war crime… against the Palestinian people,” Arab foreign ministers said in a joint statement.

The Arab League also urged the United States to “withdraw its support in enabling the plans of the occupying Israeli government.”

In this February 18, 2020 photo, a view of the West Bank settlement of Ma’ale Efraim on the hills of the Jordan Valley (AP/Ariel Schalit)

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On Monday, the United States said it was ready to recognize Israel’s annexation of key parts of the West Bank, but said the offer was contingent on an offer of statehood to the Palestinians.

“As we have made consistently clear, we are prepared to recognize Israeli actions to extend Israeli sovereignty and the application of Israeli law to areas of the West Bank that the vision foresees as being part of the State of Israel,” a US State Department spokesperson said when asked if the US would allow Israel’s new government to move forward with the process.

“The annexation would be in the context of an offer to the Palestinians to achieve statehood based upon specific terms, conditions, territorial dimensions, and generous economic support.  This is an unprecedented and highly beneficial opportunity for the Palestinians,” the State Department spokesperson said.

The Palestinians have refused to negotiate with the Trump administration, considering it biased. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas threatened last week to cancel all agreements with Israel and the US if Israel moved forward with annexation plans.

US President Donald Trump in January unveiled a peace plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Rejected by the Palestinians and condemned by much of the international community, the plan gives Israel the green-light to annex Jewish settlements and other strategic territories in the West Bank.

An Israeli coalition government agreement reached last week includes a framework for implementing the annexations outlined in the plan, starting in July.

Blue and White leader Benny Gantz (left) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sign their unity government agreement on April 20, 2020. (GPO)

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Under the US proposal, the Palestinians would be granted a sovereign but demilitarized state in the remaining parts of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, along with promises of major investment.

The Palestinian state’s capital would be on the outskirts of Jerusalem, which would remain fully under Israeli sovereignty.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that he was “confident” Trump would let him fulfill his election promise to apply Israeli sovereignty over parts of the West Bank “a couple of months from now.”

According to the wording of the “emergency government” deal between Netanyahu’s Likud party and Benny Gantz’s Blue and White faction, starting July 1, 2020, Netanyahu “will be able to bring the agreement reached with the US on the application of sovereignty [in the West Bank] for the approval of the cabinet and or the Knesset.”

In addition, “the law will be passed as quickly as possible… and will not be disrupted or delayed by the chairmen of either the House or the Foreign Affairs and Defense committees.”

The Netanyahu-Gantz deal stipulates that any Israeli action would need US backing, and must take into account Israel’s peace treaties with neighboring Jordan and Egypt, the only two Arab states that have formal peace treaties and diplomatic relations with Israel.

Netanyahu’s right-wing base is eager to move forward with annexation while the friendly Trump administration is in office.

Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War. The Palestinians seek those territories as part of a future independent state. The annexation of West Bank settlements would infuriate the Palestinians and Israel’s Arab neighbors.

Source: https://www.timesofisrael.com/11-european-ambassadors-warn-israel-against-west-bank-annexation/

The post 11 European ambassadors warn Israel against West Bank annexation first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed to the United Nations General Assembly that Israel has discovered a second hidden atomic site in Iran’s capital city of Tehran – before promising that whatever the Islamic Republic tries to hide, Israel will find.

“Just a few months after Netanyahu revealed that Israel had discovered a secret Iranian atomic archive, he revealed a second facility,” CBN News reported.

Israel not fooled by Iran

Netanyahu made it a point to assure the UN that Israel is not fooled by Iran’s smoke and mirrors – which have led the global peacekeeping agency, the former Obama administration and numerous European nations from holding the Islamic Republic accountable for violating the so-called Iran nuclear deal.

“In May, we exposed the site of Iran’s secret atomic archive – it’s right here … in the Shorabad district of Teheran,” Netanyahu told the UN General Assembly, according to CBN News. “Today, I am revealing the site of a second facility; Iran’s secret atomic warehouse. It’s right here … in the Turouzabad district of Teheran – just three miles away.”

The Israeli leader used his classic visual aids while addressing the assembly, impressing that the atomic sites were not destroyed by Iran because its goal is to produce nuclear weapons to be used against its enemies – including Israel and/or the United States.

“In fact, it planned to use both of these sites in a few years – when the time would be right to break out to the atom bomb,” Netanyahu asserted. “But ladies and gentlemen, rest assured that won’t happen. It won’t happen because what Iran hides, Israel will find.”

Iran mocks and denies …

The leadership of the Islamic terrorist-harboring nation mocked Netanyahu’s assertions.

“Iran’s foreign minister is deriding as an ‘arts and crafts show’ Israel’s visual-aid-enhanced accusation that his country is keeping a secret atomic warehouse,” The Associated Press (AP) announced Thursday night. “State-run media report that Mohammad Javad Zarif said Thursday there’s nothing to the allegation that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made at the U.N. General Assembly.”

Netanyahu’s assertion about massive hidden storehouses in Tehran used to produce nuclear weapons were quickly dismissed by Zarif, who used the infamous Iran nuke deal – brokered by former Secretary of State John Kerry under then President Barack Obama – as so-called proof that Iran has kept its end of the agreement.

“Displaying maps and a photo, Netanyahu said Iran has been keeping tons of nuclear equipment and material in a property near its capital,” AP informed. “Zarif notes the International Atomic Energy Agency has certified that Iran is in compliance with its obligations under the 2015 nuclear deal meant to keep it from developing nuclear weapons. The U.S. withdrew from the deal this year.”

In an attempt to take the attention off its own amassing nuclear arsenal, Iran began pointing the finger at Israel, alleging that it is building up nuclear arsenals of its own –  defenses that would be used to counter attacks from the hostile Islamic terrorist-supporting nations surrounding it in the infamously known “Powder Keg” region of the volatile Middle East.

“In a tweet, Zarif called Netanyahu’s presentation an ‘arts and crafts show’ by a country that he says needs to come clean about its own nuclear program,” the AP report added. “Israel is widely believed to have a nuclear arsenal – but has never publicly acknowledged it.”

Netanyahu setting the record straight

The outspoken Israeli PM stressed that Iran’s aggressive intentions in the Middle East are more than obvious.

“In Syria, Iran is trying to establish permanent military bases against us, and has already launched missiles and drones into our territory,” Netanyahu pointed out, according to CBN News. “In Gaza, Iran is arming terror groups to launch rocket attacks into our cities and terror attacks against our civilians.”

He said this is true in Lebanon, as well, where the hostile Islamic Republic has ordered the terrorist group Hezbollah to construct hidden bases to strengthen its missile capabilities next to Israel.

“Hezbollah – listen to this – Hezbollah is deliberately using the innocent people of Beirut as human shields,” Netanyahu continued. “They’ve placed three of these missile convergent sites along Beirut’s international airport. Here’s a picture that is worth a thousand missiles.”

The leader of Israel’s Likud Party went on to emphasize that Israel will not stop its efforts to defend itself against the militant Iranian plots and facilities being organized around it.

“We will continue to act against you in Syria; we will act against you in Lebanon; we will act against you in Iraq; we will act against you wherever and whenever we must act to defend our State and to defend our people,” Netanyahu vowed to Iran.

He also extolled U.S. President Donald Trump for dumping the failed Iran nuclear deal and re-imposing sanctions on Iran – before exhorting European leaders at the UN assembly to also uphold sanctions against the jihadist regime.

“Instead of coddling the Iranians, join the U.S. and Israel and most of the Arab world in supporting new sanctions against a regime that endangers all of us – and all of the world,” Netanyahu urged Europeans in attendance.

He also ripped into representatives of European nations at the UN for cowering to Iran and not holding the hostile Islamic nation accountable for keeping its end of the deal.

“[Netanyahu] blasted European countries for turning a blind eye to the nuclear activity,” Newsmax reported. “He also condemned European nations for ‘appeasing’ Iran by trying to renew trade – despite the nuclear activity.”

The leader of the Jewish State did not stop there in his rebuke of Europe for sticking to the failed nuke deal.

“Invoking historical European maneuvering in the Middle East, Netanyahu laced into Europe’s leaders for sticking to the 2015 Iranian nuclear accord – which allows for a lifting of sanctions in exchange for curbing Iran’s nuclear activities, the AP reported,” Newmax’s Cathy Burke noted.

Through his condemnation, he attempted to invoke representatives of Europe to finally take action against the militant Islamic regime.

“Have these European leaders learned nothing from history?” Netanyahu asked, as quoted by AP and published by Newsmax. “Will they ever wake up?”

One good take from the deal …

Despite his staunch opposition to the Iran nuke deal, the Israeli leader conceded that one positive outcome has poured out from the failed Iran deal brokered by the Obama administration.

“By empowering Iran, it brought Israel and many Arab states closer together than ever before – closer together than ever before in an intimacy and friendship that I’ve not seen in my lifetime and would have been unimaginable a few years ago,” Netanyahu stressed.

However, many obstacles to peace and security remain in the region.

“Netanyahu didn’t mention Russia in his speech – [a nation that] is set to deliver a more advance anti-aircraft missile system to Syria after the Syrian military mistakenly shot down a Russian military plane,” CBN News’ Julie Stahl noted. “That system could make it more difficult for Israel to prevent an Iranian military buildup inside Syria.”

Source: https://www.onenewsnow.com/national-security/2018/09/28/netanyahu-uncovers-2nd-tehran-atomic-site

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