US Secretary of State Antony Blinken plans to warn Israel against continued Chinese investments in the country’s infrastructure and hi-tech industry when he meets with Foreign Minister Yair Lapid in Washington on Wednesday.

“We will be candid with our Israeli friends over risks to our shared national security interests that come with close cooperation with China,” a senior State Department official told reporters during a briefing ahead of the meeting.

Blinken is also expected to meet with Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Wednesday.

The US has been concerned about the UAE’s use of Chinese Huawei Technologies in its communication system in light of its pending sale of advanced F-35 fighter jets to the Emirates, but when speaking of China it focused only on its concern with Israel.

The highlight of the day is expected to be a trilateral meeting Blinken will host with the two foreign ministers that is designed to highlight the success of the Abraham Accords, brokered by the former administration.

The accords allowed for Israel to normalize ties with the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan last year, of which ties with the Emirates are the most advanced.

At the trilateral, Israel and the UAE are expected to announce two new working groups, one on religious coexistence and another that would focus on water and energy.

But the range of the topics that will be brought up in all meetings are fairly wide and include China, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, Gaza and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Lapid, in his public comments in Washington on Tuesday, will focus on the strong US-Israel bilateral ties and the special relationship Israel has with America and the Biden administration.

Though US officials echoed those same sentiments at the briefing, they also discussed topics of discord in the relationship.

Biden administration officials had spoken about China with National Security Advisor Eyal Hulata when he was in Washington earlier this month.

But State Department senior officials remained vague on Tuesday with respect to their specific concerns on China.

“The US views China as a competitor that challenges the existing international rules-based order; our relationship with China will be competitive when it should be,” the official stated.

ON IRAN, a senior State Department official said that Washington’s main objective at this time is the revival of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, known as the Iran deal, which Israel has traditionally opposed.

Both the US and Israel are joined in their opposition to a nuclear Iran but have differed about how best to achieve that objective.

Lapid said on Tuesday that Iran was one of the major focal points of his Washington trip.

On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the senior State Department officials said that at Wednesday’s meetings, Blinken will “reaffirm our belief” in the benefits of a two-state solution. He will also express his appreciation for “Minister Lapid’s recent, strong statement condemning settler violence in the West Bank.”

The Israeli government is split on how best to approach the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett opposing a two-state resolution to the conflict while Lapid has supported it.

But Lapid’s visions of the borders of those two states differ from those envisioned by the Biden administration, which has not advanced a peace process. The senior State Department officials did not mention any movement on that front, except for stating that “we seek to advance it when we can, as best as we can.”

An official said that the accords are not a substitute for the two-state solutions and suggested that they could be used to push for progress toward a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“We hope that normalization can be leveraged to advance progress on the Israeli-Palestinian track,” the official said.

An official also spoke of the Biden administration’s commitment to maintaining Israel’s qualitative edge and its support for supplemental funding for the defensive Iron Dome system it provides Israel to protect Israeli citizens against Hamas rockets.

The officials repeated their opposition to Israeli settlement activity and the Palestinian Authority’s monthly stipends to terrorists and their families.

Separately, during Lapid’s trip, Foreign Ministry Director-General Alon Ushpiz will meet with Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman.

Source: https://www.jpost.com/international/us-to-warn-israel-china-ties-are-a-joint-national-security-risk-681833

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Nations took swift action Friday to halt air travel from southern Africa in reaction to news of a new, transmissible COVID-19 variant.

Although the World Health Organization (WHO) cautioned against hastily imposing travel restrictions linked to the B.1.1.529 variant, warning officials to avoid “knee-jerk responses,” the 27-nation European Union said it would propose stopping air travel from southern Africa.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that flights “should be suspended until we have a clear understanding about the danger posed by this new variant, and travelers returning from this region should respect strict quarantine rules.”

She insisted on extreme caution, warning that “mutations could lead to the emergence and spread of even more concerning variants of the virus that could spread worldwide within a few months.

The EU joined Israel and the United Kingdom, who are likewise imposing a travel ban.

Will the U.S. also impose a ban? Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN that it’s a possibility but that scientists need to first determine whether the variant can evade antibodies created by vaccines and viral infection.

“Well, I mean, obviously as soon as we find out more information we’ll make a decision as quickly as we possibly can,” the White House chief medical adviser on COVID-19 told “New Day” co-host Brianna Keilar. “You always put these things on the table but you don’t want to say you’re going to do it until you have some scientific reason to do it. That’s the reason why we’re rushing now to get that scientific data to try and make an informed decision about something like that.”

Yonat Friling (Frühling)@Foxyonat
#UPDATE Amid the new COVID19 variant, Israel declares most of the African states as “Red countries” and will impose further no-travel restrictions.

Yonat Friling (Frühling)@Foxyonat
At least one person tested positive in Israel for the new COVID19 variant B.1.1.529 . Israeli authorities are concerned.

Israel announced Friday that it had detected the country’s first case of the new variant in a traveler who returned from Malawi. The traveler and two other suspected cases have been placed in isolation. It said all three are vaccinated but that it is currently looking into their exact vaccination status.

“We are currently on the verge of a state of emergency,” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said, according to Reuters.

Belgium became the first European Union country to announce a case of the variant, involving a person who came from abroad.

WHO MEETS TO DISCUSS NEW, ‘HEAVILY MUTATED’ COVID-19 VARIANT
https://www.foxnews.com/health/who-meets-to-discuss-new-heavily-mutated-covid-19-variant

The U.K. announced that it was banning flights from South Africa and five other southern African countries effective at noon on Friday. Anyone who had recently arrived from those countries would be asked to take a coronavirus test.

The South African government called the U.K.’s decision to temporarily ban South Africans from entering “seems to have been rushed,” citing the fact that the WHO has yet to recommend next steps.

Germany, an EU nation that has seen new record daily case numbers in recent days, said its flight ban could be enacted as soon as Friday night.

Ursula von der Leyen@vonderleyen
The @EU_Commission will propose, in close coordination with Member States, to activate the emergency brake to stop air travel from the southern African region due to the variant of concern B.1.1.529.

“The last thing we need is to bring in a new variant that will cause even more problems,” said German Health Minister Jens Spahn.

Italy’s health ministry also announced measures to ban entry into Italy of anyone who has been in seven southern African nations. The Netherlands and the Czech Republic planned similar measures.

The Japanese government announced that from Friday, Japanese nationals traveling from Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa and Lesotho will have to quarantine at government-dedicated accommodation for 10 days and do a COVID test on Day 3, Day 6 and Day 10. Japan has not yet opened up to foreign nationals.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Julia Musto is a reporter for Fox News Digital. You can find her on Twitter at @JuliaElenaMusto.

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/health/new-covid-variant-southern-africa-nations-travel-ban?test=38861ea43380e1402f1c90f21546ad4b

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Illustrative: Explosions light up the night sky above buildings in Gaza City as IDF planes hit the Palestinian enclave, early on June 16, 2021. (MAHMUD HAMS / AFP)

Israel Defense Forces jets struck a series of targets in Gaza late Sunday night, hours after incendiary balloons launched from the Strip sparked several fires in southern Israel.

The Israel Defense Forces said warplanes hit several buildings in a Hamas military base, as well as unspecified “infrastructure and utilities used for activities” of the terror group.

It noted the base was located “adjacent to civilian sites, including a school,” without providing details.

According to the Hamas-affiliated al-Resalah, Israeli planes bombed areas west of Gaza City, before striking to the east of Khan Younis. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Palestinian media reported that terrorists fired from machine guns at Israeli aircraft over the Gaza Strip, amid the airstrikes, and managed to down a drone.

An IDF spokesperson said the military was not aware of any reports of drones that had been shot down.

The army said the airstrikes came in response to incendiary balloons launched into Israel.

“The IDF will respond aggressively against continued terror attempts out of the Gaza Strip,” the IDF said in a statement.

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qasim mocked the Israeli airstrikes as a “failed attempt to show its own impotent power and restore its army’s battered image after it was shaken” during the recent fighting between the two sides.

“The noble resistance is ready to deal with all options, nor will it allow the occupation to impose its equations,” said Qasim, referring to the balance of deterrence between Hamas and Israel.

On Sunday afternoon, Gaza-based terror groups launched incendiary balloons into southern Israel, sparking a number of fires, a Fire and Rescue services investigator determined.

In response to the arson attacks, Israel announced it was cutting the Gaza Strip’s fishing zone in half, from 12 nautical miles to six, effective immediately and until further notice on Sunday night. Prior to May’s conflict between Israel and Palestinian terror groups in Gaza, Palestinian fisherman could operate up to 15 nautical miles from the coast.

“This follows the launching of incendiary balloons from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory, which is a violation of Israeli sovereignty,” Israel’s military liaison to the Palestinians, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, said in a statement.

According to the fire department, three small brushfires were ignited in the Eshkol region of southern Israel, in the first arson attacks from the Gaza Strip since early July.

“A fire investigator from the Southern District Fire and Rescue Services found that the blaze was caused by the launching of incendiary balloons,” a fire department spokesperson said. There were no injuries or damage to property reported.

In its statement, COGAT said the attacks were ultimately the responsibility of the Hamas terror group, the de facto ruler of the Strip.

Bonfires in southern Israel allegedly sparked by incendiary balloons launched by Gaza-based terror groups on July 25, 2021. (Moshe Brochi)

Hamas has warned of a return to fighting should Israel seek to again tighten restrictions on the blockaded Gaza Strip. The coastal enclave has seen tighter controls than usual since the 11-day May conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Earlier on Sunday, Israeli authorities prevented 25 trucks bearing Qatari-funded fuel from entering the Gaza Strip. An Israeli defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, cited a failure by Palestinian Authority officials in Gaza to coordinate with them.

PA officials in Gaza rejected the claim, saying that the United Nations and Qatar were responsible for directly coordinating with the Israeli side. Both the UN and the office of Qatar’s Gaza envoy declined to comment.

“Further restrictions on Gaza will only generate an explosion in the face of the occupation,” Hamas spokesperson Abd al-Latif al-Qanou told official Hamas radio on Sunday evening.

The Israeli defense official said Sunday night that the fuel was expected to enter the Gaza Strip on Monday, but that “nothing was set in stone.”

Supporters of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group prepare balloon-borne incendiary devices to launch toward Israel, east of Gaza City, on June 15, 2021. (Atia Mohammed/Flash90)

Israel regularly responds with airstrikes against Hamas positions in Gaza after incendiary balloon attacks. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has repeatedly said that he will not allow such incidents to occur without a response.

“Israel is interested in calm and has no interest in harming Gaza residents, but violence… will be met with a strong response,” Bennett told the cabinet following such strikes in early July.

During the war, Israeli airstrikes and Palestinian rockets caused at least $290 million worth of damage to the Gaza Strip, international assessors reported in early July.

Israel and Hamas have been conducting indirect negotiations in Cairo in an attempt to strengthen the fragile ceasefire between the two sides. Israeli officials have said they will condition allowing the reconstruction of Gaza and easing the heightened restrictions on reaching a prisoner exchange with Hamas that secures the return of Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, and the bodies of IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, who died in 2014 fighting.

Source: https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-strikes-gaza-after-incendiary-balloons-spark-fires-in-south/

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