Beto O'Rourke: Netanyahu is 'racist,' doesn't represent 'true will of the Israeli people' - CNN

Speaking in Iowa as he campaigns for the Democratic nomination for president, O'Rourke said the US-Israeli relationship was among the most important "on the planet" and singled out Netanyahu.

"That relationship, if it is to be successful, must transcend partisanship in the United States, and it must be able to transcend a prime minister who is racist, as he warns about Arabs coming to the polls, who wants to defy any prospect for peace as he threatens to annex the West Bank, and who has sided with a far-right, racist party in order to maintain his hold on power," O'Rourke said.

O'Rourke continued, saying he did not believe Netanyahu "represents the true will of the Israeli people" or the "best interests" of the relationship between the US and Israel. He went on to endorse a two-state solution to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

"We must be able to transcend his current leadership to make sure that that alliance is strong, that we continue to push for and settle for nothing less than a two-state solution, because that is the best opportunity for peace for the people of Israel and the people of Palestine," O'Rourke said. "It is the best opportunity for the full human rights of everyone who is living in that region."

CNN has reached out to the Israeli Embassy in Washington for comment.

O'Rourke made his comment to reporters after a rally where a voter asked about the conflict in the region. In the rally itself, O'Rourke offered similar criticism of Netanyahu, while also saying the Palestinian Authority had not acted in good faith.

O'Rourke's comments joined a larger debate taking place in the US and Democratic Party about Israel and Netanyahu, whom President Donald Trump hosted in the White House just weeks before Israel is set to hold decisive elections in which Netanyahu is up for re-election.

Trump has sought to seize on the issue, including by invoking a controversy in the House over anti-Semitism, while many Democrats running to challenge Trump in 2020 have rebuffed the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a political group strongly supportive of Netanyahu.

Trump signed a proclamation in March recognizing the Golan Heights as part of Israel, overturning longstanding US policy regarding the area and handing Netanyahu a significant foreign policy victory in the run-up to the upcoming election.

A report from Haaretz quoted Netanyahu as telling Channel 12 News Saturday, "A Palestinian state will endanger our existence and I withstood huge pressure over the past eight years. No prime minister has withstood such pressure. We must control our destiny."

Netanyahu went on to say, "I will extend sovereignty but I don't distinguish between the settlement blocs and the isolated ones, because each settlement is Israeli and I will not hand it over to Palestinian sovereignty."

Netanyahu has tacked further right in the leadup to the April elections, including working openly to improve the electoral prospects of lawmakers with roots in a party banned in the 1980s for racism.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/07/politics/beto-orourke-israel-netanyahu/index.html

2019-04-07 21:53:00Z
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Kidnapping in Uganda: American Kimberly Endicott held hostage in Uganda released unharmed - CBS News

An American who was kidnapped along with her driver in Uganda last week has been recovered unharmed, a spokesman for the Ugandan government said Sunday. The pair were recovered along the border with the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Kimberly Sue Endicott, 56, and tour driver Jean-Paul Mirenge Remezo were taken hostage at gunpoint while on safari in Uganda's Queen Elizabeth National Park last Tuesday. Their four kidnappers had demanded a $500,000 ransom and had not backed down from the demand as of Friday, authorities told CBS News last week. The abductors had been using Endicott's phone to negotiate her release and were in contact with authorities nearly everyday, officials said.

The Uganda Police Force said the pair were rescued during a joint operation and are in "good health." A spokesman for the Ugandan government said Ugandan security forces were involved in the operation. The two were brought back to the lodge where she had been staying, while the kidnappers managed to escape.

Kimberly Endicott with a Ugandan commando shortly after she and her driver were rescued April 7, 2019. Obtained by CBS News

Wild Frontiers Uganda, which operates the lodge in the park where Endicott was staying, released photos of Endicott and Remezo meeting with Paul Goldring, the company's managing director.

Kimberly Endicott shakes hands with Paul Goldring of Wild Frontiers Uganda on April 7, 2019. Wild Frontiers

Jean-Paul Mirenge Remezo shakes hands with Paul Goldring of Wild Frontiers Uganda on April 7, 2019. Wild Frontiers

The kidnapping spurred a massive search effort along the edge of the park, which borders the DRC. The park is one of 10 national parks in Uganda, where tourism remains a major driver of the economy. Hundreds of thousands of visitors travel to the parks each year.

Endicott, an esthetician, runs a skin care clinic in Costa Mesa, California.

Sarah Carter contributed reporting from Uganda.

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2019-04-07 21:50:00Z
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Suspected Rhino Poacher Killed By Elephant, Eaten By Pride Of Lions In South Africa - NPR

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Officials at Kruger National Park in South Africa said a suspected rhino poacher was killed by an elephant and his remains eaten by lions. Pictured here, an elephant in the park in 2016. Kevin Anderson/AP hide caption

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Kevin Anderson/AP

A suspected rhino poacher was killed by an elephant and his remains likely eaten by a pride of lions, park officials in South Africa said.

Kruger National Park rangers received a call last week from the family of the suspected poacher, the park said in a statement issued Friday. According to the family, accomplices of their relative said he was killed by an elephant on Tuesday, while they were in the park to poach rhino.

The elephant attacked "suddenly," Police Brig. Leonard Hlathi told South African newspaper Times Live. Hlathi said the man's accomplices claimed to have carried his body to a road before leaving the park.

Rangers began search efforts to find the man's remains and bring the family closure but could not locate a body.

"Indications found at the scene suggested that a pride of lions had devoured the remains leaving only a human skull and a pair of pants," the statement reads. The remains were found in the Crocodile Bridge section of the park.

Observers were quick to point out the apparent irony. "It's the Circle of life," one commentator quipped on Twitter.

Glenn Phillips, managing executive of the park, issued his condolences to the deceased's family. "Entering Kruger National Park illegally and on foot is not wise, it holds many dangers and this incident is evidence of that," Phillips said in the statement.

Police are investigating the incident, and the other four suspected poachers have been arrested and will appear in court, according to the statement.

It's not the first time animals have killed a suspected poacher in South Africa. Last year, one was attacked and eaten by a pride of lions in the Limpopo province, police said.

The number of rhinos poached in South Africa has trended down since 2014, but demand for the animal's horn, nonetheless, remains strong, Reuters reports. More than 500 rhinos were poached for their horns in the first eight months of last year.

Kruger National Park, South Africa's largest game reserve, covers thousands of square miles along the country's northeastern border. As of late last year, the park had some 5,000 rhinos, down from around 9,000 in 2014, according to government estimates cited by Reuters. Poaching and drought have both contributed to the decrease.

Last year, South African Minister of Environmental Affairs Edna Molewa called rhino poaching "a national priority crime." In a statement, she said that more than 500 alleged poachers and traffickers were arrested in 2017, with the majority of arrests taking place inside or around Kruger National Park.

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2019-04-07 20:06:00Z
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Kidnapping in Uganda: American Kimberly Endicott held hostage in Uganda released unharmed - CBS News

An American who was kidnapped along with her driver in Uganda last week has been recovered unharmed, a spokesman for the Ugandan government said Sunday. The pair were recovered along the border with the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Kimberly Endicott, 56, and tour driver Jean-Paul Mirgene Remezo were taken hostage at gunpoint while on safari in Uganda's Queen Elizabeth National Park last Tuesday. Their four kidnappers had demanded a $500,000 ransom and had not backed down from the demand as of Friday, authorities told CBS News last week. The abductors had been using Endicott's phone to negotiate her release and were in contact with authorities nearly everyday, officials said.

The Uganda Police Force said the pair were rescued during a joint operation and are in "good health." A spokesman for the Ugandan government said Ugandan security forces were involved in the operation. The two were brought back to the lodge where she had been staying, while the kidnappers managed to escape.

Kimberly Endicott with a Ugandan commando shortly after she and her driver were rescued on April 7, 2019. Obtained by CBS News

Wild Frontiers Uganda, which operates the lodge in the park where Endicott was staying, released photos of Endicott and Remezo meeting with Paul Goldring, the company's managing director.

Kimberly Endicott shakes hands with Paul Goldring of Wild Frontiers Uganda on April 7, 2019. Wild Frontiers

Jean-Paul Mirgene Remezo shakes hands with Paul Goldring of Wild Frontiers Uganda on April 7, 2019. Wild Frontiers

The kidnapping spurred a massive search effort along the edge of the park, which borders the DRC. The park is one of 10 national parks in Uganda, where tourism remains a major driver of the economy. Hundreds of thousands of visitors travel to the parks each year.

Endicott, an esthetician, runs a skin care clinic in Costa Mesa, California.

Sarah Carter contributed reporting from Uganda.

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2019-04-07 19:02:00Z
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An American tourist and her tour guide who were abducted in Uganda have been rescued, officials say - CNN

"Both were rescued from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and are safely back in Kanungu district in Uganda," said Ofwono Opondo. "They are back at the lodge and she is expected to be in Kampala tomorrow."

Opondo said the kidnappers fled the scene of the rescue when law enforcement officers and soldiers moved in.

Ugandan police had said Thursday that an armed gang kidnapped Endicott and her driver at gunpoint from the national park and had made frequent demands for a $500,000 ransom.

"They (the abductors) continue to use cell phones of the victims to call the lodge (where) they were staying asking for $500,000 ransom, which we will not offer," Ugandan police spokeswoman Polly Namaye said.

The two were abducted at gunpoint while on a game drive on Tuesday evening, the Ugandan Tourism Board and Ugandan police said in a statement.

Four other people were taken at the same time, but they were freed while Endicott and her driver were taken from the park, officials said.

CNN's Hilary McGann, Samson Ntale and Bukola Adebayo and Anna Cardovilis contributed to this report.

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2019-04-07 17:52:00Z
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Netanyahu says if re-elected he will extend Israeli sovereignty over West Bank - Fox News

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives for a weekly cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, Sunday, April 29, 2018. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner) (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Saturday that he would extend Israeli sovereignty over parts of the West Bank if re-elected.

Israelis head to the polls on Tuesday and in the final stretch of the tight race, Netanyahu is competing for votes with right-wing parties who support annexing part of the West Bank.

Appearing on Israel’s Channel 12 news Saturday, just three days before Israelis vote on whether Netanyahu would get a fifth term, the prime minister said he was contemplating moves that would put a stop to decades of Israel’s policy recognizing that the lands it seized in the 1967 war would be part of a negotiated settlement with the Palestinians. What happens to the land is one of the most contentious issues between Israelis and Palestinians, who argue that the presence of settlements would make a future independent state impossible.

On Saturday, Netanyahu pledged that he would not dismantle a single Jewish settlement and that Israel would retain control of the territory west of the Jordan River, known as the West Bank. More than 600,000 Israelis currently live on the war-won lands, the majority live in the West Bank.

NETANYAHU, ILHAN OMAR SPAR OVER ROLE OF AIPAC'S POLITICAL MONEY: 'IT'S NOT ABOUT THE BENJAMINS' 

Netanyahu has promoted Jewish settlement expansion in his four terms as prime minister, but until now, withheld from presenting a detailed vision for the West Bank.

When Netanyahu was asked why he didn’t annex some of the larger settlements during his current term he answered, “The question you are asking is an interesting question, whether we will move to the next stage and the answer is yes.”

Netanyahu added that the next term in office would be “fateful,” according to The Times of Israel.

“We will move to the next stage, the imposing of Israeli sovereignty,” said Netanyahu.

“I will impose sovereignty, but I will not distinguish between settlement blocs and isolated settlements,” he said during Saturday’s interview. “From my perspective, any point of settlement is Israeli, and we have responsibility, as the Israeli government. I will not uproot anyone, and I will not transfer sovereignty to the Palestinians.”

During the interview, Netanyahu depicted the U.S. policy shifts on Jerusalem and the Golan Heights as his achievements, saying that he had managed to persuade President Trump to take these steps.

NETANYAHU CUTS SHORT WASHINGTON TRIP, MOBILIZES MILITARY AFTER GAZA ROCKET ATTACK WOUNDS 7

Most of the international community have long favored a so-called two-state solution. However, U.S. mediation between Israelis and Palestinians stalled after Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital early in his term. As a result, the Palestinians, who seek Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem as their capital, stopped contact with the U.S.

Last month, Trump also recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, an area Israel captured from Syria in 1967.

The U.S. State Department declined to comment on Netanyahu's statement.

According to The Times of Israel, Netanyahu’s pledge Saturday came a day after he said on Israel’s Channel 13 news that he told President Trump that he would not evacuate “a single person” from any of the settlements. The news comes amid reports that Netanyahu thinks Trump will back him on settlement annexation if the Palestinians reject the much-anticipated Israeli-Palestinian peace plan.

In response to Netanyahu’s statements, David Ha’ivri, a Jewish resident of Samaria, which is in the West Bank, told Fox News, “In my opinion, these statements were long overdue. Israel liberated these areas from Jordan 52 years ago in the 1967 Six Day War. Since then the residents of this region have lived in a state of political limbo, not knowing what the near future will bring and under which flag we would live.”

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In a statement, Saeb Erekat, a veteran Palestinian negotiator, said, “Israel will continue to brazenly violate international law for as long as the international community will continue to reward Israel with impunity, particularly with the Trump administration’s support and endorsement of Israel’s violation of the national and human rights of the people of Palestine.”

In its final days, Israel’s prime minister race appears too close to call, as Netanyahu faces a strong challenge from a popular former army chief, Benny Gantz.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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2019-04-07 17:11:08Z
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Suspected rhino poacher is killed by an elephant and then eaten by lions in South Africa - CNN

The incident happened after the man entered the park Monday with four others to target rhinos, according to a parks service statement.

An elephant "suddenly" attacked the alleged poacher, killing him, and "his accomplices claimed to have carried his body to the road so that passersby could find it in the morning. They then vanished from the Park," police said.

His family were notified of his death late Tuesday by his fellow poachers, and a search party set out to recover the body. Rangers scoured on foot and police flew over the area, but because of failing light it could not be found.

Botswana's 'significant' elephant-poaching problem

The search resumed Thursday morning and, with the help of added field rangers, police discovered what was left of his body.

"Indications found at the scene suggested that a pride of lions had devoured the remains leaving only a human skull and a pair of pants," the statement said.

Glenn Phillips, the managing executive of Kruger National Park, extended his condolences to the man's family.

"Entering Kruger National Park illegally and on foot is not wise, it holds many dangers and this incident is evidence of that," he warned. "It is very sad to see the daughters of the deceased mourning the loss of their father, and worse still, only being able to recover very little of his remains."

Three individuals who joined the illegal hunt were arrested Wednesday by the South African Police Service, and officers continue to investigate what happened.

The suspects appeared in Komatipoort Magistrate Court on Friday to face charges of possessing firearms and ammunition without a license, conspiracy to poach and trespassing. A judge remanded them to custody and they will be back in court this week, pending a formal bail application.

The African rhino is targeted for its horn because of the belief among some who practice Eastern medicine that the horn has benefits as an aphrodisiac, making it more valuable than cocaine in parts of the world.

Of special concern is the black rhino, which is considered critically endangered after its population tumbled from about 65,000 to 1970 to 2,400 in 1995, according to Kruger National Park. Conservation efforts have boosted their numbers, and the world's remaining 5,000 or so black rhinos live predominantly in South Africa, Namibia, Kenya and Zimbabwe.

In 2016, there were between 349 and 465 black rhinos living at Kruger and between 6,600 and 7,800 white rhinos, who also suffer from poaching, South Africa's Department of Environmental Affairs said.

Kruger is considered an intensive protection zone, and the government employs a range of resources to deter poaching, including aircraft, dogs, special rangers and an environmental crime investigation unit.

Of the 680 poaching and trafficking arrests made in 2016 by the South African Police Service, 417 were in and around Kruger, the department said. In September, the department announced that six men -- including two syndicate leaders, two police officers and a former police officer -- had been arrested for trafficking in rhino horns.

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2019-04-07 16:00:00Z
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