Hong Kong’s Leader Publicly Apologizes for Extradition Bill - The New York Times

HONG KONG — Backpedaling under mounting public pressure, Hong Kong’s top leader publicly apologized on Tuesday for having proposed contentious legislation that would allow extraditions to mainland China.

“I would like to tender my sincere apologies to the citizens of Hong Kong,” Carrie Lam, the chief executive of Hong Kong, said at a news conference at government headquarters. “I have come to understand I could have done better, I should have done a better job.”

Mrs. Lam, who had already announced the bill’s indefinite suspension, said on Tuesday that as long as there were public disputes over its contents, legislative work on it would not be resumed.

She also said that she would not resign, but acknowledged that “as for my governance in the future, it will be difficult.”

About 100 people gathered outside the offices of the central government and listened as Mrs. Lam’s words boomed from a loudspeaker. Many booed as she spoke.

Samuel Chan, an electronics trader, said he did not believe Mrs. Lam was listening to the demands of protesters, including their call to withdraw the extradition bill entirely.

“They are just responding to the issue according to a government mind-set,” said Mr. Chan, 56. “Not the people’s will.”

Mrs. Lam faces broad public anger and continued demands for her resignation following three large-scale protests over the past 10 days. Despite her announcement on Saturday that the legislation was being suspended indefinitely, protesters turned out the next day in larger numbers than ever, with organizers providing an unverified estimate of close to two million of the territory’s seven million people.

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As many as two million people marched in Hong Kong on Sunday, according to organizers. Though the extradition bill has been suspended, protesters say it should be fully withdrawn.CreditLam Yik Fei for The New York Times

On Sunday evening, the Hong Kong government responded to that march with a conciliatory written statement that ended with a rare apology from Mrs. Lam, who is known for almost never backing down in a fight.

“The chief executive apologized to the people of Hong Kong for this and pledged to adopt a most sincere and humble attitude to accept criticisms and make improvements in serving the public,” the statement said.

That was not enough to satisfy Mrs. Lam’s many critics. The Civil Human Rights Front, one of the broader groups that helped organize the recent protests, said in a statement on Monday night that it still wanted her to resign.

Its first priority, however, is that the government drop all charges against those who have been arrested during the protests.

The police have arrested 32 people since Wednesday, when a demonstration outside the Hong Kong legislature turned violent. A group of protesters attempting to storm the building threw umbrellas and other objects at the police, who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.

The Hong Kong police commissioner, Lo Wai-chung, said on Monday evening that the government would pursue rioting charges against only five people accused of being involved in the violence. Protesters had objected to his earlier characterization of the Wednesday protest as a riot.

On Tuesday, Mrs. Lam did not elaborate on Mr. Lo’s remarks except to say that those who protested peacefully would not face legal action.

Some democracy activists are quietly nervous about the possibility of a resignation by Mrs. Lam, a lifelong civil servant, because her political heir apparent, Paul Chan, has a reputation for being even more strongly pro-Beijing.

Others are adamant that Mrs. Lam step down. They contend that the Hong Kong public should press for full and free elections rather than accept the current system, in which a pro-Beijing committee of fewer than 1,200 people selects the chief executive.

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Protesters outside Mrs. Lam’s office on Monday. They have demanded her resignation.CreditLam Yik Fei for The New York Times

Protesters made similar demands for open elections five years ago, when they occupied major roadways for almost three months in what is known as the Umbrella Movement. While that movement did not achieve its short-term objectives, it had a major influence on this year’s anti-extradition protests.

Emily Lau, a former chairwoman of the Democratic Party who is still an influential voice on democracy issues, said the politics of Mr. Chan, the financial secretary, should not deter critics from calling for Mrs. Lam’s resignation.

“It would be a disaster to have him as chief executive,” Ms. Lau said. “But we should not say, ‘Because we don’t want Paul Chan, maybe Carrie should stay.’”

Many critics have also called for the extradition bill to be withdrawn outright rather than merely suspended. Otherwise, experts say, it could be reintroduced at any time, although government advisers have made it clear that there is no plan to do so.

Hong Kong’s legislature is controlled by pro-Beijing lawmakers, who hold 43 of 70 seats. When she announced the extradition bill’s suspension on Saturday, Mrs. Lam said that if she had wanted to force it through, she would have had enough votes to do so.

Anthony Cheung, a former transport and housing secretary, said the government should withdraw the bill because there was so much disagreement over what it should say.

“Definitely there is no consensus within the community, including the legal community, on the contents of the bill,” he said in a telephone interview on Tuesday morning.

The bill would make it easier for Hong Kong to send people suspected of crimes to jurisdictions with which it does not have extradition agreements. That would include mainland China, where the judicial system is notoriously opaque and under the tight control of the ruling Communist Party.

Opponents fear that if the bill becomes law, anyone in the city would be at risk of being sent to the mainland, including dissidents. Under the terms of Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule in 1997, the former British colony has its own legal and economic systems, as well as civil liberties unknown on the mainland. But in recent years, those freedoms have eroded.

Mrs. Lam has said many times that she introduced the bill to resolve the case of a local man accused of murdering his girlfriend in Taiwan, which does not have an extradition treaty with Hong Kong. But Taiwan, which China considers its territory, has said it would not seek the man’s extradition under the legislation, which it fears could undermine its sovereignty.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/18/world/asia/hong-kong-carrie-lam-apology.html

2019-06-18 08:31:49Z
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Man who shared New Zealand mosque shooting video online jailed for 21 months - CNN

Philip Neville Arps, 44, was sentenced in Christchurch District Court on Tuesday to 21 months in prison after pleading guilty to two charges of distributing objectionable material, his lawyer Anselm Williams confirmed to CNN.

Arps sent copies of the footage -- which was streamed live on March 15 by the mosque shooter -- to about 30 people soon after attacks on worshippers inside two Christchurch mosques, according to CNN affiliate Radio New Zealand.

Shortly after the attack, New Zealand's Office of Film and Literature classified the video as objectionable, making it an offense to possess, share or host it. Under New Zealand law, distributing objectionable material to another person carries a possible prison sentence of up to 14 years.

During sentencing on Tuesday, Judge Stephen O'Driscoll said that when Arps was asked for his opinion on the video, he described it as "awesome," RNZ reported.

"Your offending glorifies and encourages the mass murder carried out under the pretext of religious and racial hatred," Judge O'Driscoll said, according to the RNZ report. "It is clear from all the material before me that you have strong and unrepentant views towards the Muslim community."

Williams said that his client Arps filed an appeal Tuesday against his sentence, arguing that it is "too stern." A date to hear the appeal has not yet been set.

Arps owns an insulation company named Beneficial Insulation, which uses a Nazi logo that was also featured in an online document published by the alleged Christchurch shooter.

Brenton Tarrant, the 28-year-old accused of carrying out the March 15 attacks, is expected to stand trial next year after pleading not guilty earlier this month to 51 counts of murder, 40 charges of attempted murder, and one charge under the Terrorism Suppression Act, the first time such a charge has been laid inside the country.

An 18-year-old and a 16-year-old have also been charged over distributing the live steam of the Christchurch videos, according to Williams, who is also representing the teens.

Limiting hate speech

Following the March 15 attacks, politicians and Muslim New Zealanders have raised concerns about the level of hate speech allowed to circulate online.

In May, the country's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern worked alongside French President Emmanuel Macron to host the Christchurch Call for Action, encouraging tech companies and countries to work together to end the use of social media in acts of terrorism.

The country's Justice Minister Andrew Little announced in March that he would fast-track a review of the country's hate speech laws, which could see the country introduce a new legal offense against hate crimes.

Currently hate speech is covered by two New Zealand laws -- the Human Rights Act and the Harmful Digital Communications Act. However, Little said there were questions about whether the processes under the second act were as accessible as they needed to be, and noted that discrimination on the basis of religion isn't covered by the first act.

"If your hateful expressions and hateful actions are directed at somebody's religion, or other prohibited grounds of discrimination other than race then actually it doesn't cover that, there's no offense at that point," he told RNZ.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/18/asia/christchurch-livestream-sentence-nz-intl-hnk/index.html

2019-06-18 06:45:00Z
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Protesters call for Hong Kong chief executive to resign - CNN

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2019-06-17 14:15:17Z
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Tory leadership race: Johnson absent as candidates face questions - BBC News

Conservative leadership contenders have faced further questions about Brexit and their personal beliefs ahead of Tuesday's second ballot of MPs.

Boris Johnson skipped the hustings of Westminster journalists, having also missed Sunday's Channel 4 TV debate.

Rory Stewart would not say how he would vote if there was another referendum, but having one would be a "failure".

Dominic Raab suggested the current "paralysing uncertainty" was worse than a no-deal exit from the EU.

Mr Johnson, former foreign secretary, is the clear frontrunner in the race after topping the first ballot with 114 votes.

On Monday, he got a fresh boost after he was endorsed by Health Secretary Matt Hancock - who pulled out after coming sixth in last week's vote.

But Mr Johnson's low visibility in the campaign so far continues to attract criticism from his rivals and their supporters.

Justice Secretary David Gauke, who is supporting Mr Stewart, said the public was "entitled" to expect every candidate to subject themselves to rigorous scrutiny.

"At the moment Boris Johnson is not doing that," he told BBC News.

He also accused Mr Johnson of making a series of pledges to cut tax or spend more - via his newspaper column - without answering the question "where is the money coming from?"

Mr Johnson has agreed to take part in a BBC TV debate after Tuesday's ballot while he is also expected to attend a hustings organised by the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers later.

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The five remaining candidates - also including Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove and Sajid Javid - were grilled by lobby journalists on Monday morning in a closed-door session.

Ahead of the hustings, Mr Hunt urged Mr Johnson to show "Churchillian spirit" and turn up. Mr Raab started his hustings slot by describing the event as an "essential gauntlet" in an apparent dig at his erstwhile rival.

Mr Gove, who famously fell out with Mr Johnson after the 2016 referendum, said "Boris could be a good prime minister, but I think I could be a better one."

'Unlock' support

Mr Raab defended his backing for the UK to leave the EU on 31 October with or without a deal - saying the "biggest risk is the paralysing uncertainty" currently afflicting the UK.

Mr Stewart said he believed Theresa May's Withdrawal Agreement could be the basis of a "moderate, pragmatic" Brexit despite being rejected by MPs three times.

He said his new approach to explaining and promoting the deal agreed with the EU could "unlock" up to a dozen Tory MPs, after which he would seek Labour backing.

If the parliamentary deadlock could not be broken, he said his plan B was to get 500 or so members of the public to decide how to proceed in a citizens' assembly.

Compare candidates' policies

Select a topic and a candidate to find out more

BREXIT

- Has said he would consider a further delay to Brexit to achieve a better deal. - Plans to negotiate a "fullstop" to the Irish border backstop plan. He wants a free trade agreement, similar to the deal between Canada and the EU. - Would support a no-deal Brexit if he couldn't get a better deal from Brussels.

- Would leave the EU with no deal, but it's not his preferred option. - Wants changes to the Irish backstop and proposes sending a new negotiating team to Brussels. - Wants to make changes to the Withdrawal Agreement and thinks it's possible to get them done by 31 October, but has not ruled out an extension.

- Would focus on making changes to the backstop. Would commission UK border force to work on solving the Northern Ireland border problem, paid for by the UK. - Says he cannot envisage circumstances in which he would want to have another extension to the UK's exit date and the country must be prepared for a no-deal Brexit.

- Wants to leave on 31 October, the deadline for Brexit set by the EU, with or without a deal. He admits a no-deal exit will cause "some disruption" but says the "way to get a good deal is to prepare for no deal". - Wants to remove the backstop from any deal and replace it with "alternative arrangements". - Says he would withhold the £39bn "divorce" payment the UK is due to give the EU as part of the negotiated deal. He says the money will be retained until there is "greater clarity about the way forward".

- Wants to re-open the withdrawal agreement for renegotiation in order to "overhaul the backstop". - Says a new deal would include "the vast majority" of the deal Theresa May negotiated, but would replace the Irish backstop with "alternative arrangements" involving "advanced customs and trade measures" and checks away from the border. - Willing to leave on WTO rules, claiming it is "far better than leaving with a fatally flawed deal", and will not rule out proroguing Parliament (essentially shutting it down) ahead of the 31 October deadline to prevent it blocking a no-deal Brexit

- Believes a no-deal Brexit would be "catastrophic" for the UK and is "undeliverable" and "unnecessary". - He said it was unrealistic to believe the UK could get a new Brexit deal agreed by the EU and Parliament by the 31 October deadline. - Prefers trying to push through the current deal, agreed by Theresa May. However he says, if that failed, he would set up a jury of citizens to thrash out a compromise.

TAX AND SPENDING

- Says he wants to replace VAT after Brexit with a lower, simpler sales tax. - Wants to create the "most pro-business" tax regime in the world and put business at the heart of the revival of Britain. - Says he would not use the tax and benefits system to give the already wealthy another tax cut. - Says he would scrap the High Speed rail 2 project.

- As an entrepreneur, he wants to turn Britain into the next Silicon Valley, a "hub of innovation". - Pledged to slash business taxes to the lowest in Europe to attract firms to Britain after Brexit and reduce corporation tax.

- Has promised to break from the austerity of the past nine years by slowing the pace of debt reduction. - Says this would free up about £25bn a year for spending priorities, including education. - Other money would be spent on local government and efforts to tackle crime, including an increase in the number of police officers by 20,000.

- Pledges to cut income tax for people earning more than £50,000 by raising the 40% tax threshold to £80,000. - Says it will benefit three million people and would cost £9.6bn a year. - Plans to pay for the cut partly from a pot set aside by the Treasury for a possible no-deal Brexit, and partly by increasing employee National Insurance payments.

- Wants to cut the basic rate of income tax from 20% to 15%. He suggests the basic rate falling by a penny a year. - Would equal a tax cut for the majority of UK workers. HMRC says there are currently 26.3m basic rate tax payers, but IFS says it costs about £5bn for every 1p cut in the rate of income tax. - Wants to raise the point that people start to pay national insurance to be the same as income tax, £12,501 a year. He says it would save the lowest paid workers £460 a year.

- Criticises other candidates for offering "cheap electoral bribes" to win support. - Says rather than being "straight" with people, his opponents have pledged "eye-watering" tax cuts worth £84bn.

HEALTH AND EDUCATION

- Says he wants to ensure the NHS is "fully-funded, properly funded" and that funding is protected under law. - Says he will spend £1bn extra on schools if he becomes prime minister.

- Mental health support in every school and a crackdown on social media companies that fail to regulate their content. - A cut in interest rate paid on tuition fees. - Long term plan to provide more funding for the teaching profession in return for a guarantee that no one leaves the education system without a "rigorous qualification" sufficient to work up to at least the average salary.

- Has suggested slowing down the rate of debt reduction, to release money for education. - Wants to see a "multi-year, multi-billion-pound boost" to spending on schools to "change the life chances of so many young people".

- Promises to raise spending on secondary school pupils to £5,000 each. - Called the funding gap between some schools in cities compared to those in rural areas a “disturbing reality”. - Has previously said money spent on the EU could be put into the NHS.

- Says he is in favour of bringing back young apprenticeships for 14-16 year-olds. - Wants review of spending in Whitehall, with a “special commission” to look at public sector procurement, especially in the NHS. - Says he would “recycle roughly half” of the savings made by the spending review into frontline services, such as teachers and nurses.

- Pledges to invest more into education, especially for those in “mid-life”. - Vows to put a long-term plan in place to tackle the issue of social care in the UK. - Says people should not have to pay hospital car parking charges to visit a sick relative or wait four weeks for a GP appointment.

He said he did not believe the assembly would come out in favour of another Brexit referendum, which he said would be "catastrophic".

Mr Javid warned against his rivals turning on each other, saying that the only winners of a "vicious" debate would be Labour.

Asked whether he trusted Boris Johnson, he replied yes but joked that he might not appoint him as foreign secretary in his cabinet if he won power - a reference to Mr Johnson's much-criticised tenure in the Foreign Office.

The home secretary conceded he was not the most confident orator in the field.

"I didn't go to the debating societies at Oxford or other places. But I am trying to communicate in the best way I can."

Mr Hunt said the central question about delivering Brexit was "who" was going to be doing the negotiating.

The BBC's political correspondent Chris Mason said Mr Hunt talked about different variations of the UK leaving the EU without a legal agreement.

He characterised these as a "hostile no deal", where there was little or no co-operation of any kind, or one more accommodating between the two sides.

Among the more unusual questions fielded, Mr Stewart - a former solider and diplomat - was asked whether he ever worked for MI6, to which he replied no.

And Mr Hunt was asked whether he believed in God, to which he said yes.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-48663546

2019-06-17 12:44:52Z
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Iran Says It Will Exceed Nuclear Deal's Limit On Uranium 'In 10 Days' - NPR

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Atomic Energy Organization of Iran spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi, pictured at a July 2018 news conference in Tehran, said Monday: "We have quadrupled the rate of enrichment and even increased it more recently." Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images

Within days Iran will exceed the limit on its stockpile of uranium under a 2015 nuclear deal, according to a spokesman for the country's atomic energy agency, who also said Tehran would increase uranium enrichment levels in violation of the agreement, "based on the country's needs."

The remarks come amid increased tension between the U.S. and Iran, particularly after last week's attack on two tankers in the Gulf of Oman that Washington has blamed on Tehran. Iran has denied any involvement.

Under the multilateral Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that the U.S. withdrew from a year ago, Iran can keep no more than 300 kilograms (661 pounds) of uranium enriched no higher than 3.67% — far below the 90% level considered suitable for building nuclear weapons.

At a news conference at the Arak Nuclear Complex that was carried live Monday on Iranian television, Behrouz Kamalvandi, a spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said that stockpile limit could be exceeded within 10 days.

"We have quadrupled the rate of enrichment and even increased it more recently, so that in 10 days it will bypass the 300 kg limit," Kamalvandi said.

He added that his country needs uranium enriched to 5% for its Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, built in the 1990s with Russian help and uranium of 20% purity to be used as fuel for the Tehran Research Reactor, which the U.S. supplied to Iran in 1967.

Although not weapons-grade, 20% purity is generally considered "highly enriched" uranium, and as The Associated Press notes, "going from 20% to 90% is a relatively quicker process, something that worries nuclear nonproliferation experts."

Even so, Kamalvandi held out the possibility that "there is still time ... if European countries act."

"Iran's reserves are every day increasing at a more rapid rate. And if it is important for them (Europe) to safeguard the accord, they should make their best efforts. ... As soon as they carry out their commitments, things will naturally go back to their original state," he said, according to AP.

That sentiment was echoed by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Monday. "It's a crucial moment, and France can still work with other signatories of the deal and play an historic role to save the deal in this very short time," he was quoted by the Fars News Agency as saying during a meeting with France's new ambassador in Iran.

Reuters reports that Rouhani said the collapse of the nuclear deal would not be in the interests of the region and the world.

Following last week's reported attack on the tankers Front Altair and Kokuka Courageous near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said "there's no doubt" that Iran was responsible for disabling the vessels.

"The intelligence community has lots of data, lots of evidence," Pompeo said on Fox News Sunday. "The world will come to see much of it, but the American people should rest assured we have high confidence with respect to who conducted these attacks as well as half a dozen other attacks throughout the world."

On CBS' Face the Nation, Pompeo said the U.S. was "considering a full range of options."

"We are confident that we can take a set of actions that can restore deterrence, which is our mission set," he said.

On Monday, Iran's Armed Forces Chief of Staff again denied the country's involvement in the attacks.

"Regarding the new incidents in the Persian Gulf ... if the Islamic Republic of Iran decides to block exports of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, it is militarily strong enough to do that fully and publicly," Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri said, according to Fars News Agency.

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2019-06-17 11:22:00Z
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Iran says its uranium stockpile will breach nuclear deal - NBCNews.com

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran said on Monday it would breach internationally agreed curbs on its stock of low-enriched uranium in 10 days, a move likely to strain already high tensions with Washington, but it added European nations still had time to save a landmark nuclear deal.

"We have quadrupled the rate of enrichment and even increased it more recently, so that in 10 days it will bypass the 300 kg (661 pounds) limit," Iran's Atomic Energy Organization spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said on state TV.

The announcement indicated Iran's determination to break from the landmark 2015 accord, which has steadily unraveled since the Trump administration pulled America out of the deal last year and re-imposed tough economic sanctions on Iran, sending its economy into free-fall.

Kamalvandi, made the announcement during a press conference with local journalists at Iran's Arak heavy water facility that was carried live on Iranian state television.

Tehran said in May it would reduce compliance with the nuclear pact it agreed with world powers in 2015, in protest at the United States’ decision to unilaterally pull out of the agreement and reimpose sanctions last year.

The deal aimed to extend the amount of time it would theoretically take Iran to produce enough fissile material for an atomic bomb from several months to a minimum of one year.

However, Kamalvandi added that European countries still had time to save a nuclear deal.

Iran has repeatedly criticized delays in setting up a European mechanism that would shield trade with Iran from U.S. sanctions in an effort to save the nuclear deal.

"There is still time for the Europeans... But the Europeans have expressed indirectly their inability to act. They should not think that after 60 days (deadline set in May by Iran), they will have another 60-day opportunity," Kamalvandi said.

Ahead of a meeting of European Union foreign ministers, Germany's foreign minister Heiko Mass said in a tweet that "it's high time for 'diplomacy first'", adding that the E.U. can "contribute to deescalating the situation in the Middle East."

The comments come in the wake of suspected attacks on oil tankers last week in the region, attacks that Washington has blamed on Iran. Tensions have recently spiked between Iran and the United States, a year after President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America for the nuclear deal.

Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed that intelligence officials have "lots of data, lots of evidence" tying Iran to the attacks, though he did not provide any specifics.

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2019-06-17 10:34:00Z
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Israel announces new Golan Heights settlement named after Trump - CNN

Netanyahu unveiled a sign at the proposed site of the settlement on Sunday bearing the name "Trump Heights," and thanked the US President for breaking with the international community to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the region.

"We are proud that we have the opportunity to establish a new settlement and to give thanks to a great friend," Netanyahu told a celebratory cabinet meeting at the site. "We will continue to grow and develop the Golan for all of our citizens -- Jews and non-Jews together."

The Golan Heights, which was seized by Israel from Syria during the Six-Day War in 1967 and annexed in 1981, is regarded as illegally occupied territory by the global community. The UN Security Council has deemed Israel's administration of the area "null and void and without legal effect," and the UN special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, recently reiterated that position.

But Trump recognized Israeli sovereignty in the region in March, two weeks before that country's elections, in what was seen as a major political gift to Netanyahu. The US is the only country in the world to recognize Israeli sovereignty in the occupied territory.

At Sunday's unveiling, the Israeli leader went on to thank Trump for a number of pro-Israel decisions -- while also joining the US in blaming Iran for the attack on tankers in the Gulf of Oman last week.

"President Trump did it [with the Golan], he also did it with Jerusalem, he did it with the transfer of the embassy, he did it with the exit from the Iran nuclear deal, he does it now with the strong stand against the aggression of Iran in the Gulf of Oman, in the Persian Gulf, and in the entire region," he said.

US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, who sat next to Netanyahu during the festive cabinet meeting, praised the decision.

"I want to thank you for holding the cabinet meeting and for the extraordinary gesture that you and the State of Israel are making to the President of the United States," Friedman said. "It's well-deserved, but it's much appreciated."

But opposition lawmakers in Israeli criticized Netanyahu's announcement as a public relations exercise.

"Whoever reads the fine print in this 'historic' decision understands that it is a phantom decision," Zvi Hauser, an advocate of international recognition of Israeli sovereignty in the Golan, said on Twitter. "There is no budget, there is no planning, there is no place, and there is really no binding decision," he added.

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2019-06-17 09:57:00Z
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