A coordinated approach to West Asia’s water

TEL AVIV: Israeli protesters took to the streets for a sixth day on Sunday amid reports Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Cabinet  passed a vote of no confidence  in the attorney general, in its latest move against officials deemed hostile to the government.
However, any dismissal could be months away.
Tens of thousands of Israelis have joined demonstrations in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv over the past week, as fears for Israeli hostages after a resumption of the bombing campaign in Gaza and anger at moves to sack the head of the domestic intelligence agency have brought different protest groups together.
The removal of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, approved by Cabinet last week, was set to be followed by a no-confidence motion against attorney general Gali Baharav-Miara, who has frequently clashed with the current government.
Israeli media reported last week that the Cabinet would hold a no-confidence motion against Baharav-Miara, a former district attorney appointed under previous Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
The moves against the two officials have drawn accusations from protesters and the opposition that Netanyahu’s right-wing government is undermining key state institutions.
At the same time, families and supporters of the 59 hostages still held in Gaza have vented their anger at what many have seen as the government’s abandonment of their loved ones.
“We are here to make it clear that Israel is a democracy and will remain a democracy,” said 46-year-old Uri Ash, who was taking part in a protest in Tel Aviv.
“We will overtake this government because it is ruining Israel,” he said.
Although the protest groups have different priorities, they have built on mass demonstrations before the Gaza war that were unleashed by the right-wing government’s moves to curb the power of the Supreme Court.
Netanyahu said that, at the time, the overhaul was needed to rein in judicial overreach that was intruding on the authority of parliament, but protesters said it was an attempt to weaken one of the pillars of Israeli democracy.
Earlier this month, Justice Minister Yariv Levin initiated moves to dismiss Baharav-Miara, accusing her of politicizing her office and obstructing the government.
In practice, any step to remove the attorney general will likely face administrative hurdles and an appeals process that could delay it for months.
But the reports, which the prime minister’s office declined to confirm, have added fuel to the protests, echoing the same accusations made over Bar’s dismissal.
Cabinet approved Bar’s dismissal despite objections from Baharav-Miara, but a temporary injunction from the Supreme Court has held up the move.
Late on Saturday, Netanyahu issued a video statement defending the dismissal of Bar and rejecting accusations that the sacking was aimed at thwarting a Shin Bet investigation into allegations of financial ties between Qatar and aides in the prime minister’s office.
Instead, he said, the Shin Bet probe into the affair was launched as a means of delaying Bar’s expected resignation over intelligence failures that allowed the devastating attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023, to take place.

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis returned to the Vatican on Sunday after surviving a five-week battle in hospital against double pneumonia that became the most serious health crisis of his 12-year papacy.

The 88-year-old pope, who also made his first public appearance since Feb. 14 before being discharged from Rome’s Gemelli hospital, left the facility shortly after noon.

A car carrying the pontiff was accompanied by police vehicles through Rome, making a short detour to take flowers to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, a church to which Francis has a special devotion and visits frequently.

Though the pope has returned from hospital, his doctors have said it would still take “a lot of time” for his aging body to heal fully.

They have prescribed a further two months of rest at the Vatican and told him to avoid large or stressful meetings, leaving unclear how much activity Francis will undertake in the coming months.

Just before leaving the hospital on Sunday, Francis smiled and waved at a group of well-wishers gathered outside. He used a wheelchair, as he has done for several years.

His face looked swollen and there were bandages visible on both arms underneath his white cassock during the appearance, which lasted only a few moments.

He spoke briefly, with a feeble voice, to thank 79-year-old Carmela Vittoria Mancuso in the crowd below. Mancuso, who visited the hospital each day during the pope’s treatment, had brought yellow flowers for him. She said afterwards that her heart “was bursting” when the pope noticed her.

Francis had only been seen by the public once before during his hospital stay, in a photo the Vatican released last week, showing the pontiff at prayer in a hospital chapel.

The pope, who has been receiving oxygen to help him breathe throughout his hospital stay, was breathing on his own during the public appearance. But he was seen using a small hose under his nose for oxygen while traveling in his car.

In the moments before the pontiff’s appearance on Sunday, the crowd of hundreds of well-wishers called out for him, chanting “Francis, Francis, Francis.”