The Israeli government has rejected calls from the European Union and United Nations for an investigation into the this weekend's violence along Gaza’s border with Israel, the AP reports. The U.N. said the Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed that the deadly standoff killed 15 Palestinians and injured over 1,000. The clash came during a mass demonstration with thousands of Palestinians gathering along the border for a what was supposed to be a peaceful protest against Israel’s decade-old blockade of the territory.
The details: Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman reportedly said the country will not cooperate with any inquiry, adding that Israeli troops acted appropriately and fired only when there was a threat. However, the AP reported that video from the scene showed cases where people were shot far from the border — and while they were not participating in the protests.
Since taking power in 2011, Kim Jong-un hadn’t met with a single foreign leader — until last week. In a matter of a few short weeks Kim Jong-un has held a meeting with China’s Xi Jinping, his first with a foreign leader, secured a commitment to meet with the President of the United States, and has a face-to-face meeting set up with South Korea’s Moon Jae-in for the end of April. Meetings with Moscow and Tokyo are also potentially in the works, per the AP.
This is quite the departure from the hermit kingdom modus operandi. So why the flurry of meetings? It could be that Kim Jong-un is seeking a release from the pressure of sanctions. But there’s more at stake, including Kim Jong-un’s ego, the rush that comes from negotiating, and the country’s reputation on the international stage.
"Russian ships are skulking around underwater communications cables, causing the U.S. and its allies to worry the Kremlin might be taking information warfare to new depths," AP's Deb Riechmann reports.
The gritty details: "U.S. and Western officials are increasingly troubled by their rival's interest in the 400 fiber-optic cables that carry most of world's calls, emails and texts, as well as $10 trillion worth of daily financial transactions."
More than 15 people have been killed and hundreds wounded in clashes between protesters and Israeli security forces at the Gaza-Israel border, Reuters reports, citing the Palestinian health ministry. The fatality count has varied between publications, with the N.Y. Times citing 16 and others 17.
The backdrop: 17,000 Palestinians have kicked off a 6-week protest called the Great March of Return, demanding that refugees be allowed to return to homes on the Israeli side of the border. The Israeli Defense Forces say troops fired on "the main instigators" of riots that included "rolling burning tires and hurling stones."
The State Department has put $200 million in recovery effort funds to Syria on hold, after the White House directed it to do so, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Why it matters: Per the Journal, this signals that the administration is re-evaluating U.S. presence in the region.President Trump said on Thursday said that the U.S. would be "coming out of Syria...very soon," and that "other people" should take care of it.
