ISRAEL - Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s latest threat to renounce all agreements with Israel mainly aims to send a warning to the new Israeli government and the international community, Palestinian officials said Wednesday. Noting that Abbas has stopped short of canceling the agreements, the officials said they were skeptical that the threat will stop Israel from proceeding with its intention to extend Israeli law to parts of the West Bank. Abbas does not hold powerful cards that allow him to threaten Israel and the US, they said.

Abbas’s previous threats had failed to stop Washington from recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the officials said. The threats also have failed to change Israel’s policies and measures in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, they added. The Palestinian leadership would not make any real decisions regarding the agreements with Israel in the immediate future, a PLO official said Wednesday.

ISRAEL - Six facilities were hit in an Iranian cyberattack last month on the country’s water infrastructure that succeeded in impacting some systems but did not cause any disruption in the water supply or waste management, the Ynet news site reported on Tuesday. At one of the Israel Water Authority facilities, an “irregularity due to an unplanned change in data” was recorded, the report said. At another station, a pump went into continuous operation, prompting operators to shut off its automatic mode.

Hackers also succeeded in taking over the operating system at one of the sites, while at another changes were made to operating systems. At one of the facilities, operators detected the cyberattack and immediately disconnected the site’s systems, reset parameters and changed all the passwords. Quoting unnamed senior officials, Channel 13 news said on May 9 that the attack in late April was viewed as a significant escalation by Iran and a crossing of a red line because it targeted civilian infrastructure.

IRAN - The cyber attack on Israeli water facilities using American servers at the height of the coronavirus crisis wrought a swift and heavy response, paralyzing Iran's state-of-the-art port, and its blatant leak to the Washington Post was designed to inform Tehran and the world of the price of such attacks. The Washington Post report of an Israeli and American cyber attack against Iran seems reliable and accurate.

JORDAN - Following warnings to Israel by King Abdullah of Jordan of a “massive conflict” if Israel proceeds with plans to apply Israeli law to parts of Judea and Samaria, some political and media commentators and sources are referring to a possibility that Jordan might revoke its Treaty of Peace with Israel.

A peace treaty, by its very nature, is not limited by any specific time limit, and is not given to cancellation or revocation, unless by declaration of war or by an act of aggression by one of the parties to the treaty, constituting a revocation of the very basis of the peace relationship which includes mutual acknowledgment of the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence of the other party.

It is highly unlikely that Jordan would want to take such a step, especially in light of the fact that a unilateral act by Israel of applying law or sovereignty to parts of Judea and Samaria, even if not favored by Jordan, would not constitute an act of aggression against Jordan’s sovereignty or territorial integrity and as such would not be grounds for revoking the treaty.

MIDDLE EAST - Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of committing “treachery” and “betrayal” after its Etihad Airways cargo plane flew direct to Israel to deliver coronavirus aid to Palestinians. The flight delivered 14 tons of urgent medical supplies for coping with the coronavirus pandemic that the UAE government sent to the Palestinian Authority and the Gaza Strip. Khamenei wrote on Twitter that the act "betrayed Palestine by supporting Israel."

"Etihad Airways operated a dedicated humanitarian cargo flight from Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv on 19 May to provide medical supplies to the Palestinians," an Etihad spokesperson said. "The flight had no passengers on board." The official UAE news agency WAM said "The aid includes personal protective equipment, PPE, and medical equipment. Most notably, it includes 10 ventilators that are acutely needed." "Etihad Airways continues to operate many humanitarian flights providing much needed aid to nations within its network and beyond."

USA - In troubled times, people have been known to hoard currency at home — a financial security blanket against deep uncertainty. But in this crisis, things are different. This time cash itself, passed from hand to hand across neighborhoods, cities and societies just like the coronavirus, is a source of suspicion rather than reassurance. No longer a thing to be shoved mindlessly into a pocket, tucked into a worn wallet or thrown casually on a kitchen counter, money’s status has changed during the virus era — perhaps irrevocably. The pandemic has also reawakened debate about the continued viability of what has been the physical lifeblood of global economies: paper money and coins.

USA - Johnson & Johnson will halt all sales of its talc-based baby powder in North America, after years of lawsuits claiming the product causes cancer – but, undeterred, the firm says it won’t stop selling it to the rest of the world.

USA - President Donald Trump has threatened to halt American funding for the World Health Organization (WHO) for good, giving the agency 30 days to clean up its act while insisting it mishandled the Covid-19 pandemic.

USA - White House officials are increasingly predicting a swift economic recovery as they break off talks with Congress on additional federal stimulus, expressing optimism that the "reopening" of states will reverse the economic damage caused by the coronavirus.

USA - Norma McCorvey, the woman known as “Jane Roe” in the landmark 1973 US Supreme Court Roe vs Wade ruling legalizing abortion, said she was lying when she switched to support the anti-abortion movement, saying she had been paid to do so. In a new documentary, made before her death in 2017 and due to be broadcast on Friday, McCorvey makes what she calls a “deathbed confession.” “I took their money and they took me out in front of the cameras and told me what to say,” she says on camera. “I did it well too. I am a good actress. Of course, I’m not acting now.”

AUSTRALIA - China has imposed a massive 80 per cent tariff on Australian barley imports from today, saying the product has been imported against trade rules. The import tax will remain in place for five years, and is expected to wipe out Australian sales into the lucrative market. China's Foreign Ministry last week claimed the trade measures were not related to Australia's call for an investigation into the pandemic, despite an incident last month in which the nation's Ambassador to Australia, Cheng Jingye, all-but threatened exporters in response to the Federal Government's push for a coronavirus inquiry.

USA - Thousands of American workers are returning to their manufacturing jobs at Ford, General Motors (GM), and Fiat Chrysler this week after shuttering for nearly two months amid the Chinese coronavirus crisis.

USA - Tropical Storm 'Arthur' formed off the coast of Florida on Saturday (May 17, 2020), making it the sixth straight year for a named storm to develop before the official June 1 start of the Atlantic hurricane season. The US National Hurricane Center in Miami issued a tropical storm warning for North Carolina's Outer Banks in its 5 AM Sunday advisory. Forecasts say Arthur will stay well offshore of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina on Sunday and then approach the North Carolina coast on Monday, where it will drop 1-3 inches of rain Sunday night and Monday. The tropical storm warning was issued for parts of North Carolina's coast, from Surf City to Duck, including Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds. Dangerous coastal surf conditions and rip currents are expected to spread northward from Florida to the mid-Atlantic states during the next few days.

USA - While the rest of the world is tentatively coming out of lockdowns, China is taking advantage of the cheapest crude oil in years to stock up as demand is starting to return in the world’s largest oil importer, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing tanker-tracking data it has compiled.

EUROPE - Ursula von der Leyen delivered a stark message to the EU’s commissioners on Thursday evening at their first in-person meeting for many weeks. She told her socially distanced colleagues that they had an opportunity to forge a viable reconstruction plan for a European economy ravaged by the coronavirus crisis. But they had precious little time at their disposal and only one shot to get it right.