US embassy sends out security warning, telling citizens in Israel and West Bank to stay vigilant, after US drone strike kills top Iranian general last week
By TOI STAFF

Protesters demonstrate over the US airstrike in Iraq that killed Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Tehran, Iran, January 4, 2020. (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)
Knesset legal adviser will recuse himself from Netanyahu immunity over conflict
Knesset legal adviser Eyal Yinon won’t offer his opinion on the parliamentary immunity proceedings for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after reports emerge that his wife, who works for the state prosecution, was involved in formulating the criminal indictments against the premier.
Yinon had previously offered a legal opinion saying the interim Knesset could convene the House Committee that would debate the prime minister’s request for immunity. Netanyahu had sought to delay the immunity proceedings until after the March elections, as a majority of lawmakers in the current Knesset oppose his bid.
But after the suspected conflict of interest emerges in a report by Channel 12, Yinon announces he’ll step aside and won’t offer guidance on issues relating to Netanyahu.
Top IDF officer says Soleimani killing part of Iran-US fight over Iraq
A senior Israeli military officer distances Israel from the US drone strike that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani over the weekend.
“Soleimani hurt American interests and represented a significant danger to Americans in the region. We must look at the assassination as part of a fight between Iran and the United States over Iraq’s character,” says IDF Southern Command head Herzi Halevi.
“The assassination also has ramifications for us, and we must follow it closely, but we aren’t the main story here — and it’s good that it happened far away,” he says, according to the Ynet news site.
Top EU diplomat ‘deeply regrets’ Iran nuke deal decision
The EU’s diplomatic chief Josep Borrell voices regret at Tehran’s latest decision to reduce its commitments to the beleaguered 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
“Deeply regret Iran’s latest announcement on #JCPOA. As ever we will rely on @iaeaorg verification,” Borrell tweets, using an abbreviation for the deal’s formal name.
“Full implementation of #NuclearDeal by all is now more important than ever, for regional stability & global security. I will continue working with all participants on way forward.”
Merkel and Putin to meet over Mideast tensions after Soleimani killing
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will travel to Moscow Saturday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid escalating tensions following a US drone strike that killed an Iranian general, a German government spokesman said.
Merkel, who will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, will discuss “the current conflict troublespots” with Putin, including the Iran and Iraq crisis following the US assassination in Baghdad, as well as the conflict in Syria and unrest in Libya, Steffen Seibert says Monday.