By Oren Liebermann, CNN

(CNN) — An Israeli military battalion that assaulted and detained a CNN team in the occupied West Bank has been redeployed after a one-month suspension, an Israeli security source told CNN.

The reserve unit, which functions under the ultra-Orthodox “Netzah Yehuda” battalion, underwent an education seminar and additional training, the source said. According to Israel’s Army Radio, the unit is expected to return to full operation activities in the coming days.

On March 30, soldiers from the battalion detained a CNN team covering settler violence in the village of Tayasir in the West Bank. One soldier placed photojournalist Cyril Theophilos in a chokehold, bringing him to the ground and damaging his camera. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir took disciplinary action that appeared to be unprecedented, suspending the unit within 48 hours.

A military official told CNN that the assault on Theophilos would be investigated by Israel’s military police. The IDF called the incident a “serious ethical and professional failure.” The IDF had said the military would undergo training “aimed at reinforcing its professional and ethical foundations” and that Israel’s Central Command, which governs military operations in the West Bank, would decide when they could return to duty.

Police have not yet released any findings or disciplinary measures following a military police investigation. The soldier who assaulted the CNN photojournalist has not faced any additional known suspension or disciplinary measures.

Israeli police investigate earlier incident

Meanwhile, the Internal Investigations Department of Israel police, an independent body within the organization, is investigating an earlier incident in which an officer broke the wrist of CNN senior producer Abeer Salman. On March 17, Salman was among a group of journalists covering Ramadan prayers outside the Lion’s Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem. Muslim worshippers, barred from praying at the Al-Aqsa mosque under wartime restrictions, had gathered outside the walls of the Old City for prayers.

Police relocated worshippers to another location near the Old City walls when officers threw stun grenades at the group. Two journalists were detained at the scene as officers assaulted them and damaged their equipment. After their release, police ordered the journalists to move back. Footage from the scene shows the group obeying police instructions when a plain clothes officer grabbed Salman’s hand, twisting it and causing a fracture in her wrist.

In response to a series of questions about the incident and whether there had been any follow-up action, Israel police initially issued the same statement as before, one which the Union of Journalists in Israel said was “factually incorrect.” The statement claimed the journalists “refused to comply with police instructions” and did not identify themselves as press. The conduct, the statement said, “raised suspicion among officers” and the camera equipment “appeared intended to provoke.”

The police did not respond to a list of questions from CNN, including which instructions were not followed, which conduct was suspicious and why possessing a camera is seen as provocative.

“We are precluded from addressing the matter at this time,” the police said in a statement, referring to the ongoing investigation. Police have not said when they expect the investigation to conclude.

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By Tal Shalev, CNN

Jerusalem (CNN) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Israel of knowingly allowing grain stolen by Russia to be unloaded at Israeli ports, threatening to impose sanctions on anyone involved in the shipments, which Kyiv says have continued despite multiple appeals to Israeli officials.

Zelensky’s warning Tuesday reflects a deepening rift between the two countries, brought to a head by the arrival in Israeli waters of a vessel named Panormitis, which entered Haifa Bay last week and is currently anchored offshore, apparently awaiting a berth. Ukraine says the ship is carrying wheat stolen from occupied Ukrainian territories and would be the second such shipment to dock and unload in Haifa this month.

“In any normal country, purchasing stolen goods is an act that entails legal liability. This applies, in particular, to grain stolen by Russia,” Zelensky wrote on X. “This is not – and cannot be – legitimate business. The Israeli authorities cannot be unaware of which ships are arriving at the country’s ports and what cargo they are carrying.”

In a series of forceful pushbacks, Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused Ukraine of engaging in “Twitter diplomacy,” saying it had not submitted evidence for its claim the grain was stolen. He also underlined that the contentious Panormitis vessel had not yet docked in Haifa, adding that Israeli tax authorities were now examining the matter.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago, Kyiv has consistently accused Moscow of the systematic looting of its agricultural resources – the true origin of which it says is hidden when the stolen grain is sold on world markets.

According to an investigative report in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, at least four shipments of illegal grain have docked in Israel this year. The report added that such deliveries have been ongoing since 2023, with the total number reaching over 30.

Following the Haaretz report and the arrival of the Panormitis, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on Tuesday summoned the Israeli ambassador in Kyiv to protest what he called “Israel’s lack of appropriate response,” adding that it “harmed bilateral relations.”

An Israeli official, speaking with CNN on condition of anonymity, said Israel cannot seize the shipments without due process, noting there is an “established mutual legal assistance protocol” according to which Ukraine’s attorney general would need to submit a legal aid request, supply evidence and coordinate with Israeli police to halt the vessel.

A Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman rejected that assertion, telling CNN during a press briefing in Kyiv Tuesday that Ukraine had “exhausted all closed channels and official diplomatic requests.”

The spokesman added Israel was not alone in importing illegal grain, saying Ukraine saw evidence of a “systematic practice” showing the “deliberate facilitation of illegal economic activity” linked to Russia’s occupation of parts of Ukraine.

The European Union also weighed in, requesting additional information from Israeli authorities on the matter and warning it may impose sanctions on those involved as well.

“We condemn all actions that help fund Russia’s illegal war effort and circumvent EU sanctions and remain ready to target such actions by listing individuals and entities in third countries if necessary,” an EU spokesman told CNN.

Israel-Ukraine relations have been persistently tense since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Israeli leaders have sought to keep channels open with both Kyiv and Moscow, limiting military assistance to Ukraine mainly to non-lethal humanitarian aid, and rejecting pressure to transfer Israeli-made weapons systems and arms to Kyiv.

More recently, Ukraine has positioned itself as a regional security provider in t

Por Devan Cole, CNN

En una presentación judicial inusualmente mordaz que imitó el tono clásico del presidente Donald Trump, el Departamento de Justicia pidió a un juez federal a última hora del lunes que anule un fallo que habría detenido la construcción de un enorme nuevo salón de baile de la Casa Blanca.

La solicitud del DOJ argumentó que el presunto hombre armado que apareció en la Cena de la Asociación de Corresponsales de la Casa Blanca “confirma” que la orden judicial emitida por el juez de distrito de EE.UU. Richard Leon “es intolerable e insostenible”.

La presentación, redactada en términos tajantes, representa el más reciente intento del Gobierno de Trump por zafarse de una prolongada batalla legal presentada por el principal grupo de preservación histórica del país contra el proyecto del salón de baile, que ha derivado en varios fallos clave de Leon que dicen que Trump no puede avanzar con el proyecto hasta que el Congreso lo autorice expresamente.

La más reciente presentación de ocho páginas, firmada por el secretario de Justicia interino Todd Blanche y el subsecretario adjunto Stan Woodward, está salpicada de un lenguaje que se ha vuelto común en las redes sociales del presidente.

“El National Trust for Historic Preservation es un nombre hermoso, pero incluso su nombre es FALSO porque cuando agregan las palabras ‘en los Estados Unidos’ al National Trust for Historic Preservation hace que suene como una agencia gubernamental, lo cual no es”, comienza la presentación.

Aunque las decisiones de Leon han sido suspendidas por un tribunal federal de apelaciones, los abogados de Trump durante el fin de semana exigieron que el National Trust for Historic Preservation retire su demanda contra el salón de baile, algo que el grupo se niega a hacer. En respuesta, el Gobierno recurrió a Leon para pedirle que rescinda un fallo de principios de este mes que decía que los trabajadores no podían avanzar con ninguna construcción sobre el nivel del suelo del salón de baile, pero sí podían continuar con la finalización de un búnker altamente sofisticado que se está construyendo bajo el sitio del antiguo Ala Este.

La presentación, que no fue firmada por ningún abogado de carrera del departamento, afirma que el caso de fondo es “frívolo”, aunque Leon nunca ha hecho tal determinación en el asunto. Critica al Trust por padecer el “síndrome de trastorno por Trump” y pregunta por qué alguien se opondría al proyecto dado que se está pagando mediante donaciones privadas.

“Este tribunal nunca debió haber ordenado la suspensión de este proyecto, pero ahora, después del intento de asesinato del sábado por la noche, que nunca podría haber ocurrido en la nueva instalación, las mentes razonables ya no pueden discrepar: la orden judicial debe ser disuelta”, escribieron los abogados en la presentación.

“El hecho de que un asesino estuvo a meros segundos de dispararle al presidente —junto con su familia, la mayor parte de su gabinete, su equipo de alto nivel y el cuerpo de prensa de Washington— deja en evidencia que Washington no tiene un espacio seguro para grandes eventos de alto perfil, ni uno capaz de ‘albergar un evento con la línea de sucesión del Gobierno de EE.UU.’”, dice la presentación. “¡Lo que hizo el sábado por la noche no podría haber ocurrido en esta nueva y altamente segura instalación!”.

Sin embargo, observadores han señalado que la gala de prensa es un evento privado que se realiza fuera de la Casa Blanca y que un nuevo salón de baile no cambiaría esa realidad.

Y Leon ya había rechazado previamente las afirmaciones del Gobierno de que detener las obras del proyecto pone en peligro la vida del presidente u otras personas en la Casa Blanca.