Israel Hit Camps Used by Hamas, Hours after It Shot Down a Rocket Fired from Gaza

INTERNATIONAL: Israeli airstrikes hit camps used by Hamas and another Gaza faction on Tuesday (April 19), Palestinian sources said, hours after the Israeli military said it had shot down a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip.

The military said one target was an arms manufacturing site. No one was hurt.

The rocket launch was the first such attack in months as tensions over a flashpoint Jerusalem shrine drew angry pro-Palestinian rhetoric from Jordan and U.S. mediation efforts.

No Gaza faction claimed responsibility for the launch, which followed warnings by the dominant Hamas Islamists of reprisals for Israeli conduct around Jerusalem's Al Aqsa mosque compound.

Since Friday (April 15), Al Aqsa - also revered by Jews as a vestige of two ancient temples - has seen confrontations between Palestinian stone-throwers and Israeli riot police recalling the violence that helped fan a Gaza war one year ago.

Palestinians accuse Israel of encroaching on Al Aqsa during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Israel says Palestinian protesters seek to disrupt Muslim prayer for political ends and to prevent visits by Jews, who are now celebrating Passover.

The tensions complicate Israel's security ties with Jordan, which is the custodian of Al Aqsa and has a Palestinian majority.

Russia Will Retaliate if Its Warsaw Embassy Cannot Work

INTERNATIONAL: Russia will retaliate against Poland if its embassy in Warsaw stops working because it cannot receive fresh funds from Moscow, its ambassador warned on Tuesday (April 19).

In March, Poland expelled 45 Russian diplomats over allegations of working for Russian intelligence and blocked the embassy's bank accounts. Moscow, which dismissed the accusations as baseless, retaliated in kind.

"We have some cash reserves, but they are not unlimited and unless the situation changes, after some time it may so happen that we shall not be in a position to pay our bills," Sergiy Andreev, 63, told Reuters.

"And it should be clear that as soon as our embassy stops functioning here, the same will happen to the Polish embassy in Moscow," he added.

Andreev did not specify how soon the embassy may run out of cash but added that about three-quarters of Russian officials who held diplomatic passports were expelled from Poland.

He said that Poland's stance towards Russia since the Ukraine crisis began on Feb. 24 was particularly hostile, compared to other international partners.

Poland's decision to expel the Russian diplomats followed similar decisions in the Baltic states and Bulgaria.

China Firmly Rejects U.S. Allegation against China on Arms Control

INTERNATIONAL: China firmly rejects the U.S. allegation against China regarding arms control and non-proliferation policies, Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said on Tuesday.

Wang's remarks came after a report published by the U.S. State Department, which accused China of failing to adhere to its nuclear testing moratorium and missile non-proliferation commitment and questioned China's compliance with the Biological Weapons Convention.

"As a matter of fact, the U.S. has a deplorable track record in compliance with arms control and nonproliferation agreements and commitments. In recent years, it has been adopting a pragmatic cherry-picking approach with international arms control treaties and mechanisms," Wang said.

The United States has withdrawn from many treaties and organizations, including the INF Treaty and the Open Skies Treaty, unsigned the Arms Trade Treaty, and flip-flopped on the Iranian nuclear issue, the spokesman said.

The United States is the only country to stand in the way of negotiations for a protocol that includes a verification regime to the Biological Weapons Convention while setting up biological laboratories around the world AND carrying out biological military activities, Wang said.

"What the U.S. has done gravely undermines global strategic balance and stability and impedes the international arms control and disarmament process and therefore has been widely condemned by the international community. However, instead of reflecting upon itself, the U.S. keeps slinging mud at other countries in a bid to create excuses for freeing itself from its bound obligations and scapegoating others," Wang said.

"It needs to be pointed out that the U.S. is merely chasing shadows and its accusations against China are nothing but fabrications. With a responsible attitude, China fulfills its international obligations and commitments in earnest, stays committed to multilateralism, and upholds the international system with the UN at its core and the international order based on international law," Wang said.