Category Archives: Benjamin Netanyahu

Survivors of Israeli strike on Gaza school describe finding children’s bodies

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Territory’s civil defence chief says more than 40 killed with toll increasing due to lack of medical care

Survivors of an Israeli airstrike on a UN school in central Gaza have described finding children’s bodies that had been torn apart by the blast, as Israeli attacks on the area continued for a second night.

Gaza’s head of civil defence said his teams at al-Sardi school in Nuseirat found only civilians among the dead. Mahmoud Basal said the death toll from the attack was more than 40 and still climbing, because injured survivors could not get proper medical care.

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Netanyahu threatens ‘extremely powerful’ response to Hezbollah attacks

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Israeli PM promises to ‘restore security to the north’ as strikes near border with Lebanon escalate

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has threatened an “extremely powerful” response to attacks by Hezbollah from Lebanon, which have escalated in recent days.

His comments, made during a visit to the city of Kiryat Shmona, in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon, came after Hezbollah launched a wave of attacks earlier this week that set off substantial fires, fanned by dry and powerful winds.

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Israel-Gaza war: Israel prepared for ‘strong action’ in north near Lebanon, says Netanyahu – as it happened

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Israeli prime minister tours country’s northern border with Lebanon; gunman wounded after shots fired at US embassy north of Beirut. This live blog is closed

Here are the fuller quotes from Benjamin Netanyahu, who was touring northern Israel near the UN-drawn blue line which has separated Lebanon and Israel since 2000 and said that Israel was prepared for strong action in the region. Earlier this week Israel’s military and emergency rescue teams fought large fires set of by rockets fired into Israel.

Reuters reports Netanyahu said:

Whoever thinks that they can harm us and we will sit idly by is making a big mistake. We are prepared for a very strong action in the north. In one way or another we will restore security to the north.

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Jerusalem braces for Israeli nationalist flag march through Muslim Quarter

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Thousands of police deployed for parade that has been historical flashpoint for violence between marchers and Palestinians

Residents of Jerusalem are bracing for a rightwing flag march through Muslim areas of the Old City, an annual event often accompanied by violence.

The provocative Jerusalem Day parade by thousands of Jewish nationalists celebrates Israel’s capture and occupation of East Jerusalem and its holy sites in the 1967 war, a move that is not internationally recognised. It is often marred by violent clashes between marchers and Palestinian residents of the Old City, as well as anti-Arab hate speech and vandalism of Palestinian property.

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Biden: ‘every reason’ to believe Netanyahu is prolonging Gaza war for political gain

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US president’s remarks to Time magazine about PM’s role in conflict draw heavily critical response from Israeli government

Joe Biden has said that there is “every reason” to draw the conclusion that Benjamin Netanyahu is prolonging the war in Gaza for his own political self-preservation.

Biden made the remarks about the Israeli prime minister in an interview with Time magazine published on Tuesday morning, drawing a sharp response from the Israeli government, which accused the US president of straying from diplomatic norms.

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Pressure grows on Benjamin Netanyahu to back Gaza ceasefire plan

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Biden-backed proposal is causing rifts in unstable coalition led by Israeli PM that could lead to his government falling apart

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is facing growing pressure at home and internationally to support a new ceasefire plan for Gaza, a move he is resisting over fears it will collapse his government.

Far-right members of the prime minister’s coalition have threatened to quit the coalition if Israel “surrenders” before “total victory” over Hamas, while his leading rival, the centrist Benny Gantz, has said he will resign from the emergency unity government if Netanyahu does not commit to a deal and “day after” plan for Gaza by 8 June.

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Benjamin Netanyahu set to address joint session of US Congress for fourth time

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The Israeli PM’s invitation comes amid deep differences with the Biden administration

Benjamin Netanyahu is set to become the first foreign leader to address a joint session of the US Congress four times, despite deep differences with the Biden administration.

The Israeli prime minister’s office said in a statement that a date for his address to Congress had yet to be set, but that it would not take place on 13 June as had been reported, due to a Jewish holiday.

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White House says ‘ball in Hamas’s court’ over Gaza peace proposal

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Comment made despite signs of division in Israeli war cabinet and Netanyahu appearing to challenge the deal

The White House insisted that the “ball was in Hamas’s court” on whether to accept a new Gaza peace proposal, despite mixed signals from Benjamin Netanyahu reflecting turmoil within his governing coalition in Israel.

The US national security spokesperson, John Kirby, insisted on Monday that it was an Israeli proposal – despite the fact it had been unveiled by Joe Biden on Friday, during the Jewish Sabbath, and Netanyahu had appeared to challenge it. The Israeli prime minister said any deal that did not lead to the complete destruction of Hamas’s military and governing capacity would be a “non-starter”.

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Israel-Gaza war: Biden only published partial version of Gaza ceasefire proposal, says Netanyahu – as it happened

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Israel’s PM says US president only published some of the detail in his plan to wind down war in Gaza and says return of hostages key to any discussions. This live blog is closed

Palestinian health officials said Israeli airstrikes killed 11 people overnight into Monday, including a woman and three children, in central Gaza, according to the Associated Press.

A strike on a home in the built-up Bureij refugee camp late on Sunday evening was reported to have killed four people, including the three children.

The second strike, early Monday, reportedly killed seven people, including a woman, in the Nuseirat refugee camp.

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Netanyahu tries to avoid coalition implosion over Gaza ceasefire plan

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Israeli prime minister juggles differing demands of partners after Joe Biden announced latest peace proposal

Benjamin Netanyahu is once again trying to balance the demands of centrist and far-right members of his government after a threat from his extremist allies to collapse the coalition if Israel moves forward with a new ceasefire plan for Gaza announced by the US president, Joe Biden.

In an unexpected broadcast from the White House on Friday night, Biden urged Hamas to accept what he said was a new proposal from Israel for a three-phrase plan towards a permanent ceasefire in the nine-month war.

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For Labour, the Gaza crisis is a foreign policy tightrope in waiting

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Starmer’s belief in international law and the rise of Labour Friends of Israel offer clues to potential stance on Palestinian statehood

A snap election, and the certainty that the Gaza crisis will not be resolved by polling day, means Keir Starmer already knows the first foreign policy challenge of his expected premiership.

Even if the peace proposal announced by Joe Biden on Friday is accepted by both Israel and Hamas, something a Labour-run Foreign Office would encourage, vast issues remain concerning the future role of Hamas and Iran in Middle Eastern politics, as well as Israel’s conduct in the conflict, and restoration of faith in the universality of international law.

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Biden’s botched Gaza ceasefire deal only demonstrates his lack of influence | Julian Borger

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The US president’s announcement on Friday suggested a ceasefire might be close, but Benjamin Netanyahu’s rebuke was swift and decisive

The latest peace plan for Gaza was given a launch worthy of a historic turning point, with the US president delivering remarks directly to camera from the White House state dining room, declaring it finally “time for this war to end”.

Yet even as Joe Biden spelled out the proposal – leading in theory to a permanent end to hostilities, large-scale food deliveries and the start of reconstruction, there was clearly something awry.

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Israel’s opposition leader urges Netanyahu to accept ceasefire proposal

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Israeli PM says his country’s conditions for ending conflict have not changed after US president presented ceasefire plan

Benjamin Netanyahu has reiterated that Hamas must be completely destroyed before Israel will agree to end its war in Gaza, casting doubt on Joe Biden’s announcement of a new Israeli-led ceasefire proposal.

The Israeli prime minister made a rare statement on Saturday, during the Jewish Shabbat, in which he said: “Israel’s conditions for ending the war have not changed: the destruction of Hamas’s military and governing capabilities, the freeing of all hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel.

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Israel’s opposition leader urges Netanyahu to accept ceasefire proposal – as it happened

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This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story here

At least 36,379 Palestinian people have been killed and 82,407 injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

An estimated 95 Palestinians were killed and 350 injured in the past 24 hours alone, the ministry said.

Israel’s conditions for ending the war have not changed: the destruction of Hamas’s military and governing capabilities, the freeing of all hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel.

Under the proposal, Israel will continue to insist these conditions are met before a permanent ceasefire is put in place. The notion that Israel will agree to a permanent ceasefire before these conditions are fulfilled is a non-starter.

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Israeli journalist describes threats over reporting on spy chief and ICC

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Haaretz journalist was warned of ‘consequences’ if he reported on attempts by Mossad chief to intimidate ex-prosecutor

An investigative reporter with Israel’s leading leftwing newspaper, Haaretz, has said unnamed senior security officials threatened actions against him if he reported on attempts by the former head of the Mossad to intimidate the ex-prosecutor of the international criminal court.

Amid growing concern over Israel’s censorship regime, enforced by the military censor’s office and by gag orders issued by the courts, Haaretz published an article on Wednesday with blacked out words and sentences to demonstrate the scale of redactions.

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Israeli campaign against ICC may be ‘crimes against justice’, say legal experts

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International lawyers believe conduct of Israeli intelligence service should be investigated by prosecutor in The Hague

Efforts by Israel’s intelligence agencies to undermine and influence the international criminal court (ICC) could amount to “offences against the administration of justice” and should be investigated by its chief prosecutor, legal experts have said.

Responding to revelations about Israeli surveillance and espionage operations against the ICC, multiple leading international law experts said the conduct of Israeli intelligence services could amount to criminal offences.

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Spying, hacking and intimidation: Israel’s nine-year ‘war’ on the ICC exposed

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Exclusive: Investigation reveals how intelligence agencies tried to derail war crimes prosecution, with Netanyahu ‘obsessed’ with intercepts

When the chief prosecutor of the international criminal court (ICC) announced he was seeking arrest warrants against Israeli and Hamas leaders, he issued a cryptic warning: “I insist that all attempts to impede, intimidate or improperly influence the officials of this court must cease immediately.”

Karim Khan did not provide specific details of attempts to interfere in the ICC’s work, but he noted a clause in the court’s foundational treaty that made any such interference a criminal offence. If the conduct continued, he added, “my office will not hesitate to act”.

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Revealed: Israeli spy chief ‘threatened’ ICC prosecutor over war crimes inquiry

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Mossad director Yossi Cohen personally involved in secret plot to pressure Fatou Bensouda to drop Palestine investigation, sources say

The former head of the Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency, allegedly threatened a chief prosecutor of the international criminal court in a series of secret meetings in which he tried to pressure her into abandoning a war crimes investigation, the Guardian can reveal.

Yossi Cohen’s covert contacts with the ICC’s then prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, took place in the years leading up to her decision to open a formal investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in occupied Palestinian territories.

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ICJ ruling underlines risks for Israel as its isolation grows

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Court order is a warning that Israel’s offensive in Gaza risks creating conditions that could be framed as potentially genocidal

The provisional measures issued by the international court of justice ordering an immediate halt to Israel’s military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah represent the starkest warning yet to Israel that its offensive risks creating conditions that could be framed as potentially genocidal.

The ruling, agreed by a majority of 13-2 judges, almost exclusively cited UN agencies and senior officials – including the UN’s secretary general – to paint a picture of the disastrous situation facing Palestinians in Gaza, half of whom are children.

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ICJ expected to make new ruling on Israel’s war in Gaza

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Court may order a halt to offensive, in what would be another sign of growing international isolation for Benjamin Netanyahu

The international court of justice is expected to issue a new ruling on Israel’s conduct of its war in Gaza at 3pm (1400 BST) on Friday, as the US expressed concern over Israel’s growing diplomatic isolation among countries that have traditionally supported it.

Amid speculation that the ICJ could order a halt to Israel’s offensive, a second top global court – the international criminal court – identified the three judges who will hear a request for arrest warrants against Hamas leaders, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and its defence minister, Yoav Gallant.

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