Category Archives: Benjamin Netanyahu

Israel tries to appease US with proposals for Gaza as Blinken heads to Middle East

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Washington wants concessions from the Netanyahu administration, as critics say plans lack detail or commitment

Israeli officials are scrambling to head off mounting frustration in Washington in the run-up to a potentially difficult meeting between the top US diplomat and Benjamin Netanyahu by offering a series of policy proposals on Gaza that critics say lack detail or commitment.

The US has offered staunch support to Israel since the outbreak of its war with Hamas three months ago but is anxious to secure some concessions from Netanyahu to lower regional tensions and help avert a wider conflict in the Middle East.

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Israel supreme court strikes down Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul law

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Court overturns law preventing judges from quashing government decisions they deem unreasonable

Israel’s supreme court has overturned a law at the heart of Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial judicial overhaul project, potentially plunging the country into political crisis as it fights a war in Gaza and faces the spectre of regional escalation.

The judges ruled on Monday by a slim majority of eight to seven to throw out a law that curtailed the court’s own powers, saying it would severely damage Israel’s democracy.

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As Gaza death toll mounts, Israelis look in vain for any sign of victory

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IDF bombs urban refugee camps, UN agency warns of famine risk and skirmishes on Lebanon border intensify

Israeli planes bombed refugee camps in Gaza on Saturday as its troops expanded ground operations and tens of thousands of Palestinians fled their homes, setting the stage for a new year as bloody and destructive as the last three months of 2023.

The threat of wider escalation also looms large over the region, as skirmishes on the northern boundary with Lebanon intensify, and Israeli officials have hinted that the “diplomatic hourglass” is running out to reach a negotiated solution.

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Why are ties between Russia and Israel ‘at lowest point since fall of the Soviet Union’?

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Russia’s pro-Palestinian stance has inflamed tensions and underscored shift in relations since invasion of Ukraine

When Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone this month to Benjamin Netanyahu, their first conversation in weeks, the two leaders found themselves in an unusual dynamic, engaging not as partners but against the backdrop of historic tensions.

Once touting their friendly relationship – Netanyahu has used billboards showing himself next to Putin during election campaigning in Israel, even last year – the events of 7 October and Russia’s pro-Palestinian stance in the aftermath have brought a decisive schism in their ties.

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Israel widens offensive in central Gaza as Netanyahu refuses to discuss postwar plan

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Security officials keen to arrange meeting as ‘time running out’, according to reports

The Israeli military expanded its ground offensive in the Gaza Strip to the densely populated urban refugee camps in the central part of the territory as the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was reported to have refused requests from security officials to make plans for control of Gaza after the war with Hamas ends.

Over the last few days, three requests to the prime minister’s office were conveyed on behalf of the directors of the Mossad, the Shin Bet, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff and the defence ministry to arrange a meeting on decisions relating to “the day after” Israel declares it has achieved its goals against the Palestinian militant group in control of the Gaza Strip, Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Tuesday night.

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Deadly 24 hours of fighting across Gaza Strip kills scores of Palestinians

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Worries mount for desperate civilians as Israel expands its operations in the southern half of territory

Fierce fighting across the besieged Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours has killed 166 Palestinians and 13 Israeli soldiers, in one of the single deadliest days of the new conflict between Israel and the militant group Hamas to date.

Heavy bombing and shelling of Jabaliya, in the north of the Palestinian territory, overnight continued into Sunday morning, residents of the area said, while in Gaza City, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have begun a ground operation in the central neighbourhood of Tufah. In the southern half of the strip, aerial and ground attacks continue in the territory’s second city, Khan Younis.

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US defence secretary reasserts support but urges Israel to change tactics in Gaza

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Lloyd Austin discusses focus on precise targeting of Hamas leaders; however, UN delays vote calling for cessation of hostilities

The US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, has held talks with Israeli officials about shifting away from large-scale aerial and ground operations in the Gaza Strip to a new phrase in the war focused on the precise targeting of Hamas leaders.

“Hamas should never again be able to project terror from Gaza into Israel. This is Israel’s operation; I’m not here to dictate timelines or terms,” Austin told reporters after meeting with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his defence counterpart, Yoav Gallant, in Tel Aviv on Monday. He added that protecting Palestinian civilians in Gaza was “both a moral duty and a strategic imperative”.

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Israel-Gaza war: UK and Germany call for ‘sustainable’ ceasefire

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UK foreign minister David Cameron and German counterpart Annalena Baerbock say goal must be peace lasting ‘generations’

The foreign secretary, David Cameron, has called for a “sustainable” ceasefire in the Gaza conflict, as he warned that “too many civilians have been killed” by Israel in spite of its right to eliminate the threat posed by Hamas.

In a significant shift in tone by the UK government, Cameron, in a joint article with the German foreign affairs minister Annalena Baerbock, wrote: “Our goal cannot simply be an end to fighting today. It must be peace lasting for days, years, generations. We therefore support a ceasefire, but only if it is sustainable.

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Bernie Sanders demands answers on Israel’s ‘indiscriminate’ Gaza bombing

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Senator introduces resolution to investigate ‘humanitarian cataclysm … being done with American bombs and money’

The US’s support for Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza is facing new scrutiny in Washington following a resolution by the independent senator Bernie Sanders that could ultimately be used to curtail military assistance.

It is far from clear whether Sanders has the support to pass the resolution, but its introduction in the Senate this week – by an important progressive ally of the US president Joe Biden – highlights mounting human rights and political concerns by Democrats on Capitol Hill.

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Israel says it will open new aid crossing into Gaza Strip

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Announcement follows pressure from allies in US to alleviate humanitarian crisis in besieged territory

Israel has said it will open a new aid crossing into the Gaza Strip in the face of pressure from allies in Washington to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the besieged territory and wind down its wide-scale bombings and armoured ground operations against Hamas.

The Kerem Shalom crossing between Gaza and Israel, previously used for goods and aid deliveries, would reopen to process humanitarian supplies, the office of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Friday.

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Biden in a bind as Netanhayu ready to flout any US attempt to rein in Israel

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Israel PM has defied US calls for restraint in Gaza and told domestic audience he will not compromise

US efforts to show it retains significant influence over the Israeli government were dealt a double blow on Thursday when the Israeli defence minister said it would take months to complete the task of rooting out Hamas, and a leaked US intelligence assessment revealed up to 45% of the 29,000 air-to-ground munitions that Israel has dropped on Gaza since 7 October have been unguided “dumb bombs”.

The predictions of a months-long campaign were delivered on camera by Yoav Gallant to a stony-faced Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, who had arrived in Israel to convey a message that its campaign needed to change – and preferably be wrapped up in weeks. They were later reinforced by the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Neyanyahu, who said Israel would not stop until complete victory.

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Israeli ministers block Mossad head’s effort to restart Gaza hostage talks

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Relatives of the abductees say they are shocked, as reports say David Barnea was stopped from visiting Qatar

Israel’s war cabinet has blocked a planned visit to Qatar by the head of the country’s foreign intelligence service that was aimed at kickstarting negotiations over a new hostage release deal.

According to several reports, David Barnea, the head of Mossad, had wanted to travel to Qatar but was blocked by the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and other cabinet ministers.

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Benjamin Netanyahu accused of ‘evil’ campaigning at time of war

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Members of his own party among those critical of Israeli PM’s efforts to improve his dire ratings

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been accused of breaking with convention by campaigning while his country is at war after a series of controversial statements in recent days.

A number of senior Israeli political figures have been making moves before what are seen as inevitable elections when the war is over, but Netanyahu’s efforts to improve his dire ratings with the Israeli electorate – many of whom blame him for catastrophic intelligence failures in the run-up to the Hamas attack on 7 October – are regarded as the most blatant.

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UN condemnation of sexual violence by Hamas ‘too little, too late’, says Israel

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Israel says comments by Unicef chief were insufficient and came only as a result of international pressure

Israel has criticised the head of the United Nations children’s agency after she condemned acts of sexual violence committed against women during Hamas’s deadly assault on Israel on 7 October, as attention has focused on rapes and other atrocities in recent days.

Israel said the comments by Catherine Russell, the executive director of Unicef, were insufficient and were issued only as a result of international pressure.

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Angry relatives of Hamas captives and ex-hostages confront Netanyahu

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Some reportedly called on the Israeli prime minister to resign at meeting on Tuesday

Recently released hostages and relatives of Israelis still held by Hamas in Gaza have confronted Benjamin Netanyahu at an angry meeting in which some of those present reportedly called on the Israeli prime minister to resign.

The meeting on Tuesday was addressed by relatives of those still in captivity and by recently returned hostages, some of whom reportedly described mental and physical abuse at the hands of their captors.

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Elon Musk visits scene of kibbutz massacre with Benjamin Netanyahu

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Pair speak about Gaza conflict but not online antisemitism nor controversial post made by X owner this month

Elon Musk has joined the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in visiting a kibbutz that was attacked by Hamas on 7 October, after criticism of his endorsement of an antisemitic post on X.

The owner of X, the site formerly known as Twitter, has been criticised for supporting a post on his platform that falsely claimed Jewish people were stoking hatred against white people. High-profile advertisers have also suspended spending on the site after a report that ads were appearing next to pro-Nazi content.

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IDF messaging suggests Gaza truce unlikely to last much beyond Tuesday

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Many expect pause to be extended if more hostages are released, but experts predict military campaign could run into next year

Gaza’s truce is unlikely to last significantly beyond Tuesday, with Israel’s military stepping up pressure on Sunday to restart the air and ground offensive in a campaign that some experts predict could run into next year.

The four-day halt in fighting, described by the Israel DefenceForces (IDF) as “an operational pause”, is scheduled to end on 7am on Tuesday if the agreed transfer of 50 hostages held by Hamas and others in Gaza goes to plan.

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‘It’s not yet post-traumatic stress disorder … we’re still in it’: Israel, a nation at war

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Jonathan Freedland talks to survivors, displaced people and senior political and military figures about life in Israel before and after 7 October, and considers the longer-term ramifications

• Israel-Hamas war – latest updates

The war is paused, but it is not over.

There will be relief at the promised four days of quiet between Israel and Hamas, and there will be joy for the families waiting to be reunited with loved ones, thanks to Friday’s exchange of hostages held in Gaza for prisoners held in Israel.

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David Cameron expresses hopes over temporary truce during visit to Israel

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UK foreign secretary hopes situation will provide opportunity to ‘get hostages out and get aid into Gaza’

David Cameron has met Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, during a visit to Israel, expressing hope that the planned temporary truce with Hamas would be an “opportunity to crucially get hostages out and get aid into Gaza”.

The ceasefire is due to begin on Friday morning from 7am local time, with aid “going in as soon as possible”, according to Qatari officials. The first set of civilians held captive by Hamas are expected to be freed at about 4pm local time on Friday, including 13 women and children.

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Netanyahu avoids political rebellion over Hamas hostage deal but ally calls it ‘immoral’

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Israel’s prime minister facing pressure from all sides as some say ceasefire agreement does not go far enough

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has managed to avert a wider rebellion over the Gaza deal with Hamas among his far-right coalition partners even as Itamar Ben-Gvir, the firebrand national security minister, called it immoral.

Three ministers, all from Ben-Gvir’s far-right Jewish Power party, oppose the deal but members of the equally hardline Religious Zionist party were persuaded to support the deal after heated exchanges in an Israeli cabinet meeting late on Tuesday night.

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