Benjamin Netanyahu

Israel Steps Up Gaza Strikes Amid Fears of Regional Spread

Israel bombed Gaza on Friday as exchanges of fire and threats over the Lebanese border raised fears of a wider war. Five municipal workers died "during an Israeli bombing" of a garage in Gaza City, said Mahmud Basal, spokesman for the civil defense agency in the Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory. In southern Gaza, AFPTV captured an overnight ...

US Assistant Secretary of State for Israeli-Palestinian Affairs Resigns

The US Assistant Secretary of State for Israeli-Palestinian Affairs, Andrew Miller, has resigned, becoming the most senior US official to leave his post since the outbreak of the Gaza war last October. Although Miller told colleagues on Friday that he was stepping down to spend more time with his family, a Washington Post article said his ...

Tens of Thousands Rally Against Israeli Government

Tens of thousands of protesters waving Israeli flags and chanting slogans against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government rallied in Tel Aviv Saturday, demanding new elections and the return of hostages held in Gaza. Large protests have occurred in the Israeli city on a weekly basis over Netanyahu's handling of the nearly nine-month-old ...

Freeing the Hostages Is Israel's Priority, Says Gallant

Israel's defense minister on Monday vowed during a visit to Washington to work to bring back hostages from Gaza, and urged close cooperation with the United States after strains in the relationship. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met with CIA chief Bill Burns, the key US point man in negotiations to free hostages from Hamas, and later met for ...

Israel's Supreme Court Rules That Ultra-Orthodox Jews Will Join the Army

Israel's top court unanimously ruled Tuesday that the state must draft ultra-Orthodox Jewish men to military service, a decision that could upend Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition. The High Court of Justice's decision on the politically volatile issue came amid growing calls that ultra-Orthodox men, who have historically been ...

Netanyahu's Washington Visit: Who Benefits Most?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's upcoming three-day visit to Washington scheduled for July 24 is among the most significant Israeli visits to the strategic United States ally. This visit is crucial not only because it occurs at a pivotal moment in their strong relationship – despite the Democratic anger against Netanyahu and readiness ...

G7 Condemns Israel's Legalization of West Bank Outposts

G7 foreign ministers condemned on Thursday the move by Israel to legalize five outposts in the West Bank, and slammed its decision to expand existing settlements and establish new ones. Settlement expansion has increased sharply since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power in late 2022, at the helm of a hardline pro-settler ...

Netanyahu Demands Israeli Control of Southern Gaza Territory

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded Thursday that Israel retain control of key Gaza territory along the border with Egypt as part of any accord to suspend the war with Hamas. The condition conflicts with Hamas's position that Israel must withdraw from all Gaza territory after a ceasefire. Speaking after the return of Israeli negotiators ...

Netanyahu Addresses Gaza Strike in First Press Conference Since March

In a press conference held at the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the Hebrew state on Saturday evening, providing an update on the ongoing military campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu confirmed that Israeli airstrikes had targeted key Hamas military leaders, including ...

Israeli Parliament Opposes Palestinian Statehood

An Israeli parliament vote to oppose a Palestinian state as an "existential threat", just days ahead of a visit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington, brought Palestinian and international criticism on Thursday. The 120-member Knesset, late on Wednesday, passed by 68 votes to nine a resolution that said a Palestinian state on land ...

ICJ Says that Israel's Occupation of the West Bank is "Illegal"

The ICJ has called Israel's occupation of the West Bank "illegal", Friday, in a non-binding advisory opinion. The UN's top court on Friday said Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian territory was "illegal" and needed to end as soon as possible. The advisory opinion of The Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) is not binding, ...

Netanyahu to Make Landmark Speech to US Congress

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to deliver a landmark speech to the US Congress on Wednesday as he fights off intense pressure to quickly cut a Gaza war ceasefire deal with Hamas. Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving premier, will become the first foreign leader to address a joint meeting of the two chambers four times – pulling ...