Page 12 - Benjamin Netanyahu

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu orders immediate enforcement of UNRWA law

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is a relief and human development agency

Israeli PM may go with Trump's idea to transfer Palestinians from Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signalled that he was moving ahead with US President Donald Trump's proposal to transfer the Palestinian population out of Gaza, calling it "the only viable plan to enable a different future" for the region. Netanyahu discussed the plan with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who kicked off a Middle East visit by endorsing Israel's war aims in Gaza, saying Hamas "must be eradicated". That created further doubt around the shaky ceasefire as talks on its second phase are yet to begin. Rubio, in his upcoming stops in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, is likely to face more pushback from Arab leaders over Trump's proposal, which includes redeveloping Gaza under US ownership. Netanyahu has said all emigration from Gaza should be "voluntary" but rights groups and other critics say that the plan amounts to coercion given the territory's vast destruction. Netanyahu said he and Trump have a "common strategy" for Gaza. Echoing Trump, he said "the gates of hel

Relatives of Israeli hostages terrified as fragile Gaza ceasefire may end

After 16 months of excruciating uncertainty, Idit Ohel finally received word this week that her 24-year-old son, a hostage in Gaza, is still alive. She said she fainted upon hearing the brutal details of his captivity from freed hostages who had been held with him by Hamas since October 7, 2023. Bound by chains in an underground tunnel, Alon Ohel has subsisted on a piece of bread or less each day. He hasn't seen sunlight in 493 days, she told reporters on Monday. As the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas seems increasingly at risk of falling apart Hamas says it will not free three hostages on Saturday as planned, and Israel says it's ready to resume the war if it doesn't families of the hostages are struggling to maintain hope. They are pleading with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to give up on the ceasefire framework, and to speed up the timeline of releases if possible. Their worries about the ceasefire collapsing have been exacerbated by President Donald Trump'

Netanyahu warns of ending Gaza ceasefire if hostages not returned on Feb 15

After nearly 16 months of war, Hamas has gradually been releasing hostages since the first phase of a ceasefire began on January 19, but on Monday said it would not free any more

India, Israel share warm ties beyond strategic partnership: Knesset speaker

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana has said India and Israel not only are strategic partners in many areas but their people also share a warm and honest relationship. Ohana, seen as a close confidant of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also credited the prime ministers of both the countries for "having worked hard" to strengthen and deepen the relationship between "big and powerful" India and "small and creative" Israel. Recalling his visit to India in March 2023, the Speaker said it was not accidental that he chose India as his first overseas destination for a visit. "I chose India as the first destination for my overseas trip after entering office as the Speaker of the Knesset. The first trip is also a reflection of the importance of a place in our relationship. It was also the first visit of any Knesset speaker to India", Ohana said. "During the time of the visit and also after it, the strong sentiments towards India only deepened. India is not only a strategic partner of Isra

'Will relocate them to beautiful areas of Middle East': Trump on Gaza plan

Donald Trump had proposed US control over Gaza, pledging reconstruction and economic revival; Netanyahu calls it a 'historic shift' that could reshape the region's future

Hamas should free all hostages by Saturday or 'let hell break out': Trump

Trump expressed frustration with the condition of the last group of hostages freed by Hamas and by the announcement by the militant group that it would halt further releases

Netanyahu backs Trump's plan to relocate Gazans, calls it a 'fresh idea'

Netanyahu has said that Palestinians relocated from Gaza must "renounce terrorism" before being permitted to return, framing it as a condition for long-term stability in the region

Saudi Arabia rejects Netanyahu's proposal for Palestinian state on its land

Saudis can create a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia; they have a lot of land over there, said Netanyahu

Trump suggests US control of Gaza, calls it a 'most spectacular' project

Trump proposes US control of Gaza as the 'most spectacular' project, while Israel drafts plans for Palestinian departures amid divided global reactions

Trump hails Netanyahu's golden pager gift: 'That was a great operation'

Israeli PM Netanyahu gifted President Trump a golden pager, referencing a deadly Israeli operation in Lebanon; Trump praised the move, calling it 'a great operation', during their White House meeting

Won't establish ties with Israel without Palestinian state: Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia refutes Donald Trump's claim that it hasn't insisted on a Palestinian state, reaffirming no Israel ties without it; Trump also proposed a US takeover and redevelopment of Gaza

US will 'take over' the Gaza strip, own it and develop it, says Trump

Trump said we're going to own and develop the Gaza strip, create thousands and thousands of jobs, and it'll be something that the entire Middle East can be very proud of

Trump holds talks with Netanyahu, warns 'no guarantees' for peace in Gaza

President Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are set to meet Tuesday as the Israeli prime minister faces competing pressure from his right-wing coalition to end a temporary truce against Hamas militants in Gaza and from war-weary Israelis who want the remaining hostages home and the 15-month conflict to end. Trump is guarded about the long-term prospects for the truce, even as he takes credit for pressuring Hamas and Israel into the hostage and ceasefire agreement that went into effect the day before he returned to office last month. I have no guarantees that the peace is going to hold," Trump told reporters Monday. The leaders' talks are expected to touch on a long-sought Israel-Saudi Arabia normalization deal and concerns about Iran's nuclear program, but hammering out the second phase of the hostage deal will be at the top of the agenda. Netanyahu's arrival in Washington for the first foreign leader visit of Trump's second term comes as the prime minister's popular support is .

Netanyahu appoints Eyal Zamir as new chief of Israel Defense Forces

With this announcement, Zamir has become the 24th Chief of Staff of IDF, replacing Lt Gen Herzi Halevi following his resignation last month

Trump invites Israel's Netanyahu to meet with him at White House next week

President Donald Trump has invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House next week as the first foreign leader to visit in Trump's second term, Netanhayu and the White House said Tuesday. The announcement came as the United States pressures Israel and Hamas to continue a ceasefire that has paused a devastating 15-month war in Gaza. Talks about the ceasefire's more difficult second phase, which aims to end the war, begin next Monday. The White House letter shared by Netanyahu's office, dated Tuesday, said I look forward to discussing how we can bring peace to Israel and its neighbours, and efforts to counter our shared adversaries. The meeting on February 4 is a chance for Netanyahu, under pressure at home, to remind the world of the support he has received from Trump over the years, and to defend Israel's conduct of the war. Last year, the two men met face-to-face for the first time in nearly four years at Trump's Florida Mar-a-Lago estate. Israel is the larg

Netanyahu hopes to meet Trump in US as soon as next week, say officials

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is hoping to meet with President Donald Trump in Washington as early as next week, according to two US officials familiar with preliminary planning for the trip. Should the trip come together in that timeframe, Netanyahu could be the first foreign leader to meet with Trump at the White House since his inauguration last week. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the planning remains tentative, said details could be arranged when Trump's special Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, travels to Israel this week for talks with Netanyahu and other Israeli officials. The White House had no immediate comment on the plans, which were first reported by Axios. Netanyahu's spokesman, Omer Dostri, said Monday on the social platform X that the Israeli leader has not yet received an official invitation to the White House. An Israeli official, however, said Netanyahu is expected to go to the White House in February but did not have a dat

Families of hostages appeal to Trump to pressure Netanyahu to end war

Families of hostages who remain in captivity in Gaza are appealing to US President Donald Trump to pressure Israel's prime minister into ending the war and bringing their loved-ones home. Under the deal, about one third of the hostages are to be released during the six-week first phase. The release of the remaining hostages, along with an end to the war, are to be negotiated during a second phase. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has signalled readiness to return to the war after the first phase is complete, and hard-liners in his coalition have threatened to bring down the government if he does not resume the war. Hostage families gathered Saturday and appealed to Trump to make sure that Netanyahu ends the war. The radicals in the coalition are threatening to bring down the government and demand the renewal of the war, said Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is a hostage and not scheduled to be released during the first phase. She urged Trump to demand that Netanyahu implement the

Netanyahu defends Musk amid 'Nazi salute' row, calls him 'great friend'

Calling Musk a 'great friend of Israel,' Netanyahu recalled how the Tesla CEO visited Israel after the October 7 attack and supported its right to defence and thanked him for it

Israel's top general resigns citing security failures during Oct 7 attack

Israel's top general resigned on Tuesday, citing the security and intelligence failures related to Hamas' surprise attack that triggered the war in the Gaza Strip. Israel meanwhile launched a large military operation in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday that the Palestinian Health Ministry said had killed at least six people and wounded 35. Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi is the most senior Israeli figure to resign over the security breakdown on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led militants carried out a land, sea and air assault into southern Israel, rampaging through army bases and nearby communities for hours. The attack killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. More than 90 captives are still being held in Gaza, around a third of whom are believed to be dead. In his letter of resignation, Halevi said the military, under his command, had "failed in its mission to defend the State of Israel. Halevi, who began what was meant to be a ...