Page 15 - Benjamin Netanyahu

Netanyahu meets Trump at Mar-a-Lago, offering optimism on Gaza cease-fire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu worked to mend ties with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Friday and offered measured optimism about progress toward a cease-fire deal for Gaza as he neared the end of a contentious US visit that put on display the growing American divisions over support for the Israeli-Hamas war. At Trump's Florida Mar-a-Lago estate, where the two men met face-to-face for the first time in nearly four years, Netanyahu told journalists he wanted to see US-mediated talks succeed for a cease-fire and release of hostages. "I hope so," Netanyahu said, when reporters asked if his U.S. trip had made progress. While Netanyahu at home is increasingly accused of resisting a deal to end the 9-month-old war to stave off the potential collapse of his far-right government when it ends, he said Friday he was "certainly eager to have one. And we're working on it." As president, Trump went well beyond his predecessors in fulfilling Netanyahu's top wishes fr

VP Harris asks Netanyahu to get hostage deal done and end Gaza war

Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday said she urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a cease-fire deal soon with Hamas so that dozens of hostages held by the militants in Gaza since Oct. 7 can return home. Harris said she had a frank and constructive conversation with Netanyahu in which she affirmed Israel's right to defend itself but also expressed deep concern about the high death toll in Gaza over nine months of war and the dire humanitarian situation there. With all eyes on the likely Democratic nominee, Harris largely reiterated Biden's longstanding message that it's time find an endgame to the brutal war in Gaza, where more than 39,000 Palestinians have died. Yet she offered a more forceful tone about the urgency of the moment just one day after Netanyahu gave a fiery speech to Congress in which he defended the war, vowed total victory against Hamas and made relatively scant mention of cease-fire negotiations. There has been hopeful movement in the talks

Netanyahu to meet Harris, Biden at important moment in US and Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to make a long-awaited White House visit Thursday to meet with President Joe Biden and likely Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at an important moment for all three politicians. Netanyahu's White House visit, his first since before former President Donald Trump left office in 2020, comes at a time of growing pressure on all three to find an endgame to the nine-month war that's left more than 39,000 dead in Gaza. What's more, dozens of Israeli hostages and the remains of others who have died in captivity are still languishing in Hamas captivity. Biden is pressing to get Israel and Hamas to seal his proposal to release remaining hostages in Gaza over three phases something that would be a legacy-affirming achievement for the 81-year-old Democrat who abandoned his reelection bid earlier this week and endorsed Harris. It could also be a boon for Harris in her bid to succeed him. White House officials say that the ...

In fiery speech to US Congress, Netanyahu seeks support for war in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended Israel's ongoing war in Gaza and condemned American protesters in a scathing speech to Congress Wednesday that triggered boycotts by many top Democratic lawmakers and drew thousands of protesters to the Capitol to condemn the war in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis it has created. Nine months into the war in Gaza, Netanyahu vowed to press on with the war until total victory. He also sought bolster U.S. support for his country's fight against Hamas and other Iran-backed armed groups, and bitterly condemned widespread opposition in the United States to the war. America and Israel must stand together. When we stand together something really simple happens: we win, they lose. said Netanyahu, who wore a yellow pin expressing solidarity with the Israeli hostages held by Hamas. Netanyahu's speech quickly took on a darker tone as he defended his country but also derided those protesting the war, gesturing to demonstrations happening as he .

Netanyahu eyes bolstering US support during visit, but faces protests

Protesters against the Gaza war staged a sit-in at a congressional office building Tuesday ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress, with Capitol Police making multiple arrests. Netanyahu arrived in Washington Monday for a several-day visit that includes meetings with President Joe Biden and a Wednesday speech before a joint session of Congress. Dozens of protesters rallied outside his hotel Monday evening, and on Tuesday afternoon, hundreds of demonstrators took over the rotunda of the Cannon Building, which houses offices of House of Representatives members. Organized by Jewish Voice for Peace, protesters wearing identical red T-shirts that read Not In Our Name took over the Rotunda of the Cannon Building, chanting Let Gaza Live! After about a half-hour of clapping and chanting, officers from the U.S. Capitol Police issued several warnings, then began arresting protesters binding their hands with zip ties and leading them away one by one. I am the

Harris to pitch for 'end of war' in her White House meet with Netanyahu

: US Vice President Kamala Harris will meet the visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House this week but would not be able to preside over a joint session of the US Congress which would be addressed by him, according to her aide. The vice president is meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu this week at the White House. This meeting is separate from President Biden's planned meeting. The vice president is travelling to Indianapolis on July 24 for a previously scheduled event and will be unable to preside over Prime Minister Netanyahu's planned address to a joint session of Congress, an aide to Vice President Harris told PTI. We anticipate the vice president will convey her view that it is time for the war to end in a way where Israel is secure, all hostages are released, the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can enjoy their right to dignity, freedom, and self-determination. And they will discuss efforts to reach ...

Biden's meeting with Netanyahu on track, despite dropping out: Official

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with President Joe Biden at the White House this week as planned, despite Biden's withdrawal from the presidential race, a person familiar with Biden's schedule said Sunday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly, said the exact timing of the meeting has not been established because Biden is recovering from COVID-19. Netanyahu is scheduled to deliver an address to Congress on Wednesday. He is also expected to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris, who is now seeking the Democratic Party's nomination. An official in Netanyahu's office confirmed that the Israeli leader was set to travel to Washington, as scheduled, on Monday. The official also spoke on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement. Netanyahu is leaving behind a brutal war to make the politically precarious speech at a time of great uncertainty highlighted by Biden's decision Sunday not to seek ..

Israeli PM Netanyahu makes surprise visit to troops in southern Gaza

Netanyahu's visit to Rafah was announced hours after Israel's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, visited Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site

Israel to start drafting ultra-Orthodox men on Sunday; could rattle govt

The Israeli military on Tuesday said it would begin sending draft notices to Jewish ultra-Orthodox men on Sunday a step that could destabilise Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. The announcement followed a landmark Supreme Court order for young religious men to begin enlisting for military service. Under long-standing political arrangements, ultra-Orthodox men had been exempt from the draft, which is compulsory for most Jewish men. The exemptions created resentment among the general public in Israel, especially after more than nine months of war against Hamas militants in Gaza. The army summons is the beginning of a monthslong enlistment process that could be difficult to enforce if there is large-scale refusal to comply. The army did not say when it expects ultra-Orthodox men to begin serving or how many it expects to enlist. The court ruled that the system of exemptions, which allow religious men to study in Jewish seminaries while others are forced to serve in the .

Israeli protesters block highways, call for ceasefire to return hostages

Marking nine months since the war in Gaza started, Israeli protesters blocked highways across the country on Sunday, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step down and pushing for a ceasefire to bring back scores of hostages held by Hamas. The demonstrations come as long-running efforts to broker a truce gained momentum last week when Hamas dropped a key demand for an Israeli commitment to end the war. The militant group still wants mediators to guarantee a permanent ceasefire, while Netanyahu is vowing to keep fighting until Israel destroys Hamas' military and governing capabilities. "Any deal will allow Israel to return and fight until all the goals of the war are achieved," Netanyahu said in a statement on Sunday that was likely to deepen Hamas' concerns about the proposal. Sunday's "Day of Disruption" started at 6:29 am, the same time Hamas militants launched the first rockets toward Israel in the October 7 attack that triggered the war. Protesters blocked main roads

Hamas broadly agrees with cease-fire framework with Israel: US official

The official spoke after a half-hour phone meeting between President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Israel's Netanyahu vows to fight on as mediators seek new path to talks

Israel's goals continue to include freeing the remaining hostages held in Gaza and ensuring the area never constitutes a threat to Israel again, Netanyahu said at the start of a weekly cabinet meeting

Start drafting ultra-Orthodox Jewish students into military: Israeli court

Netanyahu's Likud party said the Supreme Court's ruling was 'perplexing', given ongoing efforts in parliament to agree on a new conscription law that would address the problem

Won't agree to deal that ends war in Gaza, says PM Benjamin Netanyahu

The viability of a US-backed proposal to wind down the 8-month-long war in Gaza was cast into doubt on Monday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would only be willing to agree to a partial cease-fire deal that would not end the war, comments that sparked an uproar from families of hostages held by Hamas. In an interview broadcast late Sunday on Israeli Channel 14, a conservative, pro-Netanyahu station, the Israeli leader said he was prepared to make a partial deal -- this is no secret that will return to us some of the people, referring to the roughly 120 hostages still held in the Gaza Strip. But we are committed to continuing the war after a pause, in order to complete the goal of eliminating Hamas. I'm not willing to give up on that. Netanyahu's comments did not deviate dramatically from what he has said previously about his terms for a deal. But they come at a sensitive time as Israel and Hamas appear to be moving further apart over the latest cease-fire ...

Israel winding down Gaza operations, Lebanon war could be next: Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the current phase of fighting against Hamas in Gaza is winding down, setting the stage for Israel to send more troops to its northern border to confront the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. The comments threatened to further heighten the tensions between Israel and Hezbollah at a time when they appear to be moving closer to war. Netanyahu also signaled that there is no end in sight for the grinding war in Gaza. The Israeli leader said in a lengthy TV interview that while the army is close to completing its current ground offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, that would not mean the war against Hamas is over. But he said fewer troops would be needed in Gaza, freeing up forces to battle Hezbollah. We will have the possibility of transferring some of our forces north, and we will do that, he told Israel's Channel 14, a pro-Netanyahu TV channel, in an interview that was frequently interrupted by applause from the studi

PM Netanyahu reiterates 'dramatic drop' in US weapon supplies to Israel

Netanyahu has not specified what weapons were being held up by the US

Netanyahu claims US is withholding arms shipments, days after latter denies

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his Cabinet on Sunday that there had been a dramatic drop in US weapons deliveries for Israel's war effort in Gaza, doubling down on a claim that the Biden administration has denied and underscoring the growing strains between the two allies. Netanyahu told his Cabinet that the drop had occurred four months ago, without specifying which weapons, saying only that certain items arrived sporadically but the munitions at large remained behind." The spat highlights how high tensions have surged between Israel and Washington over the war in Gaza, particularly surrounding the Israeli military's conduct in the beleaguered territory and the harm to civilian life there. President Joe Biden has delayed delivering certain heavy bombs since May over those concerns, but his administration fought back last week against Netanyahu's charges that other shipments had also been affected. Netanyahu told the Cabinet that he was driven to release a video in .

Rifts appear between Israel's political, military leadership over Gaza war

The Israeli army's chief spokesman on Wednesday appeared to question the stated goal of destroying the Hamas militant group in Gaza in a rare public rift between the country's political and military leadership. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted Israel will pursue the fight against Hamas, the group running the besieged Gaza Strip, until its military and governing capabilities in the Palestinian territory are eliminated. But with the war now in its ninth month, frustration has been mounting with no clear end or postwar plan in sight. "This business of destroying Hamas, making Hamas disappear it's simply throwing sand in the eyes of the public," Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the military spokesperson, told Israel's Channel 13 TV. "Hamas is an idea, Hamas is a party. It's rooted in the hearts of the people whoever thinks we can eliminate Hamas is wrong." Netanyahu's office responded by saying that the country's security Cabinet, chaired by the prime minister, "has defined the

PM Netanyahu dissolves War Cabinet after key partner bolted from govt

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dissolved the influential War Cabinet that has overseen the fighting in Gaza, a government spokesperson said Monday, a move that comes days after a key member of the body bolted from the government over frustration with the Israeli leader's handling of the war. The move was widely expected following the departure earlier this month of Benny Gantz, a centrist former military chief. Gantz's absence from the government increases Netanyahu's dependence on his ultra-nationalist allies, who oppose a cease-fire. That could pose an additional challenge to the already fragile negotiations to end the eight-month war in Gaza. Government officials said Netanyahu would hold smaller forums for sensitive war issues, including with his Security Cabinet, which includes far-right governing partners who oppose cease-fire deals and have voiced support for reoccupying Gaza. The War Cabinet was formed in the early days of the war, when Gantz, then an opposition

Israeli Min Benny Gantz quits Netanyahu's cabinet over handling of Gaza war

Gantz's decision comes at a time when the war between Israel and Hamas is in its eighth month, and the situation in West Asia remains fragile