Page 20 - Benjamin Netanyahu

Benjamin Netanyahu ICC arrest warrant: Can Israeli PM actually be arrested?

Israeli media has described possible International Criminal Court arrest warrants against Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant as a 'legal earthquake' and 'legal bombshell'

ICC arrest request for Israeli PM Netanyahu is unhelpful, says UK

President Joe Biden on Monday condemned as outrageous an attempt by the chief prosecutor of the world's top war crimes to seek arrest warrants for Israeli leaders

ICC seeks arrest warrants against Israel PM Netanyahu, Hamas head Sinwar

Warrants against Israeli politicians mark the first time the ICC is targeting the top leader of a close US ally

Ultimatum raises pressure on Netanyahu to make postwar plans for Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under mounting pressure from his own War Cabinet and his country's closest ally over postwar plans for Gaza, even as the war with Hamas shows no sign of ending. On Saturday, Benny Gantz, a member of the War Cabinet and Netanyahu's main political rival, said he would leave the government on June 8 if it did not formulate a new war plan including an international, Arab and Palestinian administration to handle civilian affairs in Gaza. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, the third member of the Cabinet, has also called for a plan for Palestinian administration, and said in a speech this week that he wouldn't agree to Israel governing Gaza itself. The United States has meanwhile called for a revitalized Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza with assistance from Saudi Arabia and other Arab states ahead of eventual statehood. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is expected to push those plans when he visits Israel on Sunday. So far, Netanyahu ha

'Sent envoy to Israel to stop bombing at least during Ramzan': PM Modi

'I sent my special envoy to Israel and asked him to convey and explain to the Prime Minister that at least do not carry out bombings in Gaza during Ramzan,' said PM Modi

Israel Q1 economic growth rebounds 14.1%, lifted by shopping, building

The recovery in the January to March period was led by large increases in private spending and investment, both of which slid in the fourth quarter

Fierce battle between Israel and Hamas-led militants in north, south Gaza

Gaza's Civil Emergency Service and health ministry said rescue teams have been unable to reach areas where the army was operating to respond to calls for help

Israeli tanks push deeper into Rafah despite allies warning against it

A US official who declined to be identified told Reuters that Israel promised not to make a major move in Rafah without advising Washington

If Israel is forced to stand alone, it will stand alone, says Netanyahu

Netanyahu spoke after President Joe Biden said the United States would not provide offensive weapons for Israel's long-promised assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah

Biden-Netanyahu relations strained; can the two leaders move forward

President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have long managed a complicated relationship, but they're running out of space to maneuver as their views on the Gaza war diverge and their political futures hang in the balance. Their ties have hit a low point as Biden holds up the delivery of heavy bombs to Israel and warns that the provision of artillery and other weaponry also could be suspended if Netanyahu moves forward with a widescale operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Netanyahu, for his part, is brushing off Biden's warnings and vowing to press ahead, saying, If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone. If we need to, we will fight with our fingernails. But we have much more than fingernails, he said. Biden has long prided himself on being able to manage Netanyahu more with carrots than sticks. But the escalation of friction over the past seven months suggests that his approach may be long past its best-by date. With both men balancing an ...

Hamas accepts cease-fire proposal for Gaza, but Israel still uncertain

Hamas announced Monday it has accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal, but there was no immediate word from Israel, leaving it uncertain whether a deal had been sealed to bring a halt to the seven-month-long war in Gaza. It was the first glimmer of hope that a deal might avert further bloodshed. Hours earlier, Israel ordered some 100,000 Palestinians to begin evacuating the southern Gaza town of Rafah, signalling that an attack was imminent. The United States and other key allies of Israel oppose an offensive on Rafah, where around 1.4 million Palestinians, more than half of Gaza's population, are sheltering. An official familiar with Israeli thinking said Israeli officials were examining the proposal, but the plan approved by Hamas was not the framework Israel proposed. An American official also said the US was still waiting to learn more about the Hamas position and whether it reflected an agreement to what had already been signed off on by Israel and international ...

Israel carries out airstrikes on Gaza city of Rafah after evacuation order

Seven months into its war against Hamas, Israel has been threatening to launch incursions in Rafah, which it says harbours thousands of Hamas fighters and potentially dozens of hostages

Netanyahu's Cabinet votes to shut down Al Jazeera offices in Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that his government has voted unanimously to shut down the local offices of Qatar-owned broadcaster Al Jazeera, escalating Israel's long-running feud with the channel at a time when cease-fire negotiations with Hamas - mediated by Qatar - are gaining steam. Netanyahu announced the decision on X, formerly Twitter, but details on the implications of the step on the channel, when it would go into effect or whether the measure was permanent or temporary were not immediately clear. My government decided unanimously: the incitement channel Al Jazeera will close in Israel, Netanyahu posted on X. Al Jazeera has vehemently denied that it incites against Israel. There was no immediate comment from the channel headquarters in the Qatari capital of Doha. But several Al Jazeera correspondents went on air to give their understanding on how the decision would affect the channel. An Al Jazeera correspondent on its Arabic service said the ord

Netanyahu uses Holocaust ceremony to brush off int'l pressure against Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday rejected international pressure to halt the war in Gaza in a fiery speech marking the country's annual Holocaust memorial day, declaring: If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone. The message, delivered in a setting that typically avoids politics, was aimed at the growing chorus of world leaders who have criticised the heavy toll caused by Israel's military offensive against Hamas militants and have urged the sides to agree to a cease-fire. I say to the leaders of the world: No amount of pressure, no decision by any international forum will stop Israel from defending itself, he said. Never again is now. Yom Hashoah, the day Israel observes as a memorial for the 6 million Jews killed by Nazi Germany and its allies in the Holocaust, is one of the most solemn dates on the country's calendar, and speeches at the ceremony generally avoid politics. Netanyahu also compared the recent wave of protests on American campus

Netanyahu vows to invade Rafah as ceasefire talks with Hamas continue

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Tuesday to launch an incursion into a Gaza city sheltering hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. Netanyahu said Israel would enter Rafah to destroy Hamas' battalions there with or without a deal. Israel and Hamas are negotiating a cease-fire agreement meant to free hostages and bring some relief to the nearly 7-month-long war. Netanyahu has vowed to achieve total victory in the war and has faced pressure from his nationalist governing partners to launch an offensive in Rafah, which Israel says is Hamas' last major stronghold.

Antony Blinken presses Hamas to accept new proposal for Gaza cease-fire

The United States stepped up pressure Monday for a cease-fire deal in Gaza as the secretary of state said a new proposal had been put to Hamas, whose officials were in Cairo talking to Egyptian mediators. Israeli airstrikes killed 26 people in Gaza's southernmost town of Rafah, according to hospital records. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, ahead of a visit to Israel this week, urged Hamas to accept the latest proposal, calling it extraordinarily generous on Israel's part. The terms were not made public. But according to an Egyptian official and Israeli media, Israel has softened its position, lowering the number of hostages it demands that Hamas free during the initial six-week phase of the cease-fire in return for the release of hundreds of Palestinians from Israeli prisons. One question is whether that will be enough to overcome Hamas concerns over the cease-fire's second phase. Hamas has demanded assurances that an eventual release of all hostages will bring a complete end

Gaza war: Can International Criminal Court arrest Israeli PM Netanyahu?

The International Criminal Court could also be considering arrest warrants for Hamas leaders

Biden and Netanyahu speak on Rafah invasion and cease fire talks

The White House on Sunday said US President Joe Biden had again spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as pressure builds on Israel and Hamas to reach a deal that would free some Israeli hostages and bring a cease-fire in the nearly seven-month-long war in Gaza. The White House said that Biden reiterated his clear position as Israel plans to invade Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah despite global concern for more than 1 million Palestinians sheltering there. The US opposes the invasion on humanitarian grounds, straining relations between the allies. Israel is among the countries U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit as he returns to the Middle East on Monday. Biden also stressed that progress in delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza be sustained and enhanced, according to the statement. The call lasted just under an hour, and they agreed the onus remains on Hamas to accept the latest offer in negotiations, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition

Poised to evacuate Palestinians from Rafah, says Israeli military

An Israeli government source said Netanyahu's war cabinet planned to meet in the coming two weeks to authorise civilian evacuations, expected to take around a month

Why the US may impose its first ever sanctions on an Israeli military unit

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the possibility of sanctions on a Israel Defense Forces battalion 'the peak of absurdity and a moral low'