Page 44 - Israel

Trump's Gaza ownership plan shocks the world but finds support in Israel

President Donald Trump's plan to seek U.S. ownership of the Gaza Strip and move out its population infuriated the Arab world. It stunned American allies and other global powers and even flummoxed members of Trump's own party. The reaction in Israel was starkly different. The idea of removing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza once relegated to the fringes of political discourse in the country has found fertile ground in an Israeli public traumatized by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and grasping for ways to feel secure again after the deadliest assault in their country's history. Jewish Israeli politicians across the spectrum either embraced the idea wholeheartedly or expressed openness to it. Newspaper columns praised its audacity and TV commentators debated how the idea could practically be set in motion. The country's defense minister ordered the military to plan for its eventual implementation. Whether or not the plan becomes reality it is saddled with obstacles, n

Israeli defence min tells army to set plans for Palestinians to leave Gaza

Israel's defence minister says he has instructed the army to prepare plans for large numbers of Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip in line with President Donald Trump's proposal for the war-ravaged territory. Defence Minister Israel Katz on Thursday said the plan will include options for exit at land crossings as well as special arrangements for exit by sea and air. He said he welcomed Trump's bold plan, which could allow a large population in Gaza to leave for various places in the world. He did not say whether Palestinians would be able to one day return to Gaza, which has been rendered largely uninhabitable by Israel's 15-month military campaign against Hamas. Trump on Wednesday proposed that most of Gaza's population be permanently resettled elsewhere while the United States rebuilds the territory. US officials later said the relocation would only be temporary, but Palestinians fear Israel would never allow them to return, deepening and perpetuating a refugee crisis dating b

With Gaza rehab, Trump goes from 'America First to America Everywhere'

President Donald Trump promised voters an administration that wouldn't waste precious American lives and taxpayer treasure on far-off wars and nation building. But just weeks into his second go-around in the White House, the Republican leader laid out plans to use American might to take over and reconstruct Gaza, threatened to reclaim US control of the Panama Canal and floated the idea that the US could buy Greenland from Denmark, which has shown no interest in parting with the island. The rhetorical shift from America First to America Everywhere is leaving even some of his allies slack-jawed and wondering if he's really serious. The pursuit for peace should be that of the Israelis and the Palestinians, a flummoxed Sen. Rand Paul, the Kentucky Republican and Trump ally, posted Wednesday on social media. I thought we voted for America First. We have no business contemplating yet another occupation to doom our treasure and spill our soldiers' blood. The president's shocking declarat

Best of BS Opinion: How policy moves can trigger a cascading effect

Our editorials and columns look at the consequences of policy actions, and how they can have far-reaching impacts

Trump's Gaza plan exposes ignorance of law, morality, and diplomacy

This announcement disrupts the fragile ceasefire and hostage-release deal of January 19, partly negotiated by Mr Trump's own envoy before he took oath as President

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

Turkiye will host 15 Palestinian prisoners released as part of ceasefire

Turkiye's state-run news agency says the country will host 15 Palestinian prisoners who were released and deported as part of the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel. The Turkish intelligence organisation, MIT, is taking steps to facilitate the arrival of the 15 Palestinians from Egypt, the Anadolu Agency said Tuesday. Arrangements were made to ensure the Palestinians can live peacefully and securely in Turkiye, Anadolu said. The news agency did not name the Palestinians that Ankara was preparing to take in. Those who were deported have been convicted of serious crimes. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Sunday that Turkiye was prepared to support the Palestinian people, including providing medical treatment for those wounded in the conflict and taking in released prisoners who would be deported from the region. Unlike its Western allies, Turkiye does not consider Hamas to be a terror organisation. A strong critic of Israel's military actions in Gaza, Turkish Presi

Israel to send team to Qatar to discuss 2nd phase of ceasefire with Hamas

The ongoing 1st phase of ceasefire is supposed to see a total of 33 Israeli hostages freed over 6 weeks. The fate of remaining 65 hostages will be determined by negotiations to begin on 16th day

Six injured in attack in Israel-occupied West Bank; assailant killed

At least six people were injured in a shooting attack at a checkpoint in the Israeli-occupied West Bank early Tuesday morning, according to the Israeli military and area hospitals. The Israeli military said an attacker fired at soldiers at a checkpoint in the village of Tayasir, which is in the northern West Bank. In a tense exchange, soldiers returned fire and the attacker was killed, the military added. Israeli hospitals said they had received a total of six people injured in the shooting attack. Israeli media reported the injured are soldiers and at least two of them were critically injured. Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad militant group praised the attack but neither claimed responsibility for it. Israel has carried out an extensive operation in nearby Jenin over the past weeks to clamp down on what Israel said is militant activity in the city, as soldiers and armored bulldozers have caused widespread damage and destroyed scores of homes. Palestinian health officials have

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 .

Best of BS Opinion: India must learn to negotiate its way across the world

With the world in rapid flux following the election of Donald Trump, India finds itself in uncharted waters, and needs to learn how to make deals that serve its interests to the fullest

Funeral for slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah set for Feb 23

The Lebanese Hezbollah group Sunday announced the funeral of its longtime leader will take place on Feb. 23, months after he was assassinated in a series of Israeli airstrikes in a southern Beirut suburb. Secretary-General Naim Kassem made the announcement regarding his predecessor Hassan Nasrallah in a prerecorded speech. It came days after a US-brokered ceasefire agreement that ended the war between the Lebanese militant group and Israel was extended until February 18. Nasrallah was killed on Sept. 27 after a series of Israeli airstrikes struck several buildings in a southern Beirut suburb. A top security aide said Nasrallah was inside the militant group's war operations room when the strikes took place. Israeli troops are still present in parts of southern Lebanon, where under the ceasefire agreement they are supposed to gradually withdraw while Hezbollah's militants withdraw north of the Litani River as Lebanese army soldiers disperse. Residents of those villages, many waving ..

Israel's Netanyahu heads to US to discuss 'victory over Hamas' with Trump

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he will discuss "victory over Hamas, countering Iran and expanding diplomatic relations with Arab countries in his meeting with US President Donald Trump. Tuesday's meeting at the White House will be Trump's first with a foreign leader since returning to office. It comes as US and Arab mediators begin the daunting work of brokering the next phase of an agreement to wind down the war in the Gaza Strip and release dozens of militant-held hostages. Hamas, which has quickly reasserted its control over Gaza since the ceasefire took hold last month, has said it will not release the hostages slated to go free in the second phase without an end to the war and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces. Netanyahu, who is under mounting pressure from far-right governing partners to resume the war after the first phase ends in early March, has said Israel is still committed to victory over Hamas and the return of all the hostages captured in the

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

Whatsapp alleges Israel's spyware firm Paragon of targeting dozens of users

The official declined to say who, specifically, was targeted or where they were geographically, saying only that targets included an unspecified number of civil society and media figures

Israeli startups eye global markets after playing important role in war

Israel already had a thriving startup scene, meaning its companies may be better placed to capitalise on the wartime boom, with some already winning orders from abroad with aims to shape future battle

Israel releases 110 Palestinian prisoners after assurance from mediators

Israel released the Palestinian prisoners after Israeli military confirmed the release of three Israelis, one male and two female, and five Thailand nationals

News update: Sitharaman to table Economic Survey in Parliament on Friday

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Hamas frees 8 more hostages; Israel begins prisoners releasing after delay

Hamas-led militants freed eight hostages on Thursday as part of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, but the chaotic handover of some of the captives, who were shuttled through a rowdy crowd of thousands by masked militants, drew an angry protest from Israel. Israel later began releasing 110 Palestinian prisoners after the swap was initially put on hold by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who demanded that mediators assure the safe exit for hostages going forward. He said later that he had received that commitment. Hamas released seven of the hostages in front of the destroyed home of its slain leader, Yahya Sinwar, as thousands pressed in. The militant group called it a message of determination", but it triggered the latest in a series of disputes that have sent US and Arab mediators scrambling to patch up the truce. The ceasefire is aimed at eventually ending the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas, and securing the release of dozens of hostages .