Page 91 - Israel

Student protest against Gaza war: What is happening in colleges across US

Officials are trying to resolve the protests as the academic year winds down, but students have dug in at several high-profile universities

What is the International Criminal Court and why it has Israel worried

Israeli officials sound increasingly concerned that the International Criminal Court could issue arrest warrants for the country's leaders more than six months into the Israel-Hamas war. The ICC was set up more than a decade ago to tackle impunity for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and other grave crimes when states don't prosecute them. Without a police force, the ICC relies on member states to arrest suspects. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on the social platform X Friday that Israel will never accept any attempt by the ICC to undermine its inherent right of self-defense. While the ICC will not affect Israel's actions, it would set a dangerous precedent, he wrote. Israel's Foreign Ministry said late Sunday that it had informed missions abroad of rumors that the court could order the arrest of senior Israeli political and military officials. The ministry did not give a source for the rumors. The court hasn't commented. WHAT IS THE ICC? The ICC's 124 mem

Columbia Univ suspending Israel-Hamas war protesters for not removing camps

Colleges around the US implored pro-Palestinian student protesters to clear out tent encampments with rising levels of urgency Monday as police arrested more demonstrators at the University of Texas and Columbia University said it was beginning to suspend students who defied an ultimatum to disband the encampment there. Dozens of law enforcement officers, many in riot gear, confronted protesters who returned to the University of Texas at Austin on Monday. They quickly arrested six demonstrators and took others into custody one by one. Officers used pepper spray after a group of protesters blocked the path of a police van carrying demonstrators who were arrested. The crowd backed away but continued to block the exit from campus. Officers then used two flash bang explosives to clear a path so the van could leave. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott reposted on social media video of troopers arriving on the 50,000-student campus. No encampments will be allowed," Abbott said. Last week, hundred

Israel truce proposal 'extraordinarily generous', says Antony Blinken

A source briefed on the talks said Israel's proposal entailed a deal for the release of fewer than 40 of the roughly 130 hostages believed to be still held in Gaza in exchange for freeing Palestinians

Protests escalate in US; students raise Palestinian flag at Harvard

Last week, 275 pro-Palestinian protesters were detained at multiple campuses, including the Indiana University at Bloomington, Northeastern University in Boston, and Arizona State University

India's West Asia security dynamics

Despite its stakes in the region, its policy doesn't aim for long-term regional stability

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

Israel agrees to listen to US' concerns ahead of Rafah invasion

"Well, look, I think, again, we have to have a better understanding from the Israelis about what they want to do.

Hamas releases video of hostages pleading Israeli PM for negotiation

In the video, American-Israeli Keith Siege, seemingly speaking under pressure, urges Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to negotiate with Hamas for a hostage release deal

Highlights of the day: Voters will score such 'goal' in phase 3, INDI alliance will vanish says PM

From Hamas looking into latest ceasefire proposal from Israel to the developments of the Lok Sabha polls, catch all the latest news from around the world here

Turkiye ships planning to deliver aid to Gaza denied right to sail

A three-ship flotilla planning to reach Gaza with humanitarian aid from Turkiye was prevented from sailing by Guinea-Bissau authorities, which took down their country's flags from two ships, organizers said. Just before the flotilla was set to sail from Turkiye to Gaza on Friday with 5,000 tons of aid, a surprise inspection by the Guinea-Bissau International Ships Registry resulted in the removal of the flags from two of the Freedom Flotilla ships. A press release by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition described the cancellation of the vessels' registry as a blatantly political move, adding: "Without a flag, we cannot sail. The organizers blamed Israel for applying pressure to prevent the flotilla. It is obvious, and I think it is publicly known, that there has been close contact between Israel and the president of Guinea-Bissau, organizer and steering committee member Torstein Dahle told The Associated Press, without elaborating. He said that hundreds of Turkish and international ...

Hamas looking into latest ceasefire counterproposal from Israel army

Earlier this week, the US and 17 other nations pressed Hamas to release their citizens who are missing or held hostage in Gaza, in a bid to revive cease-fire talks

US announces new Patriot missiles for Ukraine as part of $6 bn aid package

The US will provide Ukraine additional Patriot missiles for its air defence systems as part of a massive USD 6 billion additional aid package, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on Friday. The missiles will be used to replenish previously supplied Patriot air defence systems and are part of a package that also includes more munitions for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, or NASAMS, and additional gear to integrate Western air defence launchers, missiles and radars into Ukraine's existing weaponry, much of which still dates back to the Soviet era. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed the need for Patriots early Friday at the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, a coalition of about 50 countries gathering virtually in a Pentagon-led meeting. The meeting fell on the second anniversary of the group, which Austin said has moved heaven and earth since April 2022 to source millions of rounds of ammunition, rocket systems, armoured vehicles and even jets to .

Reviewing new info on Israeli unit accused of abuses before Gaza war: US

The US has determined that an Israeli military unit committed gross human-rights abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank before the war in Gaza began six months ago, but it will hold off on any decision about aid to the battalion while it reviews new information provided by Israel, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson. The undated letter, obtained by The Associated Press on Friday, defers a decision by the US whether to impose a first-ever block on US aid to an Israeli military unit over its treatment of Palestinians. Israeli leaders, anticipating the US decision this week, have angrily protested any such aid restrictions. Blinken stressed that US military support for Israel's defence against Hamas and other threats would not be affected by the State Department's final decision on the one unit. Johnson muscled through legislation providing USD 26 billion in additional funds for Israel's defense and for relief of the growing humanitaria

Harvard, Columbia say no to students demanding to sell Israel investments

"We're willing to risk suspension, expulsion and arrest, and I think that that will put pressure," said Malak Afaneh, a law student at University of California, Berkeley, and a protest organizer

Egypt sends delegation to broker ceasefire between Israel and Hamas

Egypt sent a high-level delegation to Israel on Friday with the hope of brokering a cease-fire agreement with Hamas in Gaza, two officials said. At the same time, it warned that a possible Israeli offensive focused on Gaza's city of Rafah on the border with Egypt could have catastrophic consequences to regional stability. Egypt's top intelligence official, Abbas Kamel, is leading the delegation and plans to discuss with Israel a new vision for a prolonged cease-fire in Gaza, an Egyptian official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the mission freely. As the war drags on and casualties mount, there has been growing international pressure for Hamas and Israel to reach an agreement on a cease fire. Friday's talks will focus at first on a limited exchange of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners, and the return of a significant number of displaced Palestinians to their homes in northern Gaza with minimum restrictions, the Egyptian official said. The hope is t

Trump compares Israel's college protests to 2017 white nationalist rally

Trump, the Republican candidate for president in the November elections, also sought to place blame for the campus protests on Democratic President Joe Biden

Even as US tries to bring aid to Gaza by sea, major concerns remain

The construction of a new port in Gaza and an accompanying US military-built pier offshore are underway, but the complex plan to bring more desperately-needed food to Palestinian civilians is still mired in fears over security and how the humanitarian aid will be delivered. The Israeli-developed port, for example, has already been attacked by mortar fire, sending high-ranking UN officials scrambling for shelter this week, and there is still no solid decision on when the aid deliveries will actually begin. While satellite photos show major port construction along the shore near Gaza City, aid groups are making it clear that they have broad concerns about their safety and reservations about how Israeli forces will handle security. Sonali Korde, an official with the US Agency for International Development, said key agreements for security and handling the aid deliveries are still being negotiated. Those include how Israeli forces will operate in Gaza to ensure that aid workers are not

US sanctions over dozen firms, 3 from India, for trade and ties with Iran

The United States slapped on Thursday sanctions on over a dozen companies, individuals and vessels, including three from India, for facilitating illicit trade and UAV transfers on behalf of the Iranian military. The US Department of Treasury said these companies, individuals and vessels have played a central role in facilitating and financing the clandestine sale of Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Russia's war in Ukraine. While Sahara Thunder has been identified as the main front company that oversees Iran's commercial activities in support of these efforts, the three India-based companies to have been slapped with sanctions for supporting Sahara Thunder are Zen Shipping, Port India Private Limited, and Sea Art Ship Management (OPC) Private Limited. Iranian military entity Sahara Thunder relies on a vast shipping network involved in the sale and shipment of Iranian commodities on behalf of Iran's Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL) to multiple ...

Some US campuses call in police to break up pro-Palestinian demonstrations

Some US universities called in police to break up demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war, resulting in ugly scuffles and dozens of arrests, while others appeared content to wait out student protests Thursday, as the final days of the semester ticked down and graduation ceremonies loomed. At Emerson College in Boston, 108 people were arrested at an encampment overnight and four police officers suffered injuries that were not life-threatening, Boston police said. Those arrested were expected to appear Thursday in Boston Municipal Court. Another 93 people were arrested Wednesday night during a protest at the University of Southern California, the Los Angeles Police Department said. There were no reports of injuries. While grappling with growing protests from coast to coast, schools have the added pressure of May commencement ceremonies. At Columbia University in New York, students defiantly erected an encampment where many are set to graduate in front of families in just a few ...