JERUSALEM: Israel's parliament approved on Sunday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new unity government, ending more than a year of political deadlock, but he still faces a trial starting next week for alleged corruption.
His decision to share power with former rival, centrist Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, opens the way for Netanyahu to proceed towards a pledged annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank, land that Palestinians seek for a state.
After three inconclusive elections, the conservative Netanyahu will remain prime minister for 18 months before handing over to his new partner.
Gantz, a former armed forces chief, will be Netanyahu's defence minister and "alternate prime minister", a new position that Netanyahu will hold when Gantz takes the helm.
By assuming that "alternate" premiership once he hands over to Gantz, Netanyahu hopes to avoid having to resign under legal rules that allow a prime minister to remain in office even if charged with a crime.
Israel's longest-serving leader, Netanyahu, 70, first came to power in 1996 and has served three consecutive terms since 2009. He goes on trial on May 24 on charges of bribery, breach of trust and fraud, which he denies.
"The people wanted unity, and that is what it got," Netanyahu told parliament, citing a desire to steer clear of a fourth election and the need for a national battle against the coronavirus crisis.
Lawmakers ratified the new administration by a vote of 73 to 46.
Netanyahu can now push forward his plan to extend Israeli sovereignty to Jewish settlements and the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank, territory Palestinians want for their own independent state.
"These regions are where the Jewish nation was born and rose. It is time to apply Israeli law on them and write another great chapter in the annals of Zionism," he said.
But while Netanyahu has set July 1 as a starting point for cabinet discussions on the highly contentious issue, there is no publicly stated deadline for annexation of land that Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war.
Palestinians have vehemently opposed such a move, urging international sanctions against Israel in response. It would be certain to heighten tensions in the West Bank and Gaza.
"These colonial and expansionist positions confirm once again his (Netanyahu's) ideological enmity towards peace," the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Gantz, 60, had cited the criminal charges against Netanyahu after the latest election in March when he again pledged to his own voters that he would not serve in a government with the veteran conservative leader.
Angering many of his supporters and splitting his own party, he made a deal in the end, saying the coronavirus crisis made national unity an imperative.
The new cabinet will have a record 36 ministers. Several new posts have been created to ensure both Netanyahu and Gantz can bring loyalists on board.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid ridiculed the public-health rationale behind the coalition, noting the number of Israeli COVID-19 victims on ventilators had fallen so steeply that the new government "could place a minister next to each bed".
Netanyahu's new Israeli government approved, eyes West Bank annexations
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Netanyahu's new Israeli government approved, eyes West Bank annexations
- Netanyahu will remain prime minister for 18 months before handing over to his new partner
- He can now push forward his plan to extend Israeli sovereignty to Jewish settlements and the Jordan Valley
Red Cross says office in Gaza damaged in ‘attack’
The ICRC said in a statement that the incident had a direct impact on the humanitarian organization’s ability to operate.
“Today, an office of the ICRC in Rafah was damaged by an explosive projectile despite being clearly marked and notified to all parties,” the statement said.
“Fortunately, no staff were injured in this incident, but this has a direct impact on the ICRC’s ability to operate. The ICRC strongly decries the attack against its premises.”
The Geneva-based ICRC said international humanitarian law afforded special protection to humanitarian relief and medical personnel, medical facilities, and objects used for humanitarian relief operations.
“They must be respected and protected in all circumstances to ensure the continuity of care. They must never be attacked,” the ICRC said.
“The parties must do their utmost to ensure their safety by providing clear and strict instructions to weapon bearers.”
The ICRC said that on Sunday contact was lost with emergency medical technicians from the Palestine Red Crescent Society and their whereabouts remain unknown.
Furthermore, humanitarian workers in Gaza were killed and injured last week, it added.
Israel’s military pressed ground operations across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, encircling part of Rafah city near the Egyptian border, almost a week into a renewed assault on the Palestinian territory.
Israel resumed intensive bombing of Gaza last week, citing deadlock in indirect negotiations on next steps in the truce with Hamas after its first stage expired this month.
“The escalation of hostilities in Gaza over the past week has had significant humanitarian impacts, with hundreds of civilians killed, some of whom remain buried under rubble while others have been left behind unable to be rescued,” the ICRC said.
“New evacuation orders and intense hostilities are causing people to flee without a clear sense of areas that are safe, and many people have nowhere else to go. Many have been forced to leave behind their tents and belongings.
“The resumption of hostilities and violence is causing a loss of hope on all sides.”
UAE provides $64.5m grant to Palestinian hospital in East Jerusalem
- Omar Abu Zayda, director general of Al-Makassed Hospital, thanks the nation for its ongoing support and says it has consistently stood by the Palestinian people
- The grant will help fund operational expenses, upgrades and staff wages, and enable the World Health Organization to provide essential medicines and other supplies
LONDON: The UAE has awarded a $64.5 million grant to Al-Makassed Hospital, a key medical institution serving Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem.
The support, which will help fund operational expenses, facility upgrades and wages for medical staff, was approved under the directives of the Emirati president, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the Emirates News Agency reported.
Omar Abu Zayda, the director general of Al-Makassed Hospital, thanked the UAE for its ongoing support.
“The UAE’s unwavering commitment to supporting the Palestinian healthcare sector allows us to sustain our operations and fulfill our duties efficiently,” he said.
“Since its founding by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan, the UAE has consistently stood by the Palestinian people, particularly in Jerusalem.”
The grant is particularly significant because it will help to enhance healthcare services, particularly for women and children, Abu Zayda added.
Al-Makassed Hospital, located on the Mount of Olives, serves more than 66,000 people in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. Established in 1968, a few months after Israeli forces occupied the city, it has more than 250 beds and employs about 950 medical and administrative staff. It also operates a specialized residency program for training, from which more than 540 medical specialists have graduated.
Sheikh Theyab bin Mohammed Al-Nahyan, the chairperson of the UAE’s International Humanitarian and Philanthropic Council, reaffirmed the nation’s commitment to support for all members of Palestinian society.
Tareq Ahmed Al-Ameri, who chairs the UAE Aid Agency, said authorities in the country continue to collaborate with international organizations to help enhance healthcare services in East Jerusalem and Gaza.
“Al-Makassed Hospital … is a crucial medical facility, specializing in cardiac surgeries, pediatric and orthopedic clinics, medical research, and comprehensive healthcare services,” he added.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, said the Emirati support for the hospital enables the WHO to provide essential medicines and other medical supplies.
It will also enable Al-Makassed to “scale up its medical imaging capacity, improve the obstetrics and gynecology department, and help to train over 100 residents across 11 specialties,” he added.
Palestinian NGO says teen dies in Israeli prison
- One of thousands of Palestinians in Israeli custody, Ahmad was 63rd Palestinian inmate to die in Israeli jail since the Oct. 2023 outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war
RAMALLAH: The Palestinian Prisoners Club advocacy group said Monday that a teenage inmate died in an Israeli jail, decrying a spike in deaths in custody since the start of the Gaza war.
In a statement, the group announced the death of Walid Khaled Abdullah Ahmad, 17, in Meggido prison in northern Israel under unknown circumstances.
Israel’s Prison Service said in a statement that a 17-year-old prisoner had died Sunday at the facility.
“His health condition is covered by medical confidentiality,” the statement said.
One of thousands of Palestinians in Israeli custody, Ahmad was the 63rd Palestinian inmate to die in an Israeli jail since the October 2023 outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, according to the Prisoners Club.
The advocacy group said Ahmad, from the town of Silwad near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, was detained on September 30. It was not clear what led to his arrest.
The Prisoners Club said that a “growing number” of detainees have died in Israeli custody due to “systematic abuses” throughout the Gaza war.
“This period has been the deadliest in the history of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement since 1967,” it said, referring to the year Israel seized Palestinian territories including the West Bank in a war.
Rights groups including Israel’s B’Tselem have documented numerous deaths of Palestinians in Israeli prisons during the Gaza war.
B’Tselem has also reported worsening detention conditions for Palestinians, including “systematic mistreatment” and “torture,” which Israeli authorities have denied.
The Prisoners Club said in September there were at least 250 Palestinian minors in Israeli custody.
According to non-government group Defense for Children International Palestine, “each year approximately 500-700 Palestinian children, some as young as 12 years old, are detained and prosecuted in the Israeli military court system. The most common charge is stone-throwing.”
Lebanon contacts US to avert threat of Israel strikes on capital
- Israel launched air strikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday, killing eight people, in response to rocket fire that hit its territory for first time since Nov. 27
BEIRUT: Lebanese leaders have been in intensive contact with Washington and Paris to prevent Israel from bombing Beirut, a Lebanese official said Monday, after heavy Israeli strikes on the country at the weekend.
Israel launched air strikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday, killing eight people, in response to rocket fire that hit its territory for the first time since a ceasefire took effect on November 27.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that following rocket fire on Metula, a town in northern Israel, “Metula’s fate is the same as Beirut’s.”
The official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam “made diplomatic contact with France and the United States... as well as with the UN to achieve de-escalation following Israeli threats to target Beirut.”
The US, France and the United Nations belong to a ceasefire monitoring mechanism.
During two months of full-scale war leading up to the ceasefire, Israeli air strikes pounded the south Beirut bastion of Iran-backed Hezbollah but sometimes also struck in the city center.
Salam “emphasized the need to control security and prevent a repeat of rocket fire” against Israel, the official added.
No party has claimed responsibility for the rocket fire, which a military source said was launched from an area north of the Litani River, between the villages of Kfar Tebnit and Arnoun, near the zone covered by the ceasefire agreement.
The agreement stipulates that only the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers may be deployed south of the Litani River, with Hezbollah required to dismantle its infrastructure and withdraw north of the river.
Israel missed two deadlines to withdraw all its forces across the UN-demarcated Blue Line, the de facto border, and continues to hold five positions it deems “strategic.”
Hezbollah denied involvement in the rocket fire.
The Lebanese army said later it dismantled three makeshift rocket batteries in the area, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the Israeli border.
A military source told AFP the army detained two Syrians who were “working as guards at a farm near the rocket-launching site.”
The Syrians reported seeing a car with several men who set up the launchers and fired the rockets before leaving.
The war severely weakened Hezbollah, which remains a target of Israeli air strikes despite the ceasefire.
Germany says Gaza civilian deaths ‘extremely worrying’
- Negotiations have stalled over an extension of the ceasefire
- The Israeli government has announced plans for a special agency for the “voluntary departure” of Gazans
BERLIN: Germany said on Monday it was extremely worried by the surge in civilian deaths in the Gaza Strip since Israel renewed its full-scale military offensive on the occupied Palestinian territory.
Israel restarted intense air strikes across the densely populated Strip on Tuesday followed by ground operations, shattering the relative calm of a six-week ceasefire agreement with Hamas, which governs Gaza.
Negotiations have stalled over an extension of the ceasefire.
Israel and the United States have sought to change the terms of the ceasefire deal, a move rejected by Hamas as a violation of the agreement all parties signed.
“It is now very clear that we must quickly return to negotiations and to the ceasefire that was in place,” German foreign ministry spokesman Christian Wagner said in Berlin.
Israel’s renewed military operations would not lead to the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza being released and meant that “the humanitarian situation is once again catastrophic,” he said.
Berlin, traditionally a staunch ally of Israel, also condemned “unacceptable statements” by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, who last week threatened to annex parts of Gaza unless Hamas releases the remaining Israeli hostages.
Katz has also said that measures targeting Hamas could include implementing US President Donald Trump’s proposal for the United States to redevelop Gaza as a Mediterranean resort after the removal of its Palestinian inhabitants to other Arab countries.
The Israeli government has announced plans for a special agency for the “voluntary departure” of Gazans.
“If the aim is to set up an authority that has the permanent expulsion of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip as its goal, then that is unacceptable and must be condemned,” Wagner said.
He also condemned an Israeli decision to recognize more than a dozen new settlements in the occupied West Bank, saying the “expansive settlement policy” undermines efforts toward a two-state solution.
“The German government rejects Israel’s entire settlement policy as legally unacceptable. It is clear that this policy must end,” he said.
On October 7, 2023, fighters from Hamas launched a cross-border attack in Israel that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 people and the capture of 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
Israel’s ensuing bombardment and ground offensive in Gaza has killed at least 50,021 people in the territory, the Gaza health ministry said on Sunday.
The United Nations considers the ministry’s figures to be reliable.
