Donald Trump's Israel snub marks end of an era
NewsFeed Donald Trump's Israel snub marks end of an era | #AJOPINION
Donald Trump isn't visiting Israel during his Middle East tour because he knows Netanyahu is bluffing and has nothing to offer him, says Israeli political analyst Akiva Eldar. He believes Trump's snub marks the end of an era in US-Israel relations. #AJOPINION
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Jazeera
2 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Mapping Israel's expanding air attacks across Syria
The Israeli military says it shelled targets in Syria in response to a pair of projectiles that fell in open areas in the Israel-occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday. Since December 10, 2024, just two days after the stunning collapse of more than 53 years of the al-Assad family, Israel has waged a campaign of aerial bombardment that has destroyed much of Syria's military infrastructure, including major airports, air defence facilities, fighter jets and other strategic infrastructure. Over the past six months, Israeli forces have launched more than 200 air, drone or artillery attacks across Syria, averaging an assault roughly every three to four days, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project (ACLED). The map below shows the ACLED-recorded Israeli attacks between December 8 and May bulk of the Israeli attacks have been concentrated in the southern Syrian governorates of Deraa, Damascus and Quneitra, which account for nearly 60 percent of all recorded Israeli attacks. In the immediate aftermath of al-Assad's ouster, Israeli troops advanced into the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, including areas within the United Nations-monitored demilitarised zone, violating the 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria. The incursion drew widespread international criticism. The UN, along with several Arab nations, condemned Israel's actions as breaches of international law and violations of Syria's sovereignty. Despite these condemnations, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in February that Israeli forces would remain in the area indefinitely to 'protect Israeli citizens' and 'prevent hostile entities from gaining a foothold' near the border. Satellite imagery captured in February and analysed by Al Jazeera's Sanad verification unit showed six military bases were being constructed in the UN-supervised buffer zone on the border with Syria. Since taking power following the overthrow of al-Assad, President Ahmed al-Sharaa has consistently stated that his government seeks no conflict with Israel and will not permit Syria to be used by foreign actors to launch attacks. He has condemned Israel's continuing strikes on Syrian territory and its gradual expansion beyond the already-occupied Golan Heights. While Israel's air attacks on Syria have escalated in recent months, Israel has been attacking targets in Syria for years. ACLED data collected since January 2017 shows how Israeli attacks have been steadily increasing. The animated chart below shows the frequency of Israeli attacks from January 2017 to May 2025.
Al Jazeera
3 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Shooting at Gaza aid site a 'war crime'
Dr Bassem Zaqout, director of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, says US-backed aid distribution efforts in Gaza have been marred by shootings and a lack of organisation.
Al Jazeera
4 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Kyrgyzstan court sentences ex-leader Atambayev to 11 years in absentia
A court in Kyrgyzstan has sentenced in absentia exiled former President Almazbek Atambayev to more than 11 years in prison on charges of corruption and participating in mass unrest in the Central Asian country. Atambayev's conviction and sentencing came on Tuesday after the country's Supreme Court ordered a retrial of an earlier lower court conviction. In a new case, a court found him guilty of illicit enrichment, illegally acquiring land, and of participating in mass unrest in August 2019, when resistance to a special forces operation to arrest him left one person dead and many injured, Kyrgyz media reported on Wednesday. Atambayev, president from 2011 to 2017, oversaw the republic's first peaceful handover of power between elected presidents, but troubles mounted after he quickly fell out with his hand-picked successor. Kyrgyzstan has been rocked by political turmoil, having seen three revolutions since it gained independence with the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Atambayev was first arrested in a chaotic raid of his residence in August 2019, then temporarily freed amid a 2020 revolution, only to be rearrested months later. He was eventually released from prison in 2023 on health grounds, travelled to Spain for medical treatment, and has lived abroad since. Kyrgyzstan's current president, Sadyr Japarov, said on Wednesday he would 'consider granting amnesty' to Atambayev if he requested it. 'Six years have passed since the events. The situation has calmed down. I think the court could have been less harsh,' Japarov told the Kabar official news agency. Japarov came to power as a result of the 2020 revolution. The country had long been seen as one of the freest and most democratic in Central Asia, a region characterised by autocratic regimes. But in recent years, rights groups have criticised democratic backsliding and an escalating crackdown on independent civil society and media outlets.
