Israeli PM says new intelligence chief to take office next month
JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday the newly named head of the domestic intelligence service would take office without delay next month, following a bitter row over the removal of his predecessor.
"The Prime Minister is responsible for the security of the state, even more so during a multi-front war," Netanyahu said in a statement, following the appointment of Major General David Zini, head of the military's Training and Doctrine Command as head of the Shin Bet intelligence service.
Zini will replace Ronen Bar, who said he would resign on June 15 following a bitter dispute with Netanyahu who tried to sack him in March before the decision was blocked by a Supreme Court temporary injunction.
Last month the Supreme Court ruled that the dismissal was illegal but Bar said he would step down to allow an orderly handover.
Netanyahu said when he announced the dismissal in March that he had lost confidence in Bar over Shin Bet's failure to prevent the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.
The move drew a furious reaction from critics who said the real reason for Bar's dismissal was an investigation by police and Shin Bet into possible financial ties between a number of close aides of the prime minister and Qatar.
The affair sparked large demonstrations in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem by protesters who said Netanyahu was undermining democracy by trying to sack Bar while the so-called "Qatargate" investigation was underway.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court ruled that Bar's dismissal was done in violation of the law, and that Netanyahu had a conflict of interest over the Qatargate investigation.
Bar had always accepted responsibility for Shin Bet's failure in forestalling the October 7 attacks and had said he would leave his post early.
Netanyahu said any delay in appointing a new head of the agency, which conducts counterterrorism investigations, was a "security requirement of the highest order, any delay harms the security of the state and the security of our soldiers".
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The standoff over the head of Shin Bet followed more than two years of hostility between Netanyahu supporters and elements of the security and defence establishment that was worsened by blame over the failures that allowed Hamas' October 7 attack.
On Friday, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that Zini would be leaving the military in the coming days and that any discourse between serving soldiers and the government had to be approved by the chief of the general staff, indicating the appointment had been made without its knowledge.
The issue has been one of the most prominent battlegrounds between the government and an array of anti-Netanyahu groups who have attacked him over issues ranging from plans to curb the power of the judiciary to the failure to agree a hostage deal in Gaza.
Zini's appointment was condemned by opposition parties and by the attorney general, Gali Baharav-Miara, who said Netanyahu was acting against legal guidance and that there were serious conflict of interest concerns.
Baharav-Miara has herself clashed repeatedly with Netanyahu over the legality of some of his policies and the cabinet has approved a no-confidence motion.
In a sign of how poisoned the political atmosphere has become in Israel, Defence Minister Israel Katz said he had barred opposition politician Yair Golan, a former deputy head of the Israeli military who now leads the small left-wing Democrats party, from serving in the reserves.
Golan, who single-handedly rescued people from the Hamas attack on Israel after driving to the scene on October 7, 2023, warned this week that Israel risked becoming a "pariah state" over the war in Gaza, and said "a sane country does not fight against civilians, does not kill babies as a hobby".
Katz said the comments amounted to a "blood libel" and would expose Israeli soldiers to being arrested by international courts when travelling abroad.
"I have decided to instruct the IDF not to call Yair Golan up for reserve duty anymore and to prohibit him from wearing the IDF uniform and entering IDF bases," Katz said in a statement.
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New York Times
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Suleiman Obeid – Answering Mohamed Salah's questions about the death of the ‘Palestinian Pele'
On August 6, Suleiman Obeid travelled to the city of Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza, to retrieve aid for his family. He did not want to go, having described 'bullets whizzing past his head like rain' to his wife on previous trips. But with five children waiting in his tent, Obeid felt he had no choice. Advertisement Obeid had played football professionally, representing Palestine in international matches on 24 occasions. He was considered one of the greatest players to ever emerge from the Gaza Strip. Yet now, like other Gaza inhabitants, he was at risk of starvation. The New York Times reported this month that a U.N.-backed food security group found famine was widespread across Gaza due to months of severe aid restrictions imposed by Israel as part of its military operation against Hamas. At the aid site, his friends say Obeid was killed by armaments dropped by an Israeli quadcopter. He was 43 years old, and according to his friends and family, was a civilian who only wanted peace. According to the UN's latest figures, at least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed since May 27 while seeking food. Posting on social media after Obeid's death, UEFA stated: 'Farewell to Suleiman al-Obaid, the 'Palestinian Pele'. A talent who gave hope to countless children, even in the darkest of times.' Mohamed Salah, the Liverpool and Egypt forward who is one of the world's most famous footballers, replied: 'Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?' Can you tell us how he died, where, and why? — Mohamed Salah (@MoSalah) August 9, 2025 It appeared to be a latent criticism of UEFA, European football's governing body, for omitting Israel's role in Obeid's death. Salah's post was shared hundreds of thousands of times and represented a rare public statement from one of the game's leading names about the conflict. The Athletic has spoken to Obeid's friends, family, team-mates, and witnesses about his death in an attempt to answer those questions and tell of his life. 'The world needs to be asked, 'Why was Suleiman killed in this monstrous way, and taken away from his five children?',' his wife, Doaa, tells The Athletic, exchanging voice messages from the family's tent in Gaza. 'What did his children do to be orphaned at this young age? You can't imagine how life was before his death — and how it became after. 'I wish that you save these orphan children (from this war). He was our caregiver and our backbone. After Suleiman's death, no one can help us. Our life is ruined.' Suleiman Obeid jumps, and for a moment, everything is still. It is the 2010 West Asian Football Federation Championship in Amman, Jordan's capital. Palestine are 2-0 down to Yemen. The cross was sprayed towards the back post, an inswinger, but Obeid had already read its trajectory and taken four quick shuffle steps backwards. The defender has turned away. Obeid is alone. Advertisement He is midair as the ball passes the penalty spot, and horizontal when it arrives. With the laces of his right foot, he bends it around the covering defender and into the far corner. A scissor kick — the first goal Palestine had scored in the competition for six years. 'That goal was probably the greatest goal scored by the Palestine team,' says Ramzi Saleh, the goalkeeper on that day. 'He's always close to my heart,' he adds. 'Not only mine, he beats close to everyone's heart.' Saleh knows his friend is dead, but has not switched to the past tense. Few who know him in Gaza have. Obeid, all those involved in Palestinian football agree, is one of their iconic players. Capable of playing any position across the front three, the willowy forward began his career at hometown club Shabab Al Shati before moving to play for Markaz Shabab Al-Am'ari, where he spent four seasons and won the West Bank Premier League title in 2011. From then, however, he remained in Gaza, becoming a legend at Gaza Sports Club and Shabab Al Shati, and topping the goalscorer charts in three successive seasons. 'I am not thinking of retirement,' Obeid said in September 2023, at the age of 42, less than a month before Gazan football was suspended following Hamas' October 7 attacks on Israel. In total, 1,195 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage in those attacks, according to Israeli officials via the New York Times. Israel launched counter-strikes into Gaza. One of those killed by Hamas was Lior Asulin, a former striker in the Israeli Premier League who had retired in 2017. That day, Obeid and Shabab Al-Shati had been preparing for a crucial game against Khadamat Rafah. It was cancelled when team members heard explosions on their way into training. He would never play another professional match. 'Everybody loved and appreciated him,' said Obeid's former team-mate Mohammed Ali Mohana, whose best friend, former Palestine coach Hani Al-Masdar, was killed by an Israeli airstrike last January. 'He was a talented player. His goals were so distinctive — and so beautiful.' As well as the 'Palestinian Pele', another nickname was 'Henry', after the former Arsenal forward Thierry Henry, a forward whose style he most closely mimicked. Ibrahim Al-Amur was a long-time team-mate of Obeid's at Gaza Sports Club. A left-back, he describes his fellow footballer as his best friend. Advertisement 'He was one of the best 10 players in Palestine's history,' Al-Amur says. 'He had pace, talent and athleticism to the extent that he played until 43 while not dropping his level — he was special even at that age. He treated his friends with all the love and respect. He supported the poor and the weak, a trait that not everyone has. 'My house was demolished in the war, but even then, I didn't cry like I cried when Suleiman passed away. This was the biggest shock of my life.' Obeid said his own home was hit and demolished by a bombing just one week into the conflict. The only piece of memorabilia he took with him was an old pair of club shorts — after his death, his wife Doaa cradled the blue kit. 'His main concern was to provide his children with a blessed life and to educate them to reach the highest level,' she says. 'In the last two years, life has been very tough. His dream was to take his children and go abroad.' In January, the forward posted on Facebook, uploading a picture of him sitting in the ruins of his house. 'I wish I hadn't gone to Gaza,' he captioned the photograph. At this point, the family were living in a refugee camp in the Al-Karama Towers area of Gaza. 'In the name of God, today we drowned in the tent,' he wrote. 'It's only the beginning and the rain hasn't been that strong. This is war, and how it can be.' Obeid tried to find the good where he could. He managed to open a small cafe that broadcast European matches, while a group of former professional footballers played together twice a week on old five-a-side pitches amid the ruins. 'It relieved our stress,' says Mohana, a regular at the sessions. 'We'd forget the worries of war and our living conditions, we escaped the water lines, the shelters, the challenges of life. It was about who would win, who would lose, to enjoy ourselves for a few moments, before returning to our difficult life once again.' Advertisement On one occasion, according to his friends, a missile strike barely missed Obeid while he sheltered in Deir al-Balah. They say he was buried in sand and debris, while those he sat with broke bones, and barely survived. The biggest issue for Obeid, however, was finding food. Obeid had responsibility for more than just his immediate family, made up of Doaa and five children. His brother, Hossam, has been missing for more than a year, and is presumed dead. His family were also cared for by Obeid. 'There's no problem dying through bombing,' Obeid wrote online in the weeks before his death. 'But starving us? In God's name, that's forbidden.' According to Doaa, Obeid was ashamed to go to the aid centres, wearing a cap to hide his face. In total, he had already made three trips, and described them to her as getting more dangerous on each occasion. A few days before his death, he met Mohana, and told his team-mate of his intention to return for a fourth time. 'I will never go to one,' says Mohana. 'These are killing centres, not aid distribution centres. There are always injuries, bullets fill the place. But he said he had children in need of food, and that he was forced to provide it from anywhere, even if it was dangerous.' 'No one knows if they are coming back (dead) on the shoulders, or coming back alive with aid,' adds Al-Amur. 'Every time Suleiman went to the aid centre, he couldn't believe that he came back in one piece, because people were dying next to him there. Every time he came back, he was happy that he wasn't injured or dead.' In its statement about the 1,373 deaths recorded of Palestinians seeking food since May 27, the UN human rights office said 'most of the killings were committed by the Israeli military'. Obeid made his last journey to an aid site on August 6. 'He didn't want to go,' says Doaa. 'But he didn't know it would be the last day of his life.' According to friends, Obeid left his tent at 6am to head towards Khan Yunis. From there, he took a car towards the United States and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution centre, which the Israeli army would open at 9am. 'At 8.15am, Suleiman was on the floor, him and his friends, who were waiting for the centre to open,' says Al-Amur. 'He was peaceful, sitting in the right way, and waiting. He was surprised by a quadcopter (a small drone) dropping a bomb towards him, and he was badly injured. Advertisement 'People there tried to resuscitate him, but they couldn't.' Other family members and friends have relayed accounts to The Athletic that match Al-Amur's story. Replying to Salah's tweet, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) international spokesperson Nadav Shoshani said: 'After an initial review, we found no records of any incidents involving Suleiman al-Obeid. In order to take a closer look, we need more details.' Subsequently, another IDF statement on August 10 added: 'From an initial and thorough examination, no casualties are known to have resulted from IDF fire in the distribution centre areas in the Gaza Strip on August 6.' Doaa, however, spent that evening in the morgue, with her husband. 'I can't believe the pain I felt when I saw him dead,' she told Middle East Eye on August 11. The IDF did not respond when contacted by The Athletic. In writing about Obeid's death, Salah's intervention was rare. The situation in Gaza is a difficult subject for footballers to speak openly about, with trauma experienced by both sides leaving them open to allegations of bias from the other party. Anwar El Ghazi was sacked by Bundesliga club Mainz in 2023 after posting the phrase, 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,' though a German court subsequently found in July 2024 that the Egyptian international had been 'unfairly dismissed'. Fortuna Dusseldorf pulled out of a deal to sign striker Shon Weissman this month, saying that prior comments from the Israel international about the war on social media were 'not compatible' with their values. Pep Guardiola was arguably the first high-profile Premier League figure to engage extensively with the topic, giving a speech about the suffering in Gaza after receiving an honorary degree from the University of Manchester in June. 'It's so painful what we see in Gaza. It hurts all my body,' said the Manchester City manager. 'Let me be clear — it's not about ideology. It's not about I'm right and you're wrong. Come on, it's just about the love of life. About the care of your neighbour. Maybe we think that we can see the boys and girls of four years old being killed with a bomb or being killed at the hospital — which is not a hospital anymore — and think it's not our business. Advertisement 'Yeah, fine. We can think about that. It's not our business, but be careful. The next one will be ours. The next four-, five-year-old kids will be ours. Sorry that I see my kids Maria, Marius and Valentina every morning since the nightmare started in Gaza, and I'm so scared.' Following Salah's criticism, UEFA displayed a banner at the European Super Cup final that read: 'Stop killing children, stop killing civilians'. Two refugee children from Gaza were also involved in the medal ceremony. UEFA received further criticism after this display, with Amnesty International accusing the body of 'naming the crime but not the perpetrator'. The Campaign Against Antisemitism said that the organisation had not commented on the deaths of Jewish children in the conflict. It demonstrates the difficulty many in the game feel about engaging. However, The Athletic has been told that a collective of more than 50 athletes, including high-profile footballers, are planning to take a stand on the issue. Despite the comments from Salah, the Premier League's reigning player of the season, the Premier League is not set to mark the conflict in any way over the first weeks of the season. In February 2022, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Premier League displayed the Ukrainian flag on big screens, while club captains wore special armbands expressing their support. 'We don't have any plans to make any statements about the situation,' Richard Masters, the Premier League's chief executive, told The Athletic on Thursday. Before their game against Sligo Rovers on Friday evening, players from the League of Ireland side Bohemians wore T-shirts in tribute to Obeid. Asked whether players would be sanctioned if they expressed support for Gaza or wore a Palestinian flag — especially following the UK government's announcement it would recognise a Palestinian state from September unless Israel meets certain conditions — a Premier League spokesperson stated this was a matter for the English Football Association (FA). Advertisement The FA's kit and equipment regulations state that 'any political or religious message is prohibited', though players are allowed to mark 'places of personal significance' on their boots. For the Premier League, it is business as usual on its opening weekend. According to the Palestinian Football Association, 339 members of its community, including players, coaches and officials, have been killed since October 2023. 'Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?' were the questions asked by Salah in his post. Obeid's family and friends say he died in an Israeli strike while waiting for food at an aid station near Khan Yunis. The why? 'I don't have the answer,' says Al-Amur. 'The answer is with the Israeli army.' Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
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The Trump administration wants to end the UN peacekeeping in Lebanon. Europe is pushing back
WASHINGTON (AP) — The future of U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon has split the United States and its European allies, raising implications for security in the Middle East and becoming the latest snag to vex relations between the U.S. and key partners like France, Britain and Italy. At issue is the peacekeeping operation known as UNIFIL, whose mandate expires at the end of August and will need to be renewed by the U.N. Security Council to continue. It was created to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon after Israel's 1978 invasion, and its mission was expanded following the monthlong 2006 war between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah. The multinational force has played a significant role in monitoring the security situation in southern Lebanon for decades, including during the Israel-Hezbollah war last year, but has drawn criticism from both sides and numerous U.S. lawmakers, some of whom now hold prominent roles in President Donald Trump's administration or wield new influence with the White House. Trump administration political appointees came into office this year with the aim of shutting down UNIFIL as soon as possible. They regard the operation as an ineffectual waste of money that is merely delaying the goal of eliminating Hezbollah's influence and restoring full security control to the Lebanese Armed Forces that the government says it is not yet capable of doing. 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European nations, notably France and Italy, have objected to winding down UNIFIL. With the support of Tom Barrack, U.S. ambassador to Turkey and envoy to Lebanon, they successfully lobbied Rubio and others to support a one-year extension of the peacekeeping mandate followed by a time-certain wind-down period of six months, according to the administration officials and congressional aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private diplomatic negotiations. Israel also reluctantly agreed to an extension, they said. The European argument was that prematurely ending UNIFIL before the Lebanese army is able to fully secure the border area would create a vacuum that Hezbollah could easily exploit. The French noted that when a U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali was terminated before government troops were ready to deal with security threats, Islamic extremists moved in. 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One of the U.S. officials said an option being considered was reducing UNIFIL's numbers while boosting its technological means to monitor the situation on the ground. The peacekeeping force has faced criticism There are about 10,000 peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, while the Lebanese army has around 6,000 soldiers, a number that is supposed to increase to 10,000. Hezbollah supporters in Lebanon have frequently accused the U.N. mission of collusion with Israel and sometimes attacked peacekeepers on patrol. Israel, meanwhile, has accused the peacekeepers of turning a blind eye to Hezbollah's military activities in southern Lebanon and lobbied for its mandate to end. Sarit Zehavi, a former Israeli military intelligence analyst and founder of the Israeli think tank Alma Research and Education Center, said UNIFIL has played a 'damaging role with regard to the mission of disarming Hezbollah in south Lebanon.' She pointed to the discovery of Hezbollah tunnels and weapons caches close to UNIFIL facilities during and after last year's Israel-Hezbollah war, when much of the militant group's senior leadership was killed and much of its arsenal destroyed. Hezbollah is now under increasing pressure to give up the rest of its weapons. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said UNIFIL continues to discover unauthorized weapons, including rocket launchers, mortar rounds and bomb fuses, this week, which it reported to the Lebanese army. Under the U.S.- and France-brokered ceasefire, Israel and Hezbollah were to withdraw from southern Lebanon, with the Lebanese army taking control in conjunction with UNIFIL. Israel has continued to occupy five strategic points on the Lebanese side and carry out near-daily airstrikes that it says aim to stop Hezbollah from regrouping. Lebanon supports keeping UN peacekeepers Lebanese officials have called for UNIFIL to remain, saying the country's cash-strapped and overstretched army is not yet able to patrol the full area on its own until it. Retired Lebanese Army Gen. Khalil Helou said that if UNIFIL's mandate were to abruptly end, soldiers would need to be pulled away from the porous border with Syria, where smuggling is rife, or from other areas inside of Lebanon — 'and this could have consequences for the stability' of the country. UNIFIL 'is maybe not fulfilling 100% what the Western powers or Israel desire. But for Lebanon, their presence is important,' he said. The United Nations also calls the peacekeepers critical to regional stability, Dujarric said. UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said deciding on the renewal of the mandate is the prerogative of the U.N. Security Council. 'We are here to assist the parties in implementation of the mission's mandate and we're waiting for the final decision,' he said.
