Israel parliamentary panel demands compensation for Israelis stranded during Iran conflict
Tens of thousands of Israelis were unable to return to the country for much of the 12-day conflict that began in mid-June since Israel's airspace was largely closed due to daily incoming rocket fire from Iran.
Both foreign and Israeli carriers were forced to halt flights to Tel Aviv. Many stranded travelers incurred heavy costs despite either receiving money back for the cancelled flights or a seat on a so-called rescue flight from one of Israel's airlines.
The Economic Affairs Committee has been debating the issue for a week and representatives from Israel's carriers said they have received increasing numbers of compensation claims.
A Finance Ministry representative told the committee that the ministry was reviewing data to propose a compensation framework.
'If the Finance Ministry doesn't complete its review soon, the committee will issue a decision that, in cases of third-party claims, could serve as a basis for the courts to hold the state liable,' said David Bitan, head of the economics committee and a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party.
'I can make that decision – but I want a compromise.'
Uri Sirkis, CEO of Israeli carrier Israir, said he worried that under a final framework airlines would not be compensated.
'We've suffered millions in damages. This wasn't a commercial incident or error, and there's no reason for us to bear it alone,' he told the panel, referring to the Israel-Iran conflict.
Oz Berlowitz, CEO of Israir rival Arkia Airlines, also accused the state of shirking its responsibility, leaving airlines and citizens without support.
'We are receiving hundreds of claims and will have to pass them on to the state as a third party if we are forced to pay compensation,' he said, adding that passenger claims amounted to millions of dollars.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
22 minutes ago
- Arab News
Wasl Community trains students in media skills
RIYADH: The Wasl Community has concluded its Media Skills Week initiative, which was held in Riyadh from July 13-18 at PureMinds Studios. The program targeted university students majoring in communication and media who were aiming to enhance their practical skills to align themselves with job market demands. The week-long initiative attracted more than 1,000 registrants and offered more than 20 hours of specialized training through professional workshops led by experienced media and communication experts. The workshops covered key topics, including spokesperson skills and media appearances by Majid Al-Ghamdi; fundamentals of strategic communication by Abdulrahman Al-Sultan; media content creation and management by Waleed Al-Harbi; internal communication by Najla Al-Otaibi; media production from writing to publishing by Saad Moamen; and corporate audio identity by Abdullah Al-Zarzour. Wasl Community's CEO Mohammed Al-Razqi said the initiative reflected the belief that empowering people was essential to effective communication, and that strong content started with developing talent. He said: 'Media Skills Week was designed to connect knowledge with practice. We are proud of the strong turnout from ambitious students and graduates, and we look forward to offering even more impactful programs in the future.' Wasl Community is a nonprofit professional network registered under the Hawi platform and part of the Quality of Life Program under Vision 2030. It brings together professionals in corporate communication, media, and marketing across various sectors. The community organizes programs, expert meetups, and projects to enhance practitioners' skills and elevate the media sector's professional image in Saudi Arabia.
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
US says attack on West Bank Palestinian church was ‘act of terror'
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called on Saturday for the perpetrators of an attack on a Palestinian church in the occupied West Bank blamed on Israeli settlers to be prosecuted, calling it an 'act of terror.' Huckabee said he had visited the Christian town of Taybeh, where clerics said Israeli settlers had started a fire near a cemetery and a 5th-century church on July 8. 'It is an act of terror, and it is a crime,' Huckabee said in a statement, 'Those who carry out acts of terror and violence in Taybeh – or anywhere – (should) be found and be prosecuted. Not just reprimanded, that's not enough.' Israel's government has not commented on the incident, but has previously denounced such acts. On Tuesday, Huckabee said he had asked Israel to 'aggressively investigate' the killing of a Palestinian American beaten by settlers in the West Bank, similarly describing it as a 'criminal and terrorist act.' Huckabee is a staunch supporter of Israeli settlements and his comments are a rare and pointed public intervention by the administration of US President Donald Trump. Trump in January rescinded sanctions imposed by the former Biden administration on Israeli settler groups and individuals accused of being involved in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Settler attacks on Palestinians and Palestinian attacks on Israelis in the West Bank have risen since the start of Israel's war on the Hamas militant group in Gaza in October 2023, though violence has long simmered there. The United Nations' highest court said last year that Israel's settlements in territories it captured in the 1967 Middle East war, including the West Bank, were illegal. Israel disputes this, citing biblical and historical ties to the land as well as security needs.
Asharq Al-Awsat
3 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Sudan's Humanitarian Crisis Worsens amid Escalating Violence
Fighting in Sudan's Kordofan region that has killed hundreds and ongoing violence in Darfur — the epicenters of the country's conflict — have worsened Sudan's humanitarian crisis, with aid workers warning of limited access to assistance. The United Nations said more than 450 civilians, including at least 35 children, were killed during the weekend of July 12 in attacks in villages surrounding the town of Bara in North Kordofan province. 'The suffering in Kordofan deepens with each passing day,' Mercy Corps Country Director for Sudan Kadry Furany said in a statement shared with The Associated Press. 'Communities are trapped along active and fast changing front lines, unable to flee, unable to access basic needs or lifesaving assistance.' Sudan plunged into war after simmering tensions between the army and its rival, the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, escalated to fighting in April 2023. The violence has killed at least 40,000 people and created one of the world's worst displacement and hunger crises, according to humanitarian organizations. In recent months, much of the fighting has been concentrated in the Darfur and Kordofan regions. On Thursday, the UN human rights office confirmed that since July 10, the RSF has killed at least 60 civilians in the town of Bara, while civil society groups reported up to 300 people were killed, the office said. A military airstrike on Thursday in Bara killed at least 11 people, all from the same family, according to the UN office. Meanwhile, between July 10 and 14, the army killed at least 23 civilians and injured over two dozen others after striking two villages in West Kordofan. An aid worker with Mercy Corps said his brother was fatally shot on July 13 during an attack on the village of Um Seimima in El Obeid City in North Kordofan, Grace Wairima Ndungu, the group's communications manager told AP. Furany said that movement between the western and eastern areas of the Kordofan region is 'practically impossible.' The intensified fighting forced Mercy Corps to temporarily suspend operations in three out of four localities, with access beyond Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan, now being in 'serious doubt,' Furany said, as a safe sustained humanitarian corridor is needed. Mathilde Vu, an aid worker with the Norwegian Refugee Council who is often based in Port Sudan, told the AP that fighting has intensified in North Kordofan and West Kordofan over the past several months. 'A large number of villages are being destroyed, burned to the ground, people being displaced,' she said. 'What is extremely worrying about the Kordofan is that there is very little information and not a lot of organizations are able to support. It is a complete war zone there.' Marwan Taher, head of mission with humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders, told the AP that military operations in Kordofan heightened insecurity, prompting scores of people to flee to Darfur, a region already in a dire humanitarian situation. The NRC said that since April, Tawila has already received 379,000 people escaping violence in famine-hit Zamzam Camp and Al Fasher. Meanwhile, the International Organization for Migration recently reported that over 46,000 people were displaced from different areas in West Kordofan in May alone due to clashes between warring parties. Taher said those fleeing El Fasher to Tawila walk long distances with barely enough clothes and little water, and sleep on the streets until they arrive at the area they want to settle in. The new wave of displacement has brought diseases, including measles, which began spreading in parts of Zalingi in Central Darfur in March and April as camps received people fleeing Kordofan. Aid workers also warned about ongoing fighting in Darfur. Vu said there have been 'uninterrupted campaigns of destruction' against civilians in North Darfur. 'In Darfur there's been explicit targeting of civilians. There's been explicit execution,' she said. Shelling killed five children Wednesday in El Fasher in North Darfur, according to UN spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay. Meanwhile, between July 14 and 15, heavy rains and flooding displaced over 400 people and destroyed dozens of homes in Dar As Salam, North Darfur. With a looming rainy season, a cholera outbreak and food insecurity, the situation in Darfur is 'getting worse every day and that's what war is,' said Taher.
