Haredi party threatens to leave Netanyahu's coalition military service exemption law is not presented
Degel Hatorah is giving the government 24 hours to make a decision. Ultra-Orthodox party Shas is also reportedly threatening to resign from the government within days.
A yeshiva is an Orthodox Jewish college.
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The National
12 hours ago
- The National
Rubio condemns French decision to recognise Palestinian state, as policy gap widens between US and Europe
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has condemned an announcement by French President Emmanuel Macron that his country will recognise a Palestinian state, calling it a "reckless decision". Mr Rubio described the move as a setback for peace and said it was an affront to the victims of the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the Gaza war. Mr Macron said on Thursday that France intended to recognise a Palestinian state in September at the UN General Assembly, adding that he hoped it would help bring peace to the Middle East. The announcement widens a rift between Europe and the US on policy towards Palestine, after Washington's ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said in June that he did not think an independent Palestinian state remained a US foreign policy goal. "This reckless decision only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace," Mr Rubio said. "It is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7." About 140 countries now recognise or plan to recognise Palestinian statehood, but France would become the biggest European power to do so, and the first G7 state. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticised the move, saying it "rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became". "A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launchpad to annihilate Israel, not to live in peace beside it," he added. However, there was widespread praise for the French decision. Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry called it historic. "The kingdom reiterates its call for all countries that have not yet recognised the State of Palestine to take similar positive steps and adopt serious positions that support peace and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people," it said. Lack of food hindering injured Gazans' recovery Jordan's Foreign Ministry also commended Paris. "This is a step in the right direction towards the realisation of the two-state solution and the end of the occupation," ministry spokesman Sufyan Qudah said in a statement. Senior Palestinian Authority official Hussein Al Sheikh praised the move, saying it "reflects France's commitment to international law and its support for the Palestinian people's rights to self-determination and the establishment of our independent state". In Europe, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, whose country already recognises Palestine, welcomed the announcement. "Together, we must protect what Netanyahu is trying to destroy," said Mr Sanchez, an outspoken critic of the conflict in Gaza. "The two-state solution is the only solution." Hamas, meanwhile, also welcomed the decision as a "positive step in the right direction towards doing justice to our oppressed Palestinian people and supporting their legitimate right to self-determination". "We call on all countries of the world, especially European nations and those that have not yet recognised the State of Palestine, to follow France's lead," it said. France will join Norway, Ireland and Spain in recognising Palestine. To date, only nine EU members have taken the step, making France's move significant, especially given its status as a permanent member of the UN Security Council. Mr Macron's move comes as anger mounts over the death toll in the Gaza war and the growing number of people starving in the enclave. 'The urgent thing today is that the war in Gaza stops and the civilian population is saved,″ the French President said. In Britain, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would hold an "emergency call" on Friday with France and Germany on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, urging a ceasefire and steps towards Palestinian statehood. "We will discuss what we can do urgently to stop the killing and get people the food they desperately need while pulling together all the steps necessary to build a lasting peace," he said in a statement. "A ceasefire will put us on a path to the recognition of a Palestinian state and a two-state solution which guarantees peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis." Mr Starmer said the situation in Gaza had "reached new depths and continues to worsen". He added that the "suffering and starvation unfolding in Gaza is unspeakable and indefensible".
The National
20 hours ago
- The National
Trump and Netanyahu turn back on Gaza ceasefire talks
The US and Israel appeared to abandon talks on a Gaza ceasefire on Friday, with both countries' leaders blaming Hamas for the failure to reach a deal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the two allies were "considering alternative options" to bring hostages home and end Hamas's rule of Gaza. "Hamas is the obstacle to a hostage release deal," he said. US President Donald Trump said Hamas did not want a deal, after negotiators spent weeks studying proposals for a 60-day truce and staggered release of hostages. "It was too bad. Hamas didn't really want to make a deal. I think they want to die," Mr Trump said. Asked about the next steps, he said: 'I think what's going to happen is they're going to be hunted down.' Both Israel and US envoy Steve Witkoff said on Thursday they were withdrawing negotiators from Qatar, which along with the US and Egypt had been mediating between the combatants. Senior Hamas official Basem Naim said the talks had been constructive and accused Mr Witkoff of exerting pressure on Israel's behalf. "What we have presented - with full awareness and understanding of the complexity of the situation - we believe could lead to a deal if the enemy had the will to reach one," he said. It wasn't clear what Israel's "alternative options" might be. Its top general Lt Gen Eyal Zamir recently said that if no deal were reached, troops would be instructed to "intensify and expand combat operations as much as possible". A deal had appeared close at times during the weeks of negotiations, as pressure ramps up on Israel to call off a siege of Gaza blamed for causing starvation in the strip. Hundreds of aid lorries were entering Gaza every day during a previous truce agreed in January. But the Israeli army resumed its offensive in Gaza in March and tightly controls entry in and out of the strip. Almost a third of people in Gaza are now "not eating for days", the UN's World Food Programme told AFP on Friday, as it warned the crisis has reached "new and astonishing levels of desperation". "Nearly one person in three is not eating for days. Malnutrition is surging with 90,000 women and children in urgent need of treatment," a statement from the organisation said. Gaza's Health Ministry said on Friday that hospitals had recorded nine more starvation deaths in the space of 24 hours, bringing the total to 113. Israel rejects the death toll as Hamas propaganda and says there is plenty of aid inside Gaza that UN aid workers not delivered. They in turn say Israel is putting obstacles in the way. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Friday slammed global powers for ignoring the plight of Palestinians facing starvation in Gaza, calling the crisis a 'moral failure' that exposes a breakdown in global solidarity. 'I cannot explain the level of indifference and inaction we see by too many in the international community, the lack of compassion, the lack of truth, the lack of humanity,' Mr Guterres said in a video address to Amnesty International's global assembly. Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday that his country would recognize Palestine as a state. Arab countries praised Mr Macron's decision but it drew sharp criticism from the US and Israel.
The National
a day ago
- The National
Israel's Knesset has become a forum for extremism
To gauge how noxious Israeli politics has become, one need only consider what the past month has been like for Ayman Odeh, the Arab leader of a coalition of leftist parties. The Knesset, Israel's legislature, moved to impeach Mr Odeh for a tweet earlier in the year in which he said he was 'happy for the release of [Israeli] hostages and [Palestinian] prisoners' – the inclusion of both groups in the same sentence apparently too much for his detractors. Parliamentarians voted overwhelmingly – 73 to 14 – for Mr Odeh's expulsion, but a boycott of the session by Ultra-Orthodox parties over an unrelated issue prevented the 90-vote threshold required from being met. Then, last weekend, Mr Odeh was attacked on his way to an anti-war protest in central Israel. His assailants cracked the windshield of his car while he was inside, and chanted 'Death to Arabs'. Police, Mr Odeh says, stood by and did nothing. The silence from his fellow parliamentarians has been deafening. Yet it is little surprise, considering the anti-Arab mood in the Knesset appears to be at a fever pitch. On Wednesday, the legislature voted in favour of a non-binding motion to annex the West Bank, a Palestinian territory whose long-standing occupation by Israeli security forces is illegal under international law. The West Bank is a critical part of historic Palestine and any future Palestinian the vote was overwhelming, with 71 for to 13 against. The Knesset resolution called on the government 'to apply Israeli sovereignty, law, judgement and administration' over large areas where illegal Jewish settlements are present, and noted the entire territory is 'an inseparable part of the land of Israel', to which Israel has a 'natural, historical and legal right'. The anti-Arab mood appears to be at a fever pitch Ten Arab and Islamic countries, along with the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation, released a statement on Thursday roundly condemning the Knesset resolution. The statement, of which the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt were signatories, called the resolution 'a flagrant and unacceptable violation of international law', adding it will 'only fuel the growing tension in the region, exacerbated by the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and the resulting humanitarian catastrophe'. The resolution has been viewed by Israeli politicians as a largely symbolic measure, as it does not carry the force of law. But it is deeply problematic, both as an antagonistic barb against the dignity and rights of Palestinians and as a barometer of public sentiment. While it is true that the statements and votes of Members of the Knesset belie more nuanced public opinion, the picture is still disturbing. A poll conducted by The Jerusalem Post in February found that 35 per cent of Israelis favour a 'Jewish-only state, from the river to the sea'. This would, in effect, include the prospect of annexation of the West Bank and the end of hopes for a Palestinian state. The pro-annexation movement is about much more than territorial claims. It inherently denies Palestinians the right to exist as a national community – it is no coincidence the most prominent supporters of annexing the West Bank apply their logic to Gaza, too. The fact that it has become an ideological staple in the Knesset makes its success as eventual national policy much likelier, and that ought to alarm everyone in the region, as well as Israel's allies in the West. A generalised acceptance of lawlessness and oppression among most of a country's politicians can have concrete consequences. Even if the annexation resolution is symbolic, the violent assault against Mr Odeh was very real.
