Trump demands Israel pardons ‘great hero' Netanyahu, or abandons corruption case against him
Donald Trump demanded that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be pardoned or his trial abandoned.
Israeli President Issac Herzog has the power to pardon Netanyahu.
Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, are accused of accepting more than $260 000 worth of luxury goods in exchange for political favours.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for Israel to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or cancel his trial on corruption charges.
Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 in Israel on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust - all of which Netanyahu denies.
The trial began in 2020 and involves three criminal cases. He has pleaded not guilty.
'Bibi Netanyahu's trial should be CANCELLED, IMMEDIATELY, or a Pardon given to a Great Hero, who has done so much for the State (of Israel),' Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that he had learned that Netanyahu was due to appear in court on Monday.
Israeli media have reported that cross-examination of Netanyahu began on 3 June in a Tel Aviv court and was expected to take about a year to complete.
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Israeli President Issac Herzog has the power to pardon Netanyahu but has been quoted by Israeli media as saying that a pardon is 'not currently on the table'.
He also said that 'no such request had been made', according to the reports.
Trump extolled Netanyahu and said in his post: 'It was the United States of America that saved Israel, and now it is going to be the United States of America that saves Bibi Netanyahu.'
That appeared to be a reference to US involvement and support for Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear programme.
READ | US slaps sanctions on ICC judges in 'clear attempt to undermine' actions against Netanyahu, Israel
Trump announced a ceasefire on Monday.
It was unclear if Trump meant the US could do anything to aid Netanyahu in his legal battle.The Republican president described the case against the Israeli leader as a 'witch hunt', a term Trump has frequently applied to US attempts to prosecute him.
The warm words contrasted with the rare rebuke he issued on Tuesday over Israel's post-ceasefire strikes on Iran.
Israel, as soon as we made the deal, they came out and they dropped a load of bombs, the likes of which I've never seen before. The biggest load that we've seen. I'm not happy with Israel.
Donald Trump
Iran and Israel, he added, had been fighting 'so long and so hard that they don't know what the fuck they're doing'.
AFP reported that Netanyahu's trial has been delayed many times since it began in May 2020, with the Israeli leader requesting postponements due to the war in Gaza and later conflict in Lebanon.
In a first case, Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, are accused of accepting more than $260 000 worth of luxury goods such as cigars, jewellery and champagne from billionaires in exchange for political favours.
Two other cases allege that Netanyahu attempted to negotiate more favourable coverage in two Israeli media outlets.
Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing.
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An Israeli strike kills 18 Palestinians in central Gaza as turmoil mounts over food distribution
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli strike hit a street in central Gaza on Thursday where witnesses said a crowd of people was getting bags of flour from a Palestinian police unit that had confiscated the goods from gangs looting aid convoys. Hospital officials said 18 people were killed. The strike was the latest violence surrounding the distribution of food to Gaza's population, which has been thrown into turmoil over the past month. After blocking all food for 2 1/2 months, Israel has allowed only a trickle of supplies into the territory since mid-May. Efforts by the United Nations to distribute the food have been plagued by armed gangs looting trucks and by crowds of desperate people offloading supplies from convoys. The strike in the central town of Deir al-Balah on Thursday appeared to target members of Sahm, a security unit tasked with stopping looters and cracking down on merchants who sell stolen aid at high prices. The unit is part of Gaza's Hamas-led Interior Ministry, but includes members of other factions. A horrific scene Witnesses said the Sahm unit was distributing bags of flour and other goods confiscated from looters and corrupt merchants, drawing a crowd when the strike hit. Video of the aftermath showed bodies, several torn, of multiple young men in the street with blood splattering on the pavement and walls of buildings. The dead included a child and at least seven Sahmt members, according to the nearby Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital where casualties were taken. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Israel has accused the militant Hamas group of stealing aid and using it to prop up its rule in the enclave. Israeli forces have repeatedly struck Gaza's police, considering them a branch of Hamas. An association of Gaza's influential clans and tribes said Wednesday they have started an independent effort to guard aid convoys to prevent looting. The National Gathering of Palestinian Clans and Tribes said it helped escort a rare shipment of flour that entered northern Gaza that evening. It was unclear, however, if the association had coordinated with the U.N. or Israeli authorities. The World Food Program did not immediately respond to requests for comment by The Associated Press. 'We will no longer allow thieves to steal from the convoys for the merchants and force us to buy them for high prices,' Abu Ahmad al-Gharbawi, a figure involved in the tribal effort, told the AP. Accusations from Israel Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz in a joint statement Wednesday accused Hamas of stealing aid that is entering northern Gaza, and called on the Israeli military to plan to prevent it. The National Gathering slammed the statement, saying the accusation of theft was aimed at justifying the Israeli military's 'aggressive practices.' It said aid was 'fully secured' by the tribes, which it said were committed to delivering the supplies to the population. The move by tribes to protect aid convoys brings yet another player in an aid situation that has become fragmented, confused and violent, even as Gaza's more than 2 million Palestinians struggle to feed their families. Throughout the more than 20-month-old war, the U.N. led the massive aid operation by humanitarian groups providing food, shelter, medicine and other goods to Palestinians even amid the fighting. U.N. and other aid groups say that when significant amounts of supplies are allowed into Gaza, looting and theft dwindles. Israel, however, seeks to replace the U.N.-led system, saying Hamas has been siphoning off large amounts of supplies from it, a claim the U.N. and other aid groups deny. Israel has backed an American private contractor, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has started distributing food boxes at four locations, mainly in the far south of Gaza for the past month. Thousands of Palestinians walk for hours to reach the hubs, moving through Israeli military zones where witnesses say Israeli troops regularly open fire with heavy barrages to control the crowds. Health officials say hundreds of people have been killed and wounded. The Israeli military says it has only fired warning shots. A trickle of aid Israel has continued to allow a smaller number of aid trucks into Gaza for U.N. distribution. The World Health Organization said on Thursday it had been able to deliver its first medical shipment into Gaza since March 2, with nine trucks bringing blood, plasma and other supplies to Nasser Hospital, the biggest hospital still functioning in southern Gaza. In Gaza City, large crowds gathered Thursday at an aid distribution point to receive bags of flour from the convoy that arrived the previous evening, according to photos taken by a cameraman collaborating with the AP. Hiba Khalil, a mother of seven, said she can't afford looted aid that is sold in markets for astronomical prices and was relieved to get flour for the first time in months. 'We've waited for months without having flour or eating much and our children would always cry,' she said. Another woman, Umm Alaa Mekdad, said she hoped more convoys would make it through after struggling to deal with looters. 'The gangs used to take our shares and the shares of our children who slept hungry and thirsty," she said. Separately, Israeli strikes overnight and early Thursday killed at least 28 people across the Gaza Strip, according to the territory's Health Ministry. 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41 minutes ago
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An Israeli strike kills 18 Palestinians in central Gaza as turmoil mounts over food distribution
The strike in the central town of Deir al-Balah on Thursday appeared to target members of Sahm, a security unit tasked with stopping looters and cracking down on merchants who sell stolen aid at high prices. The unit is part of Gaza's Hamas-led Interior Ministry, but includes members of other factions. A horrific scene Advertisement Witnesses said the Sahm unit was distributing bags of flour and other goods confiscated from looters and corrupt merchants, drawing a crowd when the strike hit. Video of the aftermath showed bodies, several torn, of multiple young men in the street with blood splattering on the pavement and walls of buildings. The dead included a child and at least seven Sahmt members, according to the nearby Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital where casualties were taken. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Israel has accused the militant Hamas group of stealing aid and using it to prop up its rule in the enclave. Israeli forces have repeatedly struck Gaza's police, considering them a branch of Hamas. Advertisement An association of Gaza's influential clans and tribes said Wednesday they have started an independent effort to guard aid convoys to prevent looting. The National Gathering of Palestinian Clans and Tribes said it helped escort a rare shipment of flour that entered northern Gaza that evening. It was unclear, however, if the association had coordinated with the U.N. or Israeli authorities. The World Food Program did not immediately respond to requests for comment by The Associated Press. 'We will no longer allow thieves to steal from the convoys for the merchants and force us to buy them for high prices,' Abu Ahmad al-Gharbawi, a figure involved in the tribal effort, told the AP. Accusations from Israel Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz in a joint statement Wednesday accused Hamas of stealing aid that is entering northern Gaza, and called on the Israeli military to plan to prevent it. The National Gathering slammed the statement, saying the accusation of theft was aimed at justifying the Israeli military's 'aggressive practices.' It said aid was 'fully secured' by the tribes, which it said were committed to delivering the supplies to the population. The move by tribes to protect aid convoys brings yet another player in an aid situation that has become fragmented, confused and violent, even as Gaza's more than 2 million Palestinians struggle to feed their families. Throughout the more than 20-month-old war, the U.N. led the massive aid operation by humanitarian groups providing food, shelter, medicine and other goods to Palestinians even amid the fighting. U.N. and other aid groups say that when significant amounts of supplies are allowed into Gaza, looting and theft dwindles. Advertisement Israel, however, seeks to replace the U.N.-led system, saying Hamas has been siphoning off large amounts of supplies from it, a claim the U.N. and other aid groups deny. Israel has backed an American private contractor, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has started distributing food boxes at four locations, mainly in the far south of Gaza for the past month. Thousands of Palestinians walk for hours to reach the hubs, moving through Israeli military zones where witnesses say Israeli troops regularly open fire with heavy barrages to control the crowds. Health officials say hundreds of people have been killed and wounded. The Israeli military says it has only fired warning shots. A trickle of aid Israel has continued to allow a smaller number of aid trucks into Gaza for U.N. distribution. The World Health Organization said on Thursday it had been able to deliver its first medical shipment into Gaza since March 2, with nine trucks bringing blood, plasma and other supplies to Nasser Hospital, the biggest hospital still functioning in southern Gaza. In Gaza City, large crowds gathered Thursday at an aid distribution point to receive bags of flour from the convoy that arrived the previous evening, according to photos taken by a cameraman collaborating with the AP. Hiba Khalil, a mother of seven, said she can't afford looted aid that is sold in markets for astronomical prices and was relieved to get flour for the first time in months. 'We've waited for months without having flour or eating much and our children would always cry,' she said. Advertisement Another woman, Umm Alaa Mekdad, said she hoped more convoys would make it through after struggling to deal with looters. 'The gangs used to take our shares and the shares of our children who slept hungry and thirsty,' she said. Separately, Israeli strikes overnight and early Thursday killed at least 28 people across the Gaza Strip, according to the territory's Health Ministry. More than 20 dead arrived at Gaza City's Shifa Hospital, while the bodies of eight others were taken to Nasser Hospital in the south.
