
Second ultra-Orthodox party quits Israeli cabinet
The Shas party said it was abandoning the cabinet to protest against MPs' failure to guarantee future exemption from military service for religious students.
"Shas representatives ... find with a heavy heart that they cannot stay in the government and be a part of it," the group said in a statement, a day after the United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party also announced its walkout.
However, unlike the UTJ, a Shas spokesman said the party was not leaving the parliamentary coalition, leaving Netanyahu with a razor-thin majority.
The move means Netanyahu does not face early elections, nor does it undermine his efforts to secure a possible Gaza Strip ceasefire.
Israel's parliament starts a three-month summer recess on July 27, giving Netanyahu time to try to resolve the long-standing problem over whether ultra-Orthodox students should continue to be exempt from military service.
UTJ has seven seats in the Knesset, the 120-seat Israeli parliament, while Shas holds 11.
The issue of conscripting highly religious Israeli men into the military has been a long-standing point of tension for Netanyahu's nationalist religious coalition.
It has returned to the agenda due to the war in the Gaza Strip, with commanders warning of an urgent shortage of combat-ready soldiers.
While members of ultra-Orthodox communities have been exempt from compulsory military service for decades, the exemption expired last year, and the government did not pass a new law to cement the special status.
The Supreme Court issued a judgement last year that ultra-Orthodox Jewish men must be conscripted into military service.
Many ultra-Orthodox Jews see military service as a threat to their pious lifestyle, partly because women and men serve together.
with DPA
An ultra-Orthodox party has quit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet following a similar move earlier this week but left the door open to return if a dispute over military conscription is resolved.
The Shas party said it was abandoning the cabinet to protest against MPs' failure to guarantee future exemption from military service for religious students.
"Shas representatives ... find with a heavy heart that they cannot stay in the government and be a part of it," the group said in a statement, a day after the United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party also announced its walkout.
However, unlike the UTJ, a Shas spokesman said the party was not leaving the parliamentary coalition, leaving Netanyahu with a razor-thin majority.
The move means Netanyahu does not face early elections, nor does it undermine his efforts to secure a possible Gaza Strip ceasefire.
Israel's parliament starts a three-month summer recess on July 27, giving Netanyahu time to try to resolve the long-standing problem over whether ultra-Orthodox students should continue to be exempt from military service.
UTJ has seven seats in the Knesset, the 120-seat Israeli parliament, while Shas holds 11.
The issue of conscripting highly religious Israeli men into the military has been a long-standing point of tension for Netanyahu's nationalist religious coalition.
It has returned to the agenda due to the war in the Gaza Strip, with commanders warning of an urgent shortage of combat-ready soldiers.
While members of ultra-Orthodox communities have been exempt from compulsory military service for decades, the exemption expired last year, and the government did not pass a new law to cement the special status.
The Supreme Court issued a judgement last year that ultra-Orthodox Jewish men must be conscripted into military service.
Many ultra-Orthodox Jews see military service as a threat to their pious lifestyle, partly because women and men serve together.
with DPA
An ultra-Orthodox party has quit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet following a similar move earlier this week but left the door open to return if a dispute over military conscription is resolved.
The Shas party said it was abandoning the cabinet to protest against MPs' failure to guarantee future exemption from military service for religious students.
"Shas representatives ... find with a heavy heart that they cannot stay in the government and be a part of it," the group said in a statement, a day after the United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party also announced its walkout.
However, unlike the UTJ, a Shas spokesman said the party was not leaving the parliamentary coalition, leaving Netanyahu with a razor-thin majority.
The move means Netanyahu does not face early elections, nor does it undermine his efforts to secure a possible Gaza Strip ceasefire.
Israel's parliament starts a three-month summer recess on July 27, giving Netanyahu time to try to resolve the long-standing problem over whether ultra-Orthodox students should continue to be exempt from military service.
UTJ has seven seats in the Knesset, the 120-seat Israeli parliament, while Shas holds 11.
The issue of conscripting highly religious Israeli men into the military has been a long-standing point of tension for Netanyahu's nationalist religious coalition.
It has returned to the agenda due to the war in the Gaza Strip, with commanders warning of an urgent shortage of combat-ready soldiers.
While members of ultra-Orthodox communities have been exempt from compulsory military service for decades, the exemption expired last year, and the government did not pass a new law to cement the special status.
The Supreme Court issued a judgement last year that ultra-Orthodox Jewish men must be conscripted into military service.
Many ultra-Orthodox Jews see military service as a threat to their pious lifestyle, partly because women and men serve together.
with DPA
An ultra-Orthodox party has quit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet following a similar move earlier this week but left the door open to return if a dispute over military conscription is resolved.
The Shas party said it was abandoning the cabinet to protest against MPs' failure to guarantee future exemption from military service for religious students.
"Shas representatives ... find with a heavy heart that they cannot stay in the government and be a part of it," the group said in a statement, a day after the United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party also announced its walkout.
However, unlike the UTJ, a Shas spokesman said the party was not leaving the parliamentary coalition, leaving Netanyahu with a razor-thin majority.
The move means Netanyahu does not face early elections, nor does it undermine his efforts to secure a possible Gaza Strip ceasefire.
Israel's parliament starts a three-month summer recess on July 27, giving Netanyahu time to try to resolve the long-standing problem over whether ultra-Orthodox students should continue to be exempt from military service.
UTJ has seven seats in the Knesset, the 120-seat Israeli parliament, while Shas holds 11.
The issue of conscripting highly religious Israeli men into the military has been a long-standing point of tension for Netanyahu's nationalist religious coalition.
It has returned to the agenda due to the war in the Gaza Strip, with commanders warning of an urgent shortage of combat-ready soldiers.
While members of ultra-Orthodox communities have been exempt from compulsory military service for decades, the exemption expired last year, and the government did not pass a new law to cement the special status.
The Supreme Court issued a judgement last year that ultra-Orthodox Jewish men must be conscripted into military service.
Many ultra-Orthodox Jews see military service as a threat to their pious lifestyle, partly because women and men serve together.
with DPA
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The Age
7 hours ago
- The Age
Trucks start moving towards border crossing as Israel airdrops aid on Gaza
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Parents have shown their limp and emaciated children. Wounded men have described desperate dashes for aid under gunfire. It wasn't clear what role the recently created and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation — meant as an alternate to the United Nations aid system — might play. GHF chair Johnnie Moore in a statement said the group stood ready to assist. Some aid leaders say the air drops will not be enough, however, to meet the needs of Gaza's population and could prove dangerous. The head of UN Palestinian refugee agency Unrwa, Philippe Lazzarini, said air drops were 'expensive, inefficient, and can even kill starving civilians' if they do not go to plan. Australians on seized vessel Meanwhile, an activist vessel on which two Australians were on board was also seized by Israeli forces off the coast of Gaza on Sunday morning (AEST). The Handala set off from Italy last week for Gaza with food and other humanitarian aid supplies but was 'violently intercepted by the Israeli military in international waters about forty nautical miles from Gaza', the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said a statement. 'At 11.43 Palestine time, the Occupation cut the cameras on board Handala and we have lost all communication with our ship,' it said in a statement. 'The unarmed boat was carrying life-saving supplies when it was boarded by Israeli forces, its passengers abducted, and its cargo seized. The interception occurred in international waters outside Palestinian territorial waters off Gaza, in violation of international maritime law.' Livestreamed footage from the boat showed Israeli military personnel on board and crew members sitting down with their hands up. Australians Robert Martin and Tania 'Tan' Safi are among the 21 human rights activists from 12 countries on the boat. Its seizure was confirmed by Israel's foreign ministry, which said it had been intercepted to prevent it 'illegally entering the maritime zone of the coast of Gaza'. 'The vessel is safely making its way to the shores of Israel,' the foreign ministry said. 'All passengers are safe.' Safi posted on social media earlier on Sunday. 'Just in case this is my last post for a while, know that I'm OK. Know that Palestinian children in Gaza are not,' she said. Loading In a later video message, she said: 'I've been abducted and taken against my will by the Israeli military. 'I appeal to everyone to put pressure on the Australian government to sanction Israel, to stop their participation in Israel's war crimes, and to demand my release as well as the release of everyone aboard the Handala as soon as possible.' Another ship on which Swedish activist Greta Thunberg was on board was stopped near Gaza last month and Thunberg was deported by Israel. The Handala was carrying aid including baby formula, diapers, food, and medicine. At least 53 killed Israeli airstrikes and gunshots killed at least 53 people in Gaza overnight and into Saturday, most of them shot dead while seeking aid, according to Palestinian health officials and the local ambulance service. Deadly Israeli gunfire was reported twice close to the Zikim crossing with Israel in the north. In the first incident, at least a dozen people waiting for aid trucks were killed, said staff at Shifa hospital, where bodies were taken. Israel's military said it fired warning shots to distance a crowd 'in response to an immediate threat.' A witness, Sherif Abu Aisha, said people started running when they saw a light that they thought was from aid trucks, but as they got close, they realised it was Israel's tanks. That's when the army started firing, he told The Associated Press. He said his uncle was among those killed. 'We went because there is no food ... and nothing was distributed,' he said. On Saturday evening, Israeli forces killed at least 11 people and wounded 120 others when they fired towards crowds who tried to get food from an entering UN convoy, Dr Mohamed Abu Selmiyah, director of Shifa hospital, told the AP. 'We are expecting the numbers to surge in the next few hours,' he said. There was no immediate military comment. AP video showed a group of weary Palestinian men carrying a body along with sacks of flour. They said he was hit by a truck but had no details. 'You die to fetch some food for your children,' said one man, Fayez Abu Riyala, thin and sweating. In the southern city of Khan Younis, Israeli forces shot dead at least nine people trying to get aid entering through the Morag corridor, according to the hospital's morgue records. There was no immediate military comment. 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About 600 trucks entered per day during the latest ceasefire that Israel ended in March. Israel faces growing international pressure. More than two dozen Western-aligned countries and over 100 charity and human rights groups have called for an end to the war, harshly criticising Israel's blockade and a new aid delivery model it has rolled out. More than 1000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while trying to get food, mostly near the new aid sites run by the GHF, an American contractor, the UN human rights office says. The charities and rights groups said their own staff struggled to get enough food. Inside Gaza, children with no preexisting conditions have begun to starve to death. 'We only want enough food to end our hunger,' said Wael Shaaban at a charity kitchen in Gaza City as he tried to feed his family of six. Stalled ceasefire talks Ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas were at a standstill after the US and Israel recalled negotiating teams on Thursday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday his government was considering 'alternative options' to talks. A Hamas official, however, said negotiations were expected to resume next week and called the delegations' recall a pressure tactic. Egypt and Qatar, which mediate alongside the United States, said talks would resume but did not say when. 'Our loved ones do not have time for another round of negotiations, and they will not survive another partial deal,' said Zahiro Shahar Mor, nephew of hostage Avraham Munder, one of 50 still in Gaza from Hamas' attack on October 7, 2023, that sparked the war. Mor spoke at a weekly rally in Tel Aviv. Loading More than 59,700 Palestinians have been killed during the war, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says that more than half of the dead are women and children. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The UN and other international organisations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.


7NEWS
11 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Two Australians among civilians on Gaza-bound aid ship Handala intercepted by Israel
Two Australians were among a group of civilisations detained by Israeli forces after the vessel they were travelling on, which was carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, was intercepted. The Handala, operated by members of the Pro-Palestine group, was intercepted by Israel in international waters about forty nautical miles from Gaza on Saturday night. Of the 21 civilians on board were Australians Robert Martin, a human rights activist, and journalist Tania 'Tan' Safi. In a video posted to social media before the vessel was intercepted, Martin said the boat was too close to Gaza for the Israeli military to allow it to continue any further. 'We've also heard through Al Jazeera and a few other news agencies that they've actually been told that if we do not stop and go back they will have to act and deal with us,' he said. 'We're not sure what that means. But to the world if something happens, we were trying to shine the light on what's going on in Palestine and particularly Gaza. If something happens, it shows what Israel's all about.' The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told it was aware of two Australians on board the intercepted ship. 'Our officials in Tel Aviv are liaising with authorities, and consular officers stand ready to offer assistance to affected Australians,' a spokesperson said. According to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) Israel intercepted the boat in international waters outside Palestinian territorial waters off Gaza, a violation of international maritime law. It said those on board were 'abducted' and its cargo was seized. The ship was carrying aid such as baby formula, diapers, food and medicine for Palestinians in Gaza who have been unable to access supplies due to Israel's blockade. Ann Wright, a member of FFC's steering committee, said Israel had no authority to detain international civilians on the boat. 'This is not a matter of internal Israeli jurisdiction,' she said. 'These are foreign nationals operating under international law in international waters. Their detention is arbitrary, unlawful, and must end.' A YouTube livestream on board the ship showed armed personnel boarding the vessel, while the activists on the deck, all wearing life jackets, held their hands in the air in surrender. One of the helmeted personnel appears to manipulate the camera streaming on the deck, turning it around. The stream ended soon after that. Israel's foreign ministry confirmed in a statement on X that the 'Israeli navy has stopped the vessel Navarn from illegally entering the maritime zone of the coast of Gaza,' using the Handala's original name. 'The vessel is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. All passengers are safe,' the statement continued. 'Unauthorised attempts to breach the blockade are dangerous, unlawful, and undermine ongoing humanitarian efforts.' The Handala, named for a famous Palestinian cartoon character, is part of the FFC, which has attempted numerous times to break Israel's blockade on Gaza via sea and deliver aid to Palestinians there. Last month, another FFC Gaza-bound aid ship carrying Greta Thunberg was intercepted by Israeli forces.

ABC News
12 hours ago
- ABC News
Israeli troops board Gaza-bound activist boat in international waters, two Australians onboard
Israeli troops have boarded an aid ship being sailed towards Gaza by the activist group Freedom Flotilla, taking its crew into custody, including two Australians. The ship had been on course to try to break an Israeli naval blockade of the territory, where starvation is taking hold among the Palestinian population in what the World Health Organization has labelled a man-made crisis. In a message on social media, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition declared the ship, named the Handala, had been "attacked by the Israeli occupation in international waters". "The 'Handala' was operating under international law, outside of Israeli jurisdiction, carrying parliamentarians, labour leaders, journalists, lawyers, and organisers," the group wrote in a later post. An online tracking tool set up to plot the Handala's course showed its position as roughly 50 kilometres from the Egyptian coast and 100 kilometres west of Gaza when it was intercepted, which would place the ship well outside Israel's territorial waters. The Israeli foreign ministry confirmed the Israeli navy had boarded the ship, releasing a statement saying the Navarn — an alternative name for the Handala — had been stopped from "illegally entering the maritime zone of the coast of Gaza". "The vessel is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. All passengers are safe," the ministry posted on X. Israel had earlier vowed to enforce its blockade of Gaza, and its statement confirming the ship's boarding said attempts to breach the blockade were "dangerous, unlawful, and undermine ongoing humanitarian efforts". A live stream of the ship's voyage being broadcast by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition showed the crew of activists sitting on deck, holding their hands up and whistling the Italian anti-fascist song Bella Ciao as the soldiers took control of the vessel. The video feeds were cut minutes later. Among the 21 people onboard the ship — which included 19 activists from 12 countries, plus two journalists from Al-Jazeera — were two Australians, Tan Safi and Robert Martin. Freedom Flotilla released pre-recorded video statements from the pair after the ship was boarded. "I've been abducted and taken against my will by the Israeli military, or forces of a country that enables, profits from or protects Israel's genocide and starvation of Palestinians in Gaza," Safi said in their statement. Also on board the ship were two French parliamentarians, Emma Fourreau and Gabrielle Cathala. Their party leader, Jean-Luc Melenchon of France Unbowed (LFI), condemned Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and demanded that the French government take action. "Netanyahu's thugs boarded Handala. They attack 21 unarmed people in territorial waters where they have no right. A kidnapping in which two French parliamentarians are victims," he posted on X. The last boat sent by the Freedom Flotilla, the Madleen, was intercepted by the Israeli navy in international waters on June 9 and towed to the Israeli port of Ashdod. It carried 12 campaigners, including prominent Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who was eventually expelled from Israel. The Handala's crew said in a post on X that they would go on a hunger strike if the Israeli army intercepted the boat and detained its passengers. AFP/ABC