Syrian, Israeli ministers will hold a meeting in Baku on Thursday: Diplomat
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Arab News
6 minutes ago
- Arab News
Is a desperate Netanyahu plotting an early election?
Most people look forward to their summer break, and this year no one more so than Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. His options for traveling abroad are somewhat limited, either because of the International Criminal Court arrest warrant that hangs over his head, or, more generally, his unsurprising lack of popularity in the face of the horrific images beamed around the world of starvation in Gaza. Still, the summer brings two blessings to the Israeli leader. First, the Knesset has broken up for its recess, giving him nearly three months of breathing space from managing his crooked coalition, which ranges from misfits to warmongers, to plot his next chapter of political survival, and with it the possibility of an early general election. Second, it is also a seasonal break for the courts, and hence for his corruption trial on charges of fraud, bribery, and breach of trust — with a looming prosecution cross-examination likely to leave him shifting uncomfortably in his seat. Israel, meanwhile, is desperate for a general election, one that polls suggest would bring about a new and very different government. By law, the latest date for holding that election is October of next year, but with the never-ending catalog of horrific damage the Netanyahu government and its bunch of extreme nationalists and populists are inflicting on it, the country just does not have the luxury of waiting for more than a year before these merchants of destruction are sent packing. While Israel is still at war in Gaza and on other unresolved fronts, Netanyahu has entangled himself in the web of lies and deceit he is offering to the entire nation, to his political partners, and to international friends and foes, which has made it crystal clear that the interest of the country comes second to that of his political survival. It is especially disturbing, while pressure is mounting from abroad to stop the war in Gaza, or at least alleviate the humanitarian disaster there, that he and his government are mainly responsible for this conflict. Even at the best of times, the composition of the current Israeli government was always bound to polarize the nation and aggravate relations with the wider world. Its intemperate agenda of undermining the very foundations of Israeli democracy has torn Israeli society apart while sending a message of weakness to its enemies — first and foremost Hamas — that was a significant contributory factor in the launch of the Oct. 7 attack. What has happened since then has exposed a weak prime minister who formed a coalition with the sole aim of serving his legal and political interests, which have become inseparably intertwined with horrendous consequences. Since no party in Israel's history has ever won an absolute majority in a general election, the leading party and the prime minister have always relied on good working relations with its coalition partners. However, this edition comes to the world born in sin, as the participants were the only ones prepared to form a coalition led by a defendant in a corruption trial, unashamedly knowing that this might be the only chance they ever get to wield excessive political power at the heart of government, with a prime minister who is susceptible to blackmail because of his desperation to stay in power and out of jail. Israel has angered some of its closest allies. Yossi Mekelberg However, between their extremism and incompetence, it was just a matter of time before interests and egos would clash and unsettle the coalition. One of the issues that is an open wound in Israeli society is the draft, more accurately the avoidance of the draft by ultra-Orthodox youth, ostensibly to allow them to study in rabbinical seminaries, or yeshivot. What began back at the early days of the nascent Jewish state as an exemption for no more than 400 religious scholars has turned into a law that now allows tens of thousands of young ultra-Orthodox to dodge the draft, whether or not they actually immerse themselves in holy scripture. Nothing angers the rest of Jewish society more than carrying the burden and the duty of serving for many years, first as conscripts and then for decades in the reserve force, while their fellow ultra-Orthodox are exempt, and in addition are living on generous state handouts from the taxes paid by the rest of the society, those who actually bother to get up in the morning and do meaningful work which benefits a modern economy. Since the High Court of Justice ordered the government to address by law this controversial inequality, which the government failed to do, it meant that not drafting ultra-Orthodox to the military became illegal. The brazen and frantic attempts in recent weeks to pass a bill in the middle of a war merely to prevent the ultra-Orthodox leaving the coalition failed. But Netanyahu was prepared to sacrifice a political ally in a key position: Yuli Edelstein, the chair of the Knesset's all-powerful foreign policy and security committee. Edelstein, who opposed the bill, was replaced by one of Netanyahu's psychopaths, simply to appease the ultra-Orthodox United Torah and Shas parties, despite both leaving the coalition. This at a time when the chiefs of the military are telling the prime minister that in light of the exhaustion of both the regular and reserve army, let alone the loss of soldiers, there is an urgent need for an extra 10,000 troops. But it does not stop there. Continuing this war, which is having a dwindling military return, is about satisfying the extreme right-wing partners in the coalition, who are still pursuing the illusion of total victory, the occupation of Gaza, and the building of new settlements there. The price is being paid by more than 2 million Palestinians who live in the enclave, many of whom are suffering dreadfully from the ills of the war, including starvation, and by the hostages languishing in Hamas tunnels. By inflicting an inhumane famine on Gaza, Israel has also angered some of its closest allies, who rightly demand that humanitarian aid be allowed to reach the Strip. It has also led countries such as France, the UK, and Canada, among others, to launch moves to recognize Palestinian statehood, something that Netanyahu has spent his entire political career attempting to thwart. In the twilight of his political life, entangled in legal turbulence, leading a failed government that is presiding over the worst period in the country's history, and losing his ability to manipulate his coalition partners, Netanyahu now appears to be plotting yet another election campaign. But this time he will have to defend a record that even this master spinner of Israeli politics will find hard to justify. • Yossi Mekelberg is a professor of international relations and an associate fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House. X: @YMekelberg
Al Arabiya
36 minutes ago
- Al Arabiya
Hezbollah chief says missiles will fall on Israel if it resumes war on Lebanon
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem threatened Israel directly for the first time in months in a televised speech on Tuesday, saying missiles would fall on it if it resumed a broad war on Lebanon. His comments came as Lebanon's cabinet met to discuss the fate of Hezbollah's arsenal, after Washington pressured Lebanese officials to commit to disarming the Iran-backed group and amid fears that Israel could intensify strikes if they fail to do so. Qassem said that, should Israel engage in a 'large-scale aggression' against Lebanon, Hezbollah, Lebanon's army and Lebanon's people would defend themselves. 'This defense will lead to missiles falling inside the Israeli entity, and all the security they have built over eight months will collapse within an hour,' he said. A US-brokered ceasefire in November brought an end to months of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel. The war killed much of Hezbollah's leadership – including Qassem's predecessor Hassan Nasrallah – and destroyed much of its arsenal. Qassem said the war had killed 5,000 Hezbollah fighters and wounded 13,000, the first official toll the group has given. But he said the organization remained in good order, with fighters ready to make 'the harshest sacrifices' if needed. Minutes after he spoke, dozens of men on motorcycles carrying Hezbollah's yellow flags emerged from its strongholds in Beirut's southern suburbs for the second day in a row. Washington and Beirut have been in talks since June on a US roadmap to fully disarm Hezbollah in exchange for a halt to Israeli strikes, the withdrawal of Israeli troops still occupying five points in south Lebanon and funds to rebuild areas destroyed by Israeli bombardment during the war. But with little progress on disarmament, Washington's patience began wearing thin and it pressured Lebanon's ministers to swiftly make a public pledge so that talks could continue. Qassem pushed back against the conditions, saying Israel must implement the ceasefire in full by halting its military activities in Lebanon before any other discussion. 'Solve the problem of the (Israeli) aggression, and then we will discuss the issue of the weapons,' he said.
Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
Israeli forces raid Palestinian family's home in north Jerusalem, accompanied by bulldozers
LONDON: Israeli forces on Tuesday raided the home of a Palestinian family in the Bayader area of Hizma, a town north of occupied East Jerusalem. Tear gas was used against residents, resulting in dozens of cases of difficulty breathing among women and children, the Wafa News agency reported. The three-story building that was targeted belongs to the family of detainee Ahmed Fayez Subaih Al-Khatib and is designated for demolition. The Israeli forces arrived, accompanied by bulldozers, just hours before son Fayez Sbeih was due to get married, and gave the family an hour to evacuate, Wafa said. According to local media reports the demolition did not take place, however, as the Subaih family's lawyer filed a legal appeal, and the Israeli forces withdrew about five hours after they arrived. Residents of Hizma have faced repeated attacks by Israeli forces targeting Palestinian areas near Jerusalem, Wafa reported. The town is close to an Israeli military checkpoint and the illegal settlement of Pisgat Zeev. It is next to two main roads leading to Jericho in the south and Ramallah in the north.
