Latest news with #DonWilliams
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Israeli Cabinet Approves Netanyahu's Gaza Takeover Plan
00:00 Israel's security cabinet has approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plans to take full control of Gaza City. The move is seen as a final push to topple Hamas and 22 months of fighting in Gaza. Netanyahu told Fox News Channel he intends to hand over Gaza's governance to Arab forces. Well, we don't want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter. We don't want to govern it. We don't want to be there as a governing body. We want to hand it over to our forces that will govern it properly without threatening us and giving Gazans a good life. That's not possible with Hamas. Let's go to Jerusalem now and speak to Bloomberg's Don Williams. So the Israeli prime minister is describing this as a military operation, not an occupation. And yet Israel still effectively controls around 70% of the Gaza Strip. Why this latest push into Gaza City done? To hear the Israelis tell it, it's the end, or at least the beginning of the end of this war. Israel's longest of Hamas, at least in terms of Hamas being an armed governing group in the Gaza Strip. It's worth noting that this war really has been a strain on Israel's conscript military, on its economy. It's plunged Palestinians in Gaza into unprecedented humanitarian distress, and it's tested the patience even of Israel's best friends abroad in the region, in Western Europe and the United States. So it would appear now that the two choices were either for Israel to capitulate in terms of giving up on its Cold War goals, of retrieving the 50 hostages while eliminating Hamas, or to press ahead into this last patch of Gaza land in order to crush Hamas militarily. Now, there was a ten hour cabinet meeting that took place, which tells you that the meeting itself was pretty fraud. But I want to ask you about broader Israeli public opinion. It was notable this week that the Israeli, a former Israeli military chief, actually cautioned against pushing further militarily into the Gaza Strip. You had the leader of the opposition, Yair Lapid, yesterday saying most of the nation is in behind you. The people of Israel don't want this war. We will bear heavy costs for it. How is this likely to go down amongst the Israeli public? Not well for at least six months now. Polls have shown that a majority of Israelis want the war ended with a negotiated deal to return the hostages, even if that means leaving Hamas standing. That's in stark opposition to what Netanyahu and his religious nationalist government have been pursuing here. The prime minister has written off those poll findings saying they're either inaccurate or that Israelis don't understand the implications, the ramifications of leaving Hamas around. This is an organization which is deemed a terrorist group by much of the West. It began this war with an attack on Israel that was Israel's worst, in fact, the worst the bloodiest day for Jews since World War Two. There's a matter here not just of national security, but also of national honor in terms of finishing the war where it began, Netanyahu can claim to have seriously set back Hamas allies in Lebanon, Iran, Syria, But we're now back to Gaza to square one. And he seems determined to be able to declare victory there. Yeah. Despite a lot of pressure from the international community, something that we've been talking about on this show the last few weeks, the real push out of many European states and other countries around the world to move towards the recognition of a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly come September. But the big one is the US. And the question here is, does Netanyahu have the explicit or even the implicit support of the United States for this operation? I know you spoke to the US ambassador to Israel earlier this week. Indeed, I would say it's explicit. Trump himself has said he's fed up with Hamas. He's expressed horror at the treatment of the hostages as 50 hostages, or at least the 20, he believes still are still alive in Hamas captivity. And indeed, the Americans appear to have built up a kind of tag team relationship with Israel, whereby Israel does the fighting and the United States does the feeding. What I mean by that is there is this new substitute humanitarian aid system in Gaza known as the F. It had a tricky rollout. There have been issues with safety for aid seekers and now it appears the Americans want to quadruple its output in concert with the Israeli moves into the remaining 25% of the Gaza Strip. So we can expect to see civilians that are evacuated or dislocated from Gaza, from Gaza City being invited to new Jewish centers to be tended to, at least when it comes to staple foods and the like, something the allies hope will allow will smooth over what's found to be a very, very rough patch of this war.
The Herald Scotland
02-08-2025
- The Herald Scotland
Dorset's best place to spot dolphins is Old Harry Rocks
There's no exact time of year the aquatic mammals can be seen off the coast of Dorset, with advice ranging from late spring to early autumn. However, a few spots have been recommended by enthusiasts and experts as being someone's best options to go to. Two of these are Durlston Head and Old Harry Rocks, which are high above sea level and give visitors a greater visibility range to potentially see dolphins. Dolphins are occasionally spotted off Dorset's coast (Image: Don Williams/Camera Club) Why are Durlston Head and Old Harry Rocks Dorset's best places to see dolphins? Durlston Head is situated within Durlston Country Park and is about 30 metres above sea level, according to its website. Dolphins can be spotted up to one mile offshore from here, and the organisation encourages visitors to report sightings. It adds: "Shoals of fish, that have attracted a group of diving sea birds, may draw in dolphins. "Look out for the dorsal fin of dolphins as they briefly come to the surface to breathe [sic]." Meanwhile, on the southern end of Studland Bay, you can find Old Harry Rocks, which is a chalk formation of cliffs. Pods of bottlenose dolphins have been seen close to Old Harry Rocks and Durlston Head (Image: Rebecca Cooke/Camera Club) Visit Dorset adds: "The chalk formations are popularly known as Old Harry Rocks, but the name Old Harry actually refers to the single stack of chalk standing furthest out to sea." The route leading to the area is popular with both walkers and cyclists and is part of the South West Coast Path. According to the Swanage tourism website, pods of bottlenose dolphins can occasionally be spotted in the sea around the formations. What do visitors think of Old Harry Rocks and Durlston Head? Old Harry Rocks has earned a 4.7/5 score on Tripadvisor from 917 reviews, with many visitors highlighting the views. One person wrote: "Spectacular views close up from cruise ferry. Lovely trip. Unique views which cannot be seen in any other way." Dolphins can be seen off Dorset's coast between late spring and early autumn (Image: Sue Wingett/Camera Club) Another said: "Quite a walk from the car park but definitely worth it for the stunning view. Probably be nice to take a picnic on a nice day to soak it all up." A third shared: "Amazing views. Definitely worth visiting. It is quite a walk from the car park, but worth it. Lots of grassy areas to have a picnic or sit down and relax." Meanwhile, Durlston Country Park has earned a 4.6/5 score on Tripadvisor from 1,240 reviews. Recommended reading: One person wrote: "A hill walker's choice, the sights over Swanage and the English Channel are spectacular, a visit to Durlston Park & the Castle was very educational. "The icing on the cake was the display from the passing Dolphins sighted from Durlston Head." Another shared: "A nice easy walk along the coast path from Swanage, stunning sea views along the route and great places to take pictures from Durlston Head."
