Latest news with #IsraeliParliament
Asharq Al-Awsat
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Israel's Parliament Backs Symbolic Motion to Annex the West Bank
Israeli lawmakers voted 71-13 in favor of the measure, which calls for 'applying Israeli sovereignty to Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley,' the biblical terms for the area. Wednesday's motion, advanced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, is declarative and has no direct legal implications, although it could place the issue of annexation on the agenda of future debates in the parliament. Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. The Palestinians want all three for a future state. Some 3 million Palestinians and over 500,000 Jewish settlers live in the West Bank. Annexation of the West Bank could make it impossible to create a viable Palestinian state alongside Israel, which is seen internationally as the only realistic way to resolve the conflict. Last year, the Israeli parliament approved a similar symbolic motion declaring opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Washington Post
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Israeli opposition leader rallies behind Netanyahu's Iran operation, suspending months of criticism
TEL AVIV, Israel — Roughly 24 hours before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a blistering assault on Iran , Israel's opposition was scheming to bring down his government . Now, just days into the ongoing operation against Iran, the opposition has closed ranks behind the effort, suspending months of bitter criticism against Netanyahu and his handling of the war in Gaza . It's a sharp about-face for a constellation of parties that have criticized Netanyahu throughout the war for what they have charged is his politically motivated decision-making. 'It's not the right moment to do politics,' opposition leader and former Prime Minister Yair Lapid told The Associated Press on Monday in his first international media interview since the start of the operation against Iran. The latest conflict began when Israel launched an assault on Iran's top military leaders, uranium enrichment sites and nuclear scientists that it said was necessary to prevent its longtime adversary from getting any closer to building an atomic weapon — which Israel says would pose an existential threat. Iran maintains that its nuclear program is peaceful. Lapid spoke just days after he called from the dais of the Israeli parliament for an election to oust Netanyahu. 'Yes, this government needs to be toppled, but not in the midst of an existential fight,' Lapid said. And that fight has become personal. His son's home was damaged in an Iranian strike, although no one was there at the time except for house pets. Israeli politicians across the spectrum typically fall in line behind government actions during times of war or crisis. But the deep polarization in the country, much of it fueled by the public's view of Netanyahu, and the loud protests against his rule that preceded the war in Gaza and continued through it make the opposition's change of tack all the more striking. The past 20 months have also been an unprecedented time in Israeli history, with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 — the deadliest the country has ever faced — sparking the war in Gaza. And then a war against the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon and now a major escalation with Iran. Netanyahu, a divisive leader who has governed nearly uninterrupted for 16 years, has been at the helm throughout that period. On trial for alleged corruption and reliant on far-right parties to maintain his power, he has stoked accusations that he's prolonging the war in Gaza to appease his governing partners and delay an election that could put an end to his rule. While Netanyahu says he's acting in Israel's best interest, opposition parties, including Lapid's Yesh Atid, have hit hard at that idea. But after Israel began its operation against Iran, he and other opposition party leaders lent their support, emphasizing that they were backing the military. 'We didn't rally behind the government,' Lapid said from his party office in Tel Aviv. 'We rallied behind the necessity to operate on the moment that was inevitable.' Lapid, a former television anchorman and one-time boxer, entered politics in 2013. He became caretaker prime minister briefly in 2022, as part of a deal with another party. He didn't succeed in forming a coalition in an election held shortly after, which returned Netanyahu to power in a government made up of far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties. Throughout most of the war, Lapid and other opposition lawmakers have pushed Netanyahu to make a deal with Hamas to free hostages held in Gaza. Lapid made a speech last month to Israel's parliament, which is called the Knesset, that marked 600 days since the start of the war in Gaza. Lapid slammed Netanyahu for bringing a conflict upon Israel that didn't exist during his own brief time in office. Netanyahu, whose own political fortunes have mostly dimmed throughout the Middle East conflict, has enjoyed brief bumps in public support on the tail of military successes, like a round of fighting with Hezbollah last year. He could gain the same boost, if public opinion rallies behind the Iran operation. Polls before the campaign showed that Netanyahu would struggle to form a coalition if an election were held today. Lapid's party, now the second largest with 24 seats in the 120-seat parliament, could lose half or more of its support, polls show. But Lapid said that the politics, and Netanyahu's motivations, were irrelevant now, because striking Iran was 'the right thing to do.' 'Benjamin Netanyahu is a bitter political rival,' said Lapid. 'I think he's the wrong person to lead the country. But on that, he was right.'
LBCI
11-06-2025
- Politics
- LBCI
Milei says Argentina to move Israel embassy to Jerusalem in 2026
Argentine President Javier Milei said Wednesday his country would move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, the status of which is one of the most delicate issues in the Israel-Palestinian conflict. "I am proud to announce before you that in 2026 we will make effective the move of our embassy to the city of west Jerusalem," Milei said in a speech in the Israeli parliament during an official state visit. Argentina's embassy is currently located near the coastal city of Tel Aviv. AFP
Asharq Al-Awsat
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Milei Says Argentina to Move Israel Embassy to Jerusalem in 2026
Argentine President Javier Milei said Wednesday his country would move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, the status of which is one of the most delicate issues in the Israel-Palestinian conflict. "I am proud to announce before you that in 2026 we will make effective the move of our embassy to the city of west Jerusalem," Milei said in a speech in the Israeli parliament during an official state visit. Argentina's embassy is currently located near the coastal city of Tel Aviv.
Asharq Al-Awsat
28-05-2025
- General
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Netanyahu Says Hamas Gaza Chief Mohammad Sinwar Has Been Killed
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Mohammad Sinwar, Hamas' Gaza chief and the younger brother of the Palestinian group's deceased leader and mastermind of the October 2023 attack, Yahya Sinwar, had been killed. Mohammad Sinwar had been the target of an Israeli strike on a hospital in southern Gaza earlier this month and Netanyahu said on May 21 that it was likely he was dead. The Israeli leader announced that Sinwar had been "eliminated" in an address to the Israeli parliament as he listed off names of other Hamas officials that Israel had killed over the past 20 months, including Sinwar's brother Yahya. "In the last two days we have been in a dramatic turn towards a complete defeat of Hamas," he said, adding that Israel was also "taking control of food distribution", a reference to a new aid distribution system in Gaza managed by a US-backed group. Hamas has yet to confirm Sinwar's death. Netanyahu's announcement comes as the Israeli military has intensified its war campaign in Gaza after breaking a fragile ceasefire with Hamas in March. Israel has said it aims to dismantle Hamas' governing and military capabilities and secure the release of hostages that are still held in Gaza. The war erupted on October 7, 2023 when Hamas-led fighters stormed out of Gaza, rampaging through southern Israeli communities and killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians. More than 250 were captured and taken as hostages into Gaza. Israel's retaliatory assault on Gaza has decimated the coastal territory, killing more than 53,000, according to health officials in Gaza, and displaced over 2 million Palestinians. Gazan health officials have said most of those killed have been civilians but have not said how many fighters have died. Israel believes it has killed tens of thousands of fighters, but has not provided any evidence to support those claims. Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir on May 26 said Hamas had lost many assets, including its command and control center. Sinwar was elevated to the top ranks of the group last year after Israel killed his brother Yahya in combat. Yahya Sinwar masterminded the October 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war, now in its 20th month, and was later named the overall leader of the group after Israel killed his predecessor Ismail Haniyeh in Iran.
