Benjamin Netanyahu

Netanyahu seeks to prolong Gaza war until elections: Israel’s ex-defense minister

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Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a statement during a visit to the site of the Weizmann Institute of Science, which was hit by an Iranian missile barrage, in the central city of Rehovot on June 20, 2025. [Jack GUEZ / POOL / AFP/ Getty Images]

Former Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday of seeking to prolong the Gaza war until elections, Anadolu reports.

Lieberman, leader of the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu Party, said internal pressure will be directed at Netanyahu after the hostages taken by Hamas in October 2023 are returned and the war ends.

“Netanyahu wants to prolong the war until the elections,” Lieberman told Israel’s public broadcaster KAN.

The former minister did not specify whether he meant elections after Netanyahu’s term ends in December 2026 or early polls that might take place at the end of 2025 or the beginning of 2026.

“It is not possible to eliminate Hamas without first returning all the hostages (in Gaza) at once,” he added.

Indirect negotiations started on July 6 in the Qatari capital, Doha, to reach an agreement that includes a ceasefire and a prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel.

A source close to Hamas told Anadolu that the group received updated maps from mediators showing areas across Gaza still under Israeli control and began internal consultations to evaluate the maps.

The Israeli army has killed nearly 59,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since October 2023, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave, making it uninhabitable.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

READ: Gaza is starving and the world looks away

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UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel's Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don't do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.
UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel’s Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don’t do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.
Continue ReadingNetanyahu seeks to prolong Gaza war until elections: Israel’s ex-defense minister

Pope Leo calls for ‘immediate ceasefire’ in Gaza as Israeli warplanes strike Catholic church

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Pope Leo XIV attends general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, on May 21, 2025. [isabella Bonotto - Anadolu Agency ]
Pope Leo XIV attends general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, on May 21, 2025. [isabella Bonotto – Anadolu Agency ]

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday renewed his call for “an immediate ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip and expressed his “profound hope” for “dialogue, reconciliation and lasting peace in the region,” following an Israeli attack on a Catholic church sheltering civilians, Anadolu reports.

The appeal came in a telegram signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin after the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza was hit during an Israeli military raid.

The pope said he was “deeply saddened” by the assault on the parish, which has provided refuge to more than 500 people since the beginning of the war.

Among those injured was the parish priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli, who sustained a light leg wound and was treated at Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City.

The pontiff addressed Father Romanelli directly in the telegram, assuring him of his “spiritual closeness” and offering prayers to the entire parish community.

READ: UNICEF: Israeli attacks killing 28 children daily in Gaza

“Entrusting the souls of the deceased to the loving mercy of Almighty God,” the pope said he is praying “for the consolation of those who mourn and for the healing of the wounded.”

In the course of its deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army has bombed several worship places, including the Gaza Baptist Church and the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius, the oldest in the Gaza Strip and the third oldest in the world.

The Holy Family Church is the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip, which has been sheltering many displaced Christian and Muslim Palestinians since October 2023.

The Israeli army, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 58,600 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

READ: Several injured as Israeli warplanes strike Catholic church in Gaza City

Continue ReadingPope Leo calls for ‘immediate ceasefire’ in Gaza as Israeli warplanes strike Catholic church

ICC rejects Israel’s plea to cancel arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (L) visit the site of the shooting where a settler was killed and another seriously injured in Hebron, West Bank on August 21, 2023. [Amos Ben-Gershom (GPO) / Handout – Anadolu Agency]

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Wednesday rejected Israel’s request to cancel arrest warrants issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and to suspend the ongoing investigation into crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories, Anadolu reports.

In its ruling, Pre-Trial Chamber I of the ICC said it had dismissed Israel’s dual request made on May 9, 2025: One seeking the withdrawal, cancellation, or invalidation of the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, and another calling for the suspension of the prosecutor’s investigation into the situation in Palestine.

The court rejected Israel’s argument that the ICC lacks jurisdiction over crimes committed in the Palestinian territories, reaffirming its previous decisions.

It added that the Appeals Chamber’s ruling of April 24, 2025, could not be interpreted as undermining the court’s jurisdiction.

READ: Israeli-linked lawyer told ICC chief prosecutor: Drop Gaza case or be ‘destroyed’

According to the decision, “suspension of the investigation is only applicable when a state challenges the admissibility of a case,” under Article 19(7) of the Rome Statute.

The judges noted that Israel had not filed such a challenge regarding admissibility.

The chamber also rejected Israel’s request to deny Palestine the opportunity to present its views, stating that the court already had sufficient information and did not require additional submissions.

The ICC ruled on Feb. 5, 2021, that Palestine is a State Party to the Rome Statute and that the court’s jurisdiction extends to Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, territories occupied by Israel since 1967.

The ICC Office of the Prosecutor officially opened an investigation into the situation in Palestine on March 3, 2021.

Israel challenged the court’s jurisdiction under Article 19(2) of the Rome Statute on Sept. 23, 2024.

The ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant on Nov. 21, 2024, citing alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

On April 24, 2025, the ICC Appeals Chamber annulled an earlier procedural ruling that had dismissed Israel’s objection as premature, referring the matter back to the Pre-Trial Chamber for a substantive decision.

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Continue ReadingICC rejects Israel’s plea to cancel arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant

Former EU foreign policy chief slams bloc’s failure to act on Israel’s human rights violations

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The former High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell, takes part in a debate at Casa Arabe on June 19, 2025, in Madrid, Spain. [Photo By Ricardo Rubio/Europa Press via Getty Images]

The European Council missed its chance this week to do something to stop Israel’s “war crimes” and genocide in Gaza, according to a former EU foreign policy chief.

“@EUCouncil failed yesterday to take a decision on Israel’s violation of the Association Agreement’s Human Rights clause. But this is in itself a decision: not to punish Israel’s continued war crimes and allow the genocide in Gaza to continue unabated,” Borrell wrote on X Wednesday.

The EU-Israel Association Agreement, which governs political and economic ties between the two parties, includes a binding clause requiring respect for human rights and democratic principles. Failure to comply with this clause can lead to sanctions or suspension of the agreement.

EU foreign ministers met on Monday and Tuesday to discuss growing concerns over Israel’s attacks in Gaza, amid mounting civilian casualties and international calls for accountability. However, member states were unable to reach a consensus, resulting in no formal decision to suspend the agreement or impose sanctions.

READ: EU official weaponising anti-Semitism to block sanctions on Israel over Gaza genocide

Borrell, who concluded his term as the EU’s top diplomat last year, has been a vocal critic of Israel’s attacks and has previously called for a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which gives Tel Aviv preferential trade terms.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, Israel has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since late October 2023, killing over 58,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages and the spread of diseases.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

READ: 350 Palestinians reported missing under rubble in Gaza over two weeks

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Continue ReadingFormer EU foreign policy chief slams bloc’s failure to act on Israel’s human rights violations

Thousands of Israelis protest in Tel Aviv to demand prisoner swap deal

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An aerial view shows thousands of people gathering in Hostages Square demand an end to the war in Gaza and the return of Israeli hostages, on July 12, 2025, in Tel Aviv, Israel. [Yair Palti – Anadolu Agency]

Thousands of Israelis demonstrated in central Tel Aviv on Saturday to demand a prisoner exchange agreement with Palestinians, Anadolu reports.

“No victory without return of hostages,” and “There are 50 kidnapped families in Gaza,” read banners waved by protesters, Israeli Channel 13 reported.

The protest came amid reports of a deadlock in indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas delegations in Qatar.

“The negotiations have not collapsed, and the Israeli delegation continues talks in Doha despite Hamas intransigence,” the channel said, citing an unnamed political official.

A forum representing families of Israeli captives in Gaza called on the government to end the ongoing war on the Palestinian enclave.

“Missing the current momentum would be a serious failure; every day the war continues is an achievement for Hamas and a serious risk for our hostages and soldiers,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.

READ: Israel plans to build nearly 2,400 more settlement units in occupied West Bank

“All the polls and data show that an absolute majority of the nation of Israel wants an end to the war in Gaza and the return of hostages, and agrees that it is in Israel’s interest, including a decisive majority among coalition voters,” added the statement.

The families addressed a message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying, “History will remember what you chose: the hostages and fighters, or cheap political maneuvers.”

Hamas said Wednesday it has agreed to release 10 live Israeli captives as a sign of “flexibility” to reach a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner swap agreement, while Israel remains rigid on key points, including withdrawal from Gaza.

In contrast, Israel insists on a buffer zone 2 to 3 kilometers wide in the Rafah area, and 1 to 2 kilometers in other border areas.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, Israel has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since late October 2023, killing nearly 58,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages and a spread of disease.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

READ: Gaza war strategy to ‘crush’ Israeli soldiers as ultra-Orthodox Jews exempted: Reservist

Continue ReadingThousands of Israelis protest in Tel Aviv to demand prisoner swap deal