Africa-Press – Mauritius. Itamar Ben-Gvir, the hardline national security minister of Israel, is unhappy with comments the defence minister made about limiting the scope of war.
He says the war cabinet – comprised of Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant and Benny Gantz – “does not have the mandate” to unilaterally take Israel towards a “war of attrition”.
His comments are part of a pattern of growing discord among the top Israeli politicians and military commanders. They also reflect Ben-Gvir’s unyielding stance on Palestinians, which includes permanently displacing them from Gaza.
Last week, he made more headlines by saying mass emigration of Palestinians and reconstructing Israeli settlements in Gaza is “the order of the hour”.
The chairman of the Israel Beitenu faction, Oded Forer, is collecting 70 signatures in order to bring about the removal of Ofer Cassif from the Israeli Knesset, according to Israeli media outlet Maariv
Cassif – a representative of the far-left, Arab-majority Hadash coalition – earlier expressed his support for this week’s hearing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) assessing South Africa’s accusations of genocide against Israel.
“The treasonous words of MK Cassif can no longer be heard while the blood of our soldiers and citizens cries out from the ground,” Forer was quoted as saying.
“MK Cassif, who was previously disqualified from running for the Knesset following a petition I submitted to the election committee, chose during the war to join one of the most destructive initiatives for the security of the State of Israel and thus he supports the struggle of Hamas against Israel,” he added.
“He must soon find himself beyond the borders of the Knesset and preferably beyond the borders of the State of Israel,” Forer added.
The umbrella group known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq says it launched an “advanced cruise missile” at the Israeli city of Haifa.
A long-range missile called al-Arqab was used to attack a “vital target in occupied Haifa” on an unspecified date, it said in a statement. There were no reports of anything being hit.
The attack was in support of Palestinians and a response to “massacres” committed by Israel. The statement was accompanied by a short video showing the launch of the missile at nighttime.
It promised more launches will be forthcoming. The Iran-aligned group recently claimed several rocket attacks on US bases in Iraq and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in Syria.
This is the first time it said it targeted Haifa. Israel must protect Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in Ramallah.
Her comments come after she also highlighted the need to ease up on the bombardment of Palestinians in Gaza. “It is increasingly clear the Israeli army must do more to protect civilians in Gaza.
It must find ways to fight Hamas without harming large numbers of Palestinians,” she said. “The suffering of many innocent people cannot go on like this. We need less intensive management of operations. ”
Hundreds of people protested in Minneapolis in front of Minnesota Representative Amy Klobuchar’s office as she supports the continuation of Israel’s war. Fake body bags, banners and posters of children killed by Israel covered the entrance to the office.
The Muslims of America for Palestine movement – the organiser of the rally – said it continues to remind Klobuchar and every American politician that the blood of Gaza is stained on their hands.
Protesters chanted against Klobuchar saying they didn’t want their money financing the Gaza genocide, and the whole world should join South Africa in prosecuting Israel at the International Court of Justice.
Aharon Barak, Israel’s former Supreme Court chief justice, will serve as a judge at the International Court of Justice on a panel to hear South Africa’s genocide case against Israel.
Barak, 87, is an influential Israeli jurist with international renown and a Holocaust survivor. He will be among the judges deciding whether to issue an interim order demanding Israel halt its war.
Such orders are legally binding – but not always enforceable. The ICJ court this week will begin hearing South Africa’s allegations against Israel that it is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
Pope Francis called for a “ceasefire on every front, including Lebanon” in his annual speech to diplomats.
In the long address, sometimes called his State of the World speech, he condemned the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel and renewed his call for the immediate liberation of those still being held in Gaza.
However, he said Israel’s military response caused an “exceptionally grave humanitarian crisis and inconceivable suffering for civilians”. The pope added hospitals, schools and places of worship in Gaza must “receive all necessary protection”.
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