ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 347
The Times of Israel liveblogged Thursday’s events as they happened.
Channel 13 reports that a petition has been filed to the High Court of Justice urging it to strike down the reasonableness law passed by the Knesset on Monday on the grounds that it will expose IDF officers to criminal prosecution by international legal bodies.
The petition claims that security chiefs could face prosecution “as a result of the damage to the independence of the law enforcement system in Israel.”
Israel has long maintained that bodies like the International Criminal Court have no legal standing to adjudicate alleged crimes by Israel against the Palestinians because it has its own independent judicial system. Critics of the overhaul assert that the government intends to use it to remove the last remaining check on efforts to permanently expand Israel’s presence in the West Bank at the expense of Palestinians living there.
As the crowds begin to thin out at Tel Aviv’s Kaplan Street, police start to work to open the road.
Rather than deploying water cannons or mounted officers, police cars and motorbikes begin to drive around the area, asking protesters to move to the sidewalks.
After a few minutes, police simply open sections of the road to traffic as the demonstrators drift away.
The final section of the road remains closed, with a few dozen protesters remaining there.
The United Arab Emirates foreign ministry condemns National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s visit this morning to Jerusalem’s flashpoint Temple Mount.
“The UAE has strongly condemned the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by the Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has previous racist positions and statements,” the UAE foreign ministry says in a statement, calling for “full protection of the Al-Aqsa Mosque” and an end to “provocative violations.”
The ministry says it “called upon Israeli authorities to halt escalation and avoid exacerbating tension and instability in the region, affirming the UAE’s rejection of all practices that violate resolutions on international legitimacy and threaten further escalation.”
Dozens of Palestinians protest at Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip against National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s visit to Jerusalem’s Temple Mount earlier today.
The protesters burn tires and set off explosive devices. The blasts are heard in Israeli communities near the border.
IDF forces at the scene respond with riot dispersal measures.
صور| فعالية إرباك ليلي في منطقة ملكة شرق مدينة غزة، نصرة للأقصى. pic.twitter.com/r2ZNlliIWW
— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) July 27, 2023
Ben Gvir visited the flashpoint holy site earlier today for Tisha B’Av, a Jewish fast day that mourns the destruction of the two Biblical temples that stood on the Temple Mount.
The Old City esplanade is the holiest site to Jews, and contains the third-holiest mosque for Muslims.
Under the fragile, longstanding status quo, Jews are allowed to visit the site under certain conditions, but not pray there.
Ben Gvir’s visit drew condemnations from Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and the Gaza-based Hamas terror group, and a rebuke from the US.
Protesters opposed to the judicial overhaul are set to hold a rally at Israel’s New York consulate.
The event starting at 5 p.m. local time will mark the Tisha B’Av fast day with prayers, as well as expressions in support of Israeli democracy, organizers say.
The rally is backed by the Israeli expat activist network UnXeptable, and a number of US Jewish organizations, including New York synagogues and progressive groups, some of which appear to be formally protesting the judicial overhaul for the first time.
Thousands of protesters are streaming into Tel Aviv’s Kaplan Street for a demonstration against the government’s contentious judicial overhaul.
The protests come amid rising fears of an escalation in violence at the demonstrations, after a protest earlier this week that saw clashes between police and demonstrators, and multiple accusations of law enforcement brutality and heavy-handed tactics.
For the first time, trucks have been parked across Kaplan Street to block the road, apparently to prevent vehicles from coming close to the protesters. A driver plowed through a protest group earlier this week, causing injuries.
Someone fires two pink flares into the air and the crowd cheers before breaking into the familiar chants supporting democracy.
There is a heavy police presence along the shoulders of the Ayalon Highway, with the aim of preventing protesters from accessing the road from the embankments and blocking traffic.
As traffic flows freely along the road, there is constant din as motorists honk encouragement to the demonstrators waving flags from the bridge above.
Ido, 47, from neighboring Givatayim waves his flag from the bridge and says that he believes the protests are having an impact.
“If I didn’t think this was going to make a difference, I wouldn’t be here,” he says.
He was at Kaplan on Monday night for the demonstration which ended in clashes between police.
“I feel like on Monday [the protesters] were a lot younger. Lots of them came from [the protest at the Knesset in] Jerusalem earlier that day in their masses,” he says, referring to the rally after the government passed a law curtailing judicial oversight over the decisions of elected officials.
“It felt like there was an awakening,” he says.
Americans who view Israel as the top US ally highlight the countries’ shared values and defense ties, according to a Pew Research Center Poll.
Ninety-four percent of those respondents say the two countries’ security relationship is a crucial part of the alliance, 79% say shared values are crucial, and 68% cite economic ties.
More Republicans and Independents named Israel as the top US ally than Democrats.
The survey comes as the Israeli government seeks to overhaul the judicial system, agitating Washington and the US Jewish community, who have long said the two countries’ shared democratic values are an essential part of their relationship.
Israel ranks third as the top US ally, following the UK and Canada, according to the survey. Four percent of respondents say Israel was the top US ally, while 22% named the UK, and 6% said Canada.
Lower down the list are Germany, China, Japan, the EU and France.
The survey finds that Americans view China as the leading threat to the US, followed by Russia, North Korea, and the US itself. No other countries are viewed as a significant danger.
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen decries another decision by Swedish authorities to allow the burning of a Torah in a protest.
“I’m appalled by another threat to burn a Torah in Sweden,” Cohen says in a statement. “Threats to harm holy books and Torahs must stop.”
“Soon I will speak with Sweden’s foreign minister and make clear to him that we expect the Swedish government to prevent these events, which could harm relations between our countries,” Cohen says.
Earlier today, Swedish police once again approved a request to set alight a Torah outside Israel’s embassy in Stockholm.
Swedish officials have come under criticism in recent weeks for repeatedly approving various protest events at which holy books have been defiled — particularly Qurans.
The latter acts have sparked an angry backlash across the Muslim world. Sweden says though it does not approve of the actions, it holds freedom of expression and protest as sacrosanct.
A previous request to burn a Torah and a New Testament outside the embassy earlier this month was approved by police, leading to anger by Israeli officials.
But the activist behind the stunt did not go through with it, telling gathered reporters on the day that it had never been his intention to burn Jewish or Christian holy books, only to protest the recent burning of the Quran.
A resident of the central city of Netanya is detained for an investigation, on suspicion of encouraging violence against protesters on social media.
In an online post shared ahead of protest events, he wrote, “I’m ready for tonight,” alongside an image of what appeared to be a Molotov cocktail.
נעצר תושב נתניה בחשד שהסית נגד מפגינים, לאחר שפרסם פוסט עם בקבוק תבערה מאולתר וכתב "אני מוכן להיום בערב"
@OrRavid pic.twitter.com/pfXEExvGnw— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) July 27, 2023
Protests against the judicial overhaul have been marred by sporadic violence against demonstrators.
On Monday, a car plowed through a rally in Tel Aviv, injuring several people.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich dismisses a warning from the international Standard and Poor’s credit ratings agency about the negative impact the government’s judicial overhaul may have on the economy.
“When you look past the headlines in the media, you see that S&P, like Moody’s, doesn’t recommend a credit ratings downgrade because of a warning about economic damage caused by the judicial reform, but because the protests are creating instability,” Smotrich writes on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“Meanwhile, Moshe Radman, one of the protest leaders, said openly he intends to harm the Israeli economy,” Smotrich says. “The opposition must condemn leaders like him who are damaging the state of Israel, and come to real talks that will lead to shared agreements and together we can fix the essential things in the legal system and strengthen the Israeli economy.”
The globally influential credit rating agencies Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s have warned that the judicial overhaul threatens Israel’s economy by inflaming protests and societal divisions, stoking economic uncertainty, and raising political and security risks.
Israeli finance officials and business leaders have consistently warned of damage to the economy, and high tech workers make up a prominent part of the protest movement.
The US Office of Palestinian Affairs hails Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s decision to scrap a 2022 decree that created a supreme body under his control with the ability to review legal cases.
The new Supreme Council for Judicial Bodies and Authorities was never fully established, but it would’ve led to a significant curbing of the Palestinian judiciary’s power and independence.
“We applaud President Abbas’ decision to nullify the Supreme Council for Judicial Bodies and Authorities. An independent judiciary is essential for any successful society and crucial for any future Palestinian state. We welcome further PA initiatives aimed at improving governance,” the US Office of Palestinian Affairs tweets.
The praise for Ramallah contrasted starkly with the disappointment Washington expressed earlier this week after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government passed the first piece of legislation from its judicial overhaul.
Former Supreme Court justice and attorney general Menachem “Meni” Mazuz says Israel risks becoming a dictatorship due to the government’s judicial overhaul.
Asked if he believes that Israel is on the “brink of dictatorship,” Mazuz tells Channel 12 that he “completely agrees.”
“Israeli democracy was always handicapped, it was lacking, it was a democracy with a weak foundation,” Mazuz says. Israel does not have a constitution, a bicameral legislature, an executive office independent of the legislative branch, or other checks found in other democracies.
Israel’s democratic system “rests on the professional independence of the judicial system and if that independence is harmed — there won’t be anything left,” he says.
“We’d be left with a governing system completely controlled by the [majority coalition], and that is the simple definition of a dictatorship,” he says.
Protesters against the government’s judicial overhaul are rallying in Tel Aviv this evening, amid fears of escalation between demonstrators and police.
Cops are expected to be out in large numbers to prevent road blockages, after scenes of violence between officers and protesters at Monday’s mass protests, and amid concerns police could take an increasingly aggressive stance.
Currently, the evening’s protests are focused on a march from Rothschild Boulevard toward Kaplan Street.
קפלן, תל אביב.
קרדיט: טלי מלמד pic.twitter.com/dx74glQG5N— ????️????????ShAuLi (@Shaulirena) July 27, 2023
Swedish police have once again approved a request to set alight a Torah book outside Israel’s embassy in Stockholm.
Swedish officials have come under criticism in recent weeks for repeatedly approving various protest events at which holy books have been defiled — particularly Qurans. The latter acts have sparked an angry backlash across the Muslim world. Sweden says though it does not approve of the actions, it holds freedom of expression and protest as sacrosanct.
A previous request to burn a Torah and a New Testament outside the embassy earlier this month was approved by cops leading to anger by Israeli officials. But the activist behind the stunt did not go through with it, telling gathered reporters on the day that it had never been his intention to burn Jewish or Christian holy books, only to protest the recent burning of the Quran.
“It is against the Quran to burn and I will not burn. No one should do that,” said Ahmad Alush, 32.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir attacks the Police Internal Investigations Department for investigating alleged incidents of police violence toward protesters.
Ben Gvir, known for his desire for tough enforcement against demonstrators who block roads, accuses the PIID of “attempting to terrorize the head of Tel Aviv Police’s Special Patrol Unit, a decorated officer, just because he acted with determination to enforce the law.”
The officer in question, Yair Hanuna, has been accused by a teen protester of beating him during an arrest at Tuesday’s rally on the Ayalon Highway. One of the arresting officers also allegedly whispered in his ear, “I’ll rape your mother.”
Ben Gvir says he “backs the dedicated officer” and the rest of the Tel Aviv police force “in their important effort to prevent the ongoing disruption to public order that those behind the blockages seek.”
He also attacks the state prosecution, which oversees the PIID, alleging that it is “intentionally turning a blind eye to crime and winkingly encouraging public disturbances.”
אותו סנ"צ חנונה במעצר אחר pic.twitter.com/ocseS9VGYL
— יוסי מזרחי Yossi Mizrachi (@yosimiz1) July 26, 2023
A senior official in the Finance Ministry has warned President Isaac Herzog of the need to urgently secure agreements on the future of the judicial overhaul, Channel 12 reports.
Accountant General Yali Rothenberg met with Herzog today and stressed to him the need for long-term certainty.
“The very passage of time with [enduring] uncertainty could raise the risk level for [investment in] Israel and increase pressure on the capital market. The consequences for the economy could be significant,” Rothenberg was quoted as saying.
Thousands of people have amassed for prayers and songs at the Western Wall at the end of the Tisha B’Av fast.
רבבות בשירה מרגשת בצאת הצום תשעה באב ברחבת הכותל המערבי pic.twitter.com/ZuwIPqexw2
— ישראל כהן (@Israelcohen911) July 27, 2023
The fast marks the destruction of the two Jewish Temples, and this year took on particular symbolism with the country sharply divided and society riven over the government’s efforts to radically limit the judiciary.
July is on track to be the hottest month in recorded history, scientists confirm, as UN chief Antonio Guterres warns Earth has moved into an “era of global boiling.”
Searing heat intensified by global warming has affected tens of millions of people in parts of Europe, Asia and North America this month, combining with fierce wildfires that have scorched across Canada and parts of southern Europe.
“Climate change is here. It is terrifying. And it is just the beginning,” says Guterres, urging immediate and bold action to cut planet-heating emissions.
“The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived.”
With the first three weeks of July already registering global average temperatures above any comparative period, the World Meteorological Organization and Europe’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) say it is “extremely likely” that July 2023 will be the hottest month on records going back to the 1940s.
Carlo Buontempo, Director of C3S, says the temperatures in the period have been “remarkable,” with an anomaly so large that scientists are confident the record has been shattered even before the month ends.
Credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s warns it sees risks of “weaker” economic growth in Israel following the passage of the first bill of the government’s widely contested judicial overhaul.
“The controversial reform has led to sizable public protests, and, in our view, if government and opposition do not achieve an agreement on the topic, this could further exacerbate domestic political confrontation and weigh on medium-term economic growth,” S&P writes in the report. “In the short term, we expect that persisting political uncertainty will combine with weaker economic performance in Israel’s key trading partners in Europe and the US as well as tighter monetary policy.”
The rating agency sees Israeli economic growth slowing to 1.5% in 2023 from 6.5% in 2022.
Back in May, S&P affirmed Israel’s favorable rating at AA- with a “stable” outlook but cited “persistent domestic and regional political and security risks” as potential threats to the economy. The agency said it expected “some form of consensus” over the suspended judicial overhaul bid, which will allow “political tensions to moderate.”
Going forward, the rating agency projects that “domestic political polarization and volatility in Israel will remain high in the coming months,” as the adoption of other parts of the judicial reform remain “unclear.”
Four people have been wounded, one of them seriously, in a shooting in northern Israel.
A 19-year-old was in serious condition in the incident in Sakhnin in the Lower Galilee, a 20-year-old was moderately hurt and two men in their 50s suffered light injuries.
The shooting took place near a butcher shop.
Police have not offered details on the circumstances.
Lawyers for Donald Trump are meeting with members of special counsel Jack Smith’s team as a potential indictment looms over the former president’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The meeting includes Trump lawyer John Lauro, says the person, speaking on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press to describe a private gathering.
Trump earlier this month was informed by Smith’s office that he was a target of the Justice Department’s investigation, suggesting that an indictment could be soon.
A spokesman for Smith declines to comment on the meeting.
New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman says US President Joe Biden has sent several of his top advisers to Saudi Arabia for the latest talks on the possibility of normalizing relations with Israel.
Friedman posits that while peace with Riyadh would be a huge coup for Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, any potential deal would include significant Israeli concessions to the Palestinians, which will be unpalatable to the premier’s far-right allies.
He also says the US president is unlikely to allow an accord to move forward so long as Netanyahu and his government continue to advance their judicial overhaul legislation.
The columnist, known to have the ear of the US president, thus suggests any progress with the Saudis — which Netanyahu yearns for — will force him to take more moderate positions on multiple fronts, and possibly to part ways with his coalition allies.
Israeli physicians issue an urgent warning to Israel Police about the use of tear gas against protesters at expected anti-government demonstrations this evening and in the coming days. The doctors remind the police of their responsibility to act according to their own safety protocols for crowd control.
Following injuries to protesters by water cannons and mounted police in recent weeks, the Israel Association of Public Health Physicians, the Organization of Female Physicians, and the Israel Society of Toxicology sent a letter to police chief Kobi Shabtai.
“It has come to our attention that the police plan to widely employ tear gas to disperse protests today and in the future. It is our duty to warn you of the danger of serious damage that can be caused to the protesting public from this material,” the letter says.
The doctors point out that the active ingredient in tear gas is “poisonous and irritating, and can in certain circumstances lead to grave damage to a person’s health, and even to death.”
Tear gas poses dangers beyond immediate injury to the eyes, skin, mucous membranes, and airway — especially for children, pregnant women, the elderly, and those with pre-existing health conditions. The gas can seriously and permanently damage the heart, lungs, and brain. Additionally, people can be badly injured from stampeding that may occur as demonstrators try to get away from tear gas lobbed into a crowd.
The physicians remind police that the extreme heat and humidity of the Israeli climate exacerbates the effects of tear gas and that the gas is flammable and should never be used near open flames. The doctors emphasize that international treaties prohibit spraying tear gas onto crowds from above.
The letter, copied to Health Ministry Director-General Moshe Bar Siman Tov and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, reminds Shabtai that according to police’s official procedures, tear gas may only be used in a “level 4 situation” — an event of severe and violent resistance against police forces and/or the public.
The Justice Ministry’s Police Internal Investigations Department is looking into an incident in which a policeman was filmed throwing a female protester over a cement barrier during Monday’s mass anti-government protests in Tel Aviv.
The demonstrations, hours after the coalition passed its first judicial overhaul law, devolved into clashes between cops and protesters, with police accusing the activists of violence unseen in previous rallies while protesters have lodged the same complaint against law enforcement, alleging multiple incidents of police brutality.
The protester in the event in question was resisting leaving the Ayalon Highway and the cop flung her over the barrier with force, turning her upside down as he did so. She says she banged her head on the barrier.
בלתי נתפס- שוטר תופס מפגינה *מהשיער* ומעיף אותה מעבר לחומת בטון. מה נסגר איתכם משטרת ישראל? ממלאים מכסות של פצועים לשר הפיתות? pic.twitter.com/PEI9bCNkct
— מחאת ההייטקיסטים (@democratechil) July 24, 2023
The PIID is looking into several complaints about officers’ behavior during the rallies.
With the judicial overhaul drawing intense interest abroad, as well as criticism of the government’s unilateral approach by some of its allies, the Foreign Ministry has issued instructions to its missions around the world on how to explain recent events in the country.
The ministry is telling representatives to say the government “is advancing a reform the purpose of which is to strengthen the standing of the legislative branch.”
It says the mass protests in the country against these actions “are an example of Israeli democracy” and that dialogue is ongoing for compromise (no such dialogue is currently taking place).
“As the prime minister has made clear, Israel must remain a strong democracy. It will continue to maintain individual rights for everyone and will not become a halachic state.”
“The court will remain independent, without any side seizing control.”
The Israel Defense Forces says it has wrapped up a joint drill between the elite Shayetet 13 Naval commando unit and the US military.
The drill, dubbed Juniper Spartan, was led by the IDF Depth Corps, a shadowy multidisciplinary unit responsible for military operations beyond Israel’s borders.
The IDF says the drill aimed to “strengthen cooperation and professional dialogue between the Israeli Navy, US 5 Fleet forces and the Depth Corps.”
“Collaborations with foreign partners around the world, namely with the US Armed Forces, lead us to mutual learning and the strengthening of professional ties, as well as professional improvements,” the IDF adds.
After some lack of clarity on the matter, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says US President Joe Biden invited him to meet at the White House this fall.
Speaking to ABC News, Netanyahu says “President Biden in the last conversation we had invited me to the White House in the fall, I think it’s in September but we’ll finalize the date.”
Netanyahu’s office previously said the two were to meet in the US, but did not say under what circumstances, amid lingering tensions over his government’s judicial overhaul program. The White House has also not given clear details on the planned meeting as of yet. There has been speculation it could take place at the UN on the sidelines of the General Assembly meeting, with Biden ostensibly unwilling to give the Israeli leader the prize of a White House sit-down.
“I think our relations are very strong. I’m not just saying that. I think the cooperation on intelligence, on security, on strategic matters is as strong as it’s ever been. I can tell you that we’re working on things that I think will change history,” Netanyahu says.
“Specifically we’re trying to block Iran’s aggression but also advance peace with Saudi Arabia, which, in addition to the historic Abraham accords with four Arab countries, is changing the Middle East. And I think this will change the world, I think this will be a pivot of history.”
Asked about his government’s highly divisive efforts to limit the powers of the judiciary, Netanyahu argues that he is bringing Israel “back… in line to what is common to all democracies,” saying balance between the branches of government “has been taken off the rails in Israel in the last 20 years because we have the most activist judicial court on the planet.”
“I want to bring the pendulum to the middle, I don’t want to bring the pendulum to the other side,” he adds.
As for the newly passed law to prevent courts from striking down cabinet or ministerial decisions based on their being “unreasonable,” Netanyahu calls it “a minor correction.”
“It’s described as the end of Israeli democracy. I think that’s silly and when the dust settles everybody will see that.”
The Israel Defense Forces says troops have located the remains of a homemade rocket launched from the northern West Bank at Israel.
The IDF says the projectile was found in Palestinian-controlled territory, near the town of Silat al-Harithiya.
Army sappers have safely removed the rocket, the IDF says.
The rocket fire was claimed by a group calling itself the Al-Ayyash Battalion, which said it launched the rocket at the northern Israel town of Ram-On.
תיעוד שמחבלים מפרסמים מירי רקטה היום לעבר הגלבוע לטענתם pic.twitter.com/HC5HgbpfaQ
— בז news (@1717Bazz) July 27, 2023
National Unity part leader Benny Gantz offers his “deepest condolences” to the leader of the United Arab Emirates for the death of his brother.
No cause of death has been offered for Sheikh Saeed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, who was 57.
“May we remember his dedication to the UAE and his family, and may the family find solace in his memory,” Gantz says in a tweet to President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
My deepest condolences to the UAE President, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and to His family and friends affected by the heartbreaking of HH brother, Sheikh Saeed bin Zayed Al Nahyan????May they find strength, comfort, and solace in the cherished memories of their… pic.twitter.com/7GAYErtzkN
— Edi Rama (@ediramaal) July 27, 2023
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant speaks on the phone for the first time with his Turkish counterpart Yasar Guler.
“Strengthening the ties between our countries is a mutual security interest and will contribute to stability in our region,” Gallant tells Guler, while inviting him to visit Israel.
The two spoke of potential cooperation and dialogue between the countries on defense matters.
Ukraine will limit the number of Israelis who will be able to enter its borders ahead of the Rosh Hashanah Jewish pilgrimage to the city of Uman, Ukraine’s Ambassador Yevgen Korniychuk says.
The limitations, which Korniychuk’s statement does not specify, are due to safety concerns amid Russian hostilities, he says.
“We fear that the Russians would seek to target as many people as possible, including Jewish faith leaders and worshipers, if civilians congregate in Uman,“ reads Korniychuk’s statement. “It would be incumbent on us to minimize the threat, which is the reason for the expected limitations on the number of visitors.”
In recent years, the annual pilgrimage to the gravesite of Rabbi Nachman of Uman, a 19th-century luminary, has drawn more than 30,000 Jews, mostly from Israel.
Ukrainian authorities declined to let in Israeli tourists in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading many to attempt to circumvent the ban.
Last year some 20,000 pilgrims arrived in the city despite the ongoing war, ignoring repeated travel warnings.
Responding to petitions to the High Court of Justice demanding equality in adoption for LGBTQ couples, the attorney general says it would be proper for the Knesset to be the body to make decisions on the matter.
However, she acknowledges that there is currently no political feasibility for legislation to address discrimination on the issue.
In his response to the petitions, Welfare Minister Ya’akov Margi of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party says he opposes same-sex adoption “out of consideration for the child.”
Transferring a child to a same-sex couple “would add additional complexities to his life” and the state should “preserve as much as possible the lifestyle and family framework in which he was born.”
The US Embassy in Jerusalem criticizes National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s visit to the Temple Mount earlier today.
“The US stands firmly for the preservation of the historic status quo with respect to the holy sites in Jerusalem,” it says.
“Any unilateral action or rhetoric that jeopardizes the status quo is unacceptable.”
Greek fire crews scramble to douse deadly wildfires raging for two weeks around the country before strong winds forecast for the day rekindle blazes.
Hundreds of firefighters backed by European Union reinforcements are struggling to contain the flames on the islands of Rhodes, Corfu and Evia, in addition to a new front that erupted Wednesday in central Greece.
“These are difficult and very sad days,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.
Mitsotakis said Greece was “mourning four fellow citizens, the two aircraft pilots… and two who could not distance themselves from the inferno in time.”
Five bodies have been recovered from fire-stricken areas this week.
The Supreme Court has announced the members of a panel of judges who will review the opposition’s petition demanding Justice Minister Yariv Levin convene the Judicial Selection Committee to allow it to do its work.
Levin has refused to call a meeting of the panel, whose composition he first seeks to change through highly controversial legislation to give the coalition greater power over judicial choices.
The panel of three judges — Anat Baron, David Mintz and YUosef Elron — will convene on September 7 to review the petition.
Baron is considered a liberal while the two others are conservatives.
Likud MK Eli Dallal withdraws his controversial bill to split the position of the attorney general into two roles, saying he seeks consensus on the highly sensitive issue.
“In light of the fact that I did not intend to advance it in the current Knesset and out of a true and sincere desire for dialogue, compromise and agreement with my colleagues in the opposition, I decided to retract the law,” says Dallal on Twitter.
“I very much hope that we will know good days of unity and that we will come to broad agreement on everything connected to the required balance between the branches of government,” he adds.
Publication of the bill yesterday set off a firestorm of protest from the opposition and anti-government groups, but Dallal insisted that he had actually submitted the bill months ago and noted that it had been worded to only take effect in the next Knesset, meaning after elections.
