May 2: US says no movement on hostage deal in recent days, reiterates ball in Hamas’s court

Quebec premier calls for anti-Israel encampment at McGill to be dismantled

Pro-Palestinian students and activists protest at an anti-Israel encampment on the campus at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, on April 29, 2024. (Graham Hughes/AFP)

TORONTO — Quebec Premier Francois Legault says the encampment at Montreal’s McGill University should be dismantled as more students erected pro-Palestinian camps across some of Canada’s largest universities, demanding they divest from groups with ties to Israel.

While McGill had requested police intervention, law enforcement has not stepped in to clear the encampment and does not respond to Reuters’ questions about their plans. Students also set up encampments at Canadian schools including the University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia and the University of Ottawa.

“We want the camp to be dismantled. We trust the police, let them do their job,” a spokesperson for Legault says.

There was also a pro-Israel counter-protest in Montreal Thursday. The two sides were kept separate.

On Thursday morning, students at the University of Toronto set up an encampment in a fenced-off grassy space at the school’s downtown campus where some 100 protesters gathered with dozens of tents.

According to a statement from organizers the encampment will stay until the university discloses its investments, divests from any that “sustain Israeli apartheid, occupation and illegal settlement of Palestine” and ends partnerships with some Israeli academic institutions.

A university spokesperson tells Reuters it’s “in dialogue with the protesters” and that, as of midday, the encampment was “not disruptive to normal university activities.”

Syria says 8 soldiers hurt in alleged Israeli strike that caused ‘material losses’

Eight Syrian soldiers were wounded and “material losses” were caused in an alleged Israeli airstrike on Damascus this evening, Syria’s state-run SANA broadcaster reports, citing a military source.

SANA says Israeli warplanes launched their missiles from over the Golan Heights at a site in the area of the capital.

Earlier, a security source told Reuters that the strike hit a building operated by Syrian security forces on the outskirts of Damascus.

Prestigious French university closes main Paris site due to anti-Israel occupation

Illustrative: Protesters hold posters of the Palestinian flag as they demonstrate near the entrance of the Institute of Political Studies, Sciences Po Paris, occupied by students, in Paris, France on April 26, 2024. (Julien De Rosa/AFP)

PARIS — France’s prestigious Sciences Po university says it will close its main Paris site on Friday due to a fresh occupation of buildings by pro-Palestinian students protesting against Israel.

In a message sent to staff on Thursday evening, its management says the buildings in central Paris “will remain closed tomorrow, Friday May 3. We ask you to continue to work from home.”

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Kibbutz Be’eri announces resident Dror Or was killed on Oct. 7, body being held in Gaza

Dror Or, taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 from his home in Kibbutz Be'eri. (Courtesy)

Kibbutz Be’eri announces that its resident, Dror Or, was murdered during Hamas’s terror onslaught on October 7 and that his body is being held in Gaza.

Or had been designated as a hostage to date.

Such announcements typically come after the IDF obtains additional forensics leading to a determination of a hostage’s death.

Or, 49, was taken hostage with two of his children, Noam, 17 and Alma, 13, by Hamas terrorists who attacked their home in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7.

The family was forced out of their safe room as terrorists set the house on fire. A neighbor saw the terrorists grabbing and taking them hostage.

Days later, the body of Yonat Or, Dror’s wife and mother of their three children, was found.

17-year-old Noam and 13-year-old Alma Or were released on November 25 as part of a temporary ceasefire deal brokered by Qatar and the United States between Hamas and Israel.

Noam and Alma’s older brother, Yahli, and their dog, Nella, survived. Yahli Or is volunteering in a year of national service in the north, and wasn’t home on October 7.

Dror Or was a chef and cheesemaker in the Be’eri Dairy, an award-winning artisanal cheese-making operation, founded in 1991 at the kibbutz.

His wife Yonat Or, was also an entrepreneur who created Ayuna, her own carpentry and furniture line in Be’eri.

The announcement from Kibbutz Be’eri brings the total of deceased Israelis being held in Gaza to 37.

Israeli strike hits Syrian security building outside Damascus, security source says

An Israeli strike hit a building operated by Syrian security forces on the outskirts of Damascus earlier tonight, a security source in the alliance backing Syria’s government tells Reuters.

There is no immediate report of a strike by Syrian state media.

Turkish ministry confirms halt of all trade with Israel

Turkey stopped all exports and imports to and from Israel as of today, the Turkish trade ministry says, citing “worsening humanitarian tragedy” in Gaza.

“Export and import transactions related to Israel have been stopped, covering all products,” Turkey’s trade ministry says in a statement, confirming earlier reports on the matter.

“Turkey will strictly and decisively implement these new measures until the Israeli Government allows an uninterrupted and sufficient flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza.”

Gaza doctor dies in Israeli jail; prison says he was detained for national security reasons

Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh. (Courtesy)

A senior Palestinian doctor died in an Israeli prison after more than four months of detention, two Palestinian prisoner associations say, blaming Israel for his death.

The associations say in a joint statement that Adnan Al-Bursh, head of orthopedics at Al Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s largest medical facility, had been detained by Israeli forces while temporarily working at Al-Awada Hospital in north Gaza.

They called his death an “assassination” and said his body remained in Israeli custody.

An Israeli military spokesperson said that the prison service had declared Bursh dead on April 19, saying that he had been detained for national security reasons in Ofer prison. The spokesperson did not comment on the cause of death.

Medical groups, including the World Health Organization, have repeatedly called for a halt to attacks on Gaza healthcare workers, with more than 200 killed so far in the Gaza conflict, according to an estimate from Insecurity Insight, a research group that collects and analyses data on attacks on aid workers around the world.

The Palestinian health ministry said in a statement that Bursh’s death raised to 496 the number of medical sector workers who had been killed by Israel since October 7. It added that 1,500 others had been wounded, while 309 had been arrested. Those figures haven’t been verified

Israel accuses Hamas of using hospitals for military purposes and says its operations against them have been justified by the presence of fighters.

Earlier today, the Israeli authorities released 64 Palestinians they had detained during their military offensive in Gaza via the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom Crossing, the Palestinian borders and crossings agency said.

One of them was the body of another man who had died in detention, the prisoners’ associations says.

Another freed detainee arrived in critical condition and was transferred to a hospital upon arrival, the crossings agency adds.

Dozens of Palestinians who had been freed by Israel in past months including some staff of a UN agency have reported ill-treatment during detention, including torture and deprivation of food and sleep. Israel says it adheres to international law regarding the treatment of prisoners.

The two new deaths bring the toll of Gazans who died in Israeli custody to at least 18 since the start of the war, the prisoners associations says, urging Israeli authorities to disclose the number, location and fate of detainees from Gaza.

UNRWA has documented the release of 1,506 people detained by the Israeli authorities through the Kerem Shalom Crossing as of April 4 and said the transfer of detainees regularly holds up aid. The 1,506 figure included 43 children and 84 women, it said.

Cabinet to approve closure of Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel tonight, ToI told

File: Employee of Qatar based news network and TV channel Al-Jazeera is seen at the outlet's Jerusalem office on July 31, 2017. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP)

The cabinet will approve the closure of Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel tonight, The Times of Israel has learned.

The Knesset approved last month the so-called Al Jazeera law, giving the government temporary powers to prevent foreign news networks from operating in Israel if they are deemed by the security services to be harming national security.

Though Israeli officials have long complained about Al Jazeera’s coverage, which they say is heavily influenced by Hamas and endangers IDF troops in Gaza, in the past they stopped short of taking action, mindful of Qatar’s bankrolling of Palestinian construction projects in the Gaza Strip, which were seen by all sides as a means of staving off conflict.

This year’s Independence Day torch-lighting ceremony to be held in Gaza Envelope region instead of Jerusalem

Dr. Hatam Hussein (right) and Professor Avraham Rivkind (left) light a torch at the 75th Independence Day ceremony at Mount Herzl, Jerusalem, on April 25, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

This year’s state ceremony transitioning from Memorial Day to Independence Day will take place in southern border towns targeted on October 7 instead of the traditional location in Jerusalem, Transportation Minister Miri Regev announces.

Torches will be lit in 12 of the hardest-hit locations near the Gaza border, including Kfar Aza, Nir Oz, Re’im, Sderot, Ofakim and Nahal Oz.

Kibbutz Be’eri was supposed to be one of the sites also selected, but the town refused in opposition to the notion of holding such ceremonies while members of its community remain captive in Gaza.

The May 13 ceremony will not include the traditional fireworks display and will be pre-recorded without an audience.

Anti-gov’t protest leaders receive calls from Shin Bet urging them to ensure rallies don’t cross the line

Demonstrators protest for the release of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip outside the home of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, following the release of a video by Hamas of Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, April 24, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Agents in the Shin Bet security service made a series of phone calls in recent days to leaders of the anti-government protest movement urging them to ensure that their demonstrations don’t cross the line days after a rally outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Jerusalem home led to scuffles with police, Channel 12.

The Shin Bet does not deny the report saying it regularly holds conversations with “various parties designed to preserve the boundaries of legitimate discourse, reduce risks to security forces and to prevent unintentional harm to demonstrators.”

With Gaza encampments spreading from the US to the UK, British Jewish student union demands protection

The Union of Jewish Students in the UK issues a statement lamenting the anti-Israel encampments that have sprung up on campuses throughout the country, similar to ones seen in the US.

USJ says the demonstrations are creating a “hostile and toxic atmosphere.”

Jewish students are angry, tired and hurt by “the continuous torrent of antisemitic hatred on campus” since October 7, USJ says.

“While students have a right to protest, these encampments create a hostile and toxic atmosphere on campus for Jewish students.”

“Let us be clear. We will not stand for this hatred. It’s time that universities took their duty of care to Jewish students seriously.”

The protesters “seek to replicate scenes of hatred from US campuses, with protesters already having called to ‘globalize the intifada’ to support the Houthis in Yemen and to not ‘engage with Zionists,’” the UJS warns.

“We have always been clear that Jewish students must feel safe on campuses,” UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s official spokesman says in response. “While our universities rightfully pride themselves on their openness and tolerance and diversity, it is obviously absolutely clear that any antisemitism shouldn’t be tolerated.”

“While we firmly believe in the power of rigorous free speech and debate, the right to that does not include the right to harass others or incite others to violence or terrorism,” Sunak’s spokesperson adds.

UK Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has urged university vice-chancellors to crack down on antisemitic abuse on university campuses.

“We’ve always been clear that people have a right to peaceful and lawful protest but clearly people shouldn’t abuse that right to intimidate others, cause unnecessary disruption. Obviously, the police already have extensive public order powers to tackle disorder at protests and will continue to have our full support in doing so if needed,” the premier’s office says.

IDF strikes several Hezbollah operatives spotted in buildings used to target Israel earlier today

Israeli fighter jets struck several Hezbollah operatives who were spotted by troops entering buildings used by the terror group in southern Lebanon’s Ayta ash-Shab earlier today, the military says.

Earlier, four rockets were launched from Lebanon at the Mount Dov area. According to the IDF, three of the projectiles were intercepted by the Iron Dome, while the fourth struck an open area.

No damage or injuries were caused, and the IDF adds that it shelled the launch site with artillery.

Israeli fighter jets struck several Hezbollah operatives who were spotted by troops entering buildings used by the terror group in southern Lebanon's Ayta ash-Shab earlier today, the military says.

Earlier, four rockets were launched from Lebanon at the Mount Dov area. According… pic.twitter.com/dQMfJbv8Uj

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) May 2, 2024

Border cops return to illegal outpost after settler extremists rebuild structure troops demolished yesterday

Border Police arrive to dismantle an illegal the Or Meir illegal outpost in the West Bank on May 2, 2024. (Courtesy)

Border Police and Civil Administration forces return to the site of the illegal West Bank outpost of Or Meir to evacuate its residents and demolish makeshift structures in the wildcat settlement, after having carried out a similar operation yesterday.

Dozens of radical settler activists sought to prevent the demolition on Wednesday of Or Meir, which was built without authorization on private Palestinian land. Some 25 activists were detained during the operation for resisting evacuation and assaulting police personnel, four of whom were arrested, the Civil Administration said.

According to settler activists, a rudimentary residential home and a goat pen were rebuilt overnight at Or Meir, leading the Civil Administration and Border Police to return to the outpost on Thursday evening.

Kan News reports that 20 companies of Border Police forces have been dispatched to the site to carry out the operation once again. A spokesperson for the Border Police did not immediately confirm this detail.

Settler activists claim some 150 Border Police are currently operating at Or Meir to evacuate the activists, and have already demolished the structures that were rebuilt since yesterday.

Cabinet secretary accuses AG of ‘coup’ over opposition to gov’t efforts to exempt Haredim from IDF service

Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs arrives for a meeting with families of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, as well as Israelis who were released from the terror group's captivity, in Herzliya, on December 5, 2023. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs assails Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara in a note to the High Court of Justice, accusing her of carrying out an “administrative coup” in her handling of the government’s stance regarding petitions demanding the conscription of ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students.

Fuch’s comments come after the Attorney General’s Office upbraided the government on Wednesday for having passed a decision asserting that the Defense Ministry, the Education Ministry and the IDF can have private counsel representation in the High Court for the government’s position that it can continue to fund ultra-Orthodox yeshivas and not draft ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students, in direct opposition to the attorney general’s position.

“The attorney general is carrying out an administrative coup, unfounded and unprecedented in Israel and in any other country in the world,” Fuchs writes in his note to the High Court, Ynet reports.

Fuchs accused the Attorney General’s Office of trying to replace the government and unjustly separating the government from its ministries by allowing the government to obtain private counsel in the Haredi conscription and yeshiva funding petitions but not the ministries that implement those policies.

On Wednesday, Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon said the government’s attempt to secure private counsel for those agencies was an attempt to circumvent the attorney general’s position that yeshiva funding must be halted and efforts made to draft ultra-Orthodox men into the army after the legal framework enabling the previous policies expired at the end of June 2023 and March 2024.

War cabinet minister and head of the National Unity party Benny Gantz replies to Fuch’s broadside, strongly criticizing him by saying “the cabinet secretary surely knows that in the State of Israel, the government is not above the law, and never will be.”

Gantz also takes a swipe at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his efforts to persist with funding Haredi yeshivas and not drafting Haredi men into the army, saying he is sure the court will not accept the government’s position “which the prime minister is leading [and] which lacks national responsibility.”

Gantz adds: “All of this is due to the political need to bring about a draft evasion law which will harm the security of the state and its resilience during a time of war.”

In first, US says Hamas briefly seized a major Jordanian shipment of aid in Gaza

Egyptian trucks carrying humanitarian aid bound for the Gaza Strip wait near the Rafah border crossing on the Egyptian side on March 23, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territory between Israel and the Palestinian terror group Hamas. (Khaled Desouki/AFP)

Hamas managed to divert a major shipment of humanitarian aid that was delivered to Gaza from Jordan earlier this week, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says, noting that the assistance was eventually returned to the group responsible for distributing it.

“The UN is either in the process or has by now recovered that aid, but it was an unacceptable act by Hamas to divert this aid to begin with,” Miller says during a press briefing, adding that UNRWA will likely issue a statement soon condemning the incident.

“If there’s one thing that Hamas could do to jeopardize the shipment of aid, it would be diverting it for their own use, rather than allowing it to go to the innocent civilians that need it,” he says, claiming this was the “first widespread case of diversion that we have seen” in Gaza.

Hamas held the aid trucks for “some time” before releasing them, he claims.

Israel expects Hamas to reject latest offer – official

As the war cabinet meets, the assumption among Israel’s leadership is that Hamas will officially reject the latest offer for a hostage deal, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.

The cabinet is discussing that possibility, and a potential start to a military operation in Rafah.

Meanwhile, Sinwar believes he can survive an IDF incursion into Rafah, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing Arab negotiators. “Sinwar is expected to reject any deal that doesn’t include a credible path to ending the war,” according to the WSJ.

The Arab mediators also say that Sinwar “believes that he has already won the war, whether he survives it or doesn’t, by opening the world’s eyes to the suffering of Palestinians and bringing the conflict to the forefront of global affairs.”

US, Saudi ‘very close’ to bilateral deal, but it hinges on normalization aspect, which is further off

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan (R) receives US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretariat in Riyadh on April 29, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool/AFP)

The United States and Saudi Arabia are “very close” to reaching a deal that would provide Riyadh with security assurances from Washington while moving the Gulf kingdom away from US rivals, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says.

However, he clarifies that the deal hinges on a normalization component that would require Israel to agree to create a pathway for a future Palestinian state. “There is still more work to be done” on that aspect, Miller acknowledges. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed no interest in such concessions before October 7, and he has only doubled down on this stance since, saying that it would amount to a victory for Palestinian terror.

“We are very close to reaching an agreement on the bilateral pieces of the package between the United States and Saudi Arabia. There are a few details that we have to continue to work through, but we think we can reach agreement on those details in a very short order,” Miller says.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the diplomatic initiative with Arab counterparts when he was in Riyadh on Monday. “We were looking at not just a path to two states, but also the reconstruction of Gaza, governance of Gaza, security for Gaza. Some pieces are further along than others… We hope to make progress on that and have the agreements ready to put forward as soon as possible,” Miller says.

While the US could reach an agreement with Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries regarding the terms of the regional diplomatic initiative to present to Israel, Riyadh has been clear that it will not sign off on the deal unless there is calm in Gaza and a path to an independent Palestinian state, Miller says.

“We might reach an agreement with Saudi Arabia on what this package will look like, but in terms of an actual deal that includes normalization with Israel, there needs to be calm in Gaza,” he says.

Asked why the US is putting so much effort into this initiative when Netanyahu is likely to reject it, Miller says the US believes the approach of regional integration is in Israel’s best interest because it would provide broader security for the Jewish state, isolate Iran in the region and provide Israel with partners to assist in the rebuilding of Gaza. “Ultimately, the government of Israel will have to make the choice about what’s in the best interest of their people.”

The State Department spokesperson denies reports that either the US or Saudi Arabia would support a deal that wouldn’t include the normalization component. “We have been very clear, Saudi Arabia has been very clear that this is a package deal that would include a bilateral component and also include a path to two states.”

Netanyahu to Holocaust survivors: Jews will stand alone if we must

In a meeting in Jerusalem with Holocaust survivors, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Jews “will stand alone” if they must.

“If it is possible to get the help of the Gentiles, I am always in favor,” he says, after citing one of the survivors who warned that Jews should not pin their hopes for safety on “Gentiles who make promises.”

Netanyahu says that US President Franklin Roosevelt refused to risk even one pilot to try to get in the way of the killing of Jews in Auschwitz, and alleges that British Prime Minister Winston Churchill tried to get his air force to bomb the death camp, but was opposed by the military command.

“If we have to stand alone – we stand alone,” says Netanyahu. “If it is possible to recruit the Gentiles – great. But if we don’t protect ourselves, no one will protect us.”

US: There hasn’t been any movement on hostage deal in recent days; ball in Hamas’s court

Protesters hold a banner reading 'It's either Rafah or the hostages: Choose life' as they block the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv during a demonstration calling for the release of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, May 2, 2024. (Dor Pazuelo/Flash90)

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says, “There has not been any movement [in the hostage negotiations] in the past few days.”

“There is a proposal on the table that answers much of the demands that Hamas made in previous rounds of negotiations. Israel made a significant offer in this last proposal that went forward [in which] they compromised on many long held positions that they had taken. It met many of the demands that Hamas had said they needed to agree to a deal, so we believe it’s now incumbent upon them to take the deal,” Miller says.

“Hamas is the only barrier to a ceasefire right now and immediate ceasefire, and we were waiting their response,” he adds.

TV report: Sinwar still demanding guaranteed, unconditional end to the war; has other objections to deal

Yahya Sinwar, head of Hamas in Gaza, greets his supporters during a meeting with leaders of Palestinian factions at his office in Gaza City, April 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Adel Hana, File)

As Israel awaits a formal reply to what US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called its “extraordinarily generous” hostage-truce offer, Channel 12 news cites unnamed Hamas sources saying that the terror group’s Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar has three specific demands that the Egyptian mediators are currently trying to resolve, including with US assistance.

First and foremost, according to the TV station’s Middle East commentator Ehud Yaari, Sinwar, as he has done for months, is demanding a guaranteed end to the war. Specifically, he wants to “completely change” the clause in the proposal that provides for negotiations on a sustainable calm for Gaza to begin on the 16th day of the initial, 40-day phase of the truce. Instead, he wants “a written obligation for an unconditional end to the fighting,” says Yaari.

Second, Sinwar opposes giving Israel the right to bar certain Palestinian security prisoners with blood on their hands from the West Bank and instead send them to Gaza or exile.

And thirdly, Sinwar wants specifics regarding materials that won’t be allowed into Gaza for its reconstruction. Presumably, says Yaari, this is to ensure that Hamas would be able to rebuild its tunnels and other military infrastructure.

Fuming over planned military appointments, Ben Gvir urges PM to fire Gallant

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, center, speaks to National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir after a Knesset vote in Jerusalem, February 15, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir calls on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fire Defense Minister Yoav Gallant after the army announces a series of senior appointments — including the replacement of outgoing military intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, who resigned over his role in the failures that led to the Hamas terror group’s October 7 onslaught.

Gallant was one of those responsible for the government’s mistaken security conception prior to October 7, Ben Gvir tweets, arguing that he “does not have a mandate to approve the appointments of generals and design the next general staff of the IDF.”

“This has nothing to do with the identity of the appointed officers, some of whom may be very worthy, but with Gallant’s very decision to continue as if the biggest failure in the country’s history had not happened under his responsibility as Minister of Defense,” Ben Gvir says, arguing that Gallant is “not fit to continue serving as Defense Minister.”

Netanyahu announced he was firing Gallant last March over his criticism of the government’s judicial overhaul — before reversing course two weeks later.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also slammed the appointments, saying in a video statement that “regardless of the identity of the officers, the appointments of IDF major generals who will lead the correction of the army after the failures, cannot be made by the chief of staff whose name is signed on the military failures.”

“It’s not legitimate. That’s not how things are fixed. This is not how trust is restored,” he said.

Haredi extremists, settlers, hostage families block roads in protests throughout Israel, West Bank

Demonstrators protest calling for the release of the hostages in Tel Aviv on May 2, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Protesters have been blocking roads at different locations in Israel and the West Bank.

Ultra-Orthodox extremists have been blocking Route 4 in central Israel in protest of efforts to end blanket exemptions from military service for their community. There have been reports of several arrests as police try and pull rioters from the road.

In Tel Aviv, dozens of protesters — led by residents of the Gaza border Kibbutz Be’eri and the relatives of hostages — have blocked Shaul Hamelech Street near the IDF’s Kirya military headquarters where the war cabinet is slated to meet later tonight.

Nearby, police arrested a 58-year-old suspect who allegedly attacked the motorcade of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In the West Bank, extremist settlers set tires on fire to block Route 60 in protest of authorities’ dismantlement of an illegal outpost that they had built on private Palestinian land.

Twenty companies were dispatched to dismantle the illegal outposts as settlers once again diverted the attention and resources of security forces to the West Bank.

Shlomi Binder to replace Military Intelligence Directorate chief who resigned over Oct. 7 failures

Commander of the Galilee Division, Brig. Gen. Shlomi Binder, takes part in an exercise simulating fighting on the Lebanese border in northern Israel on February 10, 2021. (Israel Defense Forces)

The Israeli military announces a series of senior appointments, including the next head of the Military Intelligence Directorate, after the current top intel officer resigned over his role in the failures that led to the Hamas terror group’s October 7 onslaught.

Brig. Gen. Shlomi Binder, who currently serves as head of the Operations Division, will be appointed as the next chief of the Military Intelligence Directorate. Binder previously commanded the 91st “Galilee” Regional Division.

The current top intel chief, Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, announced his resignation last month.

Brig. Gen. Avi Blot, who currently serves as the head of the Command and Staff College, will be appointed as the next chief of the Central Command, replacing Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fox, who recently decided to end his 36-year-long military career.

Brig. Gen. Dan Goldfus, who currently commands the 98th Division, will be appointed as the next head of the Northern Corps and Maneuver Array. Goldfus led his division during four months of fighting in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis.

Brig. Gen. Dado Bar Kalifa, the commander of the 36th Division, will be appointed as head of the Personnel Directorate. Bar Kalifa led his division during months of fighting in northern Gaza.

Brig. Gen. Aviad Dagan, a senior Israeli Air Force officer, will be appointed as the next head of the Computer Service Directorate.

The nominated officers will all be promoted to the rank of major general in the coming months before they enter their roles.

The IDF says the appointments were made by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, following a “lengthy process.”

The officers chosen for the top roles are “commanders who stood out in combat in the field and at headquarters,” the military says.

The appointments are made by Gallant and Halevi despite opposition by some lawmakers, who have said that the military should not make such changes amid the war.

Blinken warned PM that Rafah op would likely shut closing window for Saudi deal – officials

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, May 1, 2024. (Haim Zach/GPO)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders he met with earlier this week in Tel Aviv that a hostage deal must be reached soon if Jerusalem still wants to ink a normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia, two officials familiar with the matter tell The Times of Israel.

Blinken warned that the window for a deal is closing and that a major Israeli offensive in Rafah would likely shut it completely, the officials say.

The approaching US presidential election and increasingly unfavorable politics on Capitol Hill make it difficult for the White House to wait much longer before presenting a deal to Congress, a US official speculates.

The Guardian reported earlier this week that the US and Saudi Arabia could move forward with a bilateral agreement in which Washington would provide Riyadh with security guarantees without a side deal that would see the Gulf kingdom normalize relations with Israel. The US official dismisses this possibility, saying the White House isn’t interested in such a deal and that it would not be able to get through Congress regardless.

Turkey’s Erdogan criticizes US crackdown on anti-Israel campus rioters

Turkish President and leader of the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives a speech during a campaign rally ahead of nationwide municipality elections, in Istanbul, Turkey, March 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan wades into the debate over US college campus protests on Thursday, saying authorities were displaying “cruelty” in clamping down on pro-Palestinian rioters

Demonstrations have spread on campuses across the US over Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza, prompting police crackdowns and arrests at some venues such as Columbia University in New York.

“Conscientious students and academics including anti-Zionist Jews at some prestigious American universities are protesting the massacre [in Gaza],” Erdogan tells an event in Ankara.

“These people are being subjected to violence, cruelty, suffering, and even torture for saying the massacre has to stop,” he said, adding that university staff were being “sacked and lynched” for supporting the Palestinians.

“The limits of Western democracy are drawn by Israel’s interests,” Erdogan says. “Whatever infringes on Israel’s interests is anti-democratic, antisemitic for them.”

Separately today, Erdogan held talks with the leader of Turkey’s main opposition CHP party on Thursday, the first such meeting in nearly eight years, just one month after the CHP outperformed Erdogan’s party in local elections.

The March 31 vote marked Erdogan and his AK Party’s (AKP) worst defeat in more than 20 years in power. It revitalized the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) under new chief Ozgur Ozel, and strengthened Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu’s standing as a strong future presidential contender.

Israel says Turkey’s Erdogan is breaking agreements by blocking ports for trade

Foreign Minister Israel Katz in Jerusalem, February 19, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

After reports emerge that Turkey stopped all trade with Israel, Foreign Minister Israel Katz accuses Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of “breaking agreements by blocking ports for Israeli imports and exports.”

“This is how a dictator behaves, disregarding the interests of the Turkish people and businessmen, and ignoring international trade agreements,” writes Katz on X.

He says he instructed Director General Yaakov Blitshtein to “immediately engage with all relevant parties in the government to create alternatives for trade with Turkey, focusing on local production and imports from other countries.”

“Israel will emerge with a strong and daring economy,” Katz pledges. “We Win, and They Lose.”

Israel and Turkey have free trade agreements from the mid-1990s that are now being violated.

Last month, Turkey announced export trade restrictions to Israel on 54 products including cement, steel, aluminum, iron construction materials and equipment, in response to the war in the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu: ‘We will do what we must in order to win, including in Rafah’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a ceremony for fallen members of the Etzel paramilitary organization in Jaffa on May 2, 2024. (Screen capture)

Speaking at a memorial ceremony for fallen members of the Etzel paramilitary organization in Jaffa, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once again promises to operate in Rafah against Hamas.

“We will do what we must in order to win and to triumph over out enemies,” says Netanyahu in prepared remarks, “including in Rafah.”

Perhaps hinting at cabinet debates over the right response to the Iranian attack on Israel last month, Netanyahu says “there were and there are disagreements among us over operations in distant and close theaters.”

“But at the end of the debate, I made a decision, and the decision was received,” he continues. “We operate there, and we will operate here as well.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated US opposition to an operation in Rafah during his visit yesterday.

Turning to Israel’s allies, Netanyahu says Israel is grateful to them.

“But to our good friends, I say: decisions on issues that concern our existence – we make ourselves responsibly and carefully. We will do everything to continue to protect our country.”

Netanyahu is slated to head meetings of the war cabinet and the national security cabinet this evening.

Biden says campus protests haven’t led him to reconsider Gaza war policy, doesn’t plan to deploy National Guard

US President Joe Biden delivers remarks about student protests over the war in Gaza, from the Roosevelt Room of the White House, May 2, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Upon finishing his remarks at the White House in which he condemned the anti-Israel protests that have been rocking American college campuses, a reporter asks whether the demonstrations have led him to reconsider any of his policies regarding the Middle East.

“No,” he responds.

Asked whether he’s thinking of deploying the National Guard to restore order on college campuses, Biden responds, “No.”

‘There’s a right to protest, not to cause chaos’: Biden slams campus anti-Israel demonstrators, threats to Jewish students

US President Joe Biden speaks in the White House on May 2, 2024. (Screen capture/YouTube)

US President Joe Biden condemns the anti-Israel protests that have been wreaking havoc on college campuses across the country.

“There’s a right to protest, but not the right to cause chaos,” Biden says in his first prepared remarks on the topic, which he gives from the Roosevelt Room of the White House.

“Destroying property is not a peaceful protest — it’s against the law. Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses, forcing the cancellation of classes and graduations — none of this is a peaceful protest,” he asserts, referring to the range of actions taken by anti-Israel protesters at Columbia University, the University of Southern California, the University of California, Los Angeles, and other schools.

“Threatening people, intimidating people, instilling fear in people is not peaceful protest — it’s against the law,” Biden continues.

“There should be no place on any campus — no place in America — for antisemitism or threats of violence against Jewish students,” he says before subsequently condemning all forms of discrimination.

“I understand people have strong feelings and deep convictions. In America, we respect the right and protect the right for them to express that, but it doesn’t mean anything goes,” Biden clarifies. “It needs to be done without violence, without destruction, without hate and within the law.”

“Make no mistake, as president I will always defend free speech, but I will always be just as strong in standing up for the rule of law,” he asserts.

“We’ve all seen images, and they put to the test two fundamental American principles: The first is the right to free speech — for people to peacefully assemble and make their voices heard. The second is the rule of law. Both must be upheld. We are not an authoritarian nation where we silence people or squash dissent. The American people are heard.”

“In fact, peaceful protest is the best tradition of how Americans respond to consequential issues. But neither are we a lawless country. We are a civil society, and order must prevail,” he insists.

“Throughout our history, we’ve often faced moments like this because we are a big, diverse, free-thinking and freedom-loving nation,” the US president continues. “In moments like this, there are always those who rush in to score political points. But this isn’t a moment for politics. It’s a moment for clarity.”

“So let me be clear, violent protest is not protected, peaceful protest is,” Biden adds.

Judicial Selection Committee appoints district judges after delay

The Judicial Selection Committee meets for the first time in over 18 months in Jerusalem, on November 16, 2023. (GPO)

The Judicial Selection Committee appoints 21 district court judges and eight acting district court judges after failing to do so at several previous meetings.

Nine judges are appointed to the Tel Aviv-Jaffa District Court, eight judges are appointed to the Central-Lod District Court, three judges are appointed to the Beersheba District Court and one judge is appointed to the Jerusalem District Court.

Another five acting judges and registrars are appointed to the Tel Aviv-Jaffa District Court and three to the Central-Lod District Court, while three court registrars are appointed to magistrates courts in the Northern District.

The appointments were all made by the unanimous decision of the nine-member committee, the judicial authority says in a statement to the press.

Committee member MK Yitzhak Kroizer of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party welcomes in particular the appointment of Judge Ron Solkin to the Central-Lod District Court, saying he was known for “his rulings to eradicate crime and his Jewish-Zionist perspective.”

Saudi Arabia reportedly stepping up arrests of citizens over social media posts related to Gaza war

Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, not pictured, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, March 20, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

Saudi Arabia has reportedly stepped up arrests of citizens for social media posts related to the Israel-Hamas war, as Riyadh signals readiness to normalize ties with Israel if the latter commits to establishing a pathway to a future Palestinian state.

Restrictions on free speech, including online, have long been common in Saudi Arabia, but the recent spate of arrests is specifically linked to the Gaza war, Riyadh-based diplomats and rights groups tell Bloomberg, which doesn’t offer an exact figure for how many have been arrested.

Recent detentions have included an executive for a company involved in Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 economic plan who expressed views on the war deemed incendiary by local authorities, Bloomberg says.

A media figure who said Israel should never be forgiven and another individual calling for the boycott of American fast-food restaurants in the kingdom, unnamed sources tell Bloomberg.

The arrests are aimed at deterring people from making online statements about the war that might harm national security, a source familiar with the Saudi government’s thinking tells Bloomberg.

Another Saudi source familiar with the matter says there has been a major increase in inmates over the last six months at one of the country’s maximum-security prisons. This was corroborated by several Saudi diplomats and rights groups who say they’ve also noticed a spike in social media-related arrests since October 7. However, many of those detentions could well be for posts unrelated to the Israel-Hamas war, the sources say.

US aiming to have Gaza pier up and running within days

A maritime pier being built by the US military off the coast of the Gaza Strip, in an image released on April 29, 2024. (CENTCOM)

The US military aims to have the temporary pier that it is building off the coast of Gaza up and running in the coming days, despite poor weather that is hampering preparations, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby tells reporters during a briefing.

“We were hoping within days. I think that’s still a hope,” Kirby says.

Following media attention over demolition of injured Bedouin girl’s home, Israeli authorities scrap order

Mohamad Hassouna, who resides in the unrecognized Bedouin village of Al-Fura, sits in a building near where his 7-year-old daughter Amina was injured by an Iranian missile shard in the southern Negev desert on April 14, 2024. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP)

Israeli authorities have scrapped a demolition order that was issued earlier today for the family home of 7-year-old Amina Hassouna, who is still hospitalized in serious condition after shrapnel from an intercepted ballistic missile in last month’s attack from Iran landed in the Bedouin town of Al-Fura in the southern Negev, Channel 12 reports.

The reversal comes less than an hour after Channel 12 revealed that the order had been issued, sparking some uproar on social media.

Like many unrecognized Bedouin villages in the area, al-Furah lacks bomb shelters that could have kept the girl safe.

Such villages are regularly served with demolition orders as they were built without permits. However, many have existed on the same plots of land for generations, sometimes after being evicted by Israeli authorities from other areas. Securing building permits for Bedouin communities is nearly impossible and their leadership regularly accuses the state of discriminatory practices and neglect.

Police finish clearing anti-Israel encampment at UCLA; buses full of detainees seen driving off

Pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel demonstrators watch police activity behind a makeshift barricade on the UCLA campus, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Police have finished clearing a fortified anti-Israel encampment of far-left protesters at UCLA after hundreds of them defied police orders to leave overnight.

ABC News reporters on the ground say they saw two buses filled with detainees drive off.

Royce Hall was left covered in graffiti after police cleared the encampment. Phrases painted on the walls included "Divest from genocide" and "Free Gaza." pic.twitter.com/tK1ZzVt7Te

— Daily Bruin (@dailybruin) May 2, 2024

Ben Gvir blasts Gallant for agreeing to release the body of an Arab Israeli security prisoner

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) speaks with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant shortly before the vote on the so-called reasonableness bill at the Knesset, July 24, 2023. At left is Itamar Ben Gvir. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir accuses Defense Minister Yoav Gallant of damaging negotiations to release the hostages by agreeing to release the body of an Arab-Israeli security prisoner who died in prison.

“Releasing the bodies of terrorists harms the negotiations for the release of hostages! It is very unfortunate that Minister Gallant does not understand this,” Ben Gvir tweets.

Ben Gvir have expressed strong opposition to a proposed hostage deal scaling back or temporarily halting the fighting, saying it would lead to the government’s dissolution.

Ben Gvir and Gallant have sparred repeatedly, most recently in April when he called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fire the defense minister after security forces begin preparations to dismantle the illegal Gal Yosef outpost in the West Bank.

Likud MKs join Smotrich in urging Gallant not to allow IDF chief to make senior appointment after Oct. 7 ‘failure’

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi (center) attends a meeting at the IDF's Southern Command Headquarters in Beersheba, April 21, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli and two other Likud lawmakers write to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to express opposition to Lt Gen. Herzi Halevi’s recent round of senior appointments within the IDF.

The general staff, “which besides impressive achievements in the war bears direct responsibility for the security failure of October 7,” cannot involve itself in promoting senior officials, Chikli, alongside MKs Moshe Saada and Dan Illouz write, adding that “some of the appointments that have come up concern senior officers whose degree of responsibility for the events of October 7 is still unknown.”

Their statement is welcomed by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has repeatedly insisted that the army’s leadership has no mandate to design a “new and reformed IDF” during wartime.

“Important support for our demand to ensure that the new high command will not be in the image and likeness of those responsible for the military failure,” Smotrich tweets.

Demolition order issued for home of Bedouin girl still hospitalized due to Iran strike

A boy rides a donkey near an Iron Dome air defense battery at an unrecognized by Bedouin village in the southern Negev, on April 14, 2024. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP)

Israeli authorities have placed a demolition order on the family home of 7-year-old Amina Hassouna, who is still hospitalized in serious condition after shrapnel from an intercepted ballistic missile used in last month’s attack from Iran landed in the Bedouin town of Al-Fura in the southern Negev, Channel 12 reports.

Like many unrecognized Bedouin villages in the area, Al-Fura lacks access to bomb shelters that could have kept the girl safe.

Such villages are regularly served with demolition orders as they were built without permits. However, many have existed on the same plots of land for generations, sometimes after being evicted by Israeli authorities from other areas. Securing building permits for Bedouin communities is nearly impossible and their leadership regularly accuses the state of discriminatory practices and neglect.

זוכרים את אמינה אל-חסוני בת ה7 שנפגעה קשה ממתקפת הטילים האיראנים בנגב? הרשויות במדינת ישראל הדביקו היום צו הריסה על הבית שלה בפזורה הבדואית, בזמן שהיא מאושפזת בבית החולים. pic.twitter.com/oi89FFNXJl

— מוחמד מג'אדלה محمد مجادلة (@mmagadli) May 2, 2024

Hamas delegation to visit Egypt for further truce talks after group indicated it would reject deal

File: Ismail Haniyeh, the Doha-based political bureau chief of Hamas, speaks to the press after a meeting with the Iranian foreign minister in Tehran on March 26, 2024. (AFP)

A Hamas delegation is set to visit Cairo soon for further talks with Egyptian mediators about a potential truce-hostage deal, says a statement from the terror group.

The development comes hours after Hamas indicated that it would reject the latest proposal crafted by Egyptian, Qatari and American mediators and greenlit by Israel.

It also comes after Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh held a phone call with Egyptian intel chief Abbas Kamel during which he told the top mediator that his terror group is “studying the ceasefire proposal” in a positive spirit, the statement says.

Gallant urges against protests in military cemeteries on Memorial Day

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant meets with representatives Public Council to Commemorate Soldiers, the Yad Labanim memorial organization and the IDF Widows and Orphans Organization at the Defense Ministry on May 2, 2024. (Shachar Yorman/Defense Ministry)

Using Memorial Day ceremonies to discuss anything other than “unity and partnership” will “desecrate the sanctity of the day,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says.

Speaking with representatives of the Public Council to Commemorate Soldiers, the Yad Labanim memorial organization and the IDF Widows and Orphans Organization, Gallant calls on both the public and politicians to leave political and social differences aside, as Israel approaches its first Memorial Day since October 7.

Responding to calls by bereaved families to exclude government ministers from this year’s memorial events, Gallant said that while “the representatives of the government and the Knesset must be in the cemeteries,” he calls on “all representatives of the public, whoever they are… to sanctify the principle of remembrance.”

At the same time, “the public must also show maturity and responsibility and take the protests and demonstrations out of the cemeteries and their surroundings,” he states. “This is inappropriate.”

“This year we received a reminder of who our enemies are and the extent of their barbarism, murderousness and willingness to commit extremely difficult acts. We are fighting the most just war in the history of the State of Israel, at least since the War of Liberation,” he declares.

IDF removes remnants of another Iran missile found by hikers in southern Israel

Israeli forces remove the remains of an Iranian ballistic missile that was found by hikers near Arad, May 2, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The Israeli military removed remnants of another intercepted Iranian ballistic missile found by hikers at the Ye’elim stream, close to Arad, in southern Israel.

The missile was one of 120 fired at Israel in the Iranian attack on April 14.

The remnants were lifted out of the area by crane and moved to another location, where the Fire and Rescue Services removed any hazardous materials.

After it was deemed safe, the remnants were taken to an army base to be further examined.

In rare move, Home Front Command to issue safety guidelines for Israelis at Eurovision

The completed Eurovision stage at Malmo Arena is shown at a press conference in Malmo, Sweden, on April 25, 2024. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP, File)

In a rare move, the IDF Home Front Command will issue guidelines to Israelis in Sweden’s Malmö in the event of an emergency there, amid the Eurovision Song Contest.

The instructions will be issued via the Home Front Command mobile app, which is normally only used in Israel for rocket attacks and other incidents such as earthquakes.

The move comes as the National Security Council issued an updated travel warning for Malmö, citing “a well-founded fear” that terrorists could target Israelis attending the Eurovision.

The Israeli military says the Home Front Command will update its app for Israelis staying in the city with “instructions for behavior in an emergency situation, outside the country’s borders.”

It says the app will enable the National Security Council to send messages in “real-time” to Israelis in Malmö between May 2 and 12, “subject to an assessment of the situation.”

“This is a unique move adapted for the Eurovision event only and within the defined schedules,” the IDF adds.

Herzog to Diaspora Jews: Campuses contaminated by hatred; stand strong in the face of antisemitism; Israel is with you

Israeli President Isaac Herzog speaks at a swearing in ceremony for newly appointed judges at the President's residence in Jerusalem, on April 18, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

President Isaac Herzog publishes a message of solidarity with Jewish communities around the world ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day next week and after the explosion of anti-Israel protests on university campuses across the United States and elsewhere over the last two weeks.

“The people of Israel are with you,” Herzog says, addressing Jewish communities in the diaspora. “We hear you. We see the shameless hostility and threats. We feel the insult, the breach of faith and breach of friendship. We share the apprehension and concern.”

“We see prominent academic institutions, halls of history, culture, and education contaminated by hatred and antisemitism fueled by arrogance and ignorance, and driven by moral failings and disinformation,” he continues. “We watch in horror as the atrocities of October 7th against Israel are celebrated and justified. We hear you. We recognize your heroic efforts. We are with you, and we are here for you.”

Condemning the “violence, harassment and intimidation” of the anti-Israel protesters, Herzog vows that “as they chant for intifada and genocide, we will work together to free our hostages held by Hamas, and fight for civil liberties and our right to believe and belong, for the right to live proudly, peacefully and securely, as Jews, as Israelis – anywhere.”

To our sisters and brothers around the world: The people of Israel hear you. The people of Israel stand with you. Do not fear. Stand strong. Together we will overcome.

Watch my special message to Jewish communities and supporters of Israel all around the world. pic.twitter.com/ahRyfZ44VH

— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) May 2, 2024

Continuing, he says that as the Jewish people mark Holocaust Memorial Day next week, “We will speak of the dark times of the past, and we will remember the miracle of our rebirth: in our ancient homeland, the Jewish, democratic State of Israel, and throughout the Jewish world.”

“Together, we shall overcome,” he adds. “In the face of this terrifying resurgence of antisemitism: Do not fear. Stand proud. Stand strong for your freedom.”

IDF says fighter jets hit Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon overnight

Israeli fighter jets hit several Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon’s Shebaa overnight, the military says.

In another strike a short while ago, the IDF says surveillance soldiers of the 869th Combat Intelligence Collection Unit spotted a Hezbollah operative at one of the terror group’s sites in Markaba.

A short while after the identification, a fighter jet struck the building, the IDF says.

במהלך הלילה מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו מספר תשתיות צבאיות של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב שבעא.

בנוסף, לפני זמן קצר תצפיתנית מיחידת האיסוף 869 זיהתה מחבל ששהה במבנה צבאי של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב מרכבא.
זמן קצר לאחר מכן, מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו את המבנה בו שהה המחבל pic.twitter.com/ejSVezUEq7

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) May 2, 2024

Blinken: It’s clear Israel wants a hostage deal, no need to focus on hypotheticals about Rafah

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to the media at the port of Ashdod, in Ashdod, Israel, Wednesday May 1, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken tells NBC that it’s clear Israel is willing to make “big compromises” in order to achieve a truce and hostage release deal with Hamas, and that the responsibility to ensure it comes to fruition is now on Hamas.

“It’s clear they’d like to see that happen,” Blinken tells the news outlet of the Israeli desire for a deal.

Of the deal, he says, “It gets an immediate ceasefire, it gets hostages home and it gives us something to build on.”

Asked if the chance for a hostage deal could be squashed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that Israel will move forward with its imminent offensive in Rafah, the southernmost Gaza city with a wartime population of more than one million people, Blinken says “people say things; let’s focus on what they’re doing, what we’re doing.”

“The most immediate thing, the most urgent thing is seeing in the days ahead what Hamas’s response is to a very strong proposal that’s on the table,” he continues. “Everyone agrees that this is a good deal, and one that would result in, again, an immediate ceasefire, which everyone wants, and getting the hostages home, which everyone should want.  That’s where the focus is.”

Asked what steps the US will take if Israel moves forward with an operation in Rafah rather than pursuing a deal with Hamas, Blinken says he doesn’t want to discuss “hypotheticals about what might happen.”

“We’re focused on seeing if this deal can happen, as it should happen. And we’ll see what Hamas does. It’s on them.”

He reiterates, however, that the US has yet to see “a clear, credible plan to protect civilians” in Rafah, and that until it does it “cannot and will not support a major military operation” there.

Egypt will invite Israeli, Hamas teams to Cairo to bridge gaps over hostage deal – report

Egypt will invite Israeli and Hamas delegations to Cairo to try to bridge gaps over a hostage release deal, the Saudi Asharq newspaper reports.

Israel has yet to receive an official answer from Hamas to the proposal it submitted late last week through Egyptian mediators.

Shin Bet captures Islamic Jihad cell planning bombing attacks in West Bank

A compilation image released on May 2, 2024 shows Palestinian Islamic Jihad members Ahmed Abu Bakr, 29 (top left) Ibrahim Abu Bakr, 29 (top right), and Ibadah Abu Bakr, 18 (bottom) who were arrested by the Shin Bet for planning bombing attacks in the West Bank. (Shin Bet)

A Palestinian Islamic Jihad cell planning bombing attacks in the West Bank on behalf of the terror group’s Lebanon branch was recently captured, the Shin Bet security agency announces.

According to the Shin Bet, IDF troops nabbed three Islamic Jihad operatives in the West Bank town of Yabed in January. They are named by the agency as Ahmed Abu Bakr, 29, Ibrahim Abu Bakr, 29, and Ibadah Abu Bakr, 18.

The trio “acted under the directives of the PIJ headquarters in Lebanon, in order to carry out significant attacks, using remote-detonated explosives against IDF troops in the area,” the agency says.

During their arrest, the Shin Bet says, troops seized several primed explosive devices.

Ahmed and Ibrahim, who the Shin Bet says are senior PIJ operatives, were in contact with the terror group’s headquarters in Lebanon, during which they received funding, largely cryptocurrency, for their attacks, according to the agency.

The Shin Bet says the pair also carried out tests with remote-detonated bombs. Ibadah had been recruited by Ibrahim to build the explosive devices, according to the agency.

The trio have been charged with a series of security offenses, leading the Shin Bet to release details about the case.

Netanyahu, Germany’s Scholz talk hostages, Gaza aid efforts

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed efforts to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas and a truce in Gaza in a phone call Thursday, German government spokesperson Wolfgang Buechner says, without providing details.

Further improvements in the supply of humanitarian aid to people in Gaza was also a topic, Buechner says in an emailed statement.

After hours at the periphery, riot police enter anti-Israel protest camp at UCLA

Police breach the pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel encampment at the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in Los Angeles, California, early on May 2, 2024. (Etienne Laurent/AFP)

Hundreds of helmeted police have muscled their way into a central plaza of the University of California at Los Angeles in the early hours of Thursday morning in a move to disperse a pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protest camp after violent clashes a night earlier between protesters and counter-protesters.

Starting around sunset on Wednesday, officers in tactical gear began filing onto the UCLA campus adjacent to a complex of tents occupied by throngs of demonstrators, live footage from the scene showed.

Local television station KABC-TV estimated 300 to 500 protesters were hunkered down inside the camp, while around 2,000 more had gathered outside in support.

But the assembled police stood by on the periphery of the tents for hours before finally starting to force their way into the encampment around 3:15 a.m. PDT (1:15 p.m. Israel time) to arrest occupants who refused to leave.

Demonstrators, some carrying makeshift shields and umbrellas, seek to block the officers’ advance by their sheer numbers, while shouting, “push them back” and flashing bright lights in the eyes of the police.

Tent encampments of protesters calling on universities to stop doing business with Israel or companies they say support the war in Gaza have spread across campuses nationwide in a student movement unlike any other this century. The ensuing police crackdowns echoed actions decades ago against a much larger protest movement protesting the Vietnam War.

Israeli PhD student at Johns Hopkins says she was attacked by protester for talking about Oct. 7

An Israeli PhD student at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, says she was attacked by an anti-Israel protester on the university campus after speaking about the plight of the hostages held by Hamas.

Recounting the incident on X, formerly Twitter, Noga Mudrik writes that she was “hit by a girl holding a Palestinian flag, right at the campus entrance.”

“She shouted at me to go back to Europe and hurled insults at me and Israelis,” she writes. “This happened right after I spoke to TV journalists about the hostages and Oct. 7.”

Mudrik adds that when she moved to the US for her PhD two and a half years ago, she “never imagined I’d have to defend my safety or my right to exist as an Israeli,” but says that since then, the “right of free speech turned into violence.”

“I came here to do research, and I want to do the research I love. I did not come to defend my safety, nor my right, or the rights of my family, friends, and millions of others in Israel—Jews, Arabs, and others of different religions—to exist,” she adds.

She attaches images of some of the signs she came across on the John Hopkins campus, including one declaring that “Zionism upholds Nazi ideology and white supremacy.”

When I moved to the States for my PhD about 2.5 years ago, I came here to learn and do research. I never imagined I'd have to defend my safety or my right to exist as an Israeli. But we crossed a red line long ago when the right of free speech turned into violence.

— Noga Mudrik ????️???????? ???? (@MudrikNoga) May 1, 2024

Sweden’s Jewish community fears attacks by anti-Israel protesters during Eurovision

Planned protests against Israel taking part in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest have made members of the Jewish community in Swedish host city Malmo anxious, a representative of the community says.

Sweden has promised a dazzling show on May 7-11, but it will take place amid demonstrations against Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza, which began with the October 7 Hamas terror assault in southern Israel.

The Jewish community of around 1,200 people is worried it could become a target of large protests planned for May 9, when Israel will take part in the second semifinal, and again on the day of the final, May 11.

“There’s a certain feeling of apprehension, of tension. I can’t say that I’m not worried,” Felix Krausz Sjögren, a guide at the synagogue in Malmo, tells Reuters.

“With Israel being in the Eurovision, the emotions will be even more heightened, and maybe the synagogue will be a target of protests. It’s not unthinkable.”

War cabinet to meet at 6:30 p.m. to discuss hostage deal negotiations

File - The Israeli war cabinet and top security officials meet in Tel Aviv on April 14, hours after Iran's missile and drone attack on Israel. (Amos Ben Gershom/ GPO)

The war cabinet will meet at 6:30 p.m. tonight to discuss the next steps in negotiations to achieve a hostage deal, an official in the Prime Minister’s Office tells The Times of Israel.

A meeting of the war cabinet was canceled on Tuesday.

Tonight’s meeting will be followed by a gathering of the full security cabinet.

Kfar Saba mayor asks government to reconsider sending Smotrich to speak at Memorial Day ceremony

Family and friends attend the funeral of Israeli soldier Oz Daniel, who was murdered on October 7 and his body taken to Gaza, at the military cemetery in Kfar Saba, February 26, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Family members of victims of the October 7 Hamas massacre are asking government ministers and lawmakers to refrain from speaking at Memorial Day ceremonies later this month, citing concerns that the day will be tainted by the presence of divisive politicians, whom many blame for the failures surrounding the Hamas terror assault.

Following the publication of a list of ministers and MKs who will attend ceremonies at military cemeteries across Israel, Kfar Saba Mayor Rafi Sa’ar criticizes the decision to send Smotrich to his hometown.

“We are in a difficult period, the winds of the country are turbulent and the heart still aches and bleeds for the loss of our best sons and daughters on Saturday October 7 and throughout the ensuing war,” he says in a request for the government to re-examine the decision.

“In Kfar Saba, we are working to maintain unity in our communities and I believe that precisely because of the request from many grieving families and against the backdrop of the difficult emotions, it would be worthwhile to reexamine the issue and hold ceremonies this year without the involvement of political parties,” he adds.

Speaking to Army Radio, Eyal Eshel, whose daughter Roni Eshel was killed on the Nahal Oz military base, says he has been attempting to contact Smotrich since yesterday to ask about his planned attendance at the ceremony at the Kfar Saba military cemetery.

“Why would you come here? Is this part of an election campaign?” he asks of the far-right minister. “I won’t prevent him from coming here, but I can ask him not to talk or deliver a speech.”

Amid safety concerns, the number of attendees at the annual Memorial Day ceremony on Mount Herzl later this month will be reduced to 25,000 people, down by about 5,000 from 2023, Hebrew media reports.

The decision to limit the number of participants was made by the Defense Ministry, after the Israel Police handed over the responsibility for ensuring the safety of the event in light of the Meron disaster inquiry.

Smotrich lauds Trump for showing ‘courage and integrity’ by rejecting Palestinian state

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich leads a Religious Zionism faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, April 30, 2024. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich lauds Donald Trump for expressing skepticism regarding a two-state solution, praising the former US president for “going back on his support for the establishment of a Palestinian state.”

In a wide-ranging interview with Time magazine, Trump stated that “there was a time when I thought two states could work. Now I think two states is going to be very, very tough.”

“A Palestinian state would be a terrorist state that would endanger the existence of Israel and the international pressure to establish it is an injustice on a historical scale,” Smotrich says. “I hope and pray that more leaders in the world will discover the courage and integrity shown by presidential candidate Trump to change their position.”

Other right-wing members of the government have expressed support for Trump and criticism of Biden in recent months. In February, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said that “if Trump were in power, the US’s conduct would be completely different,” while Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu warned that US President Joe Biden “is leading us to a disaster.”

Last week, Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli declared that if he were an American he would vote for Trump.

Despite the outspoken support he has received from members of Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet, Trump has been highly critical of the prime minister, telling Time that the premier has “rightfully been criticized” for failing to prevent the massive October 7 Hamas attack.

“They have the most sophisticated equipment,” Trump said of Israel. “They had — everything was there to stop that. And a lot of people knew about it, you know, thousands and thousands of people knew about it, but Israel didn’t know about it, and I think he’s being blamed for that very strongly, being blamed.”

The attack “should have never happened,” said Trump.

Saudi Arabia cracks down on anti-Israel sentiment, arrests citizens for incendiary speech – report

Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, not pictured, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, March 20, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

Citizens of Saudi Arabia have been increasingly arrested for sharing anti-Israel sentiments on social media in recent months, Bloomberg reports, amid concerns by Riyadh that the war between Israel and Hamas, as well as attacks launched by other Iranian proxies, will send the Middle East spiraling into an all-out war.

Among those detained recently was an executive at a company involved in Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plan to strengthen the economy, Bloomberg reports, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter. The executive had reportedly made comments about the Gaza war that were deemed incendiary.

Another detainee had reportedly called for Saudi citizens to boycott American-owned brands operating in the Gulf kingdom.

Speaking to Bloomberg, a source close to the Saudi government says that the arrests stem from concerns that pro-Iranian influences will harm the country’s security.

The report states that there are no precise figures on the number of arrests made since October 7.

The crackdown comes as the United States continues to work with Riyadh on finding a path to normalization with Israel.

In a visit to the Gulf state earlier this week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that intensive work has been done over the last week to try to forge an agreement to this end, and that the deal is “potentially very close to completion.”

Hamas-run health ministry says Gaza death toll at 34,596

At least 34,596 Palestinians have been killed and 77,816 injured in Gaza since the start of the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, the Hamas-run health ministry in the Strip says.

The figures cannot be independently verified and include at least 13,000 Hamas gunmen Israel says it has killed in battle. Israel also says it killed some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.

A total of 263 IDF soldiers have been killed in the army’s Gaza ground operation.

Lapid, Emirati foreign minister talk hostage deal, postwar Gaza in Abu Dhabi meeting

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid meets with Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan at his private residence in Abu Dhabi, May 2, 2024. (Courtesy: Office of Yair Lapid)

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid met with Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed during a diplomatic visit to the United Arab Emirates capital of Abu Dhabi, his office says in a readout of the meeting.

During the meeting, held at bin Zayed’s home, the two discussed ongoing efforts to reach a deal for the release of the hostages held in Gaza, as well as the issue of what Gaza will look like once the war ends.

Lapid stressed the urgent need to secure the release of the hostages, his office says, and told the Emirati official that “every country in the region can influence the deal.”

“Israel has an interest in creating, together with the United Arab Emirates and moderate Arab countries, political and economic cooperation that can offer solutions to global problems and deal with regional threats of all kinds,” he added.

Protesters block Tel Aviv highway as they call for hostage deal: ‘It’s either Rafah or the hostages’

Protesters calling for a hostage deal hold a banner reading "It's either Rafah or the hostages - choose life," as they block Tel Aviv's Ayalon Highway, May 2, 2024. (Adar Eyal/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Protesters block Tel Aviv’s Ayalon Highway in a demonstration calling for an immediate hostage deal.

Holding a large banner reading “It’s either Rafah or the hostages — choose life,” the protesters stand in the middle of the busy road to prevent traffic from passing.

Protesters hold a banner reading “It’s either Rafah or the hostages: Choose life” as they block the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv during a demonstration calling for the release of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, May 2, 2024. (Dor Pazuelo/Flash90)

Channel 12 reports that several family members of hostages are leading the protest, including Yehuda Cohen, the father of 19-year-old Nimrod Cohen, and Shay Mozes, the nephew of 79-year-old Gadi Mozes.

Also in attendance are members of a female-led protest group that is calling for Israel not to launch its looming offensive in Rafah, warning that it will endanger the lives of the hostages, many of whom are believed to be held in Gaza’s southernmost city.

Protesters calling for a hostage deal block Tel Aviv’s Ayalon Highway, May 2, 2024. (Aviv Atlas/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

“Entering Rafah means abandoning the lives of the hostages,” the group says in a statement to the media. “After half a year of being promised that only military action can bring back the hostages, we all understand that the only way to save those who can still be saved is through a deal.

“Don’t give in to the pressure of extremists who use the hostages as an excuse to continue waging war,” the group adds, addressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In recent days, far-right members of Netanyahu’s government including National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich have warned against making a hostage deal that requires dramatic concessions on Israel’s part.

IDF: Fighter jets hit mortar launch post after projectiles fired at troops in central Gaza

IDF soldiers are seen operating in the Gaza Strip in an undated image released on May 2, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Israeli fighter jets and artillery forces struck a tunnel shaft and a mortar launching post in the central Gaza Strip after several projectiles were fired at troops operating in the area, the military says.

The IDF says there were no injuries in the mortar attack yesterday.

Separately, reservists of the Yiftah Brigade spotted a group of operatives near troops, before calling in a drone strike and artillery shelling, killing the cell, the IDF says.

Another operative, spotted by troops using a drone, was seen entering a building known to the army as being used by a terror group in central Gaza. The IDF says a fighter jet struck the site, killing the operative.

Additional infrastructure belonging to Gaza terror groups, including tunnels and buildings, as well as operatives, were struck over the past day, the military adds.

IDF personnel chief met with senior ultra-Orthodox leader last month to discuss Haredi conscription

Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor, Head of the IDF Personnel Directorate attend a ceremony at the Western Wall, in Jerusalem's Old City, April 4, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The chief of the IDF Personnel Directorate met with one of the senior leaders of the so-called Lithuanian stream of ultra-Orthodox Jewry ahead of the Passover holiday last month as part of an effort to formulate a plan to conscript members of the Haredi community.

According to Channel 13, Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor’s meeting with Rabbi Moshe Hirsch came as part of a series of meetings with ultra-Orthodox leaders held as part of the army’s push to develop an enlistment plan in the wake of a recent High Court ruling that the government must stop providing funds to ultra-Orthodox yeshivas for students eligible for Israel Defense Forces enlistment — as the legal framework for deferring their military service had expired.

A government submission to the high court on Wednesday stated that the defense establishment has begun work “to promote the integration of members of the ultra-Orthodox public.”

Hirsch, the dean of Bnei Brak’s Slabodka yeshiva and a member of Degel Hatorah’s Council of Torah Sages, is a vocal opponent of the enlistment of full-time yeshiva students, which he claims is motivated by a hatred of religion.

Asor stressed the army’s manpower shortage in light of the ongoing war in Gaza while Hirsch explained the specific cultural and religious needs of Haredi servicemen, leading to a discussion of service track options and enlistment quotas, Channel 13 reports. However, according to the ultra-Orthodox news site Behadrei Haredim, Hirsch stressed that he opposed drafting any full-time yeshiva students, who he insisted must be allowed to continue their studies.

Police mass near UCLA anti-Israel protest camp, order protesters to clear the area

Pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel demonstrators watch police activity behind a makeshift barricade on the UCLA campus Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Law enforcement officers gather by the hundreds on the campus of the University of California at Los Angeles after darkness fell on Wednesday in preparation to clear out an anti-Israel protest camp after clashes between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protesters a night earlier.

Live television footage shows police in tactical gear filing onto the UCLA campus adjacent to a complex of tents occupied by throngs of demonstrators. Some activists are seen donning hard hats, goggles and respirator masks in anticipation of the raid a day after the university declared the encampment unlawful.

A few work to construct homemade shields out of plywood in case they clash with police forming skirmish lines elsewhere on the campus.

Hundreds of other pro-Palestinian activists assemble outside the tent city jeering police with chants of “Shame on you,” some banging on drums and waving Palestinian flags, as officers marched onto the campus grounds. Many of the demonstrators wore the traditional Palestinian keffiyeh scarves.

Before moving in, police urge the demonstrators to clear the protest area in a grassy plaza between the landmark twin-tower auditorium Royce Hall and the main undergraduate library.

The law enforcement presence and continued warnings stand in contrast to the scene that unfolded the night before, when dueling groups of pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protesters clashed, grappling in fistfights and shoving, kicking and using sticks to beat one another as days of tensions over the war in Gaza burst into outright violence.

Fighting continued for several hours before police stepped in, though no arrests were made. At least 15 protesters suffered injuries, and the tepid response by authorities drew criticism from political leaders as well as students and advocacy groups.

Six rescued from Dead Sea overnight after unsanctioned event held on beach

Six people were rescued from the Dead Sea overnight after police received reports that at least two people had gone missing from the Naveh Midbar beach yesterday evening during an event organized by ultra-Orthodox men from Modi’in Illit.

Some 2,000 people were in attendance and the event had not received clearance from the police, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

Four of those rescued by search and rescue teams were in good condition, according to reports, and two others were transferred for further medical treatment at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Hospital Mount Scopus and Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem.

Following the incident, the head of the volunteer-based Dead Sea Scrolls Rescue Team Matan Morad warns against entering the Dead Sea at night due to strong westerly winds that make it difficult to swim back to shore.

Austin and Gallant discuss Gaza aid, Rafah, hostages in latest call

File: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (L) and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant give a joint press conference in Tel Aviv on December 18, 2023. (Alberto Pizzoli/AFP)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant just held another phone call with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the Pentagon says.

The pair “discuss[ed] the ongoing hostage negotiations, humanitarian assistance efforts and Rafah,” according to the US readout.

“Austin reaffirmed his commitment to the unconditional return of all hostages and conveyed the importance of increasing the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza to flood the zone, while ensuring the safety of civilians and aid workers.”

“He also stressed the need for any potential Israeli military operation in Rafah to include a credible plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians and maintain the flow of humanitarian aid.”

“Austin reiterated the United States’ commitment to supporting Israel’s defense,” adds the US readout, which is entirely made up of long-held talking points regarding the war.

At least 17 arrested as police take down anti-Israel encampment at UT Dallas; similar protest at Fordham U

Far-left, anti-Israel protesters demonstrate at the University of Texas at Dallas, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Richardson, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

At least 17 far-left protesters were arrested and charged with trespassing after police were called to the University of Texas at Dallas to take down an anti-Israel encampment that was established on campus in violation of the school’s code of conduct.

“Individuals may peacefully assemble in the common outdoor areas of campus to exercise their right to free speech, but they may not construct an encampment or block pathways,” university spokeswoman Kim Horner says.

At Fordham University in New York City, custodial workers are currently taking down a similar encampment as police in riot gear and several hundred screaming far-left protesters look on.

NOW: Fordham University students hold up the letters they just received informing them they are now suspended

Protesters wrote “free Palestine” on the letters pic.twitter.com/jksCtZ2bjD

— katie smith (@probablyreadit) May 1, 2024

HAPPENING NOW: Officers in riot gear are taking down parts of the encampment set up at UT Dallas. Some people are being taken away by police. https://t.co/jpJU7IWP8m pic.twitter.com/ZTCczuPIRm

— FOX 4 NEWS (@FOX4) May 1, 2024

After the dispersal of the UT Dallas pro-Palestinian liberated zone, the crowd has regrouped outside the student center. pic.twitter.com/CcfmxkXTnC

— steven monacelli (@stevanzetti) May 1, 2024

PA security forces reportedly shoot dead PIJ fighter in West Bank clash

Palestinian security forces operating in the central West Bank city of Tulkarem reportedly shot dead a Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighter earlier tonight.

A spokesperson for the PA security forces says officers responded after coming under fire.

The PIJ military wing identified Ahmad Abu Foul as the suspect struck and killed but claimed he had not opened fire on the PA security forces. Abu Foul was reportedly wanted by Israel for terror-related offenses.

This is the second time in roughly one month that PA security forces have killed a PIJ fighter.

الله يرحمك ويتقبلك يا سيد الزلام

ابن عمتي المطارد من قوات الاحتلال احد قادة كتيبة نور شمس احمد ابو الفول (كريس) شهيداً برصاص السلطة "الفلسطينية"

لا حول ولا قوة الا بالله pic.twitter.com/obhg0x7tdO

— أحمَدْ (@Qassam127) May 1, 2024

Trump says police raid on Columbia anti-Israel protesters ‘beautiful to watch’

Former US president Donald Trump speaks upon arriving at Manhattan criminal court, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool)

Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump says it “was a beautiful thing to watch” New York police officers raiding a Columbia University building occupied by anti-Israel students, calling the protesters “raging lunatics and Hamas sympathizers.”

“New York was under siege last night,” Trump tells supporters at a campaign rally in Wisconsin. He praises the police officers for arresting about 300 protesters.

“Your towns and villages will now be accepting people from Gaza and various other places,” Trump says, referring to media reports of plans by the administration of US President Joe Biden to accept some Gaza refugees. The crowd boos in response.

CBS News said it had obtained internal government documents showing that US officials have been discussing different options to resettle Palestinians who have been displaced by the fighting in Gaza after they pass a battery of screening tests.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said earlier today that the Biden administration was looking into a plan to relocate some Palestinian refugees who are related to Americans.

57 House Democrats urge Biden to prevent Israeli offensive in Rafah

Light illuminates the minarets of al-Taiba mosque at sunset before the tents of displaced Palestinians at a camp in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on April 30, 2024. (AFP)

US President Joe Biden’s administration is facing renewed pressure from his fellow Democrats to influence Israel not to launch a full-scale invasion of Rafah, the city where almost half of the Gaza Strip’s 2.3 million people have taken refuge.

Fifty-seven of the 212 Democrats in the House of Representatives signed a letter calling on the administration to take every possible measure to dissuade Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government from an all-out assault on the city near the Egyptian border.

“We urge you to invoke existing law and policy to immediately withhold certain offensive military aid to the Israeli government, including aid sourced from legislation already signed into law, in order to preempt a full-scale assault on Rafah,” says the letter.

The White House has not immediately responded to a request for comment on the letter, which was led by Representatives Pramila Jayapal and Madeleine Dean.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier today that he had still not seen a plan for Israel’s promised offensive on Rafah that would protect civilians, repeating that Washington could not support such an assault without such a plan.

Hamas official expresses opposition to latest hostage deal offer, but terror group says talks continue

Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan speaks during a rally organized by Lebanon's Hezbollah terror group to express solidarity with the Palestinian people, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, May 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Osama Hamdan, a Hamas official based in Lebanon, tells the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar TV, “Our position on the current negotiating paper is negative.”

Hamas’s press office subsequently clarifies, “The negative position does not mean negotiations have stopped. There is a back-and-forth issue.”

The terror group is reportedly slated to submit an amended response to the latest proposal in the coming hours.

Hamdan warns that Hamas will walk away from the negotiations if Israel launches its pledged invasion to dismantle the terror group’s remaining battalions in Rafah.

Blinken pans ‘unacceptable’ attacks on Gaza aid convoys by far-right protesters, notes their arrest by Israel

An Israeli protester damages a Jordanian convoy of flour earmarked for Gaza on May 1, 2024. (Screen capture/X)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemns the “unacceptable” attack on a Jordanian aid convoy by Israeli protesters trying to prevent its transfer to Gaza earlier today.

“My understanding is that the people who attacked this convoy were arrested today by the Israeli authorities. That sends a very strong message,” he notes during an NBC Nightly News interview.

The Israeli government must “continue to send a strong message that this aid cannot be, must not be interfered with as it goes through Israel… Israel is better than this,” he adds, while noting that the atrocities committed against Israel on October 7 and Hamas’s continued holding of hostages since.

The people who so desperately need this aid and who are now getting more of it because of the important steps that [Israel has] taken in recent weeks — including right here at Ashdod port — have nothing to do with October 7, nothing to do with the hostages.”

“They’ve been caught in this crossfire of Hamas’s making, and it’s imperative that they get the food that they need, the water they need, the medical supplies they need, access to the hospitals, to health care — all of that.”

Why are right-wing extremists destroying flour shipments headed into the Gaza Strip & being allowed to do so by the @IDF near the borders? This is sick and shameful behavior that's wasteful, wrong & undermines claims of unhindered international humanitarian aid being allowed in. pic.twitter.com/Gt4LVvkvFd

— Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib (@afalkhatib) May 1, 2024

Biden administration weighing measures to help Palestinians bring family from region

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during a briefing at the White House, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The Biden administration is weighing measures to help Palestinians living in the United States who want to bring family from the war-torn region.

“We are constantly evaluating policy proposals to further support Palestinians who are family members of American citizens and may want to come to the United States,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says during a press briefing.

Jean-Pierre says discussions are underway but has no further details on how procedures might work. The new measures would help those who are legal permanent residents or US citizens and who have family in the region.

If the US were to move forward with some sort of measure to help the families of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, it would likely require coordination with Egypt. Early in the war, hundreds of Americans — as well as other foreign nationals trapped in Gaza — were able to escape via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, which opened the crossing with some trepidation.

Egypt as well as other Arab nations worry that an Israeli offensive could lead to a displacement of Palestinians into Sinai, a scenario it views as unacceptable.

For Palestinians already in the US, the Biden administration has already agreed to what’s known as “deferred enforced departure,” an authority used at a president’s discretion.

The directive signed by Biden last month effectively allows Palestinian immigrants who would otherwise have to leave the United States to stay without the threat of deportation for at least 18 months.