ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 367
The Times of Israel liveblogged Saturday’s events as they happened.
A woman is lightly hurt after a driver hits a group of protesters blocking Tel Aviv’s Ayalon Highway.
A graphic video from Tel Aviv shows several people arguing with protesters on the highway, before a car accelerates into the demonstrators, knocking several over before stopping as other demonstrators chase after the vehicle.
Warning: Graphic Content
*תיעוד קשה לצפייה*
רכב דרס מפגינים נגד התכנית המשפטית שחסמו את איילון דרום ליד ארלוזרוב pic.twitter.com/2x3mF4Ckup— Anna Pines || אנה פינס (@AnnaPines_) September 9, 2023
The Magen David Adom ambulance service says medics are treating a 25-year-old woman and taking her to a local hospital.
A number of anti-overhaul protesters descend onto Tel Aviv’s Ayalon Highway, blocking southbound traffic after the mass protest in the coastal city.
The military confirms Israeli troops shot a Palestinian outside the al-Aroub refugee camp in the southern West Bank, after a teenager was reported killed.
The Israel Defense Forces says Palestinians threw Molotov cocktails at soldiers in a military post, who responded with riot dispersal means and live fire.
“A hit was identified,” an IDF statement says, adding no troops were injured.
RABAT, Morocco — The huge earthquake that hit Morocco overnight killed more than 1,300 people and injured at least another 1,800, many of them critically, the interior ministry says today.
A total of 1,305 people have now been confirmed dead, while 1,832 people were injured, of whom 1,220 are in critical condition, a ministry statement says.
A rare earthquake that shook Morocco and killed more than 1,000 people is eliciting offers of help from numerous countries and organizations.
The temblor that struck late last night caused widespread destruction in Marrakesh and surrounding areas.
In response, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee says it is partnering with the Jewish community of Morocco to respond with immediate aid, likely to include food, medicine, temporary shelter and medical support, including evacuation.
The organization, which has operated in the country since 1947, says it has already deployed its disaster relief experts to Marrakesh to assess needs and provide services.
JDC has responded to various disasters in the region, most recently responding to the February 2023 earthquakes in Turkey.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hails today’s announcement by US President Joe Biden of a planned transport corridor that will connect India to Europe by way of the Middle East, and include Israel.
“Israel as at the center of an unprecedented international project… which will be the realization of a years-long dream that will change the face of Middle East and Israel, as well as impact the entire world,” Netanyahu says in a video statement.
The premier asserts Israel will be a “central junction” in the proposed shipping and rail network, saying Israeli infrastructure projects will help open “a new gate” from India to Europe.
Netanyahu thanks Biden and says the US administration contacted the Israeli government several months ago about the initiative, vowing Israel “will harness all its capabilities and experience” to assist with the project.
“This is news that is leading us to a new era of integration and regional and global cooperation,” he says.
Israel’s Ambassador in Kyiv Michael Brodsky spoke yesterday with the head of Ukraine’s Border Control, a diplomatic source tells The Times of Israel.
They had a positive conversation, with the Ukrainians saying they would do everything they could to ensure a smooth entry of Jewish pilgrims to Uman for the Rosh Hashanah holiday next week. They also committed to keeping borders open around the clock.
The phone call came after a conversation the day before between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
During that conversation, says the official, Zelensky asked for 100 Israeli police officers to be sent to Uman. Though they won’t send that many, the police are meeting tomorrow to decide on a number.
A Palestinian teenager has reportedly been shot dead by Israeli troops in the southern West Bank.
The Palestinian Authority health ministry says 16-year-old Munzir al-Raaei was fatally shot in the back at the entrance to the al-Aroub refugee camp, near Hebron.
The Israeli military does not immediately comment on the circumstances of the incident.
#صورة استشهاد الفتى ميلاد منذر الراعي ١٥ عامًا من مخيم العروب شمال الخليل متأثرًا بإصابته برصاص الاحتلال pic.twitter.com/w2YUjatfJW
— Newpress | نيو برس (@NewpressPs) September 9, 2023
The Foreign Ministry says that 56 Israelis in Morocco remain out of contact after a devastating earthquake in the North African country, out of 468 Israeli nationals there.
A ministry delegation is slated to fly to Morocco tomorrow to assist Israelis in returning home.
Some 118,000 protesters are taking part in this evening’s main protest at Tel Aviv’s Kaplan Street, Channel 13 news reports, citing an estimate from the CrowdSolutions firm.
Singer Shalom Hanoch, this week’s performer, tells the crowd he’s “adding myself and my voice for the freedom and equality of all of us in Israel.”
Former Shin Bet security service head Yuval Diskin also addresses the rally, saying Israel has reached a constitutional crisis, after Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana suggested the coalition may not accept a High Court of Justice ruling striking down the coalition’s judicial overhaul legislation and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s subsequently backed the remarks.
“The accused [Netanyahu] acts in a serious and continued conflict of interest, when he is involved in the legislation to improve his legal situation, and violates a court ruling,” he said.
“This is a government that acts to crush the democratic infrastructure of the country, and so every act of the government is suspicious,” Diskin adds while urging incumbent security chiefs to be wary of any instruction given by the government.
RABAT, Morocco — Morocco declares three days of national mourning after a deadly earthquake overnight killed more than 1,000 people, an announcement from the royal palace says.
“Three days of national mourning have been decided, with flags to fly at half-mast on all public buildings,” says a statement published by the official MAP news agency after King Mohamed VI chaired a meeting to discuss the disaster.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rails at anti-overhaul protest leader Shikma Bressler, after the latter referred to far-right elements in the government as “Nazis.”
“This scandal remark is Holocaust distortion and is also wild incitement to murder government ministers and elected representatives,” Netanyahu charges in a statement. “The right to protest is not the right to incite.”
The premier’s response comes after Bressler apologized earlier today, saying she shouldn’t have used the word “Nazis” while speaking about how no consensus could be reached with ultranationalist members of Netanyahu’s coalition.
GENEVA — Responding to Morocco’s deadliest earthquake in decades could take months if not years, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) warns.
“We are mobilizing now to support the Moroccan Red Crescent,” Hossam Elsharkawi, IFRC’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, says in a statement, warning: “We are looking at many months if not years of response.”
The Israeli military’s aid delegation to Morocco is currently on hold, as Moroccan officials have yet to respond to Israel’s offer.
Depending on the kingdom’s requests, Israel may not send the IDF Home Front Command search and rescue teams, but only aid supplies.
In a series of posts in Hebrew, French and English, President Isaac Herzog expresses condolences to Morocco after the deadly earthquake there.
“Our hearts are with the Moroccan people,” he writes on the social media platform X. “Israel is ready to help as needed.”
US President Joe Biden is among world leaders expressing sadness at the devastation facing the North African kingdom of Morocco after a powerful earthquake shook Marrakesh and its environs and killed more than 1,000 people.
Biden says that US officials have been in contact with Morocco to offer help.
“We are working expeditiously to ensure American citizens in Morocco are safe, and stand ready to provide any necessary assistance for the Moroccan people. The United States stands by Morocco and my friend King Mohammed VI at this difficult moment.”
Turkey, which lost tens of thousands of people in a massive earthquake earlier this year, is among those proposing assistance. France and Germany, with large populations of people with Moroccan origins, also offer to help.
Elsewhere, Qatar offers to “provide all necessary assistance to the affected areas to support their recovery from the effects of the earthquake,” according to a statement by Qatar News Agency. The Emirates News Agency reported that Dubai police rescue teams were dispatching aid. King Abdullah II of Jordan also extended an offer of help.
Pope Francis sends a telegram of condolences, expressing his “profound solidarity” with those affected by the catastrophe. Francis visited Morocco in 2019.
A group of over 3,500 academics, writers, artists, former diplomats and others call on US President Joe Biden and UN General-Secretary Antonio Guterres not to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the upcoming General Assembly meeting in New York.
“Inviting Mr. Netanyahu to speak at the United Nations General Assembly will grant symbolic power and political leverage to a cynical populist who strives to establish an autocratic regime when institutions of democracy are under attack worldwide,” the signatories assert in an open letter to Guterres. “Giving this supreme artist of doublespeak and fakery a respectable venue will allow Mr. Netanyahu to rehabilitate his damaged international status. This is precisely what he so desperately seeks, using the honorable institution of the UN as the stage of his verbal trickery.”
The letter goes on to accuse Netanyahu of “legitimizing racist, ultranationalist, religious fundamentalists and homophobic political parties that until now operated at the margins of Israel’s political discourse; and this solely for the purpose of his political survival.”
“From the outset of establishing his extreme right-wing government, Mr. Netanyahu’s coalition has worked tirelessly to undermine the gatekeepers of Israel’s democracy, weaken the Supreme Court, neutralize the media, and destroy the few checks and balances safeguarding the health of our nation,” it adds.
Israeli emergency organization IsraAID says it’s joining the relief efforts in Morocco, and will dispatch a delegation with aid to Marrakesh and the surrounding area after an earthquake killed at least 1,000.
The group says its team is due to arrive in Marrakesh tomorrow and has been in contact with the local Jewish community.
For the 36th week, anti-government protesters hold rallies at sites across the country, ahead of a High Court of Justice hearing Tuesday on the first piece of legislation passed in the judicial overhaul.
As with past weeks, the main protest will be held at Tel Aviv’s Kaplan Street, with singer Shalom Hanoch expected to perform.
AGADIR, Morocco — Morocco’s qualifying game for the African Cup of Nations is postponed today in the wake of the earthquake that struck the country, killing more than 1,000 people.
Morocco had been scheduled to play Liberia in Agadir on the country’s western coast, but the Moroccan soccer federation says the game has been postponed indefinitely after an agreement with the Confederation of African Football.
The earthquake that struck late last night also damaged buildings from villages in the Atlas Mountains to the historic city of Marrakesh.
Agadir is roughly 170 kilometers (105 miles) southwest of the epicenter of yesterday’s tremor near the town of Ighil in Al Haouz Province.
The Gambian national team is in Marrakesh during the earthquake ahead of a decisive qualifying game against Congo tomorrow. Gambia coach Tom Saintfiet told BBC World Service that he initially thought an airplane had crashed into the team’s hotel.
“It seems it was only 30 seconds but it felt endless. It was really scary,” Saintfiet said. “The walls were really shaking and things were falling down from the ceiling and the walls. I never in my life saw a building moving like that. When it stopped, I started running and checking if my team members were also out of their rooms.”
No team members were reported injured.
Marrakesh was hosting the game because of stadium problems in Gambia. CAF did not immediately respond to an email about the status of Sunday’s match.
NEW DELHI — The Saudi crown prince once vilified by US President Joe Biden has been elevated from a fist bump to a hearty handshake.
Biden warmly greets Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, Mohammed bin Salman, after they appeared together along with several other leaders at the Group of 20 summit today in New Delhi. The leaders had gathered to announce an ambitious plan to build a rail and shipping corridor linking India with the Middle East and Europe.
Biden smiles and shakes hands with the crown prince, who is often referred to by his initials MBS, as the announcement wrapped up. This year’s G20 host, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, quickly drapes his own hand over their hands.
The cordial greeting was a sharp contrast to the last time Biden and the crown prince met, just over a year ago, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. During that encounter, Biden awkwardly greeted the crown prince with a fist bump, a moment roundly criticized by human rights activists, who were already upset at Biden’s decision to meet with the Saudi leader.
Bin Salman has been harshly criticized for his human rights violations. US intelligence officials determined that the prince approved the 2018 murder of the US-based writer Jamal Khashoggi, who was a tough critic of the kingdom’s ruling family,
A man shot dead in the southern Bedouin town of Tel Sheva is the 172nd member of Israel’s Arab community to be killed in a homicide since the start of the year, according to the Abraham Initiatives anti-violence group.
The organization says 77 people were killed during the same span last year.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant speaks with his Moroccan counterpart Abdellatif Loudiyi, as Israel readies to dispatch a search-and-rescue team to Morocco after a devastating earthquake in Morocco that killed over 1,000 people.
“A significant part of the Abraham Accords is our commitment to stand by our partners during difficult times. The State of Israel is prepared to assist the Kingdom of Morocco,” Gallant is quoted as saying in a statement from his office, referring to a series of US-backed normalization deals.
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry says it will join the military and Defense Ministry in dispatching a delegation to Morocco that will include doctors and nurses, along with the provision of medical equipment.
The Health Ministry says it has been in touch with Israeli hospitals interested in assisting the delegation.
