Tag Archives: Middle East

Reuters reports: The Taliban are in control of Afghanistan and British and NATO forces will not be returning to fight the insurgents, Britain’s defence minister said on Monday. “I acknowledge that the Taliban are in control of the country,” Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told Sky News. “I mean, you don’t have to be a political scientist to spot that’s where …

The Hill reports: The Pentagon has reportedly authorized the deployment of 1,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, bringing the total number of troops on the ground to 6,000 as the Taliban continues its advances in the capital city of Kabul. Reuters reported on Sunday that the additional troops will be drawn from the 82nd Airborne Division, which was already on standby. …

Reuters reports: Taliban insurgents entered Afghanistan’s capital Kabul on Sunday and an official said President Ashraf Ghani had left the city for Tajikistan, capping the militants’ lightning push for power. A senior Afghan Interior Ministry official said Ghani had left for Tajikistan. Asked for comment, the president’s office it “cannot say anything about Ashraf Ghani’s movement for security reasons”. Taliban …

Haaretz reports: In the conclusion of his speech, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attacked the new coalition, focusing his criticism on Naftali Bennett’s Yamina party. Bennett is “fake right,” Netanyahu said, while praising Yamina member Amichai Shikli, who had promised to vote against the new coalition. “He isn’t the defector,” Netanyahu said. “You, Yamina members, are the defectors.” Netanyahu accused the …

The New York Times reports: The political fate of Israel’s longest serving leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, is set to be decided on Sunday afternoon, when Parliament will hold a vote of confidence in a new government that would topple Mr. Netanyahu from power for the first time in 12 years. Mr. Netanyahu’s opponents hope that the vote, if it passes, will …

Axios reports: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party rejected on Thursday the comparisons being made in the U.S. between his efforts to block a transition of power and those of former President Trump after the November 2020 presidential election. On the verge of being replaced after 12 years in power, Netanyahu has been working to delegitimize the incoming government …

Axios reports: On the verge of being replaced after 12 years in power, Netanyahu is waging a desperate, Trump-style campaign to de-legitimize the incoming government and accuse its leaders of perpetrating “the fraud of the century.” The situation has become so tense — with members of the Israeli Knesset facing death threats and demonstrations from angry Netanyahu supporters outside their …

Haaretz reports: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decried what he described as election fraud on an unprecedented scale on Sunday, dubbing the establishment of a government with a slim Knesset majority as an attack on Israeli democracy itself. Speaking before Likud lawmakers at a party faction meeting in the Knesset on Sunday, Netanyahu said that “journalists are taking part in this …

The Jerusalem Post reports: “The overthrowing of Netanyahu will cause a collapse of the global right-wing – from the United States to The Hague,” read the tweet shared by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s official Twitter account. The statement, made by Yamina MK Amichai Chikli, who has stated that he will not be joining the coalition led by Yamina leader Naftali …

The New York Times reports: Late Wednesday, an improbable assemblage of political parties agreed to form a coalition government. Should Parliament approve the arrangement, Benjamin Netanyahu’s singular reign as prime minister will come to an end, at least for now, and a fragile, painfully cobbled together alliance will assume power. But Mr. Netanyahu signaled early Thursday that he would not …

NBC News reports: It appears the magician has finally run out of tricks. The opponents of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Wednesday that they had reached an agreement to form a government and oust him from office, in all likelihood spelling the end of the veteran leader’s 12-year grip on power. Centrist lawmaker Yair Lapid said in a statement …

The Washington Post reports: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies on Monday worked furiously to keep opposition parties from forming a government that would displace him from Israel’s top political job for the first time in more than 12 years. Netanyahu supporters slammed right-wing parties planning to join the broad-based coalition as “traitors,” picketed their homes and issued …

The New York Times reports: An ultra-nationalist power-broker, Naftali Bennett [photo], said on Sunday that his political party was ready to join several other opposition parties in a coalition, opening the door to forming Israel’s first government since 2009 without Benjamin Netanyahu, the longest-serving prime minister in the country’s history. If the maneuvering, which followed two months of indecision by …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Israel’s cabinet approved a cease-fire with Palestinian militant group Hamas late on Thursday, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office. The cabinet voted to accept an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire that will be bilateral and without any conditions, according to the statement. Hamas leader Osama Hamdan confirmed the cease-fire and said it would begin at …

The Insider reports: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said that he’s “determined” to continue the offensive in Gaza, rebuffing President Joe Biden’s call for an immediate and significant “de-escalation” in the fighting. Netanyahu said the operation will continue “until its aim is met.” The Israeli prime minister thanked the US for its support, but said the offensive will …

Mediaite reports: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared on CBS’ Face the Nation today and defended the airstrike of a building that housed Associated Press and Al Jazeera offices. “Here’s the intelligence we had,” Netanyahu said. “It’s about an intelligence office for the Palestinian terrorist organization housed in that building that plots and organizes the terror attacks against Israeli civilians. …

From a statement issued by the Associated Press: We are shocked and horrified that the Israeli military would target and destroy the building housing AP’s bureau and other news organizations in Gaza. They have long known the location of our bureau and knew journalists were there. We received a warning that the building would be hit. We are seeking information …

The Hill reports: The White House said Saturday that it communicated its concerns to Israel over an airstrike launched in Gaza that destroyed a building that housed several news organizations, including The Associated Press. The Israeli military defended the strike on Twitter, saying it gave people in the building a warning to evacuate. The military said it was one of …

The Associated Press reports: An Israeli airstrike destroyed a high-rise building in Gaza City that housed offices of The Associated Press and other media outlets on Saturday, the latest step by the military to silence reporting from the territory amid its battle with the militant group Hamas. The strike came nearly an hour after the military ordered people to evacuate …

The Jerusalem Post reports: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a government for the third time in two years, as his mandate from President Reuven Rivlin ended on Tuesday night. Netanyahu had until midnight to ask Rivlin for an extension. Instead he released a statement three minutes before the deadline blaming Yamina leader Naftali Bennett. “Due to Bennett’s refusal …