If You Screw Up The Gaza Deal, Trump Will ‘Screw’ You, US Official Warns Bibi

A senior American official has issued a stark warning to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that if he allows the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas to collapse, he will face severe consequences from US President Donald Trump, Israel’s Channel 12 reported.

Speaking in Hebrew on Channel 12, Axios correspondent said the US official warned him that Netanyahu is “walking a very thin tightrope with President Trump. If he keeps this up, he’ll end up screwing up the deal, and if he screws up the deal, Donald Trump will screw him.”

The comments come amid rising tensions between Washington and Tel Aviv over moves by Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, to advance legislation tied to the annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank.

According to the report, US Vice President JD Vance, who concluded a diplomatic visit to Israel earlier on Thursday, was taken aback after learning that the Knesset had given preliminary approval to two non-binding annexation-related bills the previous day.

Speaking to reporters at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport before his departure, Vance criticised the vote, saying: “If this was a political stunt, it’s a very foolish one. I personally take offence to it.”

Israeli move angered Trump

An Israeli official told Channel 12 that Netanyahu had been warned several days earlier about the strong backlash such a move would provoke but did nothing to stop the vote from going ahead.

The Israeli Knesset approved both annexation-related bills in a preliminary reading, with three more votes required before they can become law.

The legislation advanced despite open opposition from President Trump, who said last month that he “would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank.”

The vote also coincided with Vance’s visit to Israel, part of a wider US diplomatic effort to preserve the Gaza ceasefire that took effect on October 10 according to TRTWorld.

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Palestine NGO to Prosecute Britons in Israeli Army

A Palestinian human rights organization has filed an application for a court summons to prosecute a dual British-Israeli citizen who served in the Israeli military, first in the Lebanese border unit and later in the West Bank.

The prosecution is being brought by the International Centre for Justice for Palestinians (ICJP). The human rights group intends to argue in court that named Britons joined a foreign army at war with a state, Palestine, which the UK was not fighting.

The application to a magistrates court for a summons against the named individual was lodged on Monday.

It adds that waging war with a foreign force is a breach of section 4 of the Foreign Enlistment Act 1870. The act makes it an offence for any person to accept or agree a commission or engagement in the military service of any foreign state at war with another foreign state that is at peace with the UK government.

The ICJP has named one individual in the attempted prosecution but has gathered evidence against more than 10 British citizens.

To enhance the prospects of a successful prosecution and prevent the case being prejudiced, the ICJP is not naming the individuals they want to be arrested.

The ICJP says the Israeli military conducted a war that is not confined to Hamas but is against all Palestinians and Palestine itself, a state now recognised by the UK.

The group says it needs to prove the defendant is a British subject, accepted a commission or engagement in the Israeli armed forces, that Israel was at war with Palestine, that Palestine is a foreign state and finally that Palestine was at peace with the UK.

Israeli domestic law does not require any person outside its territory, including Israeli citizens who are British subjects, to accept or agree to accept any commission or engagement in the military. This means that British nationals who fought for the Israeli military did so voluntarily.

The ICJP says multiple and repeated military activities directed at civilians and civilian infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza show Israel has been at war with all Palestine.

It adds Israel is illegally occupying the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, as determined by the international court of justice in advisory opinions issued in July last year and again this week.

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Israel Cannot Annex West Bank Says VP Vance

US Vice President JD Vance rejected Israel’s proposed annexation of the West Bank as a “stupid political stunt,” reaffirming Washington’s opposition to unilateral actions and commitment to the Gaza ceasefire.

US Vice President JD Vance delivered a sharp rebuke to Israeli lawmakers on Thursday, explicitly rejecting any annexation of the West Bank and characterizing the recent Knesset vote on the matter as “a stupid political stunt.” 

Speaking to reporters in Tel Aviv, Vance left no ambiguity about the Trump administration’s position regarding the occupied Palestinian territory.

Clear US Policy Statement

“If it was a political stunt, it was a very stupid political stunt, and I personally take some insult to it,” Vance said regarding the Knesset’s preliminary approval of a bill to impose Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank.

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He then delivered the administration’s definitive position: “The West Bank is not going to be annexed by Israel. The policy of the Trump administration is that the West Bank will not be annexed by Israel. That will continue to be our policy.”

Vance’s remarks came a day after the Knesset approved, by a vote of 25 to 24, a bill to impose Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir welcomed the vote, saying: “The time to impose sovereignty over the West Bank has come now.” 

Meanwhile, the Likud party, which leads the ruling coalition, described the bill as “showy” and damaging to relations with Washington.

The US Vice President said that such unilateral steps “contradict Israel’s commitments to the peace process and international agreements,” and reiterated that Washington’s message to Israel was clear: The need to maintain the Gaza ceasefire and avoid any action that could reignite tensions.

‘Despite Exceptions’

Vance also addressed the situation in Gaza, affirming that both Hamas and Israel are respecting the ceasefire “despite some exceptions.”

He made clear that “the United States would not deploy American soldiers in the Gaza Strip,” reaffirming Washington’s commitment to maintaining the ceasefire and advancing reconstruction.

According to Vance, reconstruction efforts would begin in areas “free of Hamas,” but he cautioned that it was still too early to launch large-scale rebuilding. He added that the United States hoped to see the reconstruction of Rafah “within two or three years.”

On October 9, Hamas and Israel agreed to a ceasefire and prisoner exchange following indirect negotiations in Sharm El-Sheikh under US sponsorship and mediation by Qatar, Egypt, and Turkiye according to The Palestine Chronicle.

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Why Did Netanyahu Fire Tzachi Hanegbi?

On Tuesday, Israeli National Security Council Chief Tzachi Hanegbi called for an investigation into the “catastrophic failure” of 7 October, 2023.

This was the first call by Hanegbi after he was dismissed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Netanyahu informed me, today, of my dismissal,” he said.

“The catastrophic failure of 7 October must be investigated to learn lessons and help restore the trust that was shattered,” he added.

Hanegbi was one of the most prominent confidantes of war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu, but recent disagreements between the two over the management of the war on the Gaza Strip contributed to his dismissal.

Israeli reports indicated that disagreements between the two men escalated over core security issues, including Hanegbi’s opposition to the so-called “Gideon 2” operation to occupy Gaza City, his support for a “phased deal” for a prisoner exchange, and his rejection of the Israeli attack on Qatar.

The dispute reached its peak when Hanegbi did not accompany Netanyahu on his recent visit to Washington, amid reports of a heated confrontation between the two during a meeting that ended with Hanegbi angrily leaving Netanyahu’s office.

The decision is the latest in a series of dismissals and resignations from senior positions within the Israeli government and military following the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation carried out by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, and resistance factions on October 7, 2023 as reported in the Arabic assabeel.

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Israel Kills 20,000 Students in Palestine

More than 20,000 Palestinian students were killed and over 31,000 injured in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip and West Bank since October 2023, official figures showed on Tuesday.

In a statement, the Palestinian Education Ministry said that 19,910 students in Gaza and 148 others in the occupied West Bank lost their lives in attacks by the Israeli army.

Israeli army fire also injured 30,097 students in Gaza and 1,042 others in the West Bank, it added.

According to the ministry, 1,037 teachers and school administrative staff were killed, 4,740 others injured, and more than 228 detained in both areas since the start of the Israeli war in Gaza in October 2023 according to Anadolu.

The ministry said Israeli attacks completely destroyed 179 schools and 63 university buildings in Gaza, and partially damaged 118 governmental schools and 100 UN-run schools.

Data also showed that 30 schools were completely removed from the official register of the ministry, including the students and the teachers.

In the West Bank, two schools were fully destroyed in Hebron and Tubas, and eight university buildings were partially damaged in repeated Israeli raids, the ministry said.

Since October 2023, the Israeli genocidal war has killed over 68,200 people and injured more than 170,300 in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

The occupied West Bank also witnessed a sharp rise in attacks over the same period, with at least 1,056 Palestinians killed, around 10,300 injured, and more than 20,000, including 1,600 children, detained, according to official Palestinian figures.

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