News Archives - Page 38 of 355

Smotrich Retracts Saudi Offensive Comments

CrossFireArabia
October 24, 2025

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich retracted insulting comments he made on Thursday against Saudi Arabia.

“My statement about Saudi Arabia was definitely unsuccessful, and I regret the offense it caused,” the extremist minister said on his account on US social media company X.

“Nevertheless, and simultaneously, I expect the Saudis not to harm us and not to deny the heritage, tradition and rights of the Jewish people to the historical regions of their homeland in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and to establish true peace with us.”

Smotrich issued insulting comments against the kingdom early Thursday, rejecting any normalization with ties with Riyadh in return for a Palestinian state.

“If Saudi Arabia tells us ‘normalization in exchange for a Palestinian state,’ friends — no thank you,” Smotrich said at a conference organized by the Zomet Institute and the Makor Rishon newspaper.

“Keep riding camels in the desert in Saudi Arabia, and we will continue to develop with the economy, society and state and the great things that we know how to do,” added the extremist minister.

There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia on Smotrich’s comments.

Saudi Arabia has repeatedly conditioned reaching a deal to normalize ties with Israel on Tel Aviv’s acceptance of a Palestinian state and the launch of a serious political process leading to that state.

Ignorance

Smotrich’s comments against Saudi Arabia drew fire from Israeli opposition leaders.

“To our friends in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, Smotrich does not represent the State of Israel,” Yair Lapid, leader of Yesh Atid Party, wrote on US social media company X, calling on the finance minister to apologize.

Benny Gantz, leader of the opposition Blue and White Party, said on X that Smotrich’s comments against Saudi Arabia “reflect ignorance and a lack of awareness of his responsibility as a senior minister in the government and the cabinet.”

Smotrich, known for his extremist views, has long advocated expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the annexation of the occupied territory according to Anadolu.

News

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

CrossFireArabia
October 24, 2025

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.

News

Palestine NGO to Prosecute Britons in Israeli Army

CrossFireArabia
October 24, 2025

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.

News

Israel Cannot Annex West Bank Says VP Vance

CrossFireArabia
October 24, 2025

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.

https://www.palestinechronicle.com/israeli-knesset-approves-preliminary-reading-of-bill-to-annex-west-bank/embed/#?secret=OBbWh2L4xb#?secret=TLEUEm5JV2

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.

News

Why Did Netanyahu Fire Tzachi Hanegbi?

CrossFireArabia
October 22, 2025

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.