Israelis Surround Airport to Prevent Netanyahu’s US Visit

Israelis have surrounded the Ben Gurion Airport, Sunday, to prevent Prime Minister Netanyahu to travel to the United States.

They, including the relatives of the 120-or-so hostages, who want Netanyahu to sign a prisoner exchange deal with the Palestinian resistance before he travels to Washington.

The protestors have surrounded almost all entrances of the Airport, that is just outside Tel Aviv to prevent Netanyahu from leaving.

Netanyahu is set to fly to Washington early Monday for talks with US officials, including President Joe Biden according to Anadolu.

Large police forces were present at the site of the protest, the broadcaster noted, it added.

Meanwhile its reported there is a huge rush of settlers at the Ben Gurion Airport waiting to leave Israel in fear of the Houthi drone attack made on Tel Aviv, Friday.

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Biden Pulls Out of Race, Nominates Harris

US President Joe Biden is dropping out as a candidate for the US presidential race.

“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down…” Biden said in a statement posted on X according to Anadolu.

News of his pullout is trending on the social media.

After announcing his decision he immediatetly endorced his Vice-President Kamala Harris for the Democratic Party for the elections that will be held on 5 November.

Several Democrats has pressured Biden to step aside following repeated mistakes and declining popularity reported the Quds News Network.

Biden lost much of his popularity due to his unlimited support for the occupation state of Israel and being directly involved in the genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza the network added.

As usual Donald Trump who is expected to make a comeback and be elected again as the US next president made fun of the Biden resignation and the Harris replacement.

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Trump: An Assassination Attempt with Theaterics!

By Saleem Ayoub Quna

CROSSFIREARABIA – As if the Republican ex-President Trump, and today’s sole contender for the world’s number one job, against Joe Biden who is standing to be reelected, was short of theatrics, Donald’s Stars just framed him in a most dramatic, thrilling picture that will forever stick in US memory, and which only great Hollywood film-makers can come up with.

What makes this picture unique, almost a satanic rival of the iconic Mona Liza, eternally and awesomely displayed in Le Louvre of Paris, is the traces of red blood on his cheek, while still hot! Add to that is the solid defying fist in the air, accompanied by a loud sound bite of: “Fight, fight, fight!”

Welcome once again to America!

Take me for an amateur, skeptic, or whatever you want to call me, I am not buying this story!

Yes, there was a person with a gun. Yes, there was a big crowd. And yes there was the most controversial public figure in the modern history of America with the name of Donald Trump on stage, celebrating the company of a mass cheering crowd.

But a bullet that would just hardly scratch the upper tip of the right ear of the targeted man, who instinctively took cover behind the podium, is beyond comprehension! A clumsily used shaving blade or a big mosquito bite, could do more damage!

Mr. Trump was and still is a very successful businessman. One of the best in America and the world. He also served as the 45th US President from 2017 till 2021 and now is seeking a comeback to become the next 47th President of the United States.

Donald Trump was never a stranger to controversy; not in his private life nor public one. Actually, one day, he could be given the nickname of Mr. Controversy, which should not by any means hinder his strong chances of coming back to the White House next year.

Now the final and simple question is: Why did the young man aim at the upper tip of the right ear of Mr. Trump on that sunny bright day? What effect will this have on his followers or the supporters of his rival Mr. Biden?

And finally, what impact can a stray bullet have on deciding who to choose between two contenders who some cynics, local and foreign, like to identify one as a stubborn old man versus his rival a show off clownish figure?

We are here at the receiving end of such theatrics whilst having no part of it, except to pray for a miracle, as our ancestors used to do when facing such hardships!

Saleem Ayoub Quna is a Jordanian writer and published author who writes on local, regional and international affairs

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US Moves Ahead With 500-pound Bombs to Israel

The US has decided to move ahead with the shipment of 500-pound bombs to Israel, which was previously paused due to concerns over Israel’s potential ground invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah and massive killings of civilians, a report stated Wednesday.

The bombs “are in the process of being shipped” after a two-month pause and are expected to arrive in Israel in the “coming weeks,” The Wall Street Journal reported, citing an administration official and reported in Anadolu.

In May, the Biden administration paused a planned shipment to Israel of 2,000-pound and 500-pound bombs amid concerns about Israel’s plans for a possible ground assault on Rafah, where 1.5 million displaced Palestinians sought refuge on top of the city’s pre-war population of more than 200,000.

“Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers,” US President Joe Biden acknowledged in an interview with CNN, referring to 2,000-pound bombs, and described Israel’s bombing of Gaza as “indiscriminate.”

“Heavier 2,000-pound bombs that were meant to be part of the same shipment are still on hold,” the official told WSJ.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the Biden administration in June for “withholding weapons and ammunition to Israel” in recent months, adding that Secretary of State Antony Blinken assured him that restrictions would be lifted on arms transfers to Israel.

“We’ve been clear that our concern has been on the end-use of the 2,000-lb bombs, particularly for Israel’s Rafah campaign, which they have announced they are concluding,” a US official told Anadolu when asked about the shipment of 500-pound bombs.

“Because of how these shipments are put together, other munitions may sometimes be co-mingled. That’s what happened here with the 500-lb bombs, since our main concern had been and remains the potential use of 2,000-lb bombs in Rafah and elsewhere in Gaza,” the official said. “Our concern was not about the 500-lb bombs. Those are moving forward as part of the usual process.”

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Wednesday that Tel Aviv is willing to open the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, but without allowing Hamas to return to the area.

In early May, the Israeli army seized control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt as part of a wide-scale military operation which resulted in civilian casualties and the suspension of humanitarian aid deliveries according to the Turkish news agency.

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Will Netanyahu Get to Address Congress?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering avoiding a stopover in Europe on his way to the US over fears that the International Criminal Court (ICC) is readying to issue an arrest warrant against him over the Israeli army’s crimes in Gaza according to Anadolu.

Netanyahu is to travel to the US and deliver a speech before the US Congress on July 24. He is also expected to possibly meet US President Joe Biden.

But there is much speculation about his coming trip with many on the social media woundering how he will get to Washington amidst the logistics involved in flying non-stop.

On 20 May, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan requested arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip. Khan also requested warrants for three of the Hamas group’s top leaders including its chief Ismail Haniyeh.

Everyone is waiting for the arrest warrants to become effective and many think they could be any time soon.

Israeli KAN public broadcaster said Netanyahu’s office reviewed the matter of stopping in Europe on his way to Washington as his plane is unable to make a transatlantic flight while carrying a full load of passengers.

His office reviewed the option of a stopover in the Czech Republic or Hungary; these two countries are seen as Israeli friends and called ICC arrest requests “unacceptable.”

KAN, however, noted Netanyahu in the end decided to go for a direct flight to Washington with a limited number of passengers on board.

While the US is not an ICC member, receiving Netanyahu despite an international arrest warrant could expose it to much criticism.

Israel also is not an ICC member, whereas Palestine was accepted as an affiliate in 2015.

Set up in 2002, the ICC is an independent international body not affiliated with the UN or any other international organization, and its decisions are binding.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

Nearly 38,200 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 87,900 others injured, according to local health authorities the Turkish News agency reported.

Nine months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the ICC, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6 according to the Turkish news agency.

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