Tel Aviv Archives - Page 6 of 20

US Vice-President Cancels Visit to Israel

CrossFireArabia
May 20, 2025

US Vice President JD Vance was expected to travel to Israel on Tuesday, but decided against it due to Israel’s expansion of its military operation in the Gaza Strip, according to an Axios report.

The report cited a senior US official as saying that Vance made the decision “because he didn’t want his trip to suggest the Trump administration endorsed the Israeli decision to launch a massive operation at a time when the U.S. is pushing for a ceasefire and hostage deal.”

Vance officially cited “logical” reasons for his decision, the report added.

According to Israeli officials, Axios said, the Trump administration had informed the Israeli government on Saturday that Vance was “considering stopping in Israel” after attending the pope’s inauguration.

Discussions had also taken place on Sunday between US and Israeli officials regarding preparations for his visit. Soon thereafter, Axios said, Israeli media reported on Vance’s expected arrival on Tuesday.

Reports Denied

Several hours later, the report added, a White House official denied the reports.

In a statement to reporters traveling with the VP, the official reportedly said. “While the Secret Service has engaged in contingency planning for the addition of several potential countries, no additional visits were at any point decided upon, and logistical constraints have precluded an extension of his travel beyond Rome.”

“He will return to Washington on Monday,” the statement added.

https://www.palestinechronicle.com/israel-greenlights-gaza-aid-amid-american-pressure-cabinet-dissent/embed/#?secret=4bl8Jhe4Zw#?secret=UxS9CRr0Ds

A US official, however, told Axios that logistics were not the issue and that “concerns were raised that a trip to Israel at this time would be perceived by Israel and countries in the region as validation for Israel’s expanded operation.”

“At that point, Vance decided not to go,” Axios said.

Vance’s decision, the report noted, sheds light on how the US administration’s views on the current Israeli policy in Gaza amid the administration’s attempts to cut a deal to halt Tel Aviv’s ongoing operation in the enclave.

Mass Displacement

Since March 2, Israel has shut Gaza’s border crossings, preventing all humanitarian aid, including water, food, and medical supplies, into the enclave, exacerbating an already severe humanitarian crisis in the enclave.

On Sunday, the Israeli army began a broad ground offensive dubbed ‘Gideon’s Chariot’ in the besieged territory aimed at displacing two million Palestinians in Gaza to the south and destroying most of the territory.

Under pressure from the US administration and European allies, the Israeli security cabinet decided late on Sunday to allow some aid into the enclave.

Axios said that US envoy Steve Witkoff had given both Hamas and Israel “an updated proposal” for a ceasefire last week “and is pressing the parties to accept it.”

Over 53,000 Killed

Since Israel’s reneging on the ceasefire on March 18, it has killed and wounded thousands of Palestinians throughout the Gaza Strip through a bloody and ongoing aerial bombardment.

On October 7, 2023, following a Palestinian Resistance operation in southern Israel, the Israeli military launched a genocidal war against the Palestinians, killing over 53,000, wounding more than 118,000, with over 14,000 still missing.

Despite habitual condemnation by many countries around the world of the Israeli genocide, little has been done to hold Israel accountable.

Israel is currently under investigation for the crime of genocide by the International Court of Justice, while accused war criminals — including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — are now officially wanted by the International Criminal Court.

The Israeli genocide has been largely defended, supported, and financed by Washington and a few other Western powers according to The Palestine Chronicle.

Analyses

Al-Duwairi: The Houthis will not stop bombing Israel Unless…

CrossFireArabia
May 18, 2025

Military expert Major-General Fayez Al-Duwairi said that if the massacres and Israeli blockade of Gaza continue, the Houthis Ansar Allah group will continue bombing deep inside Israel.

He emphasized that targeting Ben Gurion Airport in particular would lead to the cessation of air traffic and the suspension of flights by some international airlines and creating a state of confusion forcing millions to go down to the shelters.

The Israeli army announced it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen toward Israel early Sunday morning as the Houthis threatened to impose a no-fly zone on airports in Israel due to the escalation in the Gaza Strip.

Houthi military spokesman Yehya Saree announced that the group targeted Ben Gurion Airport with two ballistic missiles all the way from Yemen, a distance of over-2000 kilometers in support of Gaza.

The Houthis have since initially linked attacks on ships in the Red Sea and attacks deep inside Israel wouldn’t stop until the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip comes to an end.

Nasr al-Din Amer, deputy head of the Houthi media told Al Jazeera Net that the group’s long-range missiles aim to close down the Ben Gurion Airport and prohibit navigation there until the blockade and aggression on Gaza is lifted.

Al-Duwairi noted the Houthis’ strikes prompted the Israeli occupation to change its defense strategy. Since last week, its focus shifted from the American THAAD system to the Israeli Arrow system, as THAAD previously failed to intercept two missiles launched by the Houthis one of which landed in the surroundings of the airport.

He predicts the Israeli occupation would continue its attack on Yemen and suggests that an airstrike would be imminent in the coming days. However, he explained that the targets are unknown and would likely be civilian.

The Israeli military announced in a statement last Friday it had carried out attacks on two ports in the Al Hudaydah Governorate on Yemen’s west coast using fighter jets, targeting and destroying infrastructure it claimed belonged to the Houthis in the two ports.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened: “We know the Houthis are merely an arm, and that Iran is behind them and provides them with support, instructions, and authorization.” He warned the Houthis would pay a heavy price, and “we will defend ourselves by all means to preserve Israel’s security,” as reported in Al Jazeera.

Opinion

Haaretz: US Finally Independent From Israel

CrossFireArabia
May 12, 2025

An article in Haaretz reports that Israel has suffered several blows in recent days in its historical relations with the United States. And that US President Donald Trump no longer requires Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Tel Aviv for Washington’s nuclear cooperation with Riyadh.

Adding insult to injury to the Israel occupying state, Trump has reached an agreement with the Houthis Ansar Allah group to end US military strikes on Yemen. This is plus the fact the US has began negotiations with Iran without the blessing of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Further to that a US official in the Trump administration also held direct contact with the Hamas.

However, Odeh Basharat in his Haaretz article argues that the most painful blow Israel has ever suffered was Trump’s dismissal of his National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz, due to a discussion he had with Netanyahu, behind Trump’s back, about launching a military attack on Iran.

Basharat said the United States has finally begun to wake up and free itself from the shackles of Israel, and act as an independent state, not a “banana republic.” Basharat, a journalist from the Arab world, expressed his astonishment at these developments and wondered whether what was happening before his eyes was real or merely an illusion.

The writer believes that a seismic clash is taking place between the two countries and the two men, and that all the reasons are now converging. “America is gaining its independence 250 years after the beginning of its First Revolutionary War,” referring to the war that took place between 1765 and 1783, when 13 British colonies in North America rejected British colonial rule and gained their independence.

Basharat describes this emancipation as the Great American Rebellion, and attributes its causes to the fact that the world—and the United States as part of it—felt deeply concerned by what the writer, with biting sarcasm, called “Israel’s diplomatic acrobatics,” its “enlightened occupation” of the Palestinian territories, and its “closure (of the Gaza Strip) that allows only air in.”

According to the article, as soon as Israel reaches an agreement on a particular issue, it adds new conditions the next day. Although the Arab states that signed peace agreements with Israel were not required to recognize it as a Jewish and democratic state, only the Palestinians are required to do so, which, as Basharat argues, permanently relegates Israeli Arabs to second-class citizens.

According to the article, it has become clear that Netanyahu is deceiving everyone: Arabs, Jews, and Americans, not just Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement, as he previously boasted to Israeli police investigators that he misled and deceived them, then bombed them.

Since the time of David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, the state’s policy has been based on force. In contrast, Trump seems to believe in a policy of carrots and sticks—meaning diplomacy and force combined—according to the article.

The author claims that the US president thinks differently, as demonstrated by his actions toward the Houthis, Iran, and the tariffs. Once he realized he had failed, he took a step back.

As for Israel, its problem does not lie solely with Netanyahu, as Basharat argues, but rather with the fact that it has not offered an alternative to force. Only three of its former prime ministers, according to the article, have taken a different path: Moshe Sharett, whom Ben-Gurion was keen to overthrow; Yitzhak Rabin, who paid for it with his life; and Ehud Olmert, who was ousted before even presenting his plan.

Furthermore, Israel has long treated the White House as a branch of its prime minister’s office, intervening in the wording of every sentence in documents issued by Washington regarding Israel, according to the Haaretz article as reported in Al Jazeera.

News

Fires Continue to Rage in Israel

CrossFireArabia
May 2, 2025

Israeli newspaper Maariv reported, Friday, that fires swept the country resumed in fully force at the western suburbs of Jerusalem.

“Hours after the massive fire in the Latrun area (between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv) was brought under control, the fire resumed in the area today.”

Maariv added that Israeli firefighting crews rushed to the scene in a bid to put out the burning flames.

But, the Israeli Fire Authority said in a post on the X platform that: “There are no dramatic events currently in the fire zones in Jerusalem.”

The fire in Israel is out of control and spreading!
it's a punishment from Allah!pic.twitter.com/KEUu0yv1Pn
— Donya 🇵🇸 (@donyaihsan) April 30, 2025

It added: “Several points of smoke rising are being monitored, and firefighting forces and aircraft continue to work to bring the fires under control.”

On Thursday evening, Israel announced that it had brought under control the fires that swept through the area between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, about 30 hours after they broke out and consumed approximately 20,000 dunams.

Hebrew media outlets, including the official broadcasting authority, reported that the fires were likely caused by “the negligence of hikers,” rather than by arson.

Contrary to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s accusation that individuals started them, Channel 12 reported that “the central fires in the Jerusalem Hills were not set deliberately and are believed to be the result of negligence.”

Authorities are investigating the cause of the fires in the same area where similar, less intense blazes occurred last week.

The Times of Israel news website quoted President Isaac Herzog as saying, Thursday: “This fire is part of the climate crisis that must not be ignored. It requires us to prepare for serious and significant challenges and to make decisions, including appropriate legislation.”

The fires between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, the largest in years, have forced the evacuation of 10 towns and settlements and have spread due to high temperatures and strong winds in the forested area as reported in Anadolu.

Opinion

Can Arab States Stop The Israeli Genocide?

CrossFireArabia
April 4, 2025

Neither the Israeli war nor the ethnic cleansing of Gaza will ever stop if there is no forceful, determined intervention from the outside.

And primarily this intervention has to come from the Arab countries and the pan-Arab nation as a whole: If these states – so-called Arab brethren and Islamic affiliates bound by common language and culture – don’t stand up and say ‘no’ to Netanyahu’s bloody war on Gaza, now in its 15th month, the ethnic cleansing, devastation, destruction and possibly the near and future displacement of the Palestinian people will continue to be hummed.

No bland utterances

Arab countries, from the far-west to the center and all the way to the east must move beyond bland utterances and condemnations of the mindless bloody Israeli military actions on Gaza that has so far resulted in the killing of more than 50,000 people, internally displaced more than 2 million of the population with 14,000 dead yet to be recovered from under the millions-of-tons of rubble that needs years to clear out.

As well, and further stated by Palestinian activist Dr Mustafa Al Barghouti, Arab states have to now develop at least a two-pronged strategy to drive the message across that they will not stand ideally by and watch the Palestinian people of Gaza being massacred and driven to smithereens.

Arab countries, and incidentally this should have been done a long time ago, which have normalized with Israel must freeze their diplomatic relations with the Zionist entity. Their leaders must say to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that relations will remain cut and frozen and that no further relations will take place, until he ends the Israeli war on Gaza and from now on, its back to the “bad old days” of a black Cold War between the Arab countries and Israel.

The message needs to be loud and made crystal clear by Arab leaders for Netanyahu and his extremist government and military men to stop the carnage, killing and mayhem that is being created in Gaza and its people.

Determined Arabs

It is only through such a determined approach that will force the Israeli government, its leaders and ministers to sit, think and possibly review their slaughter of the Gaza enclave. At the very least, they would be forced to put the “brakes on” to their “happy attitude” of committing their atrocious massacres carried out almost daily since 7 October, 2023.

What is needed is a credible deterrence with those in power moving beyond their pedestals and high chairs and plush stages and put words and action together for the Arab world is nowhere as helpless on this issue as it is being projected.

All of the 22 Arab countries have now a real opportunity to stop the Gaza massacres through the new American president at the White House Donald Trump. He forced Netanyahu’s hand for a temporary ceasefire starting 19th January, 2025 which continued for almost two months and he can do it again if he wanted to and/or forced to. At the moment there is no political will.

Effective tool

Despite the present-relaunching of the war on 19 March, basically through an American green-light, Arab countries can have an effective and meaningful role if they choose to. After all, Trump soon backed down when he first suggested that the USA take over Gaza and turn it a Middle East Riviera whilst displacing its people to neighboring countries such as Jordan and Egypt.

He soon retreated from pursuing such an idea especially when Arab capitals such as Cairo, Amman, Riyadh, Algiers, Beirut, Kuwait, Doha, Muscat and Abu Dhabi condemned such a move with Netanyahu even having the audacity to say Palestinians can have their state in Saudi Arabia. Trump’s Riviera idea soon became bogged down but Israel shortly after, restarted its war on Gaza, again with the blessing of the US administration.

But here again, and today the Arab countries, can make their move. The USA has vital, strategic, economic and political interests in the world and these can be used in different ways to persuade Washington to pressure Tel Aviv to back down on Gaza, other than promising to continue its bloody onslaught on ordinary Palestinians in Gaza with the hope of getting rid of Hamas and which according to their calculations they can’t beat until 2027 and/or whenever.

Netanyahu must be made to stop! He is not doing so because of the ongoing military supplies and backing from the United States and from the muted Arab response which have to go beyond condemnation and denunciations. Arab states have the tools at their disposal, it is time for these to be uses effectively otherwise the Israeli genocide will continue and expand.

This comment is written by Dr Marwan Asmar, chief editor of the crossfirearabia.com website.