Jerusalem/Gaza. The intensity of protests against Netanyahu’s government has increased recently. There are injuries in new demonstrations. The news in summary.
Clashes broke out between demonstrators and police during new protests against the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. At least three people were injured and eight others were arrested, the Haaretz newspaper reported. Protesters called for new elections and an agreement that would lead to the release of the remaining Israeli hostages held by the Islamist Hamas.
A few hours earlier, the head of government had dissolved the war cabinet, which had taken important decisions regarding the Israeli army’s fighting with Hamas in the Gaza Strip and also the conflict with the Shiite militia Hezbollah in Lebanon. Meanwhile, a senior adviser to US President Joe Biden met with Netanyahu to discuss how to calm rising tensions with Hezbollah.
The violent clashes in Jerusalem took place in front of Netanyahu’s private residence. Police used water cannons to disperse protests, according to reports in The Times of Israel. According to reports, tens of thousands of people had already participated in a large demonstration in front of the Israeli parliament – the Knesset.
There have been repeated mass protests against the government in Israel for months. Netanyahu is accused by his opponents of giving in to the wishes of his extremist coalition partners and, therefore, of frustrating negotiated solutions. He denies this and blames Hamas’ intransigence for the stagnation in indirect negotiations. Recently, the intensity of protests against Netanyahu’s government has increased.
Dissolution of the War Cabinet
The dissolution of the war cabinet came just over a week after Minister Benny Gantz withdrew from Israel’s emergency government. Government circles said Netanyahu would discuss critical decisions regarding current conflicts in smaller forums in the future.
In order to demonstrate unity following the terrorist attack by Hamas and other Palestinian extremist groups on southern Israel on October 7 last year, Gantz joined the three-member war cabinet. However, the former general and defense minister announced his withdrawal a week ago due to differences of opinion regarding the Gaza war. He criticized the government for failing to develop a plan for a post-war order in the Gaza Strip.
In the terrorist attack on October 7, around 1,200 people were murdered and another 250 were taken hostage. During the course of the war that this situation triggered, more than 37,000 Palestinians were killed, according to information from health authorities controlled by Hamas – which cannot be independently verified.
Mediation efforts in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict
According to reports from the Jerusalem Post, US envoy Amos Hochstein met with Netanyahu, Gantz, President Isaac Herzog and Defense Minister Joav Galant. Galant’s office said the minister presented a status report on developments on Israel’s border with Lebanon in the north. He “described Hezbollah’s daily attacks against Israeli communities” and the armed forces’ efforts to thwart the plans of “Hezbollah terrorists.”
Since the start of the war in Gaza more than eight months ago, the situation in the border area with Lebanon has worsened significantly and fighting now occurs almost daily. The Hezbollah militia, backed by Israel’s archenemy Iran, is an ally of Hamas in the Gaza Strip but is considered much more powerful. Hezbollah recently intensified its attacks after the Israeli military attacked one of its commanders last week.
The US warns against an expansion of the conflict. “We don’t want any escalation in the North. We have made this clear to the Israeli government,” said US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. Hezbollah’s attacks are “unbearable” and the US believes the conflict must be resolved through diplomatic channels. According to media reports, Hochstein also wanted to travel to Lebanon for talks.
Israel sees itself on the verge of achieving its war objectives in Rafah
In view of the fighting in Gaza, the Israeli army was confident that it would soon achieve its military objectives in the offensive on the southern city of Rafah. Half of Hamas’ combat units have been destroyed and 60 to 70 percent of the city’s territory is under “operational control” of Israeli troops, the army said. It will only be a few more weeks before the military operation is completed.
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The Israeli army launched the operation in Rafah, on the border with Egypt, in early May. The stated objective was to destroy the last Hamas combat units. The project was highly controversial internationally because more than a million Palestinians were in Rafah at the time. Most of them fled there from other parts of the Gaza Strip before the war. Almost all of these people have fled the city to an area to the west, where it is difficult to provide care for them.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240618-99-434997/2 (dpa)