'Captives of Netanyahu, not Hamas,' says Israeli captive in new video

from al Mayadeen English

In a new video from Gaza, an Israeli captive accuses his own government of abandoning captives and fueling endless war for political gain. 

 

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Later in the video, Dalal reiterates that the true obstacle to their release is the Israeli leadership: “We’re captives of Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir, and Smotrich, who have been lying the entire time and don’t want us to go back home.”

Speaking amid the sounds of constant Israeli bombardment, Dalal paints a grim picture of the situation on the ground: “I am now in Gaza City, and the explosions are ongoing non-stop. Warplanes are above us. We want all of this to end, to go back to our families.”

He says they are now close to the frontlines and at imminent risk.

“We’re close to the army. We’re scared. There are explosions and gunfire. Please, take us back home.”

The video underscores both the escalating humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and the internal dissent now emerging among Israeli captives. Dalal's message reflects not only the growing urgency of the situation in Gaza, but also the intensifying internal scrutiny of the current Israeli government, particularly Prime Minister Netanyahu, whose pursuit of an endless war is increasingly viewed by settlers as a political strategy to maintain power, regardless of the human cost.

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Netanyahu hinges coalition survival on Gaza reoccupation, reports say

from Daily Sabah

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pressing ahead with plans to reoccupy Gaza, with Israeli media reporting that failure to launch the offensive could trigger the collapse of his governing coalition as far-right ministers threaten to walk away.

The daily Maariv cited an unnamed military source saying Netanyahu is "insisting on moving forward with the offensive Gideon's Chariots 2."

The source added: "He understands that without the operation, he will not be able to maintain government cohesion and it will fall apart."

Far-right ministers, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, have threatened to withdraw from Netanyahu's coalition if he agrees to any deal to halt the ongoing Israeli military offensive in Gaza, now approaching 23 months.

Regarding a potential hostage release deal, the military source said Israel was "negotiating according to the plan of (US Middle East envoy) Steve Witkoff two weeks ago to release some captives without ending the war."

Netanyahu sabotaged Gaza truce talks multiple times: Matthew Miller

from PressTV

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with his hawkish ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, obstructed Gaza ceasefire talks multiple times, according to former US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.

An investigation by Israel’s Channel 13 found that while Joe Biden’s administration kept blaming Hamas for the failure, Netanyahu and his allies “systematically” obstructed Gaza ceasefire talks.

Miller also confirmed the findings, according to the report.

“We had no broad mandate. At times, it was zero,” he admitted. He explained that conditions shifted suddenly, sometimes even as US envoys boarded planes.

He said Washington knew Israel was undermining ceasefire efforts but chose silence.

The Biden administration chose not to confront Netanyahu, fearing that public criticism would “strengthen Hamas,” according to Miller.

The report also documented how Netanyahu placed new conditions whenever talks neared success.

Netanyahu’s cabinet resisted ceasefire terms and repeatedly reset negotiations, it added.

These moves, according to the investigation, denied Israeli captives held in Gaza a chance at early release and prolonged the genocide in the besieged territory where nearly 62,300 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli regime.

Miller recalled that the US sometimes had to intervene directly to prevent Netanyahu from backtracking...

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Netanyahu orders Israeli army to conquer all of Gaza

from Mondoweiss

The Israeli war cabinet met on Monday to decide on the next phase of Israel’s war on Gaza. The meeting was reportedly to choose between ending the war in favor of ceasefire talks or expanding it to reoccupy the entire Strip. According to initial unconfirmed reports, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has briefed “friendly journalists” that he has ordered the Israeli army to “conquer Gaza” in the face of opposition from the army’s Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir. Netanyahu’s office reportedly told N12: “The decision has been made — Israel is going to conquer the Gaza Strip.”

The ceasefire was supported by Israeli army officials, while the decision to reoccupy Gaza is favored by the hardline ministers like National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who are key allies in Prime Minister Netanyahu’s rightwing coalition and are credited with playing an influential role in sustaining the ongoing Israeli onslaught.

According to the Israeli army’s radio on Monday, Zamir had demanded “clarity” from the Israeli government regarding the future of the war effort, reportedly discouraging the reoccupation of Gaza, believing it would “drain” the Israeli army.

Zamir’s message to the cabinet came amid Israel’s announcement last week of the end of its latest military offensive in Gaza, dubbed Operation Gideon’s Chariots, while one of Israel’s cabinet members, Zeev Elkin, threatened to “annex parts of Gaza” as a “pressure tool” against Hamas in ceasefire negotiations.

The message was also issued following the visit of U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to Israel and Gaza last week. On Friday, Witkoff met families of Israeli captives in Tel Aviv, where he reaffirmed U.S. efforts to reach a ceasefire deal, without giving any details on the progress of the talks. Witkoff said that Hamas was considering giving up its weapons, while the resistance group responded in a statement saying that it would only lay down its arms after the establishment of an independent Palestinian state...

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How Netanyahu Prolonged the War in Gaza to Stay in Power

from the New York Times

Six months into the war in the Gaza Strip, Benjamin Netanyahu was preparing to bring it to a halt. Negotiations were underway for an extended cease-fire with Hamas, and he was ready to agree to a compromise. He had dispatched an envoy to convey Israel’s new position to the Egyptian mediators. Now, at a meeting at the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv, he needed to get his cabinet onboard. He had kept the plan off the meeting’s written agenda. The idea was to reveal it suddenly, preventing resistant ministers from coordinating their response.

It was April 2024, long before Netanyahu mounted his political comeback. The proposal on the table would have paused the Gaza war for at least six weeks. It would have created a window for negotiations with Hamas over a permanent truce. More than 30 hostages captured by Hamas at the start of the war would have been released within weeks. Still more would have been freed if the truce was extended. And the devastation of Gaza, where roughly two million people were trying to survive daily attacks, would have come to a halt.

Pressure Rises on Israel as U.K., Canada and Others Impose Sanctions on 2 Far-Right Ministers

from the NYT

Five Western countries announced on Tuesday that they would impose sanctions on two far-right Israeli cabinet ministers, a remarkable rebuke of Israel’s leadership and a significant escalation of Western pressure on Israel over settler violence in the West Bank and the conduct of the war in Gaza.

Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Norway jointly imposed the sanctions, which will restrict the right to travel and freeze the financial assets of the Israeli security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich.

Mr. Smotrich, 45, and Mr. Ben-Gvir, 49, are the most hard-line members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet. Both have called for the wholesale expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, in statements that the British foreign secretary, David Lammy, has previously condemned as “monstrous.”

“Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights,” Mr. Lammy and the foreign ministers of the four other countries said in a joint statement on Tuesday. “That is why we have taken action now — to hold those responsible to account.”...

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Far-right Israeli minister Ben-Gvir quits govt over Gaza dea

 (Genocidal Jewish Supremacist takes his ball and goes home when stuff doesn't go his way)

from Daily Sabah

Israeli far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir resigned Sunday in protest against the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, according to Israeli media reports.

Ben-Gvir's far-right, ultra-nationalist Otzma Yehudit party, which holds six seats in the 120-seat Knesset, will leave the governing coalition, according to the reports.

Ben-Gvir had long voiced resistance against a cease-fire deal with Hamas, threatening to exit the government.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing religious government will continue to hold a razor-thin majority in parliament despite the exit of Otzma Yehudi with 62 seats.

The premier would lose his majority, however, if Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has also vociferously opposed a cease-fire, were to follow suit.

His Religious Zionism party holds seven seats in the Knesset...

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Netanyahu 'vows to continue Gaza war' after cabinet OKs truce deal

from PressTV

Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to continue the war on the Gaza Strip in a bid to stop far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich from exiting his cabinet, Israel's biggest newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reports. 

The report comes as the office of the Israeli prime minister says his cabinet voted to approve a Gaza ceasefire on Saturday after a delay which sparked fears that opposition from his coalition regime's extremist members could halt an agreement.  

According to Israeli media reports, Smotrich met Netanyahu before the approval, demanding not only guarantees that Israeli troops would return to the Gaza Strip but that Israel would retain control over the flow of humanitarian aid into the besieged Palestinian enclave.

“Without a full return to war, we will resign,” Smotrich, head of the Religious Zionism party and one of the staunchest opponents to a deal, reportedly said.

He felt like his demands were met following the latest meeting with Netanyahu, Yedioth Ahronoth reported.

The Israeli minister previously released a statement, saying he would only remain in Netanyahu’s cabinet if he promised to resume the war following the six-week first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal.

Smotrich has been urged by Israel’s extremist security minister and head of the far-right Jewish Power party Itamar Ben-Gvir to support him in thwarting the agreement. 

Ben-Gvir has said he will resign if the cabinet approves the ceasefire deal...

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‘Yesssss!’: Israel reacts to Donald Trump’s return to power in US election

from al Jazeera

Even before the US presidential election polls had closed on Tuesday night, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir had taken to Twitter, posting “Yesssss” in English, while adding emojis of a flexing bicep and images of the Israeli and American flags.

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was only slightly slower in congratulating former US President Donald Trump on his triumph in the US presidential election, becoming the first world leader to do so and framing Trump’s victory as a “powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America”.

Two days before this week’s election, which saw Trump stage one of the wildest political comebacks in recent history, leading the Republican Party to a landslide victory, polls in Israeli media showed Trump had already won the hearts and minds of many in Israel...

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Five prominent Israeli rabbis condemn provocative settler incursion into al-Aqsa Mosque

(The other day the Israeli representative to the UN resigned and gave a little going away speech in which he spewed abject hatred and claimed Israel to be not only the most moral nation in the world but also the model for the future of governance. Here we see rabbis pleading to the people of Israel to not let these extremists be seen as representing them.)

from PressTV

Five senior Israeli rabbis have deplored a recent settler incursion into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied Old City of al-Quds, highlighting a longstanding ban on Jewish prayers at the holy site.

In a joint video statement released on Wednesday, the rabbis based in al-Quds slammed “radical fringes,” a day after thousands of Israeli settlers, joined by far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, stormed the complex.

Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef emphasized that extremist ministers like Ben-Gvir do not represent Israelis.

“I call on the nations of the world, do not see those ... ministers as representing the people of Israel,” he said.  “Please calm things down… We mustn’t let radical fringes lead us.”...

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Hundreds of illegal Israeli settlers, led by notorious minister Ben Gvir, storm al-Aqsa mosque

(More antagonism from the genocidal Zionists as the world strives for peace. What a shock.)

from PressTV

Hundreds of illegal Israeli settlers have stormed the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, with far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir joining them, sparking new tensions with Palestinian Muslims worshiping at the holy site.

More than 1,600 Israeli settlers, who were organized into 13 groups, intruded into al-Aqsa Mosque in the holy occupied city of al-Quds on Tuesday morning, according to the al-Aqsa Mosque affairs department, also referred to as the Waqf.

The settlers' intrusion into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound came in response to a call from extremist Jewish groups to commemorate Tisha B'Av, an annual Jewish fast day that marks the occurrence of several disasters in Jewish history.

The Waqf reported that Israeli forces prevented worshipers from accessing the courtyards of al-Aqsa Mosque, and deployed a significant presence at its entrances to enable the incursion of settlers into the holy Islamic site, which resulted in clashes with Palestinian worshipers...

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Ben-Gvir confirms atrocities faced by Palestinians in Israeli prisons

from Uprooted Palestinian Blog

Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir confirms the reports saying Palestinians are suffering atrocious circumstances in Israeli prisons and pushes for even harsher treatment.

Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir confirmed Tuesday’s reports of the atrocious conditions being faced by Palestinian prisoners and defended the legitimacy of such measures. He emphasized that these steps were part of his campaign promises and aimed at minimizing the rights of Palestinians detained over alleged “terrorism” charges to the bare minimum allowed by law.

“Since assuming my role as [Police] Minister, one of my top priorities has been to worsen the conditions for terrorists in prisons and reduce their rights to the minimum required by law,” Ben-Gvir said. “This was a commitment I made to my voters and the people of Israel during the elections when I announced my intention to take on this role.”...

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US, EU slam far-right Israeli minister’s ‘racist’ claim his rights outweigh that of Palestinians

from CNN... AUG 2023 (before Oct 7th)

The United States and European Union Friday slammed comments by far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir that his right to life outweighs Palestinians’ right to freedom of movement in the occupied West Bank.

“We strongly condemn Minister Ben Gvir’s racist, destructive comments on the freedom of movement of Palestinian residents of the West Bank,” a US State Department spokesperson said.

“Such messages are particularly damaging when amplified by those in leadership positions… President [Joe] Biden and Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken have been clear that both Israelis and Palestinians deserve to enjoy equal measures of freedom and security.”

The European Union also strongly condemned the remarks, saying: “All human beings are equal and should be treated the same way.”...

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Date set for Rafah offensive – Netanyahu

from RT

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his government has set a date for a major ground operation in Rafah, the last remaining Palestinian shelter in Gaza.

The Israeli leader is under pressure both from close ally the US, which sees the promised offensive as a major threat to civilians, and from members of his own coalition, who demand military action. Some 1.3 million people, most of them displaced from other parts of the Palestinian enclave, are estimated to be crammed into the city, which is located at Gaza’s border with Egypt.

In a short video statement on Monday night, the prime minister said that achieving a victory over the militant group Hamas “requires entry into Rafah and the elimination of the terrorist battalions there. It will happen – there is a date.”

Earlier in the day, Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir issued an ultimatum to Netanyahu, stating that if he “decides to end the war without a broad attack on Rafah in order to defeat Hamas, he will not have a mandate to continue serving as prime minister.”...

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Israel's Genocide in Gaza Becoming a Recruitment Campaign for BRICS

Bibi is on his way out. They are fighting in his war cabinet meetings, snitching on each other, throwing folks under buses as fast as they can. Even the Zionist Settlers in West Bank want this shit over and Bibi OUT. It's hitting the fan folks. Bibi is in real trouble.

The U.S. is Dealing With an Israeli Leader Who’s Losing Control

from Politico

U.S. officials have to work with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they try to contain the Israel-Hamas war, but some are starting to wonder if he’s really in charge.

The Israeli leader is trying to stay in office and avoid prison on corruption charges, two linked desires that have long made him vulnerable to the demands of far-right members of his governing coalition. Now, an Israeli Supreme Court ruling against his effort to overhaul the judiciary may make him even more susceptible.

The far-right figures — notably ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir — harbor deep anti-Palestinian views and are resistant to U.S. proposals that they consider too friendly to the Palestinians. If they abandon Netanyahu’s coalition, he could lose his prime ministership, increasing his legal peril.

That has made Netanyahu reluctant to take American advice on the war, and it suggests that U.S.-Israeli tensions will grow as Palestinians struggle to survive Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip...

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Far-right Israeli minister urges eviction of Palestinians from Gaza

from Daily Sabah

Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who previously made headlines with a series of provocations, urged illegal Israeli settlers to settle in Gaza as he said Palestinians, who have been already devastated by relentless Israeli attacks and an inhumane blockade but refused to leave despite the violence, should be evicted from their homes.

"We must promote a solution to encourage the emigration of Gaza's residents," Israel's firebrand National Security Minister Ben-Gvir said Monday.

Israel unilaterally withdrew the last of its troops and settlers in 2005, ending a presence inside Gaza that began in 1967 but maintaining near complete control over the territory's borders.

The government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not officially suggested it has any plans to evict Gazans or to send Jewish settlers to the territory since the current war broke out on Oct. 7.

But Ben-Gvir argued that the eviction of Palestinians and the re-establishment of illegal Israeli settlements "is a correct, just, moral and humane solution."

"This is an opportunity to develop a project to encourage Gaza's residents to emigrate to countries around the world," he told a meeting of his ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit, or "Jewish Power" party...

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