State Escalates Rift between Biden and Netanyahu
Gaza Bombarded Clashes in West Bank Houthi Targeting of American Ship.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statements, rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state, and the immediate American response reasserting its support, highlighted a growing gap in positions with the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden regarding the so-called "day after" in the war on Gaza.
The situation in Gaza and Israel was central to a call between Biden and Netanyahu yesterday, according to the White House. The call followed reports in the American media about a cooling of relations between the two men, particularly in the light of Netanyahu's rejection of several proposals brought by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on his recent tour in the region.
Political sources in Tel Aviv revealed that General Gadi Eisenkot, a minister in the quintet council for the management of the war on Gaza, refused a proposal which emerged amid the Israeli leadership crisis. The proposal suggested he take over the current government leadership from Netanyahu for a year to help Israel exit its crisis. However, he declined, out of loyalty to his party leader Benny Gantz. Eisenkot believes that Israel needs to swiftly call early elections to change the government and give the people the right to choose new leadership.
On the ground, as the intense Israeli shelling continued on Gaza yesterday, the news agency 'Shehab' reported that the 'Saraya al-Quds' in Tulkarem in the West Bank stated they had killed and injured Israeli army personnel in an explosive device that targeted a bulldozer in the Al Joura area. Tulkarem yesterday mourned eight Palestinians who were killed, either by drone strikes or sniper fire, during an Israeli army raid on Nur Shams camp and Tulkarem camp.
In another development related to the Gaza war, the Houthi group in Yemen announced early yesterday targeting an American ship in the Gulf of Aden, in response to the American-British strikes on their military positions after they attacked ships in the Red Sea region. While the U.S. military confirmed that the Houthis in Yemen targeted an American commercial ship on Thursday, it reported that the attack did not reach its target.
The situation in Gaza and Israel was central to a call between Biden and Netanyahu yesterday, according to the White House. The call followed reports in the American media about a cooling of relations between the two men, particularly in the light of Netanyahu's rejection of several proposals brought by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on his recent tour in the region.
Political sources in Tel Aviv revealed that General Gadi Eisenkot, a minister in the quintet council for the management of the war on Gaza, refused a proposal which emerged amid the Israeli leadership crisis. The proposal suggested he take over the current government leadership from Netanyahu for a year to help Israel exit its crisis. However, he declined, out of loyalty to his party leader Benny Gantz. Eisenkot believes that Israel needs to swiftly call early elections to change the government and give the people the right to choose new leadership.
On the ground, as the intense Israeli shelling continued on Gaza yesterday, the news agency 'Shehab' reported that the 'Saraya al-Quds' in Tulkarem in the West Bank stated they had killed and injured Israeli army personnel in an explosive device that targeted a bulldozer in the Al Joura area. Tulkarem yesterday mourned eight Palestinians who were killed, either by drone strikes or sniper fire, during an Israeli army raid on Nur Shams camp and Tulkarem camp.
In another development related to the Gaza war, the Houthi group in Yemen announced early yesterday targeting an American ship in the Gulf of Aden, in response to the American-British strikes on their military positions after they attacked ships in the Red Sea region. While the U.S. military confirmed that the Houthis in Yemen targeted an American commercial ship on Thursday, it reported that the attack did not reach its target.
