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Israel’s Knesset approved a bill to push back the deadline on passing a state budget, thereby giving the shaky coalition an additional 120 days — until December 23 — to come to an agreement in order to prevent the government from collapsing and, by extension, a fourth election in less than two years.
The breakthrough came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz at the last moment expressed support for the legislative initiative following weeks of political bickering.
If no deal is reached by the new deadline, the country will likely head to a national vote in March 2021.
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US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has assured Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel will retain its military dominance in the Middle East amid speculation that Washington is preparing to sell fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates.
“The United States has a legal requirement with respect to [maintaining Israel’s] qualitative military edge… [and] we will continue to honor that,” Pompeo told reporters following a tete-a-tete with Netanyahu on Monday in Jerusalem.
Netanyahu has in the past opposed the sale of advanced weaponry to any regional country, although in recent months top Israeli officials have reviewed the potential ramifications of such an eventuality. The Israeli premier has denied that the recent normalization agreement between Jerusalem and Abu Dhabi included a side deal — or at the very least a tacit understanding — that the Emiratis would be able to acquire a fleet of F-35s.
The issue has become somewhat contentious, with the UAE having reportedly canceled a trilateral meeting with Israel and the US last week due to discontent in Jerusalem.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who expressed hope that the Israel-UAE accord would strengthen regional stability and security. Putin also stressed that Moscow continues to support “a just, comprehensive and sustainable solution to the Palestinian problem.”
It comes as British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab traveled to Jerusalem and Ramallah in a bid to press Israel and the Palestinian Authority to renew negotiations. During his visit, Raab praised the Jewish state for having chosen to forge official relations with the UAE in lieu of immediately pressing ahead with plans to extend Israeli sovereignty to parts of the West Bank.
Following a meeting with London’s top diplomat, Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi raised the issue of Iran, emphasizing that European states must take action to curb the Islamic Republic’s aggression.
“We were disappointed to see our friends, the E3 countries [comprising Britain, France and Germany], not voting to extend the arms embargo on Iran and thus prevent its adoption,” Ashkenazi said in reference to the recent US push at the UN Security Council.
The three European nations remain parties to — and continue to back — the 2015 nuclear deal, from which US President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018 and which Israel rejected from the get-go.
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The Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday morning struck several military sites in the Gaza Strip in response to the ongoing launching of incendiary balloon into Israeli territory. “IDF fighter jets, tanks and aircraft struck military posts and an underground infrastructure belonging to the Hamas terror organization,” the IDF said in statement.
The retaliatory strikes have become an almost nightly occurrence since terrorists in the enclave renewed their practice in early August of flying flammable and explosive materials, in addition to firing rockets, into Israel. The attacks have caused massive ecological damage, in particular, with over 36 acres of Israeli agricultural land having been destroyed on Monday alone.
Coinciding with the escalation in violence, Hamas authorities have confirmed the first cases of COVID-19 among Gaza residents not placed in quarantine after returning from abroad. The development has raised fears of a potential major outbreak, prompting Hamas to impose a 48-hour lockdown across the entire Palestinian enclave.
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Antisemitism Watch: An e-commerce website that last year sold T-shirts containing the words “Zyklon B” — a gas used by the Nazis to exterminate Jews — is now offering merchandise with the tagline, “Make Israel Palestine Again.” The Anti-Defamation Commission, an Australian human rights organization, denounced the products made available online by Redbubble, as well as Etsy. The rights group made clear the items promote the destruction of Israel and thus called for their removal from both sites.
(photo credit: ETSY.COM/SCREENSHOT)
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A 3,200-year-old Canaanite citadel where epic battles were fought has been unearthed near the southern Israeli city of Kiryat Gat. The 12th century BCE structure located some 70 kilometers (40 miles) south of Jerusalem was built by the Egyptians, who ruled the area at the time. It served as a defense primarily against the Philistines in the period corresponding to the biblical Book of Judges.
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