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Herzog Emphasizes Special ‘Unbreakable’ American-Israeli Bond in Meeting With US Lawmakers
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog delivers a speech during a tribute ceremony at the Halle aux Grains in Toulouse, southern France, on March 20, 2022. Photo: Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News — Israeli President Isaac Herzog met on Thursday with a delegation of US lawmakers from the Democratic Party, telling them that, despite ongoing tensions between the US and Israel over the war in Gaza, the alliance between the two countries is “unbreakable.”
In reference to public differences arising lately between Washington and Jerusalem, Herzog said, “The United States of America has no greater friend than Israel, and Israel has no greater friend than the United States of America. This unbreakable bond, this alliance, is as strong as ever and is irreplaceable.”
The US delegation was led by an initiative of AIPAC, the foremost pro-Israel lobby organization in the US.
“We all have to understand that we share the same objectives,” the Israeli president explained. “We share the objective of eradicating terror, of fighting the empire of evil which emanates from Tehran and wants to undermine world law and order, and its adverse directly to the national interest of the United States of America. And of course, as a clear enemy of ours too.”
Herzog added, “We share with the United States of America, and with the President of the United States of America, our dear friend President Joe Biden, the same vision of eradicating terror, of bringing the hostages back home, a vision of moving towards peace with our neighbors — once we finish the ability of our enemies to carry out terror from Gaza against us. And finally, most importantly, we share the vision of inclusion of Israel in the region, in which I believe strongly, including the normalization with Saudi Arabia.”
The Biden administration, under pressure from Democrats to increase pressure on Israel to curtail its war efforts against the Hamas terror group in Gaza, has been at odds in recent weeks over how the Jewish state should conduct military operations in Rafah, which is Hamas’ last stronghold in the Palestinian enclave and where many civilians are sheltering. Israel has said a ground offensive is needed to eliminate the last remaining Hamas battalions; the US has argued that a large-scale military operation would be unnecessary to target Hamas and endanger civilians.
Regardless of such differences, Herzog argued that Biden is a friend of Israel.
“President Biden is a great friend of Israel. When we hosted him less than two years ago here, I could see his love and affection and emotion towards the people of Israel and the State of Israel. The tears in his eyes when he saw so many great moments here. He is a true friend and I respect him a lot for that,” Herzog stressed.
The Israeli president concluded: “And I say to our friends in America, and I say to the Israeli people: this bond is essential, essential to the well-being of our nations, and we should simply focus on upgrading, enhancing, and strengthening this bond. Because, this bond is a unique bond throughout the history of two nations who believe in true humanitarian values. We will work together to alleviate and upgrade the humanitarian aid to Gaza and we will work together endlessly to bring the hostages back home. And we will work endlessly to fight terror, stand up to the empire of evil, and lead the world and the region to a better future.”
The post Herzog Emphasizes Special ‘Unbreakable’ American-Israeli Bond in Meeting With US Lawmakers first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Germany: 5 Killed, Scores Wounded after Saudi Man Plows Car Into Christmas crowd
Magdeburg Christmas market, December 21, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Christian Mang
i24 News – A suspected terrorist plowed a vehicle into a crowd at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg, west of the capital Berlin, killing at least five and injuring dozens more.
Local police confirmed that the suspect was a Saudi national born in 1974 and acting alone.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed his concern about the incident, saying that “reports from Magdeburg suggest something bad. My thoughts are with the victims and their families.”
Police declined to give casualty numbers, confirming only a large-scale operation at the market, where people had gathered to celebrate in the days leading up to the Christmas holidays.
The post Germany: 5 Killed, Scores Wounded after Saudi Man Plows Car Into Christmas crowd first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Syria’s New Rulers Name HTS Commander as Defense Minister
A person waves a flag adopted by the new Syrian rulers, as people gather during a celebration called by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) near the Umayyad Mosque, after the ousting of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, Photo: December 20, 2024. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo
Syria’s new rulers have appointed Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the insurgency which toppled Bashar al-Assad, as defense minister in the interim government, an official source said on Saturday.
Abu Qasra, who is also known by the nom de guerre Abu Hassan 600, is a senior figure in the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group which led the campaign that ousted Assad this month. He led numerous military operations during Syria’s revolution, the source said.
Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa discussed “the form of the military institution in the new Syria” during a meeting with armed factions on Saturday, state news agency SANA reported.
Abu Qasra during the meeting sat next to Sharaa, also known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, photos published by SANA showed.
Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir said this week that the defense ministry would be restructured using former rebel factions and officers who defected from Assad’s army.
Bashir, who formerly led an HTS-affiliated administration in the northwestern province of Idlib, has said he will lead a three-month transitional government. The new administration has not declared plans for what will happen after that.
Earlier on Saturday, the ruling General Command named Asaad Hassan al-Shibani as foreign minister, SANA said. A source in the new administration told Reuters that this step “comes in response to the aspirations of the Syrian people to establish international relations that bring peace and stability.”
Shibani, a 37-year-old graduate of Damascus University, previously led the political department of the rebels’ Idlib government, the General Command said.
Sharaa’s group was part of al Qaeda until he broke ties in 2016. It had been confined to Idlib for years until going on the offensive in late November, sweeping through the cities of western Syria and into Damascus as the army melted away.
Sharaa has met with a number of international envoys this week. He has said his primary focus is on reconstruction and achieving economic development and that he is not interested in engaging in any new conflicts.
Syrian rebels seized control of Damascus on Dec. 8, forcing Assad to flee after more than 13 years of civil war and ending his family’s decades-long rule.
Washington designated Sharaa a terrorist in 2013, saying al Qaeda in Iraq had tasked him with overthrowing Assad’s rule and establishing Islamic sharia law in Syria. US officials said on Friday that Washington would remove a $10 million bounty on his head.
The war has killed hundreds of thousands of people, caused one of the biggest refugee crises of modern times and left cities bombed to rubble and the economy hollowed out by global sanctions.
The post Syria’s New Rulers Name HTS Commander as Defense Minister first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Sweden Ends Funding for UNRWA, Pledges to Seek Other Aid Channels
View of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) building in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib / Flash90.
i24 News – Sweden will no longer fund the U.N. refugee agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) and will instead provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza via other channels, the Scandinavian country said on Friday.
The decision comes on the heels of multiple revelations regarding the agency’s employees’ involvement in the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel that triggered the war in Gaza.
Sweden’s decision was in response to the Israeli ban, as it will make channeling aid via the agency more difficult, the country’s aid minister, Benjamin Dousa, said.
“Large parts of UNRWA’s operations in Gaza are either going to be severely weakened or completely impossible,” Dousa said. “For the government, the most important thing is that support gets through.”
The Palestinian embassy in Stockholm said in a statement: “We reject the idea of finding alternatives to UNRWA, which has a special mandate to provide services to Palestinian refugees.”
Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel thanked Dousa for a meeting they had this week and for Sweden’s decision to drop its support for UNRWA.
“There are worthy and viable alternatives for humanitarian aid, and I appreciate the willingness to listen and adopt a different approach,” she said.
The post Sweden Ends Funding for UNRWA, Pledges to Seek Other Aid Channels first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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