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Israel advances plan for 2,000-member national guard demanded by far-right minister
(JTA) — The Israeli government approved the creation of a new, 2,000-member national guard demanded by Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right minister of national security, in a cabinet vote on Sunday.
The new force won’t begin operating immediately while a government committee spends 90 days evaluating its details — meaning that its future, including whether Ben-Gvir will control it directly as he desires, is not assured. Still, it is getting a budget of roughly $278 million, necessitating a budget cut of 1.5% across all government ministries.
The plan for the new force is eliciting concerns from moderate government ministers and security officials who say Israel does not need a competing force alongside the country’s existing Israeli security services — including the Israel Defense Forces, police and Shin Bet intelligence service. One former chief of the Israel Police, Moshe Karadi, warned that Ben-Gvir, who has a track record of provocations, particularly against Palestinians, could use it to “launch a coup.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to establish the national guard last week in order to secure Ben-Gvir’s support for a temporary suspension of the government’s proposed judicial overhaul.
Ben-Gvir issued a statement calling the establishment of the national guard “good news for the residents of the state of Israel.” He added that the force will “act to restore personal security and governance in all parts of Israel.” According to a report in the Times of Israel, the new force will focus on “nationalist crime” and terrorism, particularly in areas where police are stretched thin.
The new force has been criticized as unnecessary, divisive and dangerous by current and former Israel Police commissioners. The current police commissioner, Kobi Shabtai, sent a letter to Netanyahu saying that establishing a national guard could lead Israel to pay a “heavy price, including hurting the personal security of civilians.”
“The purpose of the initiative that has been laid before us is completely unclear,” read Shabtai’s letter, according to Israeli newspaper Makor Rishon. “This is a waste of resources, a doubling of staffs, and a gamble whose advantage is unproven. The proposal is likely to cause significant damage to the operational ability of the country’s internal security apparatus, and will hurt the unity of command.”
Netanyahu’s promise to Ben-Gvir influenced this week’s protests against the government’s planned judicial overhaul, which continued despite the overhaul legislation’s pause. In Tel Aviv, protesters dressed as a paramilitary brigade goose-stepped in the streets in a demonstration designed to paint Ben-Gvir’s planned national guard as fascist.
מיצג מחאה נגד הקמת משמר לאומי תחת השר בן גביר ברחוב קפלן בתל אביב@sapirlipkin pic.twitter.com/i8rkuQJwWq
— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) April 1, 2023
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The post Israel advances plan for 2,000-member national guard demanded by far-right minister appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Report: Regime Change Not Ruled Out as US Mulls Escalation Against Venezuela
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a march amid the disputed presidential election, in Caracas, Venezuela, Aug. 3, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Maxwell Briceno
i24 News – The United States is poised to launch a new phase of Venezuela-related operations in the coming days, as the US administration of President Donald Trump ratchets up pressure on President Nicolas Maduro’s government, Reuters reported Saturday citing four officials familiar with the matter. An escalation that would go so far as overthrowing Maduro’s dictatorial regime could not be ruled out, it is understood.
The report could not provide the exact timing or scope of the new operations, nor confirm that Trump had made a final decision to act. Reports of looming action have proliferated in recent weeks as the US military has deployed forces to the Caribbean amid worsening relations with Venezuela.
Two of the US officials said covert operations would likely be the first part of the new action against Maduro. Another “senior administration official” said he did not rule anything out regarding Venezuela.
“President Trump is prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country and to bring those responsible to justice,” the official was quoted as saying.
Also on Saturday, three international airlines canceled their flights departing from Venezuela, the day after the US Federal Aviation Administration warned major airlines of a “potentially hazardous situation” when flying over the country.
Brazil’s Gol, Colombia’s Avianca and TAP Air Portugal canceled their flights departing from Caracas on Saturday, according to Flightradar24 and the official website of Simon Bolivar Maiquetia International Airport.
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Indonesia’s Biggest Islamic Group Asks Chief to Resign Over Invitation to Pro-Israeli Speaker
Then Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Yahya Cholil Staquf, secretary general of the 60-million member Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization, at his office in Jerusalem. Photo: Haim Zach/GPO.
Indonesia’s biggest Islamic organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, has asked its chief to resign for inviting a US scholar known for his support of Israel during the Gaza war to an internal event in August, according to meeting minutes reviewed by Reuters.
The leadership of NU, which is also the world’s biggest Islamic organization with around 100 million members and affiliates, has given Chairman Yahya Cholil Staquf three days to offer his resignation or be removed from his post, according to the minutes from a meeting on Thursday.
NU cited Staquf’s invitation to a person “affiliated with an International Zionism network” for an internal event and alleged financial mismanagement as reasons for his ouster.
Staquf, who has been NU’s chairman since 2021, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
NU official Najib Azca told Reuters the decision was linked to Staquf’s invitation to former US official and scholar Peter Berkowitz for an August training event.
Staquf has apologized for the invitation and called it an oversight as he had not carefully checked Berkowitz’s background, adding that he condemned Israel‘s “brutal genocidal acts in Gaza.”
Berkowitz often writes in support of Israel‘s campaign in Gaza, according to his website, including a piece in September aiming to refute allegations of genocide against Israel.
Berkowitz spoke at NU seminars about the history of Western political thought in August, his website showed.
Berkowitz did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment that reached him outside of office hours.
Indonesia, the world’s Muslim-majority nation, has routinely condemned Israel‘s actions in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza since the war broke out in 2023. It has long advocated for a two-state solution and has no diplomatic relations with Israel.
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Protesters at Tel Aviv Rally Call for State Inquiry into Oct. 7 Failings
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participates in the state memorial ceremony for the fallen of the Iron Swords War on Mount Herzl. In Jerusalem on 16 October 2025. Photo: Alex Kolomoisky/POOL/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Israeli protesters gathered on Saturday in Tel Aviv, to demand the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appoint a committee to initiate a state inquiry on the security failings of October 7.
Saturday night rallies in Tel Aviv have been a fixture of the two-year-long war in Gaza that was triggered by the Hamas-led cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, that saw the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.
Protesters charged that Netanyahu refuses to be held accountable for his share of responsibility in Israel’s blackest day. They likewise took exception to Netanyahu’s wish to select the members of the committee, arguing this represented subversion of the democratic process.
Protesters also demanded the return of remains of the three deceased hostages still remaining in Gaza: Ran Gvili, Dror or and Sudthisak Rinthalak.