Government spokesman Hebestreit indicated on Wednesday that Netanyahu would be extradited if an arrest warrant was issued against him. Three countries recognize Palestine as a state – France is not included. Egypt threatens to withdraw as Gaza mediator. All developments here in the news ticker.
Thursday, May 23, 2024, 6:53 a.m.: Egypt has threatened to withdraw from its role as mediator in the Gaza war between Israel and the Islamist Hamas. Continued attempts to cast doubt on Egyptian mediation efforts and its role with false claims will only further complicate the situation in the Gaza Strip and across the region, said Diaa Rashwan, head of Egypt’s state information service, in a statement shared on social media on Wednesday evening Notice. This could “lead the Egyptian side to decide to completely withdraw from mediation activities in the conflict.” He was responding to a CNN report that Egyptian intelligence allegedly changed a ceasefire proposal accepted by Israel without consulting the other mediators.
Because Israel and Hamas do not negotiate directly with each other, Egypt, Qatar and the United States act as mediators. According to the US broadcaster CNN, Egypt’s secret service is said to have quietly changed the proposal for a ceasefire that had already been accepted by Israel and added further demands from Hamas. When the Islamists agreed to an agreement on May 6, it did not correspond to the proposal that other mediators thought had been presented to Hamas for consideration, the broadcaster reported, citing three unnamed people familiar with the deliberations Persons. The incident caused enormous anger and led to a dead end in the talks. The Egyptian Information Service categorically rejected the US broadcaster’s statements.
6:22 p.m.: Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit indicated at the federal press conference that Germany would also implement any detention order against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Naturally. Yes, we adhere to the law,” said Hebestreit on Wednesday afternoon.
This statement caused criticism from the CDU. Party leader Friedrich Merz told “Bild” on Wednesday evening: “The application for an arrest warrant at the same time against Prime Minister Netanyahu and Hamas leader Sinwar is an absurd perpetrator-victim reversal.” And Merz goes even further: “The silence of the federal government up to this point “The government spokesman’s suggestion that Netanyahu could be arrested on German soil is now really becoming a scandal.”
1:43 p.m.: France’s Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné has rejected recognition of Palestine as a state at this time. “Our position is clear: recognizing Palestine is not taboo for France,” the minister said on Wednesday after a meeting with his Israeli counterpart Israel Katz in Paris. However, the decision for recognition must be useful, which means that it enables decisive progress at the political level, said Séjourné. It has to happen at the right time.
“It is not just a symbolic question or a question of political positioning, but a diplomatic tool at the service of the solution with two states living side by side in peace and security,” said the French foreign minister. “France does not consider that the conditions have been met to date for this decision to have a real impact on this process.” Previously, Norway, Ireland and Spain had announced their intention to recognize Palestine as a state.
Katz’s visit to Paris follows France’s positioning in favor of the International Criminal Court, whose chief prosecutor had requested arrest warrants against, among others, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the leader of the terrorist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Jihia al-Sinwar. The Paris Foreign Ministry said it supported the Criminal Court, its independence and the fight against impunity in all situations. After the meeting with Katz, Séjourné wrote on
10:40 a.m.: Norway, Ireland and Spain will recognize Palestine as a state. The three countries announced this on Wednesday morning. The move is scheduled to be formally completed on May 28th. The recognition is “an expression of full support for a two-state solution, the only credible path to peace and security for Israel, Palestine and their peoples,” said the Irish head of government.
Israel strongly rejects recognizing Palestine and immediately recalled its ambassadors from Ireland and Norway. “I am sending a clear and unambiguous message to Ireland and Norway: Israel will not remain silent in the face of those who undermine its sovereignty and threaten its security,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on Platform X. “Today’s decision sends a message the Palestinians and the world: terrorism pays,” said Katz.
The majority of United Nations member states now recognize Palestine as a state. However, this does not apply to major Western nations such as the USA and the majority of EU countries, including Germany, France and Great Britain. Germany is also committed to a two-state solution, but sees the recognition of Palestine as the result of direct negotiations between the conflict parties.
Wednesday, May 22, 8:46 a.m.: Norway will recognize Palestine as a state. Recognition will take place on May 28, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre announced on Wednesday morning. According to The Telegraph, Ireland is also considering recognizing Palestine as a state
11:16 p.m.: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has assured that Israel has no plans to build settlements in the Gaza Strip after the Gaza war. “That was never planned,” he stressed in an interview with the US news channel CNN on Tuesday. “Some of my voters are not happy about it, but that is my position.”
Several of the right-wing nationalist ministers in Netanyahu’s coalition have repeatedly spoken out in favor of establishing Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip. Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir even said on Tuesday that he would like to live there himself.
Once Hamas is defeated, sustainable demilitarization of the Gaza Strip must be achieved, Netanyahu told CNN. “We want a civilian administration run by citizens of Gaza who are neither affiliated with nor committed to Hamas.”
7:53 p.m.: The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA) temporarily suspended food distribution in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday. The UN agency wrote this on Platform X. The reason given was supply bottlenecks and the security situation.
In Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip on the border with Egypt, Israeli military operations continue, particularly in the east of the city. A military spokesman reported on Tuesday that terrorist structures had again been destroyed and underground weapons depots had been discovered.
According to Israeli information, 403 trucks carrying relief supplies arrived in the Gaza Strip on Monday alone. Since the beginning of the war, more than 572,000 tons of relief supplies have been delivered.
Tuesday, May 21, 12:40 a.m.: US President Joe Biden has rejected accusations against the Israeli leadership that they are committing genocide against Palestinians in the fight against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. “Contrary to the International Court of Justice’s allegations against Israel, this is not genocide,” Biden said Monday in the Rose Garden of the White House at a celebration of the achievements of American Jews in the United States. “We reject that. We stand with Israel.”
UN judges have made emergency decisions requiring Israel to do everything possible to prevent genocide and allow humanitarian aid. On Monday, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) also requested an arrest warrant for alleged crimes against humanity against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Joav Galant. Arrest warrants were also requested against the leader of the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Jihia al-Sinwar, and other Hamas representatives.
Biden reiterated that the US government rejects the actions of the ICC chief prosecutor. There is no equivalence between Israel and Hamas, said the US President. Biden also emphasized: “My commitment to the security of the Jewish people, to the security of Israel and its right to exist as an independent Jewish state is unwavering.” The US government continues to advocate for a two-state solution, security and lasting peace bring.
1:14 p.m.: The International Criminal Court has requested arrest warrants against Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Karim Khan, chief prosecutor of the International Court of Justice, said this in an interview with “CNN” on Monday. The charges are related to the attacks on Israel on October 7th and the subsequent war in the Gaza Strip.
Khan also said that the International Criminal Court had also requested arrest warrants for Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and two other senior Hamas leaders – Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri and Ismail Haniyeh. A panel of judges from the Court of Justice is now examining the application for the issuance of the arrest warrants.
According to Khan, the charges against the Hamas terrorists include “extermination, murder, hostage-taking, rape and sexual assault in custody.” The charges against Netanyahu and Gallant include, among other things, “causing extermination, causing starvation as a method of war, including denial of humanitarian aid, deliberate attacks on civilians in conflict,” Khan said.
Monday, May 20, 3:44 a.m.: After talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan informed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the “potential” of a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Sullivan also called on Netanyahu to link the military operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to a “political strategy” for the future of the Palestinian territory, the White House said on Sunday.
Sullivan met the crown prince on Saturday in the Saudi Arabian city of Dhahran before travelling to Israel for talks with Netanyahu. Sullivan informed Netanyahu and his team “about these meetings and the opportunities that could now arise for Israel and the Palestinian people,” it said.
You can read more about the Iranian attack on Israel on the next page.