Tag: Netanyahu

  • ‘Bugging device found in bathroom after Netanyahu meeting,’ reveals Boris Johnson

    ‘Bugging device found in bathroom after Netanyahu meeting,’ reveals Boris Johnson

    Former Prime Minister (PM) of Britain Boris Johnson has disclosed that after meeting with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a bugging device was found in his bathroom of the foreign office.

    Boris Johnson wrote in his memoir, “Unleashed”, that in 2017, when he was Britain’s Foreign Secretary, Israel’s PM went to the bathroom after meeting with him; when he came out, the security discovered the listening device which Netanyahu had used during their meeting, The Telegraph reported.

    Johnson further wrote, “Thither Bibi repaired for a while, and it may or may not be a coincidence, but I am told that later when they were doing a regular sweep for bugs, they found a listening device in the thunderbox.”

    The former Tory MP said Mr Netanyahu had excused himself during talks at his old office to use the washroom, described as “a secret annex… a bit like the gents in a posh London club.”

    It should be mentioned here that in 2019 the United States (US) accused Israel of placing cellphone surveillance devices near the White House and other key locations in Washington, DC.

  • Kamala Harris ‘will not be silent’ on suffering in Gaza

    Kamala Harris ‘will not be silent’ on suffering in Gaza

    United States Vice President Kamala Harris, who is now running for candidacy in the upcoming presidential election, has asserted that she will not remain “silent” on the suffering in Gaza.

    “What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating. The images of dead children and desperate hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second, third or fourth time,” Harris said while speaking to reporters following her meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington DC.

    At the same time, she maintained that “Israel has a right to defend itself”, deeming Hamas as a “brutal terrorist organisation” that led to the “war” and had carried out ‘“horrific acts of sexual violence”.

    Harris later added that “We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies [in Gaza]. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering and I will not be silent.”

    She also urged the creation of a Palestinian state, further calling for Netanyahu and Hamas to accord a ceasefire and hostage release deal to end a war that has killed “far too many” civilians.

    “As I just told Prime Minister Netanyahu, it is time to get this deal done,” she said.

  • UN expert compares Netanyahu with Hitler

    UN expert compares Netanyahu with Hitler

    Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Palestinian territories responded to a post on X, formerly Twitter, displaying a picture of Hitler being celebrated by a crowd with Nazi salutes and cheers above a shot of Netanyahu appearing to be greeted by US congressmen this week.

    “History is always watching,” Craig Mokhiber, another former UN human rights official who resigned late last October accusing the world body of failing to prevent the “genocide” of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, wrote in the post.

    “This is precisely what I was thinking today,” Albanese, an independent expert appointed by the UN Human Rights Council in 2022 but who does not speak on behalf of the United Nations, said in her response on Thursday.

    Israel’s foreign ministry was quick to respond, slamming her on X as being “beyond redemption.”

    “It is inconceivable that (Albanese) is still allowed to use the UN as a shield to spread anti-Semitism,” it said.

    “When a current UN ‘expert’ endorses Holocaust distortion spread by the former (UN rights office) director in New York… the system is rotten to its core,” it said.

    “It’s high time to #UNseatAlbanese!“

    Israel’s new ambassador in Geneva, Daniel Meron, used the same hashtag, decrying that “Francesca Albanese abuses her (UN) title to spread hatred and inflammatory rhetoric.”

    Israel’s top ally the United States also weighed in.

    “UN Special Rapporteur’s comparison of Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler is reprehensible and antisemitic,” US ambassador to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva Michele Taylor said on X.

    “There should be no place for such dehumanizing rhetoric. Special rapporteurs should be striving to improve human rights challenges, not inflame them.”

    Albanese on Friday hit back at the criticism, insisting that “the memory of the Holocaust remains intact.”

    “Institutional rants and outburst of selective moral outrage will not stop the course of justice, which is finally in motion.”

    Israel’s has killed at least 39,175 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.

  • Protestors set fire to Israeli Embassy in Mexico City

    Protestors set fire to Israeli Embassy in Mexico City

    Videos of enraged protestors setting fire to the Israeli embassy in Mexico City have emerged online.

    The protest was a reaction to the massacre carried out by Israel in Rafah where displaced people’s tents were burnt down, leaving at least 45 refugees dead and hundreds injured.

    In the capital of Mexico, Mexico City, about 200 people gathered outside the embassy in a demonstration called “Urgent Action for Rafah”. Protesters covered their faces and threw stones at the police blocking their path to the Israeli Embassy.

    Demonstrators clash with the police in front of the Israeli embassy in Mexico City. [Pedro Pardo/AFP]
    A man with Palestine flags painted on his face attends the pro-Palestinian rally. [Pedro Pardo/AFP]
    Demonstrators shouted slogans during the pro-Palestinian “Urgent action for Rafah” rally. [Pedro Pardo/AFP]
    Protesters tried to break down barriers preventing them from reaching the Israeli mission. [Pedro Pardo/AFP]
    Police officers deployed tear gas and threw back the stones hurled at them by protesters. [Pedro Pardo/AFP]
    About 200 people joined the demonstration. [Pedro Pardo/AFP]
  • Israel’s Netanyahu says ‘there is a date’ for Rafah invasion

    Israel’s Netanyahu says ‘there is a date’ for Rafah invasion

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that a date has been set for a ground offensive in Rafah, which Israel says is one of the last Hamas strongholds in Gaza.

    Around 1.5 million Gazans are sheltering in the city, which has so far not experienced a large-scale Israeli ground assault.

    Netanyahu did not say when the invasion would occur but reiterated that victory over Hamas militants “requires entry into Rafah and the elimination of the terrorist battalions there.

    “It will happen — there is a date,” he said in a video statement.

    He was speaking as talks in Cairo over a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal appeared to be gathering momentum.

    Netanyahu is under pressure at home from his far-right coalition partners who are angry at talk of a truce as well as Israel pulling its troops out of southern Gaza on Sunday.

    “Today I received a detailed report on the talks in Cairo,” Netanyahu said.

    “We are working all the time to achieve our goals, primarily the release of all our hostages and achieving a complete victory over Hamas.”

    The White House said on Monday that negotiators in the Egyptian capital had presented Hamas with a proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and a hostage deal.

    “Now it’s going to be up to Hamas to come through,” it said, describing the talks as “serious”.

    Israeli genocide in Gaza has killed at least 33,207 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry.

  • Biden calls Netanyahu as*hole but does not change stance on Gaza: US media

    Biden calls Netanyahu as*hole but does not change stance on Gaza: US media

    According to a NBC News report, US President Joe Biden has been expressing his frustration with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in private conversations. Citing five sources familiar with the matter, NBC News revealed that Biden is seeking to persuade Israel to change its military tactics in Gaza, but Netanyahu is perceived as “an obstacle” in this process.

    The sources stated that Biden has used strong language to convey his frustration, reportedly describing Netanyahu actions as “giving him hell” and expressing a sentiment that “this has to stop.”

    There have been instances where Biden has reportedly referred to Netanyahu with derogatory terms, including “bad fking guy” and “ahole,” according to sources cited by POLITICO and NBC News.

    When questioned about Biden’s remarks, a spokesperson for the National Security Council said, “The president has been clear where he disagrees with Prime Minister Netanyahu, but this is a decades-long relationship that is respectful in public and in private.”

    Despite the outward display of mutual respect, Biden’s private frustrations highlight a stark contrast to the public perception of the relationship between the two leaders.

    Behind closed doors, Biden’s comments suggest a growing impatience with Netanyahu’s handling of Israel’s assault on Gaza, with the president reportedly viewing him as a significant obstacle to achieving desired outcomes.

    A source told NBC about Biden’s view on the Gaza campaign: “He just feels like this is enough. It has to stop.”

    More than 28,000 people are reported to have died since the war broke out on October 7. Israel is planning a ground assault on Rafah city in the south of Gaza – where more than one million displaced Palestinians are. Despite the US’s public opposition to the operation, Netanyahu is said to be pressing ahead with it.

    The reported tensions come amidst ongoing efforts to address the situation in Gaza and calls for a ceasefire. Biden’s private sentiments underscore the complexities and challenges faced in navigating the relationship between the United States and Israel, particularly concerning matters of regional security and diplomacy.

  • Indian singer Lucky Ali wants a state for Palestinians

    Indian singer Lucky Ali wants a state for Palestinians

    As Israel continues with its genocide in Gaza and the West Bank, famous people worldwide are asking for an immediate stop to the fighting and for Palestine to be free. Indian singer Lucky Ali, who has supported Palestine since a long time, has spoken up for the establishment of a free state for Palestinians.

    In a video posted on Instagram and X, Lucky Ali can be seen speaking up for Palestine during a concert in Dubai. “There can only be one state, and I agree with Netanyahu on that. But it has to be Palestine,” he said.

    The crowd in the video cheered and clapped when Lucky Ali spoke up. “We can all live together, but the state has to be Palestine,” the Indian singer said.

  • Israeli War Minister tells Netanyahu to ‘stop lying’

    Israeli War Minister tells Netanyahu to ‘stop lying’

    A member of the Israeli war cabinet, Gadi Eisenkot, has told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a meeting to “stop lying” to himself.

    The Times of Israel has reported that while addressing the cabinet, Eisenkot stated, “We have to stop lying to ourselves, to show courage, and to lead to a large deal which will bring home the hostages. Your time is running out, and each day that passes endangers their lives.”

    The minister’s son and nephew were both killed fighting in Gaza, leading him to believe that Israel’s leaders are lying to themselves.

    Gadi Eisenkot with his deceased son.

    However, Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant dismissed the criticism, reiterating their belief that only added military pressure will lead to such a deal.

  • Zahid Ahmed calls Netanyahu ‘terrorist’; Instagram deletes post

    Zahid Ahmed calls Netanyahu ‘terrorist’; Instagram deletes post

    Pakistani actor Zahid Ahmed is not happy with Instagram after the social media site deleted his post about supporting Palestinians in their struggle against genocide.

    Zahid Ahmed wrote a message on Instagram, telling everyone that the site took down his earlier post. “Never thought this would happen to me, Instagram deleted my last post in which Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and US President Joe Biden were called real terrorists.”

    The actor slammed the site, writing, “Instagram, I’d love to see you burn in hell on the day of judgment.”

    A few days ago, the actor shared a post on Instagram and Facebook with a picture of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu along with the Afghan Taliban and  US President Joe Biden.

    “We were forced to believe that this is what terrorists look like when the world now knows what terrorists look like,” was written on the picture.

    This post is still visible on Facebook.

    Over 18,797 Palestinians have lost their lives in Israeli bombing on Gaza since October 7. More than 50,000 people have been injured, and over 7,780 are missing, presumed dead under the rubble. More than 253,000 houses have been partly damaged, and over 52,000 houses have been completely destroyed while 1.8 million Palestinians have been displaced.

  • Canada’s Trudeau tells Israel to end ‘killing of women, of children, of babies’

    Canada’s Trudeau tells Israel to end ‘killing of women, of children, of babies’

    Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called for Israel to “stop killing of women, of children, of babies” in the besieged Gaza Strip. However, he did not mention the word ceasefire.

    Trudeau has received flak for his silence on civilian deaths at the hands of Israeli forces. In a video that emerged from a public meeting at Vancouver, Trudeau can be seen surrounded by protestors chanting, “Ceasefire Now”.

    In other videos, it can be seen that people were calling him out for his lack of conscience as protestors were shouting about him “having blood on his hand”

    In a conference in the western province of British Columbia Prime Minister Trudeau said, “The world is witnessing this killing of women, of children, of babies. This has to stop.” He further made his tone harder and said, “I urge the government of Israel to exercise maximum restraint, The world is watching, on TV, on social media – we’re hearing the testimonies of doctors, family members, survivors, kids who have lost their parents.”

    The statement has gained him the ire of Israel’s Netanyahu who addressed Trudeau in a post on X, “It is not Israel that is deliberately targeting civilians but Hamas that beheaded, burned and massacred civilians in the worst horrors perpetrated on Jews since the Holocaust, the forces of civilization must back Israel in defeating Hamas barbarism.”

    While Trudeau has maintained that Israel has the right to defend itself, Trudeau’s statement is seen as a major shift in the country’s stance, even though a complacent one. “The price of justice cannot be the continued suffering of all Palestinian civilians,” Trudeau said on Tuesday. “All wars have rules. All innocent life has equal worth. Israeli and Palestinian.”

    Last week, Trudeau called for a significant humanitarian pause in the conflict to allow for the release of all hostages and the delivery of enough aid to address civilian needs in Gaza.

    After France’s Macron, he has become the second leader from the West to call out Israel as a major shift of stance.