Tag: israel

Israeli defense minister threatens to restart war against Iran

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on 27 June that he has instructed the Israeli army to prepare a military plan targeting Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, as well as its regional alliances.

In a post on X, Katz said the “enforcement plan” would focus on “maintaining Israel’s air superiority, preventing nuclear advancement and missile production, and responding to Iran for supporting terror activity against Israel.”

“We will act regularly to thwart such threats,” he added, warning Iranian leaders to “understand and beware: Operation Rising Lion was only the preview of a new Israeli policy, after 7 October, immunity is over.”

Speaking separately to Israel’s Channel 12, Katz elaborated that the plan would be implemented regardless of the current ceasefire.

“We are saying unequivocally, once the Iranians violate, we will strike,” he said. He stressed that Tel Aviv would not seek US approval for such actions, comparing the approach to Israeli strikes in Lebanon, “just times 100.”

Katz’s statements follow a US-brokered ceasefire earlier this week, ending a 12-day Israeli war on Iran. The truce, announced by US President Donald Trump, was preceded by US airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities, including the Fordow site.

Despite the ceasefire, Israeli officials have repeatedly threatened to strike Iran again should it attempt to restore strategic infrastructure.

The New York Times reported Katz’s claim that Israel is determined to prevent the advancement of “threatening long-range missiles,” while continuing to disrupt Iran’s air power capabilities.

In response, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned, “Iran is not Lebanon … We do not accept any ceasefire or halt in operations that implies an agreed-upon arrangement.” He added that Tehran would “decisively respond to any breach by the Zionist regime.”

Behind the scenes, Washington has sought to reopen nuclear negotiations. 

According to a CNN report, the Trump administration is considering a proposal to fund a $20–30 billion civilian nuclear program in Iran through Gulf partners.

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President Trump Issues a Serious Veiled Threat to Israel as Leftist Prosecutors in the Jewish State Try to Lock Up Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Bogus Charges

President Trump appears to be ready to hit Israel directly where it hurts the most if leftist prosecutors do not leave Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alone.

As The Gateway Pundit’s Jim Hoft reported on Thursday, Trump erupted after learning Netanyahu had been summoned to Court next Monday for the continuation of a long-running legal witch-hunt.

To make things more insulting, the Netanyahu announcement came 48 hours after Iran and Israel agreed to a ceasefire in their ongoing war. The Bibi-hating leftists did not even wait to give the prime minister time to catch his breath after one of the most consequential battles in Jewish history.

As Trump noted, this is the first time a sitting Israeli Prime Minister has ever been on trial. This politically motivated case concerns ridiculous things like cigars and a Bugs Bunny doll.

Trump went on to demand that the trial be cancelled immediately or a pardon given to Netanyahu. He did specify what consequences Israel would face if this travesty of justice continued, though.

But in a new statement released on Truth Social Saturday night, Trump strongly implied that failure to drop this garbage case would result in the end of all U.S foreign aid to Israel.

It is terrible what they are doing in Israel to Bibi Netanyahu. He is a War Hero, and a Prime Minister who did a fabulous job working with the United States to bring Great Success in getting rid of the dangerous Nuclear threat in Iran. Importantly, he is right now in the process of negotiating a Deal with Hamas, which will include getting the Hostages back.”

How is it possible that the Prime Minister of Israel can be forced to sit in a Courtroom all day long, over NOTHING (Cigars, Bugs Bunny Doll, etc.)? It is a POLITICAL WITCH HUNT, very similar to the Witch Hunt that I was forced to endure. This travesty of “Justice” will interfere with both Iran and Hamas negotiations. In other words, it is INSANITY doing what the out-of-control prosecutors are doing to Bibi Netanyahu.

The United States of America spends Billions of Dollars a year, far more than on any other Nation, protecting and supporting Israel. We are not going to stand for this. We just had a Great Victory with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu at the helm — And this greatly tarnishes our Victory. LET BIBI GO, HE’S GOT A BIG JOB TO DO!

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Bibi Fumes After IDF Soldiers Confirm Lethal Weapons Routinely Used On Crowds At Gaza Aid Sites

Soon after the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began distributing aid to war-torn Gaza in May, disturbing reports emerged of Israeli soldiers killing unarmed Palestinians approaching aid points for food. As the world’s eyes turned from Gaza to Israel attack on Iran, the pace of these reported killings increased — with multiple incidents claiming more than 50 lives each. Now, Israel’s oldest daily newspaper has dropped a bombshell report, with Israeli soldiers and officers confirming the routine use of deadly force on unarmed Palestinians as a barbaric form of crowd control — with the practice carried out under orders from superior officers. 

Gaza’s Hamas-run health authority says 529 Palestinians have been killed at humanitarian aid sites or while waiting for food trucks just since late May, when the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) took on the task of distributing food in the strip. While Israel’s defenders invariably discredit Gaza casualty counts, US Army Colonel Nathan McCormack, who previously headed up the Joint Chiefs’ Levant and Egypt branch, has said, “We (Department of Defense, Department of State and the U.S. Intelligence Community) consider the Gaza Health Ministry figures to be generally reliable.” A shadowy organization, GHF is led by an evangelical Christian leader with close ties to Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump. 

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Police ‘assessing’ comments made by Kneecap and Bob Vylan after Glastonbury acts spark outrage with remarks

Avon and Somerset Police are examining video footage from Glastonbury Festival to determine if criminal offences were committed during performances by bands Bob Vylan and Kneecap on Saturday afternoon.

The force announced on social media: “We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon.

“Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation.”

The investigation centres on comments made by punk duo Bob Vylan and Irish rap trio Kneecap during their sets at the festival’s West Holts Stage.

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Netanyahu Wants To Visit White House To ‘Celebrate’ Iran Strikes With Trump

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to meet with President Trump at the White House in the coming weeks after the 12-day US-Israeli war on Iran, Axios has reported.

Israeli officials said that Netanyahu wants to “celebrate” the joint bombing campaign with Trump, as the Israeli leader is declaring the war a victory, although Israel got hit hard by Iranian missiles right up until the ceasefire took effect, something President Trump has acknowledged.

“Israel got hit really hard. Those ballistic missiles, boy, they took out a lot of buildings,” Trump told reporters at the NATO summit in The Hague on Wednesday.

Netanyahu may be seeking additional military aid from the US to replenish Israel’s interceptors and bombs in the ongoing conflict. The Axios report said that Trump and Netanyahu are “closer than ever” and that US and Israeli officials have discussed the possibility of Netanyahu’s third White House visit this year, but so far, a date hasn’t been set.

The report comes after Trump called for the corruption charges against Netanyahu to be dropped, which an Israeli official claimed is part of a strategy to ‘bring an end to the war in Gaza, the release of all the hostages, an end to Netanyahu’s trial, and a serious regional move.”

According to a report from Israel Hayom, Trump and Netanyahu have reached an understanding on terms for a potential deal that would end Israel’s genocidal onslaught in Gaza and involve other moves in the region, but many of the terms are likely unacceptable to Hamas and Palestinians in general.

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Student Visa Applicants Will Now Be Forced To Make Their Social Media Accounts Public

In a Monday announcement, several U.S. embassies stated that student visa applicants will be required to turn the settings on their social media accounts to “public” in order to facilitate scrutiny of their posts, presumably for ideological screening. The change is part of a recent string of crackdowns on international students, which has targeted many who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests or expressed anti-Israel views.

In a social media post, the U.S. Embassy in London wrote that “every visa adjudication is a national security decision,” adding that applicants for several kinds of student visas would be required to “adjust the privacy settings on all of their personal social media accounts to ‘public’ to facilitate vetting necessary to establish their identity and admissibility to the United States.” Several other embassy social media accounts also posted the statement.

The directive comes after months of ramped-up efforts to ideologically filter prospective international students. Earlier this year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio began canceling the visas of some college students who participated in anti-Israel protests—or, in one student’s case, simply wrote an op-ed. In one March press conference, he estimated that his office had canceled more than 300 visas.

“Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visa.” Rubio said. “At some point, I hope we run out because we’ve gotten rid of all of them, but, we’re looking every day for these lunatics that are tearing things up.”

A domestic cable sent to embassy officials in May telegraphed this latest development, ordering officials to scour social media posts from prospective Harvard students, noting that the order “will also serve as a pilot for expanded screening and vetting of visa applicants” and “will be expanded over time.” Last week, additional policy updates directed embassy officials to review F, M, and J visas (which are common student visas) for “any indications of hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions or founding principles of the United States.”

This latest move in the Trump administration’s mission to prevent students with disfavored views from studying in the U.S. is nothing less than outright viewpoint discrimination. While the U.S. has a national security interest in vetting visa applicants for affiliations with outright terrorist groups, merely opposing Israel’s actions in Gaza hardly approaches that line. And, as many free speech advocates have pointed out, this precedent can easily be utilized to punish many other viewpoints.

“There is nothing stopping this or another administration from using that authority tomorrow against critics of other countries, whether they’re protesting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or China’s oppression of Uyghurs,” reads a recent statement from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a First Amendment group. “That’s wrong. Requiring foreign students and faculty to self-censor their views about American foreign policy in order to stay in the country violates American principles of free speech and the First Amendment.”

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Kneecap vs. the Israel Lobby: How a Rebel Band Shook Britain

ABelfast rap group with no record deal, no security detail, and no filter is now the target of British counter-terror police, tabloid smear campaigns, and the full force of the Israeli lobby. Their crime? Saying ‘Free Palestine’ too loudly.

Over recent months, Irish rap trio Kneecap has been embroiled in a series of public controversies. In late April, the band was placed under official investigation by British counter-terror police, over a comment made by one of its members at a November 2023 concert—“The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.” A month later, another was formally charged for displaying the flag of Hezbollah, a proscribed terror organization under British law, at a London gig.

These developments have led to a welter of cancellations of Kneecap concerts and condemnation from mainstream sources. Yet, fans have forcefully rallied behind the group, and subsequent publicity has introduced the band to new audiences the world over, who are highly receptive to Kneecap’s outspoken, unrepentant anti-Zionism and infectious tunes. Furthermore, the band remains scheduled to perform at Glastonbury Festival in late June, a major British cultural institution, despite calls from parliamentarians to ban them from appearing.

Pressure has been brought to bear on the BBC not to feature Kneecap’s performance in its regular broadcast of the festival, which reaches tens of millions of people globally every year. The state broadcaster has so far stood firm. But there are palpable indications the Israeli lobby is undeterred, and has activated pro-Israel actors in Britain to torpedo the group, if not others, in the process. The stakes are high for Tel Aviv—Kneecap’s loud and proud Palestine solidarity represents an international public relations nightmare.

On June 2, Irish garage punk band Sprints revealed via Instagram that their management had been contacted by a reporter from The Daily Mail, asking if they intended to play at Glastonbury if Kneecap were “banned from the festival.”

The reporter added:

It would be really useful if you could clarify your views on Kneecap and how you feel about them performing at Glastonbury later this month. Do you feel comfortable sharing a platform with them? Will you protest if Glastonbury prevents the band from performing? Do you have any free speech concerns if they are banned, or safety concerns if they perform? It would be really helpful if you could respond with your thoughts by [June 5].”

Accompanying commentary from Sprints stated, “Daily Mail rats trying to drum up support to ban [Kneecap] from Glastonbury. Kneecap are not the story, the genocide in Palestine is the story. Let us be unequivocally clear, we will forever be comfortable sharing the stage with people who use their platform for good and to speak up for those who can’t. Free Palestine.”

The Daily Mail reporter in question was Sabrina Miller. A product of various Israeli lobby Hasbara training programs since high school, over the past five years, she—first as a student, then as an award-winning mainstream journalist—has racked up a lengthy, unpardonable record of targeting public figures in Britain for personal and professional destruction. While accusing Israel’s critics of antisemitism, Miller has also sought to foment anti-Muslim animus. Now, it appears she and the vast lobbying infrastructure behind her have focused their efforts decisively on Kneecap.

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Last Christian Town In West Bank Attacked And Besieged By Israeli Settlers

The last entirely-Christian town in the Israeli-controlled West Bank is enduring a wave of attacks by violent Jewish settlers, a local church leader says, prompting families to flee and leading clergy to declare the town is “no longer safe” for its inhabitants. Ominously, settlers have also set up an “outpost” on the fringe of that town — Taybeh, Ramallah — a 4,500-year-old community with huge significance in the story of Jesus Christ. 

“The town, which the Gospel of John (11:54) refers to as ‘Ephraim’ — the place Jesus withdrew to before his passion — is no longer safe for its people today,” Father Bashar Fawadleh, parish priest of Taybeh’s Church of Christ the Redeemer, told the Catholic, Arabic-language ACI MENA news service. “We do not live in peace but in daily fear and siege...Since last October, more than 10 families have left Taybeh due to fear from ongoing violence and harassment.”   

This and other videos embedded below are circulating on social media, purportedly capturing the settlers’ latest attacks on Taybeh this week (BBC confirms an attack took place on Wednesday).

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Senate blocks war powers resolution for Israel-Iran conflict

The Senate voted down an attempt to take away power from President Donald Trump to incite further military action in the Israel-Iran conflict.

Senators voted largely along party lines, except Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who voted with Democrats and Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who voted with Republicans.

Fetterman said he fully supported the strikes on Iran and that they made the world safer.

The resolution was put forth by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.

“I think the events of this week have demonstrated that war is too big to be consigned to the decisions of any one person,” said Kaine on the Senate floor.

War powers have sparked a debate on Capitol Hill for both Democrats and Republicans alike.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a staunch Trump ally, voiced her opposition in TV interviews and on social media.

“Six months in, Steve, and here we are, turning back on the campaign promises, and we bombed Iran on behalf of Israel, yes it was on behalf of Israel. We are entering a nuclear war, World War III,” she said on Steve Bannon’s War Room. “No American slept better after America bombed Iran, because all of a sudden we now have threats on our homeland.”

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., criticized the strikes as “unconstitutional.” He appeared on “Face the Nation” alongside Rep Ro Khanna, D-Calif.

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Israel Vows To Maintain Air Superiority Over Iran

Though U.S. President Donald Trump helped broker a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, officials in Jerusalem are taking no chances. On Friday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to prepare an “enforcement plan” against Iran that includes a clear threat of future kinetic actions.

The plan calls for “maintaining Israel’s air superiority, preventing nuclear advancement and missile production, and responding to Iran for supporting terrorist activities against the State of Israel,” Katz proclaimed on X. “We will act consistently to thwart threats of this kind. I suggest that the toothless snake’s head in Tehran understand and beware: Operation Rising Lion was just the preview of a new Israeli policy.”

“After October 7th,” Katz added, “immunity is over.” That was a reference to the day in 2023 that Hamas launched its surprise attack on Israel that touched off the latest round of bloodshed in the Middle East.

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