Opposition leader Yair Lapid has commented on deteriorating relations with Washington
Former Israeli prime minister Yair Lapid has reportedly warned that his country’s relations with the US have deteriorated so much under the leadership of his successor, Benjamin Netanyahu, that Washington is “no longer our closest ally.”
Lapid made his comments on Monday at a faction meeting of his Yesh Atid opposition party, according to the Times of Israel. He has argued that Netanyahu’s government is destroying the alliance with the US by trying to pass controversial judicial reforms.
“The Israeli government is leading us into this crisis, making the biggest and most dramatic changes to the regime in our history, without holding a single discussion — not even one — about the economic, security, social and political consequences of the move,” Lapid said. In a Channel 12 news interview, he argued that the nation was being “torn in two.”
“The Americans say they have no shared values with this government. It affects every aspect of US-Israel relations – their attention and their willingness to leave their comfort zone for Israeli interests. They will not do it for the most extreme government in the country’s history,” Lapid said, describing relations with the US as being at a historic low.
US President Joe Biden said in March that he was “very concerned” about Israel’s democracy amid months of protests over the proposed judicial overhaul. “I’m concerned they get this straight,” he said at the time. “They cannot continue down this road.”
Netanyahu responded by saying Israel was a sovereign country and made decisions by the will of its people, “not based on pressures from abroad.” His national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, said Biden “needs to understand that Israel is no longer a star on the US flag. We are a democracy, and I expect the US president to understand that.”
More recently, the Biden administration criticized West Jerusalem’s approval for a Jewish-only settlement in the occupied West Bank. Earlier this month, Biden blasted the Israeli government’s cabinet as “extreme” and “part of the problem” in the Palestinian conflict.
On Monday, however, Biden issued a long-delayed invitation for Netanyahu to visit the White House later this year. Netanyahu spent 12 years as Israeli prime minister before a coalition led by Lapid ousted him from power in June 2021. He returned to office after winning the December 2022 election, the fifth parliamentary vote in four years.
https://www.rt.com/news/579873-israel-us-closest-ally-lapid/
Volker Turk has warned that efforts to advance reparatory justice are facing resistance in “certain quarters,” and urged countries to back Africa’s push.
Reparatory justice for historical crimes, including colonialism, enslavement, and the trade in enslaved Africans, is crucial to dismantling systemic racism, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has said.
Speaking at the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent on Tuesday, Turk linked present-day discrimination against people from the continent to the enduring legacy of colonialism and enslavement.
”Racism and dehumanizing rhetoric continue to permeate public institutions, communities, and online platforms,” he said, according to the UN Press Service. Turk noted that “digital technologies, including AI, are reproducing and amplifying existing biases against people of African descent.”
The remarks come weeks after the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade “the gravest...
The US VP had to defend President Trump’s Gaza policy at a rally on a Georgia college campus.
US Vice President J.D. Vance was forced to defend Washington’s policy in Gaza after he was booed and heckled at a key MAGA event on Wednesday.
Co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA (TPUSA) is a conservative student group that has long been seen as a strong support base of President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement but is now showing apparent cracks.
Less than 15 minutes into a TPUSA event at the University of Georgia on Wednesday, Vance was interrupted by hecklers over US policy in Gaza, with one audience member shouting, “Jesus Christ does not support genocide!” As he attempted to respond, others shouted, “You’re killing children!” and “You’re bombing children!”
Vance replied by referring to Trump’s achievements as president, including securing a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, something he said the previous administration of Joe Biden failed to do.
“I ...
Sergey Shoigu has cautioned Finland and the Baltic states against allowing Kiev to use their airspace for attacks on Russia.
Russia would have the right to retaliate if Finland and the Baltic states are deliberately allowing Ukrainian drones to pass through their airspace, Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu said on Thursday.
“Recently, there has been an increase in Ukrainian drone strikes against Russia via Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia,” Shoigu told journalists. “As a result, civilians are suffering and significant damage is being caused to civilian infrastructure.”
Either Western air defenses are proving ineffective, or these four countries “deliberately provide their airspace, thereby becoming open accomplices in aggression against Russia,” he added. In the latter case, Moscow has the right to self-defense in response to an “armed attack” under Article 51 of the UN Charter, the security chief stressed.
In recent weeks, Kiev has intensified drone strikes on ...
