Israel’s Prime Minister, Defense Minister Trade Barbs over Gaza War Aims

 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defense minister Yoav Gallant during a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv , Israel , 28 October 2023. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defense minister Yoav Gallant during a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv , Israel , 28 October 2023. (Reuters)
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Israel’s Prime Minister, Defense Minister Trade Barbs over Gaza War Aims

 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defense minister Yoav Gallant during a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv , Israel , 28 October 2023. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defense minister Yoav Gallant during a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv , Israel , 28 October 2023. (Reuters)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traded barbs with his defense minister on Monday, underscoring the deep internal splits that continue to plague the government as the war in Gaza risks spilling out into a wider regional conflict.

Following Israeli media reports quoting Defense Minister Yoav Gallant dismissing Netanyahu's war aim of total victory against the Hamas movement in Gaza as "nonsense", Netanyahu's office put out a statement rebuking Gallant.

"When Gallant adopts the anti-Israel narrative, he harms the chances of reaching a hostage deal," the statement said.

It said Israel's war aim remained "total victory", with the elimination of Hamas and the release of the remaining hostages seized by Hamas-led gunmen on Oct. 7 last year.

"This is the clear directive of Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Security Cabinet, and it obligates everyone – including Gallant," it said.

The exchange came as Israel has been bracing for a possible attack by Iran and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement in southern Lebanon, after a sharp escalation in tensions following a missile strike killed 12 youngsters in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on July 27.

In the wake of that attack, Israel killed a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut. A day later, the political leader of Hamas Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran, drawing vows of retaliation from Iran.

The public reprimand of Gallant, who has repeatedly clashed with Netanyahu and the nationalist-religious parties in his coalition, was the latest episode of internal strife that has persisted since the government took office in 2022.

Last year, Netanyahu tried to sack Gallant over his opposition to plans to curb the power of the Supreme Court, only to have to reverse course in the face of mass protests by hundreds of thousands of Israelis.

The latest exchange comes ahead of a last-ditch attempt to revive Egyptian and Qatari-brokered talks to halt the fighting in Gaza and bring back 115 Israeli and foreign hostages still held in the battered enclave.

Hamas has said it will not send a delegation to the meeting, accusing Netanyahu of wanting to waste time rather than make an honest attempt to reach a deal.



Amnesty International Denounces Crackdown on Political Opponents in Libya

Fighters from the Libyan National Army (LNA) stand guard next to Sidra oil port in Ras Lanuf. (Reuters file)
Fighters from the Libyan National Army (LNA) stand guard next to Sidra oil port in Ras Lanuf. (Reuters file)
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Amnesty International Denounces Crackdown on Political Opponents in Libya

Fighters from the Libyan National Army (LNA) stand guard next to Sidra oil port in Ras Lanuf. (Reuters file)
Fighters from the Libyan National Army (LNA) stand guard next to Sidra oil port in Ras Lanuf. (Reuters file)

Amnesty International on Tuesday accused Libya’s eastern-based forces of enabling a crackdown on dissidents and of entrenched impunity for deaths in custody and other serious human rights abuses, according to AFP.

Since the 2011 overthrow of ruler Moammar al-Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising, the energy-rich North African country has been wracked by unrest.

It is split between a Tripoli-based government, headed by Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, and a rival administration in the east backed by Khalifa Haftar, whose Libyan National Army (LNA) controls the east and much of the south.

“Since January 2024, heavily armed Internal Security Agency (ISA) agents have arrested without a warrant dozens of people, including women and men in their 70s, from their homes, streets or other public places in areas of eastern and southern Libya,” Amnesty said.

Based on interviews with former detainees, the families of detainees, as well as lawyers, human rights defenders and political activists, the rights group said the detainees were then transferred to ISA-controlled facilities, where they remained arbitrarily detained for months without being allowed to contact their families or lawyers; some were subjected to enforced disappearances for periods reaching 10 months.

It noted that none were brought before civilian judicial authorities, allowed to challenge the legality of their detention, or were formally charged with any offences.

“Two people died in custody in suspicious circumstances in April and July while in ISA-controlled detention centers in Benghazi and Ajdabiya,” Amnesty said, adding that no independent and impartial criminal investigations have been carried out into their deaths and no one has been held accountable.

“The spike in arbitrary detentions and deaths in custody in recent months highlights how the existing culture of impunity has empowered armed groups to violate detainees’ right to life without fearing any consequences,” said Bassam Al Kantar, Amnesty International’s Libya Researcher.

“These deaths in custody add to the catalogue of horrors committed by the ISA against those who dare to express views critical of the Libyan Arab Armed Forces,” he added.

Amnesty called on the GNU and LAAF, as the de facto authorities in eastern and southern Libya, to ensure the immediate release of all those arbitrarily detained solely for exercising their right to freedom of expression.

“The LAAF must also suspend from positions of power ISA commanders and members reasonably suspected of crimes under international law and serious human rights violations, pending independent and impartial criminal investigations, including into the causes and circumstances of the deaths in custody, and, where sufficient evidence exists, prosecute them in fair proceedings in front of civilian courts,” it added.