Netanyahu Predicts PA Return to Negotiations If Trump Gets Re-elected

Palestinian youths in clashes with Israeli soldiers in Hebron (EPA)
Palestinian youths in clashes with Israeli soldiers in Hebron (EPA)
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Netanyahu Predicts PA Return to Negotiations If Trump Gets Re-elected

Palestinian youths in clashes with Israeli soldiers in Hebron (EPA)
Palestinian youths in clashes with Israeli soldiers in Hebron (EPA)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he believes that the Palestinian Authority would return to negotiations with Israel fairly soon. This came in statements published in the US-Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom

“In a closed-door conversation, Netanyahu said that the regional significance of the newly-signed peace deals between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain left the Palestinians no option other than to come back to the table,” Israel Hayom reporter Ariel Kahana wrote.

“However, the prime minister said that talks with the PA would re-launch only after the US presidential election on Nov. 3, and only if US President Donald Trump is re-elected,” he added.

In other news, statements made by US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman to Israel Hayom about Washington considering the unseating of PA President Mahmoud Abbas and replacing him with former Fatah strongman Mohammed Dahlan spurred widespread controversy.

After the rage Friedman’s statements caused, Israel Hayom edited the article to emphasize that the US diplomat’s answer to such speculations was no.

Asked whether the US is considering the possibility of appointing Dahlan, who lives in the UAE, as the next Palestinian leader, Friedman replied: "We're not thinking about it," we have no desire to engineer the Palestinian leadership.

The statement that caused uproar was published on Thursday. Due to the phrasing’s ambiguity, it was understood that the US administration is considering appointing Dahlan as the next Palestinian leader.

PA officials consequentially released vocal statements against such a conspiracy.

As for the impact of the developments on the Palestinians, Friedman said the Palestinian people are not being served properly by their leadership.

"They (the PA) need to join the 21st Century. They are on the wrong side of history at the moment," he said.

"Peace is a once-in-a-generation opportunity," said the ambassador.

After pushing the peace initiative forward and fully capitalizing on it, Friedman said he believes the sovereignty issue can be revisited in a manner that will be less controversial.



Russian Strike Hits Ukrainian Prison, Killing at Least 17 

A Ukrainian service member walks on a street protected with anti-drone nets, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the frontline town Orikhiv in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine July 23, 2025. (Reuters) 
A Ukrainian service member walks on a street protected with anti-drone nets, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the frontline town Orikhiv in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine July 23, 2025. (Reuters) 
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Russian Strike Hits Ukrainian Prison, Killing at Least 17 

A Ukrainian service member walks on a street protected with anti-drone nets, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the frontline town Orikhiv in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine July 23, 2025. (Reuters) 
A Ukrainian service member walks on a street protected with anti-drone nets, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the frontline town Orikhiv in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine July 23, 2025. (Reuters) 

A Russian airstrike on a prison in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region killed at least 17 inmates and wounded more than 80 others, Ukrainian officials said Tuesday.

In the Dnipro region, authorities reported at least four people killed and eight injured.

Ukraine’s Air Force said that Russia launched two Iskander-M ballistic missiles along with 37 Shahed-type strike drones and decoy UAVs. They say 32 Shahed drones were intercepted or neutralized by Ukrainian air defenses.

The attack late Monday hit the Bilenkivska Correctional Colony with four guided aerial bombs, according to the State Criminal Executive Service of Ukraine.

At least 42 inmates were hospitalized with serious injuries, while another 40 people, including one staff member, sustained various injuries.

The strike destroyed the prison’s dining hall, damaged administrative and quarantine buildings, but the perimeter fence held and no escapes were reported, authorities said.

Ukrainian officials condemned the attack, saying that targeting civilian infrastructure, such as prisons, is a war crime under international conventions.

In Dnipro, missiles hit the city of Kamianske, partially destroying a three-story building and damaging nearby medical facilities including a maternity hospital and a city hospital ward. Two people were killed and five were wounded, including a pregnant woman who is now in a serious condition, according to regional head Serhii Lysak.

Further Russian attacks hit communities in Synelnykivskyi district with FPV drones and aerial bombs, killing at least one person and injuring two others.

According to Lysak, Russian forces also targeted the community of Velykomykhailivska, killing a 75-year-old woman and injuring a 68-year-old man.