Israel's Netanyahu Removes Trump from his Twitter Banner Photo

Netanyahu meets with Trump prior to signing the Abraham Accords during a meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, US, September 15, 2020. (Reuters)
Netanyahu meets with Trump prior to signing the Abraham Accords during a meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, US, September 15, 2020. (Reuters)
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Israel's Netanyahu Removes Trump from his Twitter Banner Photo

Netanyahu meets with Trump prior to signing the Abraham Accords during a meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, US, September 15, 2020. (Reuters)
Netanyahu meets with Trump prior to signing the Abraham Accords during a meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, US, September 15, 2020. (Reuters)

Israeli Prime Benjamin Netanyahu dropped US President Donald Trump from the banner photo of his Twitter account on Tuesday in an apparent break with a political ally facing possible impeachment.

A photo of Netanyahu sitting next to Trump at a White House meeting had long taken pride of place on the official @netanyahu account, testimony to the conservative Israeli leader’s close ties with the Republican president and his popularity in Israel.

Early on Tuesday, another photo, showing Netanyahu being injected with the coronavirus vaccine, topped the page, along with the slogan for Israel’s inoculation campaign: “Citizens of Israel, we are returning to life”.

Netanyahu had kept the photo of his meeting with Trump, long in lockstep with him over a tough policy towards Iran and the Palestinians, on the site even after the Republican president’s defeat by Democrat Joe Biden in the US election in November.

The photo was briefly replaced with a Hanukkah holiday-themed image last month, raising media speculation that Netanyahu had decided to distance himself from Trump.

But when the eight-day Jewish festival was over, Trump reappeared - although no longer alone with Netanyahu in a photo.

Instead, Netanyahu posted a banner image of himself with the president and the foreign ministers of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signing an agreement at the White House in September on formalizing ties with Israel.

No explanation was given on Netanyahu’s site for Trump’s disappearance, a day before the US House of Representatives was expected to begin considering his second impeachment on after last week’s storming of the Capitol.

Trump’s own account was permanently suspended by Twitter on Friday due to what the social media giant described as the risk of further incitement to violence.

In televised remarks on Thursday, Netanyahu called the events at the Capitol a “rampage” and said he was certain American democracy would prevail.



Wildfires Rage in Western Türkiye for 3rd Straight Day

This aerial photograph shows a forest area partially burnt and with smoke emanating from wildfires in the western province of Izmir on August 17, 2024. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP)
This aerial photograph shows a forest area partially burnt and with smoke emanating from wildfires in the western province of Izmir on August 17, 2024. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP)
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Wildfires Rage in Western Türkiye for 3rd Straight Day

This aerial photograph shows a forest area partially burnt and with smoke emanating from wildfires in the western province of Izmir on August 17, 2024. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP)
This aerial photograph shows a forest area partially burnt and with smoke emanating from wildfires in the western province of Izmir on August 17, 2024. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP)

Wildfires raged across western Türkiye for a third straight day Saturday, exacerbated by high winds and warm temperatures, authorities said.

More than 130 fires have erupted across the country in the past week, according to Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate. Most have been brought under control, but eight major fires continued in the provinces of Izmir, Aydin, Manisa, Karabuk and Bolu.

Thousands of firefighters were tackling the blazes on land and from the air, with dozens of aircraft and hundreds of vehicles aiding in the emergency response, The Associated Press reported.

Thousands of people have been evacuated from the affected areas, but there have been no reported casualties, according to Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli, who spoke to reporters Saturday as he toured the affected provinces.

Yumakli cited low humidity, high winds and high temperatures as exacerbating factors. The General Directorate of Forestry warned people not to light fires outside for the next 10 days because of the weather conditions across western Türkiye, warning of a 70% greater risk of wildfires.

Meanwhile, authorities detained four people in Bolu in connection with the fires, two of whom were arrested and two released.