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Germany Pledges Additional 100 Million Euros in Winter Aid for Ukraine

17 September 2024, Moldova, Chisinau: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock speaks to media representatives before the start of the Moldova Support Platform conference in front of the Palace of the Republic. Photo: Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa
17 September 2024, Moldova, Chisinau: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock speaks to media representatives before the start of the Moldova Support Platform conference in front of the Palace of the Republic. Photo: Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa
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Germany Pledges Additional 100 Million Euros in Winter Aid for Ukraine

17 September 2024, Moldova, Chisinau: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock speaks to media representatives before the start of the Moldova Support Platform conference in front of the Palace of the Republic. Photo: Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa
17 September 2024, Moldova, Chisinau: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock speaks to media representatives before the start of the Moldova Support Platform conference in front of the Palace of the Republic. Photo: Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa

Germany will provide an additional 100 million euros ($111 million) in aid for Ukraine this winter, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock announced during a visit to Moldova on Tuesday.
Russia is once again planning a "winter war with the aim of making the lives of people in Ukraine as terrible as possible,” Baerbock said ahead of a ministerial conference in Chisinau.
Russia has launched waves of attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure such as power stations, at times causing rolling blackouts in parts of the country.
In June, Kyiv said more air defenses were needed to allow repairs to infrastructure in order to secure demand for winter, when power demand is at its highest as temperatures drop far below zero.

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Israel Business Leaders Urge Netanyahu to Keep Defense Chief Gallant 

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is received by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (not pictured) at the Pentagon in Washington, US, June 25, 2024. (Reuters)
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is received by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (not pictured) at the Pentagon in Washington, US, June 25, 2024. (Reuters)
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Israel Business Leaders Urge Netanyahu to Keep Defense Chief Gallant 

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is received by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (not pictured) at the Pentagon in Washington, US, June 25, 2024. (Reuters)
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is received by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (not pictured) at the Pentagon in Washington, US, June 25, 2024. (Reuters)

Israel's Business Forum on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to not fire his defense minister, saying it would create more division and weaken the country after reports of an imminent political shake-up rattled the country.

Israel's leading television channels and news websites have reported that Netanyahu, under pressure from far-right coalition partners, was contemplating firing Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and replacing him with a former ally turned rival, Gideon Saar, who is currently a member of the opposition.

The forum, which consists of 200 heads of Israel's largest companies that employ many private sector workers, said Netanyahu should stop "messing around with petty politics" during a war.

"Immediately stop the process of replacing (Gallant)," the forum said in a statement. "The firing of the minister weakens Israel in the eyes of her enemies, and will further deepen the division in the people of Israel."

Such a move would be a shock to the political and security landscape, especially as the war with Hamas in Gaza rages on and with the looming threat of all-out war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Netanyahu denied that he was in negotiations with Saar, though he did not refer to his plans for Gallant. Saar denied that he was negotiating with some members of the coalition.

"The prime minister knows better than anyone that all the economic indicators also prove that Israel is deteriorating into an economic abyss and sinking into a deep recession," the forum said. "The last thing Israel needs at this time is the firing of a defense minister - which will continue to shock the country."

On Monday, official data showed the economy grew an annualized 0.7% in the second quarter, revised down from a prior estimate of 1.2%. On a per capita basis, the economy contracted 0.9% in the quarter.

In March 2023, Netanyahu fired Gallant after he broke ranks with the government and urged a halt to a highly contested plan to overhaul the judicial system. That triggered mass protests and Netanyahu backtracked.