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Israeli Defense Minister Officially Steps Down

Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant talks during the joint statements after his meeting with Greece's National Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos (not pictured) at the Defense Ministry in Athens, Greece, 4 Μay 2023. (EPA)
Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant talks during the joint statements after his meeting with Greece's National Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos (not pictured) at the Defense Ministry in Athens, Greece, 4 Μay 2023. (EPA)
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Israeli Defense Minister Officially Steps Down

Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant talks during the joint statements after his meeting with Greece's National Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos (not pictured) at the Defense Ministry in Athens, Greece, 4 Μay 2023. (EPA)
Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant talks during the joint statements after his meeting with Greece's National Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos (not pictured) at the Defense Ministry in Athens, Greece, 4 Μay 2023. (EPA)

Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant officially stepped down Friday in a ceremony that replaced him with Israel Katz, the former foreign minister, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Gallant earlier this week.

Israel has been rocked by Gallant’s dismissal, with the news setting off mass protests across the country. Many in Israel view Gallant as the sole moderate voice in a far-right government, and see his removal as a sign that the far-right government of Benjamin Netanyahu has lost interest in returning hostages still held in Gaza, The AP reported.

Israel Katz, his replacement, currently serves as foreign minister and is a longtime Netanyahu loyalist and veteran Cabinet minister.

Also Friday, the Israeli military body handling aid to Gaza, COGAT, said it is preparing to open a new aid crossing into Gaza as the deadline for a US deadline to increase desperately-needed aid into the war-ravaged territory approaches. But the body did not say when the crossing will open nor if aid will be delivered to north of Gaza, where the UN and aid groups say the humanitarian situation is most dire.

The United Nations humanitarian office says Israel's monthlong offensive in northern Gaza is preventing the estimated 75,000 to 95,000 Palestinians in the north from receiving essential items for their survival.

On Thursday, the Israeli military said it will allow 300 truckloads of humanitarian aid supplied by the United Arab Emirates to enter the Gaza Strip in the coming days. That’s less than the 350 trucks per day that the United States said it wants to see enter the war-ravaged territory.

 

 

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Iran's President Says Tehran Has to Deal with Washington

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks to community members, academic figures, tribal sheikhs and officials during his visit, in Basra, Iraq, September 13, 2024. (Reuters)
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks to community members, academic figures, tribal sheikhs and officials during his visit, in Basra, Iraq, September 13, 2024. (Reuters)
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Iran's President Says Tehran Has to Deal with Washington

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks to community members, academic figures, tribal sheikhs and officials during his visit, in Basra, Iraq, September 13, 2024. (Reuters)
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks to community members, academic figures, tribal sheikhs and officials during his visit, in Basra, Iraq, September 13, 2024. (Reuters)

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran will not be able to ignore its arch-foe the United States and needs to "handle its enemies with forbearance", state media reported on Tuesday, a week after Donald Trump won the US presidential election.

"Whether we like it or not, we will have to deal with the US in the regional and international arenas, so it is better to manage this relation ourselves," Pezeshkian, who is viewed as relatively moderate, said.

"We have to treat our friends with generosity and handle our enemies with forbearance."

In 2018, then-President Trump ditched Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and re-imposed harsh sanctions as part of his "maximum pressure" policy against Iran.

While there have been no reports that the Trump administration plans to hold talks with Tehran after it takes office in January, the President-elect said during his election campaign "I don't want to do damage to Iran but they cannot have nuclear weapons."

Indirect talks between Washington and Tehran to revive the nuclear deal were initiated under the administration of US President Joe Biden, but failed. Iran is still formally part of the deal but has scaled back commitments to honor it due to US sanctions re-imposed on Iran.

Earlier on Tuesday, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said Iran will pursue whatever secures its interest, when asked if there could be direct talks with the Trump administration.

She cautioned that the final decision for talks rests with the top political figure Ali Khamenei and the Supreme National Security Council.

"The maximum pressure campaign of Trump has failed, even if people have been burdened by it. What is important will be actions and not words, but we recommend Trump to take into account the failure of his past policies," Mohajerani added.