JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER. 1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
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INVENTION OF THE ATOMIC BOMB.
2 PETER 3:10-11
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements (NUKES) shall melt with fervent heat,(BLAST) the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.(BUT ITS NO END OF THE WORLD HOGWASH)
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved,(BY NUKES INCLUDING 3 BILLION PEOPLE) what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
NUCLEAR WEAPONS WILL BE USED.
JESUS SHED HIS BLOOD FOR US THAT WE CAN BE SAVED FOREVER.AND DURING WW3 PEOPLES BLOOD WILL BE SHED AS A JUDGEMENT FOR HATING HIM AND ISRAEL.GOD IS NOT MOCKED.
ZEPHANIAH 1:2-3
2 I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD.
3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.
PSALMS 97:3
3 A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about.
EZEKIEL 5:15-17
15 So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the (ARAB/MUSLIM) nations that are round about thee,(ISRAEL) when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I the LORD have spoken it.
16 When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:
17 So will I send upon you famine and evil beasts,(WHEN RUSSIA/MUSLIMS GET DEFEATED THIER BODIES GET EATEN BY BIRDS,ANIMALS IN ISRAEL MIGRATION SEASON) and they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee;(NUKES) and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the LORD have spoken it.
REVELATION 14:18-20
18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trodden without the city,(JERUSALEM) and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.(200 MILES) (THE SIZE OF ISRAEL)
ISAIAH 66:15-18
15 For, behold, the LORD will come with fire,(NUKES) and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.
17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.
18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.
ISAIAH 26:21
21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity:(GOD/ISRAEL HATE AND BRAKING OF HIS COMMANDMENTS) the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.(WW3,1/2 earths population die - 3 BILLION).
ISAIAH 13:6-13 KJV
6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:(FROM FRIGHT)
8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.
ISAIAH 24:17-23 KJV
17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.
2 TIMOTHY 3:1
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.
JOEL 2:3,30
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
REVELATION 9:18
18 By these three was the third part of men killed,(2 BILLION) by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(ATOMIC BOMBS)(RUSSIA CHINA DESTROYED BY ISRAELS ATOMIC BOMBS)
REVELATION 16:12-16
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates;(WERE WW3 STARTS IN IRAQ OR SYRIA OR TURKEY) and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon,(SATAN) and out of the mouth of the beast,(WORLD DICTATOR) and out of the mouth of the false prophet.(FALSE POPE)
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.(WERE 2 BILLION DIE FROM NUKE WAR)
15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
PROOF HALF ON EARTH DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD (8 BILLION ON EARTH)
REVELATION 6:7-8 (8 BILLION- 2 BILLION = 6 BILLION)
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth,(2 BILLION) to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).
REVELATION 9:15,18 (6 BILLION - 2 BILLION = 4 BILLION)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,
18 By these three was the third part of men killed,(2 BILLION) by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMBS)
HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
LUKE 17:34-37 (8 TOTAL BILLION - 4 BILLION DEAD IN TRIB = 4 BILLION TO JESUS KINGDOM) (HALF DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD JUST LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS)(GOD DOES NOT LIE)(AND NOTICE MOST DIE IN WAR AND DISEASES-NOT COMETS-ASTEROIDS-QUAKES OR TSUNAMIS)
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other shall be left.(half earths population 4 billion die in the 7 yr trib)
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten by the birds).THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES.BECAUSE NOT HALF OF PEOPLE ON EARTH ARE CHRISTIANS.AND THE CONTEXT IN LUKE 17 IS THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION OR 7 YR TREATY PERIOD.WHICH IS JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH.NOT 50% RAPTURED TO HEAVEN.
MATTHEW 24:37-42 (THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-SURE NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
42 Watch therefore:(FOR THE LAST DAYS SIGNS HAPPENING) for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
NAHUM 3:13
13 Behold, your troops are women in your midst. The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire has devoured your bars.
'Islamic terrorism will not have immunity,' Katz warns Syria-IDF strikes alleged Islamic Jihad nerve center in Damascus, said to be leader’s house-Member of terror group says Ziad Nakhaleh wasn’t home and building was ’empty’ when struck, though war monitor reports one person killed By Emanuel Fabian,-Agencies and ToI Staff Today, 4:15 pm-MAR 13,25
Israeli fighter jets on Thursday struck a residential building that the military said served as a Damascus headquarters for Palestinian Islamic Jihad to plan and carry out terror activities.The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor of unclear funding, said the targeted building was located in the suburb of Dummar, northwest of the capital, and was inhabited by Palestinians. It said one person was killed.“The IDF will not allow terrorist organizations to entrench themselves in Syrian territory and operate against the State of Israel, and will respond forcefully to any such entrenchment,” the Israel Defense Forces said. It released footage of the strikes.A Palestinian Islamic Jihad member at the scene of the airstrike in Syria told The Associated Press that the apartment that was targeted was the home of the terrorist organization’s leader Ziad Nakhaleh.It was not immediately clear where Nakhaleh was, but he is believed to spend his time between Lebanon, Iran and Syria.The PIJ member, Ismail Sindak, said the apartment had been empty for years, adding that Nakhaleh was not in Syria. Asked whether anyone was killed in the strike, Sindak said, “The house was empty.”Palestinian Islamic Jihad, an Iran-backed terror group sworn to Israel’s destruction, participated alongside Hamas in the October 7, 2023, invasion of southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, in which over 5,000 terrorists killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, sparking the subsequent war.PIJ, which was part of the Gaza ceasefire negotiated in January and currently up in the air, has held a number of the hostages, and likely continues to hold some of the remaining captives, of whom 24 are still believed to be alive. The bodies of 34 dead — as well as the body of a soldier killed in 2014 — are also held in the Strip.Israel blasts ‘extreme Islamic’ Syrian leader-Defense Minister Israel Katz, confirming Thursday’s strike, said, “Wherever terror activity against Israel is organized, the extreme Islamic leader al-Jolani will find the Air Force aircraft flying above and striking terror targets.”Katz was referring to Syria’s interim leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, by his nom de guerre, which he used as the leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel group, an Islamist offshoot of al-Qaeda.“Islamic terrorism will not have immunity in Damascus nor anywhere else,” Katz added.In the months since his coalition ousted longtime president Bashar al-Assad, Sharaa and his government have projected a moderate image, repeatedly declaring a commitment to protect minorities, including Jews, as well as Druze and Kurds, in the country.The interim leader has objected to Israel’s continued military presence in southern Syria and to its strikes throughout the country, but he has declined to threaten Israel itself.On Thursday, Sharaa signed the country’s constitutional declaration, which will be enforced throughout a five-year transitional period.The interim leader said he hoped the constitutional declaration would mark the start of “a new history for Syria, where we replace oppression with justice,” as he signed the document setting out the transitional period.Israeli leaders, including Katz, have consistently stated that they do not trust Sharaa.Jerusalem has been especially tough in its criticism in light of massacres of Alawite civilians that began last Thursday, blamed on the interim government’s security forces, amid clashes with militants loyal to the old regime. Government reinforcements eventually restored order, and calm appeared to hold by late Monday.
Blood libel’: Israel slams UN report claiming it committed ‘genocidal acts’ in Gaza-Israeli officials, women’s groups accuse UN panel of bias and antisemitism for alleging Israeli forces ‘intentionally destroyed’ fertility center and perpetrated sexual violence-By ToI Staff and Agencies Today, 5:12 pm-MAR 13,25
Israel on Thursday denounced as a “blood libel” a new United Nations report that accused the country of perpetrating “genocidal acts” against Palestinians in the war started by the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, and that claimed Israeli forces systematically destroyed women’s healthcare facilities and used sexual violence as a war strategy.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, women’s groups and Israel’s mission to the UN rejected the report as unfounded and antisemitic, saying it attempted to equate Israel’s conduct during the fighting in the Gaza Strip with the horrific acts of sexual violence committed by Palestinian terrorists during the Hamas-led atrocities that sparked the war. The Foreign Ministry called it “one of the worst cases of blood libel the world has ever seen.”The report was published Thursday by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel. The three-person body was formed in May 2021, following a previous round of conflict in Gaza, to probe alleged human rights violations.Israel returns fifth Lebanese prisoner after border delineation talks-Hezbollah-linked outlet reports that 14 Lebanese detainees still held by Israel, including 7 alleged members of the Iran-backed terror group-By Nava Freiberg Today, 6:56 pm-The Lebanese army on Thursday confirmed receiving the last of five detainees that Israel said it would free as part of what the Prime Minister’s Office called a “gesture to the Lebanese president,” following rare talks between the countries.The transfer comes after Tuesday’s military-to-military meeting at the United Nations peacekeeping headquarters in southern Lebanon’s Naqoura, during which Israel and Lebanon agreed to open negotiations to delineate their border, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.The US and France also participated in the meeting.The prisoner, who was not named, was brought to Lebanon by the Red Cross and taken to a hospital, the Lebanese Army wrote on X, after Israel released four other prisoners on Tuesday.Citing two US officials, Axios reported that one of those released is a member of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shiite terror group based in Lebanon that Israel has battled for decades.Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, which is affiliated with Iran and Hezbollah, named the final detainee expected for release as Ziad Shibli, saying he was returned separately due to injuries he sustained.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office called the return of the detainees a “gesture” to new Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, who has said he will work on improving relations with Arab countries and implementing reforms and whose election in January was seen as a setback for Hezbollah.Al-Akhbar also reported that 14 Lebanese detainees remain in Israel, including seven others who Israel says are Hezbollah members.The remaining prisoners could be used as future bargaining chips by Israel, becoming “a price Israel pays in installments whenever it secures a concession from across the border,” sources told Al-Akhbar.Disputes on ‘normalization’Following the four-way meeting in Naqoura, Israel and Lebanon announced that three joint working groups would be established, focusing on the five points Israel still occupies inside of Lebanon; the Blue Line that marks the de facto border between the two countries; the 13 points that are under dispute; and Lebanese citizens held by Israel.The working groups could meet as early as next month, according to Axios.While an Israeli official said the aim of the discussions “is to reach normalization,” a Lebanese source told the pro-Iran Al-Mayadeen channel on Wednesday afternoon that ties with Israel are not on the table.The three working groups, said the source, “are not separate from Resolution 1701, and will not engage in direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel.”UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the previous round of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, calls for southern Lebanon to be free of any troops or weapons other than those of the Lebanese state.“Everything being said about these working groups being a prelude to normalization is completely false,” said the Lebanese source.Land border negotiations-Al-Akhbar cited “informed sources” on Thursday, saying that “Lebanon does not want to bring non-military personnel into the [negotiation] process, and that the [working groups] will be composed of Lebanese officers, including experts and technicians, similar to the officers who participated in the Maritime Demarcation Committee.”Jerusalem and Beirut negotiated a maritime boundary in 2022 — an agreement brokered by the US that Netanyahu assailed at the time while serving as opposition leader — but the two countries have yet to adopt an official land border.Lebanon is “ready for land demarcation” but fears that negotiations “will lead to the loss of areas it is entitled to,” sources told Al-Akhbar.In addition to the five strategic points Israel currently operates in Lebanon, the border conflict centers on 13 disputed points along the border.The most recent ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon began on November 27, 2024, halting more than a year of hostilities initiated by Hezbollah, including two months of full-blown war during which Israel sent in ground troops across the northern border.The fighting began with attacks by Hezbollah on the Jewish state on October 8, 2023, in support of Palestinian ally Hamas, which invaded southern Israel from Gaza a day earlier. Persistent rocket fire from Lebanon displaced some 60,000 Israeli civilians.“Everyone involved remains committed to maintaining the ceasefire agreement and to fully implement all its terms,” US Deputy Special Envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus said in a statement on the new negotiations. “We look forward to quickly convening these diplomat-led working groups to resolve outstanding issues, along with our international partners.”Lazar Berman and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Iran’s top diplomat: Nuclear talks with US only possible on ‘equal terms’-Iranian FM says Tehran will achieve ‘nothing’ if it negotiates while under ‘maximum pressure’ from US, after Khamenei spurns Trump’s letter offering talks-By Reuters Today, 4:20 pm-MAR 13,25
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has not ruled out talks with Washington, but said they can only take place if both countries are on “equal terms,” an Iranian state-run newspaper reported on Thursday.Last week, US President Donald Trump said he had sent a letter to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei proposing nuclear talks, but also warned that “there are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily, or you make a deal.”“If we enter negotiations while the other side is imposing maximum pressure, we will be negotiating from a weak position and will achieve nothing,” Araghchi told the Iran paper in an interview.“The other side must be convinced that the policy of pressure is ineffective — only then can we sit at the negotiating table on equal terms.”Khamenei said on Wednesday that talks with the Trump administration would simply “tighten the knot of sanctions and increase pressure on Iran.”In 2018, under Trump’s first presidency, the US withdrew from Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and reimposed sanctions that have crippled Iran’s economy. Tehran reacted a year later by violating the deal’s nuclear curbs.Khamenei, who has the final word in Iranian state matters, said last week that Tehran would not be bullied into talks.While leaving the door open for a nuclear pact with Tehran, Trump has reinstated the “maximum pressure” campaign he applied in his first term as president to isolate Iran from the global economy and drive its oil exports towards zero.Iran has long denied wanting to develop a nuclear weapon. However, its stock of uranium enriched to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% weapons-grade level, has jumped, the International Atomic Energy Agency said late last month.Iran is sworn to Israel’s destruction, and Israel has threatened to attack Iranian nuclear sites if diplomacy fails to contain Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.Last year, Israel struck Iranian facilities including missile factories and air defenses in retaliation for Iranian missile and drone attacks. That reduced Tehran’s conventional military capabilities, according to analysts and US officials, an assessment disputed by Tehran.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Russia says forces poised to complete recapture of Kursk region as Witkoff heads to Moscow-Kremlin says troops took border town of Sudzha from Ukraine; Putin, wearing fatigues, visits territory; US negotiators head to Russian capital with 30-day truce plan-By Agencies Today, 3:13 pm-MAR 13,25
MOSCOW — Russia said on Thursday there was no doubt that its troops would soon complete the task of clearing out Ukrainian forces from Russia’s Kursk region where they have held a pocket of territory for more than seven months.The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces were pounding remaining Ukrainian positions after capturing three more settlements, including the town of Sudzha, which is located near the border with Ukraine and lies on a road that Kyiv had used to resupply its forces.Ukraine’s top army commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said on Wednesday that Kyiv’s troops would keep operating in Kursk as long as needed and that fighting continued in and around Sudzha.Russian war correspondent Yevgeny Poddubny, reporting from Sudzha, said: “The town is constantly being hit by enemy artillery, but focal resistance has been suppressed.”Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield accounts from either side.Ukraine sprang one of the biggest shocks of the war on August 6 last year by storming across the border and grabbing a chunk of territory that Kyiv hoped to use as a bargaining chip in peace talks.But Russia’s forces, supported by troops from its ally North Korea, have gradually clawed back the lost ground, mounting what appears to be a final push just as the US tries to get Moscow to agree to a proposed ceasefire in the three-year war.President Vladimir Putin, donning combat fatigues, visited Kursk on Wednesday and ordered his commanders to swiftly finish the job.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday that Russian troops would take “as long as necessary to save the maximum number of lives of our military and civilians. But there is no doubt that the Kursk region will be liberated soon enough.”Video from Sudzha, published by Russian media and military bloggers, showed scenes of devastation from the seven months of fighting, with burnt-out vehicles, roofless buildings and mountains of rubble. Regional governor Alexander Khinshtein said 120 Russian civilians had been rescued from the town and evacuated.The renewed Russian military push and Putin’s high-profile visit to his troops came as US President Donald Trump presses for a diplomatic end to the war. The US on Tuesday lifted its March 3 suspension of military aid for Kyiv after senior US and Ukrainian officials made progress on how to stop the fighting during talks held in Saudi Arabia.Trump said Wednesday that “it’s up to Russia now” as his administration presses Moscow to agree to the ceasefire. The US president has made veiled threats to hit Russia with new sanctions if it won’t engage with peace efforts.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that US negotiators were on their way to Russia, but he wouldn’t comment on Moscow’s view of the ceasefire proposal.“Before the talks start, and they haven’t started yet, it would be wrong to talk about it in public,” he told reporters.Senior US officials say they hope to see Russia stop attacks on Ukraine within the next few days.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that national security adviser Mike Waltz spoke Wednesday with his Russian counterpart.She also confirmed that Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, will head to Moscow for talks with Russian officials, possibly including Putin.They are to present their plan for a 30-day truce in Ukraine, after receiving Kyiv’s backing earlier this week.Speaking to commanders Wednesday, Putin said he expected the military “to completely free the Kursk region from the enemy in the nearest future.”Putin added that in the future “it’s necessary to think about creating a security zone alongside the state border,” in a signal that Moscow could try to expand its territorial gains by capturing parts of Ukraine’s neighboring Sumy region. That idea could complicate a ceasefire deal.Ukraine launched the raid in a bid to counter the unceasingly glum news from the front line, as well as draw Russian troops away from the battlefield inside Ukraine and gain a bargaining chip in any peace talks. But the incursion didn’t significantly change the dynamic of the war.Meanwhile, Major General Dmytro Krasylnykov, commander of Ukraine’s Northern Operational Command, which includes the Kursk region, was dismissed from his post, he told Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne on Wednesday.He told the outlet he was not given a reason for his dismissal, saying “I’m guessing, but I don’t want to talk about it yet.”Russia says peacekeepers in Ukraine mean ‘direct armed conflict’Russia said Thursday that countries deploying peacekeepers in Ukraine would be engaging in a “direct armed conflict” with Moscow, and that it would respond to this by “all available means.”Ukraine has asked its European allies to deploy military “contingents” on its territory once the three-year conflict ends, to protect against future attacks from Russia.France and the UK have suggested they could deploy peacekeeping forces, but Moscow has balked at this idea — either as part of a ceasefire or as a long-term security guarantee for Ukraine.“It is absolutely unacceptable to us that army units of other states are stationed in Ukraine under any flag,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a briefing.“Be it a foreign contingent and a military base… all this would mean the involvement of these countries in a direct armed conflict with our country,” she added.
Jewish, Muslim groups condemn Trump’s use of ‘Palestinian’ as slur to put down Schumer-CAIR says using term in that way is ‘beneath dignity of his office’; Jewish groups say US president doesn’t get to decide who is a Jew and that his remark weaponizes antisemitism-By Agencies and ToI Staff Today, 10:46 am-MAR 13,25
WASHINGTON — US Muslim and Jewish advocacy groups criticized US President Donald Trump on Wednesday for referring to the top Senate Democrat, Senator Chuck Schumer, as a “Palestinian,” with the organizations saying the president used the term as a slur.Trump, a Republican, was asked by reporters at the White House about US corporate tax rate policy during an Oval Office meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, and in response expressed displeasure with congressional Democrats not supporting his agenda. The Irish government is staunchly pro-Palestinian.“Schumer is a Palestinian as far as I’m concerned. He’s become a Palestinian. He used to be Jewish. He’s not Jewish anymore. He’s a Palestinian,” Trump said apparently suggesting the veteran New York lawmaker has become too critical of Israel.Schumer is the highest-ranking elected US Jewish official and is not of Palestinian heritage.“President Trump’s use of the term ‘Palestinian’ as a racial slur is offensive and beneath the dignity of his office,” said Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations.Awad, who is of Palestinian heritage, said Trump’s comments showed the “continuing dehumanization” of Palestinians.Jewish groups panned the remarks with some saying they amounted to antisemitism.“Donald Trump doesn’t get to decide who is Jewish,” Halie Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, posted to X. “‘Palestinian’ should not be used as an insult. These comments are abhorrent but revealing of why the vast majority of Jewish voters have not and will never support Donald Trump.”“The goal for this administration isn’t to counter antisemitism or protect Israel. It’s to weaponize antisemitism to go after their political enemies, advance an extreme agenda, and undercut democracy — and it only makes Jews *less* safe,” Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, wrote on microblogging platform Bluesky.“Trump’s attack on Schumer is antisemitic and racist,” said Jonathan Jacoby, who leads the Nexus Project, an antisemitism watchdog. “He’s policing Jewish identity, invoking the dual loyalty trope, and implying Palestinians are evil. This is dangerous incitement. Jewish groups must say it clearly: the President is spreading hate and weaponizing antisemitism.”Progressive Zionist group New Jewish Narrative, meanwhile, called the remark “absurd and offensive.”The group added, “Schumer is Jewish, regardless of his views on Israel-Palestine or anything else. And ‘Palestinian’ is not a slur. To use it as such is pure racism.”The Anti-Defamation League also condemned the comments, saying in a statement, “A President has many powers, but none of them include deciding who is and isn’t Jewish. Doing so, and using ‘Palestinian’ as a slur, are both beneath any POTUS. Instead of weaponizing people’s identity, use the power of the bully pulpit to bring the American people together.”Trump’s comments also drew some praise. David Friedman, Trump’s former ambassador to Israel, tweeted the remark and wrote, “Metaphorically speaking, I couldn’t have said it better.”Generally, Trump has opted for such language to disparage Democrats whom he sees as inadequately supportive of Israel.In this case, however, Trump made the comments while talking about corporate tax rates. After saying that the American public will blame Democrats for high taxes, Trump launched into an aside on the New York senator, his top adversary in Congress who on Wednesday was opposing a Republican-drafted funding bill.Trump has previously denied allegations of being discriminatory and antisemitic. The White House and Schumer had no immediate comment.Both Trump’s supporters and opponents shared clips of the remark online.Wednesday’s remarks were the latest instance in which Trump has used “Palestinian” as an epithet to refer to Schumer, whom he once also falsely called “a proud member of Hamas.”Schumer, the Senate minority leader, has spoken frequently about his Jewish identity throughout his political career. He is soon to release a book about fighting antisemitism.Trump faced criticism from rights groups during last year’s election campaign in which he referred to former US president Joe Biden as Palestinian during a presidential debate. Trump also said last year that Jews who did not vote for him needed to “have your head examined.”Rights advocates have noted a rise in Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian bias and antisemitism since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.More recently, Trump has faced criticism over his plan for a US takeover of Gaza and a displacement of Palestinians from the enclave. His plan has been called a proposal of ethnic cleansing by rights groups, Arab states, Palestinians and the UN. Trump has apparently softened his stance on the plan.The Trump administration is also seeking to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist who has played a prominent role in anti-Israel protests at New York’s Columbia University.
Analysis-Syria shows signs of peril and promise in a week of violence and diplomacy-Though the new regime in Damascus seems to have quelled sectarian violence and secured a deal to merge Kurdish forces into the army, analysts say the leadership has a long way to go-By ABBY SEWELL Today, 11:55 am-MAR 13,25
BEIRUT (AP) — After Syria’s longtime autocratic ruler was toppled late last year, the man who led rebel groups to victory immediately faced a new challenge: unifying the country after more than a decade of civil war.The peril and promise of Syria under interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa — the former leader of an Islamist insurgent group — were on dramatic display over the past week. After days of deadly sectarian violence, a diplomatic triumph united a powerful force in the country’s northeast with the new national army.By Tuesday, it seemed as if Syria had made major steps toward quelling the tensions that erupted over the weekend. But analysts say the country still has a long way to go, and that the risks of sliding back into civil war, or partitioning the country along ethnic and sectarian lines, remain.The “path to rebuilding trust” will require Syria’s new leaders to do more to “protect lives and foster a sense of unity among all communities,” said Ammar Kahf, executive director of Omran Center for Strategic Studies in Istanbul.Building a stable, pluralistic society is also key to convincing Western countries to lift crushing economic sanctions that were placed on Syria during the brutal rule of former president Bashar al-Assad.A week of political whiplash-Beginning last Thursday, clashes between government security forces and armed groups loyal to Assad spiraled into sectarian revenge attacks that killed hundreds of civilians, most of them Alawites, a minority sect to which Assad belongs.Government reinforcements eventually restored order, and calm appeared to hold by late Monday.That same day, al-Sharaa had signed a landmark pact under which Kurdish-led forces in the country’s northeast would be merged with the new national army.The deal marked a major step toward unifying the disparate factions that had carved up Syria into de facto mini-states during its civil war. The civil war began in 2011 after the Assad government’s brutal crackdown on massive anti-government protests.Not a professional army-Most of the armed factions that fought to unseat Assad announced in January that they would join the national army. In practice, though, they have maintained their own leadership.“This is not a professional army,” said Issam al-Reis, a military adviser with Etana, a Syrian research group. “In theory, there are plans to join the factions into an army and merge everybody together under the Ministry of Defense. But so far, in reality, on the ground, everybody is still under his own umbrella.”On the other side, there are thousands of former soldiers from the disbanded Assad-era army who are now unemployed and “very easy targets” for local or international actors interested in upsetting Syria’s fragile stability, al-Reis said.The sectarian violence over the weekend was difficult to contain, analysts say, because the government had to turn to a patchwork of undisciplined factions – including armed civilians – to combat pro-Assad militants who attacked security forces along the coast. Members of some of those factions launched bloody revenge attacks on Alawite civilians.The violence only reinforced the “significant challenge to the Syrian (government’s) efforts to consolidate power,” said Kahf, of the Omran Center for Strategic Studies.A landmark deal-Unexpectedly, the violence appears to have expedited the deal to bring the Kurdish-led armed group controlling most of northeastern Syria, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, under the umbrella of the national army.The agreement came about when it did because al-Sharaa “needed to achieve a diplomatic victory” after the weekend violence damaged his image, said Ahmed Aba Zeid, a Syrian researcher. At the same time, the SDF calculated it could “achieve greater gains if it gave Sharaa this gift at this time,” he said.Under the agreement, border crossings, airports and oil fields in the northeast will also be brought under the central government’s control by the end of the year. Many details still need to be ironed out — including who will manage prisons holding Islamic State fighters captured by SDF — but the agreement gives al-Sharaa a much-needed political boost.He appears to have eliminated “the two most significant threats of division in the country within days,” Aba Zeid said.International players pushing for unification-The agreement between the SDF and the Syrian government came about with the blessing of two important international players: the United States, which has supported the SDF as a key ally in the fight against the Islamic State terror group; and Turkey, which backs Syria’s new leaders.“This would not have happened if the Turks weren’t willing to let it happen,” according to a senior US defense official who said Washington encouraged SDF to reach an agreement with Syria’s leaders. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly.Although not written into the agreement, the official said Ankara had demanded assurances that the SDF would remove foreign fighters linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, a Kurdish separatist group that had waged a decades-long insurgency in Turkey before recently announcing a ceasefire.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a speech Tuesday, “The full implementation of the agreement reached yesterday will serve the security and peace of Syria.”Still, the new Syrian government faces an array of challenges.Israeli officials have vowed to demilitarize the southern Syria area close to Israel’s border and dispatched troops into a UN-patrolled buffer zone separating Israeli and Syrian forces on the strategic Golan Heights.With sanctions by the US and its allies still in place, Syria will struggle to make significant investments in its economy and rebuild areas destroyed during the civil war.Alawites and other minorities that were already skeptical of the Islamist-led authorities in Damascus are more frightened — and hostile — than they were a week ago, despite promises by the country’s new leaders that those who attacked civilians will be held accountable.Al-Reis said that reassuring them will require the government to take “very strong measures” against the perpetrators.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
PM's office says still open to exiling Hamas chiefs from Gaza-Witkoff reportedly presents new proposal for Gaza truce extension to Israel, Hamas-Israel said to have responded ‘positively’ to plan for release of 5 living and 10 dead hostages if ongoing ceasefire further extended; hostage families express ‘serious concern’By ToI Staff Today, 11:28 pm-MAR 13,25
After arriving in Doha earlier this week, US special envoy Steve Witkoff presented Israel and Hamas with a new outline to extend the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip by several weeks in exchange for the release of five living and 10 dead hostages, according to reports on Thursday.The reports on the new proposal drew concern from the families of the hostages, who said the deal, if agreed upon, would leave their loved ones in captivity for a “long and undetermined length of time.”The existence and details of the new US outline was first reported by Axios, which cited sources familiar with the matter.The proposal, which differs from a previous outline put forward by Witkoff, would extend the current ceasefire by several weeks, until the end of both Ramadan and Passover, in exchange for the release of additional hostages, according to the Axios report. At the same time, Israel would also be required to resume the flow of humanitarian aid into the war-torn Palestinian enclave.Hebrew media outlets reported later Thursday that the US proposal provides for five living and 10 dead hostages to be returned, and extending the ceasefire for a further 42-50 days.Citing two unnamed sources, Axios reported that the extension, should all parties agree to implement it, would give the US additional time to negotiate a more concrete, long-term truce agreement.Should a long-term ceasefire agreement be reached, the report said that Hamas will be required to hand over all remaining hostages, living and dead, on the last day of the temporary truce extension, before the concrete ceasefire comes into effect.Israel gave “a positive response” to Witkoff’s latest proposal, the report said, while Qatar and Egypt are still awaiting Hamas’s response after delivering the details of the outline to the terror group on Wednesday night.According to a Channel 12 report, Israel has demanded that a larger number of living hostages be freed.Hamas, for its part, demanded that the US guarantee that there will be discussions on phase two of the current deal, which provides for the full withdrawal of the IDF and the end of the war. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to hold negotiations on the second phase despite the agreement’s stipulations.Hebrew-language daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported Thursday that Netanyahu will convene top aides and security chiefs on Saturday night for a “situational assessment” on the latest developments of the hostage talks in Doha, and if no breakthrough is achieved by then, the premier will bring his negotiating team home.If the sides cannot reach an agreement based on the new Witkoff proposal, the Channel 12 report said that mediators were expected to push Israel and Hamas toward a smaller interim arrangement, under which a “solitary few” living hostages would be freed and the ceasefire maintained.The purpose of the smaller arrangement would be to buy more time for negotiations and avoid the complete collapse of the talks and a return to the fighting.In the course of the extended ceasefire, discussions would take place on “final summations” — an apparent reference to the end of the war.“If there is no progress in the next 48 hours, the Israeli delegation will return to Israel,” the report quoted a senior Israeli source as saying.The network also said that Israel’s demand for Hamas leaders to go into exile is “off the agenda” given the “stubborn opposition” from Hamas’s leaders in Gaza, quoting sources in Israel’s negotiating team as saying the demand was not going to be raised as an option in the ongoing talks.However, Netanyahu’s office firmly denied the report, calling it “fake news,” while confirming that the prime minister is open to extending safe passage abroad for the leaders of Hamas despite his repeated vows to destroy the terror group.“Fake news once again,” the Prime Minister’s Office said. “In contrast to the false report from Channel 12 this evening, the exile of senior Hamas officials has not been taken off the agenda.”‘Serious concerns’Following the reports, the families of the Gaza hostages expressed “serious concerns” about Witkoff’s proposal, according to a statement from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.“The reports about the outline for the return of just a few hostages raise serious concerns among the families of the hostages that their loved ones will be left in captivity for a long and undetermined length of time,” the forum said.The forum demanded a “comprehensive and immediate agreement that will return all 59 hostages in one fell swoop and leave nobody behind.”“Otherwise, the living hostages who remain in the tunnels will be sentenced to death, and we will not be able to locate and return the dead for burial,” it added.MK Benny Gantz, who heads the opposition National Unity party, expressed similar concerns, saying that Netanyahu was either making “concessions” to Hamas or “stalling.”“In the first hostage outline, we returned 10 living hostages per day, in the current outline, four per week, and now we are discussing a plan to return five live hostages per month,” he said.“The conclusion is simple — either Netanyahu is making concessions, or Netanyahu is stalling,” Gantz wrote, adding that “Israel’s interest is to return all the hostages as quickly as possible.”“What is happening now is that Netanyahu is allowing Hamas to rehabilitate instead of dismantling it, endangering the hostages instead of returning them, and preserving his coalition instead of national interests,” he concluded.Hamas has so far released 30 hostages — 20 Israeli civilians, five soldiers, and five Thai nationals — and the bodies of eight slain Israeli captives during a ceasefire that began in January. The terror group freed 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November 2023, and four hostages were released before that in the early weeks of the war.Eight hostages have been rescued from captivity by troops alive, and the bodies of 41 have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors, and the body of a soldier who was killed in 2014.The body of another soldier killed in 2014, Lt. Hadar Goldin, is still being held by Hamas and is counted among the 59 hostages.
Accordingly, Rajoub urged the Trump administration to engage with the PA leader without delay. “Whether we like him or not, [Abbas] is still legitimate, and his baby remains settling this conflict through peaceful means.”
It is rare for PLO officials to criticize Abbas, but Rajoub’s decision to go out of his way to hail the PA president in a rare interview with an English-language news outlet pointed to his desire to remain in good standing with him.While no elections are in the offing and the nearly 90-year-old Abbas has not named a successor, the 71-year-old Rajoub is often listed among those who could replace the PA president, given his strong positioning within Fatah along with other Palestinian factions.Those factions include Hamas, which Rajoub said could be part of the Palestinian leadership if it accepts PLO obligations, including recognition of Israel and accepting “non-violence as a strategic choice.”Implying an equivalence, he suggested those questioning whether Hamas should be included in Palestinian politics — particularly after the terror group’s atrocities on October 7, 2023 — were not treating Israeli hardliners with the same skepticism.“What about the same crazy groups inside Israel? No one is asking about [Itamar] Ben Gvir and [Bezalel] Smotrich,” he claimed, referring to the two far-right party leaders whom Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu partnered with two years ago to form the government.Still, Rajoub denounced Hamas’s actions on October 7.“I know that innocent people, including peace activists, along with women and children were killed that day. No one can support something like that,” said Rajoub, who is also the chairman of the Palestinian Football Association.“However, the conflict did not start that day,” Rajoub argued, pointing to decades of “home demolitions, settlement building, humiliations and killing” of Palestinians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip.He claimed that the uptick in these actions under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rule has led to an uptick in antisemitism outside of Israel, which has hit record levels in some Western countries following the October 7 attack and subsequent war in Gaza.“Israelis are now instructed to remove their kippa when abroad,” Rajoub said. “Is this what they want?”Pressed on calls for Palestinian political reform, given that the entire West Bank-based PA system is dominated by Abbas, Rajoub acknowledged that doing so was necessary and “in our national interest.”The PA has not held elections in nearly 20 years, and Rajoub said such a step would be essential, adding that a future Palestinian state must uphold the values of “democracy and political pluralism under the principle of one authority, one law and one gun.”“I think that we do need to make reforms… But the corruption in the PA is kindergarten compared to Mr. Bibi and his mafia,” he claimed, referencing the Israeli premier’s ongoing criminal trial.“Still, we should not lose hope, and we should not give up” on the goal of mutual recognition, Rajoub maintained.“Trust between us is zero. They have their reasons, and we have ours,” he continued, arguing that a third party is needed to move the parties in the right direction.“The third party is the international community, but it should be led by the Americans,” Rajoub said. “The Americans are the only ones who can exert pressure on these Israelis.”There was initial optimism in Ramallah that the US would be willing to play such a role in the lead-up to President Donald Trump’s return to office when his Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, managed to coax Netanyahu into agreeing to a ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas after months of deadlock.But that feeling dissipated rather quickly, with Trump declaring his desire last month for the US to take over Gaza and permanently relocate all of its residents.“It’s a shame for this administration to abuse the suffering of innocent people,” Rajoub said.In the more immediate term, though, Washington is more focused on extending the ceasefire in Gaza through additional hostage-prisoner swaps between Israel and Hamas.Rajoub has a unique perspective on this issue, as he once was released from an Israeli prison during the 1980s through such a deal.He spent 17 years in custody for violence against Israel. Rajoub said he used the time to study the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.“My conclusion was that without making space for Israelis’ rational concerns… I can’t achieve my national aspirations,” Rajoub said.“The Israelis — like the Palestinians — have the right to live in peace, in security, with normalizations… but within the internationally recognized borders,” he added, referring to the armistice lines prior to the 1967 Six-Day War.Speaking to the kind of hostage deal that he would support, Rajoub said, “It should be everybody for everybody, so we can open a new chapter.”
Jewish anti-Zionist protesters storm NYC’s Trump Tower in support of Mahmoud Khalil-NYPD confirms multiple arrests as demonstrators from Jewish Voice for Peace rally to demand release of detained Columbia University anti-Israel activist-By Luke Tress Today, 10:38 pm-MAR 13,25
NEW YORK — Dozens of protesters stormed Trump Tower in New York City on Thursday to demand the release of detained Columbia University protest organizer Mahmoud Khalil.The protest came amid furious backlash over the Trump administration’s detention of Khalil, which has set off a legal battle and daily protests in New York since his arrest on Saturday night.The anti-Zionist activist group Jewish Voice for Peace posted images showing dozens of protesters chanting in the midtown Manhattan building lobby.“Free Mahmoud, free them all,” the protesters chanted.The demonstrators carried signs that said, “Fight Nazis, not students,” and “Jews for Palestinian Freedom,” and wore red shirts that said “Stop arming Israel.”“As Jews, we are taking over the Trump Tower to register our mass refusal,” JVP said in a statement. “We will not stand by as this fascist regime attempts to criminalize Palestinians and all those calling for an end to the Israeli government’s US-funded genocide of the Palestinian people.”The group posted footage of police removing protesters from the building.The NYPD told The Times of Israel that multiple individuals were taken into custody but that the number of arrests and charges had not been finalized.Khalil, a green card holder who finished graduate studies at Columbia in December, was a leading organizer for the university’s anti-Israel protest coalition.He was detained by immigration agents outside his home in New York on Saturday and remains in custody as his defense team seeks his release in an ongoing legal battle in a federal court in Manhattan.The White House has said Khalil was detained and faces deportation due to his protest group distributing pro-Hamas propaganda. Federal law prohibits aliens from espousing support for terror groups.Khalil’s supporters say he is being prosecuted for free speech.His detention is part of a wider crackdown on campus antisemitism by the Trump administration, which has also cut $400 million in funding to Columbia, announced investigations into dozens of other universities, and threatened to deport more foreign activists.
PM's office says he still wants Hamas's Gaza chiefs exiled-Witkoff reportedly presents new proposal for Gaza truce extension to Israel, Hamas-Israel said to respond ‘positively’ to plan for Hamas to release 5 living and 10 dead hostages amid further extension of ceasefire; hostage families others would be left behind-By ToI Staff 13 March 2025, 11:28 pm
After arriving in Doha earlier this week, US special envoy Steve Witkoff presented Israel and Hamas with a new outline to extend the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip by several weeks in exchange for Hamas releasing five living and 10 dead hostages, according to reports on Thursday.The reports on the new proposal drew concern from the families of the hostages, who said the deal, if agreed upon, would leave many of their loved ones in captivity for a “long and undetermined length of time.” Fifty-nine hostages are still held in Gaza, with 24 of them believing to be alive.The existence and details of the new US outline were first reported by Axios, which cited sources familiar with the matter.The proposal, which differs from a previous outline put forward by Witkoff, would extend the current ceasefire by several weeks, until the end of both Ramadan and Passover, in exchange for the release of additional hostages, according to the Axios report. At the same time, Israel would also be required to resume the flow of humanitarian aid into the war-torn Palestinian enclave.Hebrew media outlets reported later Thursday that the US proposal provides for five living and 10 dead hostages to be returned, and extending the ceasefire for a further 42-50 days.Citing two unnamed sources, Axios reported that the extension, should all parties agree to implement it, would give the US additional time to negotiate a more concrete, long-term truce agreement.Should a long-term ceasefire agreement be reached, the report said that Hamas would be required to hand over all remaining hostages, living and dead, on the last day of the temporary truce extension, before the concrete ceasefire came into effect.Israel gave “a positive response” to Witkoff’s latest proposal, the Axios report said, while Qatar and Egypt were still awaiting Hamas’s response after delivering the details of the outline to the terror group on Wednesday night.According to a Channel 12 report late Thursday, Israel has demanded that a larger number of living hostages be freed.Hamas, for its part, has demanded that the US guarantee that there will be discussions on phase two of the current deal, which provides for the full withdrawal of the IDF and the end of the war. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to hold negotiations on the second phase despite the agreement’s stipulations.Netanyahu will reportedly convene top aides and security chiefs on Saturday night for a “situational assessment” on the latest developments of the hostage talks in Doha, and if no breakthrough is achieved by then, the premier will bring his negotiating team home.If the sides cannot reach an agreement based on the new Witkoff proposal, the Channel 12 report said that mediators were expected to push Israel and Hamas toward a smaller interim arrangement, under which a “solitary few” living hostages would be freed and the ceasefire maintained.The purpose of the smaller arrangement would be to buy more time for negotiations and avoid the complete collapse of the talks and a return to fighting.In the course of the extended ceasefire, discussions would take place on “final summations” — an apparent reference to the end of the war.“If there is no progress in the next 48 hours, the Israeli delegation will return to Israel,” Channel 12 quoted a senior Israeli source as saying.The network also said that Israel’s demand for Hamas leaders to go into exile is “off the agenda” given the “stubborn opposition” from Hamas’s leaders in Gaza, quoting sources in Israel’s negotiating team as saying the demand was not going to be raised as an option in the ongoing talks.However, Netanyahu’s office firmly denied that claim, calling it “fake news,” saying Israel still wants Hamas’s Gaza leaders sent into exile while confirming that the prime minister is open to extending safe passage abroad for them.“Fake news once again,” the Prime Minister’s Office said. “In contrast to the false report from Channel 12 this evening, the exile of senior Hamas officials has not been taken off the agenda.”‘Serious concerns’Following the flurry of reports, the families of the Gaza hostages expressed “serious concerns” about Witkoff’s proposal, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said.“The reports about the outline for the return of just a few hostages raise serious concerns among the families of the hostages that their loved ones will be left in captivity for a long and undetermined length of time,” the forum said.The forum demanded a “comprehensive and immediate agreement that will return all 59 hostages in one fell swoop and leave nobody behind.”“Otherwise, the living hostages who remain in the tunnels will be sentenced to death, and we will not be able to locate and return the dead for burial,” it added.MK Benny Gantz, who heads the opposition National Unity party, expressed similar concerns, saying that Netanyahu was either making “concessions” to Hamas or “stalling.”“In the first hostage outline, we returned 10 living hostages per day; in the current outline, four per week, and now we are discussing a plan to return five live hostages per month,” he said.“The conclusion is simple — either Netanyahu is making concessions, or Netanyahu is stalling,” Gantz wrote, adding that “Israel’s interest is to return all the hostages as quickly as possible.”“What is happening now is that Netanyahu is allowing Hamas to rehabilitate instead of dismantling it, endangering the hostages instead of returning them, and preserving his coalition instead of national interests,” he concluded.Hamas has so far released 30 hostages — 20 Israeli civilians, five soldiers, and five Thai nationals — and the bodies of eight slain Israeli captives during a ceasefire that began in January. The terror group freed 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November 2023, and four hostages were released before that in the early weeks of the war.Eight hostages have been rescued from captivity by troops alive, and the bodies of 41 have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors, and the body of a soldier who was killed in 2014.The body of another soldier killed in 2014, Lt. Hadar Goldin, is still being held by Hamas and is counted among the 59 hostages.
Syria’s interim president signs constitution enshrining Islamist rule for 5 years-Amid major wave of sectarian violence, which has posed first major challenge of post-Assad Syria, new regime issues constitution which it says will grant equality for all citizens-By GHAITH ALSAYED and Kareem Chehayeb Today, 12:11 am
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria’s interim president on Thursday signed a temporary constitution that leaves the country under Islamist rule while promising to protect the rights of all Syrians for five years during a transitional phase.The nation’s interim rulers have struggled to exert their authority across much of Syria since the Islamist former insurgent group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, led a lightning insurgency that overthrew longtime President Bashar Assad in December.Former HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharaa is now the country’s interim president — a decision that was announced after a meeting of the armed groups that took part in the offensive against Assad. At the same meeting, the groups agreed to repeal the country’s old constitution and said a new one would be drafted.While many were happy to see an end to the Assad family’s dictatorial rule of more than 50 years in the war-torn country, religious and ethnic minorities have been skeptical of the new Islamist leaders and reluctant to allow Damascus under its new authorities to assert control of their areas.Abdulhamid Al-Awak, one of the seven members of the committee al-Sharaa tasked to draft the temporary constitution, told a news conference Thursday that it would maintain some previsions from the previous one, including the stipulation that the head of state has to be a Muslim and Islamic law is the main source of jurisprudence.But Al-Awak, a constitutional law expert who teaches at Mardin Artuklu University in Turkey, also said that the temporary constitution includes provisions that enshrine freedom of expression and the media.The constitution will “balance between social security and freedom” during Syria’s shaky political situation, he said, and will set up an “absolute and rigid separation” between legislative, executive and judicial authorities.The text of the temporary constitution, published late Thursday, sets up a People’s Committee that will serve as an interim parliament until a permanent constitution is adopted and elections held. Two-thirds of its members will be appointed by a committee selected by the interim president and one-third by al-Sharaa himself.The documents says the state is “committed to combatting all forms of violent extremism while respecting rights and freedoms” and that “citizens are equal before the law in rights and duties, without discrimination based on race, religion, gender or lineage.” It stipulates that the army is a “professional national institution” and arms outside of its control are prohibited and designates “glorifying the former Assad regime” as a crime.A new committee to draft a permanent constitution will be formed, but it’s unclear if it will be more inclusive of Syria’s political, religious and ethnic groups.Al-Sharaa on Monday reached a landmark pact with the US-backed Kurdish-led authorities in northeastern Syria, including a ceasefire and a merging of their armed forces with the central government’s security agencies.The deal came after government forces and allied groups crushed an insurgency launched last week by gunmen loyal to Assad. Rights groups say that hundreds of civilians — mostly from the Alawite minority sect to which Assad belongs — were killed in retaliatory attacks by factions in the counteroffensive.A key goal of the interim constitution was to give a timeline for the country’s political transition out of its interim phase. In December, Al-Sharaa said that it could take up to three years to rewrite Syria’s constitution and up to five years to organize and hold elections.Al-Sharaa appointed a committee to draft the new constitution after Syria held a national dialogue conference last month, which called for announcing a temporary constitution and holding an interim parliamentary election. Critics said that the hastily-organized conference wasn’t inclusive of Syria’s different ethnic and sectarian groups or civil society.The United States and Europe have been hesitant to lift harsh sanctions imposed on Syria during Assad’s rule until they are convinced that the new leaders will create an inclusive political system and protect minorities. Al-Sharaa and regional governments have been urging them to reconsider, fearing that the country’s crumbling economy could bring further instability.Also Thursday, an Israeli airstrike struck an apartment building in a suburb of the capital, wounding three people, one of them critically, Syria’s state media and a paramedic group said.Israel’s military said that the airstrike on the Damascus suburb of Dummar targeted a command center of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group.The military said that the command center has been used to direct attacks against Israel and vowed to “respond forcefully” to the presence of Palestinian terror groups inside Syria.Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that “whenever terrorist activity is organized against Israel,” al-Sharaa “will find air force planes circling above him and attacking terrorist targets.”A Palestinian Islamic Jihad member at the scene of the airstrike in Syria told The Associated Press that the apartment that was targeted was the home of the group’s leader, Ziad Nakhaleh.Ismail Sindak said the apartment had been empty for years, adding that Nakhaleh isn’t in Syria. Asked whether anyone was killed in the strike, Sindak said that “the house was empty.”Also Thursday, a delegation including Turkey’s top diplomat, defense minister and intelligence chief paid a sudden visit to Damascus, days after a deal was reached between the Kurdish-led armed group controlling most of northeastern Syria, the Syrian Democratic Forces, and Syria’s interim government and after last week’s eruption of violence on the Syrian coast.Meanwhile, thousands of Syrians who fled the sectarian violence are still sheltering in a Russian airbase in the coastal Latakia province.Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a briefing Thursday that “our military sheltered more than 8,000, according to yesterday’s data, probably closer to 9,000 Syrians, mostly women and children.”
Israel and US said in contact with Sudan, Somalia about resettling Gazans-Officials say approaches also made to breakaway region of Somaliland; Sudanese source says proposal rejected, officials from other two say unaware of issue being broached-By AP and ToI Staff Today, 11:09 am-MAR 14,25
The US and Israel have reached out to officials of three East African governments to discuss using their territories as potential destinations for resettling Palestinians uprooted from the Gaza Strip under US President Donald Trump’s proposed postwar plan, American and Israeli officials said.The contacts with Sudan, Somalia and the breakaway Somali region known as Somaliland reflect the determination by the US and Israel to press ahead with a plan that has been widely condemned but has also jolted new energy into planning for Gaza’s future.Officials from Sudan said they had rejected overtures from the US, while officials from Somalia and Somaliland told The Associated Press that they were not aware of any contacts.Because all three places are poor, and in some cases wracked by violence, the proposal also casts doubt on Trump’s stated goal of resettling Gaza’s Palestinians in a “beautiful area” where they would enjoy a higher standard of living than in the Strip.Trump proposed the plan after a US, Egyptian, and Qatari-mediated ceasefire halted 15 months of war in the Gaza Strip that began on October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian terror group Hamas led 5,000 attackers to invade southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting hundreds, mostly civilians.The war caused widespread devastation to Gaza, raising the need for a comprehensive rehabilitation plan that Israel has demanded include a new administration to replace Hamas’s rule. In the meantime, the complex three-phase ceasefire, which included the release of hostages, has stalled after its first stage amid mutual accusations of violations by Israel and Hamas, though so far fighting has not resumed.Under Trump’s plan, Gaza’s more than 2 million people would be permanently sent elsewhere. He has proposed that the US would take ownership of the territory, oversee a lengthy cleanup process and develop it as a real estate project.The idea of a mass transfer of Palestinians was once considered a fantasy of Israel’s ultranationalist fringe. But since Trump presented the idea at a White House meeting last month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hailed it as a “bold vision.”His allies, including Defense Minister Israel Katz, have touted the formation of a government-backed body to encourage and facilitate voluntary migration out of the Strip.Palestinians in Gaza have rejected Trump’s proposal and dismissed Israeli claims that the departures would be voluntary. Arab nations have expressed vehement opposition and offered an alternative reconstruction plan that would leave the Palestinians in place.Rights groups have said forcing or pressuring the Palestinians to leave could be a potential war crime. On Wednesday, the president appeared to back off the plan somewhat, saying “Nobody is expelling any Palestinians from Gaza,” in answer to a question during an Oval Office meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin.Earlier, the White House had said that Trump “stands by his vision.”Speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a secret diplomatic initiative, US and Israeli officials confirmed the contacts with Somalia and Somaliland, while the Americans confirmed Sudan as well. They said it was unclear how much progress the efforts made or at what level the discussions took place.Separate outreach from the US and Israel to the three potential destinations began last month, days after Trump floated the Gaza plan alongside Netanyahu, according to the US officials, who said that Israel was taking the lead in the discussions.Israel and the US have a variety of incentives — financial, diplomatic and security — to offer these potential partners. It is a formula that Trump used five years ago when he brokered the Abraham Accords — a series of mutually beneficial diplomatic accords between Israel and four Arab countries.The White House declined to comment on the outreach efforts.The offices of Netanyahu and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a Netanyahu confidant who has been leading Israel’s postwar planning, also had no comment.Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a longtime advocate of what he calls “voluntary” emigration of Palestinians, said this week that Israel is working to identify countries to take in Palestinians.He also said Israel is preparing a “very large emigration department” within its Defense Ministry.Here is a closer look at the places the officials say have been approached.Sudan-The North African country was among the four Abraham Accord nations that agreed to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel in 2020.As part of the deal, the US removed Sudan from its list of state supporters of terrorism, a move that gave the country access to international loans and global legitimacy. But relations with Israel never took off as Sudan plunged into civil war between government forces and the RSF paramilitary group.The conflict has been marked by atrocities, including ethnically motivated killing and rape, according to the UN and rights groups. The International Criminal Court is investigating alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, and then-US president Joe Biden’s administration in January said the RSF and its proxies were committing genocide.The US and Israel would be hard-pressed to persuade Palestinians to leave Gaza, particularly to such a troubled country. But they could offer incentives to the Khartoum government, including debt relief, weapons, technology and diplomatic support.Two Sudanese officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive diplomatic matter, confirmed that the Trump administration has approached the military-led government about accepting Palestinians.One of them said the contacts began even before Trump’s inauguration with offers of military assistance against the RSF, assistance with postwar reconstruction and other incentives.Both officials said the Sudanese government rejected the idea.“This suggestion was immediately rebuffed,” said one official. “No one opened this matter again.”Military chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan told an Arab leaders’ summit last week in Cairo that his country “categorically rejects” any plan that aims to transfer “the brotherly Palestinians from their land under whatever justification or name.”Somaliland-Somaliland, a territory of over 3 million people in the Horn of Africa, seceded from Somalia over 30 years ago, but it is not internationally recognized as an independent state. Somalia considers Somaliland part of its territory.Somaliland’s new president, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, has made international recognition a priority.An American official involved in the efforts confirmed that the US was “having a quiet conversation with Somaliland about a range of areas where they can be helpful to the US in exchange for recognition.”The possibility of US recognition could provide an incentive for Abdullahi to back away from the territory’s solidarity with the Palestinians.The United Arab Emirates, another Abraham Accord country that has developed strong ties with Israel, once had a military base in Somaliland and maintains commercial interests there, including a port. The territory’s strategic location, in the Gulf of Aden waterway near Yemen, home to the Houthi rebel group, could also make it a valuable ally.Over the years, Somaliland has been lauded for its relatively stable political environment, contrasting sharply with Somalia’s ongoing struggles amid deadly attacks by al-Qaeda-linked extremist group al-Shabab. Since 1991, Somaliland has maintained its own government, currency and security structures. Still, it has one of the lowest income levels in the world.An official in Somaliland, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said his government has not been approached and is not in talks about taking in Palestinians.Somalia-Somalia has been a vocal supporter of the Palestinians, often hosting peaceful protests on its streets in support of them. The country joined the recent Arab summit that rejected Trump’s plan and seems like an unlikely destination for Palestinians, even if they did agree to move.Sambu Chepkorir, a lawyer and conflict researcher in Nairobi, Kenya, said it is difficult to understand why Somalia would want to host Palestinians given the country’s strong support for Palestinian self-rule.“The realignments keep changing, and so maybe there is a hidden agenda in why Somalia,” Chepkorir said.A Somali official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said the country had not been approached about taking in Palestinians from Gaza and there had been no discussions about it.
IDF troops shoot dead two suspects trying to cross into Israel from Jordan-Suspects were part of group of migrants looking for work; six others with them arrested; troops opened fire after pair said to have ‘jumped out of the bushes’ at them-By Emanuel Fabian-and ToI Staff Today, 8:45 am-MAR 14,25
Israeli soldiers shot dead two suspects who crossed into Israel from Jordan near the northern town of Beit She’an shortly after midnight between Thursday and Friday, the military said.The two suspects were part of a group of at least eight who were trying to cross into Israel together. Israeli troops arrested the other six suspects.The eight had been identified by soldiers monitoring surveillance cameras, who dispatched troops to the scene.The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that as the troops arrived at the scene, “the suspects approached the forces in a way that was a threat to them,” and they opened fire, hitting the two.The Kan public broadcaster cited one of the troops as saying: “While we were searching, two suspects suddenly jumped out of the bushes at us, so we opened fire.” The sudden movement led the troops to believe that they were under threat.The pair of suspects succumbed to their wounds, while the other six were taken into custody for questioning.According to a military source, all of the suspects appeared to be migrants looking for work.No IDF soldiers were injured during the incident.Late last year, the Defense Ministry said it had begun preliminary work to establish a fence along the entire border with Jordan to prevent infiltrations into the country.The move to upgrade defenses along the 309-kilometer (192-mile) border running from Eilat through the West Bank to the tip of the Golan Heights, ordered by Defense Minister Israel Katz, is the latest attempt by the government to take up the plan, which has long been bandied about but never advanced.The work will include mapping out potential environmental hazards, conducting soil surveys, and laying an initial section of the fence with surveillance equipment and networking infrastructure.There is an aging chain link fence equipped with sensors along some of the border that Jordan shares with Israel and the West Bank. Other sections are only equipped with barbed wire.The border’s porousness has made it a site of frequent gun- and drug-running, as well as for work migrants to try and enter Israel or the West Bank for employment.
China hosts Iranian, Russian diplomats for nuclear talks.
Beijing, March 14 (AFP) Mar 14, 2025-China hosted Russian and Iranian diplomats on Friday for talks Beijing hopes will restart long-stalled negotiations on Tehran's nuclear program.The United States withdrew from a landmark 2015 deal, which imposed curbs on Tehran's nuclear development in return for sanctions relief, during US President Donald Trump's first term.Since his return to the White House in January, the Republican president has called for a new nuclear deal with Iran, but Tehran says no such agreement is possible so long as punishing sanctions remain in place.The effort to secure a pact was given new urgency last month when the UN's nuclear watchdog said Iran had significantly increased its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.Beijing has said it hopes Friday's talks will "strengthen communication and coordination, to resume dialogue and negotiation at an early time".A readout of the meeting by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said the three diplomats "exchanged views on the Iran nuclear issue and other issues of common concern".State media did not share any further details of the discussion, which was attended by China's Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi.Trump has reinstated his "maximum pressure" policy of sanctions against Iran, mirroring his approach during his first term.This week, he sent a letter to Tehran urging nuclear talks -- warning of possible military action if it refuses.Tehran said the letter, which the US President said was addressed to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was currently "being reviewed"."Ultimately, the United States should lift the sanctions," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview published Thursday by the government's official newspaper."We will enter into direct negotiations when we are on an equal footing, free from pressure and threats, and are confident that the national interests of the people will be guaranteed."The same day, Washington upped its pressure campaign by imposing sanctions on Iranian Petroleum Minister Mohsen Paknejad.The US Treasury Department also blacklisted the owners or operators of vessels it said were engaged in transporting Iranian oil trade to China.In February, a report by the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Iran had significantly increased its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to 60 percent purity -- close to the 90 percent needed for an atomic bomb.Iran's supreme leader Khamenei said this week that his country "does not have nuclear weapons" and was "not seeking" them. Tehran has previously said its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.
China urges end to 'illegal' sanctions as it hosts Iran nuclear talks.
Beijing, March 14 (AFP) Mar 14, 2025-China urged an end to "illegal" sanctions on Iran as it hosted Iranian and Russian diplomats on Friday for talks Beijing hopes will restart long-stalled negotiations on Tehran's nuclear programme.The United States withdrew from a landmark 2015 deal, which imposed curbs on Tehran's nuclear development in return for sanctions relief, during US President Donald Trump's first term.The Republican president has called for a new nuclear deal with Iran since his return to the White House in January but Tehran says no such agreement is possible so long as punishing sanctions remain in place.The effort to secure a pact was given new urgency last month when the UN nuclear watchdog said Iran had significantly increased its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.Beijing hosted Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov for talks on Friday it said it hoped would help "resume dialogue and negotiation at an early time".Meeting the diplomats, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stressed "the comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue is an important achievement achieved through dialogue and negotiation"."Now the situation has reached a critical juncture again. We must buy time for peace, resolve disputes through political and diplomatic means, and oppose the use of force and illegal sanctions," he said.And the US should demonstrate "political sincerity and return to talks at an early date", said a statement from Beijing's foreign ministry, which outlined propositions from China on the Iranian nuclear issue."All parties should... refrain from actions that might escalate the situation," the statement added.- 'Peaceful' nuclear programme -Gharibabadi, in turn, hailed the "constructive" talks in Beijing and said Iran's nuclear programme "is peaceful in nature"."Our nuclear programme has never been diverted to non-peaceful purposes," Gharibabadi said."But unfortunately, some countries are trying to create an unnecessary crisis in this regard.""The main root cause of the current situation is the unilateral withdrawal of the United States," Gharibabadi said.The Russian and Iranian officials met China's Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu earlier on Friday and "exchanged views on the Iran nuclear issue and other issues of common concern", Chinese state media said.Ma reiterated after that meeting China's support for "political and diplomatic engagement and dialogue based on mutual respect"."We emphasised the necessity of ending all illegal, unilateral sanctions," Ma told reporters."The relevant parties should work to eliminate the root causes of the current situation and abandon sanctions, pressure, and threats of the use of force."Iran's ambassador to China said later on social media platform X the meeting was a "complete success".The talks resulted in important agreements on "trilateral cooperation on important international issues, including the need for the three countries to cooperate in confronting" US sanctions, he said.- 'Maximum pressure' Trump has reinstated his "maximum pressure" policy of sanctions against Iran, mirroring his approach during his first term.He sent a letter to Tehran this week urging nuclear talks and warning of possible military action if it refuses.Tehran said the letter, which Trump said was addressed to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was currently "being reviewed"."Ultimately, the United States should lift the sanctions," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview published by the government's official newspaper on Thursday.Washington upped its pressure campaign the same day by imposing sanctions on Iranian Petroleum Minister Mohsen Paknejad.The US Treasury Department also blacklisted the owners or operators of vessels it said were engaged in transporting Iranian oil to China.A report by the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in February said Iran had significantly increased its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to 60 percent purity -- a short step from the 90 percent needed for a nuclear weapon.Khamenei said this week Iran "does not have nuclear weapons" and was "not seeking" them. Tehran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.
'Very broad consensus' emerging among Europeans on Ukraine: France-By Mathieu RABECHAULT.
Paris (AFP) Mar 12, 2025-A "very broad consensus" is emerging among European nations on boosting Ukraine's long-term security through the Ukrainian armed forces, French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said Wednesday after a meeting of Europe's five key defence powers in Paris.The defence ministers of France, Britain, Germany, Italy and Poland addressed reporters after meeting for talks in Paris.They acknowledged the challenges posed by the new administration of Donald Trump in the US -- which is seeking direct talks with Russia to end the war sparked by the Russian 2022 invasion of Ukraine -- while insisting Europe was ready to stand on its own feet."There is obviously a very broad consensus emerging... that the first of the security guarantees for Ukraine is obviously the Ukrainian army itself," Lecornu told reporters, ruling out any postwar "demilitarisation" of Ukraine."The word 'demilitarisation' is emerging, but it is not the case. On the contrary, the real guarantee of long-term security will be the capabilities that we will be able to give to the Ukrainian army," Lecornu, a top ally of President Emmanuel Macron, added.Lecornu said that "at this stage, about fifteen countries have shown an interest in continuing this process," referring to proposed options for a "security architecture" with a view to a lasting ceasefire" in Ukraine.He warned against seeing Ukraine's post-war security solely in terms of European troops who could be deployed there, repeatedly insisting that this was not an issue to be decided on now.Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz also welcomed a "real unity of the continent", referring to the threat from Russia.In his view, it was a matter of "keeping Russia at a distance from all our states as much as possible, and to do that, we must help Ukraine".- 'US engagement is essential' -German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said that, despite the rapid pace of change, the current situation could help Europe."I am convinced that if we act now, if we choose security in Europe over the nitty-gritty of national interest, we will emerge from this situation strengthened," he said.UK Defence Secretary John Healey said Britain and its allies knew that "we must step up" and re-arm."We are looking to build a coalition," he said. "We are accelerating this work."He added: "In the coming weeks you will see European allies coming closer together."He also spoke of "decisive days in the push for peace in Ukraine", but added that after Tuesday's agreement between Ukraine and the US it was up to Russia to show it was serious."I say to President (Vladimir) Putin 'it is over to you now'. You said you wanted talks. Prove it. Accept the ceasefire, start negotiations, and end the war""Make no mistake: the pressure is now on Putin," he said.The defence ministers spoke after Ukraine on Tuesday gave the nod to a US-backed plan for a 30-day ceasefire, at talks in Saudi Arabia.They also released a joint statement saying they had decided to "remain committed to NATO as the cornerstone of collective defence.""US engagement is essential in that regard," the joint statement said.Ukraine's deputy defence minister, Serhii Boiev, took part in the meeting by video link, according to the statement.Wednesday's meeting came after Macron on Tuesday called on military chiefs from across Europe and beyond to move "from concept to plan" and draw up a plan "to define credible security guarantees" for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire, the Elysee said.That rare meeting on Tuesday in Paris gathered representatives from 34 countries -- most of them from Europe and NATO, but also from Australia, New Zealand and Japan -- but excluded officials from the United States.
France, Italy, UK order more air defence missiles.
Paris, March 14 (AFP) Mar 14, 2025-Paris, Rome and London said Friday they had ordered new air defence missiles after a shock US policy shift in ties with Europe.European governments are under pressure to step up on defence after US President Donald Trump questioned whether the United States -- the guarantor of Europe's security since World War II -- should continue its central role in NATO."France, Italy and United Kingdom, confirm the order of 218 additional Aster missiles and the acceleration of delivery of already ordered Aster missiles," the countries said in a joint statement.The deal underscored "the unwavering commitment of France, Italy and United Kingdom to bolster their air defence capabilities," they said.It would also ensure "speedier delivery, from 2025, of 134 missiles previously ordered" in December 2022, French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on X.Aster 15 and 30 missiles are produced by pan-European manufacturer MBDA.The order is for an unspecified number of new Aster 30 B1 missiles, to enter into service next year, that are to be used in the future French and Italian SAMP/T land-to-air defence systems as well as the navy ships of the three nations.They are to be capable of reaching a target flying at an altitude of 2,500 metres (8,200 feet) within a range of 150 kilometres (93 miles).They are to be able to intercept planes, but also medium-range ballistic missiles as well as hypersonic weapons travelling at above five times the speed of sound.A single Aster 30 missile is estimated to cost more than 2 million euros ($2.1 million), according to the French Institute of International Relations.The order also includes an unspecified number of new Aster 15 missiles to be used by the French navy.
Thousands gather at Hostages Square for Purim revelry colored by hopes for captives’ salvation-Families write to Trump, calling him their only hope after ‘abandonment’ by government; ex-hostage Omer Shem Tov tears down ‘kidnapped’ sign, jokes about Hamas kiss to celebrate freedom-By ToI Staff Today, 12:02 pm-MAR 14,25
Thousands crowded into Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square on Thursday night for the Purim eve reading of the Book of Esther, which tells the story of the biblical heroine Queen Esther saving the Jewish people from extermination in what is now modern-day Iran, as they connected the plight of the Jews in the ancient city of Shushan to that of the hostages, held in the Gaza Strip by Iran-backed terrorists.Nearby, hundreds of protesters gathered to support the families of the hostages on the sixth day of their encampment outside the IDF’s headquarters, where they are attempting to put pressure on those in charge to clinch a deal for the release of the remaining 59 hostages.The Purim gathering at Hostages Square, which included Israelis from different communities, sectors and denominations, also called for parties to agree to a comprehensive deal to return the remaining hostages held in the Gaza Strip in one fell swoop, according to a statement from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the main non-government organization representing families of hostages.Meirav Leshem Gonen, mother of freed hostage Romi Gonen, participated in the event.The event was dedicated to the 59 hostages still in captivity, 58 of whom were among the 251 people abducted during the Hamas-led onslaught in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. The Gaza terror group is also holding the body of fallen IDF soldier Lt. Hadar Goldin, who was killed during fighting in the Strip in 2014.The forum said it was an “evening of unity, hope, and strength.”“We pray that, as written in the Megillah, our situation will turn ‘from grief to joy, and from mourning to a day of celebration’,” the forum said, using the Hebrew name for the scroll from which the Book of Esther is traditionally read.A complex three-phase ceasefire brought more than a year of fighting to a halt in January, and saw dozens of hostages released in small batches in exchange for Israel releasing thousands of Palestinian security prisoners. But the truce stalled after the first stage and hostage families have demanded the government reach a deal that sees all those still held captive freed together in a single move.Taking up the cry for a comprehensive deal, hundreds of protesters joined the families of the hostages at their encampment on Tel Aviv’s Begin Road, close to the IDF headquarters, where for the past six nights they have been calling for the release of the hostages.Banging drums and holding larger-than-life cutouts of the hostages’ faces, the protesters descended onto the busy Tel Aviv street, temporarily blocking traffic as they did.“All of them! All of them, all of them, all of them!” the protesters chanted. “Why are they still in Gaza?!Looking to ramp up the pressure on all parties working to negotiate a deal between Israel and Hamas, several families of the hostages sent a letter to US President Donald Trump asking for his help, the Kan public broadcaster reported on Friday.Lishi Miran Lavi, wife of hostage Omri Miran; Liran Berman, the older brother of twin hostages Gali and Ziv Berman; Dalia Kushner, sister-in-law of hostage Eitan Horn and released hostage Iair Horn; Yotam Cohen, brother of captive soldier Nimrod Cohen, and Einav Zangauker penned the missive.“For more than a year and a half the Israeli government has been playing with the lives of our loved ones,” they wrote. “Assurances were given and violated. Hopes were given and trampled on. While the prime minister and his government members evade, hide, and bide their time, our hostages are being severely tortured, and we saw the results of the terrible abuse when they returned to us in coffins or emaciated and tortured.”Trump, who last week met with a group of freed hostages in the Oval Office, has reportedly been moved by the condition of some hostages who returned after months of being starved and abused by their captors.Families of some hostages, as well as some of those who have been released, have increasingly extolled Trump as their hope and savior, while accusing the government of being ineffective, and bogged down in a coalition quagmire.“When there is no one left to rely on we turn to you, President Donald Trump,” they implored. You are the only person who can now get involved and bring an end to this nightmare.”The families accused the government of “abandoning the lives of our sons and daughters out of stubborn insistence on positions that have no relation to a security threat” and of saying one thing to them behind close doors and “telling a completely different story to the public.”“If it doesn’t act immediately to return all the living hostages — we will reveal to the people everything that they said to us. All the broken promises.”Far-right elements of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition oppose extending the ceasefire deal beyond its first phase, which ended late last month, insisting instead that the war continue until the total destruction of Hamas. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has asserted that leaving Hamas in Gaza is a major security threat to the country, has threatened to pull his Religious Zionism party from the government, removing its parliamentary majority, if his demand to continue fighting is not met.Among the hostages released in the first phase of the truce deal was 22-year-old Omer Shem Tov from Herzliya, who on Thursday night took down a banner calling for his release that had been displayed in his hometown since his abduction from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023.Shem Tov, who was released on February 22, after 505 days in captivity, was joined at the ceremony by siblings Maya and Itay Regev, who were freed from captivity during a weeklong truce in November 2023 after they were snatched alongside Shem Tov, and whose names were emblazoned on the banner alongside his.“The last time I stood on a stage was the Hamas stage, so forgive me if I’m excited about this occasion,” Shem Tov said with a broad smile, to laughter from the crowd gathered around him at the so-called “Dancers Roundabout” in Herzliya.“If anyone wants a kiss on the head, they can come over here,” he added, referring to the moment in his release when he was directed to kiss two of the masked Hamas gunmen on the top of their heads.His mother took him up on the offer, and he kissed her forehead.“I am Omer Shev Tov, and I am free!” he declared to applause.As the mood turned serious, he recalled the events of his abduction and conditions in Gaza: “I was abducted on October 7 and held hostage for 505 days,” he said. “I didn’t lose hope for a moment. I always believed that I would come home, even though there were difficult moments.He said that after hostage Itay Regev was released in November 2023, his captors transferred him to a 40-meter tunnel where he was held alone, “with little food and no light,” for 50 days.On the 50th day in the pitch-black tunnel, Shem Tov said he “prayed to God to get me out of there, because I couldn’t take it anymore.”“After five minutes, my captor arrived, and told me I was being moved to a different tunnel,” he said.He said that while alone in captivity, he would “imagine laying my head on my mother’s lap. I imagined us sitting in the living room watching a movie.”“The daydream became a reality,” he said.Shem Tov was one of 30 hostages released since the ceasefire and hostage release deal came into effect in January. Of those released, there were 20 Israeli civilians, five female IDF soldiers and five Thai nationals. Hamas also returned the bodies of eight slain hostages.The terror group freed 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November 2023, and four hostages were released before that in the early weeks of the war.Eight hostages have been rescued from captivity by troops alive, and the bodies of 41 have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors, and the body of a soldier who was killed in 2014.The US-mediated hostage deal stalled at the end of its first phase in late February amid mutual accusations of violations by Israel and Hamas.In an attempt to get the process back on track, US special envoy Steve Witkoff was said on Thursday to have presented Israel and Hamas with a new outline to extend the ceasefire by several weeks in exchange for the release of five living and 10 dead hostages, according to reports on Thursday.The reports drew concern from the families of the hostages, who said the deal, if agreed upon, would leave many of their loved ones in captivity for a “long and undetermined length of time.”
