Free Republic

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke via phone on Tuesday with US President Donald Trump, the American leader said, declaring that the pair “are on the same side of every issue.” The call covered “numerous subjects including Trade, Iran, etc.,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, adding that the conversation went “very well.” Notably, Trump did not include Gaza or the 59 hostages being held there in his list of topics discussed amid the ongoing impasse in ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas. However, according to a report in Axios, the pair did talk about efforts to reach...

The ceasefire proposal between Israel and Hezbollah that the US is pushing begins with a 60-day implementation period, during which time the Lebanese army will deploy along the border and confiscate Hezbollah arms in southern Lebanon, according to a draft agreement published by Kan news. IDF forces will exit Lebanon within seven days of the end of hostilities and will be replaced by the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), with UN peacekeepers facilitating the transition. Ultimately, there will be 10,000 LAF troops along the border with Israel. At the end of the 60 days, Israel and Lebanon will hold indirect negotiations...

PM and his circle argue that the elimination of the Hamas leader, in the city world leaders said Israel must not invade, shows he knows what he’s doing despite opppsition criticismIn mid-March, US officials told the Politico news site that US President Joe Biden would consider limiting future military aid to Israel if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went ahead with an offensive against Hamas in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah. Days before, Biden said in an interview that such an IDF move into the city would be a “red line,” while adding that he was “never going to...

Saudi Arabia condemns “in the strongest terms” Israel’s decision to turn the Jerusalem headquarters of the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency into apartments. Last week, the Israel Land Authority said it was preparing plans to turn the Ma’alot Dafna complex into 1,440 housing units, after telling UNRWA it must evacuate the premises. The Saudi Foreign Ministry notes in an English-language statement “the Kingdom’s rejection of the continued blatant Israeli violations of international laws and resolutions…and its systematic political and military targeting of the United Nations agencies and its relief organizations. “The Kingdom also rejects the continued endangerment of the lives of...

Foreign Minister Israel Katz welcomes Argentinian President Javier Milei upon his arrival to Israel at Ben Gurion Airport. Milei, who assumed office in December, reiterates his pledge to move Argentina’s embassy to Jerusalem. Katz thanks Milei, who made Israel his first bilateral overseas destination as president, for his support for Israel against Hamas and for recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. “You are a person of values ​​who is committed only to the truth,” Katz tells Milei, speaking through a translator, “and it is no wonder that you chose to come to Israel right away to support us in the just...

Terror group appears to pour cold water on mediators’ latest offer after Qatari PM says ‘good progress’ made; Israel said open to lengthy truce but refuses to end war Hamas on Monday evening appeared to reject a new framework for a hostage deal that had been agreed to by Israel, saying it would not accept any agreement that did not include an end to the war and the withdrawal of all Israeli troops from Gaza. The terror group issued a statement alongside a smaller terror group the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, insisting Israel must halt its “aggression”...

Joint communique says Jerusalem won't discuss new West Bank units for 4 months, authorize outposts for 6 months but PM, Hanegbi insist 'there is no change in Israeli policy' Israel committed to halting new settlement projects Sunday during a summit in Aqaba, according to a joint communique issued after the meeting, though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu swiftly denied there would be any construction freeze over the Green Line... Preempting Netanyahu's rush to deny a settlement freeze, far-right members of the his governing coalition rejected the outcome of the summit. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is a minister in the Defense...