13:03
Israeli government closes local offices of ‘state-dangerous’ channel Al Jazeera
Israel’s war cabinet has unanimously approved the closure of the local offices of the Arab news channel Al Jazeera.
Al Jazeera has long been accused by Israeli authorities of harboring sympathies for militant Palestinian groups in Gaza and the West Bank. The reporting about, among other things, the location of Israeli units in Gaza would play into the hands of Palestinian fighters, Tel Aviv said.
Early last month, the Israeli parliament passed a bill that gives the cabinet the power to ban a foreign channel “if the prime minister is convinced that the reporting poses a direct threat to national security.”
Criticism came from all sides, nationally and internationally, about the far-reaching powers that the law gives to the head of government. White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre called the Israeli move “troubling.”
Al Jazeera has existed since 1996. In the Arabic-language media landscape, where most television channels are under strict state control, the channel is a white raven. Many Western media regard the channel as a reliable source, but in many Arab countries the powers that be would rather see Al Jazeera go than come.
Peter van Ammelrooy
In 2017, a number of Arab states decided on a diplomatic boycott of Qatar. The direct reason for this was the independent reporting of Al Jazeera, De Volkskrant wrote at the time.
10:49
Student protests in US against Gaza war lead to arrests in Virginia and Chicago
Police arrested at least 25 pro-Palestinian protesters and cleared a tent camp in Charlottesville on the grounds of the University of Virginia. The protest, which had been peaceful until then, was broken up at the request of the university board.
Video footage shared via social media shows police in riot gear entering the tent camp, handcuffing students and appearing to fire tear gas at demonstrators here and there.
The university said in a news release that protesters violated several house rules, including the ban on setting up tents and the use of amplified sound. Jim Ryan, UVA’s president, said employees had seen “individuals not affiliated with the university” joining students on campus protesting the war in Gaza.
There was also unrest at other universities this weekend. In Ann Harbor, protesters briefly disrupted a graduation ceremony at the University of Michigan on Saturday. The dozens of protesters, dressed in traditional keffiyeh headdresses and graduation berets, were removed by campus police, but no one was arrested.
That fate befell dozens of demonstrators in Chicago, where they took action at the Art Institute of Chicago. The police intervened at the request of the institute, which spoke of an illegal occupation of its property.
In the past week, more than 2,200 arrests have been made in protests at universities in the US.
Peter van Ammelrooy
The student protests in the US threaten to derail the already difficult election campaign of incumbent President Joe Biden, writes foreign editor Peter Giesen.
04:26
False bomb threats at at least four synagogues in New York
At least four synagogues in New York’s Manhattan borough received bomb threats on Saturday. However, none of those reports were deemed credible by the city’s police, local administrator Mark Levine announced. He states that the reports are part of an increasing number of false emergency reports aimed at Jewish institutions.
“This is a clear attempt to spread fear among the Jewish community,” he added. ‘This cannot be accepted.’
The New York Post reports that the bomb threats led to the evacuation of at least two synagogues.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul states on X: ‘We will not tolerate people spreading fear and anti-Semitism. Those who did this must be held accountable for their despicable actions.”
03:30
Israel: Islamic Jihad commander killed in Gaza airstrike
The Israeli army says it has killed Aiman Zaarab, a commander of Islamic Jihad, in an airstrike in southern Gaza Strip. Israel says Zaarab was responsible for the group’s attack on Sufa’s kibbutz and a military post in southern Israel during the Hamas-led attack on October 7.
“During the airstrike, two other Islamic Jihad terrorists who were staying in his apartment were also eliminated along with Zaarab,” the Israeli army said.
Hamas received help from fighters from other organizations, including Islamic Jihad, in its surprise attack on Israel on October 7.
02:28
Hamas: no deal without definitive end to war in Gaza
A senior Hamas official has said the Palestinian group will not agree to a ceasefire if it does not explicitly include a definitive end to the war in Gaza. The official, who asked not to be named, according to the AFP news agency, criticized Israeli efforts to reach an agreement on the release of hostages “without linking it to an end to the aggression in Gaza.”
He said there will be no deal “without a complete cessation of the war” and an Israeli withdrawal from “the entire Gaza Strip.” However, a senior Israeli official said earlier on Saturday that Hamas’s demand for a total end to the war “thwarts the possibility of reaching an agreement.”
The comments came after a Hamas delegation arrived in the Egyptian capital Cairo on Saturday to negotiate a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Hamas on Friday to agree to the deal. He called that a ‘no-brainer’ for the Palestinian group. “The only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas,” he said.
12:31, Yesterday
Hamas delegation arrives in Egypt for ceasefire talks
A Hamas delegation has arrived in the Egyptian capital Cairo for further negotiations on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. This was reported by the Egyptian news channel Al-Qahera News. Egyptian mediators report to the channel that Hamas and Israel have reached an agreement on ‘most of the points of dispute’, but neither party has officially released anything about this.
The demands made by Israel and Hamas for a new temporary ceasefire have proven to be incompatible for months. Little by little, the parties seemed to reach an agreement in recent weeks, but negotiations stalled last Wednesday. Hamas then announced that it rejected the latest Israeli proposal. Hamas did want to continue negotiations with Israel.
The United States, which is mediating the negotiations together with Egypt and Qatar, has called on Hamas to agree to an agreement. “The reality right now is that Hamas is the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
Pepin the Tall
Also read this analysis by Israel editor Sacha Kester: Unattainable wishes from almost all parties keep the end of the Gaza war far from sight
07:00, Yesterday
Blinken: Hamas is the only thing standing between ceasefire in Gaza
According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Hamas is the only obstacle to a ceasefire in Gaza. He said this on Friday during a meeting in the US state of Arizona, ahead of the planned arrival of a Hamas delegation in the Egyptian capital Cairo on Saturday for talks on such a fighting stop.
“We are waiting to see if they can give a ‘yes’ response to the ceasefire and the release of hostages,” Blinken said of Hamas. “The reality right now is that Hamas is the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire.”
However, Blinken also warned at the same meeting that a major Israeli attack on the busy city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip is unacceptable. According to him, Israel has not presented a plan to protect civilians in the event of such an attack. “Without such a plan, we cannot support a major military operation in Rafah because the damage it would cause is beyond what is acceptable,” he said.
Israel has given Hamas a week to agree to its terms for a ceasefire. If Hamas does not do this, the Israelis will start their ground offensive in Rafah, which was announced weeks ago. Egyptian officials said this on Friday Wall Street Journal. (AP)
03:43, Yesterday
UN accuses Israeli citizens of damaging aid supplies
The United Nations has accused Israeli citizens of deliberately damaging aid supplies from Jordan destined for the Gaza Strip.
The convoy was carrying food parcels including sugar, rice, supplementary food and milk powder, UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said on Friday.
A limited quantity of them had been unloaded and damaged by Israeli civilians during a trip through the West Bank on Thursday. ‘This incident will initially have no impact on further aid deliveries from Jordan. The trucks have now arrived in the Gaza Strip and will be distributed as planned.”
Haq again warned of an Israeli military offensive in the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, where more than 1.2 million Palestinian civilians are seeking protection from the fighting in other parts of the closed-off coastal area, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Referring to the UN Children’s Fund, the UN spokesperson drew particular attention to the plight of the approximately 600,000 children in the city, which borders Egypt. ‘Almost all of them are injured, sick, malnourished, traumatized or disabled.’ An offensive would mean a new catastrophe for them, he said. (Belga)
9:37 PM, the day before yesterday
Welcome to the live blog of Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 May
This was the most important news about the crisis in the Middle East on Friday, May 3:
• Hamas is said to have seized the first aid shipment that reached the Gaza Strip via a reopened border crossing in the north. That’s what the US says.
• After attacking Western container ships in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, the Houthis are now also threatening attacks in the Mediterranean Sea.
• A Hamas delegation will travel to Cairo on Saturday for new ceasefire talks with Israel.
Read Friday’s entire live blog here.
