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SvennoJ on 24 June 2024
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Israeli land sales event in Los Angeles draws protests

A real estate fair promoting land sales in Israel to American buyers has drawn protests from opponents and supporters of the event in Los Angeles, California.

My Home in Israel Real Estate, a group based in the occupied West Bank, described the real estate event on Saturday as the “mega event of the year”.

Previous events hosted by My Home in Israel Real Estate have drawn protests from opponents who say they promote land sales and expanded settlements on illegally occupied Palestinian land.


Protesters waved Palestinian flags as they blocked the entrance to the Land Sales event in Los Angeles on Saturday

Israeli defence chief arrives in US for first time since ICC arrest warrant request

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has arrived in Washington, DC just over a month after the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) applied for a warrant for his arrest.

ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said his investigation had found that Gallant, along with Netanyahu, could be responsible for “war crimes and crimes against humanity”, including the use of starvation as a “method of war”.

The charges come after Gallant described Palestinians as “human animals” when he ordered a “complete siege” of the Gaza Strip on October 9.

In the past, the ICC’s pre-trial chamber has taken several months to decide whether to issue a warrant. If a warrant is issued for Gallant, he could risk arrest if he travels to any of the 124 states that are party to the court’s Rome Statute.

But while the State of Palestine is one of the countries that recognise the ICC’s jurisdiction as a party to the Rome Statute, the United States and Israel do not. Instead, US Republican representatives, and some Democrats, have called for the United States to bar entry to ICC officials and restrict their US-based property transactions, in protest against the court seeking warrants for Gallant and Netanyahu.


US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, centre left, walks with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, at the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip, on May 1



US happily shaking hands with a wanted war criminal while promising more aid to continue genocide and wage more war against Lebanon

Gallant meets Republican senator, AIPAC leaders in US

The Israeli defence minister, who arrived in the US capital on Sunday, kicked off his visit by meeting leaders of the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC and top Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.

Gallant, in a series of posts on X, said he held discussions with AIPAC on strengthening the US-Israel alliance and spoke with Graham “about the importance of ongoing US support as we work to bring the hostages home, continue dismantling Hamas capabilities and defend our northern border against Hezbollah”.

The Israeli minister is in Washington, DC to discuss the next phase of the Gaza war and escalating hostilities on the border with Lebanon. He is expected to meet his US counterpart Lloyd Austin as well as Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Knesset panel approves to fast-track bill to raise exemption age for reservists: Report

Israel’s Knesset House Committee has approved a government request to fast-track a bill delaying retirement for the country’s military reservists, according to the Times of Israel newspaper.

The report says the proposal seeks to extend a temporary measure raising the exemption age for reserve military service from 40 to 41 for soldiers and from 45 to 46 for officers for several additional months. Specialists, such as doctors and air crewmen, will be required to continue serving until 50, instead of 49.

The current increase in the exemption age, which was initially passed as a temporary measure by the Knesset late last year, is set to expire at the end of the month and the committee’s approval of the government’s request clears the way for the bill’s first reading in the plenum to take place today – with the remaining two readings taking place this week, the newspaper said.

Knesset legal adviser Sagit Afik criticised the government for requesting to fast-track the legislation “at the last minute, leaving two days of work for the Knesset and the committee”.

“This is an insult to the Knesset and its status and ability to work, especially after the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee did not agree to grant a one-year extension in the past,” she said.

Israel preparing for low intensity phase of Gaza war: Gallant tells US special envoy

Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has told US special envoy Amos Hochstein that moving to “phase 3” in the Gaza Strip will affect all fronts, according to a readout from Gallant’s office cited by Israeli media following the meeting in Washington, DC.

Phase 3 refers to the low-intensity conflict that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier said would start in about two weeks, contradicting the War Cabinet decision, according to its former members.

Israel’s Defence Ministry said Gallant also assured Hochstein of his commitment to changing the security situation in the border area with Lebanon, allowing the return of the residents to their homes in northern Israel.

Translation: Gallant to the American mediator Hochstein: The transition to Phase 3 of the war in Gaza will have an impact on all sectors and Israel is preparing for every possibility – military and political