Ben-Gvir: Anyone watching Al Jazeera should be reported to the police
Far-right Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir just gave a short statement to the media, which our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera Mubasher carried live a few minutes ago.
In it, he reiterated the government’s stance against allowing Al Jazeera to report from Israel, saying doing so would pose a “threat” to national security. He also called for police action against those caught watching Al Jazeera in Israel.
In early May 2024, Israel banned Al Jazeera’s reporters, producers, camerapeople and other employees from the country. The Palestinian Authority followed suit in January, in effect banning Al Jazeera from the occupied West Bank.
Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani warns against going after Iranian leaders
Iraq’s top Shia leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has warned there will be “dire consequences on the region” if Iran’s “supreme religious and political leadership” are targeted.
Such action could cause “widespread chaos that would exacerbate the suffering of [the region’s] people and severely harm everyone’s interests”, said al-Sistani, who is the highest religious authority for millions of Shia Muslims in Iraq and around the world.
He called on the international community to “make every effort to end this unjust war and find a peaceful solution” to Iran’s nuclear programme.
Katz names ‘eliminating’ Iran’s supreme leader as war goal
Earlier, we brought you comments from Israel’s defence minister in the aftermath of Iran’s attack on Beersheba, which damaged the Soroka Medical Center. We now have more of his comments, in which he refers explicitly to killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which we bring you unedited below:
“A man like [Khamenei] has always aimed at destroying Israel through his agents. This man, who is willing to attack us, must not stay alive. This matter, the matter of stopping this man, eliminating him, is part of the campaign, and we now understand his role because before, he was talking about the destruction of Israel.”
Israel has teased the prospect of regime change in Iran as part of its war goals since it began its assault last week.
After Israel launched its attacks on Iran on Friday, Netanyahu addressed Iranians in an English video, saying he hoped the military operation would “clear the path for you to achieve your freedom”.
On Tuesday, Trump, referring to Khamenei, said in a social media post: “We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now … Our patience is wearing thin.”
Netanyahu visits Soroka Medical Center, says Israel keeping ‘all options open’
Netanyahu has made a visit to Beersheba’s Soroka Medical Center, which suffered damage from an Iranian missile attack today, according to Israeli media reports. During the visit, Netanyahu said he would not exclude the possibility of targeting Iran’s supreme leader, The Times of Israel reported.
“No one is immune,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying. “All the options are open.”
“It’s best not to speak about this in the press,” he added.
Earlier, Israel’s defence minister explicitly said that taking out Khamenei was one of Israel’s war goals.
