EDomestic political disputes are shaking the coalition of Israel's right-wing conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which also includes strict religious parties. From April 1, state subsidies for ultra-Orthodox men of military age will be eliminated, according to an interim order from the Supreme Court. According to a decision by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, the military is also obliged to conscript religious students, who have previously been largely exempt, from that date. According to media reports, this affects more than 60,000 men. Strictly religious politicians sharply criticized the new instructions. The court is scheduled to discuss the matter further in May.
The dispute over compulsory military service in Israel, which has been going on for decades, has great political and social explosive power. A law allowing most ultra-Orthodox men not to serve in the army expired last year. The government has not yet managed to pass a new law; an alternative regulation expires this Sunday at midnight.
In Israel, men have to do military service for three years and women for two years. The government coalition had already broken up in 2018 due to the dispute over a law that would gradually require more strictly religious men to serve as weapons.
Large demonstrations against Netanyahu's government
Thousands of Israelis demonstrated against the government on Saturday evening. In Tel Aviv, demonstrators demanded an early election and the release of the hostages held by the Islamist Hamas. There were also violent protests in other cities, including Jerusalem and Haifa. Government opponents are also planning large-scale rallies in Jerusalem from Sunday onwards, which are expected to last for several days.
The indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas over a ceasefire in the Gaza war and the release of further hostages are apparently set to continue this Sunday in Cairo. The state-affiliated Egyptian broadcaster Al-Kahira News reported this on Saturday, citing an Egyptian security representative. For weeks, the USA, Qatar and Egypt have been mediating between Israel and the Islamist Hamas in order to achieve a ceasefire and an exchange of hostages kidnapped from Israel for Palestinian prisoners. Israel and Hamas do not negotiate directly.
According to media reports, the Israeli delegation was ordered back from Qatar a few days ago, except for a small team. The reason was that Hamas had rejected a compromise proposal from the USA. The terrorist organization insists on a comprehensive ceasefire, including a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Israel rejects this. Israel's goal is to destroy Hamas.
Operation in the Schifa Hospital continues
In the Gaza Strip, Israel continued its crackdown on Hamas and other terrorist groups in several locations on Saturday. The military said it killed several enemy fighters in Shifa Hospital in the city of Gaza. It confiscated weapons and liquidated Hamas fighting positions. The army has been deployed at the Shifa Clinic, the largest health facility in the coastal region, for almost two weeks.
Hamas had once again set up combat and command positions in the extensive area after the Israeli military stormed the hospital last November. It eliminated the Hamas positions in the complex and the tunnels underneath, but then withdrew again. In the current operation, the army says it killed around 200 Hamas fighters and arrested more than 500 terror suspects.
Meanwhile, a freighter and two smaller ships with around 875 tons of aid for the suffering population in the Gaza Strip left the Cypriot port of Larnaca on Saturday. It is the second aid delivery by sea from Cyprus. Around two weeks ago, the smuggler of the aid organization “Open Arms” of the same name brought around 200 tons of material and food into the Gaza Strip on this route.
UN observer injured in explosion in Lebanon
Three UN observers were injured in an explosion in Lebanon. A Lebanese language assistant was also injured, according to the UN observation mission Unifil. The group was on foot patrol along the Blue Line – the border with Israel. Lebanese reports spoke of an attack by the Israeli military. The army in Israel rejected the allegations. Unifil has been monitoring the border area between Israel and Lebanon since 1978. UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the explosion. The incident is being investigated.
Since the beginning of the Gaza war, there have been daily, sometimes deadly, confrontations between Israel's army and militant groups such as Hezbollah. On Saturday, Hezbollah again claimed attacks on Israel.
The Gaza war was triggered on October 7 by a terrorist attack on Israel by the Palestinian Hamas and other extremist groups. Although Germany supports the Israeli military operation against Hamas in principle, it criticizes the warfare, which has already killed many thousands of civilians and has left the population with little food or medicine.
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