The Times of Israel is liveblogging Tuesday’s events as they unfold.
US authorities said concerned about ‘retaliatory acts of violence’ after Trump rally shooting
The US Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation remain “concerned about the potential for follow-on or retaliatory acts of violence” following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, CBS News reports, citing a bulletin seen by the network.
The report adds that “some online communities have threatened, encouraged, or referenced acts of violence in response” to the Saturday shooting at Trump’s rally.
Biden: No one’s done more for Palestinians than me, but Hamas are bunch of thugs
US President Joe Biden claims he’s done more for the Palestinians than anyone else.
“I’m the guy that did more for the Palestinian community than anybody,” he says in an interview on “360 with Speedy,” highlighting his efforts to get humanitarian aid into Gaza through Egypt.
“I’m the guy that opened up all the assets… I got the Egyptians to open the border to let goods, medicine and food through,” Biden says. “I’m the guy that’s been able to pull together the Arab states who agreed to help the Palestinians with food and shelter.”
“I have been very supportive of the Palestinians, but Hamas — they’re a bunch of thugs,” says the president of the terror group, which committed the October 7 onslaught that started the still-ongoing war in Gaza.
“I was over there eight days after the massacre. I saw photos of mothers and daughters being tied in a rope, kerosene poured on their head and then burned to death. Nothing’s happened like that since the Holocaust. It’s just not appropriate,” he adds.
Asked why Arab and Muslim Americans would continue backing him amid his support for Israel, Biden responds, “[for the] same reason why Arab Americans have agreed to support me [until now]. Becuase it’s the best way to keep peace, the best way to put things together.”
Biden touts his support for a two-state solution and notes his strong working relationships with Arab leaders, including Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and Jordan’s King Abdullah.
“I’ve been able to work with the Arab countries very well. I don’t have a prejudice bone in my body. The Arabs are good people. They need help now,” Biden says.
Biden stands by identification as a Zionist as Israel-Hamas war drags on
US President Joe Biden says he identifies as a Zionist — a distinction he hasn’t publicly highlighted since February as the Israel-Hamas war drags on.
“You don’t have to be a Jew to be a Zionist, and a Zionist is about whether or not Israel is a safe haven for Jews because of their history of how they’ve been persecuted,” Biden says in an interview with Complex Networks’ Speedy Morman on “360 with Speedy.”
“If there weren’t an Israel, every Jew in the world would be at risk. There’s a need for it to be strong, and there’s a need… after World War II… for Jews to have a place that was their own,” Biden says.
Biden has voiced these beliefs before, but he indicates that he has not moved away from them amid recurring spats with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government before and after the outbreak of the war.
Asked if he identifies as a Zionist, Biden responds that he does, but then laments that the term is often misinterpreted.
“Now, you’ll be able to make a lot of that because different people don’t know what a Zionist is,” he says, before asking the interviewer whether he even knows what a Zionist is. Morman smirks and declines to answer.
Biden stresses that he continues to supply Israel with defensive weapons while denying Jerusalem 2,000-lb (900-kg) bombs that he fears would be used in civilian areas.
4 days after mixup, US unsanctions innocent Israeli, blacklists similarly-named activist
Four days after wrongly sanctioning an Israeli man after confusing him with a similarly-named right-wing activist, the US Treasury finally fixes the error and puts the correct individual on its blacklist.
On Thursday, Washington issued its fifth batch of sanctions against Israeli extremists and illegal outposts, targeting three individuals and five entities.
They included the co-heads of the already-designated Tzav 9 group, Reut Ben Haim and Shlomo Sarid. Their group has led attacks on humanitarian aid convoys en route to Gaza in Israel and the West Bank, charging that no aid should reach the Strip as long as hostages are being held there.
Shortly after the US announcement, it was revealed that the Treasury Department had confused Sarid with an uninvolved Israeli named Aviad Shlomo Sarid, listing the latter’s ID number and birthdate, instead of the information of the Sarid who heads Tzav 9.
Aviad Shlomo Sarid, who lives in the West Bank’s Revava, has since had his bank account and credit card blocked, even though his identity appeared on the blacklist in error.
Now, the Treasury has replaced him on the list with the correct personal information of the Tzav 9 co-head, whose full name is Shlomo Yehezkel Hai Sarid.
Commenting to the Israel Hayom daily, Sarid doubles down on his activism, saying he and his group “will continue to do everything to change the policy of aiding Hamas, which harms our soldiers, until all hostages are returned.”
He says Tzav 9 now has a new objective, “fighting the draconian sanctions set by the American administration against legitimate protest activists in an independent, seemingly democratic ally, without basis, advance notice or an appeal option.” He calls on the Israeli government to “wake up and defend its citizens.”
US Secret Service head says she won’t resign after ‘unacceptable’ Trump rally shooting
US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle says the shooting that injured Donald Trump at a rally is “unacceptable,” and that she will not resign her post.
“I am the director of the Secret Service, and I need to make sure that we are performing a review and that we are giving resources to our personnel as necessary,” Cheatle tells ABC News.
Biden tells NBC his mental fitness is ‘pretty damn good’
Joe Biden defends his decision to stay in the US presidential race despite concerns about his age, saying in an interview with NBC that his mental sharpness is “pretty damn good.”
“I’m old,” Biden tells the US broadcaster, according to a transcript. “But I’m only three years older than Trump, number one. And number two, my mental acuity has been pretty damn good.”
US prosecutor to appeal dismissal of Trump documents case
Special Counsel Jack Smith will appeal a judge’s dismissal of the criminal case against former US president Donald Trump on charges of mishandling classified documents, the prosecutor’s spokesman says.
“The Justice Department has authorized the special counsel to appeal the court’s order,” Peter Carr says in a statement.
Biden says it was a mistake to say ‘it’s time to put Trump in a bullseye’
US President Joe Biden says it was a mistake for him to use the term “bullseye” in reference to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, according to an excerpt of an interview with NBC News.
Biden told donors in a private call several days before Trump was shot by a gunman that “it’s time to put Trump in a bullseye,” according to a Politico report.
IDF says its troops mistakenly shot and injured 2 Israelis in West Bank, incident probed
The IDF acknowledges that troops mistakenly shot and wounded Israelis in the West Bank after falsely identifying their vehicle as a threat.
“After an initial examination, it was concluded that the gunfire was mistakenly directed at an Israeli vehicle,” the military says in a statement, adding that the incident is being probed.
The IDF says two Israelis were lightly injured and taken to the hospital for treatment. Earlier reports said three were wounded, one moderately.
3 Israelis said injured from IDF fire in West Bank, in apparent error
Three Israelis have been injured from IDF fire after likely being falsely identified as suspects near a West Bank military checkpoint near the settlement of Beit El, Hebrew media outlets report.
The reports, which say the details are initial, say one of the casualties is in moderate condition and has been taken to a hospital in Jerusalem, while the other two are lightly hurt.
Details of the incident are reportedly being checked.