The Times of Israel is liveblogging Tuesday’s events as they happen.
Dozens arrested as New York police clear out anti-Israel ‘liberated zone’ at NYU
Clashes have broken out between NYPD officers and demonstrators at New York University after police moved in to clear out an anti-Israel “liberated zone” set up by pro-Palestinian protesters.
Video shows officers in riot gear scuffling with demonstrators, after the police began getting rid of equipment and arresting protesters for violating an order to disperse. Some of the protesters appear to act violently toward officers, with a masked man draped in a keffiyeh throwing a chair toward them.
Dozens of the protesters — including students and faculty — were arrested, according to local media reports.
#NOW ENCAMPMENT RAIDED – Massive Police Presence REMOVE TENTS, Mass Arrests at NYU "Liberated Zone".
Video by @yyeeaahhhboiii2 Desk@freedomnews.tv to license pic.twitter.com/itqDUq7YN2
— Oliya Scootercaster ???? (@ScooterCasterNY) April 23, 2024
Biden meets with AOC in wake of her vote against military aid for Israel
US President Joe Biden meets with US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and two other prominent progressive lawmakers opposed who have been outspoken critics of Israel amid its war against Hamas in Gaza.
The meeting came as Biden’s support for Israel’s response to the October 7 Hamas terror attack has divided Democrats, fraying Biden’s coalition of voters ahead of November’s presidential election.
Biden was seen walking into the Oval Office with Ocasio-Cortez as well as Senators Bernie Sanders and Ed Markey after returning aboard the Marine One helicopter to the White House from an Earth Day event they all attended in Virginia.
The lawmakers have sharply criticized Israel’s policies, with Ocasio-Cortez last month describing the humanitarian situation in Gaza as like “an unfolding genocide.” Over the weekend, she was among lawmakers who voted against a bill passed by the House to provide billions in military assistance to Israel, legislation that Biden has backed.
Still, the congresswoman from New York earlier this month made a case for Biden’s reelection despite his support for Israel, citing a “a vested interest in protecting democracy not just here domestically, but globally,” in an interview with the media organization Zeteo.
“I learned a long time ago to listen to that lady,” Biden said of Ocasio-Cortez in Virginia. “We’re going to talk more about another part of the world, too.”
The White House and the lawmakers decline to comment on the subject of the meeting.
Earlier, Biden said he condemned “antisemitic protests” but also “those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians.” His administration has maintained support for Israel but put increasing emphasis on the Palestinian humanitarian situation in recent months.
Rocket warning sirens sound in town near Lebanon border
Incoming rocket sirens are sounding in the northern town of Metula, near Israel’s border with Lebanon.
US: Hamas has ‘moved the goal post’ in hostage negotations
WASHINGTON — Palestinian terror group Hamas has “moved the goal post” and changed its demands in the hostage negotiations with Israel mediated by Egypt and Qatar, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says.
Speaking at a daily press briefing, Miller says the United States will continue to push for an agreement that will see hostages taken on October 7 released and a pause in fighting in Gaza.
American official says failed rocket strike targeted US-led coalition base in Syria
WASHINGTON — A US defense official says that a failed rocket strike was launched at a base housing US-led coalition forces at Rumalyn, Syria, marking the first time since February 4 that Iranian-backed militias have attacked a US facility in Iraq or Syria. No personnel were injured in the attack.
Iraqi authorities said early Monday that they were searching for “outlaw elements” who launched an estimated five missiles across the border from Iraq into Syria late Sunday night targeting the base. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Also on Monday, a US official said American forces had shot down two drones near al-Asad Air Base in Iraq. The circumstances are under investigation.
Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details that have not been made public.
From October to February, an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq launched regular drone attacks on bases housing US troops in Iraq and Syria, which they said was in retaliation for Washington’s support of Israel in the ongoing war in Gaza and were aimed at forcing US forces to withdraw from Iraq.
Those attacks halted after three US soldiers were killed in a strike on a base in Jordan, near the Syrian border in late January, prompting US retaliatory strikes in Iraq, including one in central Baghdad that killed a militia commander. It was not immediately clear what prompted the attacks to begin again.
Biden slams ‘antisemitic protests, those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians’
While marking Earth Day in Virginia, US President Joe Biden is asked by a reporter if he condemns “the antisemitic protests on college campuses,” as numerous elite schools are increasingly convulsed by anti-Israel unrest.
“I condemn the antisemitic protests. That’s why I’ve set up a program to deal with that,” he says.
“I also condemn those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians and how they’re being…” Biden then adds before trailing off as a reporter asks if he thinks the Columbia University president should resign.
BIDEN: "I condemn the antisemitic protests, that's why I've set up a program to deal with that. I also condemn those who don't understand what's going on with the Palestinians, and how they're being…" pic.twitter.com/pn5h5Uxler
— Prem Thakker (@prem_thakker) April 22, 2024