The Times of Israel is liveblogging Friday’s events as they happen.
US House speaker: Anyone who ‘gets out of hand’ during Netanyahu’s speech could face arrest
MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin — US House Speaker Mike Johnson says some Democratic lawmakers may try to interrupt Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of Congress next week but that they will be arrested if need be.
“There are a number of Democrats in the House who have said they’re going to boycott that event. Some others may protest,” Johnsons says in an address to an event organized by the Republican Jewish Coalition on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
“We’re going to have extra sergeants at arms on the floor. If anybody gets out of hand… We’re going to arrest people if we have to do it,” he adds.
Israel’s soccer team cleared to play in Olympics as FIFA delays decision on possible ban
ZURICH — FIFA has postponed a decision on a Palestinian proposal to suspend Israel from international soccer because of the conflict with Hamas, clearing the way for the Israeli men’s national team to play at the Paris Olympics.
Soccer’s world governing body had been set to make a decision Saturday at an extraordinary council meeting after asking for an independent legal assessment of the Palestinian proposal two months ago. That decision would have come just four days before the start of the Olympic soccer tournament, where Israel has been drawn into a group with Japan, Mali and Paraguay.
However, FIFA says that it has pushed back the timeline because “more time is needed to conclude this process with due care and completeness” — meaning a decision is now set to come after the Olympics have finished.
FIFA says both parties have made requests for extensions “to submit their respective positions” and that the independent assessment will now be shared with FIFA by August 31 at the latest.
The men’s Olympic final is set to take place on August 9.
Speaking on RNC sidelines, Pompeo rejects Palestinian Authority rule in Gaza after war
MILWAUKEE — Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo echoes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in rejecting the installation of the Palestinian Authority as the governing body in Gaza after Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
“It cannot be that the government that exists there after [the war] is controlled by Hamas, or the Palestinian Authority, each of which are controlled by terrorists and underwritten by the world’s largest state sponsor of terror, Iran,” Pompeo tells reporters at a Republican Jewish Coalition event on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
While Iran backs Hamas, it is not known to fund the PA.
He also asserts that Israel cannot allow continued weapons smuggling from Egypt into Gaza after the war and that either Israel will have to place troops along the Philadelphi Corridor or a mechanism will have to be put in place to ensure that arms cannot flow into the Strip.
Netanyahu’s new demand in for Israeli troops to remain at the Philadelphi Corridor has slowed negotiations for a hostage release and ceasefire agreement that had been progressing since Hamas softened some of its demands in recent weeks, an Israeli official and an Arab mediator have told The Times of Israel.
Pompeo tells reporters he’d be happy to serve under Trump again if asked.
NYT: Biden appears to start accepting he may have to drop out of US election
WASHINGTON — US President Joe Biden has begun to accept the idea that he may not be able to win the November 5 election and may have to drop out of the race, the New York Times reports, citing several people close to the president.