The Times of Israel is liveblogging Friday’s events as they happen.
Senior US officials think Gaza ceasefire unlikely by end of Biden’s term — report
Multiple senior US officials have reportedly acknowledged that a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas is unlikely before the end of President Joe Biden’s term in office.
“No deal is imminent. I’m not sure it ever gets done,” says one of the US officials, speaking to the Wall Street Journal on condition of anonymity.
White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby acknowledged Wednesday that there has not been progress made in hostage talks over the past week. Nonetheless, Biden officials continue to stress in public and private that they will continue working to secure a deal.
The officials speaking to the Wall Street Journal say that one of the biggest obstacles has been the ratio of Palestinian security prisoners Israel must release in exchange for each hostage. The US has said publicly that Hamas has raised the number of prisoners it had originally asked for, even after executing six hostages earlier this month.
More broadly, WSJ reports that Hamas has made demands and then refuses to say “yes” to a deal after Israel accepts them.
The second major obstacle to a hostage deal cited by the US officials is the tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, which appear to be reaching a boiling point this week with the back-to-back mass detonations of Hezbollah’s communication devices, which have injured thousands of terror operatives. Those blasts were followed of airstrikes carried out by the IDF on Thursday against over 100 Hezbollah rocket projectile launchers in Lebanon that the army said were primed for a retaliatory strike.
The US officials from the White House, State Department and Pentagon tell the Journal that the possibility of a full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah complicates diplomacy between Israel and Hamas.
Washington has long argued that the surest way to restore calm along the Blue Line is by securing a ceasefire in Gaza, and Hezbollah has asserted that it would halt its near-daily attacks against Israel if the fighting in the coastal enclave ends.
Keffiyeh-clad protester outside synagogue charged with violating NY county’s mask ban
EAST MEADOW, New York — A pro-Palestinian protestor wearing a keffiyeh scarf has been charged with violating a suburban New York City county’s new law banning face masks in public, reviving fears from opponents that the statute is being used to diminish free speech rights.
Police say the 26-year-old North Bellmore resident was arrested Sunday afternoon during a protest in front of Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst, an Orthodox synagogue near the New York City borough of Queens.
Nassau County Police Department spokesperson Scott Skrynecki says that officers questioned the man because he had been concealing his face with a keffiyeh, which has become a symbol of support for Palestinian people.
Police on the scene asked him if he was wearing the garment for medical or religious purposes, which are the two major exceptions to the new ban, according to Skrynecki. When the man confirmed he was wearing it in solidarity with Palestinians and not for either of those reasons, he was placed under arrest, Skrynecki says. He was eventually released with a notice to appear in court on October 2.
Videos showing some of the arrest have been shared on social media. They show the man wearing the keffiyeh around his neck as he’s led away by officers in handcuffs and continues to lead others in pro-Palestinian chants.
The man didn’t respond to calls and social media messages seeking comment Thursday.
Rachel Hu, a spokesperson for ANSWER Coalition, which organized a rally this week against the arrest, says the man is currently seeking legal counsel and won’t be commenting on the case until then.
“We feel that this arrest (and this ban overall) was aimed at intimidating known activists to discourage us from using our first amendment right to protest,” Hu writes in an email.
Sunday’s arrest is the third under the Mask Transparency Act approved by Nassau County’s Republican-controlled legislature and signed into law by Executive Bruce Blakeman last month, according to the Nassau County District Attorney’s office.
GOP candidate in North Carolina called himself a ‘black NAZI’ on porn message board — report
WASHINGTON — The Republican candidate for governor of North Carolina rebuffed calls to drop out of the race following a report that he called himself a “black NAZI” and made other incendiary comments on a porn website message board.
A number of Republican officials in North Carolina are reportedly pressuring Mark Robinson to drop out, fearing his candidacy could impact the US presidential contest between the party’s nominee Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris.
The battleground state of North Carolina, where Robinson is currently serving as lieutenant governor, is expected to play a pivotal role in the November White House election.
Robinson denounces the report by the CNN cable television network as “salacious tabloid lies.”
“We are staying in this race,” Robinson says in a videotaped message. “We are in it to win it.”
Asked about the CNN report about Robinson, Karoline Leavitt, a Trump campaign spokeswoman, says “President Trump’s campaign is focused on winning the White House and saving this country.
“North Carolina is a vital part of that plan,” Leavitt says.
Robinson, who has been endorsed by Trump, is currently trailing his Democratic opponent Josh Stein in the polls and his campaign has been dogged by some of his controversial past comments such as calling the Holocaust “hogwash.”
According to CNN, Robinson was active more than a decade ago on the message board of a porn site called “Nude Africa,” calling himself a “perv” and a “black NAZI” and making lewd and sexually graphic comments.
IDF investigating after soldiers filmed shoving gunmen’s bodies off West Bank roof
The IDF says it is investigating after soldiers were filmed shoving the bodies of Palestinian gunmen off a rooftop following an exchange of fire in the West Bank city of Qabatiya, near Jenin, earlier today.
“This is a serious incident that is not in line with IDF values and what is expected of IDF soldiers,” the military says, adding that the incident is being investigated.
IDF troops killed four gunmen during clashes in Qabatiya earlier today, and carried out another drone strike against several more gunmen in a car in the evening hours, the military said.
Warning: Graphic footage
هدول برأيك أبرياء يا #ملكة_الأردن ؟!!
هدول برأيك أبرياء يا #وزيرة_الإمارات ؟!!كل حدا وصف الصهاينة بالأبرياء هو إرهابي خنزير مثلهم.
■ فيديو آخر يظهر #وحشية_الاحتلال_الصهيوني بإلقاء جثامين الشهداء من سطح المنزل المحاصر في #قباطية جنوب #جنين في #الضفة_الغربية مساء الخميس. pic.twitter.com/MxKn5DxFjK
— Talal Ibrahim (@Talalibrahim81) September 19, 2024
تغطية صحفية: مشهد وحشي جديد.. جنود الاحتلال يلقون جثامين الشبان الذين ارتقوا من سطح المنزل المحاصر في بلدة قباطية جنوب جنين. pic.twitter.com/vlQ6kFUKUK
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) September 19, 2024