The Times of Israel is liveblogging Sunday’s events as they unfold.
US judge declares Trump’s firing of watchdog agency head illegal
A US judge declares President Donald Trump’s firing of the head of a federal watchdog agency illegal, in an early test of the scope of presidential power likely to be decided at the US Supreme Court.
US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington has previously ruled Hampton Dellinger, the head of the Office of Special Counsel who is responsible for protecting whistleblowers, can remain in his post pending a ruling.
Berman says in her ruling that upholding Trump’s ability to fire Dellinger would give him “a constitutional license to bully officials in the executive branch into doing his will.”
Ben Gvir refuses to apologize to hostages who said his rhetoric prompted Hamas to abuse them
Former national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir defends his conduct and says he’s “proud” of it, refusing to apologize to multiple recently freed hostages who have said his boasting of efforts to significantly deteriorate the conditions of Palestinian security prisoners in Israeli jails led Hamas to worsen the treatment of Israeli abductees in Gaza.
In a lengthy Channel 12 interview broadcast Thursday, captivity survivor Eli Sharabi said his captors had avidly followed the news, cautioning that the responsibility that lies with leaders, in terms of how they express themselves in the media, is very powerful.
“Every irresponsible statement — we’re the first ones to suffer [the consequences],” he told the network’s “Uvda” program. “They come to us and tell us, ‘They aren’t giving our prisoners food — you won’t eat. They’re beating our prisoners — we’ll beat you. They aren’t letting them shower — you won’t get to shower.’”
Sharabi’s comments echoed ones made days earlier by another recently released hostage — Eliya Cohen — who specifically singled out the public remarks made by then-minister Ben Gvir.
But in a combative Channel 13 interview, Ben Gvir refuses to back down or express remorse, accusing the media of “echoing Hamas propaganda.”
“Not only do I not apologize — I’m proud of what I did,” he says, detailing steps he took to worsen the conditions of security inmates.
He claims that Sharabi also said in his interview that Air Force strikes caused Hamas to beat him, asking the interviewers if that means the military should have avoided striking Gaza or talking about striking it.
However, Sharabi only said that in one particular case, one of his captors beat him upon learning that an IDF strike had destroyed his family’s home — not that captors had routinely worsened the hostages’ conditions based on the frequency or intensity of Israel’s strikes.
Rubio says he’s approved expediting delivery of $4 billion in US military aid to Israel
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he has signed a declaration to expedite the delivery of approximately $4 billion in military assistance to Israel.
The Trump administration, which took office on January 20, has approved nearly $12 billion in major foreign military sales to Israel, Rubio says in a statement, adding that it “will continue to use all available tools to fulfill America’s longstanding commitment to Israel’s security, including means to counter security threats.”