Israeli Foreign Minister Tells Canada Cease-Fire Hopes Dashed by Diplomatic ‘Attacks'
Ottawa has been vocal in advocating for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip as Israel continues its military operations to defeat Hamas and as dire humanitarian conditions continue in the region.
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Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump says Hamas will be ‘hunted down' as Gaza ceasefire talks wane
Washington, DC – United States President Donald Trump has suggested that Hamas is refusing to agree to a Gaza truce because it fears what comes after all the Israeli captives are released. Trump's comments at the White House on Friday appear to suggest that the US and Israel are not ready to guarantee a lasting end to the war but rather a short-term truce to get Israeli captives out of Gaza. 'We're down to the final hostages, and they know what happens after you get the final hostages,' the US president told reporters. 'And basically because of that, they really didn't want to make a deal.' Trump blamed the Palestinian group solely for the apparent collapse of the ceasefire talks, saying the group is going to be 'hunted down'. 'Hamas didn't really want to make a deal. I think they want to die, and it's very, very bad,' he said. On Thursday, Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington was cutting short its involvement in the negotiations, accusing Hamas of showing 'a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire'. Israel also said it withdrew its negotiators from Qatar, where the ceasefire talks were taking expressed bewilderment at the US position, saying it had made 'a sincere commitment to the success of the mediators' efforts' to reach a deal. The group also said the mediators — Qatar and Egypt — welcomed its 'constructive and positive' position. Talks have been ongoing for months to secure a 60-day truce that would see the release of 10 Israeli captives and a pause in the Israeli bombardment of Palestinians in Gaza. Hamas has insisted that it is seeking a permanent ceasefire. Witkoff previously said the truce 'will lead to a lasting peace in Gaza'. However, Israeli officials repeatedly described plans to return to the fighting and remove all Palestinians from Gaza after the captives are released. In fact, Israeli Minister of Defence Israel Katz has said that the country would use the truce to move hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to an internment camp in southern Gaza, in preparation for their removal from the territory altogether. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a visit to Washington, DC, earlier this month that Israel 'still has to finish the job in Gaza' despite the ceasefire talks. In February, Trump called for depopulating Gaza and turning the territory into a 'Riviera of the Middle East' — a proposal that legal experts say would amount to ethnic cleansing, a crime against has systematically flattened large parts of Gaza, using bombardment, explosives and bulldozers in what advocates say is an effort to make the territory unliveable. Netanyahu has argued, however, that the departure of Palestinians would be 'voluntary'. But human rights experts warned that people do not actually have a choice when they are under the threat of bombardment and starvation. On Thursday, Trump suggested that Gaza is set to experience more violence, saying Israel is 'going to have to fight'. 'They're going to have to clean it up. You're going to have to get rid of it,' he said. Trump dismisses French recognition of Palestine The US president's comments come as deadly hunger continues to spread in Gaza due to an Israeli blockade impeding the flow of aid and other essential supplies into the territory. The Israeli-imposed starvation in Gaza has garnered international condemnation, even from close allies of the US and Israel. On Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney slammed the denial of humanitarian aid to Gaza as a 'violation of international law'. French President Emmanuel Macron also said his country will recognise Palestine as a state at the United Nations General Assembly in September. Before leaving for the United Kingdom on Friday, Trump dismissed his French counterpart's statement, saying it 'doesn't carry any weight'. 'Here's the good news: What he says doesn't matter,' Trump said. 'It's not going to change anything.'
Los Angeles Times
an hour ago
- Los Angeles Times
Trump plays golf in Scotland while protesters take to the streets and decry his visit
EDINBURGH, Scotland — President Trump played golf Saturday at his course on Scotland's coast while protesters around the country took to the streets to decry his visit and accuse United Kingdom leaders of pandering to the unpopular American president. Trump and his son Eric played with the U.S. ambassador to Britain, Warren Stephens, near Turnberry, a historic course that the Trump family's company took over in 2014. Security was tight, and protesters kept at a distance were unseen by the group during Trump's round. He was dressed in black with a white 'USA' cap and was spotted driving a golf cart. The president appeared to play an opening nine holes, stop for lunch, then head out for nine more. By the middle of the afternoon, plainclothes security officials began leaving, suggesting Trump was done for the day. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered on the cobblestone and tree-lined street in front of the U.S. Consulate about 100 miles away in Edinburgh, Scotland's capital. Speakers told the crowd that Trump was not welcome and criticized British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for striking a recent trade deal to avoid stiff U.S. tariffs on goods imported from the U.K. Protests were planned in other cities as environmental activists, opponents of Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza and pro-Ukraine groups loosely formed a 'Stop Trump Coalition.' Anita Bhadani, an organizer, said the protests were 'kind of like a carnival of resistance.' June Osbourne, 52, a photographer and photo historian from Edinburgh, wore a red cloak and white hood, recalling 'The Handmaid's Tale.' Osbourne held up a picture of Trump with 'Resist' stamped over his face. 'I think there are far too many countries that are feeling the pressure of Trump and that they feel that they have to accept him, and we should not accept him here,' Osbourne said. The dual U.S.-British citizen said the Republican president was 'the worst thing that has happened to the world, the U.S., in decades.' Trump's late mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, was born on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland, and the president has suggested he feels at home in the country. But the protesters did their best to change that. 'I don't think I could just stand by and not do anything,' said Amy White, 15, of Edinburgh, who attended with her parents. She held a cardboard sign that said, 'We don't negotiate with fascists.' 'So many people here loathe him,' she said. 'We're not divided. We're not divided by religion, or race or political allegiance, we're just here together because we hate him.' Other demonstrators held signs of pictures with Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, as the fervor over files in the late child abuser's case has created a political crisis for the president. In the view of Mark Gorman, 63, of Edinburgh, 'The vast majority of Scots have this sort of feeling about Trump that, even though he has Scottish roots, he's a disgrace.' Gorman, who works in advertising, said he came out 'because I have deep disdain for Donald Trump and everything that he stands for.' A Scottish newspaper, the National, greeted Trump's arrival with a banner headline in its Friday edition that read, 'Convicted U.S. felon to arrive in Scotland.' Saturday's protests were not nearly as large as the throngs that demonstrated across Scotland when Trump played at Turnberry during his first term in 2018. But, as bagpipes played, people chanted, 'Trump out!' and raised dozens of homemade signs with such messages as 'No red carpet for dictators,' 'We don't want you here' and 'Stop Trump. Migrants welcome.' One dog had a sign attached that said 'No treats for tyrants.' Some on the far right took to social media to call for gatherings supporting Trump in places such as Glasgow. Trump also plans to talk trade with Starmer and Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president. But golf is a major focus. The family will also visit another Trump course near Aberdeen in northeastern Scotland, before returning to Washington on Tuesday. The Trumps will cut the ribbon and play a new, second course in that area, which officially opens to the public next month. Scottish First Minister John Swinney, who is also set to meet with Trump during the visit, announced that public money will go to staging the 2025 Nexo Championship, previously known previously as the Scottish Championship, at Trump's first course near Aberdeen next month. 'The Scottish government recognizes the importance and benefits of golf and golf events, including boosting tourism and our economy,' Swinney said. At a protest Saturday in Aberdeen, Scottish Parliament member Maggie Chapman told the crowd of hundreds: 'We stand in solidarity, not only against Trump but against everything he and his politics stand for.' The president has long lobbied for Turnberry to host the British Open, which it has not done since he took over ownership. In a social media post Saturday, Trump quoted the retired golfer Gary Player as saying Turnberry was among the 'Top Five Greatest Golf Courses' he had played in as a professional. The president, in the post, misspelled the city where his golf course is. Weissert writes for the Associated Press.
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
French authorities investigate if Jewish passengers were removed from flight due to religion
French authorities are trying to establish whether a group of young French citizens was removed from a plane bound for Paris from Spain this week because they are Jewish. The airline, Vueling, has denied the claims. Several dozen French passengers on Wednesday were kicked off a flight leaving the Spanish city of Valencia for Paris, for what Spanish police and the airline described as unruly behavior. French authorities are trying to establish whether a group of young French citizens was removed from a plane bound for Paris from Spain this week because they are Jewish. AFP via Getty Images France's ministry for Europe and foreign affairs said in a statement on Saturday that the minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, contacted the CEO of Vueling, Carolina Martinoli, to express his deep concern 'about the removal of a group of young French Jews from one of the company's flights.' Barrot also requested more information to 'determine whether these individuals had been discriminated against on the basis of their religion.' A similar request has been made to the Spanish ambassador to France. 'Ms. Martinoli assured Mr. Barrot that a thorough internal investigation was underway and that its findings would be shared with the French and Spanish authorities,' the ministry said. Vueling previously denied reports that the incident, which involved the removal of 44 minors and eight adults from flight V8166, was related to the passengers' religion. Several dozen French passengers on Wednesday were kicked off a flight leaving the Spanish city of Valencia for Paris, for what Spanish police and the airline described as unruly behavior. AP Some Israeli news outlets reported that the students were Jewish and that their removal was religiously motivated, a claim that was repeated by an Israeli minister online. Spain's Civil Guard said the minors and adults were French nationals. A Civil Guard spokesperson said the agents involved were not aware of the group's religious affiliation. A Vueling spokesperson said the passengers were removed after the minors repeatedly tampered with the plane's emergency equipment and interrupted the crew's safety demonstration. A Civil Guard spokesperson said the captain of the plane ordered the removal of the minors from the plane at Valencia's Manises Airport after they repeatedly ignored the crew's instructions. On Thursday, the Federation for Jewish Communities of Spain expressed concern about the incident. The group said that Vueling needed to provide documentary evidence of what happened on the plane.
