Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government suffers major blow as another party quits
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu suffered a major political blow yesterday, with a key governing partner announcing it was quitting his coalition government, leaving him with a minority in parliament as the country faces a litany of challenges.
Shas, an ultra-Orthodox party that has long served as kingmaker in Israeli politics, announced that it would bolt the government over disagreements surrounding a proposed law that would enshrine broad military draft exemptions for its constituents – the second ultra-Orthodox governing party to do so this week.
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Irish Independent
5 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Trump vents frustration at Netanyahu after Israeli strike on Gaza's only Catholic church kills three
The shelling of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza also damaged the church compound, where hundreds of Palestinians have been sheltering from the 21-month Israel-Hamas war. Israel expressed regret over what it described as an accident and said it was investigating. Pope Leo XIV on Thursday renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire in response to the attack. In a telegram of condolences for the victims, Leo expressed 'his profound hope for dialogue, reconciliation and enduring peace in the region.' The pope said he was 'deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack,″ and expressed his closeness to the wounded priest, Rev. Gabriel Romanelli, and the entire parish. US President Donald Trump called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express his frustration over the strike on the church, the White House said. Netanyahu later released a statement saying Israel 'deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit Gaza's Holy Family Church.' The church compound was sheltering both Christians and Muslims, including a number of children with disabilities, according to Fadel Naem, acting director of Al-Ahli Hospital, which received the casualties. The Catholic charity Caritas Jerusalem said the parish's 60-year-old janitor and an 84-year-old woman receiving psychosocial support inside a Caritas tent in the church compound were killed in the attack. Parish priest Romanelli was lightly wounded. 'We were struck in the church while all the people there were elders, innocent people and children,' said Shady Abu Dawood, whose mother was wounded by shrapnel to her head. 'We love peace and call for it, and this is a brutal, unjustified action by the Israeli occupation.' The Israeli military said an initial assessment indicated that 'fragments from a shell fired during operational activity in the area hit the church mistakenly.' It said it was still investigating. The military said it only strikes militant targets, 'makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and religious structures, and regrets any unintentional damage caused to them." Israel has repeatedly struck schools, shelters, hospitals and other civilian buildings, accusing Hamas militants of sheltering inside and blaming them for civilian deaths. Palestinians say nowhere has felt safe since Israel launched its offensive in response to Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni blamed Israel for the strike on the church. 'The attacks on the civilian population that Israel has been demonstrating for months are unacceptable,' she said. The church is just a stone's throw from Al-Ahli Hospital, Naem said, noting that the area around both the church and the hospital has been repeatedly struck for over a week. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which also has a church in Gaza that previously sustained damage from Israeli strikes, said the Holy Family Church was sheltering 600 displaced people, including many children, and 54 people with disabilities. It said the building suffered significant damage. Targeting a holy site 'is a blatant affront to human dignity and a grave violation of the sanctity of life and the inviolability of religious sites, which are meant to serve as safe havens during times of war,' the Church said in a statement. Separately, another person was killed and 17 wounded Thursday in a strike against two schools sheltering displaced people in the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, according to Al-Awda Hospital. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strike. The Gaza Health Ministry said that over the past 24 hours, local hospitals received the bodies of 94 people killed in Israeli strikes and another 367 wounded. In the last 18 months of his life, Francis would often call the lone Catholic church in the Gaza Strip to see how people huddled inside were coping with a devastating war. Francis had repeatedly criticized Israel's wartime conduct, and last year suggested that allegations of genocide in Gaza — which Israel has rejected as a 'blood libel' — should be investigated. The late pope also met with the families of Israeli hostages and called for their release. Only 1,000 Christians live in Gaza, an overwhelmingly Muslim territory, according to the U.S. State Department's international religious freedom report for 2024. Most are Greek Orthodox. The Holy Land's Christian population has dwindled in recent decades as many have emigrated to escape war and conflict or to seek better opportunities abroad. Local Christian leaders have recently denounced attacks by Israeli settlers and Jewish extremists. There has been little visible progress in months of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas aimed at a new ceasefire and hostage release agreement, after Israel ended an earlier truce in March. According to an Israeli official familiar with the details, Israel is showing 'flexibility' on some of the issues that have challenged negotiators, including Israel's presence in some of the security corridors the military has carved into the territory. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were discussing ongoing negotiations, said Israel has shown some willingness to compromise on the Morag Corridor, which cuts across southern Gaza. However, other issues remain, including the list of Palestinian prisoners to be freed by Israel and commitments to end the war. The official says there are signs of optimism but there won't be a deal immediately. Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and abducted 251 people, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Fifty hostages are still being held, less than half of them believed to be alive Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 58,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up more than half of the dead. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its tally. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government but is led by medical professionals. The United Nations and other international organizations consider its figures to be the most reliable count of war casualties.
Irish Independent
8 hours ago
- Irish Independent
‘How dare you' – former minister Alan Shatter criticised in committee on Israeli settlements bill
Former justice minister Alan Shatter has been criticised for comparing a ban on trade with Israeli settlements to TV sitcom Father Ted, with one TD asking 'how dare you' use that description.
Irish Examiner
8 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Senator 'shocked' garda facing criminal charges after making protected disclosures of malpractice
Criminal and disciplinary proceedings have been taken against gardaí who have raised concerns about malpractice in the organisation, it has been claimed. Senator Michael McDowell told the Senate on Thursday a senior garda 'of the upmost integrity' had been sidelined because he made a number of protected disclosures. The former justice minister also said a junior member of the force 'is facing criminal charges on indictment which appear to be motivated by a desire to conceal abuses in the armoury section". The senior garda referenced by Senator McDowell is Detective Superintendent Brian O'Reilly, who oversaw the Garda Technical Bureau until 2023. Last month, at Dublin Circuit Court, counsel for Det Supt O'Reilly claimed he had been financially penalised because he made protected disclosures about concerns he had with Garda practices and how the force had responded to concerns over a controversial gun holster. Issues around the holster surfaced in 2020 when a garda was injured outside the Israeli ambassador's residence in Dublin when his firearm was discharged. Six days later, Detective Garda Colm Horkan was shot dead by Stephen Silver in Castlerea after Silver managed to get hold of the garda's weapon. Det Supt O'Reilly is understood to have made protected disclosures related to how these incidents were investigated and dealt with by management. The circuit court heard Dep Supt O'Reilly, who had been acting for a number of years as a chief superintendent, had gone on work-related sickness in April 2023 as a result of the concerns he raised. Later, his income was cut to half pay and he was applying to the court have his full salary restored, an application that is being opposed by An Garda Síochána. A decision on the case is expected in the autumn. The junior garda referenced is Luke Rochford, a former Garda firearms specialist accused of possessing nearly 4,000 rounds of ammunition and stealing military weapons parts from the Defence Forces. KRW Law issued a statement welcoming Mr McDowell's intervention and endorsing his calls 'for increased scrutiny on serious issues around gardaí irregularities'. 'We act on behalf of a former serving Garda officer who acted as a whistleblower on serious irregularities within the armoury section of gardaí on defective holsters and other linked matters. "As a result, he found himself the subject of a contrived prosecution taken in a bid to silence him. Our client will fully contest the charges levied against him and looks forward to a jury trial when he can give his account of serious internal wrongdoing,' the statement said. Senator Michael McDowell: 'Anyone who thinks that the culture in An Garda Síochána has been transformed by the outcome of the Disclosures Tribunal concerning Sergeant Maurice McCabe, is, I fear, gravely mistaken.' Senator McDowell and Labour party TD Alan Kelly have been raising in the Senate and Dáil, respectively, related issues around malpractice centred on the garda armoury. However, this is the first time there has been an allegation that criminal prosecutions have been taken against a member of the force because they effectively blew a whistle. Mr McDowell also told the Senate about what he called the 'falsification of documents submitted by An Garda Síochána to the Department of Justice designed to facilitate the importation of firearms for civilians who are not gardaí.' This was reference to a case published in the Irish Examiner earlier this month about a senior garda who organised for the repair and importation of firearm parts for a gun club under the guise the weapons were for Garda use. An application was made to the department to import the parts on that basis, yet when completed and repaired, the firearms were returned to the gun club, with the cost accruing to the Garda budget. In his address on Thursday, the senator claimed 'senior management in An Garda Síochána is aware of all these matters'. 'Anyone who thinks that the culture in An Garda Síochána has been transformed by the outcome of the Disclosures Tribunal concerning Sergeant Maurice McCabe, is, I fear, gravely mistaken. I am shocked by what I have learned,' he told the house. He called for a debate in the house on the whole matter with the attendance of the minister for justice. The Garda press office has been contacted for comment.
