Trump endorses Netanyahu in election after PM disputes settler attacks on U.S. journalist, EU diplomats
 IDF failed to heed repeated warnings of looming settler attack, probe finds. The IDF failed to respond to repeated distress calls warning that settlers were threatening a delegation of European diplomats and public figures in the West Bank on Saturday, despite receiving the location of the attack and video footage of the assailants, Haaretz has learned. Among those attacked in the delegation – which included representatives from Poland, Belgium and France – were Anick Van Calster, Belgium’s consul general in Jerusalem, and Bernard Baudoux, mayor of Aulnoye-Aymeries in France, who was wounded. The attackers also smashed a window of a Belgian consular vehicle. An initial IDF investigation found that the first warnings reached a military operations room at 1 P.M. Screenshots of messages obtained by Haaretz showed that further calls for help were sent at around 1:30 P.M. “At least seven masked settlers armed with clubs,” said one message. “Come quickly, very scary, they stole bags of olives from Palestinians,” read another. Despite receiving these, security forces were not dispatched to the area. The IDF later said the hotline to which the initial warnings were sent was not intended to receive calls from civilians. Reports of the attack reached troops in the field and the Civil Administration, the IDF body responsible for civilian affairs in the West Bank, around 3 P.M, after it was over. The IDF’s spokesperson said it “forcefully condemns this serious violent incident” by “Israeli lawbreakers,” but stressed that the delegation did not coordinate its visit with the army, arguing that doing so is important to prevent such incidents. A diplomat present during the attack, who witnessed settlers breaking the window of a Belgian delegation vehicle with an object, apparently an iron bar, while people were inside, rejected attempts to blame the delegation for failing to coordinate its visit. “There is no obligation for us to coordinate. Israel is in charge of the security in that zone,” he told Haaretz. For his part, PM Netanyahu doubted the validity of reports of the attack, calling it “alleged” and saying it might be part of “a coordinated campaign to smear Israel” and settlers. In a statement on X, Netanyahu’s bureau said footage of the attack did not establish the full sequence of events, and addressed Baudoux’s presence, identifying him as “a French Communist Party mayor who previously raised the Palestinian flag over his municipal building, prompting French authorities to order its removal.”On Sunday, the EU condemned the attack and said “we expect full accountability.” France’s Foreign Ministry argued that Israel must “take all necessary measures to put an end to these acts of terrorism.” |
 Herzog apologizes to journalist attacked by settlers after Netanyahu doubts her account. Also on Saturday, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called the settler attack the day prior that left Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine wounded a “despicable act of terror carried out by masked cowards.” Levine, 64, who was assaulted by settlers in the West Bank village of Abu Falah, suffered a broken rib and other injuries and nearly lost one of her fingers after it was cut to the bone, according to her daughter, Ashley Milner. Huckabee’s condemnation came after Netanyahu, much like he did after Saturday’s events, questioned accounts of Friday’s attack, saying the facts remained unclear and that “serious questions remain.” The American envoy noted that Levine, a U.S. citizen, was clearly identified as a journalist, and that Washington has “called for a full investigation, arrest, and prosecution to the fullest extent of the law to whoever participated in this.”Secretary of State Rubio also condemned the attack, adding that “We’ve asked the Israelis and continue to ask them to crack down on that stuff.” Citing video footage of Levine being attacked, Rubio said “the whole thing was just disturbing. Not a good look.” On Sunday, President Trump endorsed Netanyahu for reelection, saying “anyone other than Bibi” would be “the wrong Leader.”Meanwhile, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he spoke to Levine and apologized to her, stressing that “Israel is a democratic state governed by the rule of law, and it must act with full force against every form of violence.” |
 Trump’s Board of Peace envoy urges Israel to stop foot-dragging on Gaza plan. Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative of U.S. President Trump’s Board of Peace for Gaza, has demanded that Israel immediately allow a Palestinian technocratic committee and an international stabilization force to enter the Strip, as stipulated in the president’s plan, according to a letter seen by Haaretz. The letter, addressed to Israel’s Palestinian territories coordinator, was sent after the Netanyahu government suspended the entry of goods through private merchants, the main channel for supplies entering Gaza. Mladenov warned of Hamas’ extortion of merchants, and that the group would do the same with humanitarian aid delivered by the UN and international groups. The veteran diplomat also urged Israel to approve a pilot program allowing the Palestinian technocratic committee and the international stabilization force to begin operating in a limited area of Rafah under Israeli military control, where Hamas has no presence. In late July, ahead of Netanyahu’s trip to D.C., Israel’s security cabinet approved the entry of a limited number of international force personnel into Rafah. The decision was later reversed under pressure from his far-right allies. In late August, Netanyahu said the force’s entry had not been approved. |
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Prof. Engr. Zamir Ahmed Awan Founder & Chair, Global Silk Route Research Alliance
Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance, a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016, working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…
