Israeli President Herzog speaks in Davos about the difficult situation in the Middle East. Fighting continues in the Gaza Strip and on the border with Lebanon. The USA attacks Houthi positions again. The overview.
According to President Izchak Herzog, Israel must work hard on new paths for dialogue with the Palestinians. “The Israelis have lost their trust in the peace processes because they could see that terror was being glorified by our neighbors,” Herzog said at the World Economic Forum in Davos. In his opinion, countries that call for a two-state solution must first clarify the question of how Israel’s security can be guaranteed.
There is currently little willingness in Israel to consider a peace agreement, Herzog said. “To change the atmosphere, we have to get the hostages back.” In Davos, the president also insisted on a transformation of the Palestinian Authority (PA). “We have to make sure that they don’t glorify terror, that they don’t teach their children to hate Jews and Israelis,” he said. At the same time, Herzog acknowledged that Israel must be prepared to negotiate with “potential partners.” Israelis and Palestinians must be offered a better future. “People want to live together and in peace.”
Herzog: Palestinians are important to us
Herzog called the humanitarian plight of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip regrettable. “It is painful for us that our neighbors are suffering so much,” he said in Davos. However, Israel’s enemies have entrenched themselves in the coastal area and Israel must defend itself against them.
“It’s a very complicated fight,” he emphasizes. “Our neighbors are important to us, but we are not prepared to be attacked.” In view of the “human tragedy”, Israel has been committed to importing aid supplies into the coastal strip from the first day of the war, emphasized Herzog.
After the terrorist attack by the Islamist Hamas on Israel on October 7th, the country imposed a blockade. At the end of October, aid transports came to the Palestinian territory again. According to Herzog, there are currently major problems distributing the goods because of the threat of shelling. According to the UN, the entire population of the Gaza Strip is at imminent risk of famine.
Army: Several dozen terrorists killed in Gaza Strip
According to the Israeli army, soldiers in the Gaza Strip killed around 60 terrorists within 24 hours. The military said on Thursday that 40 terrorists were killed in the city of Khan Yunis alone on Wednesday. Israel suspects that the leadership of the Islamist Hamas is in the tunnel network in the city area.
According to the army, terrorists were also attacked and killed during operations in the north of the Palestinian coastal area. According to the Ministry of Defense, the intensive fighting against the Islamist Hamas is said to have ended there. All information could not initially be independently verified.
The war was triggered by the terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas and other extremist groups on October 7th. More than 1,200 people were killed and 253 others were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip. Israel responded to the unprecedented attack with massive air strikes and a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.
According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, more than 24,400 people are said to have died. According to the Israeli army, around 9,000 members of the Islamist Hamas and other terrorist organizations have been killed since the start of the war.
EU Parliament calls for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza
The European Parliament is in favor of a permanent ceasefire in the war in Gaza – provided that all hostages are released and the terrorist organization Hamas is dismantled. MEPs strongly condemned both the “heinous terrorist attacks” carried out by Hamas against Israel and Israel’s “disproportionate military response, which has led to an unprecedented number of civilian deaths,” said a resolution adopted in Strasbourg.
Israel has the right to defend itself within international law. At the same time, MPs expressed concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza. The plenary session called for a European initiative for a two-state solution. Parliament resolutions are not legally binding.
Netanyahu: Military control in the West Bank after war
Looking at possible scenarios after the Gaza war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized that any solution in the foreseeable future must include Israel’s military control over the entire West Bank. He admitted at a press conference on Thursday that this contradicts the idea of sovereignty of a Palestinian state and continued: “What can you do about that?” He also tells his American friends this truth.
“From every area we withdraw from, we get terror, terrible terror,” said the right-wing politician. This happened in southern Lebanon, the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank. That’s why control in the West Bank is so important.
Referring to a two-state solution at the urging of the US, Netanyahu said: “Israel’s prime minister must be able to say ‘no’ when necessary, even to our best friends.”
More shelling on the Israeli-Lebanese border
Mutual shelling broke out again on the border between Lebanon and Israel. On Thursday there were several rockets fired at Israeli towns and communities on the border with its neighboring country to the north, the Israeli military said. Army fighter jets then attacked terrorist infrastructure and Hezbollah militia posts in southern Lebanon.
US President: Will continue attacks against Houthi militia
According to US President Joe Biden, the US military will continue its attacks on positions of the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen. The Democrat made this clear during a meeting with reporters in Washington. He had been asked whether the US attacks against the Houthis were effective. To this, according to the press present, he replied: “Well, when you talk about impact, are they stopping the Houthis? No. Are they continuing? Yes.” National Security Council Communications Director John Kirby said in response to Biden’s statement shortly afterward: “We’re taking away the Houthis’ capabilities. With every single one of these attacks. We’re making it harder for them to continue these attacks.”
Kirby said the US military attacked Houthi positions again on Thursday. Some anti-ship missiles were hit, which the Houthis had prepared for an impending bombardment in the Red Sea. The USA had already attacked positions on Thursday night. Kirby said the attacks would continue as long as they were necessary. The Houthis have a choice: they can stop their attacks. If they didn’t do that, the US would have additional options at its disposal – and it wouldn’t hesitate to use them. On Wednesday, the USA placed the Houthis on the list of global terrorist organizations.