After a public escalation of disagreements between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden, the Israeli opposition launched a sharp attack on Netanyahu, calling for his replacement, while a military analyst suggested that Israel would end the current year with 12,000 “disabled” soldiers.
The Israeli opposition launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, due to his escalating differences with US President Joe Biden, who in turn criticized the high number of civilian casualties during the war on Gaza.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid considered that the public dispute between Netanyahu and the US administration is "harm to the country's security, damage to Israel's foreign relations, and a lack of national responsibility."
Lapid asked in a post on the X platform: “We do not understand what motivates him to open another front?” In reference to Netanyahu opening a front with Biden.
Meanwhile, former minister from the opposition “There is a Future” party, Karen Harar, considered, in a post on X, that Netanyahu’s calculations and his public confrontations with President Biden “harm Israel’s security.”
Al-Harar called for Netanyahu to be replaced, stressing that "the damage he is causing cannot be repaired."
For his part, former Prime Minister Ehud Barak saw that "this regime and its leader Netanyahu are an existential threat to everything we have built here."
He wrote in a post on X: “Immediate elections. Yes, during the war, we will be saved from the abyss. It is time to act before it is too late.”
The Hebrew Broadcasting Authority said that Biden strongly attacked the Israeli government, especially National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, during an interview on the “Late Night” program on the American ABC channel, on Tuesday.
It quoted Biden as saying: “Israel has enjoyed the broadest support from the absolute majority of the countries of the world, and if it continues in this approach, with its very conservative government represented by Ben Gvir and others, it will lose the support of the countries of the world, and this is not in its interest.”
Netanyahu responded to Biden in a statement issued by his office by saying: “Since the beginning of the war, I have been leading a diplomatic battle aimed at repelling pressures that seek to stop the war prematurely, and on the other hand, to mobilize support for Israel.”
12 thousand disabled soldiers by the end of the year
In another context, an Israeli military analyst predicted, on Wednesday, that his country would end the current year with 12,000 “disabled” soldiers due to the war on the Gaza Strip.
Yossi Yehoshua, a military analyst for the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, said in an interview with the local channel 103FM: “The army has lost a good number of commanders and soldiers, and thousands more wounded.”
Yehoshua was talking about the killing of two officers and the serious wounding of 7 soldiers in a battle in the northern Gaza Strip yesterday.
He said: "In reference to what happened yesterday, the ranks must be filled. As you know, according to the numbers, we will end the year with 12,000 disabled Israeli soldiers."
According to Israeli army data, 582 Israeli officers and soldiers have been killed since the beginning of the war on October 7, including 242 since the start of the ground war on October 27.
The data also indicate that 2,988 officers and soldiers were injured since the beginning of the war, including 472 since the beginning of the ground war, while no official statistics were issued for the number of disabilities caused by the war among the ranks of the Israeli army.
A vigil in New York pays tribute to Bushnell, who burned himself in solidarity with Gaza, and an international singer mourns him.
British singer Roger Waters, founder of the international rock band Pink Floyd, mourned American soldier Aaron Bushnell, who set himself on fire to denounce the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip. A pro-Palestine group in New York also organized an event to commemorate his memory.
A pro-Palestine group in New York organized an event to commemorate American soldier Aaron Bushnell, who set himself on fire to denounce the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.
The demonstrators gathered in front of the Army Registration Center in Manhattan and held a program to commemorate Bushnell. They also placed carnations and candles in front of a picture of the soldier near a giant American flag in Times Square.
The activists carried banners with phrases such as “Honor Aaron Bushnell” and “Stop US military support for genocide in Gaza.” They also placed a large banner on the road containing the names of Palestinian civilians killed by Israel in Gaza.
In the same context, British singer Roger Waters, founder of the international rock band Pink Floyd, mourned American soldier Aaron Bushnell, describing him as a “hero to all Americans,” saying about him: “We cannot write off his last scene.”
British singer Waters posted a video clip on his Instagram account showing the moments Bushnell set himself on fire in front of the Tel Aviv embassy.
Commenting on the video, Waters wrote: “Aaron Bushnell an all-American hero.”
He added in a verse of poetry: “I have a dream night after night, and it drives me crazy, We cannot write off his last scene, so let us pay attention to the dream.”
In 2011, Waters wrote an article in The Guardian newspaper in which he expressed his support for the Palestinians and his rejection of Israel’s policy of apartheid against them. In his article, Waters also spoke about the people of Gaza, saying: “They are effectively imprisoned behind Israel’s illegal siege wall,” and touched on the suffering of children who suffer from malnutrition and insecurity.
On Monday, Bushnell headed towards the Israeli embassy in Washington. Upon his arrival, he poured gasoline on his head and set his body on fire while shouting “Freedom for Palestine” over and over again, until he stopped breathing, and the Washington police later announced that he had died.
Before setting himself on fire, Bushnell said in front of the embassy: “I will organize a very violent protest now, but my protest is not large compared to what the Palestinians are experiencing at the hands of their occupiers.”
Scenes on social media showed an embassy police officer telling Bushnell: “Can I help you?” and “Lie down on the ground,” while another said: “We need a fire extinguisher, not a gun.”
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, leaving tens of thousands of victims, most of them children and women, according to Palestinian and UN data, which led to Israel appearing before the International Court of Justice on charges of committing “genocide.”