Middle East ticker Netanyahu wants to travel to New York despite Mamdani's warning +++ Lebanon: rapprochement with Israel a long way off

On October 7, 2023, terrorist commandos from the Islamist Hamas attacked Israel, massacred the civilian population and kidnapped more than 240 people. Israel responded with a military operation in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. The developments in the ticker.

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Thursday, December 4, 2025, 4:10 a.m.

Netanyahu wants to travel to New York despite Mamdani's warning

Despite a warning from New York Mayor-designate Zohran Mamdani, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will travel to the US metropolis. "Of course I will," he said when asked by the "New York Times". Mamdani is one of the fiercest critics of the Israeli government. He accuses it of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip and blames the USA.

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Around a year ago - long before his election victory in November - Mamdani announced that he would have Netanyahu arrested on the basis of the international arrest warrant if he was elected mayor. However, when he was asked about this in September 2025 in interviews before the election as the most promising candidate, he was more reserved. New York must respect international arrest warrants - "whether against Benjamin Netanyahu or Vladimir Putin", he told the online portal "Zeteo" and the broadcaster CNN. He would "examine every legal way" to ensure accountability.

Netanyahu has been the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes in the Gaza Strip since November 2024. Netanyahu firmly rejects the accusations. Israel does not recognize the court and is calling for the arrest warrants to be revoked. The USA does not recognize the court either - and is therefore not obliged to execute arrest warrants issued by The Hague. It seems rather unlikely that a local police force could act like the one in New York, even though the arrest warrants are not recognized in the USA.

Mamdani takes office on January 1. The acid test could then follow in the fall of 2026, when the UN General Assembly takes place in New York - an event that is usually also attended by the Israeli Prime Minister. However, participants generally have extensive diplomatic immunity, which is why they cannot be prosecuted by the local police.

18:36

Lebanon: rapprochement with Israel a long way off

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has put a damper on speculation about a possible rapprochement with neighboring Israel. Lebanon is still a long way from diplomatic normalization or economic relations with Israel, Salam told a small group of journalists on Wednesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously stated that his country wanted to send an envoy to Lebanon to try to lay the foundations for bilateral relations and economic cooperation.

Both Lebanon and Israel had also announced that they would be sending civilian members to a committee previously made up exclusively of military personnel to monitor compliance with the ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah. The civilian members took part in a meeting on Wednesday.

The two countries have no diplomatic relations and have officially been at war since 1948. The inclusion of civilian representatives in the ceasefire talks appeared to be a step towards bilateral contacts, which Washington has been pushing for.

21:31

Palestinian journalist allegedly killed in the Gaza Strip

According to a media report, a Palestinian journalist has been killed in an Israeli attack in the Gaza Strip. Another journalist was injured in the drone attack in Chan Junis in the south of the coastal strip, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. An Israeli army spokesperson said on request that the report was being investigated.

According to Wafa, the man killed was the journalist Mahmoud Wadi. According to local media reports, the Palestinian had also used a drone camera while working for various media outlets.

According to information from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), more than 200 journalists have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the Gaza war more than two years ago.

Tuesday, December 2, 2025, 4:52 p.m.

Netanyahu calls for buffer zone up to Damascus

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expects Syria to establish a "demilitarized buffer zone" extending from the capital Damascus to the Golan Heights annexed by Israel.

Netanyahu said this in a video message while visiting soldiers in a clinic who had recently been injured during an operation in Syria.

Following the fall of the former long-term ruler Bashar al-Assad, Israel had deployed soldiers to the UN-controlled buffer zone between the Golan Heights annexed by Israel and Syrian-controlled territory, including the Syrian side of Mount Hermon. Israel's army will remain in this buffer zone "to ensure the security of Israeli citizens", Netanyahu continued. The foothills of the buffer zone are located around 50 kilometers from Damascus.

The Israeli head of government also emphasized that an agreement with Syria was possible. However, the prerequisite would be an understanding of Israel's "principles".

Monday, December 1, 2025, 4:30 a.m.

Wars keep arms manufacturers' tills ringing

In the face of numerous wars and conflicts around the world, the international arms industry has set a new sales record. The world's 100 largest arms manufacturers increased their total revenue from the sale of military equipment and services by 5.9 percent in 2024, adjusted for currency effects, according to a new report by the Stockholm-based peace research institute Sipri. Together, they achieved a turnover of around 679 billion US dollars, the highest figure ever recorded. According to the report, the USA remains the absolute industry leader.

Read more here.

Sunday, November 30, 2025, 7:02 p.m.

Protests and criticism after Netanyahu's request for clemency in Israel

A request by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been charged with corruption, for a pardon has sparked widespread criticism and protests in Israel. Demonstrators gathered in front of President Izchak Herzog's house on Sunday to protest against the possibility of a pardon from the head of state, according to Israeli media reports. Holding a bunch of bananas, they expressed their view that Israel was degenerating into a banana republic.

The opposition also rejected a pardon for Netanyahu. "He cannot be granted a pardon without him admitting his guilt, showing remorse and immediately withdrawing from political life," said opposition leader Jair Lapid. The Movement for Good Governance in Israel said that pardoning a head of government charged with serious offenses such as fraud and embezzlement would send a clear signal that there are citizens who are above the law.

Netanyahu, who has been at war with the country's judiciary for years, argued that his pardon would help unite the country in a difficult period. He also criticized the fact that he has to appear in court three times a week and is therefore hindered in his leadership of the country. US President Donald Trump had already called for Netanyahu to be pardoned a few weeks ago.

Legal experts say that the request for clemency cannot stop the trial against Netanyahu. "It's impossible," said Emi Palmor, former director general of the Ministry of Justice. "You can't claim to be innocent while the trial is going on and then go to the president and ask him to intervene," she said. The only way to stop the trial is to ask the attorney general to stay the proceedings, she said.

22:17

Iranian Revolutionary Guards vow revenge on Israel for slain Hezbollah military chief

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards have vowed revenge for the killing of Hezbollah military chief Haytham Ali Tabatabai by the Israeli army. "The right of the Axis of Resistance and Lebanese Hezbollah to avenge the blood of the brave fighters of Islam is unquestionable," the Revolutionary Guards declared on Monday. They are the most important military and financial supporter of the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.

The Israeli army killed Tabatabai on Sunday in an airstrike in Beirut. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, a total of five people were killed and 28 others injured in the attack. According to the Israeli army, four other Hezbollah fighters were killed alongside Tabatabai.

The military chief is the highest-ranking Hezbollah representative to fall victim to an Israeli attack since the ceasefire began a year ago. According to the Israeli government, Tabatabai was responsible for rebuilding and rearming the organization. Hundreds of Hezbollah supporters attended his funeral in Beirut.

Iran does not recognize Israel and supports radical Islamic groups in the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The declared aim of the "Axis of Resistance", led by Iran and directed against Israel and the USA, is the destruction of Israel.

Monday, 24.11.2025, 21:08

Controversial Gaza Foundation GHF ceases work in Gaza

The controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is supported by the USA and Israel, is finally ending its work in the Gaza Strip six weeks after the start of the ceasefire. After distributing more than 187 million meals to residents of the coastal strip, the foundation is ending its work, the organization announced. It has proven "that there is a better way to provide aid to the people of Gaza", said GHF CEO John Acree.

The foundation has been in talks for weeks with international organizations and the US-led Civil Military Coordination Centre (CMCC) in southern Israel, which is supposed to monitor the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. "It is clear that they will adopt and expand the model tested by the GHF," Acree reportedly said.

The GHF had begun its operation in the sealed-off coastal area in May after an almost three-month-long Israeli blockade on aid deliveries. At the time, Israel accused the Islamist Hamas of stealing humanitarian aid. The GHF was intended as a means of circumventing this, as well as an alternative for other aid organizations that Israel is critical of. During the entire four-and-a-half-month operation, not a single aid truck belonging to the foundation was looted, according to the GHF statement. However, there were repeated reports of fatal incidents near the distribution points operated by the GHF.

Hamas welcomed the end of the GHF's operation. It had collaborated with Israel and used a distribution mechanism that was "completely detached from humanitarian principles", according to the terrorist organization's statement. This had created "dangerous and degrading conditions" for the starving Palestinian population.

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