Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, who was headed to Washington on Sunday for high-level talks in the US. (Photo: Michael Reynolds / EPA-EFE) At least six police officers and an Orthodox priest were killed as gunmen targeted churches and a synagogue in the predominantly Muslim Russian region of Dagestan, said the authorities.
A forum of Israel’s top 200 business leaders, comprised of owners, chairs and chief executive officers of major companies, is calling for early elections “to save Israel from a deep economic crisis”. Half the companies listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange’s TA-35 index are represented, including the CEOs of the four largest banks.
Netanyahu sees end to weapons dispute as Gallant heads to US
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated claims that the US had delayed arms shipments but said he hoped the issue would soon be resolved, as Defence Minister Yoav Gallant headed to Washington for high-level talks.
Netanyahu said that while the US had given Israel support since the beginning of its war against Hamas, a “dramatic decrease,” in the supply of munitions arriving from the US started four months ago.
“We turned to our American friends and requested that the shipments be expedited. We did this time and again. We did so at the highest levels, and at all levels, and I want to emphasise — we did so behind closed doors,” Netanyahu said at a Cabinet meeting on Sunday, according to a written statement from his office.
“We received all sorts of explanations, but one thing we did not receive; the basic situation did not change,” the premier said, adding that he finally decided to go public on the issue.
Netanyahu released a video statement in English last week saying that the US was delaying weapons and ammunition shipments. The White House has denied that weapons are being held back.
“In light of what I have heard over the past 24 hours, I hope and believe that this issue will be resolved in the near future,” Netanyahu told the Cabinet.
Israel has been at war with Hamas since 7 October, when the group, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by the US and Europe, invaded southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages to Gaza.
The Biden administration has become increasingly critical of Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip to root out Hamas. Some 37,000 people have been killed in the ensuing war, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants.
As fighting continues in Gaza, Israel also faces an escalating conflict against Iran-backed Hezbollah forces in Lebanon, which have launched thousands of rockets and explosive drones into Israel’s north in support of Hamas.
Read more: Israel military appears to push back on goal to end Hamas
Gallant, the defence chief, is scheduled to meet US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss the operations necessary to achieve Israel’s goals in its war against Hamas, his office said in a statement.
That includes the return of hostages held in Gaza and measures required to achieve regional stability, according to the statement.
On Sunday, Israeli legislator Amit Halevi, a member of the parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee said in a radio interview that delays in US arms deliveries had been going on for months.
Halevi, a member of Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party, said that the shipments weren’t part of the US defence aid package, but were regular arms purchases that Israel had already paid for. The US is Israel’s largest weapons supplier.
Gallant’s office said he would “raise the unique areas of cooperation between the US and Israeli defence establishments, with an emphasis on force build-up efforts and power projection, while maintaining Israel’s qualitative edge in the region” — in what might be a reference to the disputed arms shipments.
The defence chief plans to discuss developments in Gaza and Lebanon, including the transition to a “Phase C” in the war against Hamas. Gallant has said in the past that the third phase of the war would be the creation of a new security regime in Gaza.
Six police officers and a priest killed in Russia’s Dagestan
At least six police officers and an Orthodox priest were killed as gunmen targeted churches and a synagogue in the predominantly Muslim Russian region of Dagestan, said the authorities.
In the ancient city of Derbent, perpetrators set a synagogue on fire and attacked a Russian Orthodox church, while a traffic police post and another church were targeted in the regional capital of Makhachkala.
Interfax reported the deaths of the six officers, and wounding of another 12, but didn’t say where. The Russian Orthodox Church issued a statement confirming that the priest, Nikolay Kotelnikov, was killed in Derbent.
Extremist groups strike regularly in Dagestan but Sunday’s attacks stood out for their coordination and scale. Russian Telegram channels published several videos of men wearing black T-shirts shooting at police cars. Another video depicted a fire destroying a synagogue.
Two attackers were killed and another two arrested, Interfax said, citing police.
In October, an angry mob encircled a flight from Israel at Makhachkala airport in protest against Israel’s actions in Gaza. It took hours to restore order.
Israel tech leaders, irked by Netanyahu, eye moves into politics
Frustrated by Netanyahu, some Israeli business leaders are considering entering politics. They’re holding discreet, if preliminary, discussions about options, including forming a new party, running candidates on existing lists or volunteering for key jobs in major ministries.
Separately, a forum of Israel’s top 200 business leaders, comprised of owners, chairs and chief executive officers of major companies, is calling for early elections “to save Israel from a deep economic crisis”. Half the companies listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange’s TA-35 index are represented, including the CEOs of the four largest banks.
The war against Hamas is straining the Israeli economy. The central bank estimates the conflict will cost around $67-billion through 2025, or almost 15% of annual gross domestic product. GDP per capita dropped in 2023 for the first time in eight years, according to the International Monetary Fund, and the government is on track to run one of its largest budget deficits this century in 2024.
Businessman Eyal Waldman, who’s part of the forum, was an advocate for Israeli-Palestinian peace before 7 October but avoided overt political activism. Then Hamas attacked. His daughter Danielle (24) and her boyfriend were murdered at a festival in southern Israel in the deadly invasion that killed more than 1,200 and set off the Gaza war. Now, Waldman says, he has a new mission: Overthrowing Netanyahu.
“What I’m working on now is moving up the elections,” he said in an interview. That includes trying to persuade legislators in Netanyahu’s government to defect and bring down the coalition. “The current government is the enemy of the state.”
Waldman hasn’t ruled out running for political office. “If we need to and this is the only option, then maybe yes,” said the Israeli tech veteran, who sold his company Mellanox to Nvidia in 2019 for nearly $7-billion.
Among those who’ve attended the discussions and who are said to be considering a political role from within the tech world are Pitango’s Chemi Peres, the son of former President Shimon Peres; Papaya Global chief executive officer Eynat Guez; and Izhar Shay, a partner in the Disruptive AI venture capital firm. Shay is a former science minister whose soldier son was also killed on 7 October. Wiz’s chief executive officer Assaf Rappaport has also been approached.
Peres and Shay declined to comment on the record. Guez said she viewed the current discussion as theoretical, but might consider it in the future. A spokesperson for Rappaport said he was not associated with the movement.
This article is based on accounts of six people familiar with the discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity to protect their business relations and interests.
The forum of business leaders said in an open letter published last week that early elections were needed as “an indisputable vote of confidence, by a majority of the public, in its elected officials”. It warned that Israel’s future was endangered.
While the tech world is politically diverse, many have found common cause in seeking to oust Netanyahu and improve public service. They’ve unified around the concern that the government is spending too much on Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and on the ultra-Orthodox while failing to mandate military service for religious students.
Elections are not scheduled until 2026, but opposition leader Benny Gantz’s departure from the government this month and infighting over the handling of the war against Hamas and ultra-Orthodox conscription have increased talk of an early vote. Weekly demonstrations seeking elections have grown to more than 200,000.
Even if elections are held, there’s no guarantee of a definitive outcome with such a polarised electorate. Between 2019 and 2022 Israel held five rounds of elections and had just two short-lived coalition governments.
Some have raised the possibility of joining forces with former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, an entrepreneur who briefly oversaw a coalition made up of left-wing, right-wing and Arab parties opposed to Netanyahu. Bennett, who has kept a high public profile since the war, hasn’t said whether he’ll reenter politics. A spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Israel’s business community had a political awakening last year when tech executives were at the forefront of protests against Netanyahu’s plans to weaken the Supreme Court. The proposals were largely abandoned after the 7 October attack and after the court itself intervened.
Since his daughter’s murder, Waldman has met top US officials, including President Joe Biden, as well as UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron, he said. The US officials expressed frustration with Netanyahu’s government, he said, though the prospect of replacing him wasn’t explicitly mentioned. “They understand they can’t work with this government,” he said.
Nadav Shtrauchler, a strategic consultant who has worked closely with Netanyahu, said the prime minister wasn’t concerned by the emerging tech political movement. “It’s not his base, it’s far from his base,” said Shtrauchler.
He predicted Netanyahu would say to his working-class, right-wing supporters: “You see those guys come with a huge amount of money, but I have you guys.” DM
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