JERUSALEM: US President Joe Biden on Monday invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington for an official visit at a date to be determined, the prime minister’s office said.
The invitation was extended during a phone call between Biden and Netanyahu, a day ahead of a visit to Washington by Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
Netanyahu returned to power more than six months ago, but Biden had pointedly declined to issue an invitation until long after most Israeli prime ministers would have made the visit.
Amid escalating West Bank violence, the right-wing Israeli government’s actions authorizing settler outposts and inflammatory comments from a member of Netanyahu’s cabinet with responsibilities over Jewish settlements had drawn criticism from US officials, including from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during a visit to Israel in March.
Netanyahu told Biden he would try to form “broad public consensus” on legislation in Israel that would strip its highest court of much of its powers, the statement said. The legislation has prompted anti-government protests in Israel for months.
The two leaders shared a “long and warm” conversation, the Israeli statement said, focused on curbing threats from Iran and its proxies and strengthening the alliance between the two countries.
The White House was expected to issue a statement later on the US view of the phone call.
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Biden invites Israel’s Netanyahu to White House
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Biden invites Israel’s Netanyahu to White House
- Right-wing Israeli government’s actions authorizing settler outposts had drawn criticism from US officials
France bans 10 British far-right, anti-migration activists from entering
PARIS: France’s interior ministry said on Wednesday it has banned 10 British far-right activists from entering or staying in the country, after they carried out actions deemed to incite violence and seriously disturb public order on French territory.
The activists, identified as members of a group called “Raise the Colors” that was involved in a national flag-raising campaign, seek to find and destroy boats used to carry migrants and spread propaganda on France’s northern coast calling on the British public to join the movement to stop migration, according to the French interior ministry.
“Our rule of law is non-negotiable, violent or hate-inciting actions have no place on our territory,” French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez wrote on social media platform X on Wednesday.
The ministry said in a statement it had been informed of the group’s activities in December last year and that it had referred the matter to the relevant authorities, as the actions were likely to cause “serious disturbances” to public order.
“Raise the Colors” describes itself as a grassroots movement that began in the central English city of Birmingham, when a small group started tying national flags to lampposts in a show of national pride. It says the effort has since spread across the UK.
The widespread display of the red-and-white St. George’s Cross for England and the Union Jack for Britain has prompted concern among some migrant communities as a reflection of rising anti-immigration sentiment in the country, coinciding with a wave of protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers last year.
Neither the group nor the British Foreign Office immediately responded to Reuters requests for comment.
Immigration and the crossings of small boats carrying migrants from France have become a focal point for British voters and has helped propel Nigel Farage’s right-wing, anti-immigration Reform UK party, into a commanding opinion poll lead.
Farage last year in London met the leader of French far-right National Rally (RN) party, Jordan Bardella, who has accused France of being too soft on immigration.
The activists, identified as members of a group called “Raise the Colors” that was involved in a national flag-raising campaign, seek to find and destroy boats used to carry migrants and spread propaganda on France’s northern coast calling on the British public to join the movement to stop migration, according to the French interior ministry.
“Our rule of law is non-negotiable, violent or hate-inciting actions have no place on our territory,” French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez wrote on social media platform X on Wednesday.
The ministry said in a statement it had been informed of the group’s activities in December last year and that it had referred the matter to the relevant authorities, as the actions were likely to cause “serious disturbances” to public order.
“Raise the Colors” describes itself as a grassroots movement that began in the central English city of Birmingham, when a small group started tying national flags to lampposts in a show of national pride. It says the effort has since spread across the UK.
The widespread display of the red-and-white St. George’s Cross for England and the Union Jack for Britain has prompted concern among some migrant communities as a reflection of rising anti-immigration sentiment in the country, coinciding with a wave of protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers last year.
Neither the group nor the British Foreign Office immediately responded to Reuters requests for comment.
Immigration and the crossings of small boats carrying migrants from France have become a focal point for British voters and has helped propel Nigel Farage’s right-wing, anti-immigration Reform UK party, into a commanding opinion poll lead.
Farage last year in London met the leader of French far-right National Rally (RN) party, Jordan Bardella, who has accused France of being too soft on immigration.
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