Israel-Palestine Updates: Israel Appoints New Foreign Minister
Israeli faces trial for impersonating elite combat soldier
Israeli prosecutors have filed criminal charges against a man accused of impersonating a soldier to join the war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.
The indictment brought in Tel Aviv District Court argues that defendant Roi Yifrah never served in the Israeli military but managed to make his way into the war zone.
The prosecution said he did this by pretending to be a member of an elite combat unit belonging to Shin Bet, the domestic intelligence agency.
The 35-year-old is also accused of stealing munitions and, according to Israeli media, of posing for a picture on the frontline with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Local media aired a photo of Yifrah in full battle gear, posing with other soldiers alongside Netanyahu at a helicopter landing site.
An Israeli official insisted the prime minister was never at risk due to "several layers of security at the site."
Yifrah faces several charges, including aggravated fraud and larceny, and could face up to 36 years in jail.
Israeli far-right minister wants more Jewish settlers, fewer Arabs in Gaza
Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged the return of Jewish settlers to the Gaza Strip after the ongoing war.
In a radio interview on Sunday, Smotrich said the Palestinian population should be encouraged to emigrate outside of Gaza.
"To have security we must control the territory," Smotrich told Israel's Army Radio in response to a question about the prospect of re-establishing settlements in Gaza. "In order to control the territory militarily for a long time, we need a civilian presence."
Smotrich is the head of the ultranationalist Religious Zionism Party, which is part of the ruling coalition.
"If we act in a strategically correct way and encourage emigration, if there are 100,000 or 200,000 Arabs in Gaza and not two million, the whole discourse of the day after [the war] will be completely different," he said.
"We will help rehabilitate these refugees in other countries in a good and humane manner with the cooperation of the international community and Arab countries around us."
Israeli presence in Gaza began in 1967 and lasted until 2005, when all troops and settlers were withdrawn. Hamas won the election in January 2006, and established full control over the strip after a clash with the more moderate Fatah faction in 2007.
All settlements on occupied Palestinian land are regarded as illegal under international law, regardless of whether they were approved by Israel.
Israel appoints new foreign minister
The Israeli government has approved the appointment of Israel Katz as a new foreign minister, to succeed Eli Cohen.
Cohen will, in turn, replace Katz as Energy Minister. Cohen, however, will continue to serve as a member of the security Cabinet.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition government agreed last year to rotate the two positions. The appointments are subject to the Israeli parliament's approval.
On Sunday, the Cabinet also approved holding postponed municipal elections in February, also pending parliamentary approval.
"We usually do not hold elections in wartime but these elections have been determined in advance," a statement from the prime minister's office said. "They have already been postponed once."
This article was originally published on DW.
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