US slams Katz after he boasts that Israel is ‘here to stay’ in southern Lebanon
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, the youngest person to hold the role, will leave the administration at the end of the month, US President Donald Trump announces.
Leavitt, who served Trump as a press aide during his first term in the White House, has been one of the most visible advocates of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement. The Republican president describes her as one of his “most trusted aides” in a social media post announcing her departure.
He says Leavitt “will be departing her role at the end of the month so she can spend more time with her beautiful young children and family, a decision I totally understand and respect! Karoline will now be one of my top outside advisors, and an influential voice within the Republican Party, as we work to defy History, and conclusively win the Midterm Elections.”
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and several close White House aides accompanied President Donald Trump on a military plane that he flew out of Turkey on after sneaking off Air Force One due to an Iranian threat, CBS News reports.
The report notes that as an apparent part of the deception, Hegseth was seen boarding the military plane, unlike Trump and aides Natalie Harp, Dan Scavino and Walt Nauta, who accompanied the president inside the catering truck that was used to secretly take him off Air Force One.
US President Donald Trump’s administration knocks Defense Minister Israel Katz for declaring earlier today that Israel would remain in southern Lebanon, arguing that his comments fly in the face of Jerusalem’s assurances that it has no territorial ambitions in the country.
“The US expects all parties to act in any manner consistent with the framework they agreed to, and Israel clearly stated that it has no territorial ambition in Lebanon,” a State Department official says in a statement.
“A permanent military presence in south Lebanon is not consistent with the commitments made in the framework or the long-term peace and security of both states,” says the statement sent to querying reporters, which avoids calling out Katz by name.
“The United States fully supports Lebanon’s territorial integrity and sovereignty,” the State Department official continues, noting that the framework deal that Washington brokered between Israel and Lebanon “clearly includes a conditions-based path for progressive redeployment tied to verified disarmament of Hezbollah and dismantlement of their infrastructure.”
“The Lebanese Armed Forces are implementing the first pilot zone, and the United States will continue to support full implementation of that process,” referring to the area in south Lebanon from which the IDF has withdrawn and been replaced by LAF troops.
Visiting southern Lebanon earlier today, Katz declared: “The IDF is here to stay in the security zones in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza to protect the entire State of Israel. I have instructed the IDF to take all the necessary steps to prepare for a long-term presence in the area. As the prime minister and I have made unequivocally clear, we are not withdrawing from this security zone.”
Katz also boasted again of “destroying all the houses” in certain areas, after last month he lauded having systematically flattened several dozen villages in southern Lebanon, which he said contained Hezbollah infrastructure. The comments sparked accusations of war crimes against Katz, who has intensified his rhetoric as elections have approached.
The US is reportedly fuming over the Israeli government’s failure to crack down on rampant settler violence throughout the West Bank.
There has been particular shock in US President Donald Trump’s administration over the ongoing incident in the Palestinian village of Qusra, where settlers have laid siege to a pair of homes on the outskirts of the northern West Bank town, according to the Kan public broadcaster.
While the IDF has issued statements condemning the incident, it has failed to remove the settlers from the area, and the Palestinian families have been stuck in their homes since Sunday — including an American citizen.
The siege in Qusra was discussed today by White House officials who have come to the conclusion that Israel is not taking the issue seriously.
A senior White House official is slated to hold a phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to demand answers on why Jerusalem has refused to rein in the settlers who have been terrorizing the Palestinian families in Qusra, Kan reports.
The Ynet news site says serious questions have been raised into why Israel is allowing “anarchy” to unfold in the West Bank.
Netanyahu’s government has funneled millions of dollars into the illegal outposts where many of the perpetrators of attacks on Palestinians live. Thousands of Palestinians have been forced to flee their homes in recent years due to repeated settler attacks and harassment.
While the perpetrators have largely focused on Bedouin villages in Israeli-controlled Area C of the West Bank, they have expanded their attacks to Palestinian Authority-managed Areas B and A of the West Bank, as they rarely face prosecution for their actions by Israeli authorities.
The White House and the US State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the matter.
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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will depart her role at the end of the month, President Donald Trump announced. Trump stated that Leavitt, who was a press aide during his first term and a visible advocate of the “Make America Great Again” movement, is leaving to “spend more time with her beautiful young children and family.” He described her as one of his “most trusted aides” and indicated she will become a top outside advisor and influential voice within the Republican Party, assisting with the Midterm Elections.
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