Thu, 06 Oct 22 11:13:48 +0000

Netanyahu: Only pressure from me stopped Lapid surrendering to Lebanon

The Times of Israel is liveblogging Thursday’s events as they unfold.

French writer Annie Ernaux wins Nobel Prize in literature

This year’s Nobel Prize in literature is awarded to French author Annie Ernaux.

Ernaux, 82, is cited for “the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of personal memory,” the Nobel committee says.

Mats Malm, permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, announces the winner in Stockholm, Sweden.

Ben Gvir says ‘deeply concerned’ by criticism from US Senator Menendez

Far-right lawmaker Itamar Ben Gvir issues a statement responding to reports that Robert Menendez, chairman of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, recently warned opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu that including extreme-right lawmakers in a potential future government would harm US-Israel relations.

“I am deeply concerned by reports that Senator Menendez has aimed incorrect and mistaken criticisms at the millions of Israelis who will soon vote in favor of a center-right government and me personally,” Ben Gvir says in an English language statement.

According to a recent Axios report, Menendez made the comments during a visit to Israel last month. Citing two unnamed American sources familiar with the meeting, the report said Menendez raised his concerns over Netanyahu’s cooperation with far-right parties, specifically mentioning Otzma Yehudit and its leader Ben Gvir.

Ben Gvir is No. 2 on the Religious Zionism, slate, which is projected to win between 12 and 14 seats in the November 1 election, positioning himself to receive a senior cabinet posting if Netanyahu manages to form the kind of hard-right, religious coalition on which he has been campaigning.

“Everyone knows that the senator is a true friend of Israel and a champion of the US-Israel relationship, and more importantly, he is a man of integrity. Therefore, my sense is that he would not have made the statements reported had he been correctly informed of the positions I hold, as well as those I do not hold,” Ben Gvir says.

“The enemies of a strong Israel besmirch me; calling me and my party racist. But the truth is that we are anti-racist — we are fighting against the racist antisemitism fomenting within the boundaries of our homeland. We believe that Israel needs to uproot terror organizations such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, just as the United States defeated al-Qaeda,” Ben Gvir says.

“Like millions of Americans, we believe that peace comes through strength and that Israel’s policies should be based upon the firm enforcement of our right to sovereignty and self-defense,” he says, adding that he would work to ease soldiers’ rules of engagement and reform the justice system.

Zelensky says Putin’s control over Russia would not survive a nuclear strike

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky says it is “hard to say” whether the risk of nuclear war had increased with his military’s territorial gains, but he remains confident his Russian counterpart would not survive such an escalation in hostilities.

Zelensky was addressing the Lowy Institute international think tank in Sydney via video link after Ukraine’s military retook ground illegally annexed by Russia last week.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that he won’t hesitate to use nuclear weapons to ward off Ukraine’s attempt to reclaim control of Moscow-occupied areas.

Asked if the risk of Russia using nuclear weapons had risen, Zelensky says through an interpreter: “It’s hard to say.”

He questions whether Putin has enough control over the Russian campaign to direct a tactical nuclear strike. The Russians found it “hard to control everything that is happening in their country, just as they’re not controlling everything they have on the battlefield,” Zelensky said.

Zelensky says Putin understood that the “world will never forgive” a Russian nuclear strike.

“He understands that after the use of nuclear weapons he would be unable any more to preserve, so to speak, his life, and I’m confident of that,” Zelensky said.