In a move seen by some as a snub to his intraparty rival, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appointed Justice Minister Yariv Levin as Israel’s temporary acting premier while he is in Washington this week. Additionally, Foreign Minister Yisroel Katz has been authorized to convene the security cabinet if necessary during Netanyahu’s absence. The appointments come amid public tensions between Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, fueling speculation that the prime minister is seeking to assert his authority within the party. According to Israeli law, an acting prime minister must be designated to assume duties when the leader is abroad or temporarily unable to perform their responsibilities.

President Joe Biden has announced that he will suspend his 2024 re-election campaign amid mounting pressure from his Democratic colleagues on Capitol Hill, top donors and Hollywood stars after a disastrous debate performance last month.
The unprecedented announcement came as an increasing number of Democrat lawmakers had begun to publicly call for Biden to step aside and the party’s leadership reportedly was engaged in efforts to convince Biden, 81, he could not win in November’s general election against former President Trump, the 2024 GOP nominee who Biden defeated four years ago to win the White House.

In a historic and unprecedented move, President Joe Biden has announced his decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race. The announcement comes after immense pressure following his widely criticized debate performance against former President Donald Trump, which led to ever-increasing calls from within the Democratic Party for Biden to step aside in favor of a younger, more dynamic candidate. At 81, Biden is the oldest sitting president in U.S. history, and doubts about his ability to effectively serve another term have been growing. In contrast, Donald Trump, 78, has shown relatively few signs of slowing down, further intensifying the scrutiny on Biden. This development marks the first time in U.S.

Fifty-five Israeli lawmakers, including government ministers, on Sunday called on Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu to use his address to the U.S. Congress this week to denounce the Biden administration’s sanctions against Israeli citizens and entities in Yehuda and Shomron.
The letter, an initiative of the Knesset’s Land of Israel Caucus, also urged the premier to invite the heads of local authorities in Yehuda and Shomron to join the delegation scheduled to leave for Washington on Monday.
“We, the undersigned members of Knesset, are deeply shocked by the decision of the U.S. administration to impose economic sanctions on Israeli citizens and entities,” the missive reads.

The Israeli military announced Sunday that it is starting optional polio vaccinations for soldiers fighting in the Gaza Strip after the virus was found in sewage there.
With the cooperation of international groups, additional vaccines have been brought in for Gaza’s population, the army added.
The inoculation campaign comes one week after the Israeli Health Ministry reported that poliovirus type 2 was discovered in sewage samples from the Gaza Strip.
Polio is a highly infectious disease that is primarily spread through fecal-oral contamination, sometimes by drinking contaminated water, poor sanitation and poor control of sewage.
The shots will be offered to all Israeli forces serving in Gaza.

The Israel Defense Forces believes that Hamas terror chief Mohammed Deif was killed in an airstrike in Gaza on July 13, according to a Channel 14 report on Sunday.
Deif and his deputy, Rafa’a Salameh, were targeted in a structure close to the Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone near Khan Younis. The military confirmed last Sunday that Salameh, the commander of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade, was killed in the strike.
Salameh joined Hamas in the 1990s and played a central part in the kidnapping of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit in June 2006.
On Friday, IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said that “there are increasing signs that we succeeded in the elimination of Mohammed Deif.