Biden says Hamas attacked Israel in part to stop a historic agreement with Saudi Arabia
Washington (AP): US President Joe Biden said Friday he thought Hamas was motivated to attack Israel in part by a desire to stop that country from normalising relations with Saudi Arabia.
"One of the reasons ... why Hamas moved on Israel, is because they knew I was about to sit down with the Saudis," Biden said at a campaign fundraiser. The US president indicated that he thinks Hamas launched a deadly assault on Oct 7 because, "Guess what? The Saudis wanted to recognise Israel" and were near being able to formally do so.
Jerusalem and Riyadh had been steadily inching closer to normalisation, with Biden working to help bring the two countries together, announcing plans in September at the Group of 20 summit in India to partner on a shipping corridor.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Biden on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September and told him, "I think that under your leadership, Mr President, we can forge a historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia."
The Saudis had been insisting on protections and expanded rights for Palestinian interests as part of any broader agreement with Israel. An agreement would have been a feat of diplomacy that could have enabled broader recognition of Israel by other Arab and Muslim-majority nations that have largely opposed Israel since its creation 75 years ago in territory where Palestinians have long resided.
The normalisation push began under former President Donald Trump's administration and was branded as the Abraham Accords. It is an ambitious effort to reshape the region and boost Israel's standing in historic ways. But critics have warned that it skips past Palestinian demands for statehood.
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Drunk woman held for hitting police constable with car in Rohini
New Delhi (PTI): A 40-year-old woman was arrested for allegedly ramming a car into a police barricade and injuring a constable in northwest Delhi's Rohini, police said on Friday.
The incident took place on December 24 in Sector 11 of Rohini where a barricade had been placed, they said.
According to police, a caller informed them that a female driver, apparently drunk, had hit a police constable with her car.
A police team rushed to the spot and found the white car that had struck the barricade.
The woman, a resident of Sector 16, Rohini, was found to be under the influence of alcohol, police said.
Constable Rohit, posted with the 1st Battalion of the Delhi Armed Police, who suffered injuries in the collision, was taken to BSA Hospital for treatment, police said.
They said the woman, who works in the private sector, was returning home from a birthday party when the incident occurred.
She was arrested, and her car was seized, they said.
