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President Donald Trump announced that Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu agreed to call off a planned military operation in Beirut following a direct conversation between the two leaders, while expressing optimism that the latest cessation of hostilities could endure indefinitely.

In a message posted on Truth Social, Trump said he personally urged Netanyahu not to proceed with a major attack in the Lebanese capital and thanked him for reversing course.

“I had a conversation with Bibi Netanyahu today, asking him not to go into a major raid of Beirut, Lebanon. He turned his Troops around. Thank you Bibi!” wrote Trump in a post on Truth Social.

Trump also stated that he had been in contact with individuals representing Hezbollah and said those discussions resulted in a commitment to halt attacks against Israel.

He added, “I also had a conversation with Representatives of the Leaders of Hezbollah, and they agreed to stop shooting at Israel, and its soldiers. Likewise, Israel agreed to stop shooting at them. Let’s see how long that lasts – Hopefully it will be for ETERNITY!”

Earlier in the day, Trump revealed details of his phone call with Netanyahu and said both sides had agreed to stop military actions against one another.

Posting on Truth Social, Trump declared that Israeli forces would not move forward with an operation in Beirut and claimed Hezbollah had likewise agreed to suspend its attacks.

“I had a very productive call with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, of Israel, and there will be no Troops going to Beirut, and any Troops that are on their way, have already been turned back. Likewise, through highly placed Representatives, I had a very good call with Hezbollah, and they agreed that all shooting will stop – That Israel will not attack them, and they will not attack Israel,” Trump wrote in the initial post.

Following his discussion with Trump, Netanyahu released a statement outlining Israel’s position regarding Hezbollah’s continued aggression.

The prime minister stressed that Israel remains prepared to target terrorist infrastructure in Beirut if attacks continue, while making clear that ongoing military operations in southern Lebanon will proceed.

“I spoke this evening with President Trump and told him that if Hezbollah does not cease attacking our cities and civilians, Israel will strike terrorist targets in Beirut. This position remains unchanged. At the same time, the IDF will continue operating in southern Lebanon as planned,” Netanyahu said.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has ignited a fierce battle within Democratic ranks by throwing his support behind a socialist challenger seeking to unseat longtime Congressman Adriano Espaillat, according to political insiders.

The mayor’s endorsement of Darializa Avila Chevalier, a fellow member of the Democratic Socialists of America, in the June 23 Democratic primary for New York’s 13th Congressional District is being viewed as part of a broader effort by Mamdani and his allies to reshape and eventually dominate the Democratic Party from within.

“In New York City, it’s a civil war in the Democratic Party,” said campaign consultant Evan Roth Smith.

According to Roth Smith, Mamdani’s decision to back Avila Chevalier against Espaillat will serve as a key measure of how much influence the mayor and the DSA can wield in future elections throughout the city.

“The 13th District is an early experiment on how far Mamdani’s popularity goes,” Roth Smith said.

The move has drawn criticism even from prominent Democratic leaders. State Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs publicly questioned the wisdom of challenging an established incumbent.

“I think it’s a mistake. When you have a good incumbent, stick with him,” Jacobs said.

Praising Espaillat’s record in office, Jacobs added that many voters have expressed frustration with Mamdani’s intervention in the race.

“Espaillat is an excellent congressman,” he said. “I’ve heard from a lot people in the Hispanic community and in general who are upset about him going against Espaillat.”

The 13th District, which includes large Hispanic, Latino, and Black populations, has traditionally not been viewed as fertile ground for Democratic Socialists. That contrasts with the neighboring 7th and 10th Congressional Districts, areas critics have dubbed the “Commie Corridor,” where progressive challengers have found greater success and where contentious Democratic primaries are also underway.

Still, demographic shifts have begun to alter the district’s political landscape, with younger residents who supported Mamdani increasingly moving into the area and potentially providing a receptive audience for his preferred candidate.

Mamdani carried the 13th District during both the Democratic mayoral primary and the general election, defeating Andrew Cuomo in the area despite Espaillat’s earlier endorsement of the former governor. Following Mamdani’s victory in the primary, Espaillat later endorsed him.

Avila Chevalier has built a reputation for inflammatory rhetoric, directing criticism at law enforcement, establishment Democrats, and the United States itself through a series of social media posts.

During President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign, she referred to him as a “rapist” and “war criminal.” She also criticized Sen. Bernie Sanders, a favorite among many progressives, over what she described as his “liberal Zionism” after he voted present on legislation involving military aid to Israel.

In another controversial online post from 2019, she wrote: “I forgot to get napkins so I just wiped my hand on the American flag behind me,” accompanied by a smiling emoji.

Mamdani has also become involved in another congressional contest, endorsing Democratic Socialist Assemblywoman Claire Valdez in the race for the open 7th District seat representing waterfront communities in Brooklyn and Queens.

That seat is being vacated by retiring Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez, who has instead endorsed Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso in the Democratic primary against Valdez.

In the neighboring 10th District, Mamdani has likewise backed former City Comptroller Brad Lander in his challenge against incumbent Congressman Dan Goldman, another district where DSA-aligned candidates have historically performed well.

“He’s going to be mayor for four years and maybe eight. They believe in the long game,” Roth Smith said, referring to the far-left group.

Roth Smith argued that Mamdani’s efforts are partly driven by frustration over Albany politics. He noted that the mayor failed to secure all of the tax increases he sought during budget negotiations with Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers, making it advantageous for him to elect more allies to state and federal office.

Jacobs, however, accused Mamdani of undermining party unity by targeting members of New York’s congressional delegation.

“We should not be fomenting dissent in the primaries when we have so much at stake in the general election,” Jacobs said.

Describing the endorsements as a show of political strength, Jacobs said the mayor is attempting to demonstrate his growing influence across the city.

“It’s an effort by Mamdani to flex his muscles in the city,” he said.

“We’ll see how that turns out.”

{Matzav.com}

A federal judge has directed the National Park Service to allow a liberal activist organization to continue displaying a controversial “86 47” flag near the National Mall, ruling that the slogan represents protected political expression rather than a threat against President Donald Trump.

The decision came Monday when U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss granted a two-week temporary restraining order in favor of Accountability Now USA, a group that has been staging anti-Trump protests near the federal courthouse on Constitution Avenue for months.

At the center of the legal dispute was the organization’s use of a flag bearing the phrase “86 47,” a slogan that has generated national attention in recent weeks after former FBI Director James Comey faced scrutiny over a social media post featuring seashells arranged to form the numbers “8647.”

Comey subsequently removed the post, issued an apology, and insisted that he never intended the image to be interpreted as a call for violence.

In his opinion, Moss dismissed the government’s claim that the flag constituted a threat directed at the president.

“The Court does not doubt that political violence is on the rise and that it poses a grave threat not just to the targets of the threats but to the country as a whole. But the enormity of that problem does not change the meaning of Plaintiff’s speech, which by any reasonable measure merely advocated for the President’s impeachment and removal from office — that is, ‘to throw [him] out,'” Moss wrote.

Moss determined that Accountability Now USA was using the phrase as a political statement advocating Trump’s removal through constitutional means, specifically impeachment, rather than as a call for physical harm.

The judge further concluded that the slang term “86” lacks a single universally accepted definition and that the group’s message did not rise to the level of incitement or encouragement of immediate unlawful conduct.

As part of the ruling, Moss included a definition from Merriam-Webster, observing that the phrase “eighty-six” has been in use since the 1930s and is commonly understood to mean removing, rejecting, or getting rid of something.

Attorneys representing the Justice Department argued that the slogan had taken on a more ominous meaning following a May 24 confrontation near the White House in which an armed individual was fatally shot by law enforcement officers.

Government lawyers also cited growing concerns surrounding political violence and threats aimed at elected officials and public figures.

Court records indicate that Secret Service agents questioned protesters about the meaning of the display. According to those filings, demonstrators told investigators that they wanted Trump removed from office but had no desire to see him physically harmed.

While acknowledging the government’s broader concerns, Moss maintained that those fears did not change the plain meaning of the group’s expression.

Under the judge’s order, the National Park Service must allow the display to remain in place for the next two weeks while the legal challenge continues to move through the courts.