Carney says he spoke with China’s Xi about Greenland, Arctic sovereignty.

#OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday he found “much alignment” between his views on Greenland’s sovereignty and those of Chinese President Xi Jinping in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats against the territory.

“I had discussions with President Xi about the situation in Greenland, about our sovereignty in the Arctic, about the sovereignty of the people of Greenland and people of Denmark, and I found much alignment of views in that regard,” Carney said at a press conference in Beijing.

Carney said Canada’s position is that Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, should determine its own future.

Noting that Denmark is a NATO ally, Carney said “our full partnership stands, our obligations under Article 5, Article 2 of NATO stand and we stand full square behind those.”

Article 5 is the alliance’s collective defence agreement, which states that an attack on one member constitutes an attack on all. It has only been invoked once in NATO’s 75-year history -- by the U.S. after the 9/11 attacks.

Trump insists the U.S. needs control of Greenland for national security reasons and has said he would take it over “whether they like it or not.”

On Friday, he told reporters he’s considering imposing tariffs on countries that oppose his plans for Greenland.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the U.S. would like to buy the island, something officials in both Greenland and Denmark have said is not going to happen.

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has said an American takeover of the island would mark the end of NATO.

Trump also has claimed that if the U.S. doesn’t have control of Greenland, Russia or China would try to take it over. Arctic experts say that claim is false.

China, which views itself as a “near-Arctic state,” has taken an increasingly aggressive posture in the region that includes joint military exercises with Russia near Canadian territory and around Alaska.

Canada’s latest defence policy warns of Chinese and Russian ambitions in the Arctic and says China’s interests “increasingly diverge from our own on matters of defence and security.”

That policy was released in May 2024, before Carney came to office and began a major reset of relations with China.

He told reporters Friday that his government has increased Canada’s military presence in the Arctic “to 365 days a year on land, sea, and in the air.”

Several European countries have recently sent troops to Greenland in response to Trump’s threats, in co-ordination with Denmark.

The office of Defence Minister David McGuinty has not answered questions about whether any Canadian military personnel are in the territory.

“While the Canadian Armed Forces are not initiating any new operations at this time, we have several joint operations with European allies, including in Greenland,” said spokesperson Maya Ouferhat in an emailed statement.

Carney said Canada and Denmark are working together through NATO and the Nordic-Baltic Eight group, and noted Ottawa plans to formally open a consulate in Greenland’s capital Nuuk next month.

Carney’s meeting with Xi in Korea in October and his trip to Beijing this week were the first interactions between the leaders of the two countries since 2017.

A statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office after the meeting said Canada and China are “both strong advocates of multilateralism.”

After the bilateral meeting, Carney announced the two countries cut a deal to dramatically reduce their respective tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and Canadian agriculture products.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 16, 2026.

By Sarah Ritchie

With files from The Associated Press

Trump floats tariffs to garner support on U.S. control over Greenland, Trump for months has insisted that the U.S. should control Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark, and said earlier this week that anything less than the Arctic island being in U.S. hands would be “unacceptable.”

During an unrelated event at the White House about rural health care, he recounted Friday how he had threatened European allies with tariffs on pharmaceuticals.

“I may do that for Greenland too,” Trump said. “I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security. So I may do that,” he said.

He had not previously mentioned using tariffs to try to force the issue.

Earlier this week, the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland met in Washington this week with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

That encounter didn’t resolve the deep differences, but did produce an agreement to set up a working group — on whose purpose Denmark and the White House then offered sharply diverging public views.

European leaders have insisted that is only for Denmark and Greenland to decide on matters concerning the territory, and Denmark said this week that it was increasing its military presence in Greenland in cooperation with allies.
A relationship that ‘we need to nurture’

In Copenhagen, a group of senators and members of the House of Representatives met Friday with Danish and Greenlandic lawmakers, and with leaders including Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

Delegation leader Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, thanked the group’s hosts for “225 years of being a good and trusted ally and partner” and said that “we had a strong and robust dialog about how we extend that into the future.”

Canada-Denmark: Carney meets with Danish PM, Greenland focus

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, said after meeting lawmakers that the visit reflected a strong relationship over decades and “it is one that we need to nurture.” She told reporters that “Greenland needs to be viewed as our ally, not as an asset, and I think that’s what you’re hearing with this delegation.”

The tone contrasted with that emanating from the White House. Trump has sought to justify his calls for a U.S. takeover by repeatedly claiming that China and Russia have their own designs on Greenland, which holds vast untapped reserves of critical minerals. The White House hasn’t ruled out taking the territory by force.

“We have heard so many lies, to be honest and so much exaggeration on the threats towards Greenland,” said Aaja Chemnitz, a Greenlandic politician and member of the Danish parliament who took part in Friday’s meetings. “And mostly, I would say the threats that we’re seeing right now is from the U.S. side.”

Murkowski emphasized the role of Congress in spending and in conveying messages from constituents.

“I think it is important to underscore that when you ask the American people whether or not they think it is a good idea for the United States to acquire Greenland, the vast majority, some 75%, will say, we do not think that that is a good idea,” she said.

Along with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, Murkowski has introduced bipartisan legislation that would prohibit the use of U.S. Defense or State department funds to annex or take control of Greenland or the sovereign territory of any NATO member state without that ally’s consent or authorization from the North Atlantic Council.
Inuit council criticizes White House statements

The dispute is looming large in the lives of Greenlanders. Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said on Tuesday that “if we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark. We choose #NATO. We choose the Kingdom of Denmark. We choose the EU.”

The situation in the international arena is getting increasingly worse, and what mankind needs now is more cooperation between the world’s nations, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a ceremony of presenting credentials of new ambassadors.

He also suggested returning to a substantive discussion of Russian initiatives on a new and fair security architecture.

TASS has compiled the key statements of the head of state.
On the international situation

The situation in the international arena is "deteriorating more and more": "It seems to me that no one will argue with this."

Diplomacy, the search for consensus and compromise are increasingly being replaced by unilateral, "and very dangerous actions": "And instead of dialogue between states, there is a monologue by those who, by right of the strong, consider it permissible to dictate their will, teach others how to live and give orders."

It is necessary to more persistently demand that the entire world community comply with international law, "and provide real assistance to the new, more just, multipolar world order that is emerging."
Russia's foreign policy course

Russia is "sincerely committed to the ideals of a multipolar world": "Our country has always pursued and will continue to pursue a balanced, constructive foreign policy course that takes into account both our national interests and objective trends in global development."

Russia is interested in maintaining truly open and mutually beneficial relations with all partners, deepening ties in politics, economics, and the humanitarian sphere, and jointly countering urgent challenges and common threats.

Russia is ready "to build equal and mutually beneficial relations with all international partners for the sake of universal prosperity, well-being and development."

Russia "stands for strengthening the key, central role" of the United Nations in world affairs.

The imperatives of the UN Charter are "needed now more than ever."
Security Architecture

Security must be comprehensive: "It cannot be ensured for some [countries] at the expense of the security of others. This principle is fixed in the fundamental international legal documents. Neglecting this basic, vital principle has never led to anything good and will never lead to anything good."

Russia has repeatedly taken initiatives to build a new, reliable and fair architecture of European and global security: "We believe that it would be worthwhile to return to their substantive discussion to consolidate the conditions on which a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine can be achieved, and the sooner the better."
The conflict in Ukraine

The crisis over Ukraine was "a direct result of years of ignoring Russia's just interests and a deliberate policy of creating threats to our security and advancing towards the Russian borders of the NATO bloc."

Russia strives "for a long-term and sustainable peace that reliably ensures the security of everyone": "Not everywhere, including in Kiev and its supporting capitals, is ready for this. But we hope that awareness of this need will come sooner or later. In the meantime, Russia will continue to consistently achieve its goals."

A peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine must be achieved, and "the sooner the better."
Relations and cooperation with other countries

The state of Russia's relations with European countries "leaves much to be desired."

Russia is ready to restore relations with European countries: "In general, as I have repeatedly noted, we are open to mutually beneficial cooperation with all countries without exception."

Russia stands in solidarity with Cuba, which intends to defend its sovereignty with all its might: "I would like to note that Russia and the Republic of Cuba have truly strong and friendly relations. We always provide assistance to our Cuban friends, and we stand in solidarity with their determination to defend their sovereignty and independence with all their might."

Russian-Afghan cooperation has recently "gained noticeable momentum," facilitated by #Russia's official recognition of the country's new authorities last year.

The positive capital in Russia's cooperation with South Korea has been "largely squandered," Moscow is counting on the restoration of relations.

Bodies of 32 Cuban officers killed during US strike on Venezuela repatriated as US threat lingers.

Nearby, thousands of Cubans lined one of Havana’s most iconic streets to await the bodies of colonels, lieutenants, majors and captains as the island remained under threat by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.

The soldiers’ shoes clacked as they marched stiff-legged into the headquarters of the Ministry of the Armed Forces, next to Revolution Square, with the urns and placed them on a long table next to the pictures of those killed so people could pay their respects.

Thursday’s mass funeral was only one of a handful that the Cuban government has organized in almost half a century.

Hours earlier, state television showed images of more than a dozen wounded people described as “combatants” accompanied by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez arriving Wednesday night from Venezuela. Some were in wheelchairs.

Those injured and the remains of those killed arrived as tensions grow between Cuba and the U.S., with Trump recently demanding that the Caribbean country make a deal with him before it is “too late.” He did not explain what kind of deal.

Trump also has said that Cuba will no longer live off Venezuela’s money and oil. Experts warn that the abrupt end of oil shipments could be catastrophic for Cuba, which is already struggling with serious blackouts and a crumbling power grid.
‘That will always unite us’

Officials unfurled a massive flag at Havana’s airport as President Miguel Díaz-Canel, clad in military garb as commander of Cuba’s Armed Forces, stood silent next to former President Raúl Castro, with what appeared to be the relatives of those killed looking on nearby.

Cuban Interior Minister Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casa said Venezuela was not a distant land for those killed, but a “natural extension of their homeland.”

“The enemy speaks to an audience of high-precision operations, of troops, of elites, of supremacy,” Álvarez said in apparent reference to the U.S. “We, on the other hand, speak of faces, of families who have lost a father, a son, a husband, a brother.”

Álvarez called those slain “heroes,” saying that they were an example of honor and “a lesson for those who waver.”

“We reaffirm that if this painful chapter of history has demonstrated anything, it is that imperialism may possess more sophisticated weapons; it may have immense material wealth; it may buy the minds of the wavering; but there is one thing it will never be able to buy: the dignity of the Cuban people,” he said.

Thousands of Cubans lined a street where motorcycles and military vehicles thundered by with the remains of those killed.

“They are people willing to defend their principles and values, and we must pay tribute to them,” said Carmen Gómez, a 58-year-old industrial designer, adding that she hopes no one invades given the ongoing threats.

When asked why she showed up despite the difficulties Cubans face, Gómez replied, “It’s because of the sense of patriotism that Cubans have, and that will always unite us.”
‘People are upset and hurt’

Cuba recently released the names and ranks of 32 military personnel — ranging in age from 26 to 60 — who were part of the security detail of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro during the raid on his residence on January 3. They included members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior, the island’s two security agencies.

Cuban and Venezuelan authorities have said that the uniformed personnel were part of protection agreements between the two countries.

A demonstration was planned for Friday across from the U.S. Embassy in an open-air forum known as the Anti-Imperialist Tribune. Officials have said they expect the demonstration to be massive.

“People are upset and hurt. There’s a lot of talk on social media; but many do believe that the dead are martyrs” of a historic struggle against the United States, analyst and former diplomat Carlos Alzugaray told The Associated Press.
The first mass funeral in decades

In October 1976, then-President Fidel Castro led a massive demonstration to bid farewell to the 73 people killed in the bombing of a Cubana de Aviación civilian flight financed by anti-revolutionary leaders in the U.S. Most of the victims were Cuban athletes.

In December 1989, officials organized “Operation Tribute” to honor the more than 2,000 Cuban combatants who died in Angola during Cuba’s participation in the war that defeated the South African army and ended the apartheid system. In October 1997, memorial services were held following the arrival of the remains of guerrilla commander Ernesto “Che” Guevara and six of his comrades, who died in 1967.

The latest mass burial is critical to honor those slain, said José Luis Piñeiro, a 60-year-old doctor who lived four years in Venezuela.

“I don’t think Trump is crazy enough to come and enter a country like this, ours, and if he does, he’s going to have to take an aspirin or some painkiller to avoid the headache he’s going to get,” Piñeiro said. “These were 32 heroes who fought him. Can you imagine an entire nation? He’s going to lose.”
Cuba riled by U.S. aid for hurricane recovery

A day before the remains of those killed arrived in Cuba, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced $3 million in aid to help the island recover from the catastrophic Hurricane Melissa, which struck in late October.

The first flight took off from Florida on Wednesday, and a second flight was scheduled for Friday. A commercial vessel also will deliver food and other supplies.

“We have taken extraordinary measures to ensure that this assistance reaches the Cuban people directly, without interference or diversion by the illegitimate regime,” Rubio said, adding that the U.S. government was working with Cuba’s Catholic Church.

The announcement riled Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez.

“The U.S. government is exploiting what appears to be a humanitarian gesture for opportunistic and politically manipulative purposes,” he said in a statement. “As a matter of principle, Cuba does not oppose assistance from governments or organizations, provided it benefits the people and the needs of those affected are not used for political gain under the guise of humanitarian aid.”

___

By Andrea Rodríguez and Dánica Coto

Coto contributed from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The U.S. president’s claims, which were made with few details, come as he’s told protesting Iranians in recent days that “help is on the way” and that his administration would “act accordingly” to respond to the Iranian government.

But Trump has not offered any details about how the U.S. might respond and it wasn’t clear if his comments Wednesday indicated he would hold off on action.

The Islamic Republic shut its airspace to commercial flights early Thursday morning for about two hours, without explanation, a notice to pilots read.

Earlier Wednesday, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, Iran’s judiciary chief, said the government must act quickly to punish more than 18,000 people who have been detained through rapid trials and executions.

The security force crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,586, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported. The death toll exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Here is the latest:
U.S. Embassy in Qatar urges `increased caution’

The U.S. Embassy in Qatar issued a notice early Thursday, saying it had “advised its personnel to exercise increased caution and limit nonessential travel” to Al Udeid Air Base.

“We recommend U.S. citizens in Qatar do the same,” it added.

Some personnel at a key U.S. military base in Qatar were advised to evacuate by Wednesday evening, according to a U.S. official and the Gulf country.
Execution of protester delayed, family says

A 26-year-old protester who was detained last week by Iranian authorities has had his execution postponed but has not been released, according to one of his relatives.

Activists said that Erfan Soltani, a clothing shop employee, was among the thousands of Iranians who were rounded up in the last week after nationwide protests sparked by economic distress turned into days of deadly anti-government unrest.

Somayeh, a 45-year-old close relative of Soltani who is living abroad and asked to be identified by first name only for fear of government reprisal, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that his family had been told his execution would be set for Wednesday but it was postponed when they got to the prison in Karaj, a city north-west of Tehran.

The relative said that his family has spent the last six days in agony over what could happen to him and now are left with even more uncertainty.
Iran closes airspace

Iran issued an order early Thursday to close its airspace, without explanation.

The order came amid heightened tensions over its bloody crackdown on protesters during nationwide protests and the possibility of American strikes in response.

The flight-tracking website FlightRadar24.com noted the order closed Iran’s airspace for a little more than two hours.
Iranian foreign minister urges U.S. to choose diplomacy

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview with Fox News Channel’s “Special Report” that Iran is “ready for negotiation” and has been for the past 20 years. He urged the U.S. to find a solution through negotiation, and said “diplomacy is much better than war.”

Araghchi blamed terrorist groups for the violence as part of an “Israeli plot” to “drag (Trump) into the conflict.”

‘Canada is right in the middle’: What Trump’s Greenland threats mean for #Canada.

For people living in Canada’s Arctic, rhetoric that once seemed absurd has quickly become frightening.

“In the beginning when (U.S. President) Donald Trump said he wanted to buy Greenland, I just laughed it off because it was so absurd,” says Aaju Peter, a Greenlander who now lives in Iqaluit. “I (now) find it unsettling, and I don’t know the word in English but it’s really a threat.”

Peter is not only worried for her native Greenland, but also for all Inuit people who live throughout the Arctic. She believes if the United States is successful in annexing Greenland, that Canada’s north could be next.

“Canada is right in the middle, between Greenland and the United States,” she says. “And he is going to want to take over Canada. Seeing a threat being made to the Inuit in Greenland is also a threat to us in Arctic Canada.”

The Trump administration says controlling Greenland is necessary for U.S. security. Today, U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra was asked by CJAD Talk 800 host Elias Makos if Trump has his sights set on Canada’s Arctic territory next.

“We’re not moving to a point where are disagreeing on how to protect the north,” Hoekstra said. “We are actually moving to a point where we are in lockstep.” Hoekstra cited a deal between Canada, the U.S. and Finland to build icebreakers as an example of the two countries working together.

While Ottawa has pledged billions of dollars in new defence spending, including money to protect the north, experts say asserting security – and sovereignty – must also include efforts to build and grow strong communities.

“It’s really a whole of society approach,” says Gaëlle Rivard Piché, executive director of the CDA Institute, a security think-tank. “Working with northerners, governments, Indigenous People who live in the region and make sure they have the same services.”

In its national security strategy, the Trump administration laid out its plans to restore American dominance in the Western Hemisphere.

“After years of neglect, the United States will reassert and enforce the Monroe Doctrine to restore American pre-eminence in the Western Hemisphere, and to protect our homeland and our access to key geographies throughout the region,” the document says.

And while Trump’s actions in Venezuela and threats against Colombia and Mexico are examples of a changing U.S. foreign policy, some experts warn his sabre-rattling against NATO member Denmark, of which Greenland is an autonomous territory, poses a significant risk to international security.

“This is very in-line with his modus-operandi, but it is going to come at a terrible cost,” says Andrea Charron, director of the Centre for Defence and Security Studies at the University of Manitoba.

“It calls into question the trust that is essential to a collective defence alliance like NATO continuing to exist and creates a rupture between the allies,” she says.

Charron adds it could also lead other countries to move on their own ambitions within their regions.

“It really sends a signal to adversaries that we are in chaos and now is the time to take control of your spheres of influence,” Charron says. “This is sending the wrong message to what we call the CRINKs (China, Russia, Iran and North Korea).”

As Danish and Greenlandic leaders urge the United States to end its threats to annex the territory, France and Germany plan to send troops to the territory at the request of Denmark. Canada also has troops in Greenland, but the Ministry of Defence says Canadian Forces members are participating in a previously planned training exercise that takes place every year in Greenland, not because of the ongoing threats.

Qatar says some personnel departing U.S. base over ‘regional tensions’. The decision comes after Washington threatened to respond to an Iranian government crackdown on protests while Tehran has said it would strike U.S. military and shipping assets in the event of a new attack.

The measure was taken “in response to the current regional tensions”, Qatar’s International Media Office said in a statement.

“Qatar continues to implement all necessary measures to safeguard the security and safety ... including actions related to the protection of critical infrastructure and military facilities,” it added.

A diplomatic source told AFP earlier that a number of personnel were asked to leave the base by Wednesday evening.

A second source confirmed the information, also on condition of anonymity.

The U.S. Embassy in Qatar declined to comment on personnel movement at Al Udeid.

In June, Iran targeted the United States’ Al Udeid military base in Qatar in response to earlier American strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday that the strike on the base had demonstrated “Iran’s will and capability to respond to any attack.”

Doha was able to leverage the unprecedented attack on its soil to help deliver a speedy truce between Washington and Tehran.

Washington has repeatedly said the United States is considering air strikes on Iran to stop a crackdown on protesters.

Trump on Tuesday said in a CBS News interview that the United States would act if Iran began hanging protesters.

Iranian authorities called the American warnings a “pretext for military intervention.”

Mass protests in Iran since Thursday have posed one of the biggest challenges to the clerical leadership since the 1979 Islamic revolution ousted the shah.

Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights said it had confirmed 734 people killed during the protests, including nine minors, but warned the death toll was likely far higher.

“The real number of those killed is likely in the thousands,” IHR’s director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said.

Trump set to lead largest-ever U.S. delegation to World Economic Forum in Davos next week.


The Geneva-based think tank says Trump, whose assertive foreign policy on issues as diverse as Venezuela and Greenland in recent months has stirred concerns among U.S. friends and foes alike, will be accompanied by five Cabinet secretaries and other top officials for the event running from Monday through Jan. 23.

A total of 850 CEOs and chairs of the world’s top companies will be among the 3,000 participants from 130 countries expected in the Alpine resort this year, the forum says.

Forum President Borge Brende says six of the Group of Seven leaders — including Trump — will attend, as well as presidents Volodymyr Zelenskky of Ukraine, Ahmad al-Sharaa of Syria and others. A total of 64 heads of state or government are expected so far — also a record — though that number could increase before the start of the event, he said.

China’s delegation will be headed by Vice Premier He Lifeng, Beijing’s top trade official, Brende said.

Among the scores of other high-profile attendees expected are European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as well as tech industry titans Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

Brende said the U.S. delegation will include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, along with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff.

The forum, which held its first annual meeting in 1971, has long been a hub of dialogue, debate and deal-making. Trump has already attended twice while president, and was beamed in by video last year just days after being inaugurated for his second term.

Critics call it a venue for the world’s elites to hobnob and do business that sometimes comes at the expense of workers, the impoverished or people on the margins of society. The forum counters that its stated goal is “improving the state of the world” and insists many advocacy groups, academics and cultural leaders have an important role too.

This year’s edition will be the first annual meeting not headed by forum founder Klaus Schwab, who resigned last year. He’s been succeeded by interim co-chairs Larry Fink, chairman and CEO of New York-based investment management company BlackRock, and Andre Hoffmann, the vice chairman of Swiss pharmaceuticals company Roche Holdings.

Israeli police issues arrest warrant against former Netanyahu aide.

Israeli police issued an arrest warrant for a former aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, accusing him of being implicated in two affairs involving the premier’s office.

Israel Einhorn, a former campaign adviser to Netanyahu who now lives in Serbia, appeared on a list of people whom the police suspect of involvement in the so-called “Bild affair” and are prevented from communicating with the prime minister’s office.

Next to Einhorn’s name a line was added saying there is a “pending arrest warrant against him,” according to a document submitted to the court.

“We can confirm the warrant,” a police spokesman told AFP.

In a post on his personal Facebook page, Netanyahu said the arrest warrant showed he was being targeted via his former aides.

“They can’t beat me in elections, so they start a lawsuit, the lawsuit falls apart so they bring in my advisors one after the other to try to blackmail them”, he said in a video message in Hebrew.

The Bild affair involved the leaking of classified intelligence from the Israeli military to the German tabloid Bild in September 2024. Two other Netanyahu aides were arrested and indicted for the leak.

The document aimed to prove that Hamas was not interested in a ceasefire deal, and to support Netanyahu’s claim that the hostages captured by Palestinian militants in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel could only be released through military pressure rather than negotiations.

Einhorn has not returned to Israel since the investigation was opened, but he was questioned by Israeli investigators in Serbia last year.

He is also a suspect in the so-called “Qatargate” scandal, in which he and other close associates of Netanyahu are suspected of being recruited by Qatar to promote the Gulf country’s image in Israel.

Qatar hosts senior Hamas leaders and has played a mediating role between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement during the war in Gaza.

It also sent millions of dollars in cash to Gaza every month between 2018 and October 2023 to pay Hamas’s civil servants and for cash handouts to Gazan families.

The news of the warrant came after the police on Sunday detained a current senior aide to Netanyahu suspected of obstructing an investigation, with local media reporting that it was the premier’s chief of staff Tzachi Braverman.

Another former Netanyahu aide, Eli Feldstein, recently said during a televised interview that Braverman offered to “shut down” an army investigation into the Bild affair.

Feldstein himself is on trial for his alleged involvement in both the Bild leak and Qatargate.

In the same interview, Feldstein said Netanyahu was aware of the leak and was in favour of using the document to drum up public support for the war.

Israeli media reported on Monday that Braverman, picked to become Israel’s next ambassador to the U.K., was barred from leaving the country for 30 days, and from being in contact with the Prime Minister’s office for 15 days.

AFP contacted the police and Braverman’s lawyer to confirm the bans but did not immediately receive a response.

Drone strike kills 3 in Gaza as Hamas prepares to transfer governance to new committee