The United States has received new information from the Israeli authorities about a specific Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) unit that Washington was reportedly going to designate for human rights allegations in the West Bank. In light of the new information, Washington is looking into whether the unit is on a path to remediation. No final decision has been made (Read more at USNews).
Experts say growing protest movement on university campuses could help shift US policy on Israel in the long term. It could also threaten the bipartisan backing that Israel enjoys in Washington. We’re already seeing evidence of a generation divide on Israel, and that is going to be a long-term issue for the Democratic Party (Read more at Aljazeera).
Asked by a reporter if he believes the Israeli government is “a credible source” for information on the mass graves, Patel responded: “We do. We do.” Gaza’s civil defence agency says more than 300 bodies have been found buried in the courtyard of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis (Read more at Aljazeera).
Israeli officials told Axios they are highly concerned the unprecedented decision could lead to more sanctions on other IDF units. The sanctions would ban the battalion and its members from receiving any kind of U.S. military assistance or training. A U.S. official said Blinken's determination about the Netzah Yehuda unit is based on incidents that occurred before the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and all took place in the West Bank (Read more at Axios).
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, "we have processes within the department that are looking at that incidents that have been raised. Those processes are ongoing." (Read more at USNews)
The congresswoman from New York described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as like "an unfolding genocide." Still, she made a case for Biden's reelection despite his support for Israel, citing a "a vested interest in protecting democracy not just here domestically, but globally." (Read more at USNews)
The US Treasury Department also imposed sanctions on two organizations for fundraising on behalf of two violent Israeli extremists in the West Bank. The two groups -- Mount Hebron Fund and Shlom Asiraich – established crowdfunding campaigns to raise thousands of dollars for Yinon Levi and David Chai Chasdai respectively. At the same time, the State Department on Friday sanctioned Ben-Zion Gopstein, “the founder and leader of Lehava (Read more at Al Ahram).
Israel did not notify the US of its intention to carry out strikes in Iran on Thursday, and had previously told its closest ally that it would not strike the Islamic Republic until after the Passover holiday, a senior US official has told Middle East Eye (Read more at Middle East Eye).
It shows that Iran’s attack isn’t halting negotiations over Israel’s conduct in the war against Hamas. The initial plan had been to hold the discussion in person in Washington, but Iran’s weekend attack postponed a trip (Read more at Politico).
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that there is "still no date certain" for the meeting. The White House had said it expected the meeting to take place this week after a virtual face-to-face transpired last Monday, but Kirby said he is "not sure that it's going to actually happen this week." (Read more at Anadolu Agency)
Earlier, Netanyahu said in a video that "there is a date" for a ground invasion of Rafah, saying that "it will happen". Reiterating the U.S.' opposition to a ground invasion of an Israeli assault on Gaza city of Rafah without a credible plan, Miller said: "We have not yet seen them present a credible plan for dealing with a 1.4 million civilians who are in Rafah." (Read more at Anadolu Agency)
Israel is in the processes of buying 75 F-35s and - as of last year - had taken delivery of 36, paying for them with U.S. assistance. The United States has also helped Israel develop and arm its Iron Dome short-range rocket defense system. Washington has also helped fund the development of Israel's "David's Sling" system, designed to shoot down rockets fired from 100 kilometers to 200 km (62 miles to 124 miles) away (Read more at Reuters).
National Security Spokesman John Kirby said it is really just about rest and refit. Some national security experts see this as a possible inflection point in the war, though the direction of that turn remains unclear (Read more at CNBC).
Forty members of Congress signed a letter to Biden, dated Friday, stating that the deadly attack on World Central Kitchen aid workers necessitates investigation into whether Israel is using US weaponry “in compliance with US and international law.” The lawmaker's split with President Joe Biden highlights divisions within the Democratic Party on US-Israel policy (Read more at Huffingtonpost).
Secretary of State Antony Blinken responded to internal discontent with a letter to staff in November, saying: “I know that for many of you the suffering caused by this crisis is taking a profound personal toll.” (Read more at Arabnews).
He warned that U.S. policy would now be determined by “immediate” steps Israel must take to mitigate an “unacceptable” humanitarian situation. Biden’s tone in addressing the attack that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers was markedly more tense than previous tragedies that took the lives of United Nations staff (Read more at The Hill).
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's execution of these objectives is undermining the US soft power elsewhere in the region. For Israel, the stakes in the ongoing war are significantly higher than for the US because Tel Aviv’s top brass widely views it as an existential threat. Faced with limited alternatives, Netanyahu opts for confrontation, banking on enduring until the upcoming US elections in November (Read more at The Cradle).
Former Trump national security advisor John Bolton believes “The fact that Iran has not yet been held to account for any of it, suggests that we’re still in the very early stages of the war ... This is not a Gaza versus Israel war, or a Palestinian versus Israel war, or an Arab versus Israel war. This is an Iranian war against Israel, fought through terrorist proxies.” (Read more at CNBC).
Even former President Donald Trump went public with his belief that Israel was losing the PR battle and needed to end the conflict soon. Kirby said the U.S. would only give Israel “hours and days” to outline policy shifts and that, absent real changes, “there’ll have to be changes from our side.” Hours later, Israel opened the Erez crossing for the first time (Read more at Politico).
The White House said it was "heartbroken" after several people working for World Central Kitchen, a US-based aid organisation, were killed in an Israeli military strike in Gaza. US Central Command and the Royal Jordanian Air Force conducted a combined humanitarian assistance airdrop into Northern Gaza on April 1, 2024 (Read more at TRTWorld).
Some invitees turned the president down over frustrations in the Muslim community over his policy toward the Israel-Gaza war. The White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that these leaders would rather have a meeting than a dinner (Read more at USNews).
A dual US-Canadian citizen and six other aid workers were killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike in Gaza after delivering desperately needed food to the war-torn territory (Read more at NewYork Post).
Senior Israeli officials said holding a virtual meeting is a way for Netanyahu to "save face" and have a discussion with the White House about Rafah without sending a delegation to Washington. A senior Israeli official said a second meeting, in person, is planned to take place as soon as next week (Read more at Axios).
The new arms packages include more than 1,800 MK84 2,000-pound bombs and 500 MK82 500-pound bombs, said the sources, who confirmed a report in the Washington Post. Washington gives $3.8 billion in annual military assistance to Israel, its longtime ally (Read more at USNews).
Israelis are keenly aware that the close bond between their country and the U.S. is fraying over a war that they in their large majority support. Many are quick to echo Mr. Netanyahu by insisting Israel is ready to “go it alone” to “finish the job in Gaza” if need be. There is a growing sentiment that the widening breach with the U.S. is not based on a legitimate critique of the war, but on U.S. domestic politics (Read more at CSMonitor).
19 senators encourage Joe Biden to 'publicly outline a path' for US to recognize 'nonmilitarized' Palestinian state. The senators said they have been "particularly disappointed" by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to engage on a path to a Palestinian state (Read more at Anadolu Ajansı).
That proposal would see Israeli forces working to curb Hamas militants’ ability to smuggle weapons into Rafah, choking off their capacity to wage further war against Israel. It’s unclear for how long Israel would stay on the border along the eight-mile stretch. Egypt have lobbied Washington to urge Israel not to invade Rafah. They worry the operation would push Gazans, including Hamas militants to flee across the border into Sinai (Read more at Politico).
Blinken has arrived in Saudi Arabia as part of a regional tour, his sixth since the start of the war. The State Department has announced that Blinken will cap his tour by visiting Israel. He is expected to be in Tel Aviv on Friday (Read more at Aljazeera).
This is a signal that both Biden and Netanyahu are trying to avoid a public clash. Biden told Netanyahu that while he shares the goal of destroying Hamas, there must be a coherent strategy to do that. "We want to have a strategic discussion about how to defeat Hamas in a way that will be long-term. There are ways to defeat Hamas without smashing into Rafah," Sullivan said (Read more at Axios).
The Biden administration sincerely wants to help ease the suffering. But he refuses to use US leverage with Israel, providing billions of dollars in weapons and other assistance. The problem is that the Israeli government knows that Biden and Congress will not withhold serious amounts of funding and therefore does not need to heed US requests (Read more at Arabnews).
Sarah Yager, Washington director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement, “Given ongoing hostilities in Gaza, the Israeli government’s assurances to the Biden administration that it is meeting US legal requirements are not credible.” (Read more at Aljazeera)
He will visit the Middle East this week and meet senior leaders in Saudia Arabia and Egypt to "discuss the right architecture for lasting regional peace". "We've also impressed upon Israel the imperative of having a plan for Gaza for when the conflict ends, which we hope will be as soon as possible, consistent with Israel's needs to defend itself and make sure Oct. 7 can never happen again," Blinken added (Read more at USNews).
Netanyahu told lawmakers on Tuesday he had made it "supremely clear" to the U.S. president "that we are determined to complete the elimination of these battalions in Rafah, and there's no way to do that except by going in on the ground" (Read more at USNews).
In a meeting with American Jewish organization executives on Tuesday, Schumer defended his call for an election and the stance that Netanyahu is a danger to Israel. Schumer only shared the content of his speech with a small circle of staff members and his wife. He alerted the White House the day before — just to ensure it wouldn't interfere with negotiations (Read more at Axios).
Netanyahu told Fox News that Israel never would have called for a new U.S. election after the Sept. 11 attacks, and denounced Schumer’s comments as inappropriate. “We will operate in Rafah. This will take several weeks, and it will happen,” he said (Read more at Yahoo News).
Kirby, White House National Security Communications Adviser, said Biden "understands that that's up to the Israeli people" concerning whether they hold new elections. He added, the U.S. doesn't "agree with everything" Israel does, but elections up to them (Read more at Axios).
The Sinn Fein leader, who was in Washington for a St Patrick's Day reception, says we're at a tipping point and big decisions now need to be made by the United States. Ceasefire now has to be the absolute priority (Read more at Skynews).
"The president was very clear that the US would continue to support Israel and to assist Israel to defend itself, so I don't think that's going to change," Varadkar said after their Oval Office meeting. "But I think none of us like to see American weapons being used in the way they are. The way they're being used at the moment is not self-defense." (Read more at NewArab)
Biden, who said that Schumer contacted his staff in advance of making the speech Thursday, said he wouldn't elaborate further on the comments. "I think he expressed a serious concern shared not only by him but by many Americans," Biden said. (Read more at NBCNews)
He said, "I can tell you is we're working intensively with Israel, with Qatar, with Egypt, to bridge the remaining gaps and to try to reach an agreement". When asked about a possible Israel military offensive on Rafah, Blinken said the US had not seen such plans, reiterating that Washington wants a "clear and implementable plan" to ensure civilians are "out of harm's way". (Read more at Barron's)
Some have called into question whether its impact could boomerang into a boost for Mr Netanyahu's far-right coalition as it continues to wage war in Gaza. Benny Gantz, a political rival of Mr Netanyahu, said the US senator had “erred in his remarks” and that “external intervention” was “counterproductive and unacceptable.” (Read more at The National)
The CFO of McDonald’s announced that the boycott’s impact on sales in the arab region and the Islamic world. McDonald's shares plummeted by over 3 percent, heading towards recording its biggest daily loss in five weeks (Read more at Jordannews).
Evangelicals, long Israel’s among greatest supporters in the U.S. and abroad, are traveling there as war volunteers, providing extra hands for farms struggling to harvest. Propelled by faith, the “voluntourists” say they hope to show solidarity (Read more CSMonitor).
The Biden administration asked Israel to provide the signed letter of assurances by mid-March. The Israeli war cabinet gave Gallant the green light to sign the letter of assurances (Read more at Axios).
Chuck Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in US history, in his most strident criticism of Israel, has declared that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is an obstacle to peace, too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza, and endorsed Israel hosting new elections to oust his right-wing government. He also said “There needs to be a fresh debate about the future of Israel after October 7.” (Read more at Aljazeera)
Biden has begun a tricky maneuver: breaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Gaza war strategy — while sticking with Israel and its fight against Hamas. U.S. intelligence services expect large protests demanding Netanyahu's resignation and new elections in the coming weeks and months and A different, more moderate government is a possibility (Read more at Axios).
He was one of six Americans still considered held hostage in Gaza. 19-year-old Itay Chen was killed in action on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants crossed into Israel and attacked his base. His body was then taken by Hamas militants to Gaza (Read more at Axios).
8 senators, led by Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of preventing US-funded aid from reaching the Gaza Strip's civilian population “in a safe and timely manner (Read more at Al Monitor).
The airdrops were “a good way of showing to Democratic Party voters that the US cares about the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Israel is not anymore under pressure to open its border with Gaza. While Israel was considering arming some Palestinian individuals or clans in Gaza to provide security protection for aid convoys after the fighting ends, 99 percent of the time, food that’s airdropped over Gaza gets immediately collected by civilians (Read more at Arabnews).
It also suggests that Israel will fail to achieve its aim in the Gaza war of completely eliminating Hamas. It appeared unusual for American spy agencies to offer their analysis of an allied leader’s political prospects in an unclassified document (Read more at Politicalwire).
It includes mainstream left-wing groups, more than 20 advocacy groups as well as organisations focused on Palestinian rights. They claim that AIPAC is readying a $100m offensive through its electoral arms (Read more at Aljazeera).
US arms sale to Israel since Oct 7 includes tens of tonnes of 155mm shells, tens of thousands of guided bombs, air-to-ground missiles of the ‘Hellfire’ model, and drones, roughly 21,000 precision-guided munitions, thousands of bunker-buster munitions, and 200 kamikaze drones. On the other hand, the US and Israel have concluded a massive arms deal that includes the supply of F-35 and F-15 fighter jets to Tel Aviv (Read more at Jordan News).
In 100 secret operations since the start of the war, this bridge involved at least 100 flights originating from US bases worldwide and hundreds of flights operated by air and sea shipping companies. Joe Biden chose not to inform Congress about these operations (Read more at Jordan News).
Muslim organisations in New York are calling on their local mosques and spaces this Ramadan to not invite - or decline invitations from - any elected official who has not called for a ceasefire in the war on Gaza (Read more at Middle East Eye).
A day after President Biden asserted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “hurting Israel more than helping Israel,” Mr. Netanyahu dismissed that contention as “wrong.” Mr. Netanyahu said his policies represented the “overwhelming majority” of Israelis (Read more at Nepal Page).
The officials said the administration “has yet to see any kind of humanitarian or evacuation plan from the Israeli government that seeks to ensure the safety of civilians in Rafah before launching a military operation there” (Read more at Aljazeera).
"We are looking at the possibility of hundreds of thousands of children starving to death. The United States of America cannot be complicit in this mass slaughter of children," Sanders said. "You can't beg Netanyahu. You have to tell him 'if you want any money, you have to change your policy," he continued (Read more at Axios).
A Palestinian aid worker employed at a US charity has been killed in an Israeli attack on his shelter in Gaza’s Deir el-Balah. This is the fifth member of a US humanitarian aid group killed in the war on Gaza (Read more at Aljazeera).
Biden said, “The defence of Israel is still critical, so there’s no red line [where] I’m going to cut off all weapons so they don’t have the Iron Dome to protect them. But there’s red lines that if he crosses them…”, Biden said without finishing his chain of thought, adding that his administration “cannot have 30,000 more Palestinians dead.” (Read more at Aljazeera)
He changed only rhetorically. But he has not backed away from the two pillars of President Biden’s position on the October 7 terrorist attacks: Israel has a right to defend itself and Hamas must be destroyed. There is one area where the president has changed: Prior to the war, he evinced little or no interest in a two-state solution. He has now put his administration squarely behind this idea (Read more at CFR).
In his last State of the Union address before the November elections, US President Joe Biden reiterated his administration's commitment to a two-state solution. However, Biden said that “Israel has a right to go after Hamas” for the Oct. 7 massacre and resisted calls from the progressive wing of his party to restrict US military assistance to Israel or cut off its diplomatic protection at the United Nations (Read more at Al Monitor).
An international relations and media lecturer at Israel’s Hebrew University, believes the historically close relationship between the two countries will supersede the relationships between individual administrations. I don’t remember another war that Israel fought where it received so much support from a U.S. administration. The airlifting of U.S. military equipment to Israel occurred almost immediately. It never stopped (Read more at CNBC).
The White House is seeking a full accounting of the government's weapons assistance to Israel as criticism and pressure grow across the political spectrum of U.S. support for Israel in the war in Gaza (Read more at Axios).
William Burns secretly arrived in Egypt yesterday and headed to Doha today for a meeting with Qatar’s prime minister. He will next travel to Israel (Read more at Aljazeera).
Mike Pompeo said that the Palestinian aid packed in Joe Biden's State of Union speech was to appeal to pro-Hamas democrats who wish to see Israel fail and Hamas succeed. He believes that aid will end up in the Hamas's hands (Watch the interview at Hudson).
Council on American-Islamic Relations calls for federal investigation into a real estate event which advertised properties in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. They are deemed illegal under international law. The event's website advertises properties located in several Israeli cities. It also lists the following Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank: Neve Daniel, Efrat, Ma’ale Adumim (Read more at Middle East Eye).
US activist, academic and presidential candidate Cornel West said, "I stand in deep solidarity with my Palestinian brothers and sisters." (Read more at NewArab)
Former president’s rhetoric shows voters seeking to punish Joe Biden for backing Israel face dilemma in upcoming election. Donald Trump has voiced explicit backing for Israel’s war on Gaza, suggesting that he supports the goal expressed by the hardline government in Tel Aviv of continuing the assault until “total victory” (Read more at Aljazeera).
The United States on Tuesday revised language in a draft United Nations Security Council resolution to back "an immediate ceasefire of roughly six-weeks in Gaza together with the release of all hostages. The third revision of the text - first proposed by the US two weeks ago - now reflects blunt remarks by Vice President Kamala Harris (Read more at TBS News).
She called for Hamas to accept terms for an immediate ceasefire. In a post on X, Ms Harris said she "reiterated" support for Israel's "right to defend itself" and discussed the need to increase the flow of aid into Gaza (Read more at Skynews).
The strong messages Gantz received in private, signal the White House has lost its patience and is ratcheting up pressure on the Israeli government. Gantz, who is considered a more moderate member of the Israeli war cabinet, tried to reassure Harris and Sullivan that Israel won't go into Rafah without evacuating the civilian population and stressed Israel has ways to do it, but also realized the White House doesn't believe the previous assurances received from Netanyahu about this issue (Read more at Axios).
Speaking before his meeting with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani at the State Department, the top U.S. diplomat also said there was an opportunity right now to achieve an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war but that the onus was on the Palestinian militant group to engage in those talks (Read more at USNews).
The US administration’s decision to host war cabinet minister Benny Gantz is a calculated step aimed at “strengthening the moderate axis” in the Israeli governmen. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is upset about the visit (Read more at Aljazeera).
Since the end of the Vietnam War, every US presidency has been shaped by conflict in the Middle East and viewed it solely through the lens of Israel. Donald Trump accepted Israel’s annexation of “East Jerusalem” and the Golan Heights. This led some Arab states to move to establish ties with Israel in an effort to forestall further moves towards annexation. Israel, emboldened by its support from Washington, remained intransigent (Read more at The National).
Although she urged Hamas to accept a deal, she directed the bulk of her comments at Israel in what appeared to be the sharpest rebuke yet by a senior leader in the U.S. government over the conditions in the coastal enclave. Her comments reflected intense frustration, if not desperation, within the U.S. government about the war, which has hurt President Joe Biden with left-leaning voters as he seeks re-election this year (Read more at USNews)..
Lebanon's deputy parliament speaker said that he believed the timing of his visit pointed to progress in efforts to secure a Gaza truce "within the next few hours or days". Lebanon's caretaker prime minister said that a halt to fighting in the Gaza Strip as early as this week would trigger indirect talks to end hostilities along Lebanon's southern border with Israel (Read more at USNews).
The war has also reignited previously-dormant advocacy groups such as Pro-Israel America. It’s also supercharged fundraising on all sides of the conflict. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), the nation’s only federal Palestinian-American lawmaker, raised a staggering $3.7 million in the final three months of 2023, her largest-ever single quarter fundraising haul (Read more at Politico).
For example, Israel lists a number of fundraising campaigns hosted by Michigan-based LaunchGood, a nonprofit that crowdsources funding for some of the largest Muslim charities in the world and the U.S. hasn’t taken action against any of the campaigns or charities on the fundraising platform. They have undergone scrutiny by the Western governments that regulate them (Read more at MSN).
A senior US official said on Saturday that Israel had broadly accepted the plan and it was now up to Hamas to agree to release captives for the deal to take effect. In addition to halting Israel's war, Hamas wants new truce terms to ensure immediate humanitarian relief for Gazans, an Israeli withdrawal and the return of Gazans displaced from the north (Read more at Al Ahram).
The talks, first reported by Reuters, are expected to span topics including reducing Palestinian civilian casualties, securing a temporary ceasefire, the release of hostages held in Gaza and increasing aid to the territory, a White House official said (Read more at USNews).
The US claimed that it did not 'have all the facts on the ground' concerning the massacre on Palestinians queueing for aid by the Israeli military. The US was the only country out of 15 to not back Algeria's statement on the massacre in Al-Rashid Street that killed at least 112. US deputy ambassador Robert Wood said that he wanted the wording to reflect "the necessary due diligence with regards to culpability." (Read more at NewArab).
The US normally does airdrops in hostile environments, not in areas occupied by allies. The move to drop aid from the skies signals Biden can’t persuade Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do more for suffering Palestinians. The U.S. has many ways to influence Israeli actions, not least of which is to consider conditioning military aid for the country (Read more at Politico).
Both presidents stressed the need to avoid the expansion of the conflict in the region. Egypt urged the UNSC member States to provide protection for the Palestinian people. Biden praised Egypt's intense political efforts to reach a truce and its pioneering role in providing humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. They also discussed strengthening the strategic bilateral partnership (Read more at Al Ahram).
The congressional leaders cited a recent poll from Data For Progress that found 77 per cent of Democrats, 69 per cent of Independents and 56 per cent of Republicans wanted "a permanent ceasefire and a de-escalation of violence in Gaza". Not only is a ceasefire good policy, it is good politics (Read more at The National).
The Pentagon said Mr Austin was quoting Hamas numbers and that the US is not keeping track of Gaza casualty figures. Pentagon press secretary Maj Gen Pat Ryder said that absent being on the ground in Gaza, the Pentagon has no way to corroborate tolls given by Israel or Gaza authorities (Read more at The National).
Biden walked back his previous remarks about a possible ceasefire in Gaza by Monday. White House deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton said the U.S. asked the Israeli government to thoroughly investigate the aid convoy incident. USAID Administrator Samantha Power said two crossings is not enough and we need more crossings into Gaza so that vitally needed humanitarian assistance can be dramatically surged (Read more at Axios).
The US urged Israel to allow Muslims to worship at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem during Ramadan after a far-right minister proposed barring Palestinians from the occupied West Bank from praying there (Read more at Al Ahram).
The Biden administration gave Israel until mid-March to sign a letter that gives assurances it will abide by international law while using U.S. weapons and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. If the assurances aren't provided by the deadline, U.S. weapon transfers to the country will be paused (Read more at Axios).
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday pushed back against President Biden's recent warning that Israel will lose support worldwide if its "incredibly conservative" government continues down its current path. Netanyahu cited a recent Harvard-Harris poll that found more than 80% of those surveyed in the U.S. supported Israel more than Hamas in the current conflict. But a recent AP/Norc poll showed that 50% of U.S. adults surveyed in January said they believed Israel's actions had gone too far (Read more at Axios).
During a guest appearance on Late Night With Seth Myers on US TV, US President took the opportunity to say that he was a Zionist. He did so several times before: During a Senate debate in 1986, he said "were there not an Israel, the United States of America would have to invent an Israel to protect her interests in the region". Last year, during his visit to Israel he said: "I don't believe you have to be a Jew to be a Zionist, and I am a Zionist" (Read more at NewArab).
Israel's plan to add thousands more homes in the occupied West Bank was the final push the Biden administration needed to declare them "inconsistent" with international law. Since January 2021, the Biden administration has come close a few times to restoring the language to the pre-Trump era, but each time the move was set aside largely due to a failure to secure a green light from all of the senior members of the administration. The Oct. 7 Hamas attack had temporarily halted plans for such a change (Read more at USNews).
"Blocking West Bank residents from working in Israel, it has a very significant negative effect on incomes in the West Bank. And Israel is also dependent on that labor force," Yellen said, adding that labor shortages were also hurting Israel's economy (Read more at USNews).
He added that he was leading the effort in Congress to make sure that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn't get the US funds that he needs to continue his war against the Palestinian people (Read more at NewArab).
His steadfast support of the Gaza war effort is angering young people and Arab Americans in an election year. But any change risks alienating Jewish voters. Mr. Biden needs the war to end, so he can reassemble the coalition that got him elected in 2020. But Mr. Netanyahu wants it to continue until the complete rout of Hamas, to stave off his own political reckoning from an angry electorate — and potentially help Donald J. Trump, his ally, return to power (Read more at NYTimes).
A 25-year-old US airman of San Antonio, Texas filmed himself repeatedly yelling yelling “Free Palestine". He then put his phone down, doused himself over the head with a liquid from a water bottle, and then set himself ablaze. The Israeli Embassy said none of its staffers were injured. In December, a person self-immolated outside the Israeli consulate in Atlanta and used gasoline as an accelerant. A Palestinian flag was found at the scene. (See his Linkedin page).
It includes the release of several hundred Palestinian prisoners, including those convicted of killing Israelis and serving long sentences, in exchange for Hamas freeing 35 to 40 Israeli hostages. Israel would agree to a day of ceasefire for each hostage, a limited return of Palestinian citizens to the northern part of the Gaza Strip, and a significant increase in the scope of humanitarian aid that would enter the Gaza Strip. It only mentions general principles for the next phases of the deal and the release of soldiers and an exchange of bodies (Read more at Axios).
U.S. Secretary of State Antony said the United States has become "disappointed" in Israel's announcement of plans for building new housing in the occupied West Bank because it is 'inconsistent' with international law. In 2019, Trump's Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that Washington no longer viewed Israel's settlements on West Bank captured in the 1967 as "inconsistent with international law." (Read more at USNews).
Even longtime supporters of a two-state peace, and opponents of Mr. Netanyahu, appear unready or unable to look beyond their own pain, the fate of the hostages still in Gaza, and the need to hit back hard in response to the Hamas attack. In these circumstances, Washington’s main task will be getting them even to listen (Read more at CSMonitor).
In the intermediate term, Israel wishes to “maintain its operational freedom of action in the entire Gaza Strip, without a time limit,” as well as to retain a security buffer within the besieged territory. Any reconstruction can only begin after “de-radicalization” and demilitarization. Israel also requests a “southern lock” on the border between the Gaza and Egypt (Read more at ABCNews).
The US intelligence report highlighted that Israeli bias against the UN aid agency impacted the quality of Israel’s assessments (Read more at New Arab).
Any movement towards Israel’s withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza requires consideration of Israel’s very real security needs on October 7 (Read more at Aljazeera).
He talks with Qatari, Egyptian and Israeli officials for at least a six-week pause in fighting. The main sticking point centers on differences over the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released and how the list will be determined for the first stage of what could be a three-phase deal (Read more at Axios).
“The next few weeks are a real hinge point — for Gaza, for Israel, for Lebanon, for the Red Sea, for Iraq,” said Senators Chris Coons. “It could create that window of 45 days, during Ramadan for a full implementation of UNSC resolution 1701,” he said. Senators Chris Coons and Richard Blumenthal told Lebanese Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri that Israel “is not bluffing” about an offensive (Read more at Arabnews).
Democratic Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Coons who held talks with Israeli and Arab leaders said yesterday that they were hopeful a deal could be struck allowing a humanitarian pause in the war in Gaza before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan (Read more at USNews).
It happened at the home of Israeli American media mogul Haim Saban. War in Gaza has divided California Democrats. A super PAC supporting former President Trump, ran digital ads targeting social media users in Saban’s ZIP Code that focus on White House officials’ meeting with Osama Siblani, a Michigan newspaper publisher who has previously praised Hamas and Hezbollah (Read more at LA Times).
Blinken’s first trip as secretary of state to Brazil comes more than three years into his tenure. The Biden administration had limited interest in dealing with Lula’s predecessor, the far-right Jair Bolsonaro. The Brazilian leftist president, on a trip to Ethiopia, said that what was happening in the Gaza Strip “isn’t a war, it’s a genocide.” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said We have been quite clear that we do not believe that genocide has occurred in Gaza (Read more at Arabnews).
Thirteen council members voted in favor of the Algerian-drafted text. Britain abstained. It demanded for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire (Read more at Arabnews).
Brett McGurk is expected to visit Israel and Egypt this week for talks on the possible Israeli military operation in Rafah and efforts to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Isrealis stressed they won't operation in Rafah without coordinating with the U.S. and Egypt. Israeli and U.S. officials have admitted that it would take many weeks before an operation in Rafah could go forward — possibly only in mid-April after the Islamic holy month of Ramadan is over (Read more at Axios).
But it says "as soon as practical" and based on the formula of all hostages being released” while also “lifting all barriers to the provision of humanitarian assistance at scale” in Gaza. The US draft also warns Israel not to launch a ground offensive in Rafah where more than 1.4 million of the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza have sought shelter. This is the first time the US is proposing the word ceasefire, while it has twice vetoed Security Council resolutions. Something very clearly has changed in Washington in the last 24 hours (Read more at Aljazeera).
Algeria put forward an initial draft resolution more than two weeks ago. But U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield quickly said the text could jeopardize "sensitive negotiations" aimed at brokering a pause in the war (Read more at USNews).
She had said, "If Canada someday ever attacked Buffalo, I'm sorry, my friends, there would be no Canada the next day." Later she apologized for her "poor choice of words." the governor added, "While I have been clear in my support of Israel's right to self-defense, I have also repeatedly said and continue to believe that Palestinian civilian casualties should be avoided." (Read more at USNews)
Tony Blinken-Secretary of State, Lloyd Austin-Secretary of Defense, Jake Sullivan-National Security Adviser, Jon Finer-Deputy National Security Adviser, Bill Burns-CIA Director, Avril Haines-Director of National Intelligence, David Satterfield-Special Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues, Brett McGurk-NSC Coordinator for the Middle East, Kamala Harris-Vice President, Phil Gordon-National Security Adviser to the VP, Roger Carstens-Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, Gen. Erik Kurilla-CENTCOM Commander (Read more at Axios).
The proposed arms delivery includes MK-82 bombs and KMU-572 Joint Direct Attack Munitions that add precision guidance to bombs, and FMU-139 bomb fuses (Link)
This may be due to the lack of experience of Biden’s administration and the failure to withdraw from the region. America returned with its largest presence since World War II. After Hezbollah carried out more than a thousand military operations against Israel, it established a buffer zone inside enemy territory, when the settlers fled the border areas that became the target of resistance strikes (Link).
The president of MIT said "We need to keep the community safe.” 13 student organizers had individually been threatened with permanent suspension from MIT. The president didn't address such disciplinary action against student organizers in her video messages (Link).
Number of American Jews who say they feel less secure in the US has jumped 22 percent from last year’s survey (Link).
I've been to Israel on numerous occasions. But this visit has been the most poignant and the most heartbreaking. What happened on October 7th was so shocking and so sadistic that the trauma is felt constantly, everywhere by everyone (Link).
