Category Archives: US foreign policy

Campaigners press US to ban Israel arms sales after UK’s partial halt

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Activists say Britain’s decision bolsters case for Congress to follow suit and may embolden opposition to Biden policy

The UK decision to suspend some arms exports to Israel has bolstered the case for Congress to follow the example of its ally, US campaigners for a ban have said.

The campaigners are pressing the US Senate and the house to pass a joint resolution of disapproval blocking authorisation for an unprecedented $20bn (£15.2bn) weapons sale. The massive transfer was notified to Congress last month when it was in recess.

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US arms advantage over Russia and China threatens stability, experts warn

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Academics say vulnerability of the two countries’ nuclear launch sites makes dangerous mistakes more likely

The US and its allies are capable of threatening and destroying all of Russia and China’s nuclear launch sites with conventional weapons, creating what two experts describe as a potentially unstable geopolitical situation.

Prof Dan Plesch and Manuel Galileo, from Soas University of London, describe a “quiet revolution in military affairs” reflecting increased US military power relative to Moscow and Beijing, particularly in missile technology.

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US charges Hamas leaders over 7 October and pushes for ‘final’ truce – as it happened

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This live blog is now closed, you can read more of our Israel-Gaza war coverage here

The main United Nations agency for Palestinians says it is making good progress in rolling out a polio vaccine to children in Gaza, but called for a permanent ceasefire in the 11-month war to ease humanitarian suffering.

UNRWA said that three days into the campaign in areas of central Gaza around 187,000 children have received the vaccine. The campaign will move to other areas of the enclave in the second stage.

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Hamas leaders charged by US over deadly 7 October attacks on Israel

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Yahya Sinwar and at least five others accused by US justice department of planning and orchestrating the deadly attacks in which 1,200 people were killed

The United States has announced criminal charges against Hamas’ top leaders over their roles in planning, supporting and perpetrating the 7 October attack in southern Israel.

The charges against Yahya Sinwar, the militant group’s chief, and at least five others accuse them of orchestrating the attack, which killed 1,200 people, including more than 40 Americans.

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Two US soldiers assaulted by nationalist youth group in Turkey, authorities say

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Fifteen suspected assailants, members of the Turkey Youth Union, were detained after attack in port city of Izmir

Two US military service members were “physically attacked” in the port city of Izmir in western Turkey on Monday by members of an anti-American youth group, authorities said.

Fifteen suspected assailants were detained in the attack on the two service members, who were dressed in civilian clothing at the time of the incident. Five other US service members joined in the incident after seeing the violent encounter, officials said.

Reuters contributed to this report

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UK suspends 30 arms export licences to Israel after review

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Foreign Office says review found ‘clear risk’ UK arms may be used in violation of humanitarian law

The UK has broken with the Biden administration on a significant part of their tightly coordinated policy towards Israel by announcing it is suspending some arms export licences to Israel because of a “clear risk” they may be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.

The Foreign Office said a two-month internal review had raised concerns about the way Israel had conducted itself in the conflict in Gaza and that the decision specifically related to concerns around the treatment of Palestinian detainees and the supply of aid to Gaza.

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US seizes Nicolás Maduro’s jet and flies it to Florida

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Move is apparent escalation of pressure on Venezuelan leader over heavily contested claim of victory in July poll

US authorities have seized Nicolás Maduro’s plane in an apparent escalation of pressure on the Venezuelan president, more than a month after his widely contested claim of victory in the country’s national elections.

US authorities confirmed on Monday they had seized Maduro’s jet in the Dominican Republic after determining it was allegedly purchased in violation of US sanctions. The plane, described by US officials as Venezuela’s equivalent to Air Force One, has been flown to Fort Lauderdale in Florida.

Additional reporting Tom Phillips

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Special relationship at risk if UK bans arms sales to Israel, says Trump adviser

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Robert O’Brien says UK could face US counter-embargos and put its role in F-35 fighter jet project in danger

Labour risks a serious rift in the UK’s special relationship with the US if it goes ahead with a ban on arms sales to Israel, Donald Trump’s last national security adviser has warned.

Robert O’Brien, still one of the key security voices in the Trump circle, said the UK was endangering its future role in the F-35 project as well as facing the risk of US congressional counter-embargos. The F-35 fighter jets are made in part by British arms firms and are used by Israel’s air force as part of its bombing of Gaza.

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Xi Jinping holds surprise meeting with senior Biden aide in Beijing

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Chinese leader speaks with Jake Sullivan, who was making his first visit to Beijing as US national security adviser

Xi Jinping has spoken with the US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, in a surprise meeting during the senior Biden aide’s three-day visit to Beijing.

The meeting on Thursday afternoon came after days of talks between Sullivan and senior Communist party officials including the foreign minister, Wang Yi, and a vice-chair of the central military commission believed to have the ear of Xi.

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Australian PM caught on camera joking with senior US official over funding of Pacific policing plan

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Anthony Albanese tells journalists to ‘chill out’ over comments filmed in the wings of Pacific Islands Forum

The Australian prime minister has been caught on camera in Tonga joking with a senior US official about going “halvies” on the cost of a newly announced Pacific policing plan.

The deputy secretary of state, Kurt Campbell, appeared to suggest in the video that the US had been planning to pursue an unspecified security-related proposal but had been encouraged by Australia not to proceed.

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Joe Biden ordered Gaza pier to be built despite fears of aid experts

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Report by US Agency for International Development into $230m pier paints scathing picture of a failed project

Joe Biden declared the US intention to build a pier off the coast of Gaza as a means of delivering food despite advice to the contrary from aid experts in his administration, according to an official investigation into the ill-fated project.

A new report by the inspector general of the US Agency for International Development (USAid), which was responsible for delivering food to Gaza by the pier, paints a scathing picture of a failed project, in which political and security imperatives outweighed humanitarian considerations.

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US officials say Gaza ceasefire ‘in sight’ but Israel and Hamas downbeat

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Warring sides indicate breakthrough not imminent as renewed fighting rages in parts of Palestinian territory

US officials have expressed optimism that a ceasefire deal in the war in Gaza “is in sight”, despite growing indications from Israel and Hamas that a breakthrough is not imminent and as renewed fighting rages in parts of the Palestinian territory.

Washington has put pressure on both parties to accept a bridging proposal suggested during internationally mediated talks in Qatar last week, dispatching the secretary of state, Antony Blinken, on his ninth visit to the region since the conflict broke out 10 months ago. The latest round of negotiations, in which Hamas is not directly participating, were scheduled to restart in Cairo by Thursday but appear to have been postponed.

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Ceasefire elusive as Blinken leaves Middle East, with future Israeli presence in Gaza key sticking point

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The US secretary of state’s ninth visit to the region since the start of the conflict has ended without truce agreement

US secretary of state Antony Blinken said that “time is of the essence” to secure a Gaza ceasefire, as he wrapped up a Middle East tour with an agreement between Israel and Hamas still elusive.

The deal “needs to get done, and it needs to get done in the days ahead,” Blinken told reporters in Doha before departing for Washington, as he reiterated his call for Hamas to accept a “bridging proposal” for a deal, which he said Israel had accepted, and asked both parties to work towards finalising it.

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Countries fueling Israel’s Gaza war may be complicit in war crimes, experts warn

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Exclusive: research tracks dozens of oil and fuel shipments that could have aided Israel’s war on Gaza

Israeli tanks, jets and bulldozers bombarding Gaza and razing homes in the occupied West Bank are being fueled by a growing number of countries signed up to the genocide and Geneva conventions, new research suggests, which legal experts warn could make them complicit in serious crimes against the Palestinian people.

Four tankers of American jet fuel primarily used for military aircraft have been shipped to Israel since the start of its aerial bombardment of Gaza in October.

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Blinken says Gaza ceasefire talks ‘may be last opportunity’ for hostage deal

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US secretary of state says Netanhayu supports US ceasefire proposal, after meeting with Israeli PM

The US secretary of state has said during a visit to Israel that the current round of ceasefire talks is “maybe the last opportunity” to broker a truce and a hostage and prisoner swap in the 10-month-old war in Gaza.

Antony Blinken met Israeli officials, including in a three-hour one-on-one with the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Monday during a 24-hour trip to Tel Aviv before he travels on to Egypt.

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Biden to give possible swan song at Democratic convention amid Gaza protests

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President set to receive electrifying welcome but thousands also expected to protest in Chicago over Israel military aid

Joe Biden will take centre stage for perhaps the last time on Monday night when he addresses the Democratic national convention in Chicago – as the US president faces a backlash over one of his most complex legacies.

Tens of thousands of protesters are expected to converge in the host city to demand that the US end military aid to Israel for its ongoing war in Gaza. Activists have branded Biden “Genocide Joe” and called for the vice-president, Kamala Harris, to change course.

Andrew Roth and Rachel Leingang contributed reporting

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Blinken arrives in Israel for 11th-hour talks on Gaza ceasefire deal

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US secretary of state flies into Tel Aviv amid signals that a breakthrough may not be as close as had been suggested

The US secretary of state has arrived in Israel for 11th-hour talks aimed at shoring up a deal for a lasting ceasefire in the war in Gaza, amid signals from Israeli and Hamas officials that a breakthrough may not be as close as international mediators had suggested.

Antony Blinken flew into Tel Aviv on Sunday as part of Washington’s renewed efforts to broker a ceasefire in the 10-month-old conflict, negotiations seen as even more urgent after last month’s back-to-back assassinations of a top Hezbollah commander and the Hamas political chief, Ismail Haniyeh.

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Israel feared legal trouble over US advocacy efforts, leaked files suggest

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Exclusive: officials concerned by foreign agent law proposed creation of American nonprofit to avoid scrutiny

The Israeli government sought legal advice on a US federal law requiring the disclosure of foreign-backed lobbying campaigns, out of concern that mounting enforcement of the law could ensnare American groups working in coordination with the Israeli government, leaked documents reviewed by the Guardian suggest.

Emails and legal memos originating from a hack of the Israeli justice ministry show that officials feared that the country’s advocacy efforts in the US could trigger the US law governing foreign agents. The documents show that officials proposed creating a new American nonprofit in order to continue Israel’s activities in the US while avoiding scrutiny under the law.

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Ukraine links Kursk incursion to ‘fair talks’ as Russia closes in on key city

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Comments by Zelenskiy aide come as officials in strategic Pokrovsk say Moscow’s forces are ‘advancing at a fast pace’

Ukraine’s lightning offensive into several Russian border regions is designed to persuade Moscow to engage in “fair” talks about its war in Ukraine, an aide to Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said, as Russian forces close in on the strategic city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region.

“We need to inflict significant tactical defeats on Russia,” the Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on the Telegram messaging app. “In the Kursk region, we clearly see how the military tool is objectively used to convince the Russian Federation to enter into a fair negotiation process.

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Israel-Gaza war: Israel publishes plan for new West Bank settlement as regional tensions simmer – as it happened

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This live blog is now closed, you can read more of our Israel-Gaza war coverage here

Palestinian newborn twins, their mother and grandmother were killed by an Israeli strike on their Gaza apartment as their father picked up their birth certificates.

Mohammed Abu Al-Qumsan had just picked up the certificates when he found out the twins had been killed, along with his wife and her mother, by a strike on the building where they were sheltering, according to Reuters.

My wife is gone, my two babies and my mother-in-law. I was told it’s a tank shell on the apartment they were in, in a house we were displaced to.

Today, it was registered in history that the occupation army targets newborn children who are barely four days old, twins along with their mother and grandmother.

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