The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has announced that the US would reopen its consulate in Jerusalem after it was downgraded by the Trump administration, and will provide an additional $75m to help rebuild Gaza. Speaking alongside the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, he also promised to ‘continue to rebuild’ the US’s relationship with Palestinians, and repeated comments from Biden that both Israelis and Palestinians should ‘enjoy equal measures of freedom, opportunity, and democracy, to be treated with dignity’
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Blinken: US supports Israel’s right to defence against Hamas – video
The US secretary of state has arrived in Jerusalem at the start of a Middle East tour aimed at shoring up the Gaza ceasefire. In a joint press conference with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, Antony Blinken said the US 'fully supports Israel's right to defend itself against attacks' such as those by Hamas. A ceasefire was called after 11 days of fighting in which 250 people were killed by Israeli airstrikes on Gaza and 12 people died when Hamas rockets struck Israel.
Netanyahu spoke positively of his relationship with the US as well as a common ideal of recognising Israel as a Jewish state.
Continue reading...Biden staffers urge president to ‘hold Israel accountable’ and protect Palestinians – live
- 500 staffers sign letter urging Biden to ‘lay groundwork for peace’
- Secretary of state Tony Blinken to travel to Middle East this week
- Republicans scramble to derail Capitol riot commission creation
With the Tokyo Olympics just weeks away, the US State Department has issued a “Level 4” warning against traveling to Japan, that’s now struggling through another surge in Covid cases.
A new wrinkle two months before Olympics. US State Department advises travelers not to visit Japan. https://t.co/Hrnfkwzayz
A Tokyo medical organization has joined calls to cancel Japan’s Olympic games this summer, citing a surge in #COVID19 cases in the country.
“Japan will bear the maximum responsibility” for deaths caused by the games, it said.
Just 3.5% of people in Japan have been vaccinated. pic.twitter.com/TGZBVRZXmy
The Trump Administration, which forced families to separate at the border, also made migrant parents leave without their children according to a new Department of Homeland Security Inspector General report.
The agency watchdog found that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) knowingly deported parents who had asked to be allowed to take their children back, the Associated Press reports.
That contradicted assertions by senior DHS officials that parents were choosing to leave their children in the U.S. to stay with family or for other reasons while they were deported in 2017 and 2018 as the administration sought to enforce a hard-line approach to immigration enforcement.
The findings, issued by Trump-appointed Inspector General Joseph Cuffari, provide new insight into a policy that became a significant political crisis for the previous administration and a continuing challenge for the current one, which is working to reunite children who remain separated even now.
Continue reading...Blinken pledges US will deal with ‘grave humanitarian situation in Gaza’
US secretary of state also reaffirms Biden administration supports a two-state solution
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has pledged the Biden administration will deal with “the grave humanitarian situation in Gaza” and will seek “equal measures of security” for Israelis and Palestinians as a ceasefire after 11 days of conflict held throughout the weekend.
More than 240 people in Gaza, including at least 66 children, and a dozen in Israel were killed during the violence, marking the first major diplomatic crisis for the Biden administration.
Continue reading...From the river to the sea, Jews and Arabs must forge a shared future | Kenan Malik
Each side in this bitter conflict needs to recognise the other’s fears and aspirations
‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” runs a Palestinian slogan. Originally a call for a secular state in historic Palestine between the river Jordan and the Mediterranean, it soon became a sectarian slogan, deeply inflected by antisemitism. In the hands of Hamas, it is a call for the driving out of all Jews from the region; at best, a demand for ethnic cleansing, at worst for genocide.
The founding charter of Likud, Israel’s leading centre-right party, and the party of the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, echoes the same words but from the opposite perspective: “Between the Sea and the Jordan there will only be Israeli sovereignty”. It has continually blocked any workable two-state solution.
Continue reading...Thousands march in London pro-Palestine demonstration – video
Thousands of people have gathered in central London in solidarity with the people of Palestine. Organisers estimated that more than 180,000 joined the protest on Saturday, and that it could be one of the largest pro-Palestine demonstrations in British history. The protest went ahead despite the announcement of a ceasefire on Friday morning after a 11-day Israeli bombing campaign, with organisers saying they wanted to demand that the UK government implement sanctions on Israel
Continue reading...We don’t recognise our own city: Israeli barrage redraws the map of Gaza
A ceasefire is finally in force, but traumatised families have little hope as they recall collapsing buildings and deaths of loved ones
As they emerge from hiding, people living in Gaza City have had to adapt their memories. So deformed is this small place on the coast that a mental map of its roads and landmarks from two weeks ago is largely useless today. Shortcuts to avoid traffic may no longer work, as craters dot back streets and rubble blocks roads. Locally famous high-rises no longer exist.
Eleven days of bombardment have buckled the city. Air attacks shook the ground so violently that some bomb sites appear as if buildings have been pulled into the earth rather than hit from above.
Continue reading...Gaza damage and Glasgow raids: human rights this fortnight in pictures
A roundup of the coverage on struggles for human rights and freedoms, from Myanmar to Peru
Continue reading...Palestinians return to devastated homes as UN calls for Gaza dialogue
World leaders welcome ceasefire but Hamas and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu remain belligerent
Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians in Gaza have begun returning to their homes to inspect the devastation from 11 days of Israeli airstrikes in its war with Hamas.
Gaza City, on the Mediterranean coast, had been warped by the intense attacks, with gaping holes in the skyline from where high-rise buildings had collapsed, their remains sprawling into the street. Cars mounted pavements to avoid craters.
Continue reading...The two-state solution has no chance. But an Israeli-Palestinian confederation does | Meron Rapoport
Although they are two peoples with distinct national identities, Jews and Palestinians are inextricably geographically intertwined
“Peace for peace.” That’s how Benjamin Netanyahu described the Abraham Accords, the peace deals that Israel signed with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in September. No more “land for peace”, the paradigm that once governed diplomacy with the Palestinians.
From Netanyahu’s perspective, these deals were proof that he was right the whole time in claiming that the way to regional peace isn’t through the Palestinians. The US and Europe lost interest in the “Palestinian question” some time ago, and so did the Arab world, much of which decided it would rather align with Israel than support the Palestinians, who seemed more isolated and fragmented than ever. It’s no wonder so many people believed that Israel had won, and the Palestinian national struggle was over.
Continue reading...Palestinians greet ceasefire with celebrations on the streets of Gaza – video
Palestinians poured on to the streets after Israel and Palestinian militants agreed to a ceasefire. The truce comes after an 11-day conflict that killed more than 230 people in Gaza and 12 in Israel. Cars packed the streets of Gaza, with flags waving from the windows while mosque loudspeakers hailed a 'victory'
- Israel approves Gaza ceasefire to halt 11-day conflict
- Israel-Gaza conflict: world leaders hail ceasefire after 11 days of attacks
Israel-Gaza conflict: world leaders hail ceasefire after 11 days of attacks
Joe Biden hails ‘genuine opportunity to make progress’ as Palestinians in Gaza celebrate in the streets
World leaders have hailed a ceasefire that took hold in the early hours of Friday morning, and vowed to help rebuild Gaza after an Israeli bombing campaign that killed more than 230 people and Palestinian rocket attacks that killed 12 in Israel.
The United Nations secretary general urged Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers to observe the ceasefire and called on global leaders to develop a reconstruction package “that supports the Palestinian people and strengthens their institutions”.
Continue reading...Gaza: Israel security cabinet ‘to vote on unilateral ceasefire’ – reports
US White House says it believes Israel is in a position to wind down operations
Israel’s security cabinet has met amid reports that the government was considering halting its bombardment of Gaza, as international pressure to end the bloodshed gathered momentum.
The country’s public broadcaster, Kan, reported that the cabinet, headed by the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, would vote on a proposed “unilateral ceasefire” to go into effect within 24 hours. Israeli officials did not immediately confirm the report.
Continue reading...Both sides in Israel-Gaza conflict lay groundwork for victory narratives
Analysis: flare-up regarded by some as example of domestic politics driving violent escalation
As a ceasefire begins between Israel and Palestinian fighters in Gaza, the longtime foes are poised to turn their attention away from military action and on to constructing competing narratives of victory.
Already, the groundwork is being laid. Unnamed Israeli defence officials are being quoted in local media as saying they are satisfied with the damage inflicted. And a militant source in Gaza said: “For us, the battle achieved its goals.”
Continue reading...Pelosi condemns Republicans for opposing January 6 commission: ‘They’re afraid of the truth’ – live
- Biden speaks to Netanyahu about Gaza conflict
- McConnell announces opposition to Capitol attack commission bill
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The House voted 252-175 to establish a commission investigating the 6 January attack on the US Capitol. Among those who voted in favor of establishing the commission were 35 Republicans.
John Katko, the Republican ranking member of the House homeland security committee helped write the bill to establish the commission, had urged his fellow Republicans to support the proposal.
Republicans in Congress are rebelling against the mask requirement on the House chamber, which remains in place due to Covid-19 safety concerns from Democrats, who hold the majority.
During votes on Tuesday, several Republican lawmakers refused to wear masks as they stood in the chamber and encouraged other members to join them.
Continue reading...US calls on Israel to ‘de-escalate’ Gaza violence in push for ceasefire
Joe Biden takes tougher line in phone call with Benjamin Netanyahu, but Israel and Hamas deny truce is imminent
Joe Biden has told Benjamin Netanyahu that he expects “a significant de-escalation today on the path to a ceasefire” between Israel and militants in Gaza, in a notable toughening of the US president’s language on the conflict.
The White House said that in a phone call on Wednesday, “the two leaders had a detailed discussion on the state of events in Gaza, Israel’s progress in degrading the capabilities of Hamas and other terrorist elements, and ongoing diplomatic efforts by regional governments and the United States.”
Continue reading...‘Bearing the brunt’: the suffering of children in the Gaza-Israel conflict – photo essay
Children in their early teens have lived through four wars, with the fear, loss and trauma that brings
Her hair is matted with rubble dust. Bare feet poke out from pink tracksuit bottoms. Blood from a head wound streaks over her eye and down her face.
But Suzy Eshkuntana is alive, pulled out of the rubble of her family’s home seven hours after it was hit in an Israeli airstrike in the middle of the night. Her four siblings and her mother were killed.
Continue reading...Israel-Palestine crisis explained: why has the violence escalated again? – video
The Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent Oliver Holmes examines the series of combustible events that coincided to trigger the worst violence in Israel and Gaza since 2014
- Israel-Gaza conflict: 200 Palestinians killed in a week, say officials
- Who’s to blame for reigniting the Israel-Palestine conflict? | Simon Tisdall
Clashes in Jerusalem and West Bank amid protests and strikes
Palestinian man killed and more than 70 wounded as hundreds hurl stones at Israeli checkpoint
Serious clashes erupted in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank on Tuesday as Palestinians took part in a day of protests and strikes over Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.
A Palestinian man was killed and more than 70 wounded, including 16 by live fire, in clashes with Israeli troops on the outskirts of Ramallah, according to the Palestinian Authority health ministry. Two Israeli soldiers were injured.
Continue reading...Israeli police use cannon and teargas during clashes in Jerusalem and West Bank – video
Serious clashes erupted in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank on Tuesday as Palestinians took part in a day of protests and strikes over Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. In Jerusalem, police deployed water cannon in the neighbourhood Sheikh Jarrah, where Palestinian families are facing eviction from homes they have lived in since the 1950s.
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