Spaniards in Madrid march for Palestinians in Gaza
ProPublica report shows ‘unprecedented’ rift within US administration
A news report detailing how the US administration ignored warnings over alleged abuses against Palestinians by an Israeli military unit highlights an extraordinary fissure within the US government.
“In the US, we have seen growing tensions between the technocrat experts and the political level where politicians are more or less still protecting Israel,” said political analyst Tamer Qarmout.
“The technocrats are rising up and saying ‘enough is enough’. This is unprecedented inside the US administration,” said the assistant professor in public policy at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.
Similar rifts are also taking place in the UN where legal experts have argued “genocide” is taking place in Gaza, while state representatives take a softer stance against Israel, he said.
Last week, ProPublica, a non-profit organisation focusing on investigative journalism, reported current and former State Department staff told Secretary of State Antony Blinken in December of credible evidence of human rights abuses by the Netzah Yehuda Israeli military unit.
Yet, the document has been “in his briefcase ever since”, it said.
Turkey’s top diplomat calls on international community to recognise Palestine
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan calls on the international community to oppose the US veto on Palestine’s UN bid and recognise the state of Palestine.
“It is unjust that Palestine is not allowed to become a member of the UN. We call on the international community to oppose this injustice and recognise the state of Palestine,” Fidan said in a joint news conference with his Mauritanian counterpart Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug in Istanbul.
During the meeting, Fidan said they discussed the “ongoing massacre in Gaza”. He added that the two countries were in “great solidarity” on Gaza and called for an “urgent cease-fire and uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid”.
