Democratic Convention protesters to Harris: Israel arms embargo or no vote
Rich Barnes says that opposing Israel’s war in Gaza is not a complicated issue.
“Are we for mass murdering babies, or are we against it? To me, it’s a pretty simple equation,” he said, holding Palestinian and Irish flags near the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago on Monday.
Barnes was one of thousands of protesters who blanketed the grass of Union Park, blocks away from the Democratic National Convention, to demand an end to United States support for Israel’s war.
As the Democrats gathered at the convention to present Vice President Kamala Harris as their presidential nominee, several Palestinian rights advocates told Al Jazeera that they will not vote for Harris unless she agrees to an arms embargo against Israel.
The demonstration, dubbed the “March on the DNC”, also demanded an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
People protest against presidential candidate Kamala Harris’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza in Chicago on Monday
What did Blinken achieve during his visit to Israel?
Blinken’s latest visit to Israel is his 10th since the war on Gaza began and was aimed at applying pressure on Israeli officials to agree to a ceasefire deal.
Blinken’s day began with a meeting with Israel’s President Isaac Herzog, in which he said this could be the last chance for a deal. And for nearly three hours, Blinken sat down with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a meeting the premier described as positive.
In a statement from his office, Netanyahu said he reiterated Israel’s commitment to the current American proposal on the table, which he says takes Israel’s security needs into account.
Blinken then met with Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, stressing the importance of diminishing the chance of any further escalation in the region that could impede efforts to secure a deal.
Before he left Israel to travel to Cairo and Qatar on the next leg of his shuttle diplomacy, Blinken revealed that Israel’s government has accepted what the Americans are describing as a bridging proposal put forward by mediators last week.
He is now calling on Hamas to also accept the latest proposal to seal a ceasefire deal. But the Palestinian group has already said the current framework includes new Israeli conditions and is not in line with the original proposal outlined by US President Joe Biden back in May.
Egypt insists on full Israeli withdrawal from Philadelphi corridor: Reports
Egypt’s Al-Qahera News is reporting that Cairo has rejected Israel’s demand to maintain control of the Philadelphi corridor and the Rafah Crossing between Egypt and Gaza.
The broadcaster cited a high-level and informed Egyptian source.
The source told Al-Qahera that reports in Israeli media that suggest Egypt has agreed to the continued presence of Israeli forces in the border region are “false in form and substance” and said that Cairo reiterated its insistence on a complete Israeli withdrawal from the area.
The US news site Axios also reported that Egypt rejected the Israeli demand.
“Israeli, Egyptian and US officials met in Cairo on Sunday and Monday to discuss the Philadelphi corridor,” Axios reported. “On Netanyahu’s orders, the Israeli side presented a map that showed Israel reducing some of its forces but still deploying them all along the corridor, the Israeli officials said. The Egyptians rejected that plan.”
So Blinken just made concessions to Netanyahu and he now expects Hamas and Egypt to accept the new conditions. Blinken is just stalling for time, not negotiating in good faith. But what can you expect from the biggest supporter of Israel's genocidal regime.
