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SvennoJ on 29 August 2024
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No shit, Sherlock

US says Israeli settler violence is undermining regional security

The Biden administration has sanctioned an Israeli NGO known as Hashomer Yosh as well as three members within this group. This group is funded in part by the Israeli government and is affiliated with far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir as well as Bezalel Smotrich.

We also understand that it raises money inside the US as well as online.

Another Israeli individual – Yitzhak Levi Filant – has also been sanctioned, for acting outside the scope of his authority as a law enforcement officer in the West Bank. He allegedly led an effort to prevent 250 Palestinians in a village from returning to their homes after volunteers from Hashomer Yosh walled off that village.

The US’s concern is that this ongoing and escalating settler violence is undermining peace and security in the region. And the Biden administration hopes the move will lead Israel to hold these individuals accountable, even though the Israeli government is funding much of this operation.

Now, the Israeli government has taken issue with these sanctions.

In fact, Netanyahu’s office has released a statement saying the Israeli government views with “the utmost severity the imposition of sanctions on citizens of Israel” and that “the issue will be a point of discussion” with the US.

We should also point out that Amnesty International has looked into these instances and says this is part of a wider state-backed campaign to displace Palestinians in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem – given the fact that many of these acts of violence have occurred while the Israeli military has been present.

WFP chief slams Israeli attack on its team in Gaza

Cindy McCain, the WFP’s executive director, has described the Israeli attack on a vehicle carrying members of its team near a military checkpoint in Gaza as “unacceptable”.

McCain said it was “the latest in a series of unnecessary security incidents that have endangered the lives of WFP’s team in Gaza”.

She added, “As last night’s events show, the current deconfliction system is failing and this cannot go on any longer. I call on the Israeli authorities and all parties to the conflict to act immediately to ensure the safety and security of all aid workers in Gaza.”



Aid delivery in Gaza is nearly impossible. Why hasn’t the US intervened?

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/29/aid-delivery-in-gaza-is-nearly-impossible-why-hasnt-the-us-intervened

The United Nations has warned that threats to aid delivery in Gaza are reaching crisis levels as Israel’s war on Gaza enters its 11th month. But the United States – a critical ally of Israel and the largest donor to the UN – has been conspicuously silent on the deteriorating humanitarian situation.

Amid the silence, advocates say the US must speak out, particularly as childhood malnutrition surges in Gaza and cases of polio spread.

UN Security Council set to meet on Gaza

The UNSC will meet in New York later today, at the request of the United Kingdom and Switzerland, to discuss the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. The move comes after Israeli forces opened fire on a “clearly marked UN humanitarian convoy” with the World Food Programme in the war-torn enclave.

The UK’s mission to the UN posted on X: “The UN has warned aid operations and staff in Gaza are at risk, at a time when a vaccine campaign is urgently needed to stop a polio outbreak.”