No mention of Iran response in Biden, Netanyahu call details
The White House released the statement, giving a readout of what the conversation was about.
Interestingly, the readout says that President Biden unequivocally condemned Iran’s ballistic missile attack against Israel on October 1. However, that is the only mention of Iran in the readout.
There’s no indication that there was a discussion about possible Israeli action against Iran in response.
President Biden discussed Lebanon, apparently saying that a ceasefire should be put in place to allow residents on both sides of the Blue Line to return to their homes.
They also spoke about Gaza.
And there’s one word that leaks out of the readout: the word imperative. The readout says the president discussed the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the imperative to restore access to the north, including reinvigorating the corridor from Jordan immediately.
The president reiterated his call for a ceasefire in Gaza, allowing those being held captive to return, and those Palestinians being held in Israeli prisons set free.
Israeli officials seek to destroy UNRWA as a war goal: Lazzarini
Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner general for UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, has given a speech to the Security Council.
In it, he said senior Israeli officials have described destroying UNRWA as a war goal, adding that legislation to end UNRWA’s operations is ready for final adoption by the Israeli Knesset.
He said the Israeli government seeks to ban the UN agency’s presence and operations, revoking its privileges and immunities in violation of international law.
Lazzarini said these policies set a grave precedent for other conflicts in which governments may wish to eliminate an inconvenient UN presence.
The UN Security Council wanted to get the focus back on Gaza
I think a lot of focus has been on Lebanon in recent days and weeks. But clearly, as that’s happening, Israel continues its daily bombardment of Gaza, particularly now in the north, and that’s why this meeting was called.
We heard the briefing from Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, who pointed out that while so many Palestinians are struggling to survive every day, there are certainly going to be long-term effects.
He pointed out that 650,000 Palestinian children in Gaza have been out of school for a year now because those schools have been turned into shelters. Many of those school-turned-shelters have been bombed by Israel. So this is having long-term implications for Palestinian children for years to come.
US calls out Israel at UNSC for ‘catastrophic conditions’ in Gaza
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield issued a blunt statement at the UN Security Council (UNSC) on Wednesday, telling ally Israel to urgently address “catastrophic conditions” in Gaza and stop “intensifying suffering” among Palestinians by limiting aid.
“These catastrophic conditions were predicted months ago, and yet, have still not been addressed. That must change, and now,” she said as the 15-member UNSC met to discuss the humanitarian crisis. “We call on Israel to take urgent steps to do so.”
Thomas-Greenfield also said communities in Gaza must be able to return home to rebuild, after Israel issued fresh evacuation orders on Sunday for the north of the besieged enclave.
“There must be no demographic or territorial change in the Gaza Strip, including any actions that reduce the territory of Gaza,” she said.
More words without actions. Biden already is a lame duck. But maybe Harris can change course after the elections. Hopefully Biden can already change course in November, don't wait for the inauguration in Januari and coordinate with Harris. I don't know if that's possible in US politics, or if everything is on halt between elections and inauguration.
"A defeated “lame duck” president retains all of the formal constitutional powers he held throughout the course of his presidency. What he has lost is authority, the power to command the attention of others to the proposals he might make which require the consent or acquiescence of members of Congress, bureaucrats, and/or members of the public."
He's simply going to be blocked by congress and this shit will carry on into next Februari at the least :( Europe needs to step up. Germany still provides 30% of military shipments to Israel. No reason why the EU can't stop that.
