Families of Israeli captives confront PM Netanyahu in the Knesset
The scenes have been quite chaotic. Members of the opposition have been thrown out yelling while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was speaking at the podium, saying it’s Hamas who is the main obstacle for a ceasefire deal.
Up until this point, he said, Israel has recovered 145 captives, some of whom were released one year ago during the first and only ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. Netanyahu also said there were a number of bodies recovered by Israeli forces in several military operations, which by the way resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Palestinian civilians.
However, you have family members of Israeli captives who for more than a year have been saying Netanyahu is not doing enough. Members of the Israeli government as well and a large portion of Israeli society blame the Israeli leadership for why there hasn’t been a deal and for why this war has been going on so long with little to no military achievements.
Biden urges G20 leaders to ‘increase pressure’ on Hamas
US President Joe Biden has called on Group of 20 (G20) nations to step up demands on Hamas for a ceasefire with Israel as he vowed to “keep pushing” for a deal in his last weeks before US President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House.
“I ask everyone here to increase their pressure on Hamas, which is currently refusing this deal,” Biden said in his opening remarks at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.
In May, Hamas approved a proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza war put forward by mediators Qatar and Egypt. Israel refused the deal, saying it fell short of its demands.
Increase pressure how? Keep killing people until there is no one left to negotiate with?
My last hope for Biden to actually do something about the genocide after the elections is completely gone. He's genocide Joe from tip to toe. Not a single ounce of morality left.
US targets Israeli settler group with sanctions
The United States has imposed sanctions on Israel’s Amana settler organisation, the US Treasury Department’s website shows, targeting a group that has attacked Palestinians and their property in the occupied West Bank.
Amana is “a settlement development organisation that is involved with US-sanctioned individuals and outposts that perpetrate violence in the West Bank”, it noted. The group is also sanctioned by the United Kingdom and Canada.
“The settlers and farms that Amana supports play a key role in developing settlements in the West Bank, from which in turn settlers commit violence. More broadly, Amana strategically uses farming outposts – which it supports through financing, loans, and building infrastructure – to expand settlements and seize land,” the US Treasury added.
The US State Department also designated three Israelis and one entity with ties to violence in the occupied West Bank.
Too little, but it's something.
