Five Palestinian families sue US State Department over Israel support
Five Palestinian families in the US have sued the State Department over Washington’s continued support for Israel amid a growing death toll in Gaza and worsening humanitarian crisis, a court filing shows.
The lawsuit, filed in the District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges that the State Department under Secretary of State Antony Blinken has deliberately circumvented a US human rights law to continue funding and supporting Israeli military units.
“The State Department’s calculated failure to apply the Leahy Law is particularly shocking in the face of the unprecedented escalation of Israeli gross violations of human rights since the Gaza War erupted on October 7, 2023,” the lawsuit said.
The Leahy Law bans providing military assistance to individuals or security force units that commit human rights violations.
US legislators urge Biden to stop arming Israel over Gaza aid blockade
US Congressman Greg Casar says he and 19 other members of the House of Representatives have written to the Biden administration demanding it “withhold offensive weapons from the Israeli military”.
“US law is clear: if the Netanyahu government does not allow sufficient food and medicine to enter Gaza, then the US cannot send weapons,” Casar said in a post on X.
The letter posted online by the Democratic representative from Texas, notes that while the Biden administration has asked Israel to let in at least 350 aid trucks into Gaza per day, it has only let in 42 vehicles daily. And on some days, as few as six trucks have entered, representing a “massive failure that is costing people their lives,” the letter said.
Israel, Saudi Arabia deny reports of breakthrough in normalisation talks
Israel and Saudi Arabia have denied reports that there has been a breakthrough in normalisation talks, The Times of Israel reported. The Israeli news outlet Haaretz reported earlier today that Saudi Arabia has relinquished its demand for a Palestinian state as a precondition for normalisation.
However, right-wing Israeli politicians took the report to mean that Netanyahu had agreed to a Palestinian state, which his office later denied, calling the report “a complete lie”.
Saudi Arabia also denied the report.
“The notion that the kingdom’s leadership has somehow modified its longstanding commitment to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state is equally baseless,” a statement issued to reporters by an unnamed Saudi official said.
“The kingdom of Saudi Arabia will continue to work towards ending the war in Gaza and helping the Palestinian people achieve their right to an independent state,” the statement added.
Israeli FM calls Irish President Higgins ‘anti-Semite’
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has slammed Irish President Michael D Higgins after he said Israel had violated the sovereignty of Syria, Lebanon and Egypt amid a diplomatic spat between the two countries.
Saar said that the “anti-Semite”, Ireland’s president, spread “slander” against Israel when he said that Israel had “violated the sovereignty of three neighbouring countries”.
He accused Ireland of having ties with Nazi Germany during World War II in addition to his attacks on Higgins.
On Sunday, Israel announced it would close its Dublin embassy due to the Irish government’s “extreme anti-Israel policies”, including the recognition of a Palestinian state.
Essay Pro