US lawmakers sign letter pushing for Palestine state recognition: Report
More than a dozen Democrats in the US House of Representatives are calling on the Trump administration to recognise a Palestinian state, Axios reports.
The push reflects growing concern among US lawmakers over the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza after 22 months of war.
It comes after recent moves by the UK, France and Canada, which have signalled shifts in their positions on Palestinian statehood.
The letter, initiated by California lawmaker Ro Khanna, has reportedly gained new signatories, including Chellie Pingree, Nydia Velazquez and Jim McGovern. They join nine others who had previously signed, including Greg Casar, Lloyd Doggett, Veronica Escobar and Andre Carson.
“This tragic moment has highlighted for the world the long overdue need to recognize Palestinian self-determination,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter to US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to the news website.
Should be pushing for ending genocide support first... Talking about this now is nothing but deflection from the holodomor being carried out.
No major shift in Israeli public opinion, despite starvation: Analyst
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Ori Goldberg, a Tel Aviv-based analyst, has said the starvation in Gaza has not yet caused major shifts in Israeli public opinion.
“The scenes are not generating more empathy towards the plight of the Palestinians, but they are generating some discomfort,” he said. “It’s no longer possible to deny what’s happening in Gaza, and it requires more and more effort to claim, as Israel has for the past two years, that no death that take place in Gaza are Israel’s responsibility.”
Goldberg said a large portion of the Israeli public has “consciously detached itself from reality”.
“Israel sees itself as doing only what it has to, and therefore is completely exempt from any responsibility to anything that happens in Gaza,” he said.
“We don’t want to do it, you’ll hear from Israelis, but as long as we have to do it, we’re going to do it as powerfully as we can to send a lesson that will never be forgotten,” he said.
Israelis protest for an end to the war in Gaza and the release of all captives outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office in West Jerusalem
The lesson that will never be forgotten is how morally bankrupt and radicalized Israel is. Brave protestors that go against the grain, although even most of these aren't protesting to stop the atrocities.
Two wounded in Israeli raid in southern Lebanon: Reports
The attack targeted the town of Khiam in the Nabatieh governorate, Lebanese media has reported.
The footage shared by local media and verified by Al Jazeera showed the aftermath of the strike, with smoke rising from a building.
Initial reports said that two people were injured in the raid.
