Biden putting finishing touches on ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ proposal to Israel

Amidst what Biden sees as a lack of effort by Netanyahu, the US president, alongside Kamala Harris and the negotiating team, are working in the White House trying to put the fine details on what is being called a “take-it-or-leave-it” proposal – one that’s been negotiated by the US, Qatar and Egypt.

It’s one that will really try to push Netanyahu over the finish line to close a deal with Hamas to bring those captives back to Israel in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

So what we know is this is really going to be an effort to work along the highest levels of government in a diplomatic push to really get him to close this deal.

Always quick to state IDF claims as facts, but of course in the end Hamas was responsible for their lives, as well as the IDF.

Netanyahu thwarts truce talks by creating new conditions: Hamas

A senior Hamas leader says Netanyahu has no desire to reach a ceasefire agreement, as shown by continually issuing new demands when a deal gets close.

“What became clear to all parties following the negotiations is the occupation [Israeli government] led by Netanyahu doesn’t want to reach a deal,” Hussam Badran told Turkey’s Anadolu news agency.

“Whenever there is a kind of proposal or consensus between us and the mediators, we find that Netanyahu is putting new conditions that didn’t exist in the past.”

‘I won’t give in to pressure’: Netanyahu insists on Philadelphi occupation

Netanyahu says he will continue to insist on maintaining an Israeli presence along Gaza’s border with Egypt as part of any ceasefire deal.

Netanyahu’s demand to remain in the Philadelphi Corridor has been a major sticking point in truce talks with Hamas. It is demanding a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza as part of any deal that would free the dozens of captives held in Gaza.

The defiant Israeli leader said if Israel agrees to withdraw, even temporarily, the international community will never allow it to return. “It determines our entire future,” he said at a news conference. “This is the oxygen of Hamas.”

He added: “The achievement of the war’s objectives goes through the Philadelphi Corridor. … Control of the Philadelphi axis guarantees that the hostages will not be smuggled out of Gaza.”

Netanyahu asks for ‘forgiveness’ for not saving Israeli captives

Netanyahu says he’s seeking forgiveness for failing to save six captives whose bodies were recovered from a Gaza tunnel at the weekend.

“I ask for your forgiveness for not bringing them back alive,” Netanyahu said during a televised news conference. “We were close, but we didn’t succeed. Hamas will pay a very heavy price for this.”

And he added: “No one is more committed to freeing the hostages than me. But no one will preach to me.”

Israelis poured into the streets late Sunday in grief and anger in what appeared to be the largest protest since the start of the war. The families of the dead captives and much of the public blamed Netanyahu, saying they could have been returned alive in a deal with Hamas.

He's lost it, there's no dealing with this psychopath.

Israeli PM’s insistence on military over talks means captives to ‘return in coffins’: Hamas

Hamas’s armed wing has issued new instructions to guards handling captives if Israeli forces approach Gaza detention sites.

“Netanyahu’s insistence on releasing the prisoners through military pressure – instead of concluding a deal – will mean they’ll be returned to their families in coffins,” Qassam Brigades spokesman Abu Obeida said.

He reiterated the blame for the deaths of six captives at the weekend falls on the shoulders of Netanyahu because he blocked a ceasefire deal on the table.

Israeli right has ‘upper hand’, protests unlikely to make a difference

Despite mass demonstrations and rising public anger, the efforts won’t make a real difference to end the war in Gaza and free the captives, according to political analyst Akiva Eldar.

“If we had a so-called normal moral government, those images that you show from the streets will make a difference,” Eldar told Al Jazeera, speaking from Tel Aviv.

“It seems that for Netanyahu, the alternative – which is his personal, political and personal life – is more important than the lives of the Israeli captives.

“[Netanyahu] will never leave Gaza. He wants to stay there forever, which means he will perpetuate the war. He knows that December 1, he will have to stand in court,” Eldar added, referring to the Israeli leader’s corruption trial.

And despite the large number of protesters, “the Israeli right and radical right” who support the government “have the upper hand”, Eldar added.

“So people are losing hope,” he said. “More and more Israelis are lining up in foreign embassies to get European or American passports and leave.”

Scenes from ongoing Israeli protests

זה עכשיו קורה במצודת זאב pic.twitter.com/VIHf8kA4mJ

— לירי בורק שביט (@lirishavit) September 2, 2024

We’ve been reporting on mass protests against Netanyahu’s government as well as the demand for a ceasefire deal to return captives held in Gaza.

Israeli activists and platforms are also sharing scenes documenting protesters setting fires during demonstrations in the capital, Tel Aviv.

מצודת זאב pic.twitter.com/1cObQzmGr8

— Tomer Appelbaum (@tomerappelbaum) September 2, 2024

עכשיו בקינג ג'ורג' תל אביב - שתי מדורות מול מצודת זאב pic.twitter.com/UQTXWMEG3t

— דמוקרטTV (@Democrat_TV) September 2, 2024

Translation: Now in King George Tel Aviv – two bonfires in front of Ze’ev Fortress

Finally!!! (UK is just a small fish when it comes to arms exports to Israel, yet one of the biggest allies)

‘Clear risk’: UK suspends arms export licences to Israel

The United Kingdom will immediately suspend 30 arms export licenses out of the 350 it has with Israel because there is a “clear risk” such equipment might be used to “commit serious violations of international humanitarian law“.

“This is not a blanket ban, this is not an arms embargo,” Foreign Secretary David Lammy told Parliament. “We do not take this decision lightly.”

The UK is among a number of Israel’s longstanding allies whose governments are under growing pressure to halt weapons exports because of the toll of the 11-month-old war in Gaza, where more than 40,700 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children.

British firms sell a relatively small amount of weapons and components to Israel. Earlier this year, the government said military exports to Israel amounted to 42 million pounds ($53m) in 2022.

‘Good step’ from the UK to suspend 30 export licences

Hassan Barari, an international affairs professor at Qatar University, says the United Kingdom’s decision to suspend 30 arms export licences to Israel is “very important” since the UK has supported Israel’s “right to defend itself” since October 7.

“But there is a deception here because there is a huge difference between a right to defend yourself and the genocide that Israel has been doing. So we haven’t heard from the British government a critique or criticism of what the Israeli government is doing in Gaza. But, anyway, I think its a good step”, Barari told Al Jazeera.

Despite the move only accounting for 30 out of 350 export licences, Barari said it serves as a “reminder to everyone, the international community, there is a need to do something to tell the Israelis they cannot continue the war unchecked in this way”.

British campaign group says UK ‘waking up’ after Israel arms suspension

After the UK’s announcement it will suspend 30 arms export licences to Israel, the British social justice group Global Justice Now says the government is “waking up to the fact that it must stop arming Israel”.

“But this is a half-baked ban which risks maintaining UK complicity in war crimes. You wouldn’t deal with a dangerous arsonist by simply reducing their petrol supply. This announcement doesn’t go nearly far enough,” campaigner Tim Bierley said.

Bierley added that Britain is “still providing military goods to a government accused of intent to commit genocide”, which has “little support from the British public”.

“The government must implement a full and complete arms embargo,” Bierley said.

Israel disappointed by UK decision to halt some arms exports

Israeli officials say Britain’s decision to suspend some arms export licenses is disappointing and sends a problematic message to Hamas.

Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement Israel is “disappointed by a series of decisions” made by the British government, including the decision regarding weapons exports.

Katz said the move “sends a very problematic message” to Hamas and its patrons in Iran.

“Deeply disheartened to learn of the sanctions placed by the UK government on export licenses to Israel’s defence establishment,” Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on X.

Two Palestinians killed in Israeli attack near Nuseirat camp

At least two Palestinians, including a child, have been killed in an Israeli attack near Nuseirat camp in central Gaza. Our colleague on the ground reported that another raid targeted the vicinity of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah.

Displaced Palestinian mother pleads for peace amid health and safety concerns

Israel bombs Palestinians buying bread, killing 5 in northern Gaza

The Israeli army has attacked a queue of people buying bread in front of a shelter for displaced Palestinians in the Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip, killing at least five and injuring several others.

An unnamed source told Anadolu news agency that the Israeli air raid targeted a bread-selling point in Jabalia near a school turned into a shelter for hundreds of people displaced by the war.

“Five martyrs and others were wounded in an Israeli air strike on a gathering of people in front of Al-Fakhura School,” Gaza Civil Defence spokesman Mahmoud Basal said in a statement.

Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza’s buildings

Israeli raids continue in Tulkarem, causing widespread destruction

Israeli forces are continuing their raids across the occupied West Bank, including in Tulkarem, where, accompanied by several bulldozers, they entered the city from its western part and further besieged the Martyr Dr Thabet Thabet Governmental Hospital and Al-Israa Speciality Hospital.

Wafa news agency is reporting that the bulldozers began destroying roads around al-Alimi roundabout, “causing widespread destruction to the city’s infrastructure and property”.

Israeli strike kills two in southern Lebanon

Lebanon’s Health Ministry has confirmed that an Israeli strike on a vehicle in south Lebanon killed two people.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said one of those killed worked for a cleaning company contracted by it.

“The Israeli enemy’s strike targeting a car in Naqoura left two dead,” the ministry said.

A spokesperson for UNIFIL said “a vehicle driven by an employee of a cleaning company was targeted by a strike on the Tyre-Naqoura road”, adding that the company was contracted to the peacekeeping force.

“Attacks on civilians are violations of international humanitarian law. They must stop. Once more, we urge all actors to put down their weapons,” the spokesperson said.

Netanyahu brushes off Biden criticism on failed captive deal

Biden acknowledged Netanyahu isn’t doing enough to secure a deal with Hamas to free Israeli captives – an issue that has gained renewed urgency following the recovery of six bodies of abductees.

Asked about Biden’s comments, Netanyahu said the pressure should be applied to Hamas, not Israel, particularly after the deaths.

“And now, after this, we’re asked to show seriousness? We’re asked to make concessions? What message does this send Hamas? It says, kill more hostages,” said Netanyahu.

He said he doesn’t believe Biden or anyone serious about “achieving peace” would ask Israel to make more concessions. “We’ve already made them. Hamas has to make the concession.”

Delusional fanatic, the most dangerous kind. Will Biden finally consider to stop giving this reckless warmonger more weapons? Netanyahu isn't at all interested in achieving peace, only by eliminating everyone else in the ME.

UK arms suspension to Israel may have impact on US

The UK’s partial arms export suspension to Israel is significant in that it may open up an avenue for the US, Israel’s largest ally, to do the same, according to HA Hellyer, a senior associate fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“There are laws of this type in the United States but of course, politically, it’s a decision that the Biden administration has been unwilling to take,” Hellyer told Al Jazeera from London. “But the fact that its closest ally internationally, the United Kingdom, has taken this step is significant.”

Hellyer noted the UK’s move is not just political but a legal one as well.

“It’s one that shows awareness for the fact that British law makes it very clear that in the event that the British government has good cause to be concerned about the use of these items being used for war crimes, that it’s obliged to suspend [arms] licences.

“This decision was specifically about Gaza, and what you’ve seen over the last few days in particular, is an escalation in the West Bank and a recognition that Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is going to persist in escalation – not only in the occupied territories but quite likely elsewhere as well.”

The US isn't bothered by international law, nor by their own laws. Biden has already violated and ignored Leahy law, threatened the ICC, ignored the ICJ and undermined the UNSC at every twist and turn when it comes to Israel.

The UN has become nothing but a repeating record.

UN envoy condemns ‘horrifying’ civilian death toll in Gaza

The UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process denounced the rising civilian death toll during Israel’s unrelenting war on Gaza.

“Today, I returned to Gaza and witnessed firsthand the catastrophic impact of the hostilities. The scale of destruction is immense, the humanitarian needs are colossal and soaring, and civilians continue to bear the brunt of this conflict,” Tor Wennesland said in a statement.

“I unequivocally condemn the horrifying civilian death toll in Gaza.”

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed more than 40,786 Palestinians – mostly women and children – and wounded at least 94,224 others, according to local health authorities.

Reiterating his call for a ceasefire, Wennesland said he would continue to engage the warring sides.

“A deal is crucial to saving lives, reducing regional tensions and enabling the UN, in cooperation with the Palestinian Authority, to accelerate efforts to address the pressing needs of Gaza’s population.

“The ongoing conflict has destroyed the lives of countless families. It must stop.”


_{A woman mourns a relative killed in Israeli bombardment in Deir el-Balah}

Polio resurgence caused by Israel’s ‘continuous destruction’ of Gaza: MSF

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) says the polio outbreak in Gaza is a consequence of Israel’s continuous destruction of the Strip’s infrastructure and health system.

“The resulting unhygienic and appalling living conditions and the lack of access to vaccination can lead to the spread of the disease,” MSF said in a post on X.

The medical charity is aiding the UN in its large-scale polio vaccination drive.

“The campaign – which targets about 640,000 children under 10 years old – is a positive step but it is still a drop in the ocean in response to the critical medical humanitarian needs,” MSF said.

“The campaign and announcement of military pauses during the vaccination should not divert attention from the relentless violence and impact on delivery of humanitarian aid.”

In Gaza, as the Ministry of Health and the United Nations have launched a large-scale polio vaccination campaign, our teams will be providing logistical and organisational support in five health facilities across Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza, and Khan Younis, south Gaza.

— MSF International (@MSF) September 2, 2024

Five injured in Israeli drone attack on West Bank refugee camp

Five people, including a paramedic, were wounded when Israeli drones attacked the Tulkarem refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, the Wafa news agency reports.

Israeli drones bombed the Al-Hamam neighbourhood. The paramedic was injured by shrapnel to the face. Volunteer medics working inside the camp were able to reach the wounded and provide first aid as their injuries were minor, the news agency said.

Israel’s raid on the Tulkarem camp continues as the military expands its destructive incursion into the occupied West Bank, now in its seventh day.