#US / Bild: Blinken promised to remove restrictions on arms transfers to Israel
According to Israeli government circles, U.S. Secretary of State #Blinken has signaled that the U.S. will soon lift the restrictions and supply more weapons to Israel.
Maintaining the appearance of power, influence, and moral authority is hard work. The performative rituals of U.S. international diplomacy also appear cynical, if not worse.
On the problem with the current ceasefire proposal. Looks like there's a big devil in the detail...
"..if negotiations need longer to succeed, Phase One, including its temporary ceasefire, will be extended...But crucially, the plan also says that if Israel decides Hamas is not negotiating “in good faith,” it can resume its murderous rampage through Gaza. And if that happened, it would be doing so with the full public blessing of the US"
Watching this interview has been the biggest waste of time EVER.
I'm truly disappointed with Al Jazeera for:
a) giving this smarmy war criminal air space
b) not challenging one single lie he spouted.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken complains that "Hamas could have answered [to #Biden's proposal] with a single word; Yes", but it proposed changes.
Disgusting sack of shit genocide enabler never says anything about #Netanyahu or his fascist co-criminals, but feeling hurt because Has doesn't like the BS ceasefire deal they didn't even have the balls to vote for.
Video shared on telegram: t.me/newsvideofa/2573
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) questioned Antony Blinken on the Israel-Hamas war during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing.
If you skip to min 2:09, you'll see Blinken starting to reply (a load of BS in his style) and immediately a number of bloody hands being raised behind him 😂 way to go CodePink demonstrators :blobcheer:
The #UnitedStates is actively weighing whether to lift one of #POTUS#Biden’s longest-held precautionary measures of the #Ukraine war: a ban on the use of #US provided #weapons for offensive strikes inside #Russia.
The reassessment is a byproduct of Russia’s renewed cross-border assault on #Kharkiv, a chorus of pressure from #EU ofcls & a visit to Kyiv by Secy of State #Blinken that reinforced the peril facing Ukraine….
Two senior Biden administration officials Wednesday opened the door to 💥allowing Ukraine to use American-donated weapons to strike inside Russia.💥
The move, if made, would come as European allies, lawmakers and Ukrainian officials exert pressure on the White House to lift the restrictions,
and as Russia has made major advances on the battlefield.
It also suggests that President Joe Biden and his team are increasingly worried about Kyiv’s ability to fend off Russia’s attacks, especially its latest advance in Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv.
Secretary of State Antony #Blinken signaled the possible change during a visit to Moldova when pressed by reporters.
A “hallmark” of the Biden administration’s approach toward Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion two years ago “has been to adapt as the conditions have changed, as the battlefield has changed, as what Russia does has changed.”
The International Court of Justice will announce a decision today on potential orders against Israel regarding its ongoing attack on Gaza, specifically in Rafah. Israel fears the court will order a halt to the to the war, or at least the Rafah operation, due to worsening humanitarian conditions. Such an order would put Israel in a difficult position - defying it could lead to international sanctions, though the U.S. would likely support regardless of the legality of its actions in Gaza, as it did so far.
#Maariv is reporting that according to the assessment of "diplomatic officials," the likelihood that the court will accept South Africa's request and order a halt to the war in Gaza tomorrow, is not very high, but nonetheless, this time it is "realistic and certainly not negligible."
If this scenario materializes - Israel will be dependent on the U.S. vetoing the order. But according to assessments in Israel, in the current situation the American veto is not guaranteed, and it is possible that Washington will condition it on Israel taking one action or another. For example, in exchange for Israeli agreement to the Saudi initiative.
Gantz thanked Blinken: "US support for Israel - critical in light of The Hague decision"
Defense Minister #Gantz discussed with US Secretary of State Antony #Blinken the legal developments in the courts in The Hague:
"US support for Israel and the legitimacy it gave for continuing the fighting, […] this has critical significance in light of the decision at the court […] Israel is allowing aid to all parts of the Strip in parallel to the fighting."
Inside the White House, a Debate Over Letting #Ukraine Shoot #US Weapons Into #Russia
After a sobering trip to #Kyiv, Secretary of State Antony J. #Blinken is urging the president to lift restrictions on how Ukraine can use American arms.
After a sobering trip to #Kyiv, Secy of State Antony J. #Blinken is urging #POTUS#Biden to lift some restrictions on how Ukraine can use American arms.
Blinken says he wants to work with Congress to penalize International Criminal Court
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s comments were an early indication of the Biden administration’s openness to taking action against the Netherlands-based court for its application for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The court’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan also issued warrants for senior Hamas officials, including its leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar.
In a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on Tuesday afternoon, #Blinken said he would “welcome” working with Sen. Lindsey Graham on “bipartisan” sanctions against the ICC.
“It’s clear Israel wants to do all it can to ensure civilian protection,” said #Biden at a White House reception marking Jewish American Heritage Month. “Let me be clear: What’s happening is not genocide.”
US Secretary of State Tony #Blinken signaled the #Biden administration would support bipartisan action in #Congress against the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court ( #ICC) in response to its decision to seek arrest warrants against Israeli leaders.
WTAF: #US Secretary of State #Blinken warned if United Nations recognizes #Palestine as an independent State, United States, allies and affiliated businessmen will cut funding for #UN, thus cutting United Nations ability to run huminitarian aid for Global South countries.
He is threatening the world on behalf of #Israel, while pretending that they support a 2 state solution.
This is the most outrageous comment I've ever read from Blinken. I'm not sure if it's accurate, because the only source is the post on ShiTwitter:https://x.com/halalflow/status/1792944530389393422
🇺🇸 Secretary of State Antony #Blinken directed his top staff to crack down on leaks about diplomacy relating to the #Israel#Hamas#war, saying clearly that he was “angry” with the constant stream of #press reports revealing sensitive information - a new leak can reveal
Not only did classified materials make it into the press, he chided State leadership earlier this month in a small team meeting, but also fresh proposals to broker a cease-fire and ⏩
Antony Blinken claims that Hamas is blocking a ceasefire in Gaza, but it is Israel which has vowed to invade Rafah regardless of an agreement and is absolutely unwilling to declare an end to its genocidal operation.
"Secretary of State Antony #Blinken ended three days of meetings in #China on Friday with a stark warning to China’s leadership — stop exporting materials that allow #Russia to rebuild its industrial base or face #US sanctions... Blinken said that, in his meetings with China’s leader #XiJinping and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, he made clear that the #Biden administration is running out of patience with #Beijing 's refusal to stop that support"
#US / Sanctioned on an Israeli military unit “Netzah Yehuda”
#Blinken and #Biden respond to criticism about ignoring human rights violations by Israel by picking low-hanging fruit, while sending more aid to Israel and ignoring the continued massacre in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
#Axios is reporting that the U.S. is expected to impose sanctions on #IDF "Netzah Yehuda" battalion for human rights violations in the occupied West Bank. This would be the first time the U.S. has sanctioned an Israeli military unit.
The battalion was formed as a special unit for ultra-Orthodox soldiers, but over time became a destination for radical right-wing settlers who were not accepted into other IDF combat units.
One incident that led to the sanctions was the death of 80-year-old Palestinian American Omar Assad, who was arrested, handcuffed, and left in the cold by Netzah Yehuda soldiers, and was later found dead.
State Department has failed to act on internal reports of human rights abuses by Israeli military and police units, despite recommendations from a special panel to deny funding to these units https://kolektiva.social/@oatmeal/112294455860672263
DAWN. “Israel: Netzah Yehudah Battalion Carries Out War Crimes In the West Bank, Including the Killing of Palestinian-American Omar Assad.” DAWN, 29 Nov. 2022, https://dawnmena.org/culprit-netzah-yehuda-battalion/.
Gantz spoke with #Blinken, and his office noted that he asked him to reconsider the #Biden administration's decision to impose sanctions against the "Netzah Yehuda" Brigade operating in the West Bank. In a statement from him, it was reported that Gantz warned that the decision would harm Israel's legitimacy during wartime, and that it is unjustified since "Israel has a strong and independent judicial system."
From DAWN’s report:
[…] In March 2022, Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights NGO, published a data sheet, "Law Enforcement on Soldiers Suspected of Harming Palestinians and their Property," notably finding that:
The odds that a Palestinian would see his or her complaint result in the prosecution of the soldier who harmed them: 2%.
72% of all complaints that were filed in 2019–2020 following suspected offenses committed by soldiers against Palestinians in which a decision was reached were closed with no criminal investigation.
[…] "[A]s soon as the operational investigation was completed, its insignificance quickly became clear: the battalion commander was reprimanded, and two other commanders were removed from their positions and barred from command roles for two years. As usual, the military announced the launch of [a military police] investigation into the incident. Yet B'Tselem's years of experience indicate that this investigation, too, is part of the MAG Corps' sophisticated whitewashing system. Its primary purpose is to silence criticism directed at the military – and at Israel – over the incident. It is not intended to uncover the truth or to hold those responsible accountable, and is certainly not meant [to] prevent the recurrence of such cases or ensure As'ad's [sic] family even a modicum of justice."
"Deliberately grounded on a tiny reef in the #SouthChinaSea, part of an island chain claimed by the two Asian countries, the #BRPSierraMadre is now the unlikely base for a detachment of Filipino marines who stand guard over the atoll, scanning the turquoise waters for Chinese ships." #AyunginShoal#SecondThomasShoal#Philippines
There has been relative calm in the #TaiwanStrait since the #Biden-#Xi summit, after a period of high tension in which Chinese warships and planes would regularly approach #Taiwan. At the same time however, there has been increasing friction in the #SouthChinaSea between #China and neighbouring countries, particularly the #Philippines, a #US ally. #WestPHSea