#House Speaker #MikeJohnson is plowing ahead on a #ForeignAid plan that has roiled his conference & prompted 2 #Republicans to push an effort to oust him….
But instead of the complex 4-part plan he floated this week, Johnson now intends to try to pass 5 bills — 1 each for #aid to #Ukraine, #Israel, & #IndoPacific allies, …a #GOP wish list of #ForeignPolicy priorities & a 5th…to address widespread Republican… [#border ] demands….
#GOP leadership announced that the #House would stay in session until Sat to consider the bills.
[good friggin luck]
The new approach is risky & is already blowing up on the speaker, who…is being threatened by …#MarjorieTaylorGreene to invoke a “motion to vacate” to topple #MikeJohnson if he puts #Ukraine#aid on the floor, something to which many #FarRight#Republicans aka consumers of [#Russian#disinformation; #Putin & #Trump lackeys] object.
#House Speaker #MikeJohnson’s job is in serious jeopardy as #FarRight members are threatening to oust him after the #Republican leader proposed a complex plan intended to #fund key foreign #allies during wartime.
Johnson introduced a 4-part prop Mon night to decouple #aid for #Israel, which faced a barrage of missiles & drone threats from #Iran over the weekend, & help for #Ukraine in its fight against #Russia, along w/2 other measures.
Iran’s leaders have repeatedly vowed to punish #Israel for an April 1 strike in #Syria that killed several snr Iranian commanders. Israel has put its military on alert, & #Biden said on Wed that #Iran was threatening a “significant” attack.
Gen #MichaelKurilla the American commander, will coordinate w/Israel on what is widely expected to be imminent retaliatory action by Iran & will also discuss the #war against #Hamas in #Gaza & #humanitarian#aid operations there….
He’s also successfully nudging most #AntiAbortion#conservatives to accept his call to abandon a national standard — what was once a consensus position in the #GOP. That’s on top of #Trump’s long-standing opposition to new #Ukraine#aid, which remains stalled on the Hill.
So far, Trump is showing more proclivity for blocking GOP policy proposals than shaping them affirmatively, such as the bipartisan #border deal that he stopped earlier this year.
"Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says it will allow “temporary” aid deliveries via a crossing in the northern #Gaza Strip “to ensure the continuation of the fighting and to achieve the goals of the war”."
#Israel’s #war cabinet announced new measures to allow more #aid into #Gaza, including the opening of the Erez border crossing, Thurs evening. The move comes after President #Biden & PM #Netanyahu spoke & the #US NSC announced the new aid routes.
“This increased aid will prevent a #humanitarian crisis & is necessary to ensure the continuation of the fighting & to achieve the goals of the war,” the PM’s office said in a stmnt after Thur’s war cabinet meeting.
The announcement came hours after #POTUS had a tense phone call w/PM #Netanyahu during which Biden threatened to condition future support for Israel depending on how it addresses his concerns about #CivilianCasualties & the #HumanitarianCrisis in Gaza.
In a stmnt, the #NSC said that #Israel had agreed to open the #ErezCrossing to allow #aid into northern #Gaza & to also open the #PortOfAshdod. The measures were being taken “at the president’s request,” the stmnt added.
“These steps,” the stmnt said, “must now be fully & rapidly implemented.”
There was no immediate confirmation from the #Israeli government.
Nearly all of #aid that has reached Gaza has entered through 2 border crossings in the south, & conditions are especially bad in northern #Gaza, where most of the population lived before being #displaced by #Israel’s invasion.
2/2
“Now states are rushing to extend their condolences to the families, but they are not showing the same rush to stop the shipment of weapons to this laboratory of destruction.”
“How much more humanity must be lost in this genocide?”
Oscar Camps, Open Arms
“[Gaza is a] dystopian laboratory where people’s blood flows while war technologies are tested and perfected, directed by increasingly automated algorithms that allow all human responsibility to be diluted, using technology and trivializing evil.”
1/2
The decision established that minors at open-air sites were in #legal custody of the DHS & thus must receive #safe#shelter, even if they had not yet been formally processed.
The outdoor areas where migrants have been waiting lack #shelter, #food & #sanitation, which has given way to an array of #PublicHealth concerns for the most vulnerable. Unaccompanied #children & young #families sometimes arrive in poor #health, acc/to #aid workers & #medical volunteers at the sites, suffering from #traumatic injuries or chronic health conditions that require #medications that have long since run out.
“The ability to exercise discretion over, & make decisions affecting, a child’s #health & #welfare is indicative of maintaining #legal custody of the child, regardless of whether that decision is to provide or withhold care,” the 12-pg order read. “Juveniles, unlike adults, are always in some form of #custody.”
With continued American #aid to #Ukraine stalled & against the looming prospect of a 2nd Trump presidency, #NATO ofcls are looking to take more #control of directing #military support from Ukraine’s allies — a role that the #US has played for the past 2 yrs.
Under a prop being discussed at the #military#alliance’s HQ, #NATO would oversee the #Ukraine#Defense Contact Grp, currently led by the #UnitedStates, that coordinates the donation & delivery of weapons to the battlefield.…
“A stronger NATO role in coordinating & providing support is the way to end this #war in a way where Ukraine prevails,” SecGen Stoltenberg said on Wed.
“There is a need to give this a more robust & institutional framework to ensure #predictability & #commitment for the long haul,” Stoltenberg said. He added: “I strongly believe it’s important that #allies make decisions fast. And that includes, of course, the #UnitedStates.”
"Zomi was just an absolute ray of sunshine, full of warmth, full of kindness. Very generous, very funny, vibrant, always positive … and she was just a ball of fun to be around."
World Central Kitchen was one of the main food distributors in the territory, providing more than 40 million meals since October.
Despite growing international calls to increase aid deliveries, the attack on the WCK convoy essentially brought humanitarian work to a standstill – despite thousands of Gaza residents staring down starvation conditions.
“The air strikes on our convoy were not just some unfortunate mistake in the fog of war. It was a direct attack on clearly marked vehicles whose movements were known by the [Israeli military]. It was also the direct result of his [PM Netanyahu’s] government’s policy to squeeze humanitarian aid to desperate levels.”
"These are the heroes of World Central Kitchen. These 7 beautiful souls were killed by the IDF in a strike as they were returning from a full day's mission. Their smiles, laughter, and voices are forever embedded in our memories. And we have countless memories of them giving their best selves to the world. We are reeling from our loss. The world's loss.” - Erin Gore, CEO