The #Biden admin has concluded it is “reasonable to assess” that #Israel’s military campaign in #Gaza has violated #InternationalLaw, but has not found specific instances that would justify the withholding of #military aid, #State Dept told #Congress Fri.
In the admin’s most detailed assessment of #Israel’s conduct in #Gaza, #State said in a written report to #Congress that Israel “has the knowledge, experience & tools to implement best practices for mitigating #civilian harm in its #military operations.”
But it added that “the results on the ground, including high levels of civilian casualties, raise substantial questions” as to whether the #IDF are using them sufficiently.
The report said that conclusion was based in part on the difficulty of collecting reliable information from the #war zone & the way #Hamas operates in densely populated areas. It also stressed that #Israel has begun the process of seeking accountability for possible violations of the #law, a key component in the #UnitedStates assessment about whether to provide #military aid to allies accused of #HumanRights violations.
Let's not forget Israel will never destroy the terrorist organisation Hamas by attacks on Gaza and/or by fully occupying it. Hamas can only be destroyed by offering the palestinians some alternative for their future, some perspective, which seems to be completely lacking until now. #israel#gaza#hamas#geopolitics@geopolitics
“#Civilians have been killed in #Gaza as a consequence of those bombs & other ways in which they go after population centers,” #Biden said in an interview airing Wed evening on CNN, referring to 2k-pound #bombs supplied by the #US “I made it clear that if they go into #Rafah — they haven’t gone in…yet — if they go…, I’m not supplying the #weapons that have been used historically to deal …with the cities….”
The #Biden admin paused the shipment of thousands of weapons to #Israel, including controversial 2k-pound bombs, amid mounting concern about the country’s plan to expand a military operation in southern #Gaza that could dramatically increase the conflict’s death toll, U.S. ofcls said Tues.
But in recent days, it became clear to the #Biden admin that “Israeli leaders seemed to approach a decision point on such an operation,” forcing Washington to initiate its review of proposed transfers.
Despite the pause, the #IDF has enough #weapons supplied by the #US & other partners to conduct the #Rafah op if it chooses to cast aside US objections, the 1st ofcl said.
When asked about the delays earlier Tues, #StateDepartment spox Matthew Miller declined to offer a rationale but said that US support for Israel’s right to defend itself against #Hamas remains intact.
[nonanswer answer]
In Washington, #US military support for #Israel receives overwhelming support from #Republicans & #Democrats in #Congress…
…powerful pro-Israel interest groups including the American Israel Public Affairs Cmte… is spending tens of millions …this #election cycle to unseat #Democrats it views as insufficiently pro- #Israel.
#Republicans assailed news of a delay in #weapons approvals as a “reprehensible” betrayal. “The #UnitedStates must stand with Israel. Period,” said Rep. Russell Fry (R-SC).
Russia is advancing in Ukraine at the moment, for those people who want negotiations at this time (and not total surrender of Ukraine) , Russia should at least stop it's current advance and attacks on civilian targets, otherwise talks are impossible, it won't for now... #ukraine#russia#negotiations#geopolitics@geopolitics
Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz said on X:
“Regarding the nuclear exercise announced by Russia: It is always important to make clear that nuclear weapons must not be used in this war.”
Really lost for words, stupid, meaningless communication, showing his inability in international affairs. #germany#geopolitics#russia#scholz#ukraine@geopolitics
>IDF Warns More Than 100,000 People in #Rafah to Evacuate
#Israel wants to “move people out of harm’s way,” a military official said, a sign that it may be inching closer to invading the Gazan city in defiance of international pressure
In Ukraine people can at least flee the russian advance, in Gaza there is no way out. Ordering people around to "safezones" is not a structural solution. Israel is making the textbook mistake of starting a tactical operation (Rafah) without a clear view of their strategic endgame it seems or am i missing something ? #israel#rafah#gaza#geopolitics@geopolitics
Threats from drones must cause headaches for security people at all large public events nowadays , technology developed on the battlefields of Ukraine can easily be applied by terrorists in an urban context. #drones#geopolitics#terrorism
Le monde arabe a déjà laissé derrière lui l’unipolarité et l’hégémonie
En déclenchant la #guerre d'agression contre l' #Irak et en permettant le calamiteux « Printemps #arabe » qui a suivi, certains décideurs politiques #américains et leurs pairs occidentaux pensaient qu'ils étaient « présents à la recréation ». Ils pensaient avec espoir qu’ils étaient sur le point d’imposer le « Sykes-Picot 2.0 » au monde arabe pour diviser davantage les divisés.
Cependant, ils ne savaient pas qu’ils se lançaient dans un aventurisme qui finirait par se retourner contre eux et éroder considérablement la domination américaine et #occidentale dans la région arabe et dans le monde. Leurs erreurs stratégiquement fatales du début de ce siècle les rattrapent désormais. Dire que l’influence occidentale dans la région arabe et dans le monde est actuellement à son plus bas niveau depuis la Première Guerre mondiale est un #euphémisme.
La #Géorgie est aujourd'hui déchirée entre un gouvernement pro-russe et une présidente, Salomé #Zourabichvili, tournée vers l’ #Europe. La #Russie de #Poutine d’un côté, l’Union #européenne de l’autre : deux modèles politiques, deux systèmes de valeurs que tout oppose. L’occasion pour nous de célébrer un anniversaire : il y a vingt ans, l’Union européenne s’ouvrait à l’Est. Sortons nos cartes.
#HouseRepublicans are seeking to unite their unruly majority around an evergreen #conservative cause, devising a strict response to the wave of pro-Palestinian protests….
#Trump routinely has enemies killed, enabled by the #FBI. #Boeing unexisted a whistleblower. Deans of journalism at universities who decry attrocities are silenced.
This is what living in a #mafia state feels like. #Russia had it worse in the '90s than we'll have it, but it's the same gameplan: mob corruption, dismantle everything, sell it for parts.
There's no escaping a lot of suffering now. We've been abdicating democracy to unworthy champions. Time to buckle up and do the work ourselves.
There are so many bad actors who have a clear interest in civil unrest within the United States we can be sure there are state actors (besides Hamas) actively supporting violence and polarisation during the various protests at universities in the US. #universities#US#Gaza#Israel#Palestinians#hamas#geopolitics@geopolitics
#Europe de l'est : quel élargissement ? | L'essentiel du Dessous des #Cartes | #ARTE
La #Géorgie est aujourd'hui déchirée entre un gouvernement pro- #russe et une présidente, Salomé #Zourabichvili, tournée vers l’Europe. La #Russie de #Poutine d’un côté, l’Union #européenne de l’autre : deux modèles politiques, deux systèmes de valeurs que tout oppose. L’occasion pour nous de célébrer un anniversaire : il y a vingt ans, l’Union européenne s’ouvrait à l’Est. Sortons nos cartes.
Interesting #Arctic reporting as always from Mia Bennett of Cryopolitics, this time on the temporary Israeli base that was built in US state of #Alaska to test defensive space missiles now being used in the #MiddleEast.