LIVE: Israel kills 13 in central Gaza as ‘difficult' truce talks continue
Israeli forces intensify air attacks on Gaza, killing at least 13 and wounding dozens in a single strike on central Deir el-Balah.
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Qatar Tribune
7 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
Trump intensifies trade war with 30% tariffs on EU and Mexico
Agencies President Donald Trump on Saturday imposed a 30 percent tariff on imports from Mexico and the European Union starting on August 1 after weeks of negotiations with the key trading allies failed to reach a more comprehensive trade deal. The fresh tariffs were announced in separate letters posted on Truth Social on Saturday. Earlier this week, Trump issued new tariff announcements for a number of countries, including Japan, South Korea, Canada and Brazil, as well as a 50 percent tariff on copper. The EU had hoped to reach a comprehensive trade agreement with the US for the 27-country bloc. The European Union had been bracing for the letter from Trump outlining his planned duties on the United States' largest trade and investment partner after a broadening of his tariff war in recent days. The EU initially hoped to strike a comprehensive trade agreement, including zero-for-zero tariffs on industrial goods, but months of difficult talks have led to the realization it will probably have to settle for an interim agreement and hope something better can still be negotiated. The 27-country bloc is under conflicting pressures as powerhouse Germany urged a quick deal to safeguard its industry, while other EU members, such as France, have said EU negotiators should not cave into a one-sided deal on US terms. Trump's cascade of tariff orders since returning to the White House has begun generating tens of billions of dollars a month in new revenue for the US government. US customs duties revenue shot past $100 billion in the federal fiscal year through to June, according to US Treasury data on Friday. Canada tariff Canada will face a 35 percent tariff on exports to the United States starting August 1, President Donald Trump said in a late-night letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney that upends negotiations between the close allies. The notice was the latest of more than 20 such letters Trump has issued since Monday as he continues to widen a global trade war, adding in an interview that countries which have yet to receive a letter from him would see a 15 percent or 20 percent levy. Canada's 35 percent tariff marks a step up from an existing 25 percent level, but products complying with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) are expected to remain exempt, a Trump administration official told AFP. Canadian energy resources are anticipated to still face a lower levy, the official said, while noting that Trump has yet to make final decisions on the matter. Trump told reporters Friday that Ottawa reached out following the release of his letter: 'I think it was fairly well received. It is what we need. So we'll see what happens.' Canada and the United States have been locked in trade negotiations in hopes of reaching a deal by July 21, but Trump's latest threat appeared to have shifted that deadline. Both Canada and Mexico are trying to find ways to satisfy Trump so the USMCA free trade deal uniting the three countries can be put back on track. 'Throughout the current trade negotiations with the United States, the Canadian government has steadfastly defended our workers and businesses. We will continue to do so as we work towards the revised deadline of August 1,' Carney posted Thursday night on X. The USMCA replaced the previous NAFTA accord in July 2020, after Trump successfully pushed for a renegotiation during his first term in office. It was due to be reviewed by July next year, but Trump has thrown the process into disarray by launching trade wars after he returned to office in January. Canadian and Mexican products were swiftly hit by 25 percent US tariffs this year, with a lower rate for Canadian energy. Trump targeted both North American neighbors saying they did not do enough on illegal immigration and the flow of illicit drugs—particularly fentanyl—across borders. Canada contributes less than one percent of the drug to the illicit US supply, according to Canadian and US government data. Trump eventually announced exemptions for goods entering his country under the USMCA, covering a large range of products.
Al Jazeera
7 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Family of American citizen killed by Israeli settlers demands US probe
Washington, DC – The family of Sayfollah Musallet, a 20-year-old United States citizen from Florida who was beaten to death by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, is calling on Washington to launch its own probe into the incident and to hold the perpetrators accountable. Musallet's family said in a statement that Israeli settlers surrounded him for three hours during the assault on Friday and attacked medics who were attempting to reach him. The slain young man, known as Saif, was a 'kind, hard-working, and deeply-respected young man, working to build his dreams', the family said. 'This is an unimaginable nightmare and injustice that no family should ever have to face,' the statement added. 'We demand the US State Department lead an immediate investigation and hold the Israeli settlers who killed Saif accountable for their crimes. We demand justice.' Washington has previously resisted calls to investigate the killing of US citizens by Israeli forces. Instead, US officials say that Israel is capable of probing its own abuses. But Israeli investigations rarely lead to criminal charges against settlers or soldiers, despite their well-documented violations against Palestinians. The State Department said late on Friday that it 'has no higher priority than the safety and security of US citizens overseas'. 'We are aware of reports of the death of a US citizen in the West Bank. When a US citizen dies overseas, we stand ready to provide consular services,' a department spokesperson told Al Jazeera, declining to provide further details, citing the privacy of the victim's family. Israeli settlers lynched 20-year-old Palestinian American Sayfollah Musallet, while U.S. officials stayed silent. Sayfollah was born and raised in Florida. He was visiting family for the summer in the West Bank when settlers beat him to death while he protested illegal land… — ADC National (@adc) July 12, 2025 Israeli forces have killed at least nine US citizens since 2022, including veteran Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh. But none of the incidents have resulted in criminal charges. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) said the US 'must stop treating Palestinian American lives as expendable'. 'Israeli settlers lynched 20-year-old Palestinian American Sayfollah Musallet, while US officials stayed silent,' the advocacy group said in a statement. 'Sayfollah was born and raised in Florida. He was visiting family for the summer in the West Bank when settlers beat him to death while he protested illegal land seizures.' American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) questioned whether Trump will stay true to his pledge to prioritise US interests. 'Will he uphold his 'America First' promise when it's a Palestinian-American whose life was taken? Or will he once again bow his head to Israel, no matter the cost in blood?' AMP said in a statement. But the group stressed that US citizenship should not be a condition for justice. Another Palestinian was killed in the same settler attack as Musallet on Saturday. 'And let's be unequivocally clear: whether a Palestinian holds American citizenship or not, every single murder committed by this regime must be explicitly prohibited, punished, and condemned,' AMP said. The US provides billions of dollars in military aid to Israel. It also protects its ally diplomatically at international forums, often using its veto power to block United Nations Security Council proposals critical of Israeli abuses. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called on supporters on Saturday to contact their lawmakers and call for condemnation of Musallet's killing. 'This was not an isolated incident. It was part of a long, unpunished pattern of violence against US citizens by Israeli soldiers and settlers,' the group said in a statement. Sarah Leah Whitson, the head of rights group DAWN, said the US has tools to pursue accountability in the Musallet case, noting that Washington is pursuing criminal charges against Hamas officials for the killing of US citizens during the October 7, 2023 attack in Israel. 'What is really missing [in the current case] is the political will from the United States government to protect American citizens of Palestinian origin or Americans protesting Israeli actions in the West Bank,' Whitson told Al Jazeera in a TV interview. 'What it really does is it sets a precedent of encouragement and sets a precedent for open season on Americans just as there is open season on Palestinians.'
Al Jazeera
9 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
UK lawmakers urge Foreign Secretary Lammy to recognise Palestinian state
Nearly 60 lawmakers in the United Kingdom have written to Foreign Secretary David Lammy this week, calling out Israel's plans for the 'ethnic cleansing' of Gaza and demanding the country immediately recognise Palestine as a state. The 59 lawmakers, all from the governing Labour Party, criticised Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz's plans to force Gaza's 2.1 million Palestinians into a so-called 'humanitarian city' – likened by some analysts to a concentration camp – built on the ruins of Rafah. The letter, sent to Lammy on Thursday and made public on Saturday, cited Israeli human rights lawyer Michael Sfard as saying Palestinians were being pushed to the southern tip of Gaza 'in preparation for deportation outside the strip', slamming the move as 'ethnic cleansing'. They urged the foreign secretary to stop Israel's 'operational plan for crimes against humanity'. It also called on London to follow the lead of French President Emmanuel Macron, who recently announced an intent to recognise a Palestinian state, so as not to undermine its own policy in support of a two-state solution. Dozens of Labour MPs have signed letter calling on @FCDOGovUK Secretary David Lammy to take concrete action on #Gaza including immediate recognition of #Palestine Here it is in full, though more MPs signing up by the minute Thanks @LFPME for coordinating, government must heed — Rupa Huq MP (@RupaHuq) July 12, 2025 Reporting from London, Al Jazeera's Sonia Gallego said Macron had given calls to formally recognise Palestine as a state 'extra heft' during his three-day state visit to the UK this week. In an address on Tuesday to the UK's Parliament, he had said the move was a matter of 'absolute urgency' and the 'only path to peace', calling on the country to help create the 'political momentum' for a two-state solution. Gallego pointed out that Lammy had on Tuesday criticised the controversial US-backed GHF sites at Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee. 'It's not doing a good job. Too many people are close to starvation. Too many people have lost their lives,' Lammy had said. Three out of the enclave's four GHF sites, which have sidelined Gaza's vast UN-led aid delivery network, are located in southern Gaza, effectively forcing starving Palestinians towards Israel's new 'humanitarian city' in Rafah. On Friday, the spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that 819 Palestinians have been killed while waiting for food – 634 in the vicinity of GHF sites, which have been operational since late May. On Saturday, 34 more were killed near a GHF site in Rafah. Lammy had also said that the UK could take further action against Israel if a ceasefire deal to end the war in the Palestinian territory does not materialise. But he stressed that London wants to recognise Palestine as part of a concrete move towards the two-state solution, not just as a symbolic gesture. The lawmakers welcomed the Labour government's calls for a ceasefire, its suspension of arms licenses to Israel, and its sanctioning of hardline Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, but said the 'desperation and seriousness' of the situation in Gaza required more action. 'We cannot leave actions in our back pocket while the situation facing Palestinian civilians reaches critical and existential levels,' said the letter, which was organised by Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East, co-chaired by lawmakers Sarah Owen and Andrew Pakes. 'By not recognising [Palestine] as a state, we … set an expectation that the status quo can continue and see the effective erasure and annexation of Palestinian territory,' it added. The Times of Israel reported this week that an international conference aiming to resuscitate the two-state solution was postponed to July 28-29 after plans to hold it last month were derailed by the 12-day Iran-Israel war.
