France's decision to recognise Palestine ups pressure on UK's Starmer
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, under pressure to recognise a Palestinian state, said he would do so only as part of a wider peace deal. His Labour-led government is facing growing calls to recognise a Palestinian state after France said it will and a cross-party group of parliamentarians urged Starmer to act before it is too late.
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Al Jazeera
4 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Countries denounce Israel but keep trading with it
As Israel's killing of Palestinians continues fast and slow, through air strikes and starvation, the foreign ministers of 28 countries have signed a statement calling for an end to Israel's war on Gaza. As these countries deploy words months after the United Nations and other groups warned of an oncoming famine, there has been little action on other fronts. Some of these countries have recognised the Palestinian state while France last week angered Israeli officials by announcing it would do the same in September. Still, many critics have pointed out that as countries make these statements, many of them continue to benefit from trade with Israel and have not imposed sanctions or taken any other action that could push Israel to end its genocidal war on Gaza. The war has killed at least 59,821 people in Gaza and wounded 144,477. Here's all you need to know about the countries profiting from Israel while condemning its military action: How much do the signatories of the statement trade with Israel? Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom all have more than $1bn in imports, exports or both with Israel, according to 2023 figures from the Observatory of Economic Complexity. What do these countries trade with Israel? Among the top items being traded are cars and other motor vehicles, integrated circuits, vaccines and perfumes. About $3.58bn in integrated circuits is the largest individual product going to Ireland, making up the overwhelming majority of Ireland's imports from Israel. Meanwhile, Italy exports to Israel more than any other country that signed the statement. Its $3.49bn of exports included $116m in cars in 2023. Do these countries recognise Palestine? Of those countries that issued the statement, Ireland and Spain recognised Palestine in 2024 and have spoken strongly against Israel's actions in Gaza. Still, that hasn't stopped them from continuing trade with Israel. Seven other countries that signed the statement also recognise the State of Palestine, including Cyprus, Malta and Poland, all of which recognised Palestine in 1988, shortly after the Palestinian Declaration of Independence. Iceland (2011), Sweden (2014), Norway (2024) and Slovenia (2024) also recognise the State of Palestine while France said it will do so in September at the United Nations General Assembly. Who signed the statement? Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. All of them are still trading with Israel. What was Israel's reaction to the statement? As expected. Oren Marmorstein, a spokesperson for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, wrote on X that Israel rejects the statement, saying 'it is disconnected from reality and sends the wrong message to Hamas.' What else are countries trading with Israel doing? France, Germany and the UK called for an 'immediate ceasefire' in Gaza and 'unconditional release of all hostages' after they held an emergency call to discuss the war and the hunger crisis created by Israel's siege and aid blockade on the enclave. Has any of this made Israel change its behaviour? Attention has turned heavily towards the starvation of Palestinians in Gaza, leading even longtime Israeli stalwart supporters like former US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to address the issue. Aid organizations report that thousands of children in Gaza are at risk of starvation while trucks full of food sit waiting across the border. The full flow of humanitarian assistance must be restored — Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) July 24, 2025 This pressure has led Israel to announce 'tactical pauses' for 'humanitarian purposes' from 10am to 8pm (07:00 to 17:00 GMT) in al-Mawasi, Deir el-Balah and Gaza City. They started on Sunday. Despite the pauses, Israeli forces killed at least 43 Palestinians early on Sunday. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said on Sunday that it had recorded six more deaths over 24 hours due to famine and malnutrition, including two children. This brings the total number of starvation deaths to 133, including 87 children.
Al Jazeera
8 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
US-EU trade talks: Will the EU chief clinch a deal with Trump?
United States President Donald Trump is scheduled to hold crunch talks with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland after weeks of intense trade talks between the two sides as Brussels aims to ink a deal with Washington to avoid a transatlantic trade war. Von der Leyen, the European Commission president, will meet with the US president at his Turnberry golf club in Scotland on Sunday. European ministers are hoping the meeting will result in a deal to avoid the 30 percent tariffs that Trump has threatened on EU goods. According to people involved in the talks, European negotiators are aiming for tariffs to be set at 15 percent. Trump told reporters on Friday that the bloc 'want[s] to make a deal very badly'. On July 12, Trump threatened to impose the 30 percent tariffs if no agreement could be secured by his deadline, which expires on Friday. That would come on top of the 25 percent tariffs on cars and car parts and 50 percent levies on steel and aluminium already in place. The EU, Washington's biggest trading partner, has been a frequent target of Trump's escalating trade rhetoric with the president accusing the bloc of 'ripping off' the US. In 2024, EU exports to the US totalled 532 billion euros ($603bn). Pharmaceuticals, car parts and industrial chemicals were among the largest exports, according to EU data. Will the Trump-von der Leyen meeting achieve a breakthrough and end the uncertainty in transatlantic trade ties? What are the main differences between the two sides? The US president told reporters at Turnberry on Friday that there are '20 sticking points'. When asked what they were, he said: 'Well, I don't want to tell you what the sticking points are.' At the same time, he described von der Leyen as a 'highly respected woman' and predicted their meeting on Sunday would be 'good', rating the chances of a deal as '50-50'. On the European side, it is understood that a growing number of EU countries are calling for Brussels to push ahead with an already prepared retaliatory tariffs package on 90 billion euros ($109bn) of US goods, including car parts and bourbon, if talks break down. The two sides, which traded 1.6 trillion euros ($1.8 trillion) in goods and services in 2023, have been negotiating since April 9 when Trump paused what he calls his 'reciprocal' tariffs, which he placed on nearly all countries. During that time, the US has been charging a flat 10 percent levy on all EU products as well as 25 percent on cars and 50 percent on steel and aluminium. This month, EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said: 'We have to protect the EU economy, and we need to go for these rebalancing measures.' Still, the bloc is understood to be rife with disagreement over trade policies with the US. While Germany has urged a quick deal to safeguard its industries, other EU members, particularly France, have insisted EU negotiators must not cave in to an asymmetrical deal that favours the US. On Saturday, von der Leyen spokesperson Paula Pinho said: 'Intensive negotiations at technical and political [level] have been ongoing between the EU and US. Leaders will now take stock and consider the scope for a balanced outcome that provides stability and predictability for businesses and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic.' What have the US and EU traded with each other? In 2024, the US-EU goods trade reached nearly $1 trillion, making the EU the single largest trading partner of the US. In total, the US bought $235.6bn more in goods than it sold to the 27 countries that make up the EU. On the other hand, the US earned a surplus on services trade with the EU. The US mainly bought pharmaceutical products from the EU as well as mechanical appliances, cars and other nonrailway vehicles – totalling roughly $606bn. The US exported fuel, pharmaceutical products, machinery and aircraft to the EU to the tune of $370bn. Why have they struggled to ink a deal so far? Like all the nations the US runs a trade deficit with, Trump has long accused the EU of swindling his country and is determined that Brussels adopt measures to lower its goods trade surplus with the US. Washington has repeatedly raised concerns over Europe's value-added tax as well as its regulations on food exports and IT services. Trump has argued that these controls act as nontariff trade barriers. Indeed, Sefcovic recently told the Financial Times that he wants to reduce the US-EU trade deficit by buying more US gas, weapons and farm products. And while European leaders want the lowest tariffs possible, they 'also want to be respected as the partners that we are', French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday. On July 14, meanwhile, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told reporters in Brussels that 'we should prepare to be ready to use all the tools'. He added: 'If you want peace, you have to prepare for war.' Negotiators in Scotland are hoping it doesn't come to that. This month, Oxford Economics, an economic forecasting consultancy, estimated that a 30 percent tariff could push the EU 'to the edge of recession'. Countermeasures from the EU would also hit certain US industries hard. European tariffs could reduce US farmers' and auto workers' incomes, which are key Trump constituencies.
Al Jazeera
11 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Israeli aid airdrop injures Palestinians in north Gaza; Hamas condemns move
At least 11 Palestinians have been injured due to aid airdrops in northern Gaza as one of the pallets fell directly on tents where displaced people are living, medical sources say. The Israeli military on Saturday announced that it 'carried out an airdrop of humanitarian aid as part of the ongoing efforts to allow and facilitate the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip'. But local sources in Gaza told Al Jazeera some of the aid pallets hit tents near al-Rasheed Road, a main road that runs along the coast of the enclave from north to south. Many other pallets were dropped in areas far from the displacement sites in northern Gaza and close to where the Israeli military is stationed. Meanwhile, after months of international pressure, the Israeli military on Sunday began a daily 'tactical pause' of its operations in parts of Gaza and established new aid corridors. The Palestinian group Hamas said it considers Israel's airdrop operations and limited humanitarian corridors in Gaza a 'symbolic, deceptive move aimed at whitewashing its image before the world'. In a statement on Sunday, Hamas said Israel is 'deflecting international demands to lift the siege and end the starvation campaign against Palestinians', calling it part of 'a calculated policy to manage famine, impose coercive realities, and subject civilians to danger and humiliation'. 'The arrival of food and medicine to Gaza is not a favour, it is a natural right and an urgent necessity to stop the catastrophe imposed by the Nazi-like occupation,' Hamas said. Hamas also held Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 'directly responsible' for policies that have led to mass civilian deaths, calling his handling of aid and the starvation deaths of Palestinians 'clear-cut war crimes'. Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City, said airdrops carried out in the past in Gaza 'were not effective, they did not reach enough people, let alone the chaos and violence they have caused'. 'The airdrops confirm what we have reported in the past – that Gaza has turned into a testing lab and the Israeli military is experimenting with every attack, every policy,' he said. Aid agencies said they are deeply sceptical that airdrops could deliver enough food safely to tackle a deepening hunger crisis facing Gaza's more than two million inhabitants while also calling it a 'grotesque distraction'. A number of Western and Arab governments carried out airdrops in Gaza in 2024 when aid deliveries by land also faced Israeli restrictions, but many in the humanitarian community consider them ineffective. 'Airdrops will not reverse the deepening starvation,' Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said on Saturday. 'They are expensive, inefficient and can even kill starving civilians.' But British Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed the idea last week, promising to work with Jordan to restart airdrops. The United Arab Emirates also said it would resume airdrops 'immediately'. The humanitarian situation in Gaza has gravely deteriorated in recent days, and more than 100 NGOs warned that 'mass starvation' was spreading in Gaza. Israel's military claims it does not limit the number of aid trucks going into Gaza and alleges that UN agencies and relief groups are not collecting aid once it is inside the territory. But humanitarian organisations accuse the army of imposing excessive restrictions while tightly controlling road access within Gaza.
