Trump to meet Qatar's PM to discuss Gaza ceasefire deal, Axios reports
Israeli and Hamas negotiators have been taking part in the latest round of ceasefire talks in Doha since July 6, discussing a US-backed proposal for a 60-day ceasefire that envisages a phased release of hostages, Israeli troop withdrawals from parts of Gaza and discussions on ending the conflict.
Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday he was 'hopeful' about the ceasefire negotiations under way in Qatar, a key mediator between the two sides.
US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators have been working to secure an agreement. However, Israel and Hamas are divided over the extent of an eventual Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave.
The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered in October 2023 when Hamas attacked Israel. Israel said Hamas killed 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Citizen
32 minutes ago
- The Citizen
Weekly economic wrap: US tariffs, mining production and retail sales
The US tariffs have turned the global economy into a roller-coaster as it affects every part of economic growth and decline. In what was supposed to be a quiet week on the economic front, US tariffs kept people watching the economic news, while there was local news on mining production and retail sales. Lisette IJssel de Schepper, chief economist at the Bureau for Economic Research (BER), says the big global data prints of the week came on Tuesday, with better-than-expected Chinese GDP growth for the second quarter and US core inflation coming in lower than expected, but still (finally) reflecting some signs of tariffs being passed on to consumers. In South Africa, she says, the uptick in mining production and retail sales was positive for gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter. 'There was plenty of political news to digest. Globally, US President Donald Trump dished out more tariffs to be implemented on 1 August, while the push to essentially oust US Federal Reserve (Fed) chair Jerome Powell continued. 'Locally, President Cyril Ramaphosa placed police minister Senzo Mchunu on special leave, something which has never happened before, pending the outcome of another commission of inquiry.' ALSO READ: Devastating impact of US tariffs on SA automotive sector even before implementation Big story of the week: 30% US tariff on European Union She points out that the big story over the weekend was that the US plans to impose a 30% tariff on the European Union (EU), more than the 20% Liberation Day tariff announced in early April. Key training partners Canada (35%) and Mexico (30%) face similar hurdles, although some exceptions for trade covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) remain in effect. 'All countries have, so far, held off on immediate retaliation, but the EU finalised a list of countermeasures to strategically target US exports to the EU. It has held off on retaliating so that negotiations can continue, but plans to target €72 billion of imports, ranging from industrial goods (Boeing, cars and machinery) to agri-food products (including bourbon). 'Some EU countries pushed for the option to use anti-coercion instruments, which give broader powers to, for example, introduce taxes on US tech companies or restrict access to parts of the market.' ALSO READ: ArcelorMittal warns it might close without urgent solution to challenges Headlines in global markets written in halls of power, not just Wall Street Bianca Botes, director at Citadel Global, says this week in global markets the headlines were written not just on Wall Street, but in the halls of power from Washington to Beijing. 'Trade, technology and teetering central bank policies collided, reordering how investors see risk, reward and the future path of markets.' She says Trump's surprise announcement of potential sweeping tariffs on its key trading partners, South Korea, Japan, Brazil and Canada, sent waves through the commodity world and reignited concerns about global supply chains. 'Notably, a proposed hefty 50% tariff on copper imports, potentially starting 1 August, catapulted the red metal's futures prices. While previous tariff announcements sometimes triggered swift, knee-jerk selloffs, market reaction this time was more nuanced. 'Why? Investors are, by now, warier but also somewhat desensitised to the tug-of-war on trade. Rather than a wholesale equity retreat, money, instead, flowed into safe havens. Silver surged nearly 4% and select commodity classes outperformed as investors hedged their exposure. 'This sector-by-sector action underscores a key theme for 2025: the world is learning to trade around trade policy, analysing which assets get hit hardest and which might benefit.' ALSO READ: Government must intervene with US tariffs, act stronger with police corruption Oil and gold also affected by US tariffs Botes points out that oil steadied on supply worries, while gold dipped on strong data. 'Brent Crude hovered near $69.60/barrel, holding on to a 1.5% gain, after geopolitical tensions and tighter supply boosted prices. 'Meanwhile, gold hovered just below $3 340/ounce, heading for its first weekly decline in three weeks. The retreat follows stronger US data, with retail sales rebounding and jobless claims hitting a three-month low, thereby reducing the urgency for Fed rate cuts. 'Despite the policy tug-of-war within the Fed, gold remains underpinned by geopolitical risks and tariff uncertainty. With Trump's notification of tariff rates to over 150 trade partners, safe haven appeal remains intact.' According to Busisiwe Nkonki and Isaac Matshego, economists at the Nedbank Group Economic Unit, the rand is trading around R17.70/$ this afternoon, pulling back from R17.92 last Friday despite worries about the 30% import tariff on exports to the US. 'The rand benefited from positive sentiment that boosted emerging market currencies.' In commodity markets, the Brent Crude Oil price softened on concerns about the effects of the Trump tariffs on global demand, while gold continued to move around $3 340 and platinum jumped to the highest level since August 2014 as supply concerns worsened. ALSO READ: Does stronger economic activity indicate improved GDP? Will mining production perform better in the second quarter? Mining production increased by an above-consensus 0.2% in May, marking the first annual expansion since the start of this year, after a sharp 7.7% contraction in April. Iron ore was the largest positive contributor, while declines in manganese ore and coal production were the biggest drag. Nomvelo Moima, an economist at the BER, says that barring a sharp reversal in June, it appears the mining sector is likely to contribute positively to GDP in the second quarter. Mamello Matikinca-Ngwenya, Siphamandla Mkhwanazi, Thanda Sithole and Koketso Mano, economists at FNB, say the increase in seasonally adjusted mining output suggests a continued improvement in output in the second quarter, with production up 2.6% in the three months until May. 'Should this trend continue, mining production will contribute positively to GDP growth.' Nkonki and Matshego say the outlook remains murky. 'While most mining products will likely be exempted from the 30% US tariff on South African imports, the ongoing tariff war will hurt global growth in the quarters ahead, weighing on export demand and commodity prices.' ALSO READ: Retail sales: South Africans spent R19.6 billion on clothes and furniture in May Retail sales and motor trade faring better, but wholesale drags Statistics SA released a batch of domestic trade data for May, affirming that consumer spending remained solid during the second quarter. Real retail trade sales increased by 4.2%, while motor trade sales increased by 4.7%. However, the wholesale sector did not fare too well, as annual wholesale trade sales contracted for a fifth straight month in May by 4.3%. Matikinca-Ngwenya, Mkhwanazi, Sithole and Mano say retail activity over the past three months reflected no growth compared to the preceding three-month period, suggesting that household spending is losing momentum. 'However, any build-up in momentum in June will support GDP growth.' Nkonki and Isaac Matshego point out that only general dealers and hardware stores saw sales increase over the month, while sales at most other retailers, including online stores, declined in May. 'Despite the mixed results, sales remained well above last year's levels across the board. 'Retailers should benefit from the ongoing recovery in consumer demand as household incomes strengthen, inflation remains relatively subdued, and the recent interest rate cuts reduce borrowing costs and revive credit demand.'
Daily Maverick
2 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
Bloom dances dangerously close to ‘anti-Semitism denialism' in a hostile UCT campus climate
In this piece, David Saks has, on behalf of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, authored a reply to Kevin Bloom's article in which the journalist reflects on the narrative that the council of the University of Cape Town had chosen to wilfully sacrifice donor funding on the altar of its so-called Gaza resolutions. Bloom writes that a pro-Israel lobby is attempting to shut down criticism of the Jewish state. Saks challenges this reflection. Those following the debate over the escalation of anti-Semitism at US universities will well remember the almost surreal occasion back in December 2023 when Harvard University's then president Claudine Gay could not bring herself to concede that calls for the 'genocide of Jews' would violate Harvard's rules on bullying and harassment. Asked this question before a congressional hearing, Gay essentially answered instead that it all depended on the context. It was a telling moment, and a revelatory one. More than any officially commissioned report, it demonstrated the extent to which even the most extreme anti-Semitic attitudes had come to be tolerated on leading US campuses, from the most senior leadership downwards. Anti-Semitism on university campuses continues to manifest at unprecedentedly high levels, not only in the US, but globally. South Africa has certainly not been immune to these trends, but, on the whole, it has been considerably less of a problem compared with what is happening abroad. Unfortunately, in recent years the University of Cape Town (UCT) has been something of an exception. Particularly in the aftermath of the 7 October 2023 terror attacks against Israel, but for some time even before that, Jewish students and faculty there have reported being subjected to a range of threats, insults and general abusive behaviour. Not unlike what happened at Harvard, the failure of the university to take appropriate action to address these incidents, combined with its move over the past year towards instituting a boycott of Israeli academia, has contributed to a campus climate that is increasingly anti-Semitic and unsafe for Jewish students and academics. A broadside against mainstream Jewish leadership in SA It is against this background that Kevin Bloom's latest article, which I consider to be a broadside against the mainstream Jewish leadership in South Africa, should be considered (Zionism untethered — inside the legal battle for the soul of UCT, 18 June 2025). In this piece, Bloom weighs in against a court application brought by Professor Adam Mendelsohn in respect of two resolutions adopted by the UCT council last year. How the purpose and substance of Mendelsohn's application was misrepresented by Bloom from a legal and technical point of view has since been adroitly unpacked by Elsa van Huyssteen. Suffice it to say here that contrary to the impression that Bloom tries to create, even a cursory reading of Mendelsohn's affidavits would show that the litigation is not about Zionism and the war in Gaza. Rather, it is about whether the UCT Council, in adopting the impugned resolutions, has exercised its powers 'in accordance with its members' fiduciary duties to UCT', and also over whether the resolutions themselves 'infringe on the right to academic freedom by prohibiting individual academics from pursuing research collaborations of their choice'. Van Huyssteen also points out that the application in no way concerns the contents and applicability of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of anti-Semitism, for all that Bloom tries to make out that Mendelsohn appeared 'to be insisting' on UCT adopting it. From the perspective of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD), a significant concern is that Bloom not only dismisses credible claims of unprecedented anti-Semitic abuse and harassment faced by Jewish students and staff on university campuses worldwide, including at UCT over the past 18 months, but also suggests these claims are fabricated to suppress criticism of Israel. This emerges most clearly in his quoting approvingly of an affidavit from Princeton University's Professor Joan Scott that has likewise been submitted to the UCT Council. According to Scott, [Zionist] students on US campuses 'express their discomfort in terms of feeling 'unsafe' or 'threatened' … when there is little or no evidence of any physical danger they have experienced'. On this Bloom comments, 'And so Daily Maverick could not help but wonder: Was this also the reality of Zionist fears on the UCT campus?' He adds that this would be for the Western Cape Division of the High Court to decide, but of course has already made his own view on the subject quite obvious. Beyond his misrepresentations over the purpose of the court application against UCT, what Bloom is also arguably doing here is engaging in what can broadly be characterised as 'anti-Semitism denialism'. According to this way of thinking, not only should claims made by Jews themselves about prejudice against them be treated with scepticism, but their very motives in making them should be called into question. It is not, in other words, only about Jews being objectively wrong when they speak out against anti-Semitism, but that they are being wrong on purpose because they have another agenda. Anti-Semitic prejudice To make an obvious point, portraying Jews as being capable of fabricating persecution narratives about themselves and coercing others into accepting them as true is itself a form of anti-Semitic prejudice. There is even a designated term for this, namely 'The Livingstone Formulation'. Coined by University of London academic David Hirsh, this focuses on the manner, particularly on the political left, in which accusations of anti-Semitism are (almost reflexively) responded to with counterclaims that the complainant is weaponising anti-Semitism to suppress criticism of Israel. As Hirsh shows, this rhetoric device is itself dishonest and propagates anti-Semitic stereotypes about Jewish power and deceit. Anti-Semitism denialism has a long history. Its most infamous form is Holocaust denial, which asserts that the systematic genocide of European Jewry during World War 2 did not occur and was fabricated by Jews for their own malicious purposes. Those who adhere to such beliefs are for the most part far right Nazi apologists, but anti-Semitism denialism often surfaces on the left as well. One thinks of the persistent insistence by acolytes of the former Soviet Union that there was no problem of anti-Semitism behind the Iron Curtain and that those claiming otherwise were simply engaging in anti-Soviet propaganda. Such knee-jerk defences on the part of the hard left continued throughout the Cold War era, even as Soviet Jewish dissidents were being dispatched to the gulags for such crimes against the state as learning Hebrew, practising their religion and wishing to immigrate to Israel. Then there are those who deny the persecutions that triggered the mass exodus of Jews from Arab-speaking countries following Israel's establishment. That countries like Syria, Iraq, Libya, Egypt and Yemen today have no or at best a few dozen Jews still living there, whereas prior to 1948 there were tens of thousands, is either never acknowledged, or attributed to the evil machinations of the Zionists themselves. As a local example of anti-Semitism denialism, I would remind readers of how last year then Minister of Justice Ronald Lamola blandly informed the international community that there was 'no anti-Semitism in South Africa' and that claims to the contrary were 'a nonsense'. This came just weeks after the SA Jewish Board of Deputies had met with President Cyril Ramaphosa and provided him with chapter and verse details on how local anti-Semitism levels had escalated by more than 600% following the 7 October 2023 massacres. It was also despite legal proceedings, both criminal and civil, having been instituted in a number of these cases. In the wake of Lamola's statements, social media was awash with claims that Zionist Jews were fabricating charges of anti-Semitism to divert attention away from what was happening on the Israel-Gaza front. The self-same insinuations that Bloom makes in his article, in other words. A common feature of anti-Semitism denialism in all these cases is that those propagating it do so in the face of extensive and conclusive evidence to the contrary. Which brings us to the issue about anti-Semitism on university campuses. Has there indeed been a significant escalation in this regard, as Jewish rights organisations insist, or, as Kevin Bloom and his ilk would have you believe, are such claims no more than a Zionist sleight of hand aimed at silencing and penalising those who speak out against Israel? In actuality, it is not a question at all. That university and college campuses globally have become hotbeds of anti-Semitism is attested to by a copious and ever-growing body of evidence that is as conclusive as it is damning. However much the actions and rhetoric of those concerned might be couched in anti-imperialist, anti-apartheid or anti-Zionist narratives, in practice it consistently manifests in Jews on campus being subjected to acts of intimidation, gaslighting, character assassination, exclusion, verbal or written insults and sometimes physical violence. Harassment, vandalism and assault Since the events of October 7 there have been a plethora of detailed investigative reports demonstrating the extent to which the situation has deteriorated at institutions of higher learning throughout the Western world. The Anti-Defamation League, which tracks incidents of anti-Semitic harassment, vandalism and assault in the US, found that incidents on college and university campuses spiked by 321% in 2023, most occurring after 7/10, and the 2024 figures were not much better. Typical examples of the incidents recorded were Jewish students being routinely confronted by militant anti-Israel activists making such statements as 'Death to Jews', 'go back to Poland' and 'the 7th of October is going to be every day for you'. Beyond the in-your-face abuse, insults and threats has been the practice of social shaming, whereby students and faculty are encouraged to avoid normalising relations with Jewish students. The parallel situation in the UK was described in a report by the Community Security Trust, whose purpose is to work for the safety and security of the UK Jewish community in December 2024. This found that in the academic years covered by the report (2022-2024) 325 university-related anti-Semitic incidents were recorded, which was more than double the figure recorded in the previous report. Recorded instances included 10 cases of assault and 21 of damage and desecration of Jewish property. Globally, leading universities are waking up to the fact that they have a real problem, and some at least have been doing something about it. One is the University of London's Goldsmiths College, which commissioned an independent inquiry that in due course concluded that Jewish students and staff had indeed experienced anti-Semitism in the course of their studies or work. The Council and Executive Board of Goldsmiths fully endorsed the findings, stating that anti-Semitism would not be tolerated and that the college would be 'acting against such behaviour as a form of racism'. Similarly, Harvard University established a task force 'to examine the recent history of anti-Semitism and its current manifestations on the Harvard campus with the aim of identifying causes of and contributing factors to anti-Jewish behaviours'. The final report of that body, released in April this year, confirmed that instances of anti-Semitic harassment at the university had reached unacceptably high levels. One of the most alarming indicators of the breakdown of Harvard's on-campus community was found to be the multiple accounts of social shunning that had emerged in the course of the investigation. From these two credible investigations (among others that have been conducted) one can easily see that anti-Semitism on both US and UK campuses has not been overstated or even invented by the Jews themselves, but is a genuine and pervasive menace. Since both were commissioned or conducted by the relevant academic institutions themselves, Bloom would not even have the supposed excuse of rejecting them on the grounds of their having been sponsored by Jewish organisations. Why, then, does he persist in disregarding this body of evidence? Regrettably, and in stark contrast to other South African university campuses, UCT has also reportedly witnessed a significant increase in anti-Semitic attacks. Contrary to the offensive strawman argument that Jews/Zionists seek to conflate all legitimate criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism, no mainstream Jewish leaders are in actuality seeking to shut down debate on this, or any other subject. Robust but acceptable discourse The problem rather is when what can be regarded as robust but acceptable discourse over issues that are well known to be highly emotive and bitterly contested goes beyond simply engaging in free speech to amount to intimidation, harassment, incitement to violence and racially charged hate speech. Those who wish to condemn Israel, even in extreme, exaggerated terms, have every right to do so. However, conveying intense hostility toward Jews who are connected to Israel in a way that violates their dignity, threatens their safety and deprives them of their right to express their own beliefs and opinions is another matter altogether, and indeed, must be regarded as anti-Semitic behaviour. Particularly since October 7, but also before that, the SAJBD received regular reports of anti-Semitic attacks. These have included Jewish students being physically assaulted while praying on campus, slapped, having posters they were carrying ripped out of their hands and torn up, and those displaying outward manifestations of their Judaism being crassly insulted and not infrequently threatened. All these incidents have been brought to the notice of the university, with disciplinary action being taken against one of the perpetrators, but not to date against others. There is another kind of harassment that is going on, more low level and not as egregious and in-your-face, but much more pervasive, and, from a psychological point of view, just as harmful. By way of example, a Jewish student at UCT reported sending a neutral question on a course WhatsApp group asking when their essays would be returned, to which another student replied: ' When Palestine is free', and to which several classmates responded with agreement, emojis, and affirmations. This was in a context that had nothing whatsoever to do with the Israel-Palestine issue, but was motivated solely by the student's being Jewish. The anti-Israel boycott resolution adopted by the UCT Council last year has only legitimised this kind of 'othering', exacerbating hostility towards Jewish students on campus, emboldening those who use anti-Zionism as a smokescreen for anti-Semitism, and reinforcing the idea that Jewish students must disavow Israel to be accepted. Bloom attempts to turn all of this on its head by holding anti-Zionist Jewish dissidents (like himself) to be victims of harassment and persecution by fellow Jews seeking to intimidate them into silence. This rather clumsy piece of misdirection quickly falls apart when considering the objective evidence of who is trying to censor who. On the contrary, it is those who wish to identify as Zionist and express views supportive of that ideology and of the State of Israel who are being bullied, smeared, silenced and sidelined. In a democratic society, this should not be allowed to happen anywhere. And that is especially true when it comes to universities, institutions whose fundamental purpose is to provide intellectual spaces where a full spectrum of opinions on the widest variety of topics can be safely expressed and civilly debated. DM
IOL News
3 hours ago
- IOL News
Senior clerics visit Gaza following deadly church strike
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa (L) and a members of a Christian visit the Saint Porphyrius Church in Gaza City on July 18. Image: Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP Two of the most senior Christian leaders in Jerusalem travelled to Gaza on Friday after Israeli fire killed three at the Palestinian territory's only Catholic church, provoking international condemnation. The rare visit came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel "deeply regrets" the strike on the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and blamed a "stray" round. Israel strictly controls access to the territory, where the civil defence agency on Friday reported that further Israeli strikes killed at least 25 Palestinians, including a family of five in their own home. Local people used their bare hands to pick through the debris in the southern city of Khan Yunis in a desperate search for survivors. "Entire families are buried under the rubble," Louai Abu Sahloul, a relative of the victims, told AFP, adding that the relentless wave of strikes was taking its toll. "People are like walking dead, tired of hunger, pain and destruction everywhere in Gaza," he said. The Catholic Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and his Greek Orthodox counterpart, Theophilos III, headed to Gaza and met local Christians following Thursday's strike. They visited both the Holy Family Church and the Greek Orthodox Saint Porphyrius Church in what the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem called "the shared pastoral solicitude of the Churches of the Holy Land and their concern for the community of Gaza". The Greek Orthodox Jerusalem Patriarchate called it a "powerful expression" of church unity and solidarity. 'Stop the needless slaughter' The clerics last week visited the occupied West Bank with diplomatic representatives from more than 20 countries after an attack on an ancient Byzantine-era church blamed on Israeli settlers. Both churches said the Gaza visit had been facilitated with the help of aid agencies and also involved the delivery of food supplies and emergency medical equipment. In Italy, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the delegation arrived with 500 tonnes of aid for local civilians. Pope Leo XIV, the leader of the Catholic Church, said he was "deeply saddened" by the strike on the church, where hundreds of displaced people were sheltering, including children and those with special needs. His predecessor, Pope Francis, kept in regular contact with parish priest Father Gabriel Romanelli and repeatedly called for an end to the Gaza war, which has created a humanitarian crisis for the people living there. Romanelli was one of 10 people injured in the strike and was seen with bandages on his leg. The Vatican said the pope called Pizzaballa on Friday morning to ask about the situation in Gaza and the condition of Romanelli and the other wounded. "He expressed his support and affection to the entire community gathered around the parish and those suffering from the violence, and reiterated his intention to do everything possible to stop the needless slaughter of innocents," a statement read. The pontiff also spoke with Netanyahu and expressed concern about the "dramatic humanitarian situation", renewing his appeal for negotiations, a ceasefire and the end of the war, a separate statement added. A spokesman at Netanyahu's office told AFP the conversation was "friendly" and the prime minister expressed his regret. 'Mistake' Both Italy and France called the strike "unacceptable" while US President Donald Trump called Netanyahu after having "not a positive reaction" on hearing about it, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. "It was a mistake by the Israelis to hit that Catholic church, that's what the prime minister relayed to the president," she told reporters. The Jerusalem churches, which have jurisdiction for Catholics and members of the Greek Orthodox Church across Israel and the Palestinian territories, said they had ensured the medical evacuation of those injured. One was in a critical condition and two others were seriously wounded, the Jerusalem Patriarchate said. Out of the Gaza Strip's population of more than two million, about 1,000 are Christians. Most of them are Orthodox but according to the Latin Patriarchate, there are about 135 Catholics in the territory. Israel's military maintains that it does not deliberately target churches and religious sites. But the Jerusalem Patriarchate said there had been "repeated assaults on Christian holy sites in Gaza". The war was sparked by Palestinian militant group Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which led to the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel's military retaliation has killed at least 58,667 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza. The UN considers these figures to be reliable. AFP
