Israeli army targets Gaza journalists over hunger reports
Adraee dismissed the reports as 'a fabricated and deceitful Hamas theatrical performance'.
In response, al-Sharif posted on X, calling the accusations part of Israel's ongoing effort to 'silence the truth' and 'cover up a genocide unfolding in real time'.
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Middle East Eye
an hour ago
- Middle East Eye
Does Trump care about the issue of Palestinian statehood?
The US president's sentiments on Palestinian statehood have shifted significantly over the past week, as three of his G7 allies proclaimed they would recognise the State of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly meeting in September. French President Emmanuel Macron's somewhat sudden announcement on X came first, to which Donald Trump - prompted by a reporter - said nonchalantly, "That's fine if he does that. It's up to him. I'm with the United States, I'm not with France". On Monday, just hours after a sit-down with Trump in Scotland, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that he too would recognise a Palestinian state in September. "I'm not in that camp... if you do that, you really are rewarding Hamas," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. By Wednesday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had joined the UK and France, as all three parties argued that this was the only pathway to ending the 77-year-old Israel-Palestine conflict and the war on Gaza. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters "Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine. That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them. Oh' [sic] Canada!" Trump wrote on his TruthSocial account. He then raised tariffs on Canadian products from 25 percent to 35 percent. Is Trump just feeling the isolation of now having nearly 150 countries - many of them US allies - recognise that Palestinians are entitled to a state, or are others in his close circle driving his policy for him? Why Trump has little interest in delivering a ceasefire in Gaza Read More » "I think that Trump was caught flat-footed initially, and so he was just dismissive, and anything that's not an initiative that he would take, or any action or comment that doesn't turn the attention to him and give him the impression that he is the master of whatever issue is under discussion, he will viscerally reject or oppose," Glenn Carle, a national security expert who spent 25 years in the CIA's clandestine services, told Middle East Eye. "Once matters had evolved a little, he started to think, well, this could create some headaches for me," he added. "The bureaucracies weighed in to the extent they remain capable and relevant. That would be the State Department largely saying, 'Well, this is fraught'." Indeed, US Secretary of State and national security adviser Marco Rubio has been leading the administration's official messaging on the matter. Rubio had been a staunch pro-Israel voice during his years in the Senate. "Irrelevant. It's irrelevant," he said of the recognition of Palestinian statehood on Fox Radio on Thursday. "The UK is like, well, if Israel doesn't agree to a ceasefire by September, we're going to recognise a Palestinian state. So if I'm Hamas, I say, you know what, let's not allow there to be a ceasefire. If Hamas refuses to agree to a ceasefire, it guarantees a Palestinian state will be recognised by all these countries in September," Rubio said in the radio appearance. 'Trump's not in control' A ceasefire that was in effect for six weeks in January - brokered by the Biden administration and enforced by the Trump administration - was broken by Israel on 1 March. Since then, Hamas has insisted that a full restoration of UN aid distribution and a permanent end to the war are the only two conditions it would accept for another deal with Israel. 'Trump's not in control. I think we need to take a look at the first three months of Trump's presidency, and then we need to compare that to the last four or five months,' Abdelhalim Abdelrahman, a political analyst and host of the podcast Uncharted Territory, told MEE. Abdelrahman says that in the first three months, Trump managed to negotiate a successful ceasefire with the Houthi rebels, diplomacy with the Iranians, and his envoy Steve Witkoff managed to twist Netanyahu's arm into accepting a ceasefire. 'If you look at who Trump has surrounded himself with, there's no doubt who's guiding his Middle East policy' - Abdelhalim Abdelrahman, host of Uncharted Territory "I know that Senator Lindsey Graham has been in the president's ear, pushing back against this. Mark Levin, who's a host at Fox [News], who was really pushing Trump to bomb Iran, has also been pushing back on this." There's also the Heritage Foundation, a highly influential right-wing, Evangelical Christian think tank in Washington that was key to formulating Trump's playbook for both his terms in office. The organisation celebrated this achievement back in 2018, and has undoubtedly seen more of its recommendations go into action now with the doxxing, firing, and deportation of students and faculty who took part in pro-Palestine protests last year. At a Thursday event in the US capital hosted by Heritage, speakers included the US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and the chairman of the scandal-plagued Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, Johnnie Moore. Organisers pledged to help Israel annex Judea and Samaria, otherwise known as the occupied West Bank, and never once mentioned the word Palestine or Palestinians during the 90-minute discussion. Moore in particular referred to them as the "Arabs of Gaza". "The Heritage Foundation has very much been peddling this idea that A, Palestinians are not indigenous to the land, and B, that the Trump administration should take just about every pro-Israel avenue that they possibly can," Abdelrahman said. "There is no such thing as a Palestinian people," to the Evangelical Christian community to which officials like Huckabee and groups like Heritage belong, Carle said. Is the two-state policy dead in the US? Washington adopted the policy of two states, Israel and Palestine, at the signing of the 1978 Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel. It became official at the signing of the 1993 Oslo Accords in the White House Rose Garden. No administration has officially, on paper, overturned that policy since, but now more than ever, no government action even remotely suggests that it remains in effect. "The two-state policy is undoubtedly dead," Abdelrahman said. Carle said that US policy now effectively only serves the objectives of the Israeli right-wing, its current government run by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party. US calls Saudi and French-led conference on two-state solution a 'publicity stunt' Read More » "It used to be a pretty clear majority of Israelis who favoured a two-state solution and opposed the colonisation of the West Bank," Carle said, but the numbers have dwindled. Just one week ago, the Knesset voted 71-13 on a non-binding motion to annex the occupied West Bank. "The Trump administration has never taken any steps towards a two-state solution. The Biden administration was quite a classic American one, in that it did want a two-state solution, but was feeling caught between the contradiction of supporting Israel's existential existence, which then meant that the US never pushed Israel," Carle said. In a move that the State Department insisted is unrelated to the momentum building around Palestinian statehood, the Trump administration on Thursday placed sanctions on officials in the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) over their work taking Israel to international courts. The unnamed officials were "not complying with their commitments and undermining the prospects for peace", the State Department said. "Ironically enough, the PLO de-armed about 40 years ago, and has recognised Israel's right to exist, has abided by the Oslo security apparatus, and has just done about everything to appease the United States," Abdelrahman noted. Efforts by US lawmakers Also on Thursday, Jewish Insider revealed that California Congressman Ro Khanna, a progressive Democrat, had begun circulating a draft letter among colleagues, calling on Trump to recognise Palestinian statehood. The US must " recognise the need to meaningfully address the decades-long conflict and injustice underlying these 22 months of horrific war", the letter read. "With such an outcome opposed by the current Israeli government and actively undermined by its accelerating annexation campaign in the West Bank - as well as open calls by Israeli ministers to annex much if not all of Gaza - meaningful action is necessary to bolster the legitimacy of Palestinian statehood," the letter concluded. At the time when it was obtained, there were no signatures added to the letter yet. Khanna quickly shared the article on his X account and insisted that its revelation hampers discussions with the White House. "Someone leaked our effort to try to sabotage it. Sad. It won't work," he wrote. "Recognising a Palestinian state is an idea whose time has come. The response of my colleagues has been overwhelming. We will build support and release prior to the UN convening," he added. Abdelrahman told MEE it's likely "going to be nipped in the bud", at least until Republicans gauge where public sentiment is after the 2026 midterm elections for lawmakers. More and more young America Firsters have questioned US loyalty to Israel's objectives over the past several weeks, highlighting a split among Trump's most ardent supporters. And even if all the other G7 countries recognise Palestinian statehood, there won't be much of an effect anyway, Carle argues. "I think the reality is that there are only two countries that can really affect Israel's foreign policy. One is Israel, and the other is the United States".
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Witkoff visits Gaza aid site as US draws up new plan
US envoy Steve Witkoff hinted at a new plan to feed Gaza on Friday, after visiting one of the food banks where starving Palestinians have allegedly been killed by Israel. Mr Witkoff said he and US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee spent more than five hours inside Gaza "assessing conditions" and speaking to staff from the Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The purpose of the visit was to give US President Donald Trump"a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza", Mr Witkoff said. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed while seeking food. It said in a report that 859 were killed in the vicinity of GHF sites, and 514 along the routes of food convoys. "Most of these killings were committed by the Israeli military," it added. The US diplomats visited one of the GHF aid sites in the southern city of Rafah. "This morning I joined Steve Witkoff for a visit to Gaza to learn the truth about GHF aid sites," Mr Huckabee wrote on X. GHF wrote on the platform that it had delivered its 100 millionth meal on Friday. On Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters the pair would 'secure a plan to deliver more food and meet local Gazans to hear first-hand about this dire situation '. Their visit came after Mr Trump lamented the aid situation in Gaza. He described it as 'terrible', despite Israeli claims that there is 'no starvation policy' in the enclave. 'It's terrible what's occurring there. It's a terrible thing. People are very hungry,' Mr Trump told reporters. 'You know, the United States gave $60 million for food, and it's a shame, because I don't see the results of it. And we gave it to people that, in theory, are watching over it fairly closely. We wanted Israel to watch over it.' Mr Witkoff would brief President Trump after the visit to 'approve a final plan for food and aid distribution into the region', said Ms Leavitt. Mr Trump himself echoed this in a phone call with US news site Axios on Friday touting a plan to "get people fed". "We want to help people. We want to help them live. We want to get people fed. It is something that should have happened long time ago," Mr Trump said, according to Axios. US-backed Israeli forces and private contractors have put in place a flawed, militarised aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths, said Human Rights Watch on Friday. The UN report said that the Human Rights Office in the occupied Palestinian Territory has no information that the Palestinians killed while seeking aid were directly participating in hostilities or posed any threat to Israeli security forces or other individuals. "Each person killed or injured had been desperately struggling for survival, not only for themselves, but also for their families and dependents," it said. Meanwhile, increasing numbers of Palestinians are dying from malnutrition and starvation, including children, older people, people with disabilities and the sick or injured. "They often have little or no support and cannot access the locations where extremely limited aid may be available. This humanitarian catastrophe is human-made. It is a direct result of policies imposed by Israel that have severely reduced the amount of life-saving assistance in the Gaza Strip." Political theatre Many Palestinians described the US envoy's visit as little more than political theatre. 'Maybe he should come every day, at least then we'd be assured that people won't be killed or humiliated,' said Khaled Foad, 40, who was displaced to Mawasi in Khan Younis after his home in the Al Zahraa neighbourhood was destroyed. 'Let the people benefit from this 'show'. Even women haven't been safe from the violence, and now they're pretending to treat people with kindness,' he added, referring to deaths near GHF aid sites. Awoni Salah, a 50-year-old Gazan, echoed Mr Foad's sentiments. 'The visit of Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, to the American aid distribution centres is a show,' he said. 'Today, there is no repression, no pepper spray, no gunfire, no casualties. 'If you want to know the truth, just let international journalists into Gaza. It's as simple as that. Let him visit one of Gaza's hospitals, then he'll see the reality for himself.' Mr Witkoff arrived in Israel on Thursday, before he and Mr Huckabee had a 'very productive meeting' with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials about delivering food and aid to Gaza, Ms Leavitt said. The death toll from Israel's military campaign in Gaza has passed 60,100, and images of starving children have fuelled anger and concern in many western countries, including the US. This week, for the first time, President Trump admitted that 'real starvation' was taking place across Gaza. Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul also arrived in Israel on Thursday on a trip to try to convince Israeli counterparts to allow in more aid. On Friday, Mr Wadephul met the families of seven German-Israeli hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, according to the German Embassy in Tel Aviv. Mr Wadephul signalled on Thursday that Germany may be reconsidering its position on Israel and Gaza, amid UN reports of famine spreading in the strip. Israel is increasingly finding itself in a 'minority position', Mr Wadephul warned in a statement issued before his visit. French President Emmanuel Macron announced last week that his country, a heavyweight in the EU, plans to recognise a Palestinian state, becoming the first major western nation to do so. Britain and Canada have since said they could also do so. Israel's refusal to end the war in Gaza and its aid policy in the Palestinian territory have made it more isolated than ever. Mr Witkoff's visit follows the imposition of US sanctions on members of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organisation. Washington accused the PA and PLO of 'continuing to support terrorism', supporting international legal cases against Israel and 'undermining prospects for peace', the US State Department said on Thursday. Palestinian officials told The National the sanctions were punishment for seeking an end to Israel's occupation and the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Sharjah 24
an hour ago
- Sharjah 24
Over 1,370 Palestinians killed while seeking food: UN
Despite Israel's 27 July announcement of daily military pauses in western Gaza 'to improve humanitarian responses,' Israeli forces continued attacks along food convoy routes and near GHF aid sites, the OHCHR said in a press release issued on Friday. '[The office] has no information that these Palestinians were directly participating in hostilities or posed any threat to Israeli security forces or other individuals. Each person killed or injured had been desperately struggling for survival, not only for themselves, but also for their families and dependents,' it said.
