Tag: palestine

Joe Biden tells Benjamin Netanyahu US support hinges on protecting civilians

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that US support for his war in Gaza depends on new steps to protect civilians, a shift in position for the American leader who has faced increased pressure to take a harder line against Israel amid mounting deaths.

The warning, delivered in a Thursday phone call between the two leaders, signaled that Biden is toughening his stance after an Israeli strike that killed seven people delivering food to displaced Palestinians in Gaza. Biden called the incident “unacceptable,” according to a White House description of the conversation.

Hours later, the prime minister’s office announced that the country’s security cabinet had authorized action to bolster assistance and “prevent a humanitarian crisis.”

Israel will allow the temporary delivery of aid to Gaza through the Ashdod and Erez checkpoints in Israel, according to a statement from Netanyahu’s office, which added that more Jordanian aid could flow through a crossing at Kerem Shalom. The decision, according to the statement, would also “ensure the continuation of the fighting and to achieve the goals of the war.”

Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, said “We welcome the steps announced by the Israeli government tonight at the president’s request following his call with Prime Minister Netanyahu.”

The prime minister’s office has not released an account of the Biden-Netanyahu call, which came amid heightened tensions between the two men.

Biden said Israel must “announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers,” the White House said in a statement earlier Thursday. Biden said an “immediate” cease-fire is necessary to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza and urged Netanyahu to secure a deal in long-running, indirect negotiations with Hamas.

“He made clear that US policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps,” according to the statement. “President Biden emphasized that the strikes on humanitarian workers and the overall humanitarian situation are unacceptable.”

Biden did not specify when and how he might shift his approach to the Israel-Hamas war, which is in its sixth month and has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths. But his statement is the closest he has come to placing new requirements on US support for Israel’s military operations.

Earlier Thursday, Netanyahu vowed to press on with its war effort.

White House spokesman John Kirby declined to elaborate on what steps the US would take if Israel does not do more to protect civilians, including if Biden would withhold military assistance.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed during a press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels that “if we don’t see the changes we need to see, there’ll be changes in our policy.” He did not detail the nature of those potential changes.

The US for weeks has urged Netanyahu to curb civilian deaths and has objected to a plan to invade the southern enclave of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians fled during Israel’s war with Hamas.

This week’s air strike on a convoy of workers from World Central Kitchen, a disaster relief group founded by celebrity chef José Andrés, signaled a breaking point for the White House.

Kirby said Thursday’s call, which he said lasted around 30 minutes and described as “direct” and “businesslike,” was scheduled in response to the bombing. Biden was “shaken by the attack” that killed the aid workers and “felt strongly” it was time to talk to Netanyahu, the spokesman said. It was their first call since mid-March.

Israel has said the strike inadvertently hit the aid workers and is conducting an investigation to determine how the strike occurred. Kirby said that probe is “close to complete.”

The president is facing mounting political pressure from progressives, as well as Arab- and Muslim-Americans, who object to his support for Israel’s war effort. The aid-worker attack prompted Democrats to issue fresh calls for placing conditions on American military backing for Israel.

Israel’s conduct of its war against Hamas, designated a terrorist group by the US and European Union, has also drawn criticism from Republican Donald Trump, who vocally supported Netanyahu during his presidency.

Trump in a Thursday interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt said Israel had to finish the war quickly and that it is “losing the PR war,” while declining to answer whether he still remains 100% behind Israel.

“You’ve got to get it over with, and you have to get back to normalcy. And I’m not sure that I’m loving the way they’re doing it, because you’ve got to have victory,” he said. “They shouldn’t be releasing tapes like that. They’re doing, that’s why they’re losing the PR war.”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Palestinians want April vote on UN membership despite US saying peace with Israel must come first

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Palestinians want the Security Council to vote later this month on their revived request for full membership in the United Nations, despite the United States reiterating Wednesday that Israel and the Palestinians must first negotiate a peace agreement.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN ambassador, said 140 countries recognise the state of Palestine, and “we believe it is high time now for our state to become a full member at the United Nations.”

The Palestinians are making a fresh bid for U.N. membership as the war between Israel and Hamas that began Oct. 7 nears its sixth month, putting the unresolved decades-old Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the spotlight after years on the back burner.

During the Cold War between the former Soviet Union and the United States, Mansour said, countries were blocked from joining the U.N., but they all eventually became members, including North Korea. The U.S. doesn’t recognize North Korea but didn’t block its admission, he said, and asked why conditions should be placed on Palestinian membership.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas delivered the Palestinian Authority’s application to become the 194th member of the United Nations to then Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sept. 23, 2011, before addressing world leaders at the General Assembly.

That bid failed because the Palestinians failed to get the required support of nine of the Security Council’s 15 members. Even if they did, the United States, Israel’s closest ally, had promised at that time to veto any council resolution endorsing Palestinian membership, saying this should follow a negotiated peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

The Palestinians then went to the 193-member General Assembly, where there are no vetoes, and by more than a two-thirds majority succeeded in having their status raised from a U.N. observer to a non-member observer state in November 2012.

Mansour asked the Security Council on Tuesday to consider during April the Palestinians’ renewed application for membership, which was supported by the 22-nation Arab Group at the United Nations, the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the 120-member Nonaligned Movement.

He told several journalists Wednesday that he expects the council’s Standing Committee on New Members, which includes all 15 council nations, to meet behind closed doors to consider the application before the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on April 9.

Mansour said he then expects the Security Council to vote on the Palestinian request for full U.N. membership at its monthly meeting on the Middle East, being held at ministerial level April 18.

Seven of the council’s 15 members recognize the state of Palestine — China, Russia, Ecuador, Mozambique, Algeria, Guyana and Sierra Leone.

U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller was asked Wednesday whether the United States would veto full membership for Palestinians. “I am not going to speculate about what may happen down the road,” he replied.

He said intensive diplomacy has taken place over the past few months to establish a Palestinian state with security guarantees for Israel, which the United States supports. But Miller said that should be done through direct Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, “something we are pursuing at this time, and not at the United Nations.”

U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood pointed to another obstacle: The U.S. Congress has adopted legislation “that in essence says that if the Security Council approves full membership for the Palestinians outside of a bilateral agreement between Israel and the Palestinians … (U.S.) funding would be cut off to the U.N. system.”

“We’re bound by U.S. laws,” he told several reporters Wednesday. “So our hope is that they don’t pursue that, but that’s up to them.”

Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador, said it is the Palestinians’ “natural and legal right” to seek full U.N. membership and declared, “Let the process unfold.”

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh resigns amid Gaza conflict

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said on Monday he was resigning to allow for the formation of a broad consensus among Palestinians about political arrangements following Israel’s war against the Islamist group Hamas in Gaza.

The move comes amid growing U.S. pressure on President Mahmoud Abbas to shake up the Palestinian Authority as international efforts have intensified to stop the fighting in Gaza and begin work on a political structure to govern the enclave after the war.

His resignation must still be accepted by Abbas, who may ask him to stay on as caretaker until a permanent replacement is appointed.

Also read: Benjamin Netanyahu says he’ll soon have plan for Rafah civilians

In a statement to cabinet, Shtayyeh, an academic economist who took office in 2019, said the next stage would need to take account of the emerging reality in Gaza, which has been laid waste by nearly five months of heavy fighting.

He said the next stage would “require new governmental and political arrangements that take into account the emerging reality in the Gaza Strip, the national unity talks, and the urgent need for an inter-Palestinian consensus”.

In addition, it would require “the extension of the Authority’s authority over the entire land, Palestine”.

The Palestinian Authority, formed 30 years ago under the interim Oslo peace accords, exercises limited governance over parts of the occupied West Bank but lost power in Gaza following a struggle with Hamas in 2007.

Fatah, the faction that controls the PA, and Hamas have made efforts to reach an agreement over a unity government and are due to meet in Moscow on Wednesday. A senior Hamas official said the move had to be followed by a broader agreement on governance for the Palestinians.

“The resignation of Shtayyeh’s government only makes sense if it comes within the context of national consensus on arrangements for the next phase,” senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters.

Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas and says that for security reasons, it will not accept Palestinian Authority rule over Gaza after the war, which broke out following a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, which killed some 1,200 Israelis and foreigners, according to Israeli tallies.

So far, almost 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza fighting, according to Palestinian health authorities, and almost the entire population has been driven from their homes.

Also read: Two years of Russia-Ukraine war: A disturbing look at civilian casualties in the conflict

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Israeli forces bomb Gaza border city of Rafah amid ceasefire talks

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Israeli forces bombed areas in the southern border city of Rafah where more than half of Gaza’s population is sheltering on Thursday, a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a proposal to end the war in the Palestinian enclave.

Netanyahu said on Wednesday terms proposed by Hamas for a ceasefire that would also involve releasing hostages held by the Palestinian militant group were “delusional” and vowed to fight on, saying victory was in reach and just months away.

The rejection followed intense diplomacy to end the four-and-a-half-month conflict before a threatened Israeli assault on Rafah, which is now home to over a million people, many of them in makeshift tents and lacking food and medicine.

Aid agencies have warned of a humanitarian catastrophe if Israel follows through on its threat to enter one of the last remaining areas of the Gaza Strip that its troops have not moved into during its ground offensive.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that pushing into Rafah on the border with Egypt would “increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare with untold regional consequences.”

Israel says it takes steps to avoid civilian casualties and accuses Hamas militants of hiding among civilians, including at school shelters and hospitals, leading to more civilian deaths. Hamas has denied this.

Israeli planes bombed areas in Rafah on Thursday morning, residents said, killing at least 11 people in strikes on two houses. Tanks also shelled some areas in eastern Rafah, intensifying the residents’ fears of an imminent ground assault.

“We have our backs to the (border) fence and faces toward the Mediterranean. Where should we go?” said Emad, 55, a displaced person who is a father of six.

“There is no place to go. One million people and more than one million are asking this question today; where shall we go?” Emad told Reuters via a chat app.

Blinken in the Middle East

Despite Israel’s rejection of the Hamas proposal, more talks are planned and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on his fifth trip to the region since the start of the war, said he saw room for further negotiation.

In a late-night press conference in a Tel Aviv hotel on Wednesday, Blinken said elements of the proposal put forward by Hamas had contained clear “non-starters”, without saying what they were.

“But we also see space in what came back to pursue negotiations, to see if we can get to an agreement. That’s what we intend to do,” he said.

A Hamas delegation led by senior official Khalil Al-Hayya arrived in Cairo on Thursday for ceasefire talks with Egypt and Qatar, the mediators in the latest diplomatic push.

Hamas, which governs Gaza, proposed a ceasefire of 4-1/2 months, during which all hostages held in Gaza would go free, Israel would withdraw its troops from Gaza and an agreement would be reached on an end to the war.

The Hamas offer was a response to a proposal drawn up by US and Israeli spy chiefs and delivered to Hamas last week by Qatari and Egyptian mediators.

Israel would be willing to let Hamas military leader Yahya Sinwar go into exile in exchange for the release of all hostages and an end to the Hamas government in Gaza, a half-dozen Israeli officials and senior advisers told NBC News.

Israel began its military offensive after Hamas militants from Gaza killed 1,200 people and took 253 hostages in southern Israel on October 7, according to Israeli tallies.

Israeli’s military said on Thursday that over the past day its troops had killed more than 20 Palestinian militants in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis, the site of some of the most intense fighting in the war so far.

It said it had apprehended dozens of militants suspected of involvement in the October attack on Israel.

Gaza’s health ministry says at least 27,585 Palestinians have been confirmed killed, with thousands more feared buried under rubble in Israel’s offensive.

Palestinian journalist killed

The Israeli bombardment continued in Khan Younis and Deir-Al-Balah in central Gaza overnight, killing a Palestinian television journalist, Nafez Abdel-Jawwad, and his son.

In the only truce to date, lasting a week at the end of November, 110 hostages were released and Israel freed 240 Palestinian prisoners.

Netanyahu, whose domestic popularity has sunk, faces public pressure to continue working with international mediators towards an agreement in Gaza, a densely populated coastal enclave of about 2.3 million people.

Blinken was scheduled on Thursday to meet senior Israeli officials on Thursday and family members of hostages still held in Gaza.

Washington has cast the hostage and truce deal as part of plans for a wider resolution of conflict in the Middle East, ultimately leading to reconciliation between Israel and Arab neighbours and the creation of a Palestinian state.

Netanyahu rejects a Palestinian state, which Saudi Arabia says is a requirement for the kingdom to normalise relations with Israel.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

100 days of Israel-Hamas conflict: All you need to know

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Israeli tanks and aircraft hit targets in southern and central Gaza and there were intense gunfights in certain areas on what was the 100th day since the October 7 attack by the gunmen affiliated with Hamas.

In October last year, heavily armed Hamas militants stormed through the Gaza border and launched a surprise attack on southern Israel at several locations, targeting military bases, border towns and kibbutzim. At least 1,200 people were killed in the attacks as the Israeli defences were caught completely by surprise.

Over 360 people were killed at the Nova festival site near the Israel-Gaza border, while dozens of people, including foreigners, were abducted by Hamas.

In retaliation, Israel launched an extensive aerial bombardment of the Gaza Strip, followed by a large-scale ground invasion. According to the Gaza health ministry, around 24,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks, many of them women and children.

Also read: Israel-Hamas conflict: A look at their long troubled history as war continues for over 100 days

In Israel, commemorations to mark 100 days since the start of the conflict were held at several places on Sunday (January 14), as locals united to call for the release of all hostages held in Gaza.

According to Reuters, over 130 hostages are still held captive in Gaza.

“100 days of Hell” — a 24-hour-long rally — was held on Sunday. Led by families of hostages, the rally saw participation from thousands of people at the Tel Aviv central square, now named ‘Hostages Plaza’.

Israel’s labour union federation announced a 100-minute long pause in civil and commercial activity in solidarity with the hostages in Gaza. Several shops in Jerusalem Mall paused their businesses for 100 minutes to show solidarity with the hostages and their respective families.

A rally demanding the release of hostages took place outside the city hall in Jerusalem. To mark the day, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem released 100 yellow balloons.

Meanwhile, communications and internet services remained down in major areas of the Gaza Strip, making it difficult for the officials to carry out emergency services.

On Sunday, fighting was concentrated in the southern city of Khan Younis and Al-Bureij and Al Maghazi in central Gaza.

The health ministry in Gaza informed that 125 people were killed and 265 wounded in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of confirmed deaths since the start of the war to almost 24,000, with over 60,000 injured.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, while speaking through a video link to a conference in Istanbul, praised the October 7 attacks and said, “We are not seekers of wars. We are seekers of freedom”.

He claimed that the attacks were a response to the years-long Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip.

On the other hand, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has brushed off calls for a ceasefire in the region and said the Israeli military will continue until it achieves complete victory over Hamas.

Also read: Singapore says not involved in strikes against Houthi rebels

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Israel will defend itself at the UN’s top court against allegations of genocide against Palestinians

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Accused of committing genocide against Palestinians, Israel planned to defend its war in Gaza in front of the United Nations’ highest court on Friday, a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted the allegations as hypocrisy that “screams to the heavens”.

Israel, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has vehemently denied the accusations brought by South Africa in one of the biggest cases ever to come before an international court. South African lawyers asked the court on Thursday to order an immediate halt to Israeli military operations in the besieged coastal territory that is home to 2.3 million Palestinians.

Israel often boycotts international tribunals and UN investigations, saying they are unfair and biased. But, in a sign of how seriously they regard the case, Israeli leaders have taken the rare step of sending a legal team and engaging with the International Court of Justice to defend their reputation.

South African lawyers argued that the war is part of decades of Israeli oppression of Palestinians.

“The scale of destruction in Gaza, the targeting of family homes and civilians, the war being a war on children — all make clear that genocidal intent is both understood and has been put into practice. The articulated intent is the destruction of Palestinian life,” lawyer Tembeka Ngcukaitobi said in opening statements Thursday.

The case’s “distinctive feature” was “the reiteration and repetition of genocidal speech throughout every sphere of the state in Israel,” he said.

Netanyahu vowed to continue fighting Hamas, the militant group whose fighters stormed through Israeli communities on October 7 and killed some 1,200 people, mainly civilians. The assailants also abducted around 250 people, nearly half of whom have been released.

“This is an upside-down world — the state of Israel is accused of genocide while it is fighting genocide,” Netanyahu said Thursday in a video statement. “The hypocrisy of South Africa screams to the heavens.”

The case strikes at the heart of Israel’s national identity and goes to the core of one of the world’s most intractable conflicts.

More than 23,000 people in Gaza have died during the military campaign, according to the the Health Ministry in the territory, which is run by Hamas.

“Nothing will stop the suffering except an order from this court,” South African lawyer Adila Hassim told the judges in a packed room of the Peace Palace in The Hague.

A decision on South Africa’s request for “provisional measures” will probably take weeks. The full case is likely to last years.

Israel launched its massive air and ground assault on Gaza soon after Hamas’ deadly attack. Three months later, the offensive has driven nearly 85% of Gaza’s population from their homes.

With only a trickle of food, water, medicine and other supplies entering through an Israeli siege, a quarter of the territory’s residents face starvation. And much of northern Gaza, including Gaza City, has been reduced to a moonscape.

‘Although the courts findings are considered binding, it was unclear whether Israel would heed any order to halt the fighting. If it doesn’t, it could face UN sanctions, although those may be blocked by a United States veto.

The White House declined to comment on how it might respond if the court determines Israel committed genocide. But National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby called the allegations “unfounded”.

“That’s not a word that ought to be thrown around lightly, and we certainly don”t believe that it applies here,” Kirby said.’

Israel says it is battling a fierce enemy that carried out the deadliest attack on its territory since the country was founded in 1948. Israeli leaders insist they are following international law and doing their utmost to avoid harm to civilians. Israel blames Hamas for the high death toll, saying the militants operate in residential areas.

In a post on X after the hearing, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lior Haiat called South Africa’s presentation “one of the greatest shows of hypocrisy” and referred to the legal team as “Hamas’ representatives in court”. He said South African lawyers distorted the reality in Gaza through a series of “baseless and false claims”. He did not elaborate.

The case targets the center of Israeli identity, which is rooted in the country’s creation as a Jewish state after the Nazi slaughter of 6 million Jews during World War II.

It also evokes issues central to South Africa’s own identity: Its governing party, the African National Congress, has long compared Israel’s policies in Gaza and the West Bank to its own history under the apartheid regime of white minority rule, which restricted most Black people to “homelands” before ending in 1994.

South Africa sought to broaden the case beyond the Israel-Hamas war.

“The violence and the destruction in Palestine and Israel did not begin on October 7, 2023. The Palestinians have experienced systematic oppression and violence for the last 76 years,” said South African Justice Minister Ronald Lamola.

“Mothers, fathers, children, siblings, grandparents, aunts, cousins are often all killed together. This killing is nothing short of destruction of Palestinian life. It is inflicted deliberately. No one is spared. Not even newborn babies,” said South African lawyer Hassim.

About two-thirds of the dead in Gaza are women and children, according to health officials there. The death toll does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.

The world court, which rules on disputes between nations, has never judged a country to be responsible for genocide. The closest it came was in 2007, when it ruled that Serbia “violated the obligation to prevent genocide” in the July 1995 massacre by Bosnian Serb forces of more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the Bosnian enclave of Srebrenica.

The nearby International Criminal Court prosecutes individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

Israel will be back on the International Court of Justice’s docket in February, when hearings open into a UN request for an advisory opinion on the legality of Israeli policies in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Gaza and Ukraine wars shape US political landscape — Trump surges ahead in polls amidst global turmoil

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine are proving to be pivotal factors shaping the political landscape in the United States, with former President Donald Trump gaining momentum in the polls against incumbent President Joe Biden. As the world grapples with economic recovery and global unrest, the impact of these international crises is becoming increasingly apparent on domestic approval ratings.

Recent polls, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, indicate that Trump has a lead over Biden, with 47% of respondents favoring the former president compared to Biden’s 43%. Biden’s approval ratings have reached a low point, with 64% disapproving of his handling of the presidency, according to PEW research. Among Republicans, Trump remains a popular choice, with 52% naming him as their preferred candidate for the next presidential election.

Nelson Cunningham, a Former Campaign Advisor to President Clinton, in an interview with CNBC-TV18, highlighted the reason why Trump doing better in a head-to-head against Joe Biden right now.

“Well, I’d start with the fact that the world is complicated just at the moment. You have Russia, Ukraine, Gaza Hamas. You have an economy recovering from the pandemic. Inflation has gone way down. We had global inflation over the last two years; it’s gone way down in the US from 14% last year to 3% now,” he said.

“But the world is complicated. It’s easier at this moment to be Donald Trump on the outside and say, ‘If I were president, all these problems would go away’ than it is to be Joe Biden on the inside, working to fix these problems,” Cunningham added.

Additionally, Cunningham noted the shifting dynamics within the Republican Party concerning international conflicts. While historically anti-communist, Republicans are no longer as unified in their support for Ukraine, with a noticeable change in sentiment influenced by Trump’s previous approach to Russia.

However, Cunningham observed that Joe Biden’s status as the Democratic candidate is unequivocal. “No question that Joe Biden will remain Democrat Candidate. Joe Biden is the overwhelming candidate for Democrats; he will clearly be the nominee. Just as Biden is the Democrat candidate of choice, Trump is the person to lead on the Republican side. Republicans have a process to go through in the next few months, but no question Trump will be the Republican candidate.”

Democrats, on the other hand, continue to support Ukraine, but concerns are rising, especially among progressive voters, regarding the Israeli-Gaza conflict. The traditionally strong support for Israel is facing scrutiny from some quarters on the American left due to civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip.

Cunningham emphasised that Trump has significantly altered the Republican Party, transforming it into a party of the working class with a different stance on global alliances. In contrast, Biden’s administration is navigating challenges both domestically and internationally. Biden’s age, while a concern for some voters, is countered by his decades of experience, as Cunningham argues that Biden remains vigorous and capable.

The conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine are emerging as critical issues in the run-up to the elections. The Biden administration is facing pressure to exercise caution in both conflicts, with an emphasis on transitioning from immediate crisis responses to long-term security measures.

With 11 months until the elections, the political landscape remains fluid, leaving room for opinions and views to change. Biden’s focus on economic recovery, coupled with the administration’s approach to international conflicts, will play a significant role in shaping the narrative leading up to the elections.

As the world navigates through crises, both domestic and international, the impact on US politics underscores the complexities facing the Biden administration and the evolving dynamics within the Republican Party.

Watch video for full interview

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

India votes in favour of UN General Assembly resolution seeking ceasefire in Gaza

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The United Nations General Assembly has overwhelmingly called for a ceasefire in Gaza, with 153 nations, including India, in favour of the resolution.

The resolution demands an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, release of hostages, protection of civilians and ensuring humanitarian access.

A total of 153 to 10 nations voted in favour of the resolution, while 23 of them abstained. Austria and Czech Republic were the only two nations from the European Union who voted against it.

Last week, the US had vetoed the resolution by the UN Security Council that would have called for a ceasefire.

During a General Assembly vote in October, as many as 120 nations voted in favour of calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Israel and the US were joined by 12 countries who voted against, while 45 nations had abstained.

Earlier on Tuesday (local time), US President Joe Biden acknowledged the world opinion was moving against Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israel Prime Minister. He said that while Israel continues to have the support of the US and important allies in Europe, it is “starting to lose that support.”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Protest outside IIT Bombay against professor, guest speaker for ‘glorifying’ Palestinian ‘terrorist’

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A protest was held on Saturday outside the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay seeking the arrest of a professor and a guest speaker for allegedly glorifying terrorism while talking about the Palestinian freedom struggle against Israel.

According to the protesters, Professor Sharmistha Saha of the Humanities and Social Sciences department of the prestigious institution and guest speaker Sudhanva Deshpande, during a talk under academic course ‘HS 835 Performance Theory & Praxis’ on November 6, had allegedly spoken highly of “terrorists” and armed rebellion.

Protesters under the aegis of the Vivek Vichar Manch claimed Deshpande had glorified Palestinian terrorist Zakaria Zubeidi, who is allegedly part of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade which has been designated a terror organisation by several countries, and had even admitted to meeting him in 2015.

They sought a probe into the phone calls and emails of Saha and Deshpande to find out the motive behind the November 6 talk, adding that the professor should be removed from IIT Bombay.

A student told PTI the talk was a blatant move to indoctrinate those studying at IIT Bombay through hateful and false narratives.

In the letter submitted to police on November 7, some students claimed Saha had used her position inappropriately to invite speakers like Deshpande, who they claimed was a “radical Leftist”, for a virtual talk.

Such events have troubling consequences for the academic integrity and safety of IIT Bombay since they promote ideologies linked to terrorism, the letter submitted to the police claimed.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Israel-Hamas war: PM Benjamin Netanyahu reiterates no ‘ceasefire’ in Gaza | Latest updates

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Over a month into the war, the situation in Gaza does not seem to be improving. On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that there will be no ceasefire unless Hamas releases its hostages. Simultaneously, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called a united and Palestinian-led government for Gaza and the West Bank after the war ends. Here are the latest updates:

# Netanyahu reiterates decision against ceasefire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday reiterated that a ceasefire won’t occur unless Hamas releases the hostages held by the group.

“There will be no ceasefire without the release of our hostages,” the Israeli Prime Minister wrote on ‘X’ on Thursday.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said on Wednesday, “We won’t let Hamas win, we will rebuild our communities in southern Israel and we will continue to live our lives.”

Netanyahu said that Israel plans to maintain “security responsibility” over the Gaza Strip for an indefinite period after the war against Hamas.

# Blinken calls for Palestinian-led government in Gaza and West Bank

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Wednesday for a united and Palestinian-led government for Gaza and the West Bank after the war ends, as a step toward Palestinian statehood. That vision sharpens U.S. differences with ally Israel on what the future should look like for the Palestinian territories once Israel’s military campaign against Hamas winds down.

Any postwar governing plan for Gaza “must include Palestinian-led governance and Gaza unified with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority,” Blinken told reporters in Japan.

# International journalists get in-depth look at Gaza Strip

The Israeli military allowed international journalists to enter the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, offering them a firsthand view of the aftermath of 12 days of intense fighting in the region.

During the visit inside Gaza, journalists travelled in a windowless armoured vehicle with a screen displaying images of the damaged coastline, buildings, and fallen trees. Israeli tanks and armoured vehicles were stationed in the area, with soldiers on patrol.

During the tour, the army said it had found ammunition and a weapons-making facility inside one building. Much of the lab had been removed, but the remnants of rockets, thousands of which had been launched at Israel during the fighting, could be seen.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow