The US trade gap narrowed in June, government data showed Tuesday, as imports pulled back more than exports while businesses grappled with President Donald Trump’s tariffs on allies and competitors alike.The overall trade deficit in the world’s biggest economy narrowed by 16 percent to $60.2 billion, down from a revised $71.7 billion figure in May, …
US trade gap shrinks on imports retreat as tariffs fuel worries Read More »
More countries must recognise a Palestinian state and stand up to Israel to stop its “genocidal activities”, South Africa’s Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola told AFP in an interview Tuesday. Pretoria has been a leading critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza, bringing a case before the UN’s top court in December 2023 arguing that its war in the Palestinian territory amounted to genocide.As some of Israel’s allies “are now also saying, no, this can’t continue, it means that it is bringing us closer and closer to the Israel regime to stop the genocidal activities”, Lamola said. This will also boost efforts to “allow humanitarian access to the people of Gaza” and “to agree to go into a negotiation table to cease the fire”, he said.”We really welcome this development, and we call for more countries to continue to recognise Palestine.””We welcome the intention to recognise by France, Canada, and all countries of the world. This will put the pressure so that we can end up with ceasefire,” Lamola said.South Africa’s case before the International Court of Justice argues that the war in Gaza, which began with the militant group Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, breached the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention. Israel has strongly denied that accusation.Several nations have added their weight to the proceedings, including Spain, Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico, Turkey, Chile and Libya.The leaders of France, the United Kingdom and Canada have meanwhile said they plan to recognise a Palestinian state in September, and urged other nations to do so.The announcements by some of Washington’s closest allies have displeased US President Donald Trump.Lamola said that had the world acted when South Africa made its case at the ICJ, “we would not be where we are”.”It’s clear starvation is emerging, famine, and all these are things we warned about in our ICJ case — that this will lead to famine, will lead to complete cleansing of the population,” he said.”It’s rather late, yes, but it’s better than never. So let them act, let them support, let them put the pressure.”
United Nations special rapporteurs called Tuesday for the Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to be immediately dismantled, saying aid was being “exploited for covert military and geopolitical agendas”.An exceptionally-large group of the UN-mandated experts voiced grave concerns over the GHF’s operations.The private organisation began distributing food in Gaza Strip in May as Israel began easing a more than two-month aid blockade on the Palestinian territory that had exacerbated existing shortages.”The GHF … is an utterly disturbing example of how humanitarian relief can be exploited for covert military and geopolitical agendas in serious breach of international law,” the experts said in a joint statement.”The entanglement of Israeli intelligence, US contractors and ambiguous non-governmental entities underlines the urgent need for robust international oversight and action under UN auspices.”Calling it ‘humanitarian’ adds on to Israel’s humanitarian camouflage and is an insult to the humanitarian enterprise and standards.”On July 22, the UN rights office said Israeli forces had killed more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food aid in Gaza since the GHF started operations — nearly three-quarters of them in the vicinity of GHF sites.”Without clear accountability, the very idea of humanitarian relief may ultimately become a casualty of modern hybrid warfare,” the special rapporteurs said.”The credibility and effectiveness of humanitarian assistance must be restored by dismantling the GHF, holding it and its executives accountable, and allowing experienced and humanitarian actors from the UN and civil society alike to take back the reins of managing and distributing lifesaving aid.”The joint statement was signed by Francesca Albanese, the UN’s special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967.Israel accuses her of having an “obsessive, hate-driven agenda to delegitimise the state of Israel”.The statement was also signed by 18 other special rapporteurs, plus other UN experts and members of UN working groups — a notably large number for such statements.Special rapporteurs are independent experts mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to report their findings. They do not, therefore, speak for the United Nations itself.More than two million people live in the Gaza Strip.GHF says it has distributed more than 1.76 million boxes of foodstuffs to date.”We continue to improve our operations,” GHF executive director John Acree said Monday.”We urge the international humanitarian community to join us — we have the scale and capacity to deliver more aid to the people of Gaza.”
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepared Tuesday to unveil an updated Gaza war plan designed to destroy Hamas and secure the release of dozens of hostages, with Israeli media reporting he would order the total occupation of the Palestinian territory.Netanyahu was expected to meet security chiefs in Jerusalem on Tuesday to discuss new orders, local media reported, even as Israel’s diplomats convened a UN Security Council meeting in New York to highlight the plight of Israelis held in Gaza.The timing of the security meeting has not been officially confirmed. Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 said Netanyahu would meet the army chief of staff and the defence and army ministers. Unnamed senior officials told Israeli media he intends to order the re-occupation of Gaza.”Netanyahu wants the Israeli army to conquer the entire Gaza Strip,” said a report on public broadcaster Kan.Netanyahu also said Monday he would convene the cabinet later in the week to approve the new instructions.”Several cabinet members who spoke with the prime minister confirmed that he has decided to extend the fight to areas where hostages might be held,” Kan reported.The private daily Maariv declared: “The die is cast. We’re en route for the total conquest of Gaza.”However, some major media outlets such as Channel 12 have questioned whether the rumoured expansion of military operations is merely a negotiating tactic, and whether Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir would oppose such a decision.”The Chief of Staff is required to express his professional opinion clearly and unequivocally to the political leadership. I am convinced that he will do so,” Foreign Minister Gideon Saar wrote on X.While the reconquest plan has not been officially confirmed, it has already drawn an angry response from the Palestinian Authority and Gaza’s Hamas-run government, which insisted it will not shift its position on ceasefire talks.”The ball is in the hands of… (Israel) and the Americans,” senior Hamas official Husam Badran told AFP, adding that the militant group wanted to “end the war and the famine”.- Desperate families -After 22 months of combat sparked by the October 7, 2023 cross-border attacks by Hamas that killed 1,219 people and saw hundreds kidnapped, the Israeli army has devastated large parts of the Palestinian territory.More than 60,933 Palestinians have been killed, according to figures from Hams-run Gaza’s health ministry, and humanitarian agencies have warned that the territory’s 2.4 million people are slipping into a catastrophic famine.But Netanyahu is under pressure on several fronts. Domestically, the desperate and vocal families of the 49 remaining hostages are demanding a ceasefire to bring their loved ones home. Around the world, humanitarians are pushing for a truce to allow in food to the starving, and several European capitals have announced plans to recognise Palestinian statehood, despite fierce US and Israeli opposition. Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s far-right allies in his ruling coalition want to seize the opportunity of the war to reoccupy Gaza and tighten control of the occupied West Bank.Foreign Minister Saar was in New York, where Israel’s US ally was helping organise a Security Council meeting to focus world attention on the fate of the hostages.The defence ministry civil affairs agency for the Palestinian territories, COGAT, said Tuesday that Israel will partially reopen private sector trade with Gaza to reduce its reliance on UN and aid agency convoys and international military airdrops.”As part of formulating the mechanism, a limited number of local merchants were approved by the defence establishment, subject to several criteria and strict security screening,” COGAT said.Israel has been fighting Hamas in Gaza for 22 months and imposed a total blockade on March 2, partially lifted in May to allow a US-backed private agency to open food distribution centres. Aid convoys and airdrops by Arab and European militaries resumed last month, as UN-mandated expert reports warned famine was unfolding in the war-torn territory.The COGAT statement said private sector deliveries would be paid for by monitored bank transfers and be subject to inspections by the Israeli military before entering Gaza, “to prevent the involvement of the Hamas terrorist organisation.”- Staple foods -Permitted goods under the new mechanism will include food staples, fruit, vegetables, baby formula and hygiene products, COGAT said.On Monday. Netanyahu insisted Israel’s war goals remained “the defeat of the enemy, the release of our hostages and the promise that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel”.His statement came after hundreds of retired Israeli security chiefs wrote to US President Donald Trump to urge him to convince Netanyahu to end the war, arguing that Israel has already scored a military victory and should seek to negotiate the hostages’ release. The families of the hostages are also horrified by talk of escalation, accusing the government of putting their relatives in renewed danger, even as Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad release propaganda videos showing emaciated captives.
