Then-Republican presidential nominee and current US-President-elect Donald Trump looks on during a rally at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, in Uniondale, New York, US, Sept. 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

i24 News – US President Donald Trump signed an executive order late Saturday for tariffs to be placed on all imports from Mexico, Canada, and China, risking a trade war.

Naming the influx of illegal aliens into the US, as well as the rising fentanyl crisis, as reasons for the 25 percent tariffs on the neighboring countries, he also raised existing tariffs on China by 10 percent.

In addition to the economic costs of illegal workers coming in, the order said “gang members, smugglers, human traffickers, and illegal drugs and narcotics of all kinds are pouring across our borders and into our communities.”

More than 21,000 pounds of fentanyl was seized last year at US borders, which is estimated to represent “a fraction” of what enters.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressed Americans after imposing sanctions in kind against US imports: “Tariffs against Canada will put your jobs at risk, potentially shutting down American auto assembly plants and other manufacturing facilities. They will raise costs for you including food at the grocery store and gas at the pump. They will impede your access to an affordable supply of vital goods crucial for US security such as nickel, potash, uranium, steel and aluminum.”

The tariffs “violate the free trade agreement that the president and I along with our Mexican partner negotiated and signed a few years ago,” Trudeau said.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum also announced a similar moves, although it was not yet detailed how exactly Mexico will respond. “When we negotiate with other nations, when we talk with other nations,” she said, it was “always with our heads held high, never bowing our heads.”

She rejected the suggestion that her government was in any way allied with criminal organizations, hitting back that US armories have sold weapons to these gangs.

China’s foreign ministry said it would file a complaint with the World Trade Organization and “take corresponding countermeasures. On the issue of fentanyl, it said it “provides support to the US on the issue of fentanyl,” but that is was ultimately a US problem.

The post Trump Slams Tariffs on Imports from Canada, Mexico & China first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

The logo of the Palestinian Fatah movement includes the territory that is now Israel. Image: Palestinian Media Watch.

i24 News – In an interview given last week to the Emirati Al Mashhad Media, Mohammed a-Tus, a former Fatah militant from Bethlehem, criticized the October 7 attack and called for the prioritization of the diplomatic route over armed actions against Israel.

A-Tus, who spent four decades in Israeli prisons for his participation in several attacks in the 1980s, spoke on Tuesday from Egypt, where he was deported after his release as part of the hostage exchange agreement.

“I tell my grandchildren not to carry out military actions against Israel,” he said. “At this stage, we must focus on diplomatic actions rather than military ones.”

Referring to the Hamas attack of October 7 that indirectly led to his release, a-Tus was particularly critical, even though the interviewer attributed armed violence as what ultimately got him released.

“The price is very high, we will not accept that the price of our liberation is a drop of a Palestinian child’s blood,” he said.

The former prisoner also shared his experience of the October 7 attack from his cell: “We turned on the television and saw alerts asking Israelis to go to shelters. We understood that something major was happening.”

“The next day, the attitude towards us changed 180 degrees,” he continued. “They removed the televisions and radios, informing us that we were in a state of war. Those with experience understood that the response would be harsh.”

While maintaining a certain distance from Hamas, a-Tus highlighted the ties that unite the various Palestinian factions. “Hamas members are brothers of the homeland, of the shared path and of the future,” he said.

That being said, he warned against continued armed resistance. “Any leader who contemplates undertaking a major action must know the price to pay for what he wants to achieve and if the goal justifies the sacrifices,” he concluded.

The post Freed Palestinian Prisoner Criticizes October 7: ‘The Price is Too High’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Jerusalem, Feb. 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

i24 News – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed Sunday morning for Washington, DC, where he will meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday.

Netanyahu called the meeting “very important,” stressing that this will be the first meeting between Trump and a foreign leader in his second term in office.

“I think it’s a testimony to the strength of the Israeli-American alliance. It’s also a testimony to the strength of our personal friendship,” he said.

He also touted the achievements Trump and the US-Israel relationship have scored in his time in office, including peace treaties with four Arab and Muslim countries in the framework of the Abraham Accords.

“In this meeting we’ll deal with important issues, critical issues facing Israel and our region: Victory over Hamas, achieving the release of all our hostages and dealing with the Iranian terror axis in all its components – an axis that threatens the peace of Israel, the Middle East and the entire world,” Netanyahu told reporters on the tarmac.

“The decisions we made in the war have already changed the face of the Middle East. Our decisions and the courage of our soldiers have redrawn the map. But I believe that working closely with President Trump, we can redraw it even further and for the better,” he said.

“I believe that we can strengthen security, broaden the circle of peace and achieve a remarkable era of peace through strength.”

The post ‘Peace Through Strength’ – Netanyahu Departs for Washington to Meet Trump first appeared on Algemeiner.com.