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J Street Calls for Partial US Arms Embargo Against Israel

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a media conference after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers at the Czernin Palace, in Prague, Czech Republic, May 31, 2024. Photo: Peter David Josek/Pool via REUTERS
J Street, a self-described pro-Israel, pro-peace organization, is urging the Biden administration to withhold offensive weapons from the Jewish state, arguing that the United States needs to hold Israel accountable for alleged human rights “violations” before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.
On Monday, J Street posted a thread on X/Twitter arguing that the Biden administration has a legal obligation to “pause” arms transfers to Israel until the Jewish state abides by international “human rights standards.” The progressive organization suggested that, with “Trump’s presidency looming,” the White House should review Israel’s conduct over the course of its military campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza and “make immediate, clear, fair determinations on violations of US and international law.”
“This is the same standard for all recipients of US aid. Nothing more, nothing less. No new laws or new conditions specific to Israel are required, and this would not affect the Iron Dome or other defensive systems. We urge the admin. to swiftly comply with current domestic law,” J-Street wrote.
The organization recommended the Biden administration pressure Israel into resuming hostage and ceasefire negotiations by making clear “certain offensive weapons will be withheld” if the Jewish state does not make “good-faith” efforts to end the ongoing war in Hamas-ruled Gaza.
J Street’s comments came after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week that Hamas, which launched the war with its invasion of and massacre across southern Israel last Oct. 7, rejected a proposal for a short-term ceasefire in exchange for the release of some Israeli hostages.
Israel has repeatedly underscored its efforts to accelerate humanitarian aid into Gaza, where Hamas has employed a military strategy of putting its command centers and weapons stockpiles in or underneath civilian sites such as schools, hospitals, and apartment buildings. According to experts and the Israeli military, the purpose of Hamas’s placement is to use civilians as human shields, forcing Israel to kill them in order to fight the terrorist group.
Israel says it has gone to unprecedented lengths to try and avoid civilian casualties, noting its efforts to evacuate areas before it targets them and to warn residents of impending military operations with leaflets, text messages, and other forms of communication. However, Hamas has in many cases prevented people from leaving, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Last month, Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sent a letter to then-Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, urging them to implement several humanitarian policy changes in Gaza within 30 days or risk “implications” for US policy, including an arms embargo.
Following the message, Israel has boosted the amount of humanitarian aid trucks entering Gaza. This week, the Israeli government approved a series of measures that will vastly expand the entry of aid into the war-torn enclave, including by reopening another border crossing.
“This week is the deadline set by Secretaries Austin and Blinken in their October letter raising serious concerns about the Netanyahu gov’t blocking humanitarian aid and violating human rights. We urge the admin. to take fair, consequential action, as foreshadowed in the letter,” J Street posted on X/Twitter.
Experts have chided the Biden administration for providing “no evidence” that Israel is deliberately denying humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza. Nonetheless, the US is set to judge Israel’s progress on Gaza aid by the end of this week.
J-Street has attempted to balance maintaining a Zionist identity while calling for harsher treatment of the Jewish state. The group’s president, Jeremy Ben-Ami, issued a statement arguing that although the US should continue to support Israel, it should not give the Jewish state a “blank check.” The group has called for a “clear” and “consistent” approach to US military aid to Israel.
Many pro-Israel advocates have criticized J Street for being, in their view, insufficiently supportive of the Jewish state, noting the organization has previously defended Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), one of the most outspoken anti-Israel lawmakers in the US Congress, and often castigated the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the foremost pro-Israel lobbying group in the US.
The post J Street Calls for Partial US Arms Embargo Against Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi lays a wreath as he visits the burial site of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon, June 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A member of Lebanese armed group Hezbollah was killed in an Israeli air strike on Tehran alongside a member of an Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group, a senior Lebanese security source told Reuters and the Iraqi group said on Saturday.
The source identified the Hezbollah member as Abu Ali Khalil, who had served as a bodyguard for Hezbollah’s slain chief Hassan Nasrallah. The source said Khalil had been on a religious pilgrimage to Iraq when he met up with a member of the Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada group.
They traveled together to Tehran and were both killed in an Israeli strike there, along with Khalil’s son, the senior security source said. Hezbollah has not joined in Iran’s air strikes against Israel from Lebanon.
Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada published a statement confirming that both the head of its security unit and Khalil had been killed in an Israeli strike.
Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli aerial attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs in September.
Israel and Iran have been trading strikes for nine consecutive days since Israel launched attacks on Iran, saying Tehran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran has said it does not seek nuclear weapons.
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Hamas Financial Officer and Commander Eliminated by IDF in the Gaza Strip

Israeli soldiers operate during a ground operation in the southern Gaza Strip, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, July 3, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), in cooperation with the General Security Service (Shin Bet), announced on Friday the killing of Ibrahim Abu Shamala, a senior financial official in Hamas’ military wing.
The operation took place on June 17th in the central Gaza Strip.
Abu Shamala held several key positions, including financial officer for Hamas’ military wing and assistant to Marwan Issa, the deputy commander of Hamas’ military wing until his elimination in March 2024.
He was responsible for managing all the financial resources of Hamas’ military wing in Gaza, overseeing the planning and execution of the group’s war budget. This involved handling and smuggling millions of dollars into the Gaza Strip to fund Hamas’ military operations.
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Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei named three senior clerics as candidates to succeed him should he be killed, the New York Times reported on Saturday citing unnamed Iranian officials. It is understood the Ayatollah fears he could be assassinated in the coming days.
Khamenei reportedly mostly speaks with his commanders through a trusted aide now, suspending electronic communications.
Khamenei has designated three senior religious figures as candidates to replace him as well as choosing successors in the military chain of command in the likely event that additional senior officials be eliminated.
Earlier on Saturday Israel confirmed the elimination of Saeed Izadi and Bhanam Shahriari.
Shahriari, head of Iran’s Quds Force Weapons Transfer Unit, responsible for arming Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, was killed in an Israeli airstrike over 1,000 km from Israel in western Iran.
The post Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors first appeared on Algemeiner.com.