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Senate Democrats Demand Biden Stop Arming Israel, While Fetterman Calls for Continued Aid ‘Without Conditions’

US Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) gives an interview in his office in the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, Jan. 18, 2024. Photo: Rod Lamkey / CNP/Sipa USA for NY Post via Reuters Connect

A group of eight liberal and progressive US senators demanded US President Joe Biden stop military assistance to Israel in a letter sent to the White House on Monday, claiming the Israeli government has violated federal law by blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza.

“Israel’s restrictions on humanitarian access, both at the border and within Gaza, are one of the primary causes of this humanitarian catastrophe,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), along with seven Democratic colleagues, wrote in the letter. “The severe humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza is nearly unprecedented in modern history.”

Aside from Sanders, the letter was signed by Democratic Sens. Chris Van Hollen (MD), Jeff Merkley OR), Mazie Hirono (HI), Peter Welch (VT), Tina Smith (MN), Elizabeth Warren (MA), and Ben Ray Luján (NM).

Citing the Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act — which reads “No assistance shall be furnished under this chapter or the Arms Export Control Act to any country when it is made known to the President that the government of such country prohibits or otherwise restricts, directly or indirectly, the transport or delivery of United States humanitarian assistance” — the senators went on to claim that the US should not give any more assistance to Israel.

Between Oct. 21 and Feb. 1, about 95 aid trucks containing food, water, and medical supplies entered Gaza from both Israel and Egypt each day, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

Still, the senators concluded that the US “should not provide military assistance to any country that interferes with US humanitarian assistance.”

The letter came amid rising Democratic pressure on the Biden administration to distance itself from Israel as it fights to remove the Hamas terror group from power in Gaza and rescue the 134 hostages remaining in the Palestinian enclave. Hamas launched the ongoing war with its Oct. 7 invasion of southern Israel, where Palestinian terrorists murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped about 250 others.

A recent letter from Democratic members of the US House of Representatives argued an Israeli invasion of Rafah — Hamas’ last stronghold in Gaza — “should not be supported by US taxpayer-funded assistance” if it “runs counter to the specific principles outlined” by the Biden administration on necessary conditions to give aid — a situation they considered “likely.”

A number of senators, including Biden allies, concurred, signaling a major shift within the party against Israel.

Meanwhile, a coalition of progressive groups is now reportedly pushing Democratic lawmakers to reject money from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the foremost pro-Israel lobbying group in the US, in the upcoming election cycle. The coalition includes the Justice Democrats and the Democratic Socialists of America.

Not all Democrats are moving in this direction, though. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), upon hearing that Biden may condition aid to Israel, wrote that “Israel has the right to fully engage Hamas to its end. Hamas deliberately harms and hides behind civilians, not Israel. Until Hamas surrenders, frees the hostages, and ends this humanitarian tragedy, I do not support any conditions.”

Fetterman has taken significant blowback for his pro-Israel stance since Oct. 7. After making clear that he does not support conditioning aid, former congressional candidate Nina Turner asked, “Why are you going against the president and helping Trump?” A prominent progressive commentator called him a “f—king idiot.”

However, none of the attacks from people Fetterman used to consider progressive allies have caused him to change his stance. After being protested numerous times, he said, “There’s only one clear right side and that’s with Israel.”

The post Senate Democrats Demand Biden Stop Arming Israel, While Fetterman Calls for Continued Aid ‘Without Conditions’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Iran Foreign Minister Denies Plot to Kill Trump, Urges Confidence-Building with US

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

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi denied US charges that Tehran was linked to an alleged plot to kill Donald Trump and called on Saturday for confidence-building between the two hostile countries.

“Now … a new scenario is fabricated … as a killer does not exist in reality, scriptwriters are brought in to manufacture a third-rate comedy,” Araqchi said in a post on X.

He was referring to the alleged plot which Washington said was ordered by Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards to assassinate Trump, who won Tuesday’s presidential election and takes office in January.

“The American people have made their decision. And Iran respects their right to elect the President of their choice. The path forward is also a choice. It begins with respect,” Araqchi said.

“Iran is NOT after nuclear weapons, period. This is a policy based on Islamic teachings and our security calculations. Confidence-building is needed from both sides. It is not a one-way street,” he added.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said earlier that the claim was a “repulsive” plot by Israel and the Iranian opposition outside the country to “complicate matters between America and Iran.”

Iranian analysts and insiders have not dismissed the possibility of a detente between Tehran and Washington under Trump, although without restoring diplomatic ties.

“Iran will act based on its own interests. It is possible that secret talks between Tehran and Washington take place. If security threats against the Islamic Republic are removed, anything is possible,” Tehran-based analyst Saeed Laylaz said this week.

While facing off against arch-foe Israel, Iran’s clerical leadership is also concerned about the possibility of an all-out war in the region, where Israel is engaged in conflicts with Tehran’s allies in Gaza and Lebanon.

The post Iran Foreign Minister Denies Plot to Kill Trump, Urges Confidence-Building with US first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Evidence from WhatsApp, Telegram Groups Shows Amsterdam Pogrom Was Organized

The Telegram logo is seen on a screen of a smartphone in this picture illustration taken April 13, 2018. Photo: REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin.

i24 NewsScreenshots of electronic messages on WhatsApp and Telegram obtained by the Daily Telegraph show that the attacks on Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam represent a planned and organized pogrom.

One message sent to a Dutch-language WhatsApp group the day before Thursday night’s violent outbursts reads “tomorrow after the game, at night, part 2 of the Jew Hunt. Tomorrow we work them.”

Another message reads “who can sort fireworks? We need a lot of fireworks.” The pro-Palestinian activists refer to “cancer dogs,” an insult considered particularly vile in Holland.

The lackluster response of Dutch authorities was noted by many.

Dutch king Willem-Alexander reportedly said to Israel’s President Isaac Herzog in a phone call on Friday morning that “we failed the Jewish community of the Netherlands during World War II, and last night we failed again.”

The post Evidence from WhatsApp, Telegram Groups Shows Amsterdam Pogrom Was Organized first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Qatar to End Gaza-Ceasefire Mediation: Report

Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani makes statements to the media with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in Doha, Qatar, Oct. 13, 2023. Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/Pool via REUTERS

JNS.orgQatar will end its role as a mediator between Hamas and Israel in pursuit of a Gaza-ceasefire and hostage-release deal, an official “briefed on the matter” told Reuters on Saturday.

“The Qataris have said since the start of the conflict that they can only mediate when both parties demonstrate a genuine interest in finding a resolution,” the official added, according to Reuters.

Since diplomatic negotiations have not yielded fruitful results for months, the Gulf state concluded that Hamas’s political office in Doha “no longer serves its purpose,” the official was cited as saying.

These statements come in the wake of a Reuters report on Friday, according to which a senior US official told the outlet: “After rejecting repeated proposals to release hostages, [Hamas’s] leaders should no longer be welcome in the capitals of any American partner. We made that clear to Qatar following Hamas’s rejection weeks ago of another hostage release proposal.”

Doha passed on the message to Hamas around 10 days ago, the official said, adding that the United States was monitoring the situation and pressuring Qatar to close Hamas’s political office.

The last talks intermediated by Qatar broke down in mid-October, after a series of attempts to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and a deal that would swap Palestinian prisoners with the remaining 101 Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

Qatar’s foreign ministry did not respond to a request by Reuters for a comment, though three Hamas officials denied they were being expelled from the Gulf state.

Qatar, a major American ally, which senior US officials frequently thank for its role in negotiating on behalf of Hamas in ongoing efforts to broker a ceasefire and hostage-release deal, has long harbored Khaled Mashaal, Hamas’s acting political leader.

At a press conference late last month, JNS asked State Department spokesman Matthew Miller why Washington wasn’t pressuring Qatar to push Mashaal into a deal, given that the terror leader is a guest in the Gulf state.

Miller cited the prior “tireless efforts” and “intense focus” of Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani to try to seal an agreement.

“They have a channel with Hamas that is productive for trying to reach this agreement,” Miller said. “The fact is it’s Hamas that holds the hostages, and so it’s Hamas with whom they have to negotiate.”

In September, the US Justice Department unsealed charges against Mashaal for his role in orchestrating the Oct. 7 attacks.

In a press release, the Justice Department declared, “On Oct. 7, Hamas terrorists, led by these defendants, murdered nearly 1,200 people, including over 40 Americans, and kidnapped hundreds of civilians… The charges unsealed today are just one part of our effort to target every aspect of Hamas’s operations. These actions will not be our last.”

Doha has welcomed Hamas officials since 2012 as part of an agreement with Washington.

On Friday, 14 Republican senators called on the State Department to immediately freeze assets of Hamas leaders living in Qatar. The senators also urged the Biden administration to ask Doha to “end its hospitality to Hamas’s senior leadership.”

Al Thani has reiterated his position since Oct. 7 that Hamas’s presence in his country is contingent on the usefulness of the ongoing negotiations.

According to Israel’s Channel 12 News, a senior official in Jerusalem lauded Doha’s decision, saying that “Israel and the United States have pressured Qatar’s leaders not to host Hamas seniors [in their country] for a long time. It is good that Hamas, which is nothing but a murderous terrorist group, will be persecuted everywhere in the world and not welcomed by any country.”

The post Qatar to End Gaza-Ceasefire Mediation: Report first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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