Israel in talks with South Sudan to relocate Gaza's Palestinians: Report; Netanyahu pushes ‘voluntary migration' vision
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the plan aligns with US President Donald Trump's vision to relocate much of Gaza's population. Netanyahu has referred to the effort as 'voluntary migration'.
But Palestinians, rights groups, and much of the international community have condemned the proposals as a blueprint for forcible expulsion in violation of international law.
Joe Szlavik, founder of a US lobbying firm working with South Sudan, said he was briefed on the talks and confirmed that 'an Israeli delegation plans to visit' to assess potential camp locations. He added that Israel would likely finance makeshift camps for Palestinians.
Edmund Yakani, head of a South Sudanese civil society group, said he had also been informed of the discussions. 'South Sudan should not become a dumping ground for people,' Yakani warned. 'And it should not accept to take people as negotiating chips to improve relations.'
Egypt, which borders Gaza, is lobbying South Sudan against accepting Palestinians. Two Egyptian officials said they have known for months about Israel's outreach to Juba. They fear any relocation plan could spur an influx of refugees into Egyptian territory.
South Sudan is also seeking to persuade the Trump administration to lift a travel ban and remove sanctions on some of its elites. The country has previously accepted individuals deported by the US, a move seen as an attempt to curry favor in Washington.
While some Palestinians might want to leave Gaza temporarily to escape war and near-famine conditions, most reject permanent resettlement. They fear Israel would never allow them to return, paving the way for annexation and Jewish settlement expansion in Gaza.
Even for those willing to leave, South Sudan — still reeling from a civil war that killed nearly 400,000 people and left parts of the country in famine — offers uncertain prospects. Yakani cautioned that without clear agreements, 'there could be hostilities due to historical issues with Muslims and Arabs.'
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Business Standard
28 minutes ago
- Business Standard
New US Air Force policy denies transgender troops discharge hearings
The Air Force says in a new memo that transgender airmen ousted under a recent Trump administration directive will no longer have the chance to argue before a board of their peers for the right to continue serving their country. The memo dated Tuesday says military separation boards cannot independently decide whether to keep or discharge transgender airmen and instead must recommend separation of the member if the airman has a diagnosis of gender dysphoria when a person's biological sex does not match up with their gender identity. Military legal experts who have been advising transgender troops told The Associated Press that the new policy is unlawful, and while they were not aware of the other services releasing similar memos, they fear it could serve as a blueprint across the military. Advocacy groups say the change threatens to weaken trust in the military's leadership. It is the second policy change the Air Force has taken in recent weeks to crack down on transgender service members. The Associated Press reported last week that the Air Force would deny transgender troops early retirement benefits and was moving to revoke requests already approved. The Air Force declined to answer questions about the policy and its legal implications. The service provided a statement saying the new guidance is consistent with and responsive to Department of Defense policy regarding Service members with a diagnosis of, or history of, or exhibiting symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria. How the boards usually work The boards traditionally offer a quasi-legal hearing to determine if a service member set to depart is still of value to the military and should stay on. Fellow service members hear evidence of whatever wrongdoing occurred and about the person's character, fitness and performance. The hearings are not a formal court, but they have much the same structure. Service members are often represented by lawyers, they can present evidence in their defense and they can appeal the board's findings to federal court. The Pentagon's policy on separating officers notes that they are entitled to fair and impartial hearings that should be a forum for the officer concerned to present reasons the contemplated action should not be taken. This impartial nature means that the boards can sometimes reach surprising conclusions. For example, the three active-duty Marines who were part of the mob that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, were retained. The commanding officer of the USS McCain, a destroyer that collided with an oil tanker in the Pacific in 2017, killing 10, was not recommended for separation in 2019. Military lawyers decry the Air Force change Priya Rashid, a military lawyer who has represented service members before hundreds of separation boards, said she has never seen an order like this. I've seen people with three DUIs retained, I've seen people that beat their wives retained, I've seen all kinds of people retained because the board is empowered to retain anyone for any reason if they feel it's in the best interest of the service, she said. Rashid said she and other lawyers working with transgender troops view the guidance as telling the boards to automatically order separation based solely on a diagnosis or symptoms of gender dysphoria. She said that constitutes an unlawful command by the Air Force and upends impartiality. This instruction is essentially saying you will not make a determination of whether somebody has future potential in the service, Rashid said. The new Air Force guidance also prohibits recording the proceedings. Rashid said the lack of an independent transcript would not only prevent Air Force leaders from reviewing the hearings to ensure they were conducted appropriately but would undercut any meaningful chance to appeal. Stepped-up efforts to oust transgender troops Pentagon officials say 4,240 troops have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, which the military is using as an identifier of being transgender. The Pentagon got the green light from Supreme Court in May to move forward with a ban on all transgender troops. It offered two options: volunteer to leave and take a one-time separation payout or be discharged at a later date without pay. Some transgender troops decided to fight to stay by turning to the boards. Senior Master Sgt. Jamie Hash, who has served in the Air Force since 2011, said she wanted to face an objective board to be evaluated on my years of proven capability. I wanted the board to see the assignments overseas and at the Pentagon, the deployments to different Combatant Commands, the service medals and the sustained operational and mission effectiveness, she said in an interview. But now, she said, that the path ahead feels more uncertain than it ever has. Logan Ireland, a master sergeant in the Air Force with 15 years of service that includes a deployment to Afghanistan, was planning to retire early until his request was denied last week. After that, he decided he would take a stand at the separation board. I chose the involuntary route because I believed in the promise of a fair hearing judged on my service, my record and the facts, he said. Now that promise is being ripped away, replaced with a process designed to decide my fate before I even walk in the room, he said, adding that all I'm asking for is the same fairness and justice every service member deserves. Both Ireland and Hash said they have yet to hear from their immediate superiors on what the new policy will mean for them. Lawyers are worried it will set a precedent that will spread throughout the military. Rashid said both the Army and Navy are going to look at what the Air Force is doing as a standard of law is this the minimum standard of law that we will afford our service members. Transgender troops warn the policy could have wider implications Col. Bree Fram, a transgender officer in the Space Force who has long been seen as a leader among transgender troops, argued that the policy is a threat to other service members. In an online post, Fram said it swaps judgment for automation. Today it's gender dysphoria; tomorrow it can be any condition or class the politics of the moment calls for, she argued. If the new policy is allowed to sideline evidence of fitness, deployment history, awards, and commander input the very material boards were built to evaluate, Fram said, it sends a message that performance is no longer relevant to staying in the military. Cathy Marcello, interim director for Modern Military Association of America, said the change adds to a growing loss of trust because outcomes are determined by politics, not performance. The organization advocates for LGBTQ+ service members, military spouses, veterans, their families and allies. It's a signal that identity, not ability or achievement, determines who stays in uniform and who gets a fair shot, she said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
United News of India
39 minutes ago
- United News of India
Video of far-right Israeli minister taunting imprisoned Palestinian leader sparks outrage
Jerusalem, Aug 16 (UNI) Israel's far-right security minister Itamar Ben Gvir has posted a video footage of himself taunting the most high-profile Palestinian prisoner while visiting him in jail this week, in an encounter that has prompted outrage from supporters. In the video, Marwan Barghouti (66), who is serving five life sentences after being convicted in 2002 for his role in planning attacks that killed five Israeli civilians, has been seen first time for many years. He appears gaunt and frail, with his arms held together in front as he nods slightly , reports CNN. In the 13-second video, Ben Gvir taunts and threatens Barghouti, saying, 'Whoever harms the people of Israel, whoever kills children, whoever kills women, we will wipe them out.' Barghouti appears to try to respond, saying, 'You know…' before Ben Gvir promptly cuts him off. 'No no, you must know this, throughout all of history.' The video then abruptly ends. Ben Gvir posted the video on his Telegram channel on Friday morning. Barghouti is only seen very rarely, and often years will pass between videos or images are seen by the public. Nevertheless, he remains hugely influential and is considered one of the few people who could unite Palestinian society behind a single leader. Opinion polls have consistently shown him as the most popular Palestinian politician, and his time in prison has only increased the admiration in which he is held by Palestinians. Despite his life sentences, some see him as a successor to the ageing Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. On multiple occasions, Palestinians have tried to secure his release, including reportedly in ceasefire negotiations during the current war. But Israel has refused to consider releasing Barghouti. The video ignited an almost immediate response from Palestinian officials, who condemned Ben Gvir's message and Barghouti's condition. He has been held in solitary confinement since the start of the war on October 7, according to his family and to the Palestinian Prisoners' Society. Barghouti's wife, Fadwa Al Barghouti, said she didn't recognize him at first and 'maybe part of me doesn't want to acknowledge everything that your face and body express,' she said in a post on social media. A cousin of Barghouti told CNN that the video showed 'something most awful,' adding that his relative looked 'so thin' and 'so weakened,' which he said was because his cousin is being 'starved in his prison'. When asked about Ben Gvir's motivation to humiliate Barghouti, Mustafa Barghouti said that the far-right minister 'didn't humiliate Marwan - he humiliated himself.' 'You can't humiliate a person who is weakened by being put in a jail and in a cell,' he said. 'In reality, he humiliated the Israeli government by this behaviour.' It's unclear why Ben Gvir posted the video, which appears to be shot in a high-security prison in southern Israel where Barghouti is held. The far-right minister of national security is known for making provocative statements and served time in jail for anti-Arab incitement. Palestinian Authority Vice President Hussein Al Sheikh called Ben Gvir's threats 'the height of psychological, moral and physical terrorism practised against prisoners, and a violation of international and humanitarian conventions and norms.' Raed Abu Al-Humus, the head of the Palestinian Authority for Prisoners and Released Prisoners' Affairs, said he holds Ben Gvir 'fully responsible' for the Barghouti's life. He warned that the threatening visit was a 'dangerous indication of the intentions' of Ben Gvir. UNI XC SS
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
Rivals no more? Hillary Clinton backs Trump for Nobel if he ends Ukraine war; US president reacts
US President Donald Trump and former rival Hillary Clinton's relationship seems to be taking a new turn. From rivalry to maybe friendly, as Clinton promised to nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize if he ended the Russia-Ukraine war. Trump on Friday described it as 'very nice' and said, 'Well, uh, that was … very nice." 'I may have to start liking her again,' the president added of Clinton, the former first lady, secretary of state and two-time defeated presidential candidate, as he travelled aboard Air Force One for a high-stakes meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. 'Honestly, if he could bring about the end to this terrible war, if he could end it without putting Ukraine in a position where it had to concede its territory to the aggressor, could really stand up to Putin — something we haven't seen, but maybe this is the opportunity — if President Trump were the architect of that, I'd nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize,' she told podcast host Jessica Tarlov, New York Post reported. The president has already been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his efforts in securing a cease-fire between Israel and Iran. The governments of Pakistan and Cambodia also indicated they have nominated Trump for the prize. Trump's role in negotiating a peace framework between Azerbaijan and Armenia similarly resulted in the leaders of both nations expressing support for Trump winning the prize. The Norwegian Nobel Committee is expected to announce the peace prize winner on October 10.
