Israel ambassador Mike Huckabee says Hamas 'could use some Ozempic'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to deny that civilians are starving, saying as he announced a new offensive into the Gaza Strip that assessments of the situation have been exaggerated.
Read more: One meal a day. $20 for an egg. Choosing which kid gets fed. Starvation stalks Gaza
In the interview on Aug. 11, Huckabee defended the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an aid distribution system supported by the U.S. and Israel that has been criticized by other foreign leaders and international organizations for generating violence near distribution sites.
Huckabee said Hamas, the Palestinian militant group designated by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization, "hates" the GHF because its aid distribution methods have hurt Hamas' capacity to "control the food market."
"Yeah, there's some real deprivation in that country," he said. "But it's not because GHF is killing people."
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Metro
11 minutes ago
- Metro
Why Egypt won't take Gazans, Ukraine's future and American irony
Do you agree with our readers? Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments. Malcolm (MetroTalk, Thu) asks why Egypt isn't taking in refugees from Gaza. The reason is Israel has historically refused and is currently refusing the rights of Palestinians to return to land that Israel controls or occupies, so Egypt doesn't want to assist in permanently displacing a population. Israel is also a neighbour of Palestine but has not processed or taken any refugees, despite having two crossings compared with Egypt's one. I'm sure a well-funded state such as Israel has the capacity to sift out terrorists. It seems to know who they are when it uses 'targeted attacks' on Gaza. Malcolm says Israel is 'as responsible for the deaths in this war as the Allies were in killing the millions of innocent civilians in Germany and Japan in World War II'. International law is clear on the matter of civiliacns being killed in war and had those laws – and a willingness to enforce them – existed at the time, the Allies would have been in breach. Crimes in the past do not excuse crimes in the present. Paul Smith, Bristol Malcolm wonders why Egypt won't fling open the Rafah gate and whisk 2.3million Gazans into Sinai, as though refugee policy were a drive-thru. Egypt manages one crossing while Israel controls airspace, sea and every other exit. When Israel bombs the Rafah gate and then occupies it, Egypt can hardly run an open-door policy. Egypt remembers 1948, when Palestinians fled and were never allowed home. Opening Sinai now would help turn temporary 'shelter' into permanent expulsion. When your neighbour's house is on fire because someone else set it alight and blocks the exits, you don't blame the neighbour for not jumping through your kitchen window. Israel imposed the siege, launched the air strikes and controls the crossings – that's where accountability lies. Az Moss, London It's not only deeply troubling but simply exasperating to see zealots congratulating themselves for being arrested for showing support to Palestine Action, a proscribed terrorist organisation (MetroTalk, Wed). How does supporting the perpetrators or terror and blind hatred do anything for the people of Gaza? And their calls of Israeli 'genocide' are similarly misguided and an affront to the millions around the world currently suffering genocide – such as those in Sudan and Yemen. Sara, London How do we bring peace to Ukraine and Russia? We need Ukraine restored to its 2014 borders in return for giving up attempts to join Nato and the EU. We also need Nato to pull back from eastern Europe and the establishment of demilitarised zones on Russia's side of Nato's border as well as on both sides of the Ukrainian-Russian border. The only obstacle to this is Nato and the EU, especially the latter as it wants to absorb Ukraine to exploit its markets. Since the Soviet Union's collapse, the Warsaw Pact buffer zone has been gobbled up by Nato and the EU. Alan Meadowcroft, Oldham It is farcical the US is trying to accuse other countries of going backwards in terms of human rights and free speech. More Trending This is from the government that set up Ice, whose officers hide their faces when they arrest people for deportation, despite many being US citizens. A government that has been voting to take more rights away from its people. And a government that threatens to sue people because they dare to report on the president's sordid history and refuses to let certain circles of the free press attend White House briefings because it can't handle answering questions that don't blindly praise everything it says or does. The UK is not perfect but it's laughable for a country determined to take so many rights and freedoms away from its people to be so desperate to divert attention from itself that it attacks how other countries handle this. Matthew, Birmingham MORE: The Metro daily cartoon by Guy Venables MORE: Cost of Mounjaro weight-loss drug to go up by 170% in the UK within weeks MORE: A-level results day 2025 map shows how well your area did
The National
24 minutes ago
- The National
Richest Scottish households have one fifth of country's wealth
With the figures showing the wealthiest 2% of households have almost a fifth (18%) of wealth in Scotland, campaigners said the data highlighted 'the vast scale of unfairness in Scotland today'. The report looked at wealth in Scotland – which includes the physical wealth of households' belongings, as well as savings and investment, property and pension wealth. The latest data, for the period 2018 to 2020, showed median household wealth in Scotland stood at £214,000 – with this down from £242,700 in 2016 to 2018 and £250,700 in 2014 to 2016. READ MORE: Palestinian journalists 'reporting on own extermination' call for action The report, which was published by the Scottish Government, noted: 'A typical household in the wealthiest 10% of households had £1.7 million in total wealth, whereas a typical household in the least wealthy 10% of households had £7,600.' It added: 'The least wealthy households rarely own property or have any private pension savings. Their wealth is mainly made up of the value of their possessions such as cars, furniture and clothing.' The report also noted that wealth can 'vary a lot by age', saying that 'younger households are less likely to have much or even any pension or property wealth, and most of their wealth is made up of the value of their belongings (physical wealth)'. It added: 'In general, people start building up wealth once they start receiving a salary, buy some goods, maybe save some money, and pay into a private pension scheme such as a workplace pension. 'Many buy a home, and through paying off their mortgage they build property wealth.' Meanwhile when people retire, the report said that 'pension wealth gets drawn upon and used up, while some people also downsize their homes and reduce their property wealth'. However campaigners at Tax Justice Scotland – which wants Holyrood's powers to be used to deliver greater equality – insisted changes are needed to 'share wealth more fairly'. Speaking on behalf of the group Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) – Scotland's largest trade union body – general secretary Roz Foyer said: 'These figures show the vast scale of unfairness in Scotland today. Roz Foyer (Image: free) 'Whilst those at the top accumulate more wealth, more than one in five children grow up in poverty and our public services are starved of the investment they urgently need. This cannot go on.' Foyer demanded: 'We need urgent tax reform to help share wealth more fairly and to distribute resources right across the country. READ MORE: Gordon Brown's had a good idea. But it won't fix the problem he created 'Over time, public finance pressures mean that most of us may need to pay a bit more, but this data makes clear this must start with those at the very top. 'In Scotland, that means parties must set out clear plans to scrap Council Tax and replace it with a fairer, modern property tax. 'At the UK level, we also need common sense wealth taxes that ensure the richest pay their fair share.' She insisted: 'It's time for our political leaders to step up with serious tax plans to help close this growing wealth gap and to invest in creating a fairer, more prosperous future for all of us.' Scottish Green equalities spokeswoman Maggie Chapman criticised the 'obscene inequality in these statistics', adding: 'There is a small number of people who are very well off, and a far greater number who have very little.' She added: 'Scotland has a very long way to go if we are to build a fairer society, and this must be a clarion call for change.' Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat MSP Willie Rennie said that 'so many people are finding that there is nothing left at the end of the month'. He said: 'People are paying the price for the SNP's incompetence and Liz Truss and the Conservatives crashing the economy.' Shirley-Anne Somerville (Image: PA) Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: 'As a result of Scottish Government policies, the poorest 10% of households with children are estimated to be £2,600 a year better off in 2025-2026.' However, she added: 'Inequality is still too high, with too many economic powers left in the hands of the UK Government which has too often sought to balance the books on the backs of the poorest. 'With the full powers of independence, Scotland could do more to take a different approach from the UK status quo, and take decisions which would make Scotland the fairer, more equal country that we want to see.'
The National
24 minutes ago
- The National
Checks on arms firms appear to be just a cosmetic formality
THE Scottish Government has come under criticism in recent months for the continuing financial support it provides to companies involved in the arms trade, some of whom continue to supply Israel with military equipment, even as it publicly condemns the Israeli government for the genocide unfolding in Gaza. The Scottish Government insists that no public money is spent on the manufacture of munitions and that all companies which the Scottish Government supports via grants from Scottish Enterprise are subject to a human rights due diligence check. However, no company has ever failed one of these checks, calling into question whether the checks are anything more than a cosmetic formality without any real-world consequences. It now transpires that some companies with an important role in supplying military equipment to Israel have not been subject to a due diligence check in more than six years. A Freedom of Information request has revealed that two major arms companies in receipt of Scottish Enterprise grants – Italian arms giant Leonardo and American multinational Raytheon Systems – have not received a human right due diligence check since October 2019. Both firms have been in receipt of Scottish public money – Leonardo received £786,125 in 2023 while Raytheon Systems, which has a factory in Glenrothes, was given £500k in the first half of 2024. Leonardo produces laser targeting systems for Lockheed Martin, which sells the F-35 jets used by Israel, and Raytheon makes Paveway II guided missiles which are also used by Israel. Both these firms were given public money after the brutal reality of Israel's so-called 'right to defend itself' had become apparent and the genocidal nature of Israel's repeated killing of civilians was well established. Both companies have continued to supply Israel with weapons throughout Israel's assault on Gaza which began in October 2023 in the wake of the Hamas attack on southern Israel. Israel's war on Gaza has now gone way beyond anything which could be described as self-defence and the Israeli government's prime minister now speaks openly of its goal to occupy and ethnically cleanse the territory. The civilian infrastructure of Gaza has now been destroyed and the traumatised and starved population are being herded into small overcrowded and insanitary tent encampments in what it pleases Israel to call "humanitarian zones" from which they will not be permitted to leave except into permanent exile in as yet unknown third countries. Israel claims that the Palestinians will be encouraged to leave "voluntarily" but when you incentivise people to leave by starving them, destroying their homes and all medical educational and sewage disposal infrastructure, shooting people dead as a routine method of crowd control at the pathetically inadequate aid distribution points which are the sole source of food and water for people who have already been displaced multiple times, there is nothing voluntary about it. In response to the revelations uncovered by the Freedom of Information Request, human rights charity Amnesty International told The National that the 'more we learn' about the checks 'the more concerning it becomes' that Scottish Enterprise and Scottish ministers are defending the process. A spokesperson for the organisation said: "Amnesty is aware from our own research that payments were made to companies known to supply Israel without a new check being triggered by the unfolding genocide in Gaza. 'Alarmingly, that is the process Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Government attempted to characterise as robust and well aligned to international standards. The recent in-house review of the human rights checks recommended some improvements, but unsurprisingly they don't go far enough. We will be meeting with Scottish Enterprise in the coming weeks to take these concerns forward." Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater condemned the lack of effective checks, saying it 'flies in the face of any kind of due diligence'. She added: "These are some of the biggest arms companies in the world. They have armed human rights abusers and dictatorships and some have directly enabled and profited from the genocide in Gaza. "They should not be receiving public money in the first place, and the Scottish Government absolutely should not be setting up tests to win favourable headlines while refusing to actually implement them. "How can we trust a word they say on ensuring they are applying human rights standards when they are refusing to even ask the right questions of those they are giving public money to?" Serious nuclear incident on Scottish base Following reports last week that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had attempted to cover up decades long leaks of water contaminated with radioactive waste and that the leaks had continued despite claims in 2020 by the MoD that it was taking steps to remedy the situation, we now learn that even more serious safety breaches occurred this year. A serious nuclear incident took place at the Faslane naval base earlier this year. Nuclear Site Event Reports (NSERs) are graded on a scale from Category A through D with A being the most serious category, defined as being one which carries an "actual or high potential for radioactive release to the environment". Figures released show there was a Category A event at Faslane in the period between January 1 and April 22 this year. The MoD has refused to release further details about the event, all the MoD is willing to release is radioactive waste into the Scottish environment. As a result of this refusal we do not know whether there was a radioactive release into the environment or only the high risk of one having happened. Putting the minds of the Scottish public at ease has never been a concern for the MoD. Another category A incident also took place in Faslane in 2023. In total there were five Category B, 29 Category C and 71 Category D incidents at Faslane between April 22, 2024 and the same date this year. The MoD has been responsible for repeated leaks of radioactive material into the Clyde. These leaks have been going on for decades and the MoD repeatedly attempts to cover up its culture of negligence. The leaks which have been made public are merely those which the MoD has been forced to admit to. We can only speculate about what the MoD is continuing to cover up.
