Battle Lines: How Israel has reshaped the Middle East
Roland talks to journalist Adrian Blomfield about how people across the region feel about these tectonic shifts and why Israel is emerging as the winner.
Plus, veteran interviewer Mick Brown reflects on the significance of the Dalai Lama's recent announcement on his reincarnation and why Beijing is furious.
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The Independent
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- The Independent
Trump voters say president's tariffs are major red flag for them: new poll
Many supporters of President Donald Trump are not fans of his trade policies, with a new poll showing them slamming his tariffs. A poll by Politico and Public First conducted in June found that between a quarter and almost half of those who backed Trump in last year's election harbor doubts about various parts of his tariff policies, particularly when it comes to China. Only half of Trump voters think his tariffs on China will benefit U.S. companies, according to the poll. This comes as the president has refocused his efforts on trade and bringing industries back to the U.S. Trump recently sent off several contentious tariff letters to other countries, which outlined his threats to put in place major new tariffs. The poll from mid-June, well before the tariff letters were sent, reveals that Trump may lose some supporters over his policies. While he promised during the 2024 campaign to bring down the cost of living, his trade policies now may rock the global economy and push up inflation. Roughly one in four Trump voters said in the poll that the tariffs are damaging the ability of the U.S. to negotiate trade deals with other countries. The president's supporters are also evenly split on whether Trump should have the power to impose tariffs, with 44 percent saying he should have Congress 's approval versus 45 percent who say he should have the authority to put in place the levies. Trump has said that he may put in place yet another round of tariffs on August 1, threatening a 30 percent tariff on goods from Mexico and the European Union. The tariffs, which Trump has claimed will bring in 'big money' to the U.S., are paid by the importer, and many companies pass those costs on to the customer. Forty-six percent of Trump voters said they back tariffs on China 'even if it increases prices at home.' Meanwhile, 32 percent say they only support tariffs if it doesn't raise prices, and nine percent said they oppose tariffs. Twenty-five percent of Trump voters said the tariffs on China hurt U.S. companies. However, 55 percent said that while it will be challenging to get a deal with China, they expect that the president 'will be able to do it.' Eighteen percent said it won't be difficult to reach an agreement. Twelve percent said Trump won't be able to get a deal with the second-largest economy in the world. Among those who voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris, 47 percent said the same. Eighty-six percent of Harris voters said the tariffs are damaging to the U.S. ability to arrange better trade deals.
Daily Mail
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- Daily Mail
US to send more weapons to support Ukraine in its war with Russia as Trump's patience with Putin wears thin
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The Guardian
31 minutes ago
- The Guardian
EU risks breaking international law over Israel gas deal, say campaigners
The EU is 'trampling over Palestinian rights' and risks breaching international law, over an energy deal signed with Israel to bring more gas to Europe, a campaign group has said. A report by Global Witness shared exclusively with the Guardian concludes that the EU could be 'complicit in breaches of international law' over a 2022 energy deal linked to gas imports from a pipeline said to traverse Palestinian waters. The NGO has called on the EU to cancel all gas imports linked to the East Mediterranean Gas (EMG) pipeline and terminate the 2022 deal, which was also signed with Egypt. The spotlight on the EU's energy ties with its Middle Eastern ally comes after the European Commission concluded there were 'indications' Israel was in breach of human rights obligations over the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of its war in Gaza and rampant Israeli settler violence in the West Bank. While the EU is facing growing calls to cancel completely or in part its trade and cooperation agreement with Israel, Europe's energy relationship with Israel has attracted little attention, notably a gas deal that appears to have been automatically rolled over last month. The European Commission signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Israel and Egypt in June 2022, with the aim of 'enabling a stable delivery of natural gas to the EU'. It was sealed a few months after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, as the EU was racing to secure alternative energy suppliers. Global Witness contends that the EMG pipeline, which runs parallel to the Gaza coastline, plays an important role in enabling gas exports to Europe from Egypt. The 56-mile (90km) pipeline transports gas from Ashkelon in Israel to Arish in Egypt, where it is then processed into liquefied natural gas for export, including to Europe. The NGO claims the EMG pipeline runs through Palestinian waters. Its work is guided by a legal opinion drafted pro bono by two barristers at the London-based Garden Court Chambers. Zehrah Hasan, a human rights barrister and co-author of the opinion, told the Guardian: 'Israel unilaterally constructed and operated the pipeline without the consent of the Palestinian authorities, and Palestine hasn't been afforded the opportunity to stipulate any financial, environmental or regulatory conditions. 'So in our view that was another example of how Israel is very likely breaching international law in its continued denial of Palestinian sovereignty. 'There's a very strong basis to contend that the EU is likely in violation of customary international law and EU law by signing and continuing the MoU.' Hasan has a Palestinian flag on her social media profile, but is said to have carried out the work in line with her regulatory duties to act independently. Israel has previously described Palestine's claimed maritime zone as 'legally invalid'. Israel's mission to the EU in Brussels and foreign ministry in Jerusalem did not respond to requests for comment. Nor did Palestine's mission to the EU. Gleider Hernández, a professor of public international law at KU Leuven, who was not involved in the study, told the Guardian that he believed Global Witness 'arrive at what is probably the correct conclusion' about a risk of breaching international law. He cautioned, however, that the analysis relied on Palestine's statehood being established. Irrespective of Palestinian statehood, he pointed to Israel's obligations as an occupying power under the fourth Geneva convention not to exploit the territory purely for its own benefit, ignoring the inhabitants. He said: 'In building a pipeline in the area concerned, Israel is probably committing an unlawful act … And then the question becomes … is the EU breaching one of its obligations vis-à-vis international law by having signed the MoU. And there, I think so … Even though the gas would not be directed to Israeli settlements in the West Bank, it would constitute a sort of toleration of Israel's misuse of its prerogatives as the occupying power.' The law professor also pointed to the landmark opinion from the UN's international court of justice (ICJ) in July 2024 that ordered Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian territories as soon as possible. In that non-binding opinion, the court called on other countries not to recognise the occupation as lawful or assist it. 'Thus the construction of [the pipeline] very well may be a breach of the obligations identified by the court also with respect to third actors such as the EU,' he said. The situation, he added, 'did not become unlawful in 2024', but 'the international court simply recognised the situation of illegality that had been in existence for some time before then'. As to whether the EU should have signed the agreement in 2022, he said: 'I would have said don't do it.' Barry Andrews, an Irish centrist MEP, who chairs the European parliament's development committee, told the Guardian via email: 'Given Israel's persistent illegal occupation of Palestine, the legal warnings of the international court of justice in its advisory opinion issued last year and the ongoing genocide in Gaza, the EU risks being in breach of its international legal obligations by continuing with this energy cooperation.' Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion He called for an urgent review of the MoU 'with a view to suspension, reaffirming our commitment to upholding international law and human rights'. Sarah Biermann Becker, a senior investigator at Global Witness, said: 'Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the EU has tried to position itself as a defender of human rights, but its continued business with Israel exposes a deplorable double standard.' She accused the EU of 'pursuing a gas deal that tramples over Palestinian rights' and which 'effectively helps bankroll Israel's genocide on Gaza'. The ICJ is considering the charge that Israel has committed genocide, and the UN's special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, has used the term since January 2024. The criticism of the energy deal comes before an EU meeting on 15 July when foreign ministers expect an update from the EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, on her talks with Israel's government. Kallas said she would talk to her Israeli counterpart about the findings of the unprecedented review of the EU-Israel association agreement. Since the EU found 'indications' of human rights violations, Israel has ramped up its offensive, adding to the death toll that now stands at more than 57,000 people, mostly civilians. The retaliatory war was launched after Hamas militant attacks on 7 October 2023 killed 1,219 people and took 251 hostage. Since then nearly the entire 2.3 million population of Gaza has been displaced and the territory reduced to ruin. The MoU was due to be extended automatically in mid-June this year. The European Commission did not respond to repeated questions about the agreement. Announcing the trilateral deal in June 2022, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said she was 'grateful that Israel will increase its supply of energy to the EU'. Israel's then energy minister, Karine Elharrar, hailed the agreement as historic and said it enabled Israel 'for the first time to export Israeli natural gas to Europe'. It was, she said, 'another step towards positioning Israel as a natural gas superpower' and 'a diplomatic lever'. Between 2020 and 2024 nearly 9bn cubic metres of LNG was exported from Egypt to Europe, according to Global Witness analysis of Rystad Energy data. Spain, Italy and France were the top importers of the gas, buying around half, worth $9bn. The campaign group argues that most Israeli gas to Egypt goes via the EMG pipeline, as it is the most direct route with the biggest capacity. While it is not possible to trace the exact molecules from Israel to the EU, Global Witness contends that additional gas from Israel to Egypt enables exports to the EU. The MoU shows an intention, the NGO states, 'to further support and enable the export of Israeli gas to the EU'. Gas flows have continued largely uninterrupted during the massive upsurge in violence. Israel suspended operations at two gas fields supplying Egypt and Jordan last month, hours after launching surprise airstrikes against Iran. Operations were resumed nearly two weeks later.
