Palestinians fear Israel is preparing to annex the West Bank
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Globe and Mail
5 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Former DOGE official rushed US$30-million grant to Trump-backed Gaza aid group despite objections
A top U.S. State Department official waived nine mandatory counterterrorism and anti-fraud safeguards to rush a $30 million award last month to a Gaza aid group backed by the Trump administration and Israel, according to an internal memorandum seen by Reuters. Jeremy Lewin, a former Department of Government Efficiency associate, signed off on the award despite an assessment in the memorandum that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's (GHF) funding plan failed to meet required 'minimum technical or budgetary standards.' The June 24 action memorandum to Lewin was sent by Kenneth Jackson, also a former DOGE operative who serves as an acting deputy U.S. Agency for International Development administrator. The pair has overseen the agency's dismantling and the merger of its functions into the State Department. Lewin also overrode 58 objections that USAID staff experts wanted GHF to resolve in its application before the funds were approved, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Lewin, who runs the State Department's foreign aid program, cleared the funds only five days after GHF filed its proposal on June 19, according to the June 24 'action memorandum' bearing his signature seen by Reuters. 'Strong Admin support for this one,' Lewin wrote to USAID leaders in a June 25 e-mail – also seen by Reuters – that urged disbursement of the funds by the agency 'ASAP.' The action memorandum was first reported by CNN. Dozens of Palestinians killed by airstrikes or shootings while waiting for aid Opinion: With Trump's support, Netanyahu is poised to get his way in Gaza Lewin and Jackson did not respond to requests for comment. The documents underline the priority the Trump administration has given GHF despite the group's lack of experience and the killing of hundreds of Palestinians near its Gaza aid distribution hubs. GHF, which closely co-ordinates with the Israeli military, has acknowledged reports of violence but says they occurred beyond its operations area. Lewin noted in the email that he had discussed the funds with aides to Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump's negotiator on Gaza, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio's office. He acknowledged that authorizing the funds would be controversial, writing: 'I'm taking the bullet on this one.' The White House, asked for comment, referred to a State Department statement provided to Reuters. Witkoff and Rubio did not reply to a question about whether they were aware of and supported the decision to waive the safeguards. The State Department said in its statement that the $30 million was approved under a legal provision allowing USAID to expedite awards in response to 'emergency situations' to 'meet humanitarian needs as expeditiously as possible.' 'The GHF award remains subject to rigorous oversight, including of GHF's operations and finances,' the statement said. 'As part of the award, GHF was subject to new control and reporting requirements.' In response to a request for comment, a GHF spokesperson said: 'Our model is specifically designed to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse. Every dollar we receive is safeguarded to ensure all resources – which will eventually include American taxpayer funds – reach the people of Gaza.' The spokesperson added that such requests for clarification from the U.S. government about fund applications were routine. Speaking about the nine conditions that were waived, the spokesperson said: 'We are addressing each question as per regulations and normal procedure and will continue to do so as required.' GHF says its operation is preventing Hamas from hijacking food aid and using it to control the enclave's population, charges denied by the Islamist militants who ran Gaza. In the June 24 action memorandum, Jackson wrote that GHF is 'uniquely positioned to operate in areas with restricted access,' and said it has delivered millions of meals and diluted Hamas' control over Gaza's 2.1 million Palestinians. He acknowledged that GHF 'is a new organization that has not met USAID's various formal criteria for eligibility' for the $30 million award. Jackson listed nine conditions that applicants normally must satisfy before receiving USAID funds, explicitly outlining the terms of each and the risks of waiving them. For instance, he noted a 'legal requirement' that aid organizations working in Gaza or the West Bank undergo vetting for ties to extremist organizations before they are awarded USAID funds, the document said. 'Waiving the requirement could increase the risk' that an aid group, its subcontractors or vendors 'could be found ineligible due to terrorism-related concerns,' said the document. Jackson also wrote that USAID was required to examine whether an organization has sufficient internal controls to manage awards. He warned that waiving the condition 'could raise the risk of misuse of taxpayer resources,' according to the document. GHF submitted a plan – required prior to approval of funds – that was incomplete on how it would deal with legal and operational risks of operating in Gaza, the document said. Waiving the need for a full plan 'could risk programmatic diversion, reputational harm, and potential violations of U.S. counterterrorism laws,' it continued. Despite the risks, Jackson recommended waiving all nine requirements and allowing GHF to fulfill them later because of the 'humanitarian and political urgency' of its operation, the memo said. Lewin checked a box labelled 'Approve' on each of the recommendations, it showed. In addition to waiving the nine requirements, two sources familiar with the matter said, Lewin overrode 58 objections from USAID staff reviewing GHF's application. Two former top USAID officials said they had never heard of a senior official like Lewin expediting an award over the objections of professional staff. 'I oversaw something like 1,500 grants. I never saw it happen,' said Sarah Charles, who led USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance from 2021-2024. 'Very occasionally, we would do the vetting after an award in a sudden onset emergency – think earthquake – but that was at the recommendation of staff.' In the review, the USAID experts questioned how GHF would ensure the safety of Palestinians collecting food packages at its sites; whether its staff had proper humanitarian training and its plans to distribute powdered infant formula in an enclave with scarce access to clean drinking water, the sources said.
Globe and Mail
6 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
U.S. sanctions UN rapporteur investigating alleged human rights abuses in Gaza
The Trump administration announced Wednesday that it is issuing sanctions against an independent investigator tasked with probing human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories, the latest effort by the United States to punish critics of Israel's 21-month war in Gaza. The State Department's decision to impose sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza, follows an unsuccessful U.S. pressure campaign to force the international body to remove her from her post. It also comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is visiting Washington this week to meet with President Donald Trump and other officials about the war in Gaza and more. It's unclear what the practical impact the sanctions will have and whether the independent investigator will be able to travel to the U.S. with diplomatic paperwork. UN Palestinian rapporteur faces backlash after press conference on Parliament Hill Albanese, an Italian human rights lawyer, has been vocal about what she has described as the 'genocide' by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza. Both Israel and the U.S., which provides military support to its close ally, have strongly denied that accusation. The U.S. had not previously addressed concerns with Albanese head-on because it has not participated in either of the two Human Rights Council sessions this year, including the summer session that ended Tuesday. This is because the Trump administration withdrew the U.S. earlier this year. In recent weeks, Albanese has issued a series of letters urging other countries to pressure Israel, including through sanctions, to end its deadly bombardment of the Gaza Strip. She has also been a strong supporter of the International Criminal Court's arrest warrants against Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, for allegations of war crimes. She most recently issued a report naming several large U.S. companies as among those aiding what she described as Israel's occupation and war on Gaza. 'Albanese's campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated,' Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on social media. 'We will always stand by our partners in their right to self-defense.' Albanese's July 1 report focuses on Western defence companies that have provided weapons used by Israel's military as well as manufacturers of earth-moving equipment that have bulldozed Palestinian homes and property. It cites activities by companies in the shipping, real estate, technology, banking and finance and online travel industries, as well as academia. 'While life in Gaza is being obliterated and the West Bank is under escalating assault, this report shows why Israel's genocide continues: because it is lucrative for many,' her report said. A request for comment from the U.N.'s top human rights body was not immediately returned. Israel's diplomatic mission in Geneva, where the 47-member Human Rights Council is based, called Albanese's report 'legally groundless, defamatory, and a flagrant abuse of her office' and having 'whitewashed Hamas atrocities.' Outside experts, such as Albanese, do not represent the United Nations and have no formal authority. However, they report to the council as a means of monitoring countries' human rights records. Albanese has faced criticism from pro-Israel officials and groups in the U.S. and in the Middle East. The U.S. mission to the UN issued a scathing statement last week, calling for her removal for 'a years-long pattern of virulent anti-Semitism and unrelenting anti-Israel bias.' The statement said Albanese's allegations of Israel committing genocide or apartheid are 'false and offensive.' Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, celebrated the U.S. action, saying in a statement Wednesday that Albanese's 'relentless and biased campaign against Israel and the United States has long crossed the line from human rights advocacy into political warfare.' Israeli strikes kill 40 in Gaza, with no sign of a breakthrough after Trump's talks with Netanyahu It is a culmination of a nearly six-month campaign by the Trump administration to quell criticism of Israel's handling of the war in Gaza. Earlier this year, the administration began arresting and trying to deport faculty and students of U.S. universities who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations and other political activities. The war between Israel and Hamas began Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel and killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 people captive. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which says women and children make up most of the dead but does not specify how many were fighters or civilians. Nearly 21 months into the conflict that displaced the vast majority of Gaza's 2.3 million people, it is nearly impossible for the critically wounded to get the care they need, doctors and aid workers say. 'We must stop this genocide, whose short-term goal is completing the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, while also profiteering from the killing machine devised to perform it,' Albanese said in a recent post on X. 'No one is safe until everyone is safe.'
CTV News
7 hours ago
- CTV News
U.S. issues sanctions against UN investigator probing abuses in Gaza
Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, talks to the media during a press conference at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, July 11, 2023. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP, File) UNITED NATIONS — The Trump administration announced it is issuing sanctions Wednesday against an independent investigator tasked with probing human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories, the latest effort by the United States to punish critics of Israel's 21-month war in Gaza. The State Department's decision to sanction Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza, comes after a recent U.S. pressure campaign to force the international body to remove her from her post failed. Albanese, a human rights lawyer, has been vocal about what she has described as the 'genocide' that Israel is waging against Palestinians in Gaza. Both Israel and the U.S., which provides military support, have strongly denied that accusation. In recent weeks, Albanese has issued a series of letters, urging other countries to pressure Israel, including through sanctions, to end its deadly bombardment of the Gaza Strip. The Italian national has also been a strong supporter of the International Criminal Court's indictment against Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for war crimes. She most recently issued a report naming several U.S. giants among companies aiding what she described as Israel's occupation and war on Gaza. 'Albanese's campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated,' Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on social media. 'We will always stand by our partners in their right to self-defense.' Albanese has been the target of criticism from pro-Israel officials and groups in the U.S. and in the Middle East. Last week, the U.S. mission to the UN issued a scathing statement, calling for her removal for 'a years-long pattern of virulent anti-Semitism and unrelenting anti-Israel bias.' The statement said that Albanese's allegations of Israel committing genocide or apartheid are 'false and offensive.' It is all a culmination of an extraordinary and sprawling campaign of nearly six months by the Trump administration to quell criticism of Israel's handling of the deadly war in Gaza, which is closing in on two years. Earlier this year, the Trump administration began arresting and deporting faculty and students of American universities who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations and other political activities. The war between Israel and Hamas began Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel and killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 people captive. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which says women and children make up most of the dead but does not specify how many were fighters or civilians. Nearly 21 months into the conflict that displaced the vast majority of Gaza's 2.3 million people, it is nearly impossible for the critically wounded to get the care they need, doctors and aid workers say. 'We must stop this genocide, whose short-term goal is completing the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, while also profiteering from the killing machine devised to perform it,' Albanese said in a recent post on X. 'No one is safe until everyone is safe.' Farnoush Amiri, The Associated Press
