Ghislane Maxwell moved from jail
Maxwell, who was sentenced in 2022 for carrying out a scheme to recruit, groom and sexually abuse underage girls with Epstein, has been serving 20 years for her part in the crimes, and since her sentencing some three years ago, has continued to appeal her conviction.
The decision to move her to a low security camp, comes just one week after Maxwell met with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, at the US attorney's office in Tallahassee, Florida. Ghislaine Maxwell. Pic: Sylvain Gaboury/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
A report on CNN News in the US says details of that meeting have not been made public, though her lawyer has said that Maxwell 'honestly answered every question that Mr. Blanche asked.'
Meanwhile a Republican-led congressional committee has rejected a request by Ghislaine Maxwell, for immunity from future prosecution, as a condition for testifying to the panel during recent political storms surrounding the White House and President Donald Trump.
Questions over whether or not Mr Trump had a close friendship with Epstein, who died in jail in New York in 2019 while awaiting trial, have been a real bone of contention for the President in the past few months, including during his recent visit to Scotland where he was again questioned about his relationship with Epstein. Maxwell is accused of facilitating the sex crimes of the late Jeffrey Epstein (second right). Pic:Meanwhile, the family of Virginia Giuffre, one of Epsteins most well-known sex trafficking accusers, expressed their shock after President Trump said that Virginia was one of his employees at Mar-a-Lago, and that Epstein 'stole' the then teenager from the spa resort.
Giuffre, had also accused Britain's Prince Andrew and other influential men of sexually exploiting her when she was trafficked as a teenager by Epstein. Yesterday her family said 'It was shocking to hear President Trump invoke our sister and say that he was aware that Virginia had been 'stolen' from Mar-a-Lago'. Virginia Giuffre, an alleged victim of Jeffrey Epstein, exits from federal court in New York, in 2019. Pic: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Mr. Trump, was responding to a reporter's question on Tuesday, when he said that he got upset with Epstein over his 'poaching of workers', including Virginia Giuffre, from his Palm Beach, Florida, club.
American-born Virginia Giuffre lived in Australia for years and had become an advocate for sex trafficking survivors after emerging as a central figure in Epstein's prolonged downfall.
Her family's statement said she endured death threats and financial ruin over her cooperation with authorities against Epstein and Maxwell.
Ms Giuffre died by suicide earlier this year.
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The Irish Sun
6 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
How world's most depraved killers tortured victims & injected bleach in testicles before dumping bodies in acid barrels
PRIZING open the first of six barrels stored at a disused bank vault, in Snowtown, South Australia, detective Gordon Drage expected to find fertiliser used to grow illegal cannabis. But, after releasing a stomach-churning stench he discovered the vats contained something far more horrific - the dismembered remains of multiple murder victims. 19 John Justin Bunting was convicted for his role in the grisly killing spree and sentenced to life imprisonment Credit: Getty Images 19 Robert Joe Wagner was also arrested after police found eight hacked up bodies stuffed in barrels Credit: AP 19 The remains of up to six people were discovered in a disused bank vault in Snowtown, a small village near Adelaide Credit: Reuters And the chilling find, in 1999, led police to uncover Australia's Over a period of seven years, twelve people had been tortured, murdered, decapitated and dismembered, their bodies left to rot in barrels or Meanwhile their killers, led by psychopath John Bunting, profited from their victims by selling their possessions and withdrawing their benefit payments. Bunting, described as a "charismatic" leader who made his victims call him "God", "Master" or "Sir Lord" during vile torture sessions, recruited a gang of followers to assist in his heinous crimes - including a stepson who helped to murder his own siblings. What makes these crimes all the more shocking is that many occurred while Bunting and his followers were under active police surveillance. Now the killing spree is revisited in a new Crime+Investigation documentary, Bodies in the Barrels, with interviews from the detectives and scientists who were first to uncover the horrific scene in Snowtown. Forensic psychiatrist Richard Furst explains that Bunting, who had a pathological hatred towards gay people, drug users and paedophiles, would use the trauma of abuse victims to manipulate them into doing whatever he wanted them to do. Forensic psychiatrist Richard Furst says: 'This crime sequence is quite unusual in that a lot of the victims were known to Bunting and his followers. Most read in The Sun "The recruitment and victim selection very much fitted what he was projecting, which was the hatred towards paedophiles, hatred towards gay people. 'I think there is a charisma that you might see in a lot of cults. People within a cult, do things because there's a greater motive, and they have a sense of belonging and allegiance.' Chilling position missing girl's body was found in as new details on heartbreaking final days with 'killer' dad revealed Killer squad 19 Robert Joe Wagner, John Justin Bunting and Mark Ray Haydon were all suspects in the killing spree which found between six and 12 bodies in acid vats Credit: Getty 19 The exterior of the bank in Snowtown where police discovered the bodies in vats stored in the vault Credit: News Pictures 19 Gordon Drage, a Former Forensic Officer, originally thought the smelly barrels contained fertilised water for cannabis plants Credit: Crime+Investigation John Bunting had had a trouble childhood, wasn't academic and had a fixation with killing animals and dropping insects into acid. One of his first jobs was as an In the 90s he lived in the marginalised, working-class suburbs of Adelaide, Australia, where he recruited a faithful flock of acolytes. They fancied themselves as righteous In fact, most of their victims were not paedophiles, but loners and outcasts. Bunting would invent excuses to justify his bloodlust, and with the assistance of his friends, conspire to steal the government benefits of those they monstrously tortured and murdered. His first accomplice was the easily manipulated Robert Wagner who had a troubled childhood and had been the The next key player Bunting met was Elizabeth Harvey who he soon moved in with. She perceived John Bunting as some sort of white knight, a saviour, if you like Jeremy Pudney She too was vulnerable. Her husband had died, but her children had also suffered abuse at his hands. He essentially became step-father to her children, one of whom was James Vlassakis, who Bunting took under his wing. James hero-worshipped him. Local journalist Jeremy Pudney says: 'She perceived John Bunting as some sort of white knight, a saviour, if you like." Journalist Peter Overton adds: 'But Bunting wasn't a saviour for this vulnerable family he was their downfall. "He would soon groom them and manipulate them into committing the Twisted torture chamber In 1994 , two farmers discovered a It would take several years for police to discover that the body belonged to John Bunting's first victim - Clinton Tresize - who had been bashed to death with a shovel after being invited into his home, two years earlier. His second victim was a man called Ray Davies who came to Bunting's attention after he exposed himself to children in the neighbourhood. In late 1995, he was ambushed, handcuffed, dragged into a car and driven to the house Bunting shared with Elizabeth Harvey. Bunting, Harvey and Wagner tortured Ray Davies with jump leads and beat him to death. Over the next four years, more and more people disappeared from Adelaide's north and investigators began to link these missing persons cases, suspecting foul play may have been afoot. Several of the bodies had ropes around their necks, others had gags in their mouths Forensic pathologist, Roger Byard In August 1999, the trail led to Snowtown, South Australia, a desolate and dusty hamlet which is little more than a battered collection of rundown buildings on the side of a highway. Officers investigating five of the missing had been watching three suspects and were following a suspicious four wheel drive vehicle that had been under surveillance. When they got to the address where the car was, they were told by a resident that it had been driven there by John Bunting and it had smelly barrels in it. When asked what was in them, John Bunting claimed they were the carcasses of dead 19 Clinton Tresize, John Bunting's first victim Credit: News Ltd 19 Barry Wayne Lane's body was found in the abandoned State Bank building in Snowtown Credit: News Pictures 19 Elizabeth Audrey Haydon was also found in the abandoned State Bank Credit: News Pictures Police discovered that the barrels were now in a disused bank across town. Former detective Gordon Drage says: 'At that stage, we had no suspicion of there being bodies at the bank we thought it was going to be a drug crop, we suspected that the smelly liquids was probably going to be fertilised water for his cannabis crop growing inside the vault.' But when they got inside the bank their investigations took a sinister turn - on top of the six barrels were saws, handcuffs and used rubber gloves. A cheap couch, containers of hydrochloric acid and a machine which delivered electric shocks were also found. I think there is a charisma that you might see in a lot of cults people within a cult, do things because there's a greater motive, and they have a sense of belonging and allegiance Forensic psychiatrist, Richard Furst The police officers gingerly opened a barrel. Gordon Drage says: 'Only then did the smell come out. This was not hydroponics. That smelled very much like dead bodies.' In the first barrel, a human foot was found at the top, so they drove all six to the forensics lab in Adelaide. Forensic pathologist Roger Byard says some of the bodies were whole, others had been dismembered and all of them gave clues as to how they had reached their grisly end. 'There were handcuffs and thumb cuffs. There were plastic bags, rubber gloves they'd been using when they were dismembering the bodies. Several of the bodies had ropes around their necks, others had gags in their mouths.' Hand-picked victims 19 The murders took place in a poor neighbourhood and people were largely unemployed or on pensions Credit: Getty 19 The victims had their benefit payments withdrawn and properties sold Credit: Getty 19 Richard Furst, a Forensic Psychiatrist, doesn't believe the defrauding of the victims was a reason for killing them Credit: Crime+Investigation As police looked into the bodies from the bank vault, a full picture of Bunting's depravity began to emerge. On the wall of his home, the cold-blooded killer had a spider chart of potential victims. Some of the information had been provided by paedophile Barry Lane who had abused his accomplice Robert Wagner. Soon Lane was deemed surplus to requirements and was also tortured, beaten and murdered by Bunting, Wagner and a new accomplice Thomas Trevilyan, with his body taped up and left lying on the floor. When Trevilyan found it difficult to cope with what he had done and started speaking out, he too was murdered - with his death staged to look like suicide. But as well as sick brutality, there was also greed behind the killings. The killers would sell the Richard Furst adds: 'It was a poor neighbourhood and people were largely unemployed or on pensions, but I don't think the defrauding of the victims was a reason for "But I think it was certainly a factor in selection. I think it was the issue of a double reward. So you kill someone, but you also get money, regular income from that, and they kept on going to withdraw money from the account.' So you kill someone, but you also get money, regular income from that, and they kept on going to withdraw money from the account Forensic psychiatrist, Richard Furst Jeremy Pudney adds: 'One of the reasons this was able to go undetected for so long is some of these victims were really isolated from their families for whatever reason, didn't have many friends. And sadly, people didn't really notice when they went missing, so this is a story of how Another victim was a woman called Suzanne Allen who had had relationships with both Ray Davies and Bunting himself. When that affair ended she became a target. Despite Bunting and Wagner never being convicted of Suzanne Allen's murder, her body was found 19 Suzanne Allen and Ray Davies were buried in a shallow grave in Bunting's garden Credit: 19 Frederick Brookes was just 18 Credit: Supplied 19 Roger Byard, a Forensic Pathologist, said some of the bodies were whole while others had been dismembered Credit: Crime+Investigation The barrels in Snowtown bank Killing was easy for Wagner and Bunting, but disposing of the bodies was another matter. And this is when they recruited Mark Haydon. He had become friends with Bunting and between them they cooked up the plan to store the By 1997, police had begun investigating the disappearance of Bunting's first victim Clinton Tresize. And the group of fairly inept murderers brought together by Bunting were soon on the police radar. 19 Karen Davies, the sister of Ray Davies who was killed by Bunting, Harvey and Wagner Credit: Crime+Investigation 19 The film crew interviewed John McCready, a shop owner in the Snowtown area Credit: Crime+Investigation Cops soon discovered that missing Barry Lane's benefits were still being withdrawn. So they set up a security camera at the cashpoint and spotted Robert Wagner making the withdrawals. At first police thought they were dealing with a few missing people who had possibly had their benefits plundered. But they still had no idea there was a Incredibly, in the 16 months after the case became a missing persons and potentially a murder investigation, eight more people were killed by the gang. And the murders became more frequent and more sadistic. At least one of them had a firework sparkler put into his penis, in the urethra Forensic pathologist Roger Byard Forensic pathologist Roger Byard says: 'At least one of them had a firework sparkler put into his penis, in the urethra. There was there were stories of having the scrotum injected with bleach, of being electrocuted, of having their toes squashed with pliers.' Soon Bunting brought his stepson James Vlassakis into the murder team - encouraging him to help in the killing of his own half brother Troy. He was beaten, dragged from his bed and handcuffed before having his toes crushed with pliers. He was then strangled. Frederick Brookes, who was just 18 and the son of accomplice Jodie Elliott, was handcuffed and tortured for hours, and his genitals electrocuted, before choking on a gag. The next victim was disabled local Gary O'Dwyer, tortured for hours and recorded, pleading for his life. Bunting and Wagner then murdered Elizabeth Haydon, the wife of their accomplice Mark Haydon, attacking her in her own home before gagging and strangling her. It was her disappearance that made police realise this was a much more 19 Court sheriffs lead accused murderer, Robert Wagner, from the old bank Credit: Getty But incredibly the watch wasn't 24/7, and it was during one of the blank spots that the pair murdered another of Vlassakis' step-siblings, David Johnson. Lured to the bank in Snowtown by his stepbrother, Johnson was murdered in May 1999, before Bunting and Wagner cooked and ate a piece of his flesh. This was to be the last murder the killers committed. Days later, the investigators finally stumbled on the horrific scene in Snowtown and arrested Bunting, Wagner and Haydon in dawn raids. James Vlassakis later handed himself into police, consumed with guilt about what he had done. His interviews brought police to further victims, and revealed a whole new depravity to Bunting and Wagner's crimes. Wagner was convicted of ten murders. Bunting, the ringleader was convicted of 11. They were both given a mandatory life sentence meaning they will never be released. Read more on the Irish Sun James Vlassakis confessed to four murders and was jailed for life. Mark Haydon was convicted for his role in disposing of the bodies, but was released from prison last year under a supervision order after serving almost 25 years behind bars. Bodies in the Barrels premiers on Crime+Investigation and Crime+Investigation Play from Sunday 3 August at 9pm. 19 Detectives, scientists and reporters who were first on the scene are tell their stories as part of a new Crime+Investigation documentary, Bodies in the Barrels Credit: Crime+Investigation
The Irish Sun
9 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Watch moment huge mushroom cloud erupts over Russian plant after massive Ukrainian strike in major blow to Putin
THIS is the jaw-dropping moment when a huge fireball erupted over a Russian oil refinery during Ukrainian drone strikes. The vast Russia 's Samara region. 8 Ukrainian drones struck the ELOU AVT-11 installation at the Novokuybyshevsk oil refinery Credit: East2West 8 A vast fireball erupted into the air following the strike Credit: East2West 8 It is just one of several blazes reported at strategic sites across Russia Credit: East2West 8 But it comes as Russia continues to brutally bombard civilian targets in Ukraine Credit: East2West 8 Russian President Vladimir Putin looks on during Russian-Laotian talks at the Kremlin Credit: Getty Images - Getty This plant supplies aviation fuel for Putin's combat aircraft, which have been used in barbaric attacks against Ukrainian civilians. Stunning footage shows Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+ claimed the attack led to fire surging 590ft into the sky. But, in a major blow to Vlad's war machine, it is just one of several blazes reported at strategic sites across Russia. read more in world news Elsewhere, another oil refinery was set alight in Ryazan - which is a critical supplier for the Russian capital Moscow. Fires were also reported at a military airfield Primorsko-Akhtarsk in the Krasnodar region - which is used for Russia's brutal drone strikes against Ukraine . A "major hit" was further reported on a Russian air defence radar company in occupied Crimea. One woman died in drone strikes on the Electropribor plant in Penza city - which makes special-purpose telecoms and cryptographic equipment to support Putin's war machine. Most read in The US Sun As many as eight massive explosions were heard in the city during the drone strikes, according to reports. Ukrainian forces also reportedly hit military targets in the Rostov region, leading to one death. Trump says US is 'fully prepared' for war after moving subs towards Russia It comes as Russia continues to brutally bombard civilian targets in Ukraine. A total of Devastating Russian strikes against civilian targets have also been reported in the Kharkiv, Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions over the past week. It comes after The US President's patience with Putin has worn thin in recent weeks over the Russian tyrant's unwillingness to agree to a ceasefire. He also slashed his 50 day deadline for a peace deal down to "10 to 12" days - towards the end of next week. One of Putin's cronies hit back at Trump following this move, accusing him of fanning the flames of war. Ex-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said: "Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. "Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country. Don't go down the Sleepy Joe road!" But Trump slammed Medvedev's comments as "foolish and inflammatory" as he ordered for the submarines to be sent out. "We always want to be ready, and so I have sent to the region two nuclear submarines," Trump said. "I just want to make sure that his words are only words and nothing more than that." He added: "A threat was made by a former president of Russia and we're going to protect our people." 8 Trump's patience with Putin has worn thin in recent weeks Credit: Reuters 8 Stunning footage shows flames erupting high into the air Credit: East2West 8 Ukrainian drones targeted the Electropribor plant in Penza Credit: East2West
RTÉ News
12 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Mood shifts on Israel-Gaza, but will it bring change?
There's no doubt the mood has shifted on the Israel-Gaza war. In the past week, three powerful G7 nations - France, the UK and Canada – announced their intention to recognise the State of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly in September. That means four of the five permanent members of the Security Council - the UN's highest decision-making body - will join the more than 140 member states that already recognise Palestine, leaving the United States diplomatically isolated on the issue. With pressure mounting over starvation in Gaza, the United Nations held a major conference this week aimed at reviving the "two-state solution" for Israel and Palestine, a decades-old idea favoured by most of the world, but largely written off as dead in the water - until now. Boycotting the two-day event, the Israeli ambassador called it "a circus" while the US State Department said it was "unproductive and untimely". But even here, in the US, where support for Israel has been an unshakeable article of faith across the political spectrum, but especially in the Republican Party, key allies of President Donald Trump have begun to dissent. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the MAGA congresswoman from Georgia, took to X to voice her opposition to American policy on Israel. "It's the most truthful and easiest thing to say that Oct 7th in Israel was horrific and all hostages must be returned, but so is the genocide, humanitarian crisis, and starvation happening in Gaza," she wrote. That made her the first Republican in Congress to call Israel's actions in Gaza a genocide. A handful of Democrats have already used that term. Previously, Ms Taylor Greene introduced an amendment to cut funding for Israel's missile defence system – although that failed to garner any real support in Washington. But outside of Congress, fellow MAGA leaders - including the former White House strategist Steve Bannon and the right-wing podcaster Tucker Carlson - have been damning of US policy in the Middle East, seeing it at odds with their "America First" doctrine. Mr Bannon – though still a staunch supporter of Israel – has little time for the current prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he once called a "bald-faced liar". Mr Carlson criticised US aid to Israel, arguing the money would be better spent at home to tackle the opioid epidemic, among other domestic crises. He also slammed the recent Israeli airstrike on a Catholic Church in Gaza City. "They're not allowed to use my tax dollars to bomb churches," he told a US podcast. "I'll put up with a lot of stuff, but I don't understand how any Christian leader in the United States can sit by and not say something about that," he said. Scepticism of American involvement in "forever wars" is certainly a hallmark of the MAGA movement. Indeed, last year, ahead of the election that returned Mr Trump to power, I reported from his rally at New York's iconic Madison Square Gardens. During an Israel-focused speech beamed onto the giant outdoor screen, a man in the crowd shouted, "why are you talking about Israel – what about America?". In another post on X this week, Ms Greene pressed that case. "Most Americans that I know don't hate Israel and we are not antisemitic at all," she wrote. "We are beyond fed up with being told that we have to fix the world's problems, pay for the world's problems, and fight all the world's wars while Americans are struggling to survive even though they work every day". Then there is President Trump himself, who this week made headlines when he contradicted Mr Netanyahu's denial of starvation in Gaza. Asked if he agreed with Mr Netanyahu's assessment, Mr Trump said: "Based on television, I would say not particularly, because those children look very hungry". "They have to get food and safety right now," he added. The following day, a UN-backed report found that the "worst-case" famine scenario was unfolding across Gaza. Mr Trump dispatched his Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff and Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee to inspect aid distribution sites run by American contractors under the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). The GHF sites, set up to replace UN aid distribution networks which the US and Israel said were hijacked by Hamas, have become the scene of near-daily mass killings of starving Palestinians, prompting international outrage. The French Foreign Minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, co-chairing this week's conference, called it a "bloodbath". Last weekend, a group of Democratic senators wrote to the US Secretary of State Marc Rubio urging him to "immediately cease" all US funding for GHF and resume support for UN-led operations, with increased oversight. Adding to the pressure, a former US contractor with GHF gave an interview to the BBC saying that in his entire career, he had "never witnessed the level of brutality and use of indiscriminate and unnecessary force against a civilian population, an unarmed, starving population". Anthony Aguilar, a United States Army veteran, dismissed by the GHF as a disgruntled ex-employee, continued to speak out on US and international media platforms. Gaza aid today, he said, was like The Hunger Games. 'Turning point' With the mood apparently shifting in Washington and across the world, diplomats gathered for the UN's two-state solution conference this week feeling like the momentum was behind them. "It can and must serve as a decisive turning point," the UN Secretary General António Guterres said in his opening remarks. "One that catalyses irreversible progress towards ending the occupation and realising our shared aspiration for a viable two-state solution," he said. The sentiment was echoed over the following two days and the conference's final declaration won more support than diplomats initially expected. The ambitious seven-page document called for an immediate ceasefire, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, recognition of Palestine by countries that have not yet done so, normalisation of relations with Israel, the disarmament of Hamas, and a commitment to a political solution with the Palestinian Authority, subject to major reforms in control of Gaza and the West Bank. Significantly, it was the first time a UN document, signed by Arab nations, officially condemned the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on 7 October, 2023. But two critical players – Israel and the United States – were not there. In their absence, was this a case of the UN shouting into the void? I asked Mary Robinson, former president and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights at a news conference on Monday. She said that she felt real pressure in the conference room that the world had to move forward. "I think that can't be ignored, even by a powerful United States supporting Israel, the current Israeli government," she said, adding, "they particularly can't ignore the widespread sense now of an unfolding genocide and the starvation of children, of women, pregnant women". This could be the point of realisation, she said, that the US "is becoming complicit in a genocide". "That could be enough," she said. It is certainly true that Americans' support for Israel's military campaign has waned. A recent Gallup poll showed just a third of US citizens polled backed Israel's actions in Gaza – the lowest since November 2023. It is also worth noting, as an aside, that New York could be on the brink of electing as mayor Zohran Mamdani – an outspoken critic of Israel's military assault on Gaza, who has said he would arrest Mr Netanyahu were he to come to the city. On Monday, the UN conference's co-chair Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, was upbeat about the prospects of finding common ground with the White House. After all, it was Mr Trump who brokered the Abraham Accords during his first term – a deal to normalise relations between Israel and the Arab states of United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco. "I think we've all heard President Trump statements on many occasions that he is a man of peace, that he is someone who opposes war, and he is a humanitarian," Mr bin Farhan Al Saud told reporters at the conference. He said he believed US engagement, especially the engagement of President Trump, could be a "catalyst for an end to the immediate crisis in Gaza and potentially a resolution of the Palestinian Israeli conflict In the long term". Saudi Arabia's eventual sign-up to the accords was always the big prize for Mr Trump. But the Saudi foreign minister made it clear this week that there would be no negotiation on the matter, without an end to the war and the establishment of a Palestinian State. The Saudis certainly have a good deal of leverage in Washington. But then, so does Mr Netanyahu. Some experts remain sceptical that the shift in mood will yield any real change. "I think we've reached a turning point in terms of perceptions of the war, and I think a tipping point in the coverage of the catastrophe," Michael Hanna, US Programme Director at the International Crisis Group, an NGO aimed at conflict prevention. "I'm not yet sure that that is going to fully translate into a change in policy," he added. He said there was always a gulf between public opinion and the political class in the US. "That gap is shrinking in some respects - we see a rise in criticism," he said. "Again, criticism is not the same as policy shift". Ms Greene, for example, was largely alone in Congress on the Republican side, he said. Indeed, while the week started with Mr Trump sympathising with the plight of hungry Palestinians, by Thursday, he was issuing barely veiled threats against Canada over its intention to recognise a Palestinian State. The State Department also announced sanctions against the Palestinian Authority and Palestinian Liberation Organisation on Thursday, which means members will be unable to travel to the US for the UN General Assembly in September. As for diplomatic isolation at the UN, that is something the US is prepared to bear, Mr Hanna told RTÉ News. "It is notable when the isolation also encompasses other Western members of the permanent five, UK and France, so maybe it's magnified isolation. "But the US has been willing to endure that isolation for a very long time, so it's not clear that that is particularly uncomfortable," he said. A lot hinges on President Trump's own views of course, and it is anyone's guess what he will decide next. His approach to the Middle East has been "all over the map," Mr Hanna said. There have been moments of tension between Mr Trump and Mr Netanyahu, he added. "There were direct contacts with Hamas, which I think shocked the Israelis," he said, "then the U-turn on the Yemen campaign". Mr Trump abruptly declared an end to the bombing of Houthi rebel group positions in May. "And then, of course, then another big shift on intervention in Iran," he said in reference to the US joining Israel's bombing campaign of Iran's nuclear sites in a surprise move in June. The flip-flopping continued this week, when President Trump initially said he had "no view" on the matter, when the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the UK's intention to recognise the State of Palestine. But within hours, Mr Trump had labelled recognition "a reward for Hamas". Amid all the rhetoric and noise, Mr Hanna said, the point is that there is "still no ceasefire in Gaza".
