More Than 100 Groups Slam Trump Over Plan To Ethnically Cleanse Gaza
The diverse array of organizations signed on to a letter released Monday by A New Policy and the Friends Committee on National Legislation, accusing the Trump administration of promoting what the international community qualifies as ethnic cleansing. The signatories range from faith-based groups, to foreign policy and national security organizations, and political advocacy groups.
'Forcible displacement, when carried out with an intent to permanently remove a people from a land on the basis of their identity is ethnic cleansing,' the letter stated, citing Article 49(1) of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which the U.S. and Israel are both parties to.
Since taking office last month, Trump has regularly commented on what Gaza's future should look like now that Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire ― a fragile deal that comes after the Israeli military spent 15 months destroying Gaza and its people, in what human rights groups, United Nations experts and even a U.S. federal judge have found to have met the qualifications of genocide.
'Palestine is not just an idea – it is a place. It is a homeland to the Palestinian people,' the letter read, including concern over Israel's ongoing attacks in the occupied West Bank. 'To participate in, facilitate, or endorse their removal from it would violate every precept of international law, devastate the rules-based international order that protects us all, do irreversible harm to America's global influence, and be an act of unconscionable immorality.'
Ahead of the letter's release, HuffPost spoke exclusively with leaders of the two groups that authored it.
The president has repeatedly said that Palestinians should be removed from Gaza because the territory is currently uninhabitable, declining to acknowledge that the reason for its current state is because the U.S. supported Israel financially and diplomatically in its military campaign.
'We have to recognize, first of all, the massive hypocrisy in saying that Gaza is unlivable, and therefore the Palestinians cannot live there, when it is U.S. weapons and Israel's actions that made it unlivable in the first place ― in the case of Israel's actions, at least, with an intent of doing so,' said Josh Paul, co-founder of A New Policy who resigned from the Biden administration over its Gaza policy.
Last week, Trump said that the U.S. should take ownership of Gaza and turn it into 'the Riviera of the Middle East.' In a startling interview to air Monday with Fox News host Bret Baier, the president admitted that Palestinians would not have a right to return to their homeland under his plan.
'The right to return is a fundamental human right enshrined in international law. No president, no foreign leader, no occupying force has the legal authority to strip Palestinians from their right to exist in their own land. We all have to reject this vision and demand justice for the Palestinian people,' said Tariq Habash, A New Policy's co-founder who was the first Palestinian American to resign from the Biden administration over its Gaza policy.
Despite Trump having the support of his far-right allies, including in Israel, the letter's authors are holding on to hope that he may listen to those within his circle and among his voters who oppose his plan to permanently remove Palestinians from Gaza.
'If he decides to move forward on this path, notwithstanding those voices, I think that there will certainly be opportunities for litigation and for public protests and for congressional action and all these sort of things,' Paul said.
The letter also expressed support with several Arab countries that released their own joint statement opposing Trump's proposed plan, which included making countries like Jordan and Egypt take in the Palestinians he's forcibly exiled. The president's comments on the right to return came one day before the White House hosts Jordan's King Abdullah II.
'The suffering of millions of Palestinians in Gaza and the U.S.'s unconditional support for Israel throughout is harmful ― not only to millions of Palestinians, but also to Americans, to Israelis, to Arabs throughout the region, to Jews, Christians and Muslims alike,' said FCNL's Odeliya Matter.
The several signatories representing different faiths point 'toward this kind of unity as those who sanctify human life, that this proposal made by Trump is absolutely unacceptable and in defiance of our faiths as American citizens,' she continued. 'And I think we've all agreed that the notion of a holy land cannot be abused on the backs of millions of innocent people.'
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(Bloomberg) — Republican Representative Zach Nunn is making an Iowa State Fair video about President Donald Trump's tax law, shot on a John Deere tractor under the blazing August sun. In it, Nunn, one of the nation's most vulnerable incumbents, talks to constituent Sarah Curry about how the expanded child tax credit will help with the cost of one child's speech therapy. Nunn is also planning to use the state fair as the backdrop for more videos selling the bill's provisions temporarily cutting taxes on tips and overtime. Economic issues — namely, Trump's tax package and his tariff war with countries that buy much of Iowa's agricultural products — will be front and center in Nunn's race, and he's eager to get a jumpstart defining the issues. So, too, are Democrats, who see Iowa's two swing districts as must-wins in their push to take back the House majority. Democrat Jennifer Konfrst, who is working to unseat Nunn, said she approaches Iowans at the fair asking them what keeps them up at night and the answer is usually 'costs.' Read more here. Tariffs' impact on Walmart, other retailers' earnings about to come into focus Several major retailers will report earnings this week, which may give a first glimpse into how President Trump's tariffs have affected their bottom lines. The list includes Walmart (WMT), Target (TGT), Home Depot (HD), Lowe's Companies (LOW) TJ Maxx parent TJX Companies (TJX) and Ross Stores (ROST). The Trump administration has urged retailers not to raise prices for consumers to offset the tariffs' impact, with a particular focus on Walmart, The Street reminds us: Read more here. Several major retailers will report earnings this week, which may give a first glimpse into how President Trump's tariffs have affected their bottom lines. The list includes Walmart (WMT), Target (TGT), Home Depot (HD), Lowe's Companies (LOW) TJ Maxx parent TJX Companies (TJX) and Ross Stores (ROST). The Trump administration has urged retailers not to raise prices for consumers to offset the tariffs' impact, with a particular focus on Walmart, The Street reminds us: Read more here. Trump's trade war not likely to cause recession, Moody's economist says Economist Justin Begley of Moody's Analytics tells USA Today that President Trump's economic policies won't cause a recession or stagflation, but will likely slow growth and push up inflation. The economy isn't in stagflation yet, Begley said, "but it's edging that way," he adds: Read more here. Economist Justin Begley of Moody's Analytics tells USA Today that President Trump's economic policies won't cause a recession or stagflation, but will likely slow growth and push up inflation. The economy isn't in stagflation yet, Begley said, "but it's edging that way," he adds: Read more here. Commerce department applies 50% steel, aluminum tariffs to more products (Reuters) -The Trump administration widened the reach of its 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports by adding hundreds of derivative products to the list of goods subject to the levies. In a Federal Register notice late on Friday, the Commerce Department said the Bureau of Industry and Security was adding 407 product codes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States that identify the goods to be hit with the additional duties on the steel and aluminum content of those products. The non-steel and non-aluminum content will be subject to the tariff rates President Donald Trump has imposed on the goods originating from specific countries, the notice said. The levies on the goods on the expanded list go into effect on August 18. Read more here. (Reuters) -The Trump administration widened the reach of its 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports by adding hundreds of derivative products to the list of goods subject to the levies. In a Federal Register notice late on Friday, the Commerce Department said the Bureau of Industry and Security was adding 407 product codes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States that identify the goods to be hit with the additional duties on the steel and aluminum content of those products. The non-steel and non-aluminum content will be subject to the tariff rates President Donald Trump has imposed on the goods originating from specific countries, the notice said. The levies on the goods on the expanded list go into effect on August 18. Read more here. Consumers' inflation expectations rise amid Trump tariffs Inflation expectations rose from July to August, indicating that consumers remain uncertain about President Trump's trade policies. Year-ahead inflation expectations increased to 4.9% from 4.5% last month, according to the University of Michigan's survey of consumers. Long-run inflation expectations also rose to 3.9% in August from 3.4% in July. "Overall, consumers are no longer bracing for the worst-case scenario for the economy feared in April when reciprocal tariffs were announced and then paused," Joanne Hsu, the university's Surveys of Consumers director, wrote. "However, consumers continue to expect both inflation and unemployment to deteriorate in the future." Consumer sentiment also deteriorated month over month, falling for the first time in four months. The University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index fell to 58.6 from 61.7 a month ago. Read more here. Inflation expectations rose from July to August, indicating that consumers remain uncertain about President Trump's trade policies. Year-ahead inflation expectations increased to 4.9% from 4.5% last month, according to the University of Michigan's survey of consumers. Long-run inflation expectations also rose to 3.9% in August from 3.4% in July. "Overall, consumers are no longer bracing for the worst-case scenario for the economy feared in April when reciprocal tariffs were announced and then paused," Joanne Hsu, the university's Surveys of Consumers director, wrote. "However, consumers continue to expect both inflation and unemployment to deteriorate in the future." Consumer sentiment also deteriorated month over month, falling for the first time in four months. The University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index fell to 58.6 from 61.7 a month ago. Read more here. US import prices rebound in July on higher consumer goods costs US import prices rebounded in July in the latest sign that inflation is set to pick up because of tariffs. Reuters reports: Read more here. 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US destroyers head toward waters off Venezuela as Trump aims to pressure drug cartels
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States is deploying three Aegis guided-missile destroyers to the waters off Venezuela as part of President Donald Trump's effort to combat threats from Latin American drug cartels, according to a U.S. official briefed on the planning. The USS Gravely, the USS Jason Dunham and the USS Sampson are expected to arrive soon, said the official, who was not authorized to comment and spoke Tuesday on the condition of anonymity. A Defense Department official confirmed that the military assets have been assigned to the region in support of counter narcotics efforts. The official, who was not authorized to comment about military planning, said the vessels would be deployed 'over the course of several months.' The deployment of U.S. destroyers and personnel comes as Donald Trump has pushed for using the U.S. military to thwart cartels he blames for the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs into American communities and for perpetuating violence in some U.S. cities. Trump has also pressed Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to cooperate more on security than her predecessor, specifically being more aggressive in pursuit of Mexico's cartels. But she has drawn a clear line when it comes to Mexico's sovereignty, rejecting suggestions by Trump and others of intervention by the U.S. military. Trump in February designated Venezuela's Tren de Aragua, MS-13 in El Salvador and six groups based in Mexico as foreign terrorist organizations. His Republican administration has also stepped up immigration enforcement against alleged gang members. The designation is normally reserved for groups like al-Qaida or the Islamic State group that use violence for political ends — not for money-focused crime rings such as the Latin American cartels. But the Trump administration argues the international connections and operations of the groups — including drug trafficking, migrant smuggling and violent pushes to extend their territory — warrant the designation. Venezuela's Communication Ministry didn't immediately reply to a request for comment. On Monday, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said the U.S. had increased its threats against Venezuela and announced he was going to order the deployment of more than 4.5 million militia members around the country. The militias were created by then-President Hugo Chávez to incorporate volunteers who could assist the armed forces in the defense of external and domestic attacks. 'The empire has gone mad and has renewed its threats to Venezuela's peace and tranquility,' Maduro said at an event in Caracas, without mentioning any specific action. Earlier this month, the Trump government announced it was doubling to $50 million a reward for the arrest of Maduro, accusing him of being one of the world's largest narco-traffickers and working with cartels to flood the U.S. with fentanyl-laced cocaine. Maduro was indicted in a New York federal court in 2020, during the first Trump presidency, along with several close allies on federal charges of narco-terrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine. Back then, the U.S. offered a $15 million reward for his arrest. ___ Rueda reported from Caracas, Venezuela.
