Latest news with #American-Palestinian
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Israel will not send delegation to Qatar after Hamas's request to change Witkoff proposal
An Israeli official said, however, that "negotiations have not stopped, efforts of the mediators still continue." Israel will not send a delegation to Qatar after Hamas requested changes to the US envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff's outline for a hostage deal, Israeli media reported Tuesday. An Israeli official said, however, that "negotiations have not stopped, efforts of the mediators still continue." Israel is making it clear that, despite Hamas' apparent "willingness" to continue negotiations, in practice, there is no change in the group's position, and that the gaps with the Witkoff proposal remain. Hamas's response does not include a serious reference to the Witkoff proposal and presents new demands that deviate greatly from the Israeli line, Israeli sources said. The additional demands include a ceasefire of up to seven years, a complete IDF withdrawal from the areas occupied since March, and the cancellation of the activities of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. "Israel has agreed to the Witkoff framework as proposed – that is the official position," a diplomatic source clarified. "Despite Hamas' statements, there has been no significant change." Sources in Israel added that Hamas's willingness to return to negotiations is seen as a purely tactical move designed to improve its international image. "This is not an answer - it is a slammed door. Hamas's response only distances us from an agreement," Witkoff said in response to Hamas's demands. The US, Qatar, and Egypt are continuing mediation efforts in line with the Witkoff proposal. However, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Ati held a phone call with Witkoff on Sunday that, according to Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar, was significantly and noticeably tense, reflecting Egypt's growing concerns that the war in Gaza will become an open war of attrition. Egypt is concerned that the IDF's continued military activity, particularly in Khan Yunis, will result in a redrawing of the demographic map in the south of Gaza, and the gradual pushing of Palestinians towards the border with Egypt, posing a direct threat to the country's national security, Abdel Ati told Witkoff. Additionally, Abdel Ati reportedly did not hesitate to blame Washington for part of the failure of the negotiations, as well as criticizing the way the US administration is conducting the negotiations. Witkoff has asked American-Palestinian businessman Bishara Bahah to remain in Doha and continue talks with Hamas, in the hope that his presence will avoid a sense of finality or disconnect between the parties.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US negotiating Israel-Gaza ceasefire with Hamas through American in Doha, source says
The US has been talking with Hamas through an American intermediary in Doha this week in hopes of brokering an Israel-Gaza ceasefire agreement, according to a source familiar with the matter, as US officials say President Donald Trump is growing increasingly frustrated with Israel's handling of the conflict. The talks have been led on the US side by Bishara Bahbah, the American-Palestinian who led the group 'Arab Americans for Trump' during the 2024 presidential campaign and who has been working on behalf of the administration, the source said. Bahbah remotely exchanged messages with Hamas earlier this year in what became a critical backchannel to secure Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, the source said. Israel also began indirect talks with Hamas in the Qatari capital on Saturday, and working level dialogue continues. But bolstering the line between the Trump administration and Hamas could give US officials a clearer sense of Hamas's position, particularly as Trump's frustrations have mounted. In the past, the US has gone through Qatar and Egypt to correspond with Hamas. 'It tells me that they think they have a real negotiation happening. They want their own Hamas channel, not through Qatar or Egypt. That is an indicator that they think they can cut through the issues more effectively and also that they think they can influence Hamas,' said Dennis Ross, a former US envoy to the Middle East who is now at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. But some other regional experts are skeptical that this channel could lead to a breakthrough, given that Bahbah has limited experience and the Hamas decision makers are based in Gaza. But they argue it underscores that Trump is willing to work around Israel. 'I am not sure if this is a sign of desperation or confusion,' said Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 'Maybe they see him as a window into Hamas thinking, it is certainly plausible.' The growing frustrations among Trump and his top aides with Israel boil down to a key issue: the president wants the war to end – and soon. Trump, multiple sources familiar with the matter said, has been 'annoyed' on several occasions with the pace of talks. And Netanyahu, they fear, is not ready to deal. 'The president obviously wants a deal,' a person close to Trump told CNN. 'It's becoming more clear as talks continue that Bibi isn't quite there.' With Israel launching renewed strikes in Gaza, Vice President JD Vance opted not to visit the country over the weekend following his trip to Italy – a decision sources said was driven in part by logistics, and in part because his presence could have been viewed as a dramatic endorsement of the attacks. 'It would be hard to view the US as truly independent if he had gone,' the official added, calling it 'an overly generous signal of support for what Israel is doing.' Axios first reported on Trump's frustrations and the reasoning behind Vance's decision to skip a stop in Israel. The sources cautioned that Trump's frustrations do not amount to a change in posture in the United States' support of Israel, a country which the president continues to view as one of America's strongest allies. Nor is Trump privately pressuring Israel to halt its renewed military operation in the Gaza strip, said a source familiar with the matter. National Security Council Spokesman Max Bluestein argued in a statement to CNN that it 'is absolutely false' that the administration is frustrated with Israel. 'Israel has had no better friend than President Trump. We continue to work closely with our ally Israel to ensure that remaining hostages in Gaza are freed, that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon, and that every opportunity for regional economic prosperity – especially the expansion of the Abraham Accords – is exploited. As Secretary [Marco] Rubio explained over the weekend, 'What the President is saying is he doesn't want to end the war until Hamas is defeated,'' Bluestein said. Trump has shown a willingness to approach US foreign policy moves without direct adherence to Israel in recent months, including the announcement of a ceasefire with the Houthis – that did not include strikes on Israel and continued Iran deal talks while Israel has pushed for strikes on Iran's nuclear program. 'There is a litany of actions lately reflecting that Trump will do what he thinks is in the US interest and Israeli considerations aren't foremost in his mind. It's not reflecting a break necessarily with Israel but it's an effort to put energy into US interests,' Ross said. Keeping US interests front and center – especially efforts that Trump wants to pursue in the region more broadly – the administration remains focused on trying to secure a Gaza ceasefire. Bahbah has been coordinating his efforts with Steve Witkoff, the president's Middle East envoy who has also been directly in touch with Netanyahu and his aides. Witkoff recently put forward a new proposal to both Israel and Hamas that could serve as the foundation to getting both sides to agree to another ceasefire, Trump administration officials said. One of the officials said that the US wants humanitarian aid to continue flowing into Gaza, something the Israelis acquiesced to on Sunday after blocking aid into the strip for nearly 11 weeks. Israel 'can achieve their objective of defeating Hamas while still allowing aid to enter in sufficient quantities,' Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday. 'You have this acute, immediate challenge of food and aid not reaching people, and you have existing distribution systems that could get them there,' Rubio told the Senate Appropriations Committee. Asked if it is an emergency humanitarian situation, Rubio conceded it is. 'Ultimately, I think we all see the same images,' he said. The Trump administration was also pleased with how the talks with Hamas to release Alexander, the last known living American hostage in Gaza, unfolded in recent weeks. Instead of shutting down the channel between Hamas and Bahbah, they elevated it, signing off on in-person talks in Doha. 'His release was widely viewed internally as a goodwill gesture,' a White House official told CNN, adding that they saw the move as a key opportunity to draw Israel and Hamas back to the negotiating table. But just days later, Israeli military forces moved into northern and southern Gaza as part of the 'Gideon's Chariots' operation, which Israel warned would take place if Hamas did not agree to a deal to release hostages. The fresh attacks did little to reassure US officials that a potential ceasefire deal was on the horizon. But Trump's frustrations with Netanyahu began even before the war took another deadly turn this week, the sources familiar with the matter said. One such instance was when the Israeli Prime Minister met privately with the president's then-National Security Adviser, Michael Waltz, at the White House to discuss military options against Iran prior to a scheduled meeting in the Oval Office with Trump. The meeting, first reported by the Washington Post, has been cited as a key point of Trump's frustration with Waltz, who was later ousted from his position. But a source familiar with the matter said Trump also took issue with Netanyahu potentially trying to influence Waltz on a sensitive topic before raising it with Trump directly. CNN's Jennifer Hansler contributed to this report.
The Guardian
26-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Telling the incredible tale of Anna Politkovskaya has taught me one thing: I could never be that brave
What drives someone to become a journalist? A good journalist, someone whose keyboard is a tool for exposing injustice, a truth-seeker who would risk life and limb to report their experiences back to the world? I know I couldn't do it. I've interviewed people for a research project and was hopeless. I found myself shying away from asking the really difficult questions. There's no way I could confront a corrupt official, or race to file a breaking story before a hostile regime tried to silence me, possibly for ever. I like to think of myself as the kind of person who would speak truth to power, but would I really, if my life was in the balance? One of the many privileges of being an actor is that it affords you the opportunity to dip your toes into other worlds and experiences from the safest possible distance. In the upcoming film Words of War, I have the honour of portraying the Russian journalist and human rights activist Anna Politkovskaya – a woman with immense courage and integrity who, despite numerous threats to her life, continued to be a blazing beacon of truth in a time and place where speaking truth was extremely dangerous. The film, which was partly inspired by Politkovskaya's obituary in this newspaper, allowed me to delve into her remarkable life and work. The experience gave me a deeper appreciation for the journalists who risk everything to tell the stories that inform and shape our world. Those who tell these stories face more threats than perhaps ever before. Journalism has become a dangerous profession; according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, more than 1,800 journalists and media workers have been killed while pursuing a story since 1992. Of these, at least 124 were killed in 2024 alone, making last year the deadliest in three decades. Nearly 70% of these deaths were at the hands of the Israeli military in Gaza and Lebanon. There was also a sharp 56% increase in the number of press violations against female journalists since 2023, according to the Coalition for Women in Journalism, including detentions, harassment, physical assault, threats and intimidation. Threats aren't reserved for war zones or authoritarian regimes. Journalists are also coming under attack in western democracies; on the US campaign trail, Donald Trump spoke about revoking broadcast licences and jailing journalists, while rich individuals in Britain have targeted journalists with insidious Slapps (strategic lawsuits against public participation). In preparation for my role as Politkovskaya, I immersed myself as much as I could in the lives of the people who report from the frontlines of conflict, corruption and catastrophe, reading about and talking face-to-face with some of these extraordinary women and men. Before leaving to film in Latvia, I had the honour of being invited to a memorial at St Brides Church, on Fleet Street in London, for the murdered American-Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. Abu Akleh was shot on 11 May 2022 while she was covering raids in Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank. She was wearing a helmet and a clearly marked press vest. More than 1,000 days have passed since her death, yet no one has been held accountable. What struck me that day was the outpouring of love and respect from Abu Akleh's friends and colleagues in the wider journalistic fraternity. Like Politkovskaya, Abu Akleh was someone who dared to expose the truth. Reading about both of these extraordinary women while I prepared for the role, I was struck not only by their courage, but their clarity of purpose. These journalists were not thrill-seekers or fame-chasers. They were driven by something elemental: the absolute belief that telling the truth matters. We rely on journalists to expose injustice, hold power to account, and to shine light into the world's darkest corners. Without them, abuse and corruption remain unchecked and unknown. As John Adams, one of America's founding fathers, put it: 'The liberty of the press is essential to the security of the state.' Yet everywhere that journalists are being threatened or silenced, this principle is being eroded. This is not only a problem for journalists, but a threat to all of us, and to our democratic freedoms. That's why it is so important that we must protect those who do the work of asking hard questions, digging deeper beyond the talking points and propaganda, even when their work is dangerous. I urge everyone to watch Words of War and support press freedom, not just as a political principle, but as a personal responsibility. Defend the truth-tellers. Share their work. Push back against efforts to delegitimise them. The UN's World Press Freedom Day takes place on 3 May, and anyone can show their support for this principle by donating to organisations such as the National Press Club Freedom Centre and the Committee to Protect Journalists. Remember: the next time you see a headline in the news that exposes corruption, injustice or extremism, someone may have risked their life to bring that information to you. Maxine Peake is an actor Words of War will be released on 3 May
Al Jazeera
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Family of American-Palestinian teen killed by Israel demands justice
NewsFeed Family of American-Palestinian teen killed by Israel demands justice The family of 14-year-old American-Palestinian Amer Mohammad Rabea is demanding justice after he was shot and killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank.
Al Arabiya
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
US ‘turns a blind eye,' says American-Palestinian after son killed by Israel
American-Palestinian Muhammad Rabee feels abandoned by the United States, he told AFP on Monday, a day after Israeli forces killed his 14-year-old son during a family visit in the occupied West Bank. Rabee's family live in New Jersey, and like the vast majority of Palestinians from the West Bank town of Turmus Ayya, are dual citizens, but the father said Washington 'turns a blind eye' to soaring Israeli attacks and abuses against them. For the latest updates on the Israel-Palestine conflict, visit our dedicated page. The sorrow on his face showing even from behind his large sunglasses, Rabee carried the body of his son Amer, shrouded in a Palestinian flag, through the streets of Turmus Ayya as dozens of residents came out to pay their final respects. An AFP correspondent said some were waving flags and chanting slogans as the funeral procession made its war from the local morgue to a mosque, and finally on to the cemetery. After the shooting that killed his son and wounded two other teenagers in Turmus Ayya, near a main road through the West Bank, Rabee said he has a message to US President Donald Trump. Trump must 'stop this situation, stop sending weapons' to Israel that are then used 'to kill his people,' Rabee said, meaning American citizens like him. The mayor of Turmus Ayya, Lafi Shalabi, told AFP that the three boys were hit with live fire as they were picking green almonds. One of the two wounded, who are both 14, is also a US citizen, he said. But Israel's military said they were 'terrorists' who hurled rocks on cars travelling on the road. The military released a black-and-white video showing three individuals, one of whom appears to throw an indiscernible item. Rabee said that the 'video is not accurate' and does not prove that his son had thrown rocks. 'There were six bullets in his body, two in his heart, two in his shoulder, and two in his face,' said the father. 'Forgotten citizens' Rabee said that in past cases of attacks around Turmus Ayya, the US embassy has usually accepted the Israeli version of events, despite evidence showing violence from Israeli settlers under army protection, 'assaults, killings, arson, and theft of Palestinian land.' 'All of these things -- the US embassy turns a blind eye to them,' he said. Some residents share his view. Majdi Arif, a retired teacher who lived in New Jersey for two decades, said their concerns often go unanswered. 'Usually, the US embassy does nothing,' or reports cases to the Israeli government, 'which is useless to us,' he told AFP. Turmus Ayya is located near the Israeli settlement of Shilo, whose residents according to Shalabi have been involved in attacks on Turmus Ayya. The Palestinian health ministry as well as mayor Shalabi said an Israeli settler was present with the soldiers at the time of the shooting. Yaser Alkam, head of Turmus Ayya's foreign relations department, said that 'Palestinian-Americans in Turmus Ayya are simply disappointed... we are the forgotten citizens' of the United States. 'We've reached out to the US embassy many, many times,' he said, to no avail. The US State Department told AFP it offers its 'sincerest condolences to the family on their loss.' 'We acknowledge the IDF initial statement that expressed that this incident occurred during a counter-terrorism operation and that Israel is investigating,' it said, adding that out of 'respect for the privacy of the family' it had no further comment. Palestinians 'targeted' 'Turmus Ayya is made up of 80 percent Americans,' said Alkam. 'When an Israeli soldier shoots at... young children, there is an 80 percent chance he's hitting an American.' Alkam, who lived for 25 years in California, denounced daily Israeli army incursions into the town 'for no reason' that often escalate rapidly and prove fatal for Palestinians, including children regularly shot for hurling rocks. He warned that with Trump's 'unconditional support' for the Israeli government, there will be even 'more violence with impunity' against Palestinians. Violence has surged since the October 2023 start of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, a separate Palestinian territory. At least 918 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops or settlers in the West Bank since then, according to Palestinian health ministry figures. 'Whether it's the Israeli army, settlers, or police -- the entire Palestinian people are being targeted,' said Shalabi.
