Israel's Bigotry
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Israel agrees to plan on Gaza polio vaccination: Blinken
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said Israel has agreed to support efforts to vaccinate Gazans for polio after the besieged territory reported its first case of the disease in 25 years, AFP reports.
“We’re working with the Israeli government on that, and I believe that we’ll be able to move forward with a plan to do that in the coming weeks. It is urgent. It is vital,” Blinken told reporters in Tel Aviv.
Pro-Palestinian protests loom ahead of first day of Democratic convention
Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters are expected to gather outside the Democratic National Convention on its opening day to assail the Biden administration’s position on Israel as it wages its military offensive in Gaza, Reuters reports.
A one-mile march organised by the umbrella group March on the DNC is to take place at a park outside the convention arena hours before President Joe Biden addresses the gathering where Democratic delegates will publicly nominate Vice President Kamala Harris as their presidential candidate.
Hamas, Islamic Jihad claim responsibility for Tel Aviv bomb blast
The armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad have claimed responsibility for a bomb blast near a synagogue in Tel Aviv that Israeli police and the Shin Bet intelligence agency described as a terrorist attack, Reuters reports.
A man who was carrying the bomb was killed and a passerby was injured in the incident late on Sunday, according to police at the scene.
Israeli army says soldier killed ‘during combat’ in north
The Israeli army has said that one of its soldiers was killed in the country’s north, where cross-border fire with Lebanese group Hezbollah has soared during the 10-month-old Gaza conflict, AFP reports.
Mahmood Amaria, a 45-year-old member of the Bedouin Trackers Unit, “fell during combat in northern Israel”, a military statement said.
Palestinian government begins preparations for President Mahmoud Abbas’ visit to Gaza
The Palestine government has initiated regional and international communications to ensure the success of President Mahmoud Abbas’ anticipated visit to the Gaza Strip, Anadolu reports.
The Palestinian leadership has already begun diplomatic moves and communications around the world in preparation for Abbas and his delegation’s visit to Gaza, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
To prepare for the visit, the Palestinian leadership has contacted the UN, UN Security Council members, Arab and Islamic nations, the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the European Union, and the African Union, among other key global powers, it said.
Gaza health ministry says death toll since Oct 7 at 40,139
The Gaza health ministry has said that at least 40,139 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory in more than 10 months of fighting with Israel, AFP reports.
The toll includes 40 deaths over the past 24 hours, according to ministry figures, which also listed 92,743 people as wounded in the Gaza Strip since October 7.
Protesters in Michigan demand end to Gaza conflict, access to reproductive rights
Hundreds of protesters on Sunday marched down Michigan Avenue, urging Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party to end the conflict in the Gaza Strip, as well as improve access to reproductive health care, Anadolu reports.
The first major protest, one of several planned, began Sunday evening near Trump Tower at the intersection of Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive, WTTW broadcaster reported.
Gaza death toll climbs: Health Ministry
40,139 Palestinians have been killed and 92,743 others injured in Israel’s offensive on Gaza since October 7, says Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Millions have been displaced and face grave humanitarian crisis as the war enters its 11th month.
Blinken on the ground for crucial ceasefire talks in Israel
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Tel Aviv – his 9th visit since October 7. Before his meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Blinken said this was a “decisive moment” to strike a ceasefire deal with Hamas and bring the captives home.
Israeli forces injured a female journalist
Israeli forces wound a Palestinian journalist covering the expanding ground invasion of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, after shooting her in the back.
Biden team keeps the faith in Gaza ceasefire efforts
US Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris said the Biden administration is “not giving up” on its efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza.
‘Rocket, heavy drone, attacks’ reported in northern Israel
Israel’s Ynetnews is reporting a “heavy drone, rocket” attack on the Western Galilee area in northern parts of the country.
The Israeli military said a “number of suspicious aerial targets” crossed from the territory of Lebanon and that its air defences had intercepted some of them.
Some of the projectiles fell in the Ya’ara region, it added.
Israeli forces re-arrest freed Palestinian
The Wafa news agency is reporting that Israeli soldiers have arrested Dania Hanatsheh, a student at Birzeit University, after raiding her family’s home in the town of Baqat al-Hatab in Qalqilya in the occupied West Bank.
Wafa said Hanatsheh was among the Palestinian prisoners released by Israel in a prisoner-captive exchange deal in late 2023.
Israeli soldiers also arrested a young man from Tulkarem at a military checkpoint near Jericho, the agency reported.
Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank have increased since the war on Gaza began in October, with some 10,000 Palestinians arrested since, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Club.
Israel plans to return 20 Palestinian patients from East Jerusalem to Gaza
The Wafa news agency is reporting that Israeli authorities are planning to send 20 Palestinian patients who had been receiving treatment at hospitals in East Jerusalem back to the Gaza Strip.
The agency cited the Israeli advocacy group, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHRI), and said the patients and their companions are due to be returned to Gaza later today.
The individuals – who include two cancer patients and a person who underwent open heart surgery – face severe health risks if returned to Gaza due to a lack of medical care and the ongoing conflict there, PHRI was quoted as saying.
“Israel’s decision to return patients to the Gaza Strip, after having devastated its healthcare system and continuing its attacks on it, is wrong from medical, legal, and moral perspectives” PHRI said.
“Continuous follow-up and access to appropriate health services are crucial to their care. This decision not only jeopardizes their health but also undermines the fundamental principle of continuity of care.”
Israel says investigation underway in Palestinian prisoner abuse case
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel is conducting a "robust investigation" of suspects accused of sexually abusing a Palestinian prisoner and is committed to upholding international legal standards regarding the treatment of detainees, the foreign affairs ministry said on Sunday (Aug 18).
The UN special rapporteur on torture on Friday condemned what she called a "particularly gruesome" case of the alleged sexual abuse of a Palestinian prisoner by Israeli soldiers and said the perpetrators must be held accountable.
Aid groups in Gaza aim to avert a polio outbreak with a surge of vaccinations
CAIRO (AP) — The threat of polio is rising fast in the Gaza Strip, prompting aid groups to call for an urgent pause in the war so they can ramp up vaccinations and head off a full-blown outbreak. One case has been confirmed, others are suspected and the virus was detected in wastewater in six different locations in July.
Polio was eradicated in Gaza 25 years ago, but vaccinations plunged after the war began 10 months ago and the territory has become a breeding ground for the virus, aid groups say. Hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are crowded into tent camps lacking clean water or proper disposal of sewage and garbage.
Blinken in Israel as Netanyahu, Hamas trade blame over Gaza talk
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel's under-pressure prime minister traded blame with Hamas militants on Sunday (Aug 18) for delays in reaching a Gaza truce accord as top US diplomat Antony Blinken landed in Tel Aviv to push for a deal.
Making his ninth trip to the Middle East since the Gaza war began when Hamas attacked Israel in October, the US secretary of state is to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders.
