‘Gaza is America’s war and we can stop it the blink of an eye,’ US presidential candidate Jill Stein tells Arab News

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Updated 07 September 2024
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‘Gaza is America’s war and we can stop it the blink of an eye,’ US presidential candidate Jill Stein tells Arab News

‘Gaza is America’s war and we can stop it the blink of an eye,’ US presidential candidate Jill Stein tells Arab News
  • Green Party candidate says the billions of dollars in military aid given to Israel should be used to address American needs
  • Asked whether a third party could undercut the main candidates, Stein says Democrats and Republicans ‘don’t own those votes’

CHICAGO: Dr. Jill Stein, the US Green Party’s candidate for November’s presidential election, says Americans are losing “much needed benefits” due to tax money allegedly being redirected to fund Israel’s war in Gaza.

Speaking to The Ray Hanania Radio Show during an episode broadcast on Thursday, Stein accused the mainstream media and the Democrats of trying to block her candidacy to artificially strengthen the candidacy of Democratic Party nominee Kamala Harris.

She also said the US bore responsibility for the violence in Gaza, fueled by the perceived pro-Israel bias in the media and by politicians who received millions in campaign donations from pro-Israel political action committees to support the war.

“In the current case, the US is providing 80 percent of the weapons that are being used to murder women, children, and innocent civilians. We’re also providing money, military support and diplomatic cover and intelligence. So the US has total autonomy here,” she said.

“This is our war. It is really a misnomer in many ways to call this Israel’s war. This is the US’ war. We are in charge of this war and we can stop this war with the blink of an eye,” she added, urging voters not to get talked into “endorsing genocide.”

“There is no more critical of an issue than what’s going on right now in Gaza because this is really normalizing the torture and murder of children on an industrial scale. The destruction of international law and human rights.

“As Gaza goes, eventually we’re all gonna go. If we allow human rights to be systematically torn down and international law, the way it’s being done here, eventually that’s gonna rebound to us because the US has been the dominant power for the last several decades but we are no longer the dominant power economically and militarily.”

Stein said every vote for her candidacy and the Green Party could help bring an end not only to Israel’s war in Gaza but also to other conflicts around the world.

“What’s going on is terrible for the US and it’s terrible for Israel. We are hypocrites. We’re supposedly defending democracy, yet we are throwing candidates off the ballot here in our own country,” she said, referring to recent efforts by the Democratic Party in Montana, Nevada and Wisconsin to remove the Green Party from the ballot over alleged procedural issues.

“We’re also mobilizing Israel’s neighbors against Israel. In the countries that have had peace treaties, some of Israel’s most staunch partners, including Egypt and especially Jordan where there are huge rallies and demonstrations against Israel demanding the end of the peace treaty.”

Stein, who is Jewish American, has openly stated she supported Israel, Palestine, and the two-state solution, but has criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition, calling it “a fascist government” that was engaged in genocide.

She urged voters not to believe the one-sided picture often presented by politicians and the media, insisting that criticism of Israeli policies was “not antisemitism” but legitimate political discourse that must take place to make the US stronger.

“In the long-term interest of everyone in the region, the US and the Netanyahu government need to come into compliance with international law and specifically the rulings of the International Court of Justice,” she said.

“Which means an end to the genocide immediately and then a withdrawal to 1967 borders, which is what this agreement calls for. Withdrawal, an end to the occupation and an end to the ethnic cleansing, which has been going on for a very long time,” she said, referring to the civilian death toll of more than 40,000, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

“To criticize Israel should not be conflated with antisemitism. Zionism and Judaism are very different things. Zionism is a political ideology. It is not the Jewish religion. There are many strong proponents of the Jewish religion who are fierce opponents of Zionism.”

Instead of financing Israel’s military campaigns, Stein said the next US president should “fund solutions” to improve the lives of Americans by addressing affordable healthcare, creating more jobs, improving education for children and strengthening social security for seniors and retirees.

Both the Democrats and Republicans were instead sending US tax money to Israel while depriving public services of the funding they need, she said.

“Half of the Congressional budget is being spent on the endless war machine,” she said, referring to legislation providing $12.5 billion in military aid to Israel, which includes $3.8 billion from a bill in March and $8.7 billion from a supplemental appropriations act in April.

Although this is in no way half of the Congressional budget, which is worth $6.8 trillion, Stein said the outlay nonetheless meant “we are not meeting the emergencies that we have on healthcare, housing, education and the environment.”

“So this is a disaster for every American, and it’s really important that we not be talked into drinking the Kool-Aid,” she said, using a term that means having a cult-like faith in a dangerous idea because of wrongly perceived rewards.

Stein, who ran for the presidency in 2012 and 2016, said she was again putting her name on the ballot because she was concerned about the problems that Americans were facing, which she believes neither of the two main parties are addressing.

Americans “need a new political option that is in the public interest,” she said, insisting the Green Party offered a greater focus on American needs than either the Republicans or the Democrats.

On the same episode of The Ray Hanania Radio Show, in an interview recorded a couple of days earlier, former Chicago Congressman Bill Lipinski — who represented one of the largest concentrations of Arab and Muslim voters in the US — said American voters should not take the role of third-party candidates like Stein for granted.

Although it is extremely difficult for a third-party candidate to break the two-party system and win a presidential election, Lipinski said they could have a disproportionate impact on the outcome, particularly in swing states where every vote counted.

Given today’s polarized, emotion-driven politics, Lipinski said the US election system should be changed to better accommodate third-party candidates.

“At times I would like to see a third party. There are other times when I think (it is better having just) two parties. In another time in another place, two parties were sufficient. Today, I don’t believe that’s the case,” he said.

“Today I would really like to see a third party because, unfortunately, the Republicans are controlled to a great extent nowadays by their extreme right wing, the Democrats by their extreme left wing. That’s not good for the parties. Nor is it good for the country.”

The Green Party has run candidates in several presidential elections, often making a significant impact on the final outcome. Ralph Nader, the party’s candidate in the 2000 poll, drew votes away from Democratic Vice President Al Gore, contributing to his loss to Republican George W. Bush.

When Stein ran as the Green Party candidate in 2016, she drew significant support away from Democrat Hillary Clinton, who lost to Republican Donald Trump.

To those who might argue that a vote for the Green Party means splitting the progressive vote, making it easier for the Republicans to succeed, Stein insisted that neither the Democrats or Republicans “own those votes.”

“They don’t belong to parties. They belong to people.”

You can listen to the full interview with US presidential candidate Jill Stein and former US Congressman Bill Lipinski online at ArabNews.com/RayRadioShow.

 


Green Party candidate Jill Stein sees ‘no lesser evil’ between Harris, Trump

Green Party candidate Jill Stein sees ‘no lesser evil’ between Harris, Trump
Updated 07 October 2024
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Green Party candidate Jill Stein sees ‘no lesser evil’ between Harris, Trump

Green Party candidate Jill Stein sees ‘no lesser evil’ between Harris, Trump
  • Stein says Democrats losing Arab-Muslim vote in battleground states
  • Stein warns support for Israel may cost Harris election

DEARBORN, Michigan: Widespread anger among Arab Americans and Muslims over US support for Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon could cost Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, the election, Green Party candidate Jill Stein told Reuters on Sunday.
Polls show Stein garnering just 1 percent in the Nov. 5 election, while Harris and her Republican rival, former President Donald Trump, are almost tied with 49 percent and 48 percent.
But Stein has seen growing support among Arab Americans and Muslims in battleground states like Michigan, Arizona and Wisconsin where they have large populations that helped propel President Joe Biden to victory in the 2020 election.
“The Democrats have lost the Muslim American and the Arab American vote,” Stein told Reuters after a rally attended by about 100 people in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn.
“They’re going to be losing enough swing states that they will not win and they cannot win.”
A Cook Political Report poll conducted from Sept. 19-25 showed Harris leading or tied with Trump in nearly all seven states that could decide the election — Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada, Georgia and North Carolina.
But Stein, who has been campaigning on a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and an immediate US arms embargo on Israel, won 40 percent of the Muslim vote in Michigan in an August poll by the Council on American Islamic Relations, that also put her ahead of Harris and Trump among Muslims in Arizona and Wisconsin.
Democrats could win back those voters if they demanded and work to enact an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon, and also halted arms sales to Israel, but there was no sign of such action, she said.
The Biden administration, along with several US allies like France, has called for an immediate 21-day ceasefire across the Israel-Lebanon border and has long expressed support for a ceasefire in Gaza, but agreements have been elusive.
Asked about her potential function as a “spoiler,” Stein said another Trump presidency would be “terrible” but so would four more years of Democratic rule, given high rental costs, the wars in Gaza and Lebanon, and attacks on civil liberties.
“This is a very dire situation that will be continued under both Democrats and Republicans. So we say there is no lesser evil in this race,” she said.
Harris has increased her outreach in recent days, meeting with a small group of Arab American and Muslim leaders in Flint, Michigan, on Friday, and dispatching her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, to take part in a Muslim Zoom call.
Farah Khan, co-chair of the Abandon Harris campaign in Michigan, said she would vote for a third-party candidate. “We are trying to ... punish Harris,” she said. “We may not be in a large (enough) number to put somebody in office, but we are definitely in the numbers to take somebody out of the office.”
Trump is also wooing Arab and Muslim voters and his campaign opened an office on Saturday in Hamtramck, a Detroit suburb whose Yemeni-American mayor Amer Ghalib has endorsed Trump.
Stein said Harris was also losing support among some union workers, Black men and Latinos, many of whom had drifted away from their traditional support for the Democratic party.
“Working people feel abandoned and betrayed by the Democratic Party,” she said. “It’s not like the Republicans are making things good for working people, but because the Democrats make promises and betray them, they seem to be punished by their traditional base,” she said. “That train has left the station.”


International rescue teams arrive in Bosnia after devastating floods and landslides

International rescue teams arrive in Bosnia after devastating floods and landslides
Updated 07 October 2024
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International rescue teams arrive in Bosnia after devastating floods and landslides

International rescue teams arrive in Bosnia after devastating floods and landslides
  • At least 15 people were reported killed and more were missing when a flash flood swept through the Jablanica area, southwest of Sarajevo on Oct. 4, 2024
  • Ecologists said the floods were particularly damaging because of years of neglect of river beds, deforestation and uncontrolled construction

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina: Rescue teams from Bosnia’s neighbors and European Union countries on Sunday were joining efforts to clear the rubble and find people still missing from floods and landslides that devastated parts of the Balkan country.
Bosnia sought EU help after a heavy rainstorm overnight on Friday left entire areas under water and debris destroyed roads and bridges, killing at least 18 people and wounding dozens.
“Our hearts and thoughts are with the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina, hit by devastating floods,” EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X. “We have activated our EU Civil Protection Mechanism and are sending rescue teams on the ground. This is EU solidarity in action.”
Officials said that at least 10 people are still unaccounted for, many of them in the village of Donja Jablanica, in southern Bosnia, which was almost completely buried in rocks and rubble from a quarry on a hill above.
Residents there have said they heard a thundering rumble and saw houses disappear before their eyes.
“We heard water and rock coming down from the hill. I told my son, Let’s go up to the attic, we don’t know what’s going to happen,” recalled Munevera Dautbegovic. “In the morning when we got out, we saw large amount of sand around.”

Regional Gov. Nermin Niksic visited the village on Sunday, promising help to rebuild. “All material damage can be compensated somehow but human lives cannot. Grief will stay on.”
 

 

A meteorologist Nedim Sladic told N1 TV that in under six hours, the region around Jablanica received as much rain as usually falls in three or four months.
Ecologists say the floods in Bosnia have been particularly damaging because years of neglect of river beds, deforestation and uncontrolled construction and exploitation of wood and stone have aggravated the impact of climate change.

Other parts of Europe have also been hard hit by flooding as well as extreme heat and wildfires.
“Everything that my father created and that I have created after him disappeared in 30 minutes,” Admir Poturovic, another resident of Trusina said.
“But life goes on. One has to move on” he said.

Earlier on Sunday, Luigi Soreca, who heads the EU mission in Bosnia, said on X that teams wer arriving to help. Bosnia is a candidate country for membership in the 27-nation bloc.
Authorities said Croatian rescuers have already arrived while a team from Serbia is expected to be deployed in the afternoon, followed by a Slovenian team with dogs. Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Czechia and Turkiye have also offered help, a government statement said.
Sunday is the date of a local election in Bosnia. Election authorities have postponed voting in the flood-hit regions, but the flooding has overshadowed the vote across the country.
Ismeta Bucalovic, a resident of Sarajevo, Bosnia’s capital, said “we are all overwhelmed by these flooding events. We all think only about that.”
Impoverished and ethnically divided, Bosnia has struggled to recover after the brutal war in 1992-95. The country is plagued by political bickering and corruption, stalling its EU bid.

 


Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election

Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
Updated 07 October 2024
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Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election

Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
  • Harris has faced criticism for seemingly avoiding one-on-one interviews with national media since she took over as the Democratic nominee, and Trump hammered away at this Sunday

WASHINGTON: With just one month left in a deadlocked US presidential election, Donald Trump urged supporters Sunday in battleground Wisconsin to get out the vote, as Kamala Harris kicked off a week-long media interview blitz with a focus on reproductive rights.
Polls have the Republican and Democrat candidates neck and neck, fueling a high-cost, high-intensity scramble for each and every wavering voter in the seven key states that are likely to decide the outcome on November 5.
Trump lost Wisconsin in 2020 and this was his fourth visit in eight days. Harris was there earlier this week, holding a rally in Ripon, birthplace of the Republican Party, where she appealed to moderate and disgruntled conservatives.
“I’m only asking you to do one thing,” Trump told the crowd in the town of Juneau. “Just go out and vote.”
Trump also repeated false allegations that the Biden-Harris administration had redirected relief funds for areas devastated by Hurricane Helene and spent it on migrant programs.
Harris, he said, is “someone who steals your wealth and abandons your family when the flood waters rise.”
Harris has faced criticism for seemingly avoiding one-on-one interviews with national media since she took over as the Democratic nominee, and Trump hammered away at this Sunday.
“She doesn’t do interviews because she can’t answer the questions. She can’t answer anything,” he said.
In her bid to reach key voters, the vice president is taking to the airwaves in the coming week with a host of television, radio and podcast appearances.
Harris began her media flurry with an appearance Sunday on the podcast “Call Her Daddy” — one of the most popular programs on Spotify — that focuses on advice and issues affecting women.
She addressed reproductive rights — which Democrats view as a major vote winner among undecided voters, especially women.
At one point Harris was asked how she felt when she heard Trump, in their presidential debate last month, say that some Democratic states allow the “execution” of babies after birth.
In an impassioned reply, Harris denounced that as “a bold-faced lie,” something “outrageously inaccurate” and “insulting to women.”
“This guy,” she added, “is full of lies.”
Asked how she was feeling with just a month to go before the election, the vice president replied, “nervous” — then jokingly mentioned what she called an old adage: “there are only two ways to run: without an opponent or scared.”
Trump’s visit to Wisconsin came on the back of a theatrical campaign return on Saturday to the same venue in Butler, Pennsylvania where he narrowly avoided a would-be assassin’s bullet back in July.
The former president campaign’s team had hoped to recapture the momentum he enjoyed at that time — riding high in the polls before President Joe Biden upended the race by withdrawing and being replaced by Harris.
In a long, often rambling speech delivered from behind bulletproof glass, Trump suggested his political opponents may have been behind the failed assassination bid.
“Those who want to stop us... have slandered me, impeached me, indicted me, tried to throw me off the ballot, and who knows, maybe even tried to kill me,” he told tens of thousands of supporters who had gathered for the event.
The gunman, who was shot dead, was a registered Republican and investigators have found no motive — and no political link — to his attempt on the former president’s life.
Harris spent Saturday in North Carolina, meeting relief workers and residents in one of the areas most impacted by Helene, which left a trail of destruction across half a dozen states and more than 220 people dead.
Later in the week, she will also be a guest on ABC’s “The View,” as well as “The Howard Stern Show” and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” — all of which are seen as generally sympathetic to the Harris campaign.
And former president Barack Obama will add his star power by stumping for Harris in key swing states from Thursday right through until election day, the campaign says.


ICC pursues arrest warrants for key figures

ICC pursues arrest warrants for key figures
Updated 07 October 2024
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ICC pursues arrest warrants for key figures

ICC pursues arrest warrants for key figures
  • When asked by NPR (National Public Radio) if he agreed with this assessment, Khan responded: “No is the short answer”

NEW YORK: In May, the International Criminal Court sought arrest warrants for several key Palestinian and Israeli figures.

These were: Hamas leader Yehya Sinwar, the architect of the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel; Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, commonly known as Deif, commander-in-chief of Hamas’s military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades; Ismail Haniyeh, the former head of the Hamas Political Bureau, assassinated by Israel in July; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Karim Khan, the chief ICC prosecutor, accused these leaders of bearing criminal responsibility for a range of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Regarding the Hamas leaders, Khan said that there were reasonable grounds to believe they were criminally responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Israeli civilians during the Oct. 7 attacks and for the abduction of at least 245 hostages. “We submit that these crimes could not have been committed without their actions,” Khan said in a statement.

Khan further asserted that Netanyahu and Gallant are criminally responsible for war crimes, including the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury, intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population, extermination and/or murder, persecution and other inhumane acts.

Last week, Israel’s foreign ministry filed a petition to appeal against the warrant, stating that the ICC failed to “provide Israel with the opportunity to exercise its right to investigate the claims raised by the prosecutor before proceeding.”

Karim Khan, prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, speaks during a meeting of the UN Security Council. (Shutterstock)

When asked by NPR (National Public Radio) if he agreed with this assessment, Khan responded: “No is the short answer.” He reiterated that his office is investigating crimes alleged against Hamas and Israeli leaders, noting: “There were no applications by Israel since 2021 until today. But we’ll deal with the filings in the normal way. It would only be right to respond first to the judges.”

US President Joe Biden criticized Khan’s move as “outrageous,” asserting that the application for warrants against Israeli leaders implies an equivalence between Hamas and Israel. Some US legislators condemned the ICC, with certain Republicans threatening to impose “consequences” against the tribunal. Republican Senator Tom Cotton labeled Khan’s move as “a farce.”

Khan in response said: “As an officer of the court, the umbrella of the law should apply equally. And I have just as much compassion for Kfir Bibas, who was a 10-month-old snatched from a kibbutz that I visited and taken by Hamas, as I do for children 10 months old or younger or older that have also died in Gaza.”

When asked by Arab News if he supports arrest warrants against Sinwar and Netanyahu, UN chief Antonio Guterres was unequivocal: “I support all the decisions of the ICC.”

Pascale Baeriswyl, the Swiss UN ambassador and president of the Security Council for October, also expressed her country’s support for the ICC.

She told Arab News: “We do support the ICC. We have been strong supporters for many years,” she said, adding that they await the pre-trial chamber’s decisions before proceeding further.

Baeriswyl responded to concerns about US politicians attacking the international court, stating that Switzerland has “been one of the very active ICC member states in the past, trying to protect the court.” She emphasized that the court must be able to fulfill its mandate without intimidation and called for protection of the court’s work.

Khan had asserted: “Let us today be clear on one core issue: if we do not demonstrate our willingness to apply the law equally, if it is seen as being applied selectively, we will be creating the conditions for its collapse. In doing so, we will be loosening the remaining bonds that hold us together, the stabilizing connections between all communities and individuals, the safety net to which all victims look in times of suffering. This is the true risk we face in this moment.

“Now, more than ever, we must collectively demonstrate that international humanitarian law, the foundational baseline for human conduct during conflict, applies to all individuals and applies equally across the situations addressed by my office and the court. This is how we will prove, tangibly, that the lives of all human beings have equal value.”

 

 


Has the UN failed the Gaza test?

Has the UN failed the Gaza test?
Updated 06 October 2024
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Has the UN failed the Gaza test?

Has the UN failed the Gaza test?
  • UN chief defends group’s actions against accusation it is not doing enough for Palestine

NEW YORK: As the war in Gaza continues unchecked, many across the Middle East and the world believe the UN has failed the Gaza test.

They feel that fear of confronting the US and Israel has led the organization to retreat from the very international laws it was created to uphold, undermining its own credibility.

However, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres insists that “there is no fear in the UN Secretariat building to confront anybody.”

In an interview with Arab News on the sidelines of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, Guterres stated: “If I can be proud of anything, it is that my voice has been loud and clear in defense of the UN Charter, in defense of international law, in defense of international humanitarian law, and in defense of the right to self-determination of peoples, particularly the Palestinian people.

We have no real power, let’s be honest. The body of the UN that holds some power is the Security Council, and that body is paralyzed.

Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General

“I don’t think the UN can be accused of not being very clear in all these aspects, just as we have been clear in Ukraine and many other situations around the world.”

Guterres argues that blaming the UN for the failure to end the war in Gaza distracts from the real culprits: “Let’s be clear. The responsibility for the war lies with those who wage it.

“Could the UN have done more? I genuinely never felt we had the opportunity to do more than what we have done from the very beginning.

“We have called for a ceasefire, the release of hostages, and effective humanitarian aid since the start. Our voice has been loud and clear.

Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General

“We have pressured all parties, especially those with direct influence over Israel. But let’s be honest: It’s impossible to convince those who do not want to be convinced.”

Guterres further emphasized: “We have no real power, let’s be honest. The body of the UN that holds some power is the Security Council, and that body is paralyzed.”

The primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security lies with the Security Council.

However, the dynamics and composition of this 15-member body reflect the historical context in which the UN was established in 1945, following the Second World War.

The veto power was granted to the victorious nations, which now include China, the UK, Russia, France, and the UK.

Tarek Al-Banai, Kuwait’s permanent representative to the UN, who has led negotiations for Security Council reforms alongside his Austrian counterpart for the past two years, highlighted the troubling reality that a single veto-wielding permanent member can obstruct action, even when a majority supports a motion.

He told Arab News: “The use or misuse of the veto has been a central focus for member states.

“Unfortunately, one member or a combination of members with that ability can halt the international community’s movement toward addressing critical issues, such as the genocide currently happening in Gaza.”

This unconditional US military and diplomatic support for Israel has been especially evident during the current war in Gaza, exacerbating internal divisions within the Security Council and severely impacting its ability to act. Since Oct. 7 of last year, the US has exercised its veto power four times against resolutions calling for ceasefires or humanitarian pauses in Gaza.

Despite this, the Security Council did manage to pass three resolutions — two concerning the entry of aid and one calling for a ceasefire during Ramadan.

However, even when the US abstained on Resolution 2728, allowing it to pass, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield undermined it by claiming it was non-binding, further weakening the Security Council and deepening divisions, reinforcing what many have described as US and Western “double standards.”

Nonetheless, the Security Council is just one institution among many within the UN system.

While these entities are interconnected, their responsibilities and approaches to conflict vary significantly.

These include the secretary-general, the General Assembly, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, the World Health Organization, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Human Rights Council, the International Court of Justice, and UNICEF.

Guterres, who identifies as a humanitarian, expressed to Arab News that he has been “deeply saddened” by his inability to do more for Gaza, where the humanitarian crisis has reached catastrophic levels and the specter of famine looms over the embattled enclave.

“There have consistently been a series of obstacles — many caused directly by the Israeli authorities, as well as by insecurity in the area, where law and order have completely broken down,” he said.

“The proof that we are not doing more due to these obstacles is evident in the vaccination efforts for polio. When these obstacles are removed, humanitarian action becomes possible.

“It’s not that the UN isn’t capable of doing more; it’s that we have not been allowed to. When we are permitted to act, we do and we deliver, as evidenced by our past actions.

“However, I always say there is no humanitarian solution to humanitarian problems; the solution is always political.

“That is why we need to stop the war. We must create a clear roadmap for a two-state solution, one that aligns with the international community’s previous deliberations and allows Israelis and Palestinians to live together in peace and security.”