On Nakba Day, as Palestinians run for their lives, Biden advances $1 billion in arms sales to Israel – Day 221

The Washington Post reports: The Biden administration informally notified congressional committees Tuesday that it planned to move forward with more than $1 billion in weapons deals for Israel, said U.S. officials familiar with the matter, a major transfer of lethal aid that comes a week after the White House paused a single shipment of bombs due to concerns that a planned assault in southern Gaza could cause immense civilian casualties.

The arms deals allow for the potential transfer of $700 million in tank ammunition, $500 million in tactical vehicles and $60 million in mortar rounds, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter.

The decision underscores the administration’s reluctance to defy pro-Israel donors in the Democratic Party who criticized Biden’s decision to withhold a shipment last week that included controversial 2,000-pound bombs that have been involved in mass casualty events in Gaza.

Even though the shipments in the latest arms packages would not arrive imminently, critics say advancing the packages sends a message to Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that it can defy U.S. warnings about invading Rafah and not have to worry about the United States replenishing the munitions at a later date.

NOTE: Most Americans are opposed to arms transfers to Israel.

Biden would veto Israel assistance bill if it passes, White House says

The US is wrapping up a pier to bring aid to Gaza by sea. But danger and uncertainty lie ahead

Associated Press reports: In the coming days, the U.S. military in the eastern Mediterranean is expected to jab one end of a hulking metal dock — the length of five U.S. football fields — into a beach in northern Gaza.

And that may be the end of the easy part for the Biden administration’s two-month-long, $320 million effort to open a sea route to get humanitarian aid into Gaza, with dangers and uncertainties ahead for aid delivery teams as fighting surges and the plight of starving Palestinians grows more dire.

For President Joe Biden, the Pentagon’s new floating pier and causeway are a gamble, an attempted workaround to the challenges of getting aid into Gaza from intensifying war and the restrictions its ally Israel has placed at land crossings since Hamas’ deadly attacks on Israel launched the conflict in October.

Relief groups are watching to see if Israeli officials will allow a freer flow of food and other supplies through this sea route than they have by land and follow through on pledges to protect aid workers. They say protections for humanitarian workers have not improved and point to aid already piling up at Gaza’s border crossings, waiting for decisions by Israeli officials to distribute it.

Because land crossings could bring in all the needed aid if Israeli officials allowed, the U.S.-built pier and sea route “is a solution for a problem that doesn’t exist,” said Scott Paul, an associate director of the Oxfam humanitarian organization.

Travel ban overturned: Major victory for Prof. Ghassan Abu Sittah

International Center of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) reports: Professor Ghassan Abu Sittah has won a major victory over German authorities after a successful legal challenge to overturn his Schengen-area travel ban (the Schengen Area allows people to travel between 27 EU countries without border controls).

The successful legal challenge was led by lawyer Alexander Gorski, with support from lawyers from the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) and European Legal Support Centre (ELSC) on Professor Abu Sittah’s behalf.

Over the past few weeks, Professor Ghassan Abu Sittah has been prevented from traveling abroad to speak about the Israeli war crimes he witnessed during the 43 days that he worked as a war surgeon in Gaza, during Israel’s genocide against Palestinians.

Now a judge has ruled that the travel ban should be overturned. This is a significant victory for freedom of speech and a significant turning point in challenging the chilling environment that many Palestinian human rights advocates have to operate in.

Harvard students end protest as university agrees to discuss Middle East conflict

Associated Press reports: Protesters against the war between Israel and Gaza were voluntarily taking down their tents in Harvard Yard on Tuesday after university officials agreed to discuss their questions about the endowment, bringing a peaceful end to the kinds of demonstrations that were broken up by police on other campuses.

The student protest group Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine said in a statement that the encampment “outlasted its utility with respect to our demands.” Meanwhile, Harvard University interim President Alan Garber agreed to pursue a meeting between protesters and university officials regarding the students’ questions.

The protesters said they worked out an agreement to meet with university officials including the Harvard Management Company, which oversees the world’s largest academic endowment, valued at about $50 billion.

The protesters’ statement said the students will set an agenda including discussions on disclosure, divestment and reinvestment, and the creation of a Center for Palestine Studies. The students also said that Harvard has offered to retract the suspensions of more than 20 students and student workers and back down on disciplinary measures faced by 60 more.

Students all over Sweden are today joining the global student uprisings and are now occupying universities in Sweden, against the genocide in Palestine, for a permanent ceasefire and an end to the occupation. 🧵1/5 pic.twitter.com/8NLS0q34C2

— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) May 14, 2024