May 4, 2024
Protests on US campuses against Gaza war wane
Long-running protests on US university campuses against the Israeli offensive in Gaza appear to be on the decline following a massive police clampdown.
More than 2,000 arrests have been made in the past two weeks across the country, with police sometimes accused of using disproportionate force to disperse protesters.
In several cases, university administrators have made deals with protesters so that year-end exams and graduation ceremonies can proceed without disruption.
Some rallies, notably at the University of Chicago and the University of California, Los Angeles, saw violent clashes when protesters’ encampments were attacked by counterprotesters.
President Joe Biden on Thursday said that while the US allowed dissent, this should be expressed within certain bounds.
“We’re a civil society, and order must prevail,” he said.
Similar protest camps have popped up in countries around the world, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany and Mexico.
https://p.dw.com/p/4fV0t
May 4, 2024
Israeli offensive in Rafah would cause unacceptable damage: Blinken
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has reiterated his warnings against a planned major Israeli offensive on the crowded city of Rafah in Gaza .
Blinken told a high-level political forum in Arizona that Israel had not yet presented “a credible plan to genuinely protect the civilians who are in harm’s way.”
“Absent such a plan, we can’t support a major military operation going into Rafah because the damage it would do is beyond what’s acceptable,” Blinken said.
Blinken was speaking two days after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top leaders on his latest visit to the Middle East.
Ahead of the talks with Blinken, Netanyahu vowed to push ahead with an assault on Rafah, which he says aims to root out the Islamist militant group Hamas in the region.
Hamas carried out a raid on southern Israel on October 7 in which 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, were killed, and some 250 taken hostage. Israel, the United States, Germany and other nations classify Hamas as a terrorist organization.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 34,622 people in Gaza, according to the territory’s Hamas-run Health Ministry.
https://p.dw.com/p/4fUxE
May 4, 2024
Hamas delegation due in Cairo for cease-fire talks
A delegation from the Islamist militant group Hamas will head to Cairo on Saturday to continue talks on a cease-fire proposal, the group said on Friday.
“While we emphasize the positive spirit with which the movement’s leadership responded when it studied the cease-fire proposal that it recently received, we are going to Cairo in the same spirit to reach an agreement,” a Hamas statement said.
A Hamas source told the German dpa news agency some points still required discussion and that when these had been clarified, the group would announce its final decision.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that Hamas was “the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a cease-fire.”
Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been mediating between Israel and Hamas for months to obtain an end to fighting in the Gaza Strip, so far without success.
tj/sms (AP, AFP, DPA, Reuters)
https://p.dw.com/p/4fUx3
David Turner is a globe-trotting journalist who brings a global perspective to our readers. With a commitment to shedding light on international events, he explores complex geopolitical issues, offering a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
