![US President Joe Biden, a self-proclaimed Zionist, has been a staunch supporter of Israel [File: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters]](/Uploads/Images/News/2024/5/Image-2424-20240516083240.jpeg)
Rafah, US arms, UNRWA: How Biden defends supporting Israel amid Gaza war
Al Jazeera looks at the Biden administration’s rhetoric and policies on various issues related to Israel and Palestine.
“It’s wrong,” United States President Joe Biden said last week of the ongoing Israeli offensive against the southern Gaza city of Rafah, pledging to stop supplying offensive weapons if the assault proceeds.
One week later, however, Israeli forces have seized the Rafah border crossing and pushed into the city, where more than 1.5 million Palestinians are sheltering. Still, US media reported on Tuesday that Biden plans to advance a $1bn arms transfer to Israel, including tank shells.
Advocates say the apparent contradiction — between pressuring Israel to stop its offensive, then offering further weaponry — is part of a broader pattern whereby the US says one thing but does another.
“We’ve got a situation where the rhetoric is not matching the action,” said Hassan El-Tayyab, legislative director for Middle East policy at the advocacy group Friends Committee on National Legislation. “It’s obviously distressing seeing the US complicity in these horrific war crimes.”
Biden’s statements one week prior signalled to some advocates that Washington may finally use its leverage to pressure Israel to end its abuses against Palestinians.
In a CNN interview, the president said he would stop the transfer of artillery shells to Israel in the case of a Rafah invasion, and his administration ultimately withheld one shipment of heavy bombs over the assault.
India targets net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, says Modi
India’s economy will become carbon neutral by the year 2070, the country’s prime minster has announced at the COP26 climate crisis summit in Glasgow. The target date is two decades beyond what scientists say is needed to avert catastrophic climate impacts. India is the last of the world’s major carbon polluters to announce a net-zero target, with China saying it would reach that goal in 2060, and the United States and the European Union aiming for 2050.
COP26: What climate summit means for one woman in Bangladesh
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
Why China's climate policy matters to us all
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
Deliver on promises, developing world tells rich at climate talks
A crucial U.N. conference heard calls on its first day for the world's major economies to keep their promises of financial help to address the climate crisis, while big polluters India and Brazil made new commitments to cut emissions. World leaders, environmental experts and activists all pleaded for decisive action to halt the global warming which threatens the future of the planet at the start of the two-week COP26 summit in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Monday. The task facing negotiators was made even more daunting by the failure of the Group of 20 major industrial nations to agree ambitious new commitments at the weekend.