"We will enter Rafah, and we don't care about the court in The Hague; the court is anti-Semitic," explains Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Inputs that matter: "This will be the first time that a democratic country, which is fighting for its life according to all the rules of international law, is accused of war crimes," Netanyahu concludes.
- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Israel to push for a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas, saying "the time is now" for an agreement that would free hostages and bring a pause in the nearly seven months of war in Gaza.
- Meanwhile, a Texas city devastated by flooding after Hurricane Harvey is forcing recipients of financial aid to sign a pledge not to boycott Israel.
- The city's attorney said he was following a state law introduced in May that prohibits public bodies from giving contracts to companies that boycott Israel.
The opportunity: Ukraine will become a NATO member subject to reforms after the war, the military alliance's secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said on Monday.
- The International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered its preliminary ruling on Tuesday, saying it would not implement emergency measures to stop or limit Germany from providing weapons and other assistance to Israel for the conflict with militant-Islamist Hamas in Gaza.
- Nicaragua had brought the charges, claiming that Germany's actions breached the 1948 Genocide Convention by allowing violations of international humanitarian law in the Palestinian territory.
- Nicaragua, a country that has historic ties with the Palestinian people through migration, has requested several provisional measures against Germany.
Zoom in: New York City Hall has informed CBS News that there is evidence suggesting the presence of the wife of a known terrorist among the protestors on the Columbia University campus.
- Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has sentenced 29-year-old fitness instructor Manahel al-Otaibi to 11 years in jail because of her choice of clothing and women's rights advocacy.
Between the lines: The Houthis pledged in mid-March to extend missile attacks to include ships in the Indian Ocean diverting around the Cape of Good Hope.
- On April 24, the Houthis claimed to have targeted MSC Veracruz (IMO: 9287924), which was traveling via the Cape of Good Hope to Mina Khalifa/Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
- "This incident means that the threat has changed, particularly for Israeli ships or those linked to the U.K. or the U.S. that are operating within the assessed weapons range within the Indian Ocean," said EOS Risk Group head of advisory Martin Kelly.
- Iran is known to be supplying the Houthis with weaponry and equipment.
Follow the money: The war in Gaza and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine have a tremendous impact on global oil.
- A wave of Ukrainian drone strikes on oil refineries deep inside Russia has left the Kremlin racing to defend its territory.
- Moscow has scaled back its fuel exports to near-historic lows, shipping just over 712,000 tons of diesel and gasoil last week, compared to more than 844,000 during the same week in 2023.
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Read More
- https://twitter.com/Megatron_ron/status/1785337223409217873
- https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/texas-hurricane-aid-dickinson-israel-boycott-pledge-harvey-financial-help-free-speech-a8011141.html
- https://www.euronews.com/2023/11/28/nato-chief-says-ukraine-will-join-the-military-alliance-subject-to-reforms-after-the-war
- https://thehill.com/homenews/ap/ap-international/ap-blinken-urges-israel-and-hamas-to-move-ahead-with-a-cease-fire-deal-and-says-the-time-is-now/
- https://www.lloydslist.com/LL1149009/Houthis-deploy-new-weapons-to-secure-first-direct-hit-in-Indian-Ocean
- https://www.dw.com/en/un-court-rules-german-military-aid-to-israel-can-continue/a-68956989
- https://www.politico.eu/article/vladimir-putin-russia-diesel-prices-skyrocket-ukraine-war-drone-strikes-oil-refineries/