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Pence Moves Visit Date a 2nd Time, Hoping to Be Hosted in Bethlehem

Mike Pence speaks at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, US July 20, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Mike Pence speaks at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, US July 20, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
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Pence Moves Visit Date a 2nd Time, Hoping to Be Hosted in Bethlehem

Mike Pence speaks at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, US July 20, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Mike Pence speaks at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, US July 20, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Israeli political sources blamed US Vice President Mike Pence’s decision to postpone his scheduled visit to the Middle East, which starts in Egypt and ends in Israel, mid-this month, mainly to Palestinians refusing to host him and rejecting US mediation in negotiations to settle the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Palestinians took a definitive stance against US mediation following the United States showing bias and recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

These sources said that Pence shifting the visit’s time for the second time in the past two weeks confirms that the Americans still hope "the Palestinians change their position and receive him in Bethlehem, with the aim towards resolving the differences arising from the promise US President Trump made and to examine the possibility of resuming negotiations."

Initially, the visit was scheduled for December 20, and was postponed until further notice.

The White House then announced that the postponement is so that Pence could stay in Washington until the vote on the "tax cuts" bill was finished.

Later on, the White House confirmed that the visit would take place on January 14, however the list of officials expected to arrive in the country this month in Tel Aviv, did not include Pence.

Israeli authorities said "Pence's visit to Israel, which was scheduled for mid-January, did not show up on the list of foreign officials visiting Israel during this month due to a number of difficulties regarding the overall agenda”.

Although the White House made it clear that the vice president plans to arrive in Israel at the end of this month, Israeli sources have questioned it actually taking place, asserting that PM Benjamin Netanyahu plans to visit India, Munich and Davos by the end of January.

Pence’s visit will be the first of a senior US official to Israel since Trump announced on December 6 Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

If received by the Palestinians, it will be the first public meetings between them and US officials after the announcement.

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US Determines Sudan's RSF Committed Genocide, Imposes Sanctions on Leader

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
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US Determines Sudan's RSF Committed Genocide, Imposes Sanctions on Leader

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)

The United States determined on Tuesday that members of Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias committed genocide in Sudan and it imposed sanctions on the group's leader over a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people and driven millions from their homes.

The moves deal a blow to the RSF's attempts to burnish its image and assert legitimacy - including by installing a civilian government- as the paramilitary group seeks to expand its territory beyond the roughly half of the country it currently controls.

The RSF rejected the measures.

"America previously punished the great African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela, which was wrong. Today, it is rewarding those who started the war by punishing (RSF leader) General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, which is also wrong," said an RSF spokesman when reached for comment.

The war in Sudan has produced waves of ethnically driven violence blamed largely on the RSF. It has also carried out mass looting campaigns across swathes of the country, arbitrarily killing and sexually assaulting civilians in the process.

The RSF denies harming civilians and attributes the activity to rogue actors it says it is trying to control.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement the RSF and aligned militias had continued to direct attacks against civilians, adding they had systematically murdered men and boys on an ethnic basis and had deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of sexual violence.

The militias have also targeted fleeing civilians and murdered innocent people escaping conflict, Blinken said.

"The United States is committed to holding accountable those responsible for these atrocities," Blinken said.

Washington announced sanctions on the leader of the RSF, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, barring him and his family from travelling to the US and freezing any US assets he might hold. Financial institutions and others that engage in certain activity with him also risk being hit with sanctions themselves.

It had previously sanctioned other leaders, as well as army officials, but had not sanctioned Dagalo, known as Hemedti, as attempts to bring the two sides to talks continued.

Such attempts have stalled in recent months.

"As the overall commander of the RSF, Hemedti bears command responsibility for the abhorrent and illegal actions of his forces," the Treasury said.

Sudan's army and RSF have been fighting for almost two years, creating a humanitarian crisis in which UN agencies struggle to deliver relief. More than half of Sudan's population faces hunger, and famine has been declared in several areas.

The war erupted in April 2023 amid a power struggle between the army and RSF ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule.

Blinken said in the statement that "both belligerents bear responsibility for the violence and suffering in Sudan and lack the legitimacy to govern a future peaceful Sudan."

The US has sanctioned army leaders as well as individuals and entities linked to financing its weapons procurement. Last year, Blinken accused the RSF and the army, which has carried out numerous indiscriminate air strikes, of war crimes.