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London Refers British Arms Export to Israel to Judiciary

Pro-Palestine demonstrations outside an arms manufacturer in London. (dpa) 
Pro-Palestine demonstrations outside an arms manufacturer in London. (dpa) 
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London Refers British Arms Export to Israel to Judiciary

Pro-Palestine demonstrations outside an arms manufacturer in London. (dpa) 
Pro-Palestine demonstrations outside an arms manufacturer in London. (dpa) 

British arms export licenses to Israel are under growing scrutiny over claims that international law has been broken in the war in Gaza, with a court set to rule on the divisive matter.

In a joint statement on Wednesday, a group of 16 international humanitarian and rights organizations revealed that a large proportion of the arms used by Israel come from Britain.

Israel has been in a state of war with Hamas since the unprecedented attack by the Palestinian movement on October 7.

The contentious issue surfaced on Wednesday when an opposition Labor lawmaker accused Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of having "the blood of thousands of innocent people on his hands."

Foreign Secretary David Cameron, who is visiting the Middle East, has been criticized for a lack of transparency over his role in helping sales.

In London, a coalition of legal advocacy groups is asking the High Court to expedite a judicial review of the UK government's decision to keep selling military parts and arms to Israel.

Britain's strategic licensing criteria state that weapons should not be exported when there is a clear risk they could be used in international humanitarian law violations.

The court claimants, led by Palestinian rights group Al-Haq and including the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), argue that the government is ignoring its own rules in the Gaza conflict.

"This case is a test for the credibility of the national arms control system, including the role of the courts in monitoring that," Dearbhla Minogue, GLAN's senior lawyer, told Agence France Presse.

The UK case comes after a Dutch court ruled last month that the Netherlands can continue to deliver F-35 parts to Israel and threw out a case brought by human rights organizations.

The court in The Hague said that supplying parts was primarily a political decision that judges should not interfere with.

Documents submitted this month by government lawyers in the London case highlighted internal deliberations over the licenses and how Israel is conducting the war.

A January 12 summary showed foreign ministry officials advising on the licenses had "serious concerns" about aspects of the Israeli military campaign.

It said officials were "unable to make a conclusive determination of Israel's record of compliance, to date" with international humanitarian law.

The 22-page legal filing revealed that International Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch -- who is ultimately responsible for the licenses -- nonetheless decided on December 18 not to suspend or revoke any licenses.

Instead, she opted to keep them "under careful review."

That was in line with a recommendation six days earlier from Cameron.

He "was satisfied that there was good evidence to support a judgment that Israel is committed to comply with" humanitarian law, according to the legal submission.

Dearbhla Minogue, GLAN's senior lawyer, hit out at that assessment.

"The UK's defense has made it clear that they have not stood back and looked at all of the evidence objectively," she added.

Meanwhile, Cameron has been accused of evasion for failing to disclose his advice and foreign office concerns when lawmakers quizzed him on January 9.

During questions about whether government lawyers had shared assessments that Israel had breached international law in Gaza, he appeared unsure.

"I cannot recall every single bit of paper that has been put in front of me. I look at everything," Cameron said.

He eventually answered "no" before adding: "It is not really a yes or no answer."

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Biden Plans Public Events Blitz as White House Pushes Back on Pressure to Leave the Race

President Joe Biden greets employees at the D.C. Emergency Operations Center after receiving a briefing on extreme weather a briefing from National Weather Service, Department of Homeland Security, FEMA and Department of Labor officials on extreme weather throughout the United States, in Washington, DC, USA, 02 July 2024. (EPA)
President Joe Biden greets employees at the D.C. Emergency Operations Center after receiving a briefing on extreme weather a briefing from National Weather Service, Department of Homeland Security, FEMA and Department of Labor officials on extreme weather throughout the United States, in Washington, DC, USA, 02 July 2024. (EPA)
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Biden Plans Public Events Blitz as White House Pushes Back on Pressure to Leave the Race

President Joe Biden greets employees at the D.C. Emergency Operations Center after receiving a briefing on extreme weather a briefing from National Weather Service, Department of Homeland Security, FEMA and Department of Labor officials on extreme weather throughout the United States, in Washington, DC, USA, 02 July 2024. (EPA)
President Joe Biden greets employees at the D.C. Emergency Operations Center after receiving a briefing on extreme weather a briefing from National Weather Service, Department of Homeland Security, FEMA and Department of Labor officials on extreme weather throughout the United States, in Washington, DC, USA, 02 July 2024. (EPA)

The White House announced Tuesday that President Joe Biden will meet with congressional leaders and Democratic governors, sit for a network TV interview and hold a press conference in the coming days, a blitz designed to push back against growing pressure for the 81-year-old president to step aside in the 2024 race after his disastrous performance in last week’s debate with Republican Donald Trump.

“We really want to turn the page on this,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said of the intensifying calls for Biden to bow out of the race. She added that the president had no intention of stepping aside, characterizing his debate failings as simply evidence of “a bad night” when he had a cold.

But Democratic leaders were increasingly signaling that they were not buying White House attempts to brush off Biden's performance in the face-off as a momentary lapse, after he gave halting and nonsensical answers and trailed off at times.

There's growing anxiety among donors and on Capitol Hill about the president's ability to win come November, according to people who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss internal conversations. And it's not helping that Biden has yet to reach out to legislators, who are growing increasingly frustrated that the White House has not satisfactorily explained how such a seasoned politician could have performed so badly.

Questions swirled about whether this was an isolated incident or part of a pattern. Two people who spend time with Biden behind closed doors described him similarly: He was often very sharp and focused. But he also had moments, particularly later in the evening, when his thoughts seemed jumbled and he'd trail off mid-sentence or seem confused. Those people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the president's interactions behind closed doors.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told MSNBC that she believes “it is a legitimate question” whether Biden’s performance was just “an episode or is this a condition.”

“When people ask that question, it’s legitimate — of both candidates,” Pelosi said.

But she did not go so far as to ask him to step aside. Pelosi said she had not spoken with Biden since the debate, but she emphasized that the president is on “top of his game, in terms of knowing the issues and what is at stake.” And a spokesperson later said Pelosi had full confidence in Biden and "looks forward to attending his inauguration on January 20, 2025.”

Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas became the first Democratic member of Congress to publicly call for Biden to step down. Doggett, who is 77 and has been a fixture on Capitol Hill since the mid-1990s, said Biden should “make the painful and difficult decision” to withdraw, citing the president's inability to “effectively defend his many accomplishments” in the debate.

Rep. Jared Golden, a moderate Democrat from Maine, said in a local newspaper column Tuesday that the debate “didn’t rattle me as it has others, because the outcome of this election has been clear to me for months: While I don’t plan to vote for him, Donald Trump is going to win. And I’m OK with that.”

Biden has acknowledged that he had performed poorly, telling supporters he was not as young as he once was, but that he knew how to deliver doing the job. But allies worry that the next inevitable misstep by Biden — even if it’s not at the magnitude of his debate disaster — will resurrect voter concerns about the president’s fitness for office.

The president has been encouraged by his family to stay in the race. The two people who carry the most weight — first lady Jill Biden and his son Hunter — have said he should keep fighting. Hunter Biden is in Washington to celebrate the July 4th holiday and stopped by at least one meeting with his father briefly, according to two people with direct knowledge of the events who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss a private meeting.

Jean-Pierre said Biden, who has not taken questions from reporters since Thursday night’s debate, would meet with top congressional leaders, and on Wednesday would host a meeting with Democratic governors. White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zeints was set to speak again with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer Tuesday afternoon, one of the people said.

Biden also agreed to sit for an interview Friday with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that will air at least in part later that day. He has planned trips to Wisconsin on Friday and Philadelphia on Sunday. And he will hold a press conference during the NATO summit in Washington next week.

The White House was also holding an all-staff meeting on Wednesday, billed as a morale-booster following the debate and a chance for the senior team to keep the staff focused around governing, according to three people familiar with the details who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss a private meeting.

The president's stepped-up schedule comes after a private discussion within Biden’s campaign about what can be done to counteract the damaging impression left by last week’s debate. On Monday, Biden met with emergency management workers in Washington, jauntily walking the room and smiling and joking as he thanked the teams for their work.

“We’re going to get out there, across the country. Americans are going to see him for themselves,” Jean-Pierre said at a White House briefing, rejecting any suggestion that the president undergo cognitive testing or provide additional information on his medical condition.

When asked whether the president had a degenerative illness or dementia, Jean-Pierre said: “No. And I hope you’re asking the other guy the same question,” she said, referring to Trump, who is 78 and once challenged Biden to a cognitive test, only to confuse who administered the test to him in the next sentence.

Biden is trying to keep the focus on Trump, as he has throughout the campaign. In remarks Monday, he drew a sharp contrast with the presumptive Republican nominee on obeying the rule of law. He said the Supreme Court ruling that granted Trump and other presidents broad immunity would make an unchecked Trump “more emboldened to do whatever he wants” if he regains the White House.

Part of the anxiety for Democrats right now, some of the people said, is that with the focus so squarely on Biden, there has been less attention paid to Trump, whose debate performance was riddled with falsehoods about the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, Democrats’ views on abortion rights and a 2017 neo-Nazi rally in which he said: “You had some very bad people in that group, but you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides.”