Dem socialist senator rallies behind Harris’ price-fixing plan: ‘Important step forward’
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., gave his approval to Vice President Kamala Harris’ newly unveiled economic policy proposal on Friday, calling it “bold and popular.” “Is it all that I would like? No,” he said in a statement. “Is it an important step forward in making our country a fairer and more just society? Absolutely.” Sanders lauded the proposal for speaking “to the needs of working families” and taking on “the unprecedented corporate greed that is taking place throughout America.” TIM SCOTT SAYS AMERICANS ‘SMARTER THAN’ HARRIS ON ECONOMY AMID RELEASE OF CONTROVERSIAL PLAN Sanders has long-described himself as a Democratic socialist, and has been considered one of the most far-left U.S. politicians. Harris’ plan was revealed by her campaign on Friday, including several expansions of policies implemented during the Biden-Harris administration. It specifically targets corporate “price gouging” in the food industry, calling for a first-ever federal ban on it. It would also drastically expand the child tax credit, granting credits up to $6,000 during a child’s first year. Existing prescription drug price caps would additionally be expanded to everyone, not just senior citizens. ‘RENT IS TOO DAMN HIGH’: ROSEN PANNED FOR BIDEN-ALIGNED VOTES, HIGH HOUSING COSTS Harris’ economic agenda would further establish a $40 billion fund to help local governments build more housing, alongside policies to crack down on landlords. “At a time of unprecedented wealth and income inequality, when the 1% have never had it so good, while 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, Vice President Harris understands that we need to create an economy that works for all and not just the people on top,” Sanders said in a lengthy statement. DHS, FBI PROBED FOR INFO ON ALLEGED IRANIAN AGENT’S ASSASSINATION PLOT POSSIBLY TARGETING TRUMP He added that Harris “understands that we need to take on the greed of the food and beverage industry, which is making huge profits by jacking up the price of groceries.” Critics have disagreed with Harris and Democrats’ conclusion that high prices are a product of corporate greed. Republicans have been prompt with their condemnations of the plan, blaming rising prices on spending packages that were spearheaded by President Biden and Harris throughout their administration. ‘PREGNANT PERSONS’: OHIO SEN SHERROD BROWN SCRUBBED ‘WOMEN’ FROM BILL ON PREGNANCY “The ‘price-gouging’ that they’ve experienced has come at the hands of Kamala Harris and Joe Biden,” Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital in an interview on Friday. “When you artificially stimulate the economy by the federal government and the Democrats spending trillions of dollars, the net effect is high inflation, high interest, high demand and lower supply.” “Now Kamala is reportedly proposing communist price control. She wants price controls, and if they worked, I’d go all along with it, but they don’t work. They actually have the exact opposite impact and effect,” former President Trump said Thursday at a press conference. The plan has also taken heat from a left-leaning Washington Post columnist who titled her op-ed, “When your opponent calls you ‘communist,’ maybe don’t propose price controls?” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Harris rips economic hardships that began during her own administration in campaign speech
Vice President Kamala Harris conceded Americans are struggling in the current economy and vowed to improve things after President Biden boasted his policies were “working” just a day earlier. Harris made the remarks during a campaign stop in North Carolina, where she unveiled part of her economic platform for the 2024 election. “We’ve made historic investments in infrastructure, in [semiconductor chips], manufacturing, in clean energy. And new numbers this week alone show that inflation is down under 3%. And as president of the United States, it will be my intention to build on the foundation of this progress,” Harris said. “Still, we know that many Americans don’t yet feel that progress in their daily lives. Costs are still too high and on a deeper level, for too many people, no matter how much they work, it feels so hard to just be able to get ahead.” BIDEN GETS TESTY WITH NBC’S LESTER HOLT OVER UNFAVORABLE MEDIA COVERAGE: ‘WHAT’S WITH YOU GUYS?’ Harris also pledged if she wins to “take on the high costs that matter most to most Americans.” “Like the cost of food. We all know that prices went up during the pandemic when the supply chains shut down and failed, but our supply chains have now improved, and prices are still too high,” Harris said. Critics hammered Biden in the first half of his administration over pervasive supply chain issues that left grocery store shelves bare while other goods like automobiles had monthslong production delays. Inflation and supply chain problems were worldwide issues as most countries struggled to rebound after the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. fared better than most in terms of inflation rates, but many Americans still felt a disconnect between Biden’s early insistence the economy was in good shape and their own financial struggles, a gap that showed in Biden’s low economic approval numbers. Economists, including some who formerly worked with the Obama-Biden administration, also blamed Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan for over-stimulating the economy and sparking the inflation surge of 2021. ‘RUBBER-STAMPED’: KEY DEM HIT OVER BIDEN-HARRIS SUPPORT ON BORDER, INFLATION Harris’ remarks come a day after year-over-year inflation was announced to have reached its lowest level in over three years, with consumer prices only going up 0.2% between June and July. Biden told reporters Thursday, “I told you they’re going to have a soft landing – we’re going to have a soft landing. My policies are working. Start writing that way.” CRITICS BLAST HARRIS’ GRASP OF INFLATION, ATTACK ON BUSINESS AHEAD OF POLICY SPEECH: ‘LUNATIC BEHAVIOR’ Earlier that morning, Axios reported Harris wanted to distance herself from Biden on the economy, with her advisers urging her to break from him on issues like high prices. Asked whether Harris would ditch his unpopular “Bidenomics” label, the president told reporters, “The economy is going to continue with all the legislation we passed … working.”
Harris and Walz’s ‘racist’ banter about ‘White guy’ tacos spurs social media backlash
A Harris campaign video released Thursday featuring vice presidential candidate Tim Walz deadpanning that he eats “White guy tacos” is getting some blowback from critics on social media. Adding fuel to the fire was Vice President Kamala Harris’ snarky response in the video, with critics saying it “mocked” White people. “I have White guy tacos, and . . .,” Walz says in the campaign video of him and Harris discussing some of their favorite foods. “What does that mean? Like mayonnaise and tuna? What are you doing?” Harris quipped back. COULD KAMALA HARRIS BEING A COOK INFLUENCE THE WHITE HOUSE RACE? THE LOS ANGELES TIMES INVESTIGATES Walz responded by saying it was “pretty much” just ground beef and cheese. “That’s OK,” Harris then added. “Do you put any flavor in it?” she asked. “Uh, no,” Walz responded, garnering a cackle from Harris. The exchange did not fly with Harris’ and Walz’s critics. Some complained of racism, while others highlighted the double-standard elucidated by the video, arguing that if Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, the GOP vice presidential nominee, were to say something similar about Black people he would get excoriated. “See, folks, it’s funny that white people hate spices! Not racist at all! Just funny!” posted The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro. “This isn’t cute. Walz is being used as a clown to mock White people,” said Fox News columnist David Marcus. If Walz doesn’t like spicy food that’s fine, but it has nothing to do with being a White guy.” “Hispanics are not tacos,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, D-Texas, in response to the remarks. Ian Haworth, a conservative speaker, writer and podcast host argued that Walz’s remark would “cause riots if it was done in reverse by a Republican.” ‘THE FIVE’: PICK KAMALA OR YOU’RE A RACIST! “Crazy that a presidential candidate can just casually let out some blatant anti-white racism and nobody cares,” said the Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh. “Imagine if Donald Trump said that a ‘black guy taco’ was made with fried chicken and watermelon. Nuclear meltdown.” Even a fan of the Minnesota governor’s appeared to take issue with his comments. “I really like Tim Walz, but as someone who also really likes cooking with flavor, I will tell you that black pepper is far from the top spice level in Minnesota,” said journalist Brian Shea. DON’T LET TIM WALZ’S FOLKSY MIDWESTERN CHARM FOOL YOU – HE’S NO MODERATE Others, meanwhile, specifically took umbrage with Harris’ part in the video. Alt-right commentator Jack Posobiec argued that Harris’s comments had mocked White people. “The Kamala campaign is now making videos mocking white people for ‘not seasoning their food,’ a popular anti-white meme online. Not even making this up,” said Posobiec. Harris and Walz defenders praised the pair over the remarks and ridiculed critics for taking issue with them. “These are the guys calling democrats easily offend-able and hypersensitive,” Micha Efran, a political organizer and executive committee member for the Texas Democratic Party, wrote in a post on X calling out The Daily Wire’s Walsh for getting angry over the comments. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump’s critics on Friday were continuing to pile on him about sarcastic remarks he made Thursday about how the Presidential Medal of Freedom is better than the Congressional Medal of Honor, because you don’t actually have to risk your life to obtain the former. “Trump dishonor [sic] Medal of Honor recipients, our nations highest military award for distinguished acts of valor. He deserves nothing but disdain and disqualifies himself from public office,” said Virginia Democratic congressional candidate Eugene Vindman, in reference to Trump’s sarcasm. “This is not a one-off, this is the way [Trump] thinks about people who serve the country in uniform,” insisted Willie Geist, co-host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment but did not receive a response.
Texas AG Ken Paxton sues Houston immigrants’ rights org over political speech
Attorney General Ken Paxton has targeted similar organizations that aid migrants at the border. The lawsuit appears to be the first to focus on political speech and rules that govern nonprofits.
DNA TV Show: What first assembly poll after removal of Article 370 means for J&K?
The dates to file the nominations for the first phase will be on August 27, nominations for the second phase will be on September 5, and September 12 is the last day to file nominations for the third phase.
Biden agency chief has ‘slow-rolled’ SBA’s cooperation in electioneering probe says House committee
EXCLUSIVE: The chairman of a House committee tasked with overseeing small business and commercial issues sent the Small Business Administration (SBA) a scathing letter Friday outlining how it has purportedly failed to hand over sufficient subpoenaed documents. Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, previously noted the SBA used a 2021 Biden executive order on “promoting access to voting” to forge a “Memorandum of Understanding” (MOU) with the Michigan Department of State. The way the MOU has been acted upon is controversial and potentially unconstitutional, Williams has said, as he and others in Congress previously accused the SBA of using it to funnel resources to a swing state in a partisan way. He previously said the SBA is “diverting its resources away from assisting Main Street so it can register Democratic voters” in Michigan. On Friday, Williams wrote SBA administrator Isabel Casillas-Guzman to criticize “lackluster production of documents pursuant to the committee’s July 30, 2024 subpoena.” LAWMAKERS DEMAND ANSWERS FROM TOP MICHIGAN OFFICIAL OVER ALLEGED ‘WEAPONIZATION’ OF TAXPAYER FUNDS FOR ELECTIONEERING Williams had asked for, and later subpoenaed, travel calendars for agency staff, as well as other key documents in his probe into whether SBA’s work under the MOU is indeed partisan or worse. “Since the first request was made by this Committee on March 20, 2024, the SBA has produced approximately 500 pages of documents, a substantial portion of which is just one email chain; further, nearly 20 percent of the documents produced by the SBA were entirely unresponsive to the Committee’s requests,” the letter went on. “It remains unclear why the SBA has slow-rolled productions and wasted time producing documents that were either nonresponsive to Committee’s requests or duplicative.” WATCHDOG GROUP SUES FEDS FOR RECORDS AS LAWMAKER CALLS VOTER REGISTRATION EFFORTS A ‘SLAP IN THE FACE’ In May, the SBA was also sued on a coinciding front by the conservative Oversight Project, a government transparency watchdog, after it too made Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for similar documentation. In that filing, plaintiff Mike Howell called the documents sought a “matter of widespread and exceptional media interest in which there exists possible questions about the government’s integrity which affect public confidence.” In Friday’s letter, Williams said the SBA has provided “zero calendars” despite the subpoena, as well as a document describing the “implementation plan” of its voter outreach work, as required under President Biden’s separate order. Williams also said he is aware of the aforementioned separate FOIA litigation and that the agency attested therein that such a document does exist. A source familiar with the committee’s work said government officials also accused the panel of making baseless allegations surrounding the investigation and said the agency is trying to cover up any electioneering. Williams told Fox News Digital on Friday he remains disappointed at what he characterized as a woefully insufficient response by the SBA. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Instead of cooperating with basic congressional oversight, the SBA has once again given us documents that are not responsive to our requests – despite their claims otherwise. With the presidential election less than three months away, our investigation is more important than ever,” Williams said. “Let me be clear, this Committee will not stop until we put an end to the SBA’s abuse of taxpayer resources, and ensure they refocus their efforts to the mission of supporting Main Street.” Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who was not party to the letter but has been a key voice in the upper chamber on the matter, said that if the agency has done nothing wrong, then it should welcome “the opportunity to share its work.” “There is a very simple solution here – for the SBA to stop playing games and be fully transparent.” Fox News Digital reached out to the SBA for comment but did not receive a response prior to publication. Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
Vance says he doesn’t think Trump ‘needs to pivot,’ praises his ‘unscripted nature’
Ohio Sen. JD Vance told reporters Friday that he doesn’t think former President Trump “needs to pivot” with his campaign despite a number of recent polls showing Vice President Harris gaining ground. Vance, speaking at the Milwaukee Police Association, made the remark after a reporter said to him that “it seems like some allies of former President Trump have said in recent days he’s to focus more on policy, just like you talked about, less personal attacks.” “I’m curious, have you had that conversation with him and does he need to pivot, especially when you look to swing states like Wisconsin?” Vance was asked. “I don’t think the president needs to pivot,” the vice presidential candidate responded. “And if I told him that, I can guess what he’d say. I think that the reason that President Trump has been so successful connecting with Americans is even when they disagree with something that he might say, they know that he just is who he is, right? TRUMP RUNNING MATE VANCE AIMS TO TURN BLUE WALL STATES RED “I’d much rather have a political candidate who I disagreed with 25% of the time, but was a real human being and was willing to speak off the cuff then to have somebody like Kamala Harris, who hides behind a teleprompter and doesn’t speak to the American people directly unless she’s got a script in front of her telling her exactly what to say,” Vance continued. “I think the unscripted nature of President Trump is one of the reasons why his campaign gives a pretty good insight into the kind of president that he’s going to be. “Now that said, we are focusing a lot on policy. We’re here in Wisconsin today talking about public safety. I was in Pennsylvania yesterday talking about veterans’ issues. I was in Michigan the day before, talking about how we have to stop the trade and energy policies that ship all of our manufacturing jobs to China,” Vance added. “But my only advice to my running mate is be yourself and let people see who you are. And I think he’s doing that every day on the campaign trail,” he concluded. TRUMP HAS TAKEN 81 QUESTIONS AT PRESS CONFERENCES, INTERVIEWS COMPARED TO HARRIS’ 14 SINCE WALZ JOINED TICKET In the most recent Fox News Poll, Trump is leading Harris nationally 50-49%. However, in polls released this past weekend by Siena College for the New York Times, Harris tops Trump by four points – 50% to 46% – among likely voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Polling and data guru Nate Silver also said Wednesday on “Special Report” that “if you have the election tomorrow… I think Harris would be a slight favorite.” “She has been ahead in most recent polling in the ‘blue wall’ states, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona, Nevada all polling in the margin of error range,” Silver said. “People should remember, though, two things,” he added. “One, we have three more months to go. There will be more surprises. And two, the polls have been wrong before. In both the last two general elections they underestimated Trump.” Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser and Yael Halon contributed to this report.
Youngkin takes victory lap against ‘losing states’ as Virginia marks $1B surplus: ‘The playbook works’
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin took a public victory lap this week, claiming credit for managing the Old Dominion’s budget into a $1 billion surplus. In his annual Joint Money Committee Address before the Commonwealth’s relevant legislative committees, Youngkin, a Republican, laid out how in recent years, most of the surrounding states’ growth had become attractive to longtime Virginians. Youngkin began by greeting the Democratic committee chairs: House Appropriations Chair Luke Torian of Prince William, House Finance Chair Vivian Watts of Fairfax and Senate President L. Louise Lucas, who serves as the upper chamber’s finance chairwoman. “Our neighbors in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida have been rapidly growing,” Youngkin said. “Many Virginians were choosing to go there instead of here.” VIRGINIA DECLARES ‘INDEPENDENCE’ FROM CALIFORNIA AS YOUNGKIN EXITS NORTHAM-ERA EMISSIONS PACT Most of those states shifted toward lowering taxes, he said, while Virginia had been “falling behind” since the year Gov. Robert McDonnell – its last Republican governor – left office, he said. “Across the country today, there are winning states, and there are losing states,” Youngkin said. The governor, seen by some as presidential timber in future cycles while facing the Old Dominion’s one-and-done term limit, said there are economic winners and losers state-to-state. “States that are winning with job growth, population growth, opportunity growth – and others that are not.” YOUNGKIN: EDUCATION IS THE BEDROCK OF THE AMERICAN DREAM Youngkin said such “winning states” are “domina[ting]” the national map in terms of economic growth and fiscal stewardship. Most of the “losing states,” he said, are running with budget deficits, while Virginia and the other southeastern states he mentioned – all but one of which are Republican-led, are faring better. In remarks to Fox News Digital, Youngkin said that Virginia proves tax relief is a “catalyst for record job creation [and] business growth.” “The playbook works,” he said. “We are demonstrating in Virginia that a state, once falling behind, can lead when we ‘invest’ in tax relief and understand that money belongs to the people who work for it, not the government.” “We’ve already delivered $5 billion in tax relief for Virginia families and by the end of my administration we will have delivered at least $8 billion in tax relief to help Virginians keep more of their hard-earned money.” With the surplus, the governor said, his budget plans to see hundreds of millions of dollars in improvements to the heavily trafficked Interstate 81, which serves as a 323-mile backbone of the state for much of mid-continent commerce – as it connects the northeast’s trucking hubs with several cross-country highways. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP About $90 million of the surplus will also go toward a Virginia military survivors and dependents fund. However, the governor warned against profligately spending the new windfall, saying that what befell Virginia in the past “will happen again.”
What to know about the Democratic National Convention in Chicago
It has been a busy few weeks for Democrats in the United States. Less than a month ago, incumbent Joe Biden announced he was withdrawing from the 2024 presidential race amid concerns about his age and ability to defeat his Republican challenger and predecessor Donald Trump. Since then, Biden’s Vice President Kamala Harris has emerged as the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, riding a wave of support from wide segments of the party base and members of Congress. Harris’s selection of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to be her vice-presidential running mate also galvanised Democrats and spurred tens of millions of dollars in new donations, according to her campaign. Now, the party is set to gather in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention, a tradition during presidential election years. Democrats hope the convention will serve as a strong show of unity, as party members coalesce behind the Harris-Walz ticket less than three months before Election Day. But what exactly does the convention have in store this year? Here’s what you need to know. What is the Democratic National Convention exactly? Held every four years, the Democratic National Convention is a gathering to formally select the party’s nominees for president and vice president. Democrats also vote on the party’s platform and other procedures, but the convention really serves as a way to drum up enthusiasm for the Democratic ticket. This year’s convention will begin on August 19 and run until August 22 in Chicago, Illinois. Haven’t Harris and Walz already been confirmed as the 2024 candidates? Yes — but things are different this year. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) announced on August 6 that Harris and Walz had been formally certified as the presidential and vice-presidential candidates, respectively. That’s because Democrats held a virtual roll-call vote earlier this month. During that roll call, Harris earned the support of a majority of Democratic delegates — people who typically cast votes for the presidential nominee at the convention based on primary and caucus results. Normally, the official roll-call vote happens at the convention. But this year, the party opted for a virtual roll call beforehand, because Democrats had raised concerns Harris could be left off ballots in Ohio due to a procedural issue. So is a roll-call vote going to happen at the convention? According to the Democratic National Committee, yes. But the committee says the vote will be “ceremonial” since Harris and Walz have already been confirmed. Convention Chair Minyon Moore said on August 6 that Democratic delegates “will celebrate this historic ticket with a ceremonial roll call and tell the story of Vice President Harris, Governor Walz, and the Democratic Party as we prepare to defeat Donald Trump once again”. Trump was officially confirmed as the Republican Party’s candidate at the Republican National Convention in July. His running mate, US Senator JD Vance, was also named and confirmed at the convention last month. It’s official! I just signed the paperwork to certify Vice President @KamalaHarris for the ballot as our Democratic Party nominee for president. Let’s make history this November! pic.twitter.com/Isymkud833 — Jaime Harrison (@harrisonjaime) August 6, 2024 What else is on the schedule and who will be attending? Alongside the Democratic delegates and other party members, Democratic lawmakers are expected to take part in the four-day convention. While a full schedule of speakers has not yet been released, US media have reported that Biden, who endorsed Harris after he withdrew from the race late last month, will be the keynote speaker on the first night of the convention on August 19. Harris and Walz are also expected to deliver speeches. The vice presidential candidate will address the crowd on August 21, and the presidential candidate will close out the event on August 22. Organisers estimate that about 50,000 people will descend on Chicago for the event. Is there anything else to expect? While Democrats have largely coalesced around Harris since she launched her push for the White House last month, she continues to face calls to break with the Biden administration’s policies on Israel and the Gaza war. As a result, Harris is expected to face large demonstrations on the sidelines of the convention, as protesters demand an end to the war and unconditional US support for Israel. For months, protesters have demanded that Washington stop sending weapons to Israel as it bombards the coastal Palestinian enclave. The Israeli war has killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians and set off a humanitarian catastrophe. The Coalition to March on the DNC, a coalition of activist groups, has planned marches on August 19 and August 22. “Democratic Party leadership switching out their presidential nominee does not wash the blood of over 50,000 Palestinians off their hands,” it says on its website. “Biden’s entire administration, together with high ranking members of the Democratic Party from all over the country, has spent the last ten months wholeheartedly supporting the genocide in Gaza with our tax dollars,” the coalition said. “It is a matter of historical urgency that all organizations who fight for the rights of working and oppressed people in the US join us in this demonstration to stand in solidarity with Palestine.” Chicago is home to one of the country’s largest Palestinian American communities, and many locals are expected to take part in the marches. Have there been protests at other conventions before? Absolutely. Outside of last month’s Republican National Convention, demonstrators took to the streets of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to denounce Trump and his Republican Party for their stance on abortion, the Gaza war and other issues. But arguably the most well-known convention protest happened at the Democratic National Convention in 1968, also in Chicago. Demonstrators rallying for an end to the Vietnam War tried to march on the convention site but met a harsh crackdown by thousands of police, National Guard and other law enforcement officers. The violence sowed chaos within the Democratic Party before that year’s election, which was ultimately won by Republican Richard Nixon. Adblock test (Why?)
‘Pure terrorism’: World reacts to Israeli settler attack in West Bank
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are reeling after Israeli settlers ravaged a village overnight, killing a 23-year-old man and injuring several others in the latest incident of deadly violence against Palestinians in the area. The Palestinian Health Ministry said on Friday that Mahmoud Abdel Qader Sadda was fatally shot in the attack on Jit, in the northern West Bank about 10km (six miles) west of Nablus. Dozens of masked Israeli settlers descended on the village, opening fire on residents, setting cars ablaze and destroying homes and other property, according to witnesses and video footage from the assault. The attack came amid a surge in Israeli military and settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, which has unfolded in the shadow of Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip. Nearly 600 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank between the start of the Gaza war on October 7 and August 12, according to the latest figures from the United Nations humanitarian affairs office (OCHA). Rights groups also have criticised Israel for allowing its forces as well as settlers to operate with “endemic impunity” in their attacks against Palestinians. The assault on Jit drew widespread condemnation from Palestinians as well as foreign leaders, including those from countries that continue to provide military and diplomatic support for Israel amid the Gaza war. Here are some of the reactions: Palestinian Authority The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the attack as an act of “organised state terrorism”. “We demand the imposition of deterrent sanctions on the racist colonial system, the dismantling of the terrorist settler militias, and the prosecution of their members,” it said in a statement. Hamas The Palestinian faction, which governs Gaza, offered condolences to the man killed in Jit. In a statement, Hamas said the attack was part of Israel’s “fascist extermination plans”. “We call on our people in all governorates of the West Bank to rise up in anger to deter the settlers and repel their terrorist attacks,” the group said. Israel’s “policy of incursions, assassinations and unleashing settler gangs will only increase our people’s adherence to their land and holy sites”. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he viewed “with utmost severity the disturbances that took place” in Jit, “which included attacks on people and property by Israelis who entered the village”. “It is the [Israeli army] and the security forces that fight terrorism, and nobody else. Those responsible for any offense will be apprehended and tried,” the statement said. Yoav Gallant, Israel’s defence minister, also condemned the violence, which he attributed to “radical individuals”. At a time when our troops are fighting on the frontlines, defending the State of Israel, a group of radical individuals have launched a riot, and attacked innocent people. They do not represent the values of the communities living in Samaria. I strongly condemn any form of… — יואב גלנט – Yoav Gallant (@yoavgallant) August 15, 2024 United States A spokesperson for the US National Security Council said that “attacks by violent settlers against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank are unacceptable and must stop”. “Israeli authorities must take measures to protect all communities from harm, this includes intervening to stop such violence and holding all perpetrators of such violence to account,” the spokesperson said, as reported by US media. The US ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew, added in a social media post that Israeli settler attacks “must stop and the criminals be held to account”. I am appalled by yesterday’s violent attack by settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank. These attacks must stop and the criminals be held to account. — Ambassador Jack Lew (@USAmbIsrael) August 16, 2024 European Union Josep Borrell, the EU foreign policy chief, said the attack in Jit “aimed at terrorising Palestinian civilians”. “Day after day, in an almost total impunity, Israeli settlers fuel violence in the occupied West Bank, contributing to endanger any chance of peace,” he wrote on social media, urging Israel to “stop these unacceptable actions immediately”. We condemn settlers attacks in Jit, aimed at terrorising Palestinian civilians. Day after day, in an almost total impunity, Israeli settlers fuel violence in the occupied West Bank, contributing to endanger any chance of peace. 1/2 — Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) August 16, 2024 United Kingdom British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he condemns the attack “in the strongest of terms”. “The scenes overnight of the burning and the torching of buildings, of the Molotov cocktails thrown at cars, of the widespread rampage and chasing of people from their homes, is abhorrent,” he told reporters in Jerusalem alongside his French counterpart. “Prime Minister Netanyahu has said that there will be a swift investigation. I hope that that investigation can ensure that those who engaged in this settler violence over the course of the last 24 hours are brought to justice.” France French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said “any act that would destabilise” negotiation efforts – notably to reach a ceasefire in Gaza – is “unacceptable”. “We are very vigilant and attentive and we denounce this situation,” he said, noting that France imposed sanctions against “violent settlers” earlier this year. United Nations Ravina Shamdasani, the spokesperson for the UN’s human rights office, said the violence in Jit was “not an isolated attack”. “It is the direct consequence of Israel’s policy of settlement in the West Bank. We have been reporting for the past years about settlers attacking Palestinian communities in their land in the West Bank with impunity,” Shamdasani told reporters. “And this really is the crux of the matter: the impunity that the perpetrators of such grave violations have been enjoying.” She added that there have been “reports of Israeli security forces standing by as attacks take place”, as well as reports of “weapons being distributed to the settlers”. “So there is clearly a state responsibility in this regard.” UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese, the UN’s special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, said sanctions must be imposed on