Trump denies report claiming Nikki Haley is ‘under consideration’ for VP role: ‘I wish her well!’
Former President Donald Trump dismissed a report Saturday that claimed he and his campaign were considering former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, his former GOP presidential primary opponent, to serve as his running mate in the 2024 presidential election. “Nikki Haley is not under consideration for the V.P. slot, but I wish her well,” Trump wrote in a post to Truth Social. Trump’s post came after a report from Axios, citing “two people familiar with the dynamic,” claimed Haley was in the running to be Trump’s nominee for vice president. Haley launched her presidential campaign in February 2023, becoming the first major candidate to challenge Trump, who had announced his candidacy three months earlier. And she was the final rival to Trump, battling the former president in a two-candidate showdown from the New Hampshire primary in late January through Super Tuesday in early March. NIKKI HALEY TO THANK DONORS, BUT TRUMP’S LAST GOP RIVAL NOT EXPECTED TO ENDORSE FORMER PRESIDENT Haley announced she was suspending her White House campaign on March 6, one day after Trump swept 14 of 15 GOP nominating contests on Super Tuesday. To date, Haley has declined to endorse Trump. “It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him. And I hope he does that,” Haley said in March, as she pointed to those who supported her during her White House run. Haley has not spoken with Trump since exiting the race, a source in her orbit confirmed to Fox News earlier this week. NIKKI HALEY WINS 150K VOTES IN PA REPUBLICAN PRIMARY DESPITE DROPPING OUT In a sign of potential trouble for Trump in his general election rematch with President Biden later this year, Haley continues to grab votes in the Republican primaries even though she’s long gone from the presidential nomination race. Haley won nearly 22% of the vote in Tuesday’s GOP presidential primary in Indiana, which was open to not only Republicans but also independents and Democrats. During her White House bid, Haley advocated a muscular U.S. foreign policy to deal with global hot spots such as the war between Russia and Ukraine and the fighting between Israel and Hamas, often offering a stark contrast with Trump’s America First agenda of keeping the nation out of international entanglements. Haley traded fire over America’s overseas role with rival Vivek Ramaswamy, an advocate of Trump’s America First philosophy, during the GOP presidential primary debates. Reacting to his father’s dismissal of the report, Donald Trump Jr., the former president’s eldest son, wrote in a post to X, “Oh Thank God!!! Word on street is that her people were floating this bulls— because she has a PAC fundraiser [M]onday and is trying to sell attendance!!!” Haley is expected to huddle early next week with some of the top donors to her Republican presidential campaign, sources confirmed to Fox News this week. She will reportedly use the two-day gathering on Monday and Tuesday in Charleston, South Carolina, to thank her major contributors. A Haley source said the former ambassador is not expected to encourage donors to contribute to Trump’s general election campaign and that no endorsement of the presumptive GOP presidential nominee is pending. Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Aurangabad Lok Sabha constituency: Know polling date, candidates list, past election results
Aurangabad is one of the 48 Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra. The date of voting for the Aurangabad seat is on May 13 (Phase 4).
Violence in liberal state’s schools nearly doubled as parents push for more police
Some Los Angeles parents are putting up a fight against the city’s most progressive activist groups, with violence in the school district nearly doubling since police were removed from school campuses following the riots over George Floyd’s murder in 2020. Maria Luisa Palma, a member of the Parents Advisory Committee in Los Angeles, organized an independent petition in February calling for the return of police on school campuses as district data revealed that violent incidents rose from 2,315 in the 2018-2019 school year to 4,569 in 2022-2023. “We’ve seen a huge increase from our kids,” Palma told Fox News Digital in an interview. “We hear constantly how there are fights and open drug use in the bathrooms. We see the proof in the data … so we have more clear information. This is out of control as we hear from our kids.” Palma’s petition has gotten more than 2,500 signatures so far from parents from over 300 schools and all seven board districts. She said “the more, the better.” There is no cap on signatures. POLICE DEPARTMENTS WARN HIGH SCHOOLERS’ ‘SENIOR ASSASSINS’ GAME COULD TURN DEADLY: ‘SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES’ In 2021, Students Deserve, a progressive grassroots student organization advocating for the abolition of police in schools, pressured the LAUSD and the school board to divest money from the Los Angeles School District Police. The group argued the presence of police officers on school campuses often led to the criminalization of students, particularly those from Black and brown communities, and contributed to a hostile and intimidating environment that hindered learning. “We want schools to divest from criminalization and policing,” the Students Deserve website states. “We want schools to invest in us as Black, Muslim, undocumented, indigenous, and queer youth in poor and working class communities of color. We follow the lead of Black Lives Matter in demanding that our schools defund the police and defend Black life.” Students Deserve, closely partnered with Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles and the California Teacher’s Association, was successful in getting the school district to reevaluate its budget priorities and reallocate $25 million from school police to alternative support services, such as counselors, mental health professionals and restorative justice programs. ACTIVISTS ARRESTED OUTSIDE LAUSD OFFICES AFTER PARENTAL RIGHTS AND LGBTQ+ GROUPS CLASH IN DOWNTOWN LA Many Students Deserve representatives will appear at board meetings, Palma said, and urge members not to invest funds in the school’s police department. “They were the group that helped to create the situation in the first place,” Palma said. “They are the group that the board listens to, and so they continue to oppose what the parents want.” The school board voted unanimously in February 2021 to do away with officers stationed in schools and already rejected a resolution in September 2021 that would have reinstated police. FRUSTRATED PARENTS, TEACHERS DEMAND SCHOOLS BRING BACK POLICE TO CURB VIOLENCE: 911 CALLS ‘ALMOST EVERY DAY’ CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “This is not a question of whether or not the district has funds to fully fund a functioning police department to safely patrol our schools and to have officers assigned on our campuses,” Palma said. “It is a political statement to appease the defund the police movement.” The LAUSD school board is developing a new safety plan. However, the board hasn’t indicated whether the plan includes a return of police officers to schools.
NY judge tosses order restricting transgender players from using county-run parks
An order restricting transgender athletes from using county-run parks and fields in Long Island, New York, was struck down by a judge on Friday after it was challenged by a roller derby league. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman issued an executive order in February denying park permits to any women’s and girl’s teams, leagues or organizations that allow female transgender athletes to participate. Blakeman held a news conference in March with Caitlyn Jenner, the Olympic gold medalist for the men’s decathlon in 1976 prior to a gender transition, who endorsed the ban. Blakeman’s reasoning for the executive order stemmed from his effort to ensure female athletes could compete in their respective sports fairly, but Judge Francis Ricigliano ruled that he didn’t have the authority to issue the order. SURF LEGEND BETHANY HAMILTON RIPS CALIFORNIA OFFICIALS AFTER COMPETITION REVERSES STANCE ON TRANS ATHLETES In his 13-page decision, Ricigliano, wrote that Blakeman’s order was aimed at preventing transgender women from participating in girls’ and women’s athletics in county parks, “despite there being no corresponding legislative enactment” providing him with such authority. “In doing so, this Court finds the County Executive acted beyond the scope of his authority as the Chief Executive Officer of Nassau County,” Ricigliano wrote. The league’s lawsuit was backed by the New York Civil Liberties Union, which said the decision overturned a harmful policy that attempted to “score cheap political points by peddling harmful stereotypes about transgender women and girls.” “This is a huge victory for all trans people in Nassau, especially our plaintiffs @LIRollerRebels,” the NYCLU wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “This decision sends a strong message that transphobic discrimination cannot and will not stand. We are gratified that the court saw this order for what it was: a harmful, hateful policy that has no place in New York.” OREGON HIGH SCHOOL TRANSGENDER RUNNER PUTS TOGETHER FAST TIMES AGAINST GIRLS IN SEMIS, SPARKS OUTRAGE Blakeman dismissed the judge’s decision as one that didn’t address the merits of the case. The ruling doesn’t delve into the civil rights arguments raised by both sides, instead focusing on the limitations of the county executive’s powers. “Unfortunately girls and women are hurt by the court,” he wrote in an emailed statement to The Associated Press. The Roller Rebels were one of those teams looking for a permit for the county-owned rinks. The league allows anyone who identifies as a woman, and one transgender player is already on their roster. State Attorney General Letitia James had previously called for Nassau County to rescind the order, saying anti-discrimination laws are being violated. She said that Friday’s ruling is a “major victory.” “In New York, it is illegal to discriminate against a person because of their gender identity or expression…My office will keep working to ensure every New Yorker is free to be who they are.” The issue involving trans women in women’s sports adds to the national discussion surrounding one of the most controversial topics in sports. Fox News’ Scott Thompson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Tales from the trail: The blue states Trump eyes to turn red in November
Former President Donald Trump is headed back to the Jersey Shore. “We have a tremendous rally and hope you’re all going to be there. It’s in Wildwood, New Jersey. It’s going to be a big crowd,” the former president touted on the eve of his Saturday rally. Wildwood, at the southern tip of the Jersey Shore, is part of the Garden State’s Cape May County, a heavily Republican county in a longtime blue state. Trump held a rally in Wildwood in January 2020. But the then-president ended up losing New Jersey by 16 points to President Biden four years ago. WHERE THE BIDEN-TRUMP REMATCH STANDS SIX MONTHS UNTIL ELECTION DAY For Trump, the weekend rally is a short distance from New York City, where he’s spending his weekdays in court, making history as the first former or current president to stand trial in a criminal case. “We’re going to try and win the state of New Jersey. I want the people to know that I love it,” Trump predicted Friday in a local radio interview in the Garden State. “You know, it’s not just going to be like, gee, maybe we can get close. We’re going to win it.” But Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, a Biden surrogate, told reporters a few hours later that “Jersey is not going to be a welcoming place for Trump.” And Biden campaign communications director Michael Tyler noted that “Trump’s team is talking about New Jersey. They’re talking about holding concerts in Madison Square Garden to turn out voters in states like New York. I think here on planet earth in the Biden campaign, we’re going to remain laser focused on winning 270 electoral votes.” CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING IN THE 2024 ELECTION While flipping the Garden State may not be at the top of the Trump campaign’s to-do list, it is spotlighting his chances in two other blue states Biden won comfortably in 2020 — Minnesota and Virginia. As the Trump and Biden campaigns prepare for battle in seven crucial swing states that decided the 2020 election (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, which were narrowly won by Biden, and North Carolina, which Trump carried by a razor-thin margin) and will likely once again in the 2024 rematch, both campaigns see opportunities to expand the map. Last weekend at a closed-door National Republican Committee retreat for top-dollar donors that was held at a resort in Palm Beach, Florida, senior Trump campaign advisers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita and veteran pollster Tony Fabrizio spotlighted internal surveys that suggested both “Minnesota & Virginia are clearly in play.” “In both states, Donald Trump finds himself in positions to flip key electoral votes in his favor,” the survey, which was shared with Fox News, emphasizes. Trump is set to return to Minnesota next weekend to headline a state GOP fundraising dinner. And both states have sizable populations of rural white voters without college degrees who disproportionately support the former president. Biden’s campaign disagrees that either Minnesota or Virginia are up for grabs. While noting that they are “not taking any state or any vote for granted,” Biden campaign battleground states director Dan Kanninen told reporters earlier this week that “we don’t see polls that are six or seven months out from a general election, head-to-head numbers certainly, as any more predictive than a weather report is six or seven months out.” TRUMP TRIES TO CLOSE HIS FUNDRAISING GAP WITH BIDEN Kanninen highlighted that the campaign has teams on the ground in both states engaging voters. “We feel strongly the Biden-Harris coalition in both Minnesota and Virginia, which has been strong in the midterms and off-year elections, will continue to be strong for us in the fall of 2024,” he added. And Biden campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt, pointing to the president’s current fundraising dominance and ground-game advantage in the key battlegrounds, argued that “Trump’s team has so little campaign or infrastructure to speak of they’re resorting to leaking memos that say ‘the polls we paid for show us winning.’” This is the second straight election where Trump aims to flip Minnesota. At a late September 2020 rally in northern Minnesota, Trump boasted of the crowd size and insisted “this is not the crowd of somebody that’s going to finish second in this state to Sleepy Joe,” a derogatory term he used for Biden. While Trump’s campaign looks for opportunities to expand the map in Minnesota and Virginia, Biden’s campaign appears to be eyeing battlegrounds North Carolina and Florida. Trump carried the Sunshine State by less than four points in 2020, but two years ago Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and GOP Sen. Marco Rubio each won re-election by nearly 20 points. LaCivita argued the Biden campaign was playing “a faux game” in both states, but insisted that Trump has a “real opportunity in expanding the map in Virginia and Minnesota.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Longtime Dem senator rails against big companies’ ‘greedflation,’ but donor records show another story
Longtime Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. Bob Casey has made “greedflation” and rising prices at stores a key election platform in 2024, but donor records reviewed by Fox News Digital show he’s benefited from the big stores he rails against on the campaign trail. “Bob Casey calls it greedflation, and he’s fighting back,” an ad published in March by the campaign says. “My plan gives the Federal Trade Commission the power to punish corporate price gouging. Let’s roll back their huge tax breaks to put money where money it belongs, in your pocket,” Casey says in the ad. Another ad, published in April, detailed that chicken, toilet paper and cereal prices have all increased, pinning blame on “big corporations.” PENNSYLVANIA POLICE SLAM LONGTIME DEM SEN. CASEY ‘ALIGNING’ HIMSELF WITH DEFUND THE POLICE GROUP: ‘DANGEROUS’ Fox News Digital reviewed Casey’s donor contributions and found that despite sounding the alarm that chicken prices have increased by 35%, the Casey campaign received $9,000 from a PAC representing the largest poultry producer in the U.S., Cargill Inc., since 2017, Federal Election Commission data shows. LONGTIME PA DEM SILENT ON SUPPORT FOR FRESHMAN ‘SQUAD’ MEMBER AFTER HIS NAME IS QUIETLY REMOVED FROM SITE “Toilet paper up 10% — profits increased $100 million,” an April ad declares. The corporate PAC of the company Procter and Gamble, the company behind Charmin, has donated $15,500 to Casey’s campaign since 2017, according to FEC data. VULNERABLE DEM WHO DEMANDED ‘FAIR’ TRUMP SENATE TRIAL CHANGES TUNE ON MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT Casey has also benefited from massive cereal producer Kellogg’s despite slamming cereal companies for providing the “same packaging, smaller box, familiar logo, fewer servings amid the inflation woes under the Biden administration.” A review of FEC data shows PACs associated with Kellogg’s donated a combined $16,000 to Casey’s campaign since 2017. Kellogg’s PAC, the Kellogg Company Better Government Committee, no longer exists after Kellogg’s split into two companies last year. The PAC that WK Kellogg Co. manages has since donated $1,000 to Bob Casey for Senate. “CEOs sneak around, downsize favorite brands, charging more for less. Same packaging, smaller box, familiar logo, fewer servings,” Casey said in the April ad. DEM SEN. BOB CASEY SLAMMED BY GOP FOR SHIFTING IMMIGRATION STANCES: ‘COMPLICIT IN THE CRISIS’ Fox News Digital reached out to the Casey campaign, asking if he plans to return the donations in light of railing against the big companies and their CEOs. “Bob Casey is an independent fighter who will always stand up for working people against corporate greed and companies ripping off Pennsylvanians,” Maddy McDaniels, spokesperson for Bob Casey for Senate, told Fox News Digital. The two ads did not cite the companies by name, but Casey has previously called out the corporations in various Senate reports published by his office. “One of the sneakiest examples of shrinkflation is a change made to Dawn Ultra & Dawn Ultra Platinum dish soap. Proctor & Gamble [sic], the makers of Dawn, reduced the formerly 7-ounce dish soap to 6.5 ounces but left the bottle the same physical size with the same price. They simply filled the bottle with slightly less liquid and hoped families would not notice. The following year, P&G reported it did not see a need to offer sales or price cuts and celebrated returning ‘$3.8 billion of cash to shareowners via approximately $2.3 billion of dividend payments and $1.5 billion of common stock repurchases,” Casey wrote in his shrinkflation report published in 2023. “Frosted Flakes: Kellogg raised prices on its products over 14 percent between Q2 2022 and Q2 2023,” Casey’s Greedflation from November detailed. Inflation has fallen considerably since its peak in 2022 at 9.1%, the highest rate since 1981, and now sits at more than 3%, which is still higher than the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2%. The economy and inflation under the Biden administration has since become a top voting issue heading into the 2024 election. BIDEN SAYS INFLATION IS TOP DOMESTIC PRIORITY, BUT FED ADMITS LACK OF PROGRESS “Even as inflation has slowed, families are still paying higher prices, thanks to corporate greed, or greedflation. Under the guise of inflation, corporations are raising prices on American families and raking in record profits to boot. From July 2020 through July 2022, inflation rose by 14 percent while corporate profits rose by more than 74 percent — nearly five times the rate of inflation,” Casey adds on his official Senate page. Casey has served in the Senate since 2007 and is anticipated to have one of the most closely watched races this year as he faces off against Republican challenger Dave McCormick. INFLATION MAKES ESSENTIALS UNAFFORDABLE: YOUNGER GENERATIONS ARE ‘PAYING THEIR FAIR SHARE’ IN BIDEN’S ECONOMY “It’ll be a close, tough race,” Casey told NBC earlier this year. “But, look, there’s a lot on the line every time. Every time I’ve run for public office in Pennsylvania, I’ve had to earn the vote and the trust of the people. And I got to do that again.” McCormick’s campaign released an ad this week detailing the Bronze star recipient’s time at West Point. “I went to West Point with Dave McCormick, and Dave stood out as a leader there in every way,” former U.S. Army Captain Cliff Harris said in the video. “In the classroom. And as an athlete. Dave McCormick embodies the values of duty, honor and country that are instilled in us at West Point.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Various polls from the last month show Casey ahead of McCormick, though the Republican challenger has recently closed in on the Democrat as the election season further intensifies.
Meet Fani Willis’ GOP challenger for the top prosecutor job in deep-blue Georgia
Embattled Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis is facing a GOP challenger in the race for her post as district attorney this November, the first time a Republican has sought the office in more than two decades. Courtney Kramer, an Atlanta-based attorney, is likely to face Willis in November, assuming Willis defeats her one Democratic primary challenger, which she is expected to do. Kramer says she is running for office “because the citizens in Fulton County deserve someone who is going to fight for their safety, restore integrity and public confidence back into the office and advocate at the highest level for justice. “Right now, we do not have a district attorney who is doing her job and, instead, victims are being languished and justice is being delayed for not just the victims, but their families, as well. Fulton County deserves an ethical, moral and honest DA who is committed to the job and the will of the people,” Kramer told Fox News Digital. GEORGIA COURT OF APPEALS TO REVIEW TRUMP’S BID TO DISQUALIFY DA FANI WILLIS Willis has come under significant scrutiny for her handling of the sweeping racketeering case against former President Trump related to his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Trump and his co-defendents’ bid to have Willis disqualified from the case is before the Georgia Court of Appeals. Willis was accused of having an “improper” affair with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor she hired in her election interference case against Trump. After days of hearings, a Georgia judge said Willis could stay on the case but only after Wade was removed. Willis is also under investigation by Georgia state legislature committees. Kramer, an associate at the Katz Legal Group in Atanta, also worked in the Office of White House Counsel in the Trump administration in 2019. She said Willis “has made a mockery of the legal profession and the judiciary.” “Using her position to pursue political prosecution is not part of the oath you take when you become DA,” Kramer said. FANI WILLIS SUGGESTS SHE WON’T TESTIFY IN ‘UNLAWFUL’ GEORGIA SENATE INVESTIGATION “The job of the district attorney is to ensure safety in the community, put criminals away and make sure victims are being advocated for. Here, Willis is not zealously advocating for the people of Fulton County, she’s zealously advocating for herself,” Kramer said. Kramer said she would have to recuse herself from the Trump litigation due to her own conflict of interest, having worked with co-defendants in the case. HOUSE REPUBLICANS INVITE NATHAN WADE TO ‘INTERVIEW’ WITH JUDICIARY COMMITTEE REGARDING TRUMP ELECTION CASE Kramer says Willis “cannot discern when she has a conflict of interest.” And Kramer added that if she’s elected, she plans to “immediately analyze the backlog of cases and figure out where our resources are going and where they are most needed.” “Transparency and accountability are needed now more than ever, and I hope to give that to the citizens of Fulton County,” she said. Kramer’s bid is considered a long shot. Fulton County is a notoriously Democratic stronghold. Trump won only 26% of the vote in 2020. But she is hopeful the tide will turn. “This should not be about right versus left but about right versus wrong,” she said. Willis did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal visits Hanuman temple, to hit campaign trail with mega roadshow on first day of bail
Ahead of his visit to the Hanuman Temple at Connaught Place in the National Capital, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said he is happy to be back with the prayers of crores of people and justice of the Supreme Court.
Clarence Thomas says he receives ‘nastiness’ from critics, describes D.C. as a ‘hideous place’
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said Friday at a judicial conference that he and his wife have been subjected to “nastiness” and “lies” over the past several years and criticized Washington, D.C., as a “hideous place.” Thomas delivered remarks at a conference attended by judges, attorneys and other court personnel at the 11th Circuit Judicial Conference. The justice was answering a question about working in a world that appears to be mean-spirited when he pushed back on his critics. “I think there’s challenges to that,” Thomas said. “We’re in a world and we — certainly my wife and I the last two or three years it’s been — just the nastiness and the lies, it’s just incredible.” “But you have some choices,” he continued. You don’t get to prevent people from doing horrible things or saying horrible things. But one you have to understand and accept the fact that they can’t change you unless you permit that.” HBO HOST RE-UPS MILLION-DOLLAR OFFER FOR CLARENCE THOMAS TO RESIGN: ‘I STILL HAVE THE CONTRACT!’ Thomas, a conservative justice on the bench, has faced recent criticism over accusations that he accepted luxury trips from a GOP donor without reporting them. Last year, he maintained that he did not have to report the trips paid for by one of his friends. His wife, conservative activist Ginni Thomas, has also been criticized for using her Facebook page to push claims that President Biden engaged in corruption. Justice Thomas did not directly address the details of the criticisms, but he did say that “reckless” people in Washington, D.C., will “bomb your reputation.” “They don’t bomb you necessarily, but they bomb your reputation or your good name or your honor,” he said. “And that’s not a crime. But they can do as much harm that way.” KAMALA HARRIS SUGGESTS SUPREME COURT THREATENS ‘FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS,’ BUT DOESN’T WANT TO BE ‘ALARMIST’ Thomas was asked questions by U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, who previously was a law clerk for Thomas. The topics Thomas spoke about during his remarks included the lessons of his grandfather, his friendship with former colleagues and his belief that court writings and discussions should be more accessible for the public. Thomas, the longest serving justice after being appointed to the bench in 1991, has spent most of his working life in Washington D.C., and expressed his distaste for the district. “I think what you are going to find and especially in Washington, people pride themselves on being awful. It is a hideous place as far as I’m concerned,” Thomas said, adding that this is one of the reasons he and his wife like RVing. “You get to be around regular people who don’t pride themselves in doing harmful things, merely because they have the capacity to do it or because they disagree,” he said. A recreational vehicle used by Thomas also sparked controversy last year. In October, Senate Democrats issued a report saying most of the $267,000 loan Thomas obtained to purchase a high-end motorcoach appears to have been forgiven. Thomas also said he believes it is important to use language in court rulings in a way that the average person can interpret the law. “The regular people I think are being disenfranchised sometimes by the way that we talk about cases,” he said. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
US report punts on possible Israeli violations of international law in Gaza
A report from the administration of President Joe Biden has found that Israeli forces likely used United States-supplied weapons in a manner “inconsistent” with international law, but it stopped short of identifying violations that would put an end to the ongoing military aid. In the report, released on Friday after a delay, the US State Department indicated Israel did not provide adequate information to verify whether US weapons were used in possible violations of international law during its war in Gaza. The Biden White House had issued a national security memorandum, NSM-20, in February requiring Israel and other countries receiving military aid to provide written assurances that all US-supplied weapons were used in a manner consistent with international law. The US would then make a decision about future military aid based on those written assurances. Friday’s report is a byproduct of that memorandum. “It is reasonable to assess that defense articles covered under NSM-20 have been used by Israeli security forces since October 7 in instances inconsistent with its IHL [international humanitarian law] obligations or with established best practices for mitigating civilian harm,” the report said. The report nevertheless adds that the Biden administration believes Israel is taking “appropriate steps” to address such concerns. Political backlash The US has been a consistent ally to Israel throughout its seven-month-long military campaign in Gaza, which began on October 7. That war, however, has spurred international outcry as humanitarian concerns mount. Nearly 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, many of them women and children, and the head of the United Nations World Food Programme has declared a “full-blown famine” in the northern part of the narrow enclave. Still, Israel’s siege on Gaza continues, with access to food, water and electricity severely limited. UN experts have repeatedly warned of a “risk of genocide” in the territory. As a result, the Biden administration has faced pressure, particularly from the progressive flank of the Democratic Party, to address the humanitarian concerns by placing conditions on military aid to Israel. After the report’s release on Friday, progressive lawmakers expressed disappointment with its conclusions. Senator Chris Van Hollen, for instance, stated it “fails to do the hard work of making an assessment and ducks the ultimate questions that the report was designed to determine”. Meanwhile, Republicans blasted the report as undermining Israel in its campaign against the Palestinian group Hamas. Senator Jim Risch, for instance, called the document “politically damaging” and said it would do long-term harm to US allies beyond Israel. “NSM-20 is aimed squarely at Israel in the near-term, but the additional highly-politicized reporting requirements will eventually be aimed at other American allies and partners across the globe, further impeding the delivery of security assistance and undermining our ability to deter China and Russia,” he wrote in a statement. Impediments to the report Friday’s report acknowledges limits to the US State Department’s findings, pointing out that the information that Israel provided was not comprehensive. “Although we have gained insight into Israel’s procedures and rules, we do not have complete information on how these processes are implemented,” the report reads. It also said the war itself creates barriers to understanding what is happening on the ground. “It is difficult to assess or reach conclusive findings on individual incidents” in Gaza, the report said, citing a lack of US government personnel on the ground. It also echoed Israeli accusations that Hamas could be manipulating civilian casualties for its own gains. Gaza, the report said, represents “as difficult a battlespace as any military has faced in modern warfare”. Tracing the flow of aid The report also sought to assess whether Israel was impeding the flow of aid into Gaza, another possible violation of international humanitarian law, as well as US law. It found “numerous instances during the period of Israeli actions that delayed or had a negative effect on the delivery of aid to Gaza”. Nevertheless, the report concluded that it could not assess that the “Israeli government is prohibiting or otherwise restricting the transport or delivery of US humanitarian assistance within the meaning of section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act”. Humanitarian groups, however, have reported for months that Israel systematically blocks large portions of aid from entering the Gaza Strip. Overall, the report said that US intelligence agencies have “no direct indication of Israel intentionally targeting civilians”, but they assessed that “Israel could do more to avoid civilian harm”. In addition, the State Department pledged to continue to monitor the situation in Gaza, particularly with regards to the delivery of aid. “This is an ongoing assessment and we will continue to monitor and respond to any challenges to the delivery of aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza moving forward.” Adblock test (Why?)