International
US court dismisses attempt to remove Trump from 2024 presidential ballot
US court dismisses attempt to remove Trump from 2024 presidential ballot
The US Supreme Court on Monday removed March 4, a potential hurdle to Donald Trump’s bid to come back to the White House, unanimously dismissing a Colorado state court ruling that could have barred him from the ballot for engaging in insurrection.
The ruling in favour of the former president came a day before the Super Tuesday primaries that are expected to finalize Trump’s march toward the Republican nomination to contest against USS President Joe Biden in November.
The question before the 9 justices was whether Trump was ineligible to appear on the Republican presidential primary ballot in Colorado because he engaged in an insurrection, the January 6, 2021 assault on the US Capitol by his supporters.
In a 9-0 decision, the Supreme Court said “the judgment of the Colorado Supreme Court… cannot stand,” meaning 77-year-old Trump, the Republican White House frontrunner, can appear on the state’s primary ballot.
“All nine Members of the Court agree with that result,” they added.
The case stemmed from a ruling in December by the state Supreme Court in Colorado, one of the 15 states and territories voting on Super Tuesday.
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The court, citing the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, ruled that Trump should be kicked off the ballot because of his role in the January 6 attack on Congress, when a mob tried to halt certification of Biden’s 2020 election victory.
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment bars anyone from holding public office if they engaged in “insurrection or rebellion” after once pledging to support and defend the Constitution.
But during two hours of arguments last month, both conservative and liberal justices on the US Supreme Court expressed concern about having individual states decide which candidates can be on the presidential ballot this November.
On Monday, the top court ruled that “responsibility for enforcing Section 3 against federal officeholders and candidates rests with Congress and not the States.”
The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868 after the Civil War, was aimed at preventing supporters of the slave-holding breakaway Confederacy from being elected to Congress or from holding federal positions.
Besides the Colorado case, the Supreme Court has also agreed to hear Trump’s claim that he is immune from criminal prosecution as a former president and cannot be tried on separate charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election.
Trump was impeached by the Democratic-majority House of Representatives for inciting an insurrection but was acquitted thanks to Republican support in the Senate.
US court dismisses attempt to remove Trump from 2024 presidential ballot
International
Russia urges Israel to comply with international humanitarian law in Rafah
Russia urges Israel to comply with international humanitarian law in Rafah
Russia has urged Israel to comply with international humanitarian law as its military operation in the Gazan city of Rafah has become an additional destabilising factor in the situation in the Middle East.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova disclosed this on Wednesday while answering reporters’ questions.
On Monday, Israel started a military operation in the eastern parts of Rafah and took control of the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing with Egypt.
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Hamas said it had agreed to the provisions of the ceasefire deal proposed by Egypt and Qatar mediators, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the truce deal unacceptable.
Over a million people are believed to be sheltering in the city.
“An additional destabilising factor, including for the entire region, was the start of Israel’s ground military operation in Rafah in southern Gaza. About 1.5 million Palestinian civilians are concentrated there.
“In this regard, we demand strict compliance with the provisions of international humanitarian law,” Mr Zakharova told reporters.
Russia urges Israel to comply with international humanitarian law in Rafah
International
African Union condemns Israeli incursion into Rafah, calls for international intervention
African Union condemns Israeli incursion into Rafah, calls for international intervention
The African Union (AU) has denounced the Israeli military’s recent actions in southern Gaza’s Rafah and urged the international community to intervene to halt the escalation of the conflict.
In a statement, AU Commission chief Moussa Faki Mahamat strongly condemned the extension of the war to the Rafah crossing, a crucial corridor for humanitarian aid into the besieged Palestinian territory.
Faki expressed extreme concern about the ongoing conflict in Gaza, emphasizing the significant loss of life and destruction of infrastructure. He called on the entire international community to coordinate efforts to stop the deadly escalation.
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The Israeli incursion into Rafah occurred as negotiators and mediators convened in Cairo to seek a ceasefire in the seven-month conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Israel announced the reopening of the Kerem Shalom border crossing for humanitarian aid to Gaza, four days after its closure in response to a rocket attack that killed four soldiers. Additionally, the Erez border crossing between Israel and northern Gaza was opened for aid deliveries for the first time since the conflict began.
Both the United Nations and the United States, Israel’s staunch ally, condemned the closure of the crossings, which are vital for civilians facing severe humanitarian crises, including famine.
African Union condemns Israeli incursion into Rafah, calls for international intervention
International
Israel seizes key Gaza border, launches assault on Rafah
Israel seizes key Gaza border, launches assault on Rafah
Israeli forces have seized control of Gaza’s Rafah border crossing, cutting off a vital route for humanitarian aid and potential sanctuary for civilians from a building offensive.
The Israeli military said on Tuesday that it had seized “operational control” of the Gaza side of the border post, which links the besieged enclave with Egypt. The closure of the crucial passage and positioning of tanks in the centre of Rafah is seen as a demonstration of Israel’s determination to press on with an assault on the southern city despite ongoing truce talks.
The 401st Brigade entered the Rafah crossing early on Tuesday, the Israeli military said, closing a route vital for the aid entering Gaza and any civilians able to flee the fighting to Egypt.
The military claimed that the crossing was “being used for terrorist purposes”, alleging that Hamas’s mortar attack on Sunday on the Karem Abu Salem crossing, known as Kerem Shalom to Israelis, which remains closed, was launched from the vicinity. However, it has not so far provided evidence.
The operation came amid an overnight assault on eastern parts of the city. Warplanes pounded residential homes, killing at least 12 people.
Israel’s military said in a statement it had struck numerous Hamas targets in eastern Rafah, killing about 20 fighters.
A spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority acknowledged to The Associated Press news agency that Israeli forces had seized the crossing and closed it for the time being.
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“It’s been a very difficult night,” reported Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud from Rafah. “It’s been very violent, very bloody and full of destruction.”
The assault comes despite Hamas having said on Monday that it had agreed with the terms of a truce deal hammered out by mediators.
However, pressed by hardline nationalist coalition partners who have demanded a full offensive on Rafah, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears set to press on regardless.
Trapped
Tareq Abu Azzoum reported from Rafah that the Israeli military carried out an incursion on the eastern side of Rafah, during which there was a heavy exchange of fire with Hamas fighters amid an intense bombing campaign, with the main objective of seizing control of the crossing.
The Israeli control of the border post “is devastating because … Palestinians will no longer be able to leave the territory”, he said.
Despite urgent warnings from its closest allies that an offensive on the city risks huge numbers of civilian casualties, Israel insists that its plans will allow it to clear Rafah and press on to attack the Hamas command and fighters there.
“The Rafah offensive has started again, in spite of all the requests of the international community, the US, the European Union member states, everybody asking Netanyahu not to attack,” Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, told journalists on Tuesday. “I am afraid that this is going to cause again a lot of casualties, civilian casualties. Whatever they say,” he said, adding, “there are no safe zones in Gaza.”
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Israeli forces whipped up panic on Monday as they ordered 1.4 million or so Palestinians in Rafah – most of whom are displaced following previous instructions from the Israeli military – to evacuate.
The Israeli army reiterated on Tuesday that it has “encouraged” displaced people and international humanitarian organisations operating in eastern Rafah to “temporarily evacuate”.
However, people sheltering in Rafah, amid poor conditions with little shelter, food, or medicine, have few places to go.
The closure of the border crossing only threatens to worsen those shortages and trap more people close to the fighting.
Sources from three humanitarian relief agencies told the Reuters news agency that aid shipments had been halted due to the closure of the crossing.
The latest Israeli operation sees them being pushed towards al-Mawasi on the coast, where the military says it has set up field hospitals, tents, and medical supplies.
“The Israeli military is … strategically cutting off the Gaza Strip and sealing it off from the region,” suggested Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud.
“With the Israeli military presence there right now, we can safely say that we’re looking at a very difficult situation in terms of getting humanitarian aid into Gaza,” he said.
“At the same time, when we look at the location of the Rafah crossing, at almost the centre of the city, that indicates that we’re very close to a full invasion of Rafah.”
Israel seizes key Gaza border, launches assault on Rafah
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