‘US pauses delivery of bombs and ammunition to Israel’

Israel reopens Kerem Shalom border crossing for emergency aid

The border crossing at Kerem Shalom reopened on Wednesday morning for trucks carrying humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip, the Israeli Defense Ministry said. The border crossing was closed on Sunday after a rocket attack by Hamas, which killed four Israeli soldiers.

So it is not about the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt: it remains closed. The takeover of that border post is seen as a possible starting signal for a ground attack on Rafah. The now open Kerem Shalom border crossing between Israel and Gaza is not directly related to this. It is still unclear when the first emergency aid with medicines, food and other aids will be able to pass through the border crossing to Gaza again.

Also read By capturing a border crossing, Israel is blocking all emergency aid for Gaza. Has the ground invasion of Rafah begun?

‘US pauses delivery of bombs and ammunition to Israel’

The United States last week halted the supply of bombs and ammunition to Israel. News sites Axios and Politico, among others, report this based on sources within the American and Israeli governments. This includes weapons that Israel would like to use to bomb Rafah.

The US is critical of Israel’s attacks on Rafah, where a million Gazans are hiding while this ‘safe’ city is also under fire. President Biden has also been warning Israel for months not to launch a ground invasion of Rafah, for which Israel may have taken the first steps in recent days by closing a border crossing to Rafah. People in East Rafah also received an Arabic-language leaflet with orders to leave their homes. Nevertheless, the White House stated on Tuesday that the “red line” of a ground invasion has not yet been crossed, because according to Israel the operation in Rafah would still be limited.

The pause in arms deliveries would be the first time since the Hamas attacks on October 7 that the US has used a concrete tool to persuade Israel to adopt a different military strategy. The government is also reviewing the supply of other equipment, including instruments that convert bombs into technologically “smart” weapons, according to Politico. Israeli officials say the decision is causing misunderstanding within the government.

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike in the eastern part of Rafah on Tuesday. Photo Hatem Khaled/Reuters

Police say they will not take action against pro-Palestinian demonstrators on the UvA campus tonight

The police will not take action against the demonstrators who have occupied the Binnengasthuis grounds of the University of Amsterdam (UvA) during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday. This was decided by the triangle of police, Public Prosecution Service and city council. According to the police, the UvA did not report trespassing and did not demand that the activists leave. Moreover, you will find
the triangle “it is not responsible to clear the various barricades around the site at this time”, because the risk of escalation and disorder is high and “an unsafe situation” may arise for officers, activists and bystanders alike.

Also read this report: A demonstration, occupation and barricades in Amsterdam and Utrecht: student protests over the Gaza war are expanding

Chairman Daan Wijnants of the VVD faction in Amsterdam finds the triangle’s decision not to intervene “absurd”. According to him, the UvA does not have to wait for the municipality. “There are now barricades in the middle of the city center. Paving stones removed. This situation cannot continue,” Wijnants wrote https://twitter.com/daanwijnants/status/1787954792654139462.

In Utrecht, Utrecht University has ordered pro-Palestinian demonstrators in the courtyard of the University Library to leave. “Partly because the house rules were not followed, serious concerns arose about safety,” a university spokeswoman told the ANP news agency. If the activists do not respond to the call, the police present can arrest them. The ME is ready to help.