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PM Mark Carney said that Canada will join France and recognizing a Palestinian state at the UN in September. British PM Keir Starmer said that Britain is prepared to do the same if a ceasefire in Gaza is not reached and aid resumed to the territory. Germany’s FM also said that it is considering recognizing a Palestinian state while encouraging Israel to move toward a two-state solution. Fourteen of NATO’s 32 countries, thirteen of the G20 countries, and 147 out of 193 countries have now either recognized or have pledged to recognize a Palestinian state in the near future. If Canada, Britain, and France all recognize a Palestinian state the US will be the lone permanent member of the UN security council not to recognize such a state. Israel’s advocates have criticized the diplomatic overtures claiming they give Hamas a win for its attacks on 7 OCT. After Egypt, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia called on Hamas to disarm and pursue a two-state solution, the Arab League issued a statement condemning the 7 OCT attacks and calling on Hamas to disarm and to relinquish power in Gaza. The Arab League also reiterated its support for the Arab Peace Initiative which called for a two-state solution based on UN Resolution 242. The statement was highly critical of Israel as well calling the current government in Israel “the most extreme in decades.” While a famine has yet to be declared in Gaza, the food shortages are serious enough that they will likely have lasting consequences. Ross Smith, an official with the World Food Program, said that nearly 100,000 women and children in Gaza are currently suffering from acute malnutrition. The crisis has escalated to the point that two Israeli human rights organizations called the war a genocide. B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights - Israel published a joint report on Tuesday calling the current war in Gaza a genocide, marking a first in Israel. The report called the war a “coordinated action to intentionally destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip.” In the US Senate, a majority of Democratic senators backed a series of resolutions to suspend arm sales to Israel on Wednesday. The Republican majority blocked the resolutions. While Republicans unanimously voted against the measure, twenty-seven of the Senate’s forty-six democrats supported the resolution. The recent vote marks the latest shift on US policy toward Israel. Earlier in the week, the hosts of Pod Save the World, a podcast hosted by a number of Democratic voices, called on Democratic politicians to end their unconditional support for Israel, including the suspension of military aid.
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