Michigan - More than 39,000 Democratic voters in the state of Michigan at least voted noncompliant, or 15% of the votes, according to preliminary unofficial data of the election results revealed an hour and a half after the polls closed.
These data, obtained exclusively by Al-Quds Al-Arabi, reveal the success of the “Boycott Biden” campaign, which was led by Arab activists in the state in protest against Biden’s continued support for the bloody Israeli war on Gaza.
While President Biden does not have any major challenger in the Democratic race, Tuesday's elections could represent a major blow to him in the presidential election due to the movement led by Arab activists.
Biden is expected to win the state of Michigan, but the “uncommitted” vote exceeded all expectations, including the campaign’s own goal against Biden, which was expected to bring in only 10,000 votes.
Democratic candidate Philip Dean, a Jewish politician, received less than 2% of the votes with 48 minutes of counting, while candidate Marianne Williamson, also a Jewish politician, received only 3% of the votes.
A “non-committed” vote is likely to be represented by a number of delegates if that vote receives more than 15% of the votes in the final count.
Michigan Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American in Congress, said: “I felt proud today to withdraw a Democratic Party ballot and vote non-compliant.”
She added in a recording on social media that “74% of Democrats in Michigan support a ceasefire, but President Biden is not listening to us. This way we can use democracy to say: Listen to Michigan.”
Former US President Donald Trump announced his victory in the Republican Party primary elections for the state of Michigan against his rival, Nikki Haley.
On Saturday, Trump defeated Haley by 30 points in her home state of South Carolina, but Haley pledged to continue the race until Super Tuesday, March 5.
Michigan is a key swing state in the presidential race as it voted for Trump in 2016 by less than one percentage point before switching to Biden in 2020 by less than three percent.
Axios: The Biden administration wants written guarantees from Israel regarding the use of US weapons in Gaza by mid-March
Washington - The administration of US President Joe Biden has given Israel until mid-March to sign a letter providing guarantees that it will adhere to international law while using American weapons and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, three American and Israeli officials told the “Axios” website.
The Biden administration has asked Israel to sign a letter providing assurances that it will adhere to international law while using US weapons and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.
The safeguards are now reportedly a requirement under a memorandum issued by President Biden earlier this month. While it does not specifically pertain to Israel, the new policy came after some Democratic senators expressed concern about the Israeli war on Gaza. If guarantees are not provided by the deadline, US arms transfers to the country will be temporarily halted.
The National Security Memorandum, published on February 8, states that before the United States can supply weapons, any country must provide the United States with “credible written assurances” that it will use any such weapons in accordance with international humanitarian law.
The memorandum also stresses that a country using US weapons in conflict zones must provide “written and credible assurances” that it “will facilitate and will not arbitrarily prevent, restrict, or impede, directly or indirectly, humanitarian and international efforts supported by the United States government to provide assistance.” Humanitarian assistance.”
Axios reported that countries and entities involved in conflicts, such as Israel, have 45 days from the date of issuance of the memorandum to provide written assurances and have it ratified by Secretary of State Tony Blinken. Other countries have 180 days.
The White House issued the memo after pressure from Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and other senators who wanted to add these requirements as an amendment to the Senate supplemental funding bill.
Three US officials told Axios that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told the White House that he was concerned that such an amendment would divide the Senate Democratic caucus and requested executive action instead.
“The amendment’s sponsors and I have made clear to Majority Leader Schumer that we are determined to hold a vote if we are unsuccessful in implementing it through executive action,” Howlin said. “That and the fact that it made sense on its own merit.” “We have convinced the administration of the need to work with us on this matter.”
He said he held talks with White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and other White House officials to draft the new memo, which remained classified until its publication earlier this month.
US officials in both Washington and Tel Aviv on Tuesday formally briefed their Israeli counterparts on the new policy and gave them a draft letter they needed to sign to comply.
An Israeli official said the US request is to have written guarantees by mid-March so that Blinken can ratify them by the end of the month. Israel can decide who will sign the letter in the government.
A US official said that similar messages had been sent in recent days to several other countries that use US weapons.