Politics

RAMALLAH, West Bank —  With each passing day, clashing narratives put forth by Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas about their bloodiest war to date have diverged ever more dramatically.But a dozen days into the conflict, after a lethal conflagration in the Gaza Strip, these dueling realities presented the starkest contrast yet — and underscored the danger that an already chaotic and unpredictable war could widen regionally.In the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank and across the Arab world, furious condemnation of Israel erupted over the deadly blast Tuesday night on the grounds of a Gaza hospital packed with Palestinians driven from their homes. Hamas blamed an Israeli airstrike.In Tel Aviv on Wednesday, a visiting President Biden firmly backed Israel’s content...

WASHINGTON —  Major Arab allies of the United States say they do not support Hamas or its brutal assault on Israel but that they also oppose the U.S. agenda that unreservedly backs Israel in a massive counteroffensive likely to cost the lives of thousands of Palestinian civilians.In Cairo this week, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi told U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken that the Israeli response already “has gone beyond self-defense” and reached the level of the “collective punishment” — the punishment of a population for the crimes of a few and a war crime under the Geneva Conventions.As for the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, in which its militants slaughtered more than 1,000 Israeli civilians and took scores of hostages, Sisi said: “We can unequivocally condemn it, but we need to u...

WASHINGTON —  The House on Tuesday failed to elect Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan as its next speaker, extending the uncertainty that followed the historic ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy earlier this month.Jordan, a Republican, fell short of the majority he needed to secure the top post, with 20 members of his own party voting against him.The entire Democratic caucus voted for their nominee, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York. Another vote is possible Tuesday. It is unclear if the tally will remain the same. California Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale), who voted against Jordan, said afterward that he would support Jordan the next time around. He told reporters his first vote against Jordan was to protest McCarthy’s ouster. “What happened to him was wrong,” LaMalfa said.In the meantime, H...

In normal times domestic political fights over foreign policy break down more or less along a conventional left-right divide. These are not normal times.The right is largely united around the need to support Israel in its war with Hamas, but increasingly divided about backing Ukraine in its war with Russia. The left is largely united around the need to help Ukraine, but more divided about siding with Israel.It’s not perfectly symmetrical. Democrats are more unified on Israel, in part because of President Biden’s unequivocal support. But it’s early. After all, the history of the Democratic Party resisting campus radicals and the “antiwar” left is not a tale of heroic resolve. And that the response on campuses to a terrorist pogrom was to immediately express support for Palestinians does not...

WASHINGTON —  As then-Sen. Kamala Harris’ presidential bid was collapsing in late 2019 amid factional infighting, her campaign badly needed a trusted person who could close the operation down — pay off bills, terminate contracts and counsel staff members who needed jobs.Internal backbiting and lackluster support from voters had undone a two-year effort, and Harris, once seen as a top-tier contender, was now bowing out a full two months before the Iowa caucuses, the first contest of the Democratic primary season. Newly appointed Sen. Laphonza Butler attends a news conference after attending her first Senate Democratic policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 4, 2023. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) At that moment, one of the lowest in her political career, Harri...

WASHINGTON —  Ever since Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, Israel has waged an intermittent but limited military campaign to keep a lid on the violent Palestinian faction. Hamas fired missiles at Israeli cities, Israel bombed Gaza from the air or attacked on the ground, then negotiated a cease-fire.The goal was never to remove Hamas; that appeared too costly. It was merely to keep it under control. Israeli military officers gave their recurring Gaza offensives a sad, cynical name: “mowing the grass.”Last week, mowing the grass came to an end.Hamas’ murderous rampage through Israeli towns and villages, which deliberately targeted civilians, led Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to adopt a far more ambitious goal: regime change.“We will destroy Hamas,” Netanyahu said Fr...

Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered near the Israeli Consulate in West L.A. Saturday to condemn the country’s ongoing aerial bombardment of Gaza in retaliation for Hamas’ attack one week ago.Demonstrators began gathering on Wilshire and Sepulveda boulevards around noon and by 3 p.m. the size of the crowd had grown to about several thousand. At one point, the southbound lanes of the nearby 405 Freeway were briefly shut down. Hundreds of people gather and march on Saturday in Westwood, in support of Palestinians caught in the Israel-Hamas war. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) Carrying signs that said “Free Palestine” and “End the Occupation,” the crowd marched from Wilshire Boulevard and Granville Avenue, where the consulate is located, to a feder...

The children sat in the back seat of the car as their parents spoke in code.Mya Guarnieri Jaradat and her ex-husband, Mohamed Jaradat, spoke in snippets of English and Arabic. Sensing something was amiss as they headed to the beach, their 7-year-old daughter asked what was wrong.“There’s a war in Israel,” Mya said.“Who are they fighting?” their daughter asked.Mya is an American Israeli who grew up in Gainesville, Fla. Mohamed is Palestinian. For the last nine years, they have lived in Florida. Mya Guarnieri Jaradat is shown in Jerusalem in January. (Mya Guarnieri Jaradat) They were quiet for a moment as the little girl waited.Finally, it was Mohamed who spoke: “The Palestinians.”The day before, fighters from the Palestinian militant group Hamas had executed a surpris...

With renewed fighting in the Middle East, law enforcement agencies in cities around the country, including in California, beefed up security in anticipation of widespread demonstrations and possible violence Friday after a former Hamas chief called for protests across the “Arab and Islamic world” in support of Palestine.While officials say no credible threats have been identified in the past few days, police departments from Los Angeles to New York have increased patrols out of an abundance of caution, in some areas focusing on houses of worship, schools and major transit hubs.In a statement, the Los Angeles Police Department said it is aware of recent calls to action regarding the conflict in the Middle East.“We have no information of any specific or credible threats to the City of Los An...

Human remains interred about 100 years ago were stolen from a private family mausoleum at a cemetery in Colorado, and an investigation into the incident is underway, officials said.Deputies with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to Crown Hill Cemetery in Wheat Ridge, Colo., about 7:20 Wednesday morning after an employee who had just arrived for work noticed some damage to a private mausoleum, said Jacki Kelley, a public information officer with the county Sheriff’s Office in Golden, Colo.An initial investigation showed the front of the crypt had “severe damage,” according to a news release. Police said it appeared the perpetrators “entered the cemetery during the overnight hours, forced entry into the crypt and gained access to the casket.”“The casket, that housed the ...