August legislative updates and news
Legislative Updates
Federal
- August 13: The U.S. approved an additional $20 billion in arms sales to Israel, amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
- According to the State Department, this new arms deal aims to arm Israel in the long term, as most of the weapons sold will not be shipped to Israel until 2026 at the earliest.
- Some weapons included in the deal are 50 F-15IA fighter jets, 50,000 120mm mortar shells, 120mm tank shells, and upgrades to several more weapons systems.
- This new deal was approved by the Biden Administration and heavily pushed for by Republicans in Congress, following increased tensions between Israel and Iran. These result from Israel's genocide in Gaza, which has killed more than 40,000.
Kentucky
- No significant updates
Lexington
- No significant updates
Picture
News
- August 2: The USA sends more marine troops and ships to the SWANA region, likely in fear of Iranian retaliation for killing Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
- August 5: In its supreme court, the Zionist occupation states that it has abducted about 14,500 Palestinians (not including the Palestinians considered citizens by the occupation) since October 7th.
- August 5: The Zionist occupation hands over 80 unlabelled bodies to Gaza officials, with no information about who they were or if they were killed in Gaza or prisons.
- August 6: Hamas appoints Yahya Sinwar to fill the chair of head of the political bureau to replace Ismail Haniyeh.
- August 7: Settlers of the Zionist occupation have been practicing the ritual of the red heifer, which is meant to commemorate the building of a new temple over the site of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
- August 8: Ibrahim Salem, the Palestinian man depicted in some of the first photos to leak out of Sde Teiman, gives direct testimony to what he experienced in the camp: mass rape by male and female soldiers alike, mass rape of children, mass rape by doctors, and routine genital mutilation and torture.
- August 9: In a single day, the USA announces its intent to lift the ban on offensive weapons sales to Saudi Arabia, send another USD 3.5 billion to the Zionist occupation, and says that it won't sanction Zionist troops for human rights violations in the West Bank.
- August 10: A Zionist strike on a Gaza school kills more than 100 Palestinians and injures 250 others.
- August 11: Citizens of the Zionist occupation rally for the "right to rape" Palestinians in the wake of controversy over the rapes by Zionist soldiers in Sde Teiman.
- August 12: The Zionist occupation kidnaps two leaders of the PFLP, Zaher Al-Shishtari and Kamal Abu Zarifa (Abu Kifah).
- August 13: The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip says that 115 Palestinian children were born and killed by the Zionist occupation since October 7.
- August 13: The USA approves a USD 20 billion arms deal for the Zionist occupation.
- August 16: The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirms the first case of polio in Gaza, a month after the disease was detected in the water.
- August 21: Suspected Zionist drone raid on a car in southern Lebanon kills a commander from a coalition of Palestinian armed groups.
- August 23: A Palestinian man was discovered lynched and murdered in Belgium.
- August 24: In just 2 days, the Zionist occupation has displaced 100,000 Palestinians from Deir al-Balah.
- August 25: The Zionist occupation attacks southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah returns rocket fire.
- August 27: New York University (NYU) updates its student conduct policies, naming being a Zionist a protected class.
- August 28: The Zionist occupation launches an invasion of the West Bank, with full air support and military vehicles. All of the hospitals in Jenin and Tulkarem are under siege, and forces are seen preventing ambulances from entering the cities.
- August 30: A former intelligence officer of the Zionist occupation reveals how it targets queer Palestinians in the West Bank, blackmailing them into becoming informants and using this to sow suspicion and distrust among Palestinians in the West Bank. This isn't new; this exact tactic has been seen from the occupation before. The occupation has exported some of the software it uses for this to other countries, allowing them to do similar things.
Expressions
Rest in power Medo Halimy: On Friday, August 30, 19-year-old content creator Medo Halimy was on a walk to the closest WiFi cafe - a tent with WiFi that connects displaced Palestinians to the rest of the world - when an Israeli airstrike mortalky wounded Halimy in the head. Hours later, doctors pronounced Medo dead. Medo corresponded to the world daily, mundane struggles faced by Palestinians seeking refuge from Israel's genocide. On his TikTok page, he posted a series of videos featuring him performing everyday tasks that he dubbed his "tent life." In his first "tent diary," Medo introduced the concept by saying, "If you wonder what living in a tent is actually like, come with me to show you how I spend my day." The series highlights him doing everyday tasks that have been made impossible by the Israeli occupation; examples include waiting in long lines for a bucket of water, scavenging for ingredients for staple Palestinian meals, and struggling to fight boredom in a tent with nowhere to go.
One particularly powerful form of resistance involved him planting something every day until the end of the Israeli genocide. According to Medo, planting is a form of resistance because it is in direct opposition to the genocide. Where Israel is taking life away from Earth, Medo is bringing life to it. The plants - their roots - are an allegory to the Palestinian people. Like the plants' strong roots, the connection the Palestinian people have to the land is strong and enduring. Before his untimely death, Medo had a lrge farm with dozens of plants. His message of bringing life onto Earth as resistance against those that take it away will live on like the plants and Palestinian people he broadcasted to the world.
Medo's videos garnered millions of views on TikTok. His work was an embodiment of Palestinian perseverence, hope, and the dream of a free Palestine.
This article, like all original content in The Kentuckian, is released into the public domain. The Kentuckian is an independent publication. It doesn't represent the opinion of the Kentucky Party or any of its committees.