Germany's Baerbock demands Israel allow aid into Gaza on Beirut visit

DPA
Wed, October 23, 2024 

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock holds a press conference at the German Embassy in Beirut. Baerbock is in the Lebanese capital Beirut to gain an impression of the situation amid the war between Israel and Hezbollah. Jörg Blank/dpa


German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Wednesday called on the Israeli government to allow more humanitarian aid into northern Gaza, as she defended ongoing arms deliveries to Israel.

On a visit to Beirut, Baerbock said the situation "especially in northern Gaza is becoming more desperate by the day" amid a fresh Israeli offensive.

Northern Gaza has been cut off for 19 days, Baerbock said, with humanitarian aid "only trickling in."

Earlier this year, the Israeli government promised to "flood" the Gaza Strip with aid, Baerbock recalled. "This humanitarian aid must arrive in Gaza," she insisted.

"There is an obligation under international law to provide humanitarian aid," the German foreign minister said.

She further highlighted the International Court of Justice's ruling that Israel must provide civilians in Gaza with aid.

"This order is binding on Israel, on its government, under international law," she emphasized.

However, Baerbock insisted that Germany continues to support Israel "including with weapons" in its right to self-defence.

All arms deliveries are subject to international humanitarian law, she maintained.

"The Israeli government bears responsibility for ensuring that international humanitarian law is observed," Baerbock said.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock holds a press conference at the German Embassy in Beirut. Baerbock is in the Lebanese capital Beirut to gain an impression of the situation amid the war between Israel and Hezbollah. Jörg Blank/dpa

Germany's Baerbock says arms exports to Israel pose 'dilemma' amid risks to international law

Wed, October 23, 2024 

Smoke billows over the UNESCO-listed port city of Tyre after Israeli strikes


By Timour Azhari and Riham Alkousaa

BEIRUT/BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's foreign minister said on Wednesday Israel has the right to defend itself against Hezbollah attacks but supplying it with weapons had posed "a dilemma" amid concerns over international law violations.

Annalena Baerbock spoke after arriving in Lebanon for talks on how to defuse escalating Israel-Hezbollah hostilities, five days after the U.N. said its peacekeepers had been targeted by Israeli forces in south Lebanon's conflict zone.


"On the one hand, Israel is attacked every day and not supporting it would mean that people are not (being) protected ... On the other, it is also Germany's responsibility to stand up for international humanitarian law," Baerbock said.

She made no indication that Germany was reconsidering its longtime policy of supplying arms to Israel. Chancellor Olaf Scholz last week said Germany, one of Israel's staunchest Western allies, would continue to provide such military aid.

Baerbock said Israel had the right to defend itself against Lebanon's powerful Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah but also a responsibility to ensure it adheres to international humanitarian law.

Baerbock spoke to journalists in Beirut after meeting Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a close ally of Hezbollah who has been engaging in diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.

The U.N. mission in Lebanon said last week its outposts near Lebanon's border with Israel had come under several "deliberate" Israeli attacks and that efforts to help civilians in villages in the war zone were being hampered by Israeli shelling.

"Any deliberate attack on U.N. peacekeepers violates humanitarian law," said Baerbock.

Israel says U.N. forces in south Lebanon have effectively provided a human shield for Hezbollah fighters and has told UNIFIL to evacuate peacekeepers for their own safety - a request that it has refused.

Baerbock said the key to achieving peace is the full implementation of the 18-year-old U.N. Resolution 1701, which entails a Hezbollah withdrawal behind Lebanon's Litani River and Israeli forces back from the "Blue Line" demarcating the border.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has a crucial role in maintaining stability in the region, and all parties involved must protect UNIFIL soldiers, she added.

Baerbock was set to have a video conference with UNIFIL Commanding General Aroldo Lazaro Saenz later in the afternoon.

"Our common message to the people of Lebanon is that we will not look away, we will not leave them alone," Baerbock said.

"We are working on a diplomatic solution that respects the security interests of both Israel and Lebanon," she added.

Germany's DPA news agency said Berlin approved arms exports to Israel worth around 31 million euros ($34 million) over the past eight weeks, more than twice as much as in the first 7-1/2 months of this year.

(Reporting by Timor Azhari in Beirut, Riham Alkousaa in Berlin, Editing by Rachel More and Miranda Murray)

France defends restrictions on Israeli firms supplying Middle East wars and says it's not a boycott

Associated Press
Updated Tue, October 22, 2024 

File - Smoke rises following Israeli bombardment on the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov, File)

PARIS (AP) — France's government on Tuesday defended its decision to bar Israeli companies supplying the wars in the Middle East from exhibiting at an upcoming trade fair outside Paris.

Organizers of the Nov. 4-7 naval defense exhibition, called Euronaval, posted on the event's website that Israeli firms can take part in the show and “may have an exhibition stand, provided that their products are not used in military operations in Gaza and Lebanon.”

The organizers attributed the restrictions to French government decisions taken earlier this month.


Addressing parliament Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said the policy doesn't amount to a boycott of Israeli firms.

But he also said it would be “incoherent” for France to allow the promotion of weapons used in the wars when Paris is also pushing for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and Lebanon.

“Therefore, we have indicated to the Israeli authorities, with whom we communicate very regularly, that the participation in the form of stands by companies should respect this balance,” Barrot said.

“Also, companies whose equipment is not used in offensive actions in Gaza and Lebanon will naturally be able to have stands at the exhibition," he said.

In a post Sunday on X, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz urged French President Emmanuel Macron to rescind the restrictions, calling them “unacceptable” and “anti-democratic.”

“France, as well as the entire Western world, should stand with us -- not against us,” Katz posted.

Barrot reiterated that France supports Israel's right to defend itself. The minister cited, as an example, France's decision to continue exporting components that he said are used in Israel's “Iron Dome” air-defense system.

“On the other hand, it would be incoherent to enable any promotion of weapons used in Gaza and Lebanon, which lead to unacceptable damage for the civilian populations, when this government and our country is calling for an immediate cease-fire,” the French minister said.

Boeing workers reject the company's latest proposal, which included a 35% wage hike

Shubhangi Goel

Wed, October 23, 2024 at 8:34 PM MDT·2 min read

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• Boeing workers just rejected a proposal with a 35% wage increase over four years.

• The strike has halted most of Boeing's manufacturing for over five weeks.

• Boeing's earnings missed analyst expectations by over 18% amid the ongoing strike.

Boeing machinists have rejected a new proposal that included a 35% wage increase over four years, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 751 said Wednesday.

The strike has been going on for five weeks and has halted most of the plane maker's manufacturing.

Along with the wage hike, the new proposal raised a signing bonus from $3,000 to $7,000. It was rejected by 64% of union workers, according to the IAM.

"After 10 years of sacrifice, we still have ground to make up. We hope to resume negotiations promptly," the IAM said in a statement on X on Wednesday.

Boeing reported third-quarter earnings on Wednesday, with a net loss of over $6 billion. This brings the company's total losses in 2024 to nearly $8 billion.

CEO Kelly Ortberg, who joined in August, addressed the stoppage on Wednesday's earnings call.

"First and foremost on everybody's mind today is ending the IAM strike. We've been feverishly working to find a solution that works for the company and meets our employees' needs," Ortberg said.

The strike, which started on September 13, began after workers rejected a proposal to raise pay by 25% over four years, demanding 40%. The company's second offer of 30% was withdrawn after talks broke down.

According to figures provided by the union and company, the average pay for Boeing machinists has risen about 15% over the past decade to $75,000. The cost of living in the US has risen 33% in the same period, according to government inflation data.

Analysts at Anderson Economic Group estimated that the first month of Boeing's 33,000-worker strike cost the company and workers $5 billion. The last strike, in 2008, shuttered plants for eight weeks and hit revenue by an estimated $100 million per day.

Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment, sent outside standard business hours.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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Boeing strike to continue after workers reject new contract

MAX ZAHN, JACK MOORE and AYESHA ALI

Wed, October 23, 2024 at 10:07 PM MDT·4 min read

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Boeing machinists on Wednesday rejected a new contract proposal that would've ended a weekslong work stoppage against the embattled aerospace company -- and the union said the strike will go on.

Sixty-four percent of workers voted to reject the new contract, according to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), the union representing 33,000 Boeing workers in Washington, Oregon and California.

Representatives for Boeing said Wednesday night the company did not have a comment on the vote.

The proposed contract would have delivered a 35% raise over the four-year duration of the contract, upping the 25% cumulative raise provided in a previous offer overwhelmingly rejected by workers in a vote last month. Workers had initially sought a 40% cumulative pay increase.

The proposal also called for hiking Boeing's contribution to a 401(k) plan, but it declined to fulfill workers' call for a reinstatement of the company's defined pension. The contract would have included a $7,000 ratification bonus for each worker, as well as a performance bonus that Boeing had sought to jettison.

But union leaders said the concessions offered in the proposal were not enough to meet the demands of rank-and-file union members.

"This contract struggle began over ten years ago when the company overreached and created a wound that may never heal for many members," said Jon Holden, president of IAM District 751 in Seattle, in a statement after the vote. "I don’t have to tell you all how challenging it has been for our membership through the pandemic, the crashes, massive inflation, and the need to address the losses stemming from the 2014 contract."

The union said the strike will continue as they return to the bargaining table with the company.

Hours before workers cast ballots on Wednesday, Boeing released an earnings report showing the company had lost a staggering $6.1 billion over the most recent quarter due primarily to costs associated with the strike.

MORE: Striking Boeing workers set to vote on new contract offer. Will they approve it?

"We have some really big rocks that we need to get behind us to move the company forward," Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said in a letter to investors on Wednesday.

Ortberg singled out the strike as an issue that must be addressed "first and foremost."

"We have been feverishly working to find a solution that works for the company and meets our employees' needs," Ortberg said.

The company and its workers have faced significant financial losses during the nearly six-week strike.

Union members have received $250 per week from a strike fund, beginning in the third week of the work stoppage. That compensation marks a major pay cut for many of the employees.

Mid-ranking workers involved in the strike typically make $20 per hour, which totals $800 per 40-hour work week, while higher-paid members earn salaries upward of $100,000 per year, or nearly $2,000 per week.

"The question is whether the employees and their union determine that they have the power to get more from Boeing," Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst at Atmosphere Research Group, told ABC News. "It's whether they think they can extract more from Boeing, or Boeing says, 'You know what, this is it.'"

PHOTO: Boeing factory workers and supporters gather on a picket line during the third day of a strike near the entrance to a Boeing production facility in Renton, Wash., Sept. 15, 2024. (David Ryder/Reuters)

The strike was set to cost Boeing $108 million per day in lost revenue, amounting to as much as $5.5 billion in losses should the work stoppage last 50 days, investment bank TD Cowen said in a report reviewed by ABC News at the outset of the dispute. So far, the strike has lasted 40 days.

In September, Boeing announced furloughs and pay cuts for some white-collar employees in response to the strike. Last week, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg announced plans to cut 17,000 jobs, which amounts to about 10% of its global workforce.

"This is really painful for Boeing," Richard Aboulafia, managing director of aerospace consulting firm AeroDynamic Advisory, told ABC News.

MORE: What would a Kamala Harris or Donald Trump victory mean for the stock market?

The most recent IAM strike against Boeing in the Pacific Northwest, in 2008, lasted 57 days. Work stoppages undertaken by unionized Boeing employees in the same region have historically lasted an average of 60 days, a Bank of America Global Research analysis found after examining seven previous strikes, the earliest in 1948.

In the days leading up to Wednesday's vote, the outcome remained unclear, Jake Rosenfeld, a professor of sociology at Washington University in St. Louis, who studies labor, told ABC News.

"What are the workers going to do?" Rosenfeld said. "That's a really tough question."

Boeing strike to continue after workers reject new contract originally appeared on