KAMALA HECKLED OVER ANTI-CEASEFIRE STANCE

No festive cheer over the bodies of dead Palestinians. That was the message Delaware state house representative Madinah Wilson-Anton had for US Vice President Kamala Harris during a Christmas holiday party at the vice president's official home in Washington, DC, USA.

As Harris remarked to guests that the holiday season is 'a joyful time,' a banner was unfurled that called for a ceasefire in Gaza. Then, Wilson-Anton asked Harris, 'Did you know, in Bethlehem, they are not celebrating Christmas? Did you know, in Bethlehem, baby Jesus is under rubble? Why won't you call for a ceasefire?'

Harris refused to respond and security escorted out Wilson-Anton, a practising Muslim. This sister is among about a dozen legislators and activists across the United States who began a 5-day hunger strike two weeks ago, in support of a ceasefire. The Biden-Harris administration has refused to support such calls while Israel's military has killed more than 18,000 Palestinians in Gaza, most of whom are women and children.

On 12 December, the United States was among 10 countries that voted against a UN resolution calling for an end to the Israeli onslaught. Meanwhile, food, medicine and fuel, are hard to come by because of the Israeli blockade. Thousands of Palestinians have fled northern Gaza, heading south toward the arid Sinai Peninsula in Egypt.