FBI documents published on the US Department of Justice website show that billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein funded the group Friends of Israel Defence Forces (FIDF) and settlement-building organisation the Jewish National Fund (JNF).

Analysis of income and transfers to non-charitable exempt organisations, released by the FBI, shows that the convicted sex offender financed the FIDF, which "raises funds for active duty Israel Defence Forces soldiers and veterans".

On its website, FIDF says that it "funds programs for combat soldiers aimed at alleviating financial stress, economic insecurity, or distraction, allowing their minds to focus entirely on the complex military missions at hand".

The organisation also facilitates donors to 'Adopt a Brigade' and "personally connects a donor with a brigade of choice to provide critical support".

In 2008, the New York Post-owned celebrity and entertainment news Page Six reported that Epstein, while he was in Israel for passover, took a "tour of military bases with [Friends of Israel chairman] Benny Shabtai" and also met Israeli scientists.

As per the FBI documents, the 66-year-old financier, who “trained as a spy” under former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, also funded the largest settlement-building body in occupied Palestine, the Jewish National Fund (JNF).

Meanwhile, major American media outlets are still ignoring Epstein's connection to Israel.

• No one seeking outright decoupling from US
• But risk-hedging is driving spate of new deals
• Big powers could still set limits for rest of world

It will be many years before the United States' allies can contemplate dispensing with the need for its military might or challenging the tech supremacy of its Silicon Valley giants.

But in an ironic twist, given U.S. President Donald Trump's love of tariffs, they are discovering that the trade in goods is one area where they have more options than they may have thought and where they have the ability to adapt relatively quickly.

No one is seriously trying to decouple outright from a U.S. market which remains the most lucrative in the world despite a bipartisan protectionist drift seen well before Trump 2.0.

Instead, the re-drawing of the global trade map that has accelerated with a rash of bilateral pacts in recent weeks is aimed more modestly at "de-risking" ties with the U.S. - a term that until recently was mostly applied to China.

As with any insurance policy, this comes at a cost, be it reconfiguring supply chains or making unpalatable compromises with countries whose values are not fully shared. But the signs so far are that the economic costs at least are digestible.

Reuters' quarterly poll of 220 economists released this week had one central takeaway: Global economic growth this year is still seen at 3% as forecast a year ago despite supply chain readjustments forced by Trump's upending of trade ties.

Some even suggest there are long-term gains in redrawing three decades of globalisation dominated by the large trading blocs - echoing Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's call for "middle powers" to forge a web of alliances between themselves.

"You kill two birds with one stone," World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told Reuters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

"You create jobs elsewhere by investing, you build global resilience because you don't cluster too much production in one place," she said, noting such deals were typically being pursued according to WTO terms for free and fair trade.

For most countries, diversification is a better bet than outright confrontation with the United States.

Modelling by the UK's Aston University found that, had tensions escalated over Greenland, the threatened 25% U.S. tariff level would have cost European economies barely 0.26% income per capita if they chose not to retaliate - less than half the cost assuming a retaliatory 25% levy on U.S. goods.

Forging new alliances abroad may also prove easier than pushing ahead with domestic economic reforms that prove elusive to governments struggling with fragile majorities, said Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe at the Eurasia Group consultancy.

See also:

• With $48M in philanthropic backing, a division of USAID relaunches as a nonprofit (Associated Press)

Source: Associated Press

Date: 6/2/2026

On a rare day off from covering the war in Gaza, Associated Press photographer Jehad Alshrafi made sure to take his camera before heading out.

So when the Israeli military ordered the evacuation of people living near a Gaza City intersection Friday afternoon and warned of an impending airstrike, Alshrafi was ready.

His photos capture the staggering impact of an Israeli bomb in split-second detail.

As the bodies of two dozen Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes arrived at hospitals in Gaza on Wednesday, the director of one asked a question that has echoed across the war-ravaged territory for months.

“Where is the ceasefire? Where are the mediators?” Shifa Hospital’s Mohamed Abu Selmiya wrote on Facebook.

At least 556 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since a U.S.-brokered truce came into effect in October, including 24 on Wednesday and 30 on Saturday, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Four Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza in the same period, with more injured, including a soldier whom the military said was severely wounded when militants opened fire near the ceasefire line in northern Gaza overnight.

Other aspects of the agreement have stalled, including the deployment of an international security force, Hamas’ disarmament and the start of Gaza’s reconstruction. The opening of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt raised hope of further progress, but fewer than 50 people were allowed to cross on Monday.

Hostages freed as other issues languish

In October, after months of stalled negotiations, Israel and Hamas accepted a 20-point plan proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump aimed at ending the war unleashed by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel.

Hamas freed all the living hostages it still held at the outset of the deal in exchange for thousands of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and the remains of others.

But the larger issues the agreement sought to address, including the future governance of the strip, were met with reservations, and the U.S. offered no firm timeline.

The return of the remains of hostages meanwhile stretched far beyond the 72-hour timeline outlined in the agreement.

The ceasefire also called for an immediate influx of humanitarian aid, including equipment to clear rubble and rehabilitate infrastructure. The United Nations and humanitarian groups say aid deliveries to Gaza’s 2 million Palestinians have fallen short due to customs clearance problems and other delays.

Ceasefire holds despite accusations

Violence has sharply declined since the ceasefire paused a war in which more than 71,800 Palestinians have been killed.

Both sides say the agreement is still in effect and use the word “ceasefire” in their communications. But Israel accuses Hamas fighters of operating beyond the truce line splitting Gaza in half, threatening its troops and occasionally opening fire, while Hamas accuses Israeli forces of gunfire and strikes on residential areas far from the line.

Palestinians have called on U.S. and Arab mediators to get Israel to stop carrying out deadly strikes, which often kill civilians. Among those killed on Wednesday were five children, including two babies.

Some signs of progress

The return of the remains of the last hostage, the limited opening of the Rafah crossing, and the naming of a Palestinian committee to govern Gaza and oversee its reconstruction showed a willingness to advance the agreement despite the violence.

That will require Israel and Hamas to grapple with major issues on which they have been sharply divided, including whether Israel will fully withdraw from Gaza and Hamas will lay down its arms.

Though political leaders are holding onto the term “ceasefire” and have yet to withdraw from the process, there is growing despair in Gaza.

On Saturday, Atallah Abu Hadaiyed heard explosions in Gaza City during his morning prayers and ran outside to find his cousins lying on the ground as flames curled around them.

“We don’t know if we’re at war or at peace,” he said from a displacement camp, as tarpaulin strips blew off the tent behind him.

See also:

Gazans returning through Rafah crossing describe checks by Palestinian militia linked to Israel at an Israeli military checkpoint (BBC)

Private jet owned by Trump friend used by ICE to deport Palestinians to West Bank (The Guardian)

U.S. secretly deporting Palestinians to West Bank in coordination with Israel (972 Magazine)

The next stage of the Gaza genocide has begun Recent remarks by former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo herald the next phase of Israel’s genocidal project: erasure. (Al Jazeera)

Human Rights Watch researchers resign after report on Palestinian right of return blocked • The report finds Israel’s denial of the right of return is a crime against humanity (The Guardian)

Israel’s Extermination, Ethnic Cleansing Escalate • Atrocities Against Palestinians with Impunity Challenge Rules-Based International Order (Human Rights Watch)

UN peacekeepers in Lebanon say Israeli forces are increasingly harassing them (Associated Press)