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A new survey conducted by Harvard and Harris has revealed that nearly one-quarter of American voters support Hamas over Israel in the war in Gaza.

The poll, conducted between January 15-16, 2025, sampled 2,650 registered voters and found that 21 per cent of respondents sided with the Palestinian group, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by the US State Department.

The survey revealed stark divisions in American public opinion, particularly across party lines. Among Democrats, 75 per cent expressed support for Israel, while 25 per cent were more inclined to back Hamas.

Republican voters displayed overwhelming support for Israel, with 81 per cent in favour, though 19 per cent still expressed some level of backing for Hamas.

Two Israeli men were apparently shot and badly injured by a police officer in the West Bank late Monday, medics said, during an attack by settlers on two Palestinian villages.

The incident came as Palestinian media reported that settlers had attacked the villages of Jinsafut and al-Funduq, setting fire to homes and vehicles.

According to media reports, the two masked Israelis attacked a Border Police officer near a settler outpost close to the Palestinian villages and pepper-sprayed him.

The officer in response opened fire, wounding the pair. It was unclear why the men attacked the officer.

WASHINGTON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Newly sworn-in President Donald Trump on Monday revoked the Biden administration's last-minute decision to remove Cuba from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, the White House said.

source https://x.com/sycamoressource/status/1881480658746527907

The Israel-Hamas ceasefire entered a third day Tuesday, while US President Donald Trump said he doubted the fragile deal would hold.

"Gaza is like a massive demolition site," Trump said as he signed a flurry of executive orders following his inauguration.

Asked whether he believed the two sides would maintain the truce, Trump said: "That's not our war; it's their war. But I'm not confident."

Trump had claimed credit for the three-phase ceasefire agreement announced ahead of his return to the White House by Qatar and the United States, following months of fruitless negotiations under his predecessor Joe Biden.

Donald Trump declared a national energy emergency on the first day of his new presidency, as part of a barrage of pro-fossil fuel actions and efforts to “unleash” already booming US energy production that included also rolling back restrictions in drilling in Alaska and undoing a pause on gas exports.

The emergency declaration, which made good on a campaign-trail promise but could be open to legal challenge, would allow his administration to fast-track permits for new fossil fuel infrastructure.

It comes amid stated concerns about the power grid struggling to handle a projected surge in demand from data centers. “[The declaration] … means you can do whatever you have to do to get out of that problem and we do have that kind of emergency,” he said as he signed the order at the White House late on Monday.

In a flurry of first-day-in-office activity, Donald Trump has signed an order to rename the 617,800 sq mile Gulf of Mexico and Alaska’s 20,000ft mountain Denali.

The Gulf of Mexico will be renamed the Gulf of America, and Denali, the highest peak in North America, will revert to Mount McKinley – the name it was called before Barack Obama changed it in 2015.

The renaming of the two natural features is to honor “American greatness”, according to a preview of the orders obtained by the New York Post.

Donald Trump on Monday moved to withdraw the US, the world’s second biggest emitter of planet-heating pollution, from the Paris climate agreement for a second time, and put the United Nations on notice.

On his first day back as president, Trump signed an executive order on stage in front of supporters at an arena in Washington DC which he said was aimed at quitting what he called the “unfair one-sided Paris climate accord rip off”.

He also signed a letter to the United Nations giving it notice that the US was exiting, which starts the formal process of withdrawal from the world’s main effort to mitigate the worst impacts of the climate crisis.

It will take about a year for the withdrawal to be formalized.

Donald Trump on Monday issued “full, complete and unconditional” presidential pardons for about 1,500 people who were involved in the January 6 attack on Congress, including some convicted of violent acts, making good on his promise to act in such cases on day one of his second term.

In addition to the pardons, he issued commutations for more than a dozen cases, shortening sentences for those that he said needed “further research”. Among those whose sentences were commuted was Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the far-right Oath Keepers militia.

“This is a big one. We hope they come out tonight, frankly,” Trump said while signing the pardons in the Oval Office on Monday night after he referred to those convicted as “hostages”.