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Hang in there, the workweek is almost over.
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Palestinian security forces in the West Bank last year. Photo: Nasser Nasser / AP
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1. US considers funding a peacekeeping force in post-war Gaza
The Biden administration is considering a proposal that would help fund either a multinational or a Palestinian peacekeeping team in the Gaza Strip after the war.
The U.S. already funds the training of Palestinian security forces and regards them as central to stabilizing the region after the war. The security forces are viewed as “widely unpopular” and ill-equipped, however, according to The Washington Post. Since they are subject to the same Israeli restrictions as other Palestinian citizens, they struggle to stop settler violence or military raids in the West Bank.
While the U.S. officials involved in the peacekeeping talks expressed interest in continuing financial aid for security in Gaza, they say that postwar plans would not involve U.S. troops on the ground. And it could be weeks or months until a plan is actually approved.
“We’ve had a number of conversations with both the Israelis and our partners about key elements for the day after in Gaza when the time is right,” a senior administration official told POLITICO.
It’s unclear exactly when “the day after” might arrive. On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a U.S. delegation that victory was just “a few weeks away.” He also said Israel has “no choice” but to invade the southern Gazan city of Rafah.
Despite Monday’s U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire and access to aid in the besieged region, fighting has continued and famine has set in. On Thursday, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to unblock food aid.
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2. A growing number of Americans disapprove of Israel’s actions in Gaza, polls say
Fifty-five percent of American adults now say they disapprove of Israel’s military actions in the Gaza Strip — up 10 percentage points from four months ago — according to a Gallup poll published Wednesday.
Interestingly, Gallup found that this disapproval is the same regardless of how much people say they’re paying attention to the conflict. About three in four respondents said they’re following news of the Israel-Hamas situation very or somewhat closely. But the share of people who disapprove of Israel’s actions is nearly identical across those two groups and those not following the news closely at all.
Those similar beliefs are notable given the wide range of knowledge Americans have about the conflict.
For instance, a survey of U.S. adults released last week by Pew showed that only about half of respondents knew whether the Israeli or Palestinian death toll thus far was higher. When that poll first began (it was conducted Feb. 13 to 25), more than 28,000 Palestinians had been killed compared to the 1,200 Israeli and foreign citizens killed during the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack.
As disapproval rates have increased, the Gallup poll found that Americans’ approval of Israel’s actions has dropped — from 50% in November to 36% in March.
A related Chicago Council on Global Affairs-Ipsos survey, conducted in February, found that 56% of American adults believe the United States should remain impartial in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Related: Annelle Sheline, a state department official who focused on human rights in the Middle East, resigned on Wednesday in protest of the United States’ continued military and diplomatic support of Israel. Sheline told NBC News on Thursday she no longer wanted to serve a government that was “enabling what has credibly been described as a genocide.”
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3. Chocolate prices — and profits — soar amid West Africa’s cocoa crisis
Just in time for Easter: Chocolate consumer prices are up, chocolate eggs are smaller, and chocolate companies are posting net profits as extreme weather obliterates African farmers’ cocoa yields.
First, the farmers: About three-quarters of the world’s cocoa is grown on cacao trees in Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and Cameroon. Severe dust storms blocking sunlight last season and heavy rainfall spreading rot this season have contributed to low crop yields.
Illegal gold mining in Ghana has also contributed to the destruction of cacao plantations.
Chocolate futures have doubled since the start of the year. But cacao farmers say the higher trading prices don’t make up for their lower yields and higher production costs.
Now you, the consumer: Mondelez International — which owns Toblerone and Cadbury — and Hershey have passed those costs to consumers; both have recently raised their chocolate prices. This season, the cost of the popular Cadbury Mini Eggs, for example, has gone up 25% in the U.K. After customer backlash online, Mondelez said it was a “last resort.”
Both companies, however, reported increased net profits from 2022 to 2023. Mondelez had net profit margins of 13.8% in 2023 compared to 8.6% the year before, while Hershey’s were 16.7% in 2023 compared to 15.8% in 2022.
Related (and important): Here’s a video of “The Office” star B.J. Novak showing Conan O’Brien back in 2007 how Cadbury Creme Eggs have gotten smaller.
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In other news
- First chocolate, now wine: By the end of the century, 90% of wine regions in Spain, Italy, Greece, and Southern California could disappear due to climate change. [CBS]
- Four people have died and more than 100 have been hospitalized in Japan after taking cholesterol-lowering supplements made with red yeast rice, which is fermented with mold that can cause kidney issues. [CNN]
- A Russian disinformation ring linked to the Kremlin fueled conspiracy theories about Kate Middleton before she revealed her cancer diagnosis last week. [The New York Times]
- France will sue a student for allegedly lying about her headteacher hitting her last month after telling her to remove her headscarf. The educator resigned on Friday after receiving death threats online. [BBC]
- Greenhouse gas emissions in the U.K. fell by 5.4% in 2023, with less gas used to generate electricity and heat homes, according to government data released Thursday. [Reuters]
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Say that again
“[These strings] cause cutting lesions, mostly in the neck area to people on bicycles or motorcycles, that can cause hemorrhages and end up in the victim’s death,” said a spokesperson for the Military Police of São Paulo State.
Brazil has seen a post-pandemic uptick in accidents related to “kite fighting,” which involves participants using sharp strings on their kites — sometimes covering them in glass or quartz — to bring down their opponents’ kites. [Rest of World]
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Say hello to Hello Tractor
Learn how a tractor-sharing app is making farming a whole lot easier in Kenya.
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What we’re listening to
Today’s my Friday. I’m heading to Arizona after work tonight for a long weekend with my family. To get in the mood, I’m listening to Hermanos Gutiérrez — a two-piece band of Ecuadorian-Swiss brothers whose moody, reverbed guitar instrumentals conjure Mexican and Southwestern landscapes.
A perfect example of their sound is the title track off of 2022’s “El Bueno y el Malo,” inspired by Ennio Morricone’s soundtrack for the spaghetti Western “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.”
—Laura Adamczyk, staff writer
Thanks for reading. I’m off tomorrow, but the gang will take over in my stead. Be nice to them.
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Questions, comments, or corrections? Email us at theoverview@globalaffairs.org.
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