The Biden administration warned Israel that their decision to stop issuing administrative detention orders against Israeli settlers suspected of attacking Palestinians in the occupied West Bank could increase violence in the Palestinian territory, two U.S. officials told Axios.
Why it matters: Israeli security forces mostly use administrative detention against Palestinians, but the measure is also used to counter Jewish terrorism against Palestinians.
Hostage families and deal-minded Israeli officials are now placing their hopes in President-elect Trump to succeed where President Biden has so far failed: Convincing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza in exchange for freeing the hostages held by Hamas.
The big picture: Less then two months before Trump's inauguration, a hostage-release and ceasefire deal looks unlikely to happen anytime soon.
President-elect Trump will nominate Scott Bessent, a financier focused on global macroeconomics, as his Treasury secretary, which would make him the incoming administration's top economic official.
Why it matters: Bessent would bring to Treasury deep knowledge of bond and currency markets and a close relationship with Trump — as well as a surprising connection to hedge fund manager George Soros, mega-donor to liberal causes and bogeyman to the political right.
Northvolt, a Swedish maker of lithium-ion batteries that once was valued by venture capitalists at nearly $12 billion, has filed for bankruptcy.
Why it matters This is a massive blow to Europe's EV manufacturing goals, as Northvolt was viewed as the best homegrown chance for reducing reliance on China.
Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro was formally accused of being involved in an attempted a coup over his 2022 election loss to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the country's police announced Thursday.
The big picture: The proposed indictments against Bolsonaro and 36 others conclude the Brazilian federal police's two-year investigation into the fallout from the election that the populist leader never formally conceded, which saw his supporters storm the presidential palace and other government buildings on Jan. 8, 2023.
A pre-trial chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the war in Gaza.
Why it matters: The dramatic move will further isolate Israel internationally and increase pressure on Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza. President Biden in a Thursday evening statement called the ICC's actions "outrageous."
