From the FMEP Blog
Five Takeaways from the US-Israel MOU, Mitchell Plitnick
On Wednesday Israel and the United States finally signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), committing the United States to provide Israel with $38 billion in military aid over the ten years spanning 2019-2028. Here are five takeaways.
Occupation/Human rights
Opinion: Netanyahu’s ‘ethnic cleansing’ gimmick, The Jerusalem Post
“Removing Jewish settlers from the occupied territories is never “ethnic cleansing.” It is justice,” writes Elias Zananiri.
The ethnic cleansing of al-Sindiyana, Local Call
“When Prime Minister Netanyahu released a video blaming Palestinians for wanting to commit ethnic cleansing against Israeli settlers last week, he may have touched on a topic that hits a little too close to home: Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in 1948 — the Nakba,” writes Noam Rotem.
High Court green-lights torture of Palestinian hunger strikers, Local Call
According to the court’s ruling, force feeding, universally recognized as a form of torture, is a legitimate tool to use against hunger strikers.
Opinion: Yes, Israel does differentiate between Jewish and Palestinian terror, +972 Magazine
“When Palestinians demand their attackers receive the same punishments as those who target Jews, the pretense of equal treatment before the law slips away,” writes Natasha Roth.
US-Israel relations
Powell Acknowledges Israeli Nukes, LobeLog
According to hacked emails reviewed by LobeLog, Former Secretary of State Colin Powell acknowledged Israel’s nuclear arsenal, an open secret that U.S. and Israeli politicians typically refuse to acknowledge as part of Israel’s strategy of “nuclear ambiguity.” Powell also rejected assessments that Iran, at the time, was “a year away” from a nuclear weapon.
Palestinian politics
Hamas accuses Abbas of blocking local elections to protect Fatah, Al-Monitor
The Palestinian High Court of Justice has suspended the local elections slated for Oct. 8, citing concern that Jerusalem was left out of the electoral process and that Fatah lists were being disqualified by Hamas-run courts in the Gaza Strip.
Israel dangles Gazan operatives, but Hamas won't negotiate, Al-Monitor
Despite multiple offers by Israel, Hamas refuses to make a deal for the release of three Israelis before Israel releases 50 prisoners it recaptured in 2014.
Israeli politics
Opinion: Why a referendum on West Bank is unlikely to change anything, Al-Monitor
“Instead of going to the streets, the Israeli peace camp prefers an online campaign that is unlikely to change anything within Israeli public opinion,” writes Akiva Eldar.
Gaza
Israel strikes Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire, Middle East Eye
Exchange of fire, which caused no injuries, is the latest in a spate of shellings and air raids between Israel and forces linked to Hamas.