Illiberal legislation in the Knesset; Gaza to lose electricity

What We’re Reading

Israeli politics

Netanyahu vows Knesset push to limit NGOs’ foreign funding,

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday confirmed the government would formulate a new bill restricting foreign government funding to Israeli organizations, significantly ratcheting up pressure on left-wing groups critical of Israeli policies.

Netanyahu seeks to limit left-wing groups’ access to High Court — report,

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly told top cabinet ministers on Sunday that he was considering legislation to limit access to the High Court of Justice.

Israel moves forward bill to cut tax transfer to PA over prisoners compensation program,

An Israeli governmental committee advanced a bill on Sunday which would see the Israeli government cease to transfer an estimated 1 billion shekels ($280 million) per year to the Palestinian Authority (PA) over the controversial “martyrs” compensation program that provides financial allowances to Palestinians imprisoned by Israel and their families.

Caught between a right-wing base and a new peace initiative, Netanyahu ducks and weaves,

While Likud tells the Americans that Netanyahu is vulnerable from the right, it simultaneously tells the right that the prime minister is vulnerable to American pressure.

Gaza

Israeli cabinet decides to heed PA request to cut Gaza electricity,

Israel has reportedly decided to heed a Palestinian Authority request to cut electricity supply to the Hamas-run Gaza Strip after the PA announced it would not continue to pay the bill as it stepped up pressure on its main rival.

Reducing Israel’s electricity supply to Gaza is a red line that must not be crossed,

Gisha sent an urgent letter yesterday morning to Minister of Defense Avigdor Lieberman, warning against an impending humanitarian crisis in Gaza should Israel decrease current electricity supply to the Strip.

Liberman: Israel has no interest in conquering Gaza in ‘next war’,

The Israeli army is not planning to conquer the Gaza Strip if another war were to break out with Hamas, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said this week, in an apparent turnaround from his repeated insistence in previous years that reoccupying the territory was the only way to stop rocket fire.

UNRWA uncovers Hamas-dug tunnel under school in Gaza,

The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees uncovered a tunnel belonging to Hamas under a boys’ elementary school in the Gaza Strip, according to a statement released by the organization on Friday.

Escalation in Gaza: The writing is already on the wall,

“The humanitarian situation in the strip, the Qatar crisis, and the underground barrier being built against the tunnels could lead Hamas to initiate a military conflict in a bid to improve its position,” writes Yossi Yehoshua.

Qatari FM insists Hamas ‘a legitimate resistance movement’,

As Qatar faces increasing pressure from its Arab neighbors to cut ties to jihadist groups, Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani insisted Saturday that Palestinian terror group Hamas is “a legitimate resistance movement.”

Occupation/Human rights

Israel plans most settlement homes since 1992: minister,

Israel has so far this year advanced its highest number of settlement projects since 1992, the defence minister said, despite warnings such plans make a two-state solution impossible. Minister of Defense Avigdor Lieberman made the comments on Sunday as Israel’s government faced mounting pressure from leaders of the settlement movement, who wield heavy influence in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition.

Batan al-Hawa in Silwan: The next target for “Judaization” in East Jerusalem,

Batan al-Hawa, a neighborhood in the heart of Silwan, is the setting for the most extensive expulsion scheme in recent years in East Jerusalem.

Netanyahu Demanded Settlers Be Allowed to Remain in Palestine After Future Peace Deal, Document Reveals,

Documents obtained by Ha’aretz reveal that in the course of negotiations with the Palestinians over the framework document at the beginning of 2014, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded that the Obama administration insert a provision stating that Israeli settlers and settlements in the West Bank would be allowed to remain in a future Palestinian state under Palestinian jurisdiction.

Anti-occupation LGBTQ activists block Tel Aviv pride parade,

Dozens of Israeli LGBTQ activists against the occupation blocked Tel Aviv’s annual pride parade on Friday, holding up signs that read “There’s no pride in occupation,” and for a few minutes preventing the march from proceeding through the city center.

Opinion: Israel: State of denial,

“In short, the settlement project has not created the conditions for the annexation of the West Bank to Israel nor made it inevitable,” writes Gershon Shafir.

Opinion: Ending the occupation isn’t enough,

“Israel has virtually completed Zionism’s great project: effectively ‘Judaizing’ the country, transforming Palestine into the Land of Israel,” writes Jeff Halper.

Colonialism's latest victim,

“The Palestinian man killed in Kafr Qasim this week was just the latest casualty of a colonial system whose masters feel forever threatened by the natives they rule over,” writes Marzuq al-Halabi.

Palestinian politics

Why is Hamas refusing to lay down arms?,

The movement sees its military capability as its only deterrent against Israeli aggression and expansion.

Will the GCC crisis undermine the Palestinian cause?,

The Qatar-Gulf crisis has given Israel an opportunity to normalise its presence in the region, analysts say.

US-Israel relations

Nikki Haley's view of Gaza is through Israeli eyes only,

“U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley came to Israel to see the conflict up close. It’s a shame that when it came to Gaza, she only got one perspective,” writes Yoni Mendel.