Top news stories from Israel/Palestine: March 22, 2019

What We’re Reading

US-Israeli/Palestinian relations

Trump Offers Netanyahu Part of Syria to Boost Israeli Leader’s Flagging Reelection Campaign,

With a tweet posted on Thursday, President Donald Trump dismissed five decades of international consensus on the status of the Golan Heights, Syrian territory seized by Israel in 1967 during a preemptive war, declaring that the United States would recognize Israel’s annexation of the region.

Republicans push to lock in Trump’s shift on Golan Heights,

“We applaud the president for formally recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, an acknowledgment that enhances the national security of both Israel and the United States,” Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., said in a statement.

House Dems unveil measure to reject anti-Israel boycotts,

Two House Democrats introduced a resolution on Thursday to condemn a global boycott campaign against Israel amid recent internal divisions in the Democratic Party over relations with the top U.S. ally.

Democratic candidates are steering clear of AIPAC. Is it business as usual, or a mini-revolt?,

Keep an eye on next year’s policy conference, when candidates will not be able to brush off AIPAC without explaining why — and might be less inclined to do so as they begin to pivot from pleasing the Democratic base and reaching out to independent voters.

Palestinian peace activist barred from entering the United States,

A Palestinian peace activist was denied entry to the United States and deported, despite having a valid visa. Osama Iliwat, 42, was questioned over the course of eight hours by officials from Customs and Border Protection at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City on Feb. 24 before he was sent on a flight back home.

Occupation/Human rights

U.N. rights forum condemns Israel over deadly Gaza protests,

The United Nations Human Rights Council on Friday condemned Israel’s “apparent intentional use of unlawful lethal and other excessive force” against civilian protesters in Gaza, and called for perpetrators of violations in the enclave to face justice.

WATCH: Israeli soldiers break into Palestinian school, arrest 10-year-old,

Fully armed soldiers enter the school in occupied Hebron, threaten teachers, and take away a child they likely exceeded their authority to arrest because of his age.

Israel again turning Temple Mount into a time bomb,

Israel’s decision to reclose the Bab al-Rahma building reflects once again the government’s provocative and dangerous policy over Temple Mount and Jerusalem.

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