“Israel’s Kan public broadcaster reported the meeting saw emergency measures approved that the Health Ministry sought. Bars, clubs, cultural venues and gyms across the country were immediately ordered shut, and the number of people allowed to pray in the synagogue was at once reportedly capped at 19. The new restrictions come as Israel faces an uptick in new infections, with over 800 new cases registered in the country on Sunday. The apparent resurgence of the disease prompted the Israeli authorities to introduce some new restrictions on public activities and outings on Sunday.”

“Just 46 percent of those who participated in the survey said they were satisfied with how the prime minister is leading the country through the virus crisis, while 49% said they are unhappy with his performance. That compares with a poll at the beginning of the month that gave Netanyahu 56% support with 36% dissatisfied. At the beginning of May, before a recent spike in virus infections began, a survey showed 74% of people backed the prime minister’s handling of the outbreak with just 23% saying the opposite.”

“The Israeli Voice Index for June 2020, a monthly survey conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute, found that 24.5 percent of Israelis support applying sovereignty to all of the West Bank; 14 percent support applying sovereignty to the West Bank settlement blocs; 8 percent support applying sovereignty to just the Jordan Valley; and 25 percent oppose applying sovereignty to any part of the West Bank. Some 28.5 percent responded that they don’t know. When asked if Israel should still apply sovereignty if it is conditioned on the establishment of a Palestinian state, 49 percent of survey respondents said it should and 38 percent said it should not.”

“The report by Channel 12 said the names of the countries where attacks were prevented remain under censorship, but cooperation with them helped to thwart the attacks.”

“Rumors aside, it’s impossible to assess at this point to what degree Ravid and some of the lesser-known journalists were let go simply to balance the books, and how much they were sacrifices to assuage the beloved leader. But even if the decision-making was purely financial, it’s impossible to detach the firing of a prominent journalist from a wider struggle over the future of the Israeli media.”

“Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh on Monday called on Israel to close all crossings to the West Bank, in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Speaking ahead of a government meeting in Ramallah, Shtayyeh said he would address the UN on the issue of crossings, saying that Israel has prevented the Palestinian Authority from setting up checkpoints in Area C to prevent the movement of Palestinian residents between different parts of the West Bank.”

“’We are sending a message, first and foremost, to the occupation: we are united; even if there are disagreements here and there, they are superficial and normal,’ Hamas political bureau member Hussam Badran said in a joint interview with Fatah Central Committee member Ahmad Hilles on Palestine TV…’Our people have an enormous amount of skepticism with regard to the potential for national unity. Previous attempts did not end up having an impact on the ground,’ Badran acknowledged…’I’m not saying ‘we’re working on total reconciliation’ but rather ‘we’ve started a rapprochement,’ Hilles said.”

“El Kurd explains that because of the PA’s nature as an ‘indigenous authoritarian regime,’ it is able to use certain methods and connections to co-opt and control the Palestinian population — from employment in its institutions to arrests or brutality by its security forces. As a result, the PA has “a very different impact on Palestinian society than the Israeli repressive apparatus,” acting as a ‘middle-man’ between the occupier and the occupied. The PA’s reliance on foreign political and financial support, particularly from the United States, has been a key factor in depoliticizing not only the PA’s institutions but also Palestinian civil society, argues El Kurd. Because of this dependency, the PA has become less concerned with making itself accountable to its own people and is instead more concerned with “‘how do we make sure the Americans are okay with what we’re doing’.”

“In June alone, Israel demolished 30 Palestinian homes in the West Bank (not including East Jerusalem) – the same number demolished throughout the entire first five months of 2020. The June demolitions left 100 Palestinians, 53 of them minors, homeless. That month, Israel also demolished 33 non-residential structures. In total, Israel demolished 63 structures belonging to Palestinians in the West Bank in June. Israel also significantly stepped up demolitions in East Jerusalem in June, leaving 51 people, including 31 minors, homeless. The number of homes demolished – 13 – is double the monthly average in the first five months of 2020. Eight of the homes demolished last month were torn down by their owners, after they received a demolition order from the municipality and wished to avoid paying the cost of the demolition and fines to the municipality. Three non-residential structures were also demolished in East Jerusalem in June.”

“’We have registered 17 suicides and hundreds of attempted suicides, namely among young people,’ since the start of the year, said Samir Zaqout, deputy director of the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights. He told AFP that ‘extreme poverty,’ difficult living conditions and a lack of freedom of expression under the Hamas rule were all factors behind these suicides.”

“Following Erekat’s killing, some media outlets called The Container an ‘East Jerusalem checkpoint’ — a technically true but misleading name that actually covers up the violence of the place. Reading the phrase, even I could mistakenly believe that the checkpoint stands on the Green Line between East and West Jerusalem, dividing the state of Israel from the occupied West Bank. The suggestion that The Container serves some kind of security function also hovers over those words. But as anyone who has been through that checkpoint knows, The Container in fact divides one Palestinian area from another. While it is in the part of Jerusalem that Israel unilaterally annexed after 1967, it neither protects ‘West Jerusalem’ nor sits on its border. It is jammed into the throat of the Palestinian territories, severing the continuity of the villages on the edge of Jerusalem.”

“Greek Orthodox Patriarchate spokesman Father Issa Musleh told Al-Monitor the Patriarchate will resort to the Israeli High Court of Justice in the coming period, as it has documents proving the existence of corruption in the deal.”

“The House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs approved by voice vote its fiscal year 2021 bill on Monday that will provide funds to Israel security in addition to giving aid to the Palestinians.”

“A House panel chaired by retiring Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) advanced bipartisan legislation on Monday that would establish an international fund to facilitate joint economic ventures and promote people-to-people dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians. …Kevin Rachlin, the U.S. director for the Alliance for Middle East Peace, which has been advocating for the bill for the past decade, told JI he was ‘ecstatic’ to see the legislation advance, calling it ‘one of the first truly bipartisan positive pieces of legislation on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to come out in quite some time’.”

“The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) announced on Monday that it opposes the Chris Van Hollen amendment, which it says politicizes US support for Israel’s security. Last week, a group of 13 Senate Democrats had filed an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to prohibit Israel from using US security assistance funds for the annexation of parts of the West Bank.” Also See – “AIPAC Slams Democrats’ Proposal to Ban Israel From Using U.S. Aid Toward Annexation” (Haaretz)

“An Israeli official flagged a possible security risk on Monday following a U.S. move to allow American providers to sell clearer satellite images of Israel and the Palestinian territories. Under a 1997 U.S. regulation known as the Kyl-Bingaman Amendment, satellite images of Israel and the Palestinian territories used in services like Google Earth could show items no smaller than 2 metres (6.56 ft) across…Hagit Ofran of Peace Now, an Israeli anti-settlement monitor, welcomed the prospect of sharper images. With lower quality photos, she said, ‘it is difficult to know if what you are seeing is a new house or just a chicken coop’.”

“‘I think he is not representing exactly the US, but more his own opinion or goals,’ Nitzan Horowitz, an Israeli opposition politician and head of the left-wing Meretz party, said. ‘He is pursuing a very obsessive agenda of annexation, which according to my knowledge and understanding, is not shared by most of his colleagues in Washington,’ Mr Horowitz said, explaining that his information came from talks with foreign and Israeli officials. The US embassy declined to comment.”

“In recent weeks, there have been persistent reports in the press that the annexation scheme under serious scrutiny would “limit” annexation to the settlement blocs surrounding Jerusalem…There are two compelling reasons that lead us to treat these prospective plans more likely than others: 1) Netanyahu’s long-dated pursuit of a Greater Jerusalem umbrella municipality – On more than one occasion in the past Netanyahu has come very close to implementing schemes that are very similar or identical to the annexation of the three Greater Jerusalem blocs. The plans have gone well beyond mere concepts. Our sources have informed us that there have been protracted and in-depth deliberations in the National Security Council, which have produced a number of operational contingency plans relating specifically to these blocs. And, 2) The Settlement Blocs Doctrine -The settlement blocs are portrayed in certain quarters as being “legitimate” settlements, on which there is an Israeli consensus. Blue and White leadership assumes that an annexation limited to the Greater Jerusalem settlement blocs will arouse less opposition, both internationally and domestically. Netanyahu’s domestic considerations are more complex, as he also fears criticism from the settlers leadership and from his own party, who will “pocket” the areas that the government has decided to annex but castigate Netanyahu for all that he left “un-annexed”. Netanyahu will no doubt be accused of betraying Judea and Samaria, while squandering the so-called opportunity created by the Trump plan. We will now examine each of these factors in depth.”

“The timing and scope of the plan is still uncertain, but when Israel announces its expected decision to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, the world’s attention will turn to the immediate impact. People who care about the region will be watching closely to see if Palestinians rise up in protest, if the Palestinian Authority will collapse or be disbanded, if Arab countries cut off budding ties with Israel, or if European countries impose sanctions on Israel or recognize a Palestinian state. After all the warnings that annexation will trigger a disaster, all eyes will be on how the various parties respond.

“Israeli leaders paint Jerusalem as a model of coexistence, the “unified, eternal” capital of the Jewish people, where minorities have equal rights. But Palestinian residents face widespread discrimination, most lack citizenship and many live in fear of being forced out…Rights groups say that in recent decades, authorities have abused the law to seize homes in sensitive parts of Jerusalem, evicting Palestinian residents and paving the way for settlers to move in.”

“A recent report by a new human-rights think tank – established and led by former Meretz chairwoman Zehava Galon – is likely to become a seminal civil-political document in the public battle against the formal imposition, and validation, of an apartheid regime between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River.”

“This tendency to view Gaza and the West Bank as separate entities is not a new phenomenon. For years, the Gaza Strip has been in political limbo; no one wants to talk about its past, present or future. One would assume that even for those who promote a “two-state” framework, there is an understanding that the Gaza Strip and the West Bank constitute a single territorial unit – a major principle of the 1993 Oslo accord. Yet, even for those who claim to support the “two-state” framework, there’s a tendency to exclude Gaza as a way of avoiding the need to deal with its problems.”

“The ministers held a video conference and at its conclusion they determined that they would not recognize any extension of Israeli law in the West Bank unless the Palestinians agreed to it. ‘We unanimously believe that nay annexation of the Palestinian Territories occupied in 1967 would violate international law and jeopardize the foundations of the peace process,’ the statement reads. Sovereignty steps by Israel ‘would have serious implications for the security and stability of the region and would be a major obstacle to efforts to achieve a full and just peace,’ the foreign ministers added.”

“An important joint statement by foreign ministers of Egypt, France, Germany and Jordan has sought to unify their positions on Israel’s proposed annexation of parts of the West Bank, while also discussing ‘fruitful engagement’ that could aid the peace process. The joint statement was made by a video conference, Reuters reported Monday…Regional media in the Gulf see the statement as important. The closing of ranks between Egypt and Jordan, the two countries that share borders and peace treaties with Israel, is important. It is equally important to see France’s involvement. France has generally taken its own route to dealing with the Middle East in recent years.”

“British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday over the phone that he vehemently opposes any Israeli step to annex parts of the West Bank. This is the first conversation the two leaders held on the matter, after many weeks of failed attempts to discuss annexation plan via the Trump administration’s Middle East peace plan, which was unveiled in January.”

“Foreign Ministry spokesman Daifallah al-Fayez claimed that the Jordanian Waqf has exclusive authority over the Western Wall under international law. He further said that all renovation and maintenance work on the Temple Mount is the sole purview of the Waqf, and called on the Israeli government to halt all work at the Western Wall.”