“The Ministerial Legislative Committee should vote already this Sunday on advancing legislation to the Knesset that would allow for the annexation of West Bank settlements, the Land of Israel Caucus said on Tuesday. It spoke out just one day after its co-chairs MKs Bezalel Smotrich (Yamina) and Haim Katz (Likud) had filed a bill that would allow for the Knesset to apply sovereignty to portions of Area C of the West Bank where the settlements are located.”

“Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin has acknowledged in private conversations that no attention is currently being given in Washington to Israeli plans to annex up to 30 percent of the West Bank, according to a Tuesday Army Radio report. As a result, Levin reportedly said, the controversial move will likely have to be placed on the back burner as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not move forward without coordinating with the Trump administration.”

“Tech industry leaders, both past and present, believe that the idea of Israel annexing parts of the West Bank is nothing short of a catastrophe and particularly now during the Covid-19 era.”

“‘Any unilateral Israeli measure to annex lands in the West Bank is unacceptable, as it would undermine the prospects of achieving peace and stability in the Middle East,’ the monarch told members of the British foreign and defense parliamentary committee in a virtual meeting, according to Al Husseiniya Palace.”

“The comments by those interviewed directly contradict the Palestinian Authority’s total opposition to any West Bank annexations, a view shared by an overwhelming majority of the Palestinian public, according to surveys. The Palestinians featured in the program were captured by hidden camera and their identities concealed in the broadcast through blurred faces and distorted voices. ‘I want an Israeli identity card,’ one Palestinian is heard saying. Another stated that he didn’t see ‘Israelis as enemies — their government is the enemy’. And a third said he ‘chose Israel’ and wasn’t afraid to speak out publicly. The Israeli journalist who made the report, Tzvi Yehezkeli, said at least six people who spoke out in favor of annexation were subsequently arrested by the PA’s security services.”

“…Trump’s ‘deal of the century,’ which includes approval for Israeli annexation of up to 30% of the West Bank, could end up being ‘the fiasco of the century,’ born in sin and dying in agony shortly after coming into this world. The good news for Netanyahu is that the entire non-event, which generated resonating headlines for many months and engaged the public agenda, has been pushed to the outer reaches of the margins given the far more pressing problems he faces, chief among them the health and economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. He now has to decide whether to escalate tensions further over the budget with his government partner, the Blue and White party, and use the failure to reach agreement on the issue as an excuse to dismantle the partnership and call new elections, even as the once-flourishing economy disintegrates into chaos on primetime TV. As always with Netanyahu, these assessments all come with the warning that it is too soon to bury the greatest magician of Israeli politics ever, but it is also not a good idea to step into his shoes.”

“The defense minister plans to issue a tender for the controversial project to make the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron handicap accessible, including construction of an elevator…Both the Israeli NGO Emek Shaveh and Palestinians from Hebron have filed objections with the Civil Administration with regard to the project. The plan ‘is more political than humanitarian and marks a breach in the status quo in Hebron, creating additional friction between Jews and Muslims in a place which is already suffering from extreme tension,’ Emek Shaveh said. In the objection it filed, Emek Shaveh took issue with the approvals granted for the project during the last election cycle, noting that it was ‘illegal’ for the transitional government to have taken action on this matter.”

“Yaseen accuses the Israeli authorities of facilitating the settlers’ actions. ‘This kind of outpost is not built without the assistance of the Israeli army,” he said, adding that soldiers have been escorting the settlers whenever they travel in and out of the area. So far, he added, the settlers have “not come down from the outpost into the town, but their presence does not allow the farmers to work in their land.’ Local residents and activists from across the West Bank have been organizing weekly demonstrations against the outpost since it appeared on June 26. Last Friday, as hundreds of protesters marched toward the dirt mound separating the outpost from Asira a-Shamaliya, Israeli soldiers and Border Police officers attempted to disperse the demonstration with stun grenades, tear gas, and physical force, wounding a number of protesters.”

“The plan is described as ‘agricultural planting’ but local activists and human rights organizations say it is being implemented to weaken the Bedouin’s connection to the lands, a significant amount of which are the subject of ownership lawsuits and some of which are used for agriculture.”

“The report documents the direct and indirect implications of HeidelbergCement’s operations in the Nahal Raba stone quarry through its subsidiary, Hanson Israel. ‘The extraction of Palestinian natural resources, namely stone, has taken place in a context of deliberate institutional policies aimed towards the confiscation and exploitation of Palestinian land and resources by Israel, the Occupying Power, while also providing construction materials used to establish and expand illegal Israeli settlements,’ they said. Al-Haq and SOMO said they expect that HeidelbergCement and all businesses playing a role in Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise will be included in the update ‘as a means to challenge the economic incentive structure perpetuating the occupation and the continued denial of the Palestinian right to self-determination and to permanent sovereignty over natural resources’.”

“A plant that recycles waste for the city of Jerusalem forced its Palestinian employees to remain at the facility for four days last week, out of fear of the possible closure of the checkpoint through which they traveled between Israel and the West Bank. The plant did not have suitable arrangements for overnight stays, and the conditions described by the workers violated Health Ministry guidelines. Furthermore, workers said management acted in hopes of breaking up its nascent union. On Monday afternoon, after an inquiry by Haaretz, the company withdrew its order and the workers were permitted to return to their homes. GreenNet operates a large facility in the Atarot industrial zone, in the north of the capital. It sorts all of the waste collected by the city and has 120 employees.”

“On June 23, Israeli soldiers shot Ahmad Erekat after he got into a car accident at a checkpoint. It was his sister’s wedding day. The soldiers denied Ahmad medical assistance for over an hour, leaving him to bleed to death on the street. Host Omar Baddar is joined by Ahmad Erekat’s cousin and Palestinian American human rights attorney and scholar Noura Erakat, and by Ahmad’s older brother, Faisal Erekat. Noura discusses the context of Ahmad’s killing and Israel’s ‘shoot to kill policy’ and Israel’s practice of holding onto the bodies of Palestinians they have slain and keeping them from their families. Faisal talks about who Ahmad was, and about the impact of his loss on the family.”

“’Last night, reports were received about an attempted shooting attack from a passing car next to a military post near the city of Nablus,’ the military said. ‘During searches of the area, a bullet shell was found,’ the IDF said. Despite concerns of an outbreak in violence in response to Israel’s stated plans to annex portions of the West Bank, recent weeks have seen relative calm in the area.”

“Some 50 protesters were arrested Tuesday night following clashes with police at a thousands-strong rally in Jerusalem demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resign over his corruption charges. On Wednesday morning, the police said the protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing public disturbance, acts of vandalism and assault of officers and the press. The police asked to extend the custody of eight of the protesters, while the rest have been released. ” Also See – “Jerusalem rocked by confrontations between police, protesters” (Jerusalem Post); “Most of those detained at anti-Netanyahu rally freed, as row grows over violence” (The Times of Israel)

“As support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to fall, former defense minister Naftali Bennett’s Yamina Party has seen rising popularity amid the coronavirus crisis, with a poll by 103FM finding that the party would garner 14 seats if elections were held today (eight more than in the March elections), while Likud would earn 34 seats (two less than in the March elections).”

“The Knesset will vote Wednesday to appoint lawmakers who will serve on the committee appointing judges to Israeli courts, putting to the test the working relationship between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz. The tense relationship between the leaders’ two factions could prompt some of Knesset members to violate the coalition agreement, which states that factions shall select Osnat Mark of Netanyahu’s Likud and Zvi Hauser of Derech Eretz, a center-right faction which ran with Gantz’s Kahol Lavan party in the March election.” Also See – “Likud threatens elections if coalition votes Ayelet Shaked for judges panel” (Jerusalem Post)

“An individual with knowledge of the internal process told JI that while the committee discussed including a reference to occupation — a proposal from J Street — the panel drafted language that more closely mirrors the views expressed by the Biden campaign in recent weeks: a commitment to the two-state solution, concern regarding potential Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank, support for the U.S. commitment to the 10-year MOU signed between the Obama administration and Israel in 2016, and opposition to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement…Arab American Institute President James Zogby, who was appointed by Sanders — who is in second place in the total delegate count — to the 2016 platform committee, told JI that he expects Sanders representatives to succeed this year in including language ‘that creates a balance between Israeli and Palestinian rights.’ Zogby also anticipates that the final platform will include references to ‘occupation’ and the legality of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, as well as conditioning aid to Israel over its now-delayed efforts to unilaterally annex portions of the West Bank.”

” The recent victory of Jamaal Bowman over AIPAC-backed Eliot Engel; AIPAC being forced to ‘give permission’ to members of Congress to oppose Israeli annexation plans for the West Bank; and the recent letter to U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, from 12 Representatives and one Senator not only opposing annexation, but promising legislation to condition U.S. aid to Israel to their policies in the West Bank – all provide evidence that AIPAC may be losing its grip on Congress. Here are some of the reasons for this change​: ​the outrageous arrogance of Benjamin Netanyahu​; the fact that today the dominant pro-Israel lobby in Washington is the Christian right-wing of the Republican Party​; the virtual marriage of Netanyahu and President Donald Trump​; the deep divisions in the Jewish community that have given birth to powerful new groups that advocate for justice and peace​; ​the fact that Arab Americans have become empowered and unafraid to speak out​; and the growing support for Palestinian rights among especially Black voters, but also Latinos, Asian-Americans, and young voters, in general.”

“A row has erupted between the central Palestinian Authority and its local leaders over the lockdown of PA areas in the West Bank due to the coronavirus…The PA government said Sunday it had decided to extend the 10-day lockdown by another four days, but the governors of Ramallah, Hebron, and Nablus each announced that their cities were exempt from the decision. Hanna Issa, a Palestinian legal and political analyst, said that decision-makers’ ineffectual floundering represented a real tragedy, ‘where clearly trust between the government and the citizens is in very bad shape because poverty is rising and the occupation remains the same, and there are a global pandemic and closures’.”

“The dangerously high increase in the number of affected cases in the Hebron governorate is very worrisome. The Palestinian government has added curfews and taken unprecedented steps to close off movement between governorates and ensure that all public gatherings are prohibited. The efforts of community leaders in raising awareness of the importance of health restrictions are of utmost importance to negate those using unscientific facts to discourage the public from following well-researched health orders.”