1.Bills, Resolutions & Letters

2. Israel & AIPAC in the 2024 Election Cycle
3. Hearings & Markups
4. Media & Reports
5. Members on the Record

“Four Palestinians have been killed in separate incidents in the occupied West Bank, three at the hands of Israeli soldiers, and one by an Israeli settler, according to the Israeli military and medical officials.”

“A young Palestinian man was killed on Friday as Israeli settlers attacked the occupied West Bank town of Huwwara, just hours after Israeli forces killed another Palestinian in the area, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. A settler shot 19-year-old Labeeb Mohammed Dmaidi in the heart, after dozens of settlers carried out attacks on Palestinian property in Huwwara under the protection of Israeli troops, according to Wafa. The settlers damaged homes and buildings, and confronted Palestinian locals, who gathered to fend off the attacks…Earlier on Thursday night, Israeli forces tracked down and shot dead a Palestinian man who they suspected of firing shots at an Israeli family in a vehicle in Huwwara. No members of the family were harmed.” See also One Palestinian Killed After Settlers Enter West Bank Town of Hawara to Set Up Sukkah (Haaretz); See also from Times of Israel: Smotrich urges closing Huwara’s Palestinian shops until bypass road built for settlers; Palestinian reportedly shot after attacking civilian Israeli vehicle in West Bank; Israeli parents, baby escape unscathed as West Bank terrorist opens fire on car

“This year has witnessed the highest number of attacks on Palestinian children by Israeli forces, either by killing, maiming, or arresting, the Defence of Children International – Palestine (DCI-P) human rights group told The New New Arab on Thursday, 5 October. According to DCI-P, the targeting of Palestinian children by Israeli forces has spiked since last year, mainly due to the increasing Israeli raids into Palestinian cities, towns, and refugee camps in the West Bank.”

“U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken overrode a Republican-issued hold on $75 million in food assistance for the Palestinian Territories, hours before the money was set to be forcibly redistributed elsewhere. Blinken’s under-the-radar approval of the funds comes after months of pressure from Democratic lawmakers in both houses of Congress, as well as dozens of civil society organizations, all of which warned abiding by the Republican hold on the previously appropriated funds would lead to 1.2 million Palestinians being without food and causing a humanitarian crisis… Blinken’s approval of the funds came days after U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield announced an additional $73 million in funding to support UNRWA’s core and emergency services.” See also Israel’s embargo made donkeys critical to Gaza. Now it may take them away. (WaPo)

“Across remote parts of the West Bank, the mountainous territory occupied by Israel since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, Palestinian herding communities are abandoning their homes at a rate that has no recorded precedent, according to the United Nations. Simultaneously, Israeli settlers are establishing wildcat herding outposts at close to record levels, often near Palestinian villages, according to land assessments by Kerem Navot, an independent Israeli watchdog that monitors settlement activity…The reason for their departure is partly economic. The settlers’ herds graze on grass that was previously eaten by only the Palestinians’ sheep, creating a scarcity. They also block access to springs and pools that the Palestinians’ sheep could once easily reach. With less fodder and water, the Palestinians find it harder to subsist. But mainly, the Palestinians say they are leaving out of fear. In interviews, Palestinians from four hamlets recounted how the settler herders frequently entered their villages, carrying guns, and screaming at and insulting the residents.” See also JNF Funds Projects for At-risk Youth in Illegal West Bank Outposts (Haaretz); Editorial | The Jewish National Fund for Hilltop Youth and Annexation (Haaretz: “The Jewish National Fund is continuing to bolster its role as a key player in the settlement enterprise and its accompanying looting and dispossession of the Palestinians in the West Bank, in preparation for a future annexation.”)

“This new confiscation of lands has put the people in a very, very difficult situation, as Umm Al-Khair has now become a prison. You cannot move at all according to their law. We are now completely surrounded by the Israeli settlement: the settlement continues to expand on three sides of our village, and on the fourth side, they have built farms for their poultry on other Palestinian lands that were confiscated. Umm Al-Khair has been suffering for decades from a lack of water and electricity and the demolition of homes. Our homes have been demolished more than 17 times, and more than 109 homes have been destroyed, leaving behind many people who have become homeless. Now, the situation in the village is very, very dangerous, as more than half of the village’s land has been confiscated and residents cannot use it.”

“At the same time that the West Bank’s climate is changing rapidly, affecting nearly every facet of life in agricultural communities, coordinated Israeli state and settler violence is exacerbating the impacts of climate breakdown, intensifying the challenges of maintaining such livelihoods in Area C. For these villages, desertification and water scarcity has become an immediate danger. And while climate change is increasingly the cause of such phenomena worldwide, in Area C, settler violence is a primary culprit…Palestinian residents of Area C who, like Abu El-Kbash, have limited ability to access water or build infrastructure to adapt to a changing environment, are extremely vulnerable to climate breakdown. Climate change will further drive food and water insecurity for Palestinian farmers and shepherds, adding increasing pressure on top of the ongoing Israeli restrictions and settler violence threatening their day-to-day lives.” See also Israel blocked UK foreign secretary from visiting Palestinian village terrorised by settlers (Middle East Eye)

“Charges against Palestinian social media users have surged in recent years — particularly in the wake of the Palestinian uprising of May 2021 known as the “Unity Intifada” — and Abbassi is just one of many whom Israeli authorities have surveilled, censored, detained, and incarcerated for their online activity. Usually, they are accused of inciting violence or sympathizing with a terrorist organization; however, when it comes to Palestinians, “incitement,” “sympathy,” and “terrorism” are often broadly defined. Legal advocates say that the crackdown on Palestinian online speech constitutes an alarming form of political persecution, resulting in a systemic restriction of Palestinian freedom of expression.”

“The nationwide municipal elections scheduled for Oct. 31 have generated unprecedented threats and danger to Arab Israeli politicians, as organized crime families seek to gain a foothold in local politics and its lucrative jobs and contracts…A few weeks ago, the Shin Bet domestic security agency flagged 15 to 20 local Arab councils and municipalities where candidates, elected officials and voters are being threatened by criminals. In response, voters in those towns and villages have expressed concern about the violation of their democratic rights.”

“Israeli police said Wednesday they arrested several people suspected of spitting in the direction of Christian pilgrims and churches in Jerusalem this week as religious tensions flared anew in the contested capital that the three Abrahamic faiths consider holy. As Jews celebrate Sukkot — the weeklong Feast of Tabernacles that marks the fall harvest and commemorates the desert wandering of the Jews during the Exodus — processions of ultra-Orthodox Jews through the Old City’s narrow streets have led to numerous spitting incidents and left Jerusalem on edge.” See also In call with Vatican, Israel condemns ‘ugly phenomenon’ of spitting incidents (Times of Israel)

See also Editorial | A Spit in the Face: Anti-Christian Incidents in Jerusalem Spread Epidemic of Jewish Supremacy (Haaretz): “A short video shot Sunday documents the following event: A group of Christian pilgrims sets out from a church on the Via Dolorosa in the Old City of Jerusalem, a few of them carrying a large wooden cross. They encounter a few dozen Jewish men and boys, some wearing prayer shawls and carrying the lulav and etrog for the Sukkot festival. Within seconds, the Jews begin to spit on the ground in the direction of the pilgrims – first men, followed by boys, imitating them. Near the end of the video, a Border Patrol officer is seen escorting the group of Jews, doing nothing to stop them. The video sparked outrage and condemnation from around the world and shocked many Israelis. But there were also those who justified the spitters….This event was not unusual. Every day, Christian pilgrims and members of the clergy face being spat at on the streets of the Old City. This is in addition to the assaults, cursing, humiliation and vandalism suffered by Christians and their institutions…While the spitting is not new – religious teens have been doing it in Jerusalem for many years – the city’s Christian communities agree that its frequency has increased markedly in the past year. The spitters feel they have the support of Israel’s extremist government, especially National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.”

“Establishing new settlements under the guise of adding neighborhoods to existing ones is a common method employed by Israeli governments, even when there is minimal physical or communal link between the “neighborhood” and the original settlement. The current government is working on the legalization of 70 outposts via this strategy, which avoids the need for an official declaration of the establishment of a new settlement and thus allows the settlement project to advance without attracting much notice. If an international body were to voice any criticism, Israel could claim that it hasn’t violated international agreements, such as the Oslo Accords, or its promises to successive American administrations…The promotion of the construction plan in Netiv Ha’avot does not deviate from the methods used in other settlements, but it does indicate how far removed the legal planning procedure in Gush Etzion is from the standard process in Israel.”

“Democratic senators told President Biden on Wednesday that any diplomatic pact between Saudi Arabia and Israel would need to include a commitment from Israel to halt settlements in Palestinian territories and preserve “the option of a two-state solution.”…In a letter signed by 20 senators, the lawmakers also expressed concerns that a new U.S. defense treaty with Saudi Arabia — which Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is insisting be part of a deal to normalize relations with Israel — could enmesh the United States even deeper in the Middle East. “A high degree of proof would be required,” the letter reads, “to show that a binding defense treaty with Saudi Arabia — an authoritarian regime which regularly undermines U.S. interests in the region, has a deeply concerning human rights record and has pursued an aggressive and reckless foreign policy agenda — aligns with U.S. interests.”…The measures the senators listed are significant, including a commitment by Israel not to annex any of the West Bank and a halt on the construction and expansion of Israeli settlements. These actions, the senators wrote, would help achieve Mr. Biden’s stated objective of “preserving the option of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”” See also Twenty Senate Democrats lay down their conditions for a Saudi-Israel normalization deal (Jewish Insider)

“In recent years, much has been written about the overwhelming support former President Donald Trump has received from white evangelical Christians, particularly Christian Zionists. Less examined is the relationship between white supremacy and Christian Zionism, namely their overlapping ideologies and political clout. In this policy brief, analysts Halah Ahmad and Mimi Kirk examine the sinister synergy between Christian Zionism and white supremacy, unpacking the exceptionalism upon which Christian Zionist racist ideologies, discourses, and politics are based.”

“The US has admitted Israel into the Visa Waiver Program even though the country continues to discriminate against Palestinian American travelers.”

“As efforts continue for an Israeli-Saudi normalization deal, the Biden administration clearly sees National Unity leader Benny Gantz as a key player who could counterbalance objections by hard-liners in the Israeli government and perhaps campaign for such a deal among the Republican party. Gantz’s Washington visit this week was clandestine. The former defense minister took off from Israel on Tuesday night, but his office did not publicize the trip and the matter was kept secret until after his Washington meeting the next day with national security adviser Jake Sullivan. The White House was similarly circumspect…As Al-Monitor previously reported, Gantz, whose party is now evenly tied in the polls with the ruling Likud, will play a vital role in the US-Saudi-Israel normalization deal being hammered out by the three sides.” See also ‘A lot of work’ remains on Saudi-Israel deal, says Abraham Accords advisor (Al Monitor); MBS’ open talk signals advance toward peace with Israel (Jewish Insider); Scoop: Senior Biden advisers quietly visit Saudi Arabia to discuss mega-deal (Axios)

“The Anglican Church in South Africa has declared Israel an “apartheid state“, following a campaign by Palestinian activists. The Christian church’s Provincial Standing Committee approved a resolution on Wednesday defining Israel as an apartheid state and reviewing pilgrimages to the Holy Land…The South African church’s resolution also called for outreach to Palestinian Christians, including meetings with the lay community and clerics during pilgrimages, and for attention to be drawn to the persecution of Palestinians.”

“Now, as over 100,000 ethnic Armenians have fled Nagorno-Karabakh in the latest conflict there, Israeli-Azerbaijani ties have come under scrutiny, with an editorial in Israel’s most prominent left-wing newspaper Haaretz proclaiming that the country’s “fingerprints are all over the ethnic cleansing” in Nagorno-Karabakh…The weapons trade between Israel and Azerbaijan mirrors their diplomatic relationship, once described in a leaked US diplomatic cable as “like an iceberg, nine-tenths of it… below the surface.” Despite decades of bilateral cooperation, Azerbaijan only opened an embassy in Israel this year. But their ties go beyond guns and ammunition: OEC figures show that Israel bought 65% of its crude oil from Azerbaijan in 2021. The countries are also believed to share intelligence on Iran, Israel’s archenemy, with which Azerbaijan shares a border and which has a substantial ethnic Azeri population that constitutes the country’s largest minority. Azerbaijan has also reportedly allowed the Israeli spy agency Mossad to use it as a hub to spy on Iran. (The Israeli Ministry of Defense declined to comment on the matter.)” See also Israel, Azerbaijan announce landmark deal for sale of two satellites (Al Monitor); Israel’s defense exports on the rise, drone customers up 40% since 2020 (Al Monitor)

“On July 19, Zaid Abdulnasser, a Palestinian refugee from Syria who has been living in Berlin since 2017, received a letter in the mail. It was a notice from Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) alerting him that his refugee status was set to be rescinded and his protection by the BAMF terminated. The decision to withdraw Abdulnasser’s refugee status was due to what the BAMF called “extremist activities” — namely, his activism with the Palestinian advocacy group Samidoun, an international network of activists working to build solidarity with the struggle of Palestinian prisoners languishing in Israeli jails. Samidoun, which organizes protests and other awareness-raising campaigns, has faced persistent accusations of “extremism” and connections with terrorist groups, though there is no evidence of such. Abdulnasser’s lawyer, Nadija Samour, told +972 that if the German state is successful, Abdulnasser would be forced into duldungstatus, or “toleration status;” this means he would no longer have the rights of a recognized refugee, but that the authorities would not be allowed to deport him to Syria…In the decades since, a dangerous trend has arisen in Germany: a crackdown on pro-Palestine activism in the name of combating antisemitism. “What the state is demanding is not directed at me as a person, but to all Palestinian refugees in Germany,” Abdulnasser explained. “My case is not the first nor only one: Germany has revoked residencies for other Palestinians because of their engagement in pro-Palestine work. The goal of these attacks is to prevent Palestinian refugees from organizing themselves, from taking to the streets, and from engaging in their struggle for liberation and return.””

“The sheer predictability is itself an act of intimidation. Host any such event on your campus, the implicit message goes, and you too can count on what happened at Penn: a storm of “controversy” and howls of “anti-Semitism,” along with the attendant bad press, waves of alumni letters, deep-pocketed donors complaining, and, invariably, some politician or another weighing in to add that little extra frisson of threat (in this case, New Jersey Representative Josh Gottheimer, who took it upon himself to denounce the festival in a letter sent to the university president). However tediously formulaic it is, the actual content of these messages of warning and accusation is worth spending a little time puzzling over.” See also Penn plans to review policies and training following controversy over Palestine Writes festival (Philadelphia Inquirer); After impassioned anti-Israel speech, CUNY Law School reportedly bars student speakers from next commencement (Forward) 

“It’s been 30 years since Oslo was inked, and some would say, much has changed, and yet somehow, nothing has. Even during the heydays of the peace years, settlements continued unabated, mushrooming across the West Bank. These days, half a million Israeli settlers live in the West Bank—their shiny red tile roofs a testament to them being out of place. They live on hill summits with an eye on the Palestinians whose land was stolen to make way for the settlers’ homes, pools, and manicured lawns. They’ve grown emboldened by the Israeli state and their violence knows no bounds…Attacks and harassment by settlers are now occur regularly, and largely with impunity. Thirty years on, international outrage and condemnation comes and goes. Worst of all from the perspective of Palestinians, they do not have legitimate political representation. Mahmoud Abbas is still the president of the PA, PLO, and Fatah. The president of everything, as Jamal puts it. And he’s been that since he was elected in 2005…Unemployment, poverty, and despondence have become the norm here in the West Bank; Oslo was a mirage that faded as fast as it took the ink on the agreement to dry.”

“The Balfour Declaration violated Britain’s legal obligations as set out by the Covenant of the League of Nations. This establishes a legal basis for the Palestinian people to demand reparations from the UK.”

“Israel’s currency the shekel tumbled to its lowest point in years on Wednesday as Israel continues to grapple with political crises. The shekel was trading at 3.87 to the US dollar as of 7:45 a.m. ET. This was its lowest value since 2016, according to market data and Israeli press reports.”

“Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert worked for the offensive cyber firm Intellexa and was supposed to participate in a sales pitch to a German intelligence agency on behalf of the company that was recently blacklisted by the U.S. Olmert confirmed that he consulted for Intellexa, but noted that his ties to the firm ended a few months ago. The revelations are part of the “Predator Files” investigation, which is based on documents and evidence obtained by French magazine Mediapart and German Der Spiegel. 15 media outlets led by the EIC (European Investigative Collaborations) participated in its analysis. Shomrim, via journalist Daniel Dolev, was the Israeli partner in the project. AmnestyTech, Amnesty International’s forensic laboratory, assisted in the analysis of the technical findings. The investigation also reveals how the spyware was sold to Egyptian intelligence, and was pitched across the world (see separate story).”

“Since 2014, Akevot—which is named for the Hebrew word for footprints—has worked to publicize evidence of Israel’s injustices against Palestinians found in state archives. According to the group’s website, it was established “out of a recognition of the unique role archives can play in breaking conflict-enhancing myths.” Over the years, Akevot has amassed a collection of about 350,000 documents, many dating back to the state’s founding, which it maintains in a digital archive and makes accessible to the public through books and articles published by its staff…[Akevot’s] founder and executive director, Lior Yavne: “We are very much a political organization trying to make the archives a political tool…One thing we learned very early is that nothing that’s happening on the ground now—from administrative detentions to policies on land use—is new. Every government policy that human rights organizations are dealing with has its roots in past decades, and the archives give us insight into how these decisions come to be made.”

“As his trial date approached, he and his lawyer Riham Nasra demanded something radical: that he be tried not in an Israeli civil court, as is customary for Jewish Israelis, but in Israel’s military courts, which try Palestinians in the occupied territories. As expected, this demand was not honored; to do so would have meant breaching the barriers between two legal systems for two peoples in the same geographic area. There is a word for that: apartheid…When Israeli or American activists talk about equality and democracy, we’re usually imagining bringing everyone up to the level of privilege that we currently hold. But how many of us are willing to sacrifice that privilege for the sake of real equality? How many of us are willing to pay the price for it? That’s exactly what Yonatan is doing.” See also Why I spent Yom Kippur protecting Palestinian villagers from settler violence (JTA)