NEW FROM FMEP
How the Iran War will change the Middle East (New podcast episode)
FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with Professor Dana El Kurd (University of Richmond) and Professor Nader Hashemi (Georgetown University) about how the current war increases Iran’s “soft power,” why Saudi Arabia and the UAE are reacting differently to Iran and Israel, and why American hegemony remains in the Middle East.
Accountability and the culture of elite impunity in America (New podcast episode)
FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with Harrison Mann, a former U.S. Army major and executive officer of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Middle East/Africa Regional Center who resigned from the Biden Administration in protest of his office’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza. Ahmed and Harrison discuss the seeming impunity of the elite making policy decisions and recommendations and the effort by senior Biden Administration officials to position themselves for power in the next administration. They also talk about the possibilities and realities of accountability for war crimes in Palestine.
FMEP Legislative Round-Up June 5, 2026 (Lara Friedman)
- Bills, Resolutions; 2. Letters & Reports; 3. Hearings & Markups; 4. Selected Members on the Record; 5. Selected Media & Press releases/Statements
Settlement & Annexation Report: June 5, 2026 (Kristin McCarthy)
WEST BANK: E-1 Update; High Council Advances Plans for 2,162 New Units; Archaeology Annexation Bill is Stopped for Now; Tax Break for Settlers; WZO Eases Land Purchase Rules; Further Reading
GLOBAL/REGION
Israel strikes southern Lebanon after ordering evacuations of nine villages (The Guardian 6/5/26)
“Thousands fled their homes after Israel issued forced evacuation orders for nine villages in southern Lebanon before strikes that killed six people on Friday, a day after the Hezbollah militant group rejected a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon.”
Hezbollah rejects Israel-Lebanon truce as Trump scrambles to end Iran war (The Guardian 6/4/26)
“Hezbollah has rejected a US-brokered ceasefire plan agreed by the Lebanese and Israeli governments, throwing the future of a truce in Lebanon and regional peace negotiations into question. The group’s leader, Naim Qassem, called the plan a “roadmap to annihilate part of the Lebanese people” in a statement on Thursday. He demanded a complete ceasefire and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon, and said that as long as Lebanese villages were being bombed, northern Israel would not be safe.” See also One killed and 63 hurt in Iran attack on Kuwait airport as Trump says ceasefire talks ongoing (The Guardian 6/3/26); Hopes of Lebanon Cease-Fire Falter as Israel and Hezbollah Fight On (NYT 6/5/26); Lebanon’s Latest Cease-Fire Shows Little Sign of Taking Hold (NYT 6/4/26); How Israel’s Strategy in Lebanon Was Thwarted, by Hezbollah and Trump (NYT 6/2/26); Iran suspends US talks over Israel’s Lebanon escalation, state media reports: What to know (Al Monitor 6/1/26); Israel strikes southern Lebanon despite Trump’s effort to shore up ceasefire (The Guardian 6/2/26); Lebanese president: Iran using Lebanon as ‘bargaining chip’ in negotiations with US (TOI 6/5/26);
Hezbollah’s Fiber-Optic Drones Expose Cracks in Israeli Defenses (NYT 6/4/26)
“Each day, multiple drones attack Israeli forces, the Israeli military has said, and with lethal effect. In the past week alone, they have killed three soldiers. The relentless drone attacks by Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group, have exposed cracks in Israel’s defenses, shocking its public and forcing a rushed search for solutions by its military and political leaderships. They have sown fear among Israeli ground troops in Lebanon and challenged Israel’s longstanding air superiority in Lebanese skies.”
Three Lebanese hospitals hit by Israeli forces in under a week (The Guardian 6/3/26)
“The hospitals are among the few remaining functional healthcare facilities in south Lebanon, an area which has been subject to mass displacement…At least 130 medical workers have been killed by Israel and 162 ambulances and healthcare facilities have been struck since the fighting between Hezbollah and Israel started on 2 March, according to the Lebanese ministry of health…Analysts and human rights experts have said the attacks on healthcare facilities were aimed at degrading the conditions for life in south Lebanon. Targeting medical facilities and healthcare workers is a war crime.”
Israel seizes strategic castle in deepest incursion into Lebanon in 26 years (The Guardian 5/31/26)
“Israeli troops have captured a clifftop castle as they made their deepest incursion into Lebanon in more than 26 years, further shattering a nominal US-brokered ceasefire and complicating efforts to extend the separate truce between Washington and Tehran. After days of intense fighting and airstrikes in nearby villages, the Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, said the military had captured Beaufort Castle, also known as Qalaat al-Shaqif, which it had used as a base during its previous occupation of southern Lebanon between 1982 and 2000. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) already controlled territory up to the Litani River in its campaign against Hezbollah, but troops are now pushing towards the Zahrani River, about six miles north.” See also ‘A shock to all Lebanese’: Israel sends a message as it takes ancient fort (The Guardian 6/1/26); Israel Captures Crusader Castle That Symbolized Its Long Lebanon Occupation (NYT 5/31/26);
“You Either Leave Right Now or You Die”—Israel’s Ethnic Cleansing of a Village in Lebanon (Lylla Younes//Drop Site 6/2/26)
“The troops spread through the village, pointed their guns at residents and told them that the area was located within Israel’s new “yellow line”—a line demarcating an Israeli zone of control along the southern border inside Lebanese territory that was unilaterally declared by Israel using the same terminology as in Gaza. The soldiers told Abd Elaal and the other village residents that they had two hours to evacuate north… The forced expulsion of Ain Arab—where Israeli soldiers went door to door, forcing residents from their homes at gunpoint—was a striking example of the Israeli military’s campaign to ethnically cleanse villages across southern Lebanon. Human rights advocates and locals told Drop Site they hadn’t heard of a similar incident occurring in this latest phase of the war—the Israeli military typically bombs and shells areas to forcibly displace residents. Over 1.2 million people have been displaced in Lebanon since March 2, and many have no idea if or when they will be able to return to their homes.”
“You’re fucking crazy”: Trump fumes at Netanyahu in call on Lebanon (Axios 6/1/26)
“President Trump lashed out at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel’s escalation in Lebanon in an expletive-laden call on Monday, two U.S. officials and a third source briefed on the call told Axios…Earlier on Monday, Iran threatened to abandon the negotiations with the U.S. over Israel’s actions in Lebanon. On the call, Trump called Netanyahu “crazy” and accused him of ingratitude, according to two of the sources. He also put the brakes on Israel’s plan to strike Beirut…One U.S. official said Trump told Netanyahu that following through on his threats to bomb the Lebanese capital would further isolate Israel around the world…Summarizing Trump’s remarks to Netanyahu, the U.S. official said: “You’re fucking crazy. You’d be in prison if it weren’t for me. I’m saving your ass. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this.”’ See also Trump Confirms He Called Netanyahu ‘Fucking Crazy’ in Heated Call Over Lebanon Fighting (Haaretz 6/3/26); Netanyahu Orders Israeli Military to Attack Beirut Suburbs (NYT 6/1/26); Trump says Hezbollah, Israel agree to stop fighting after call with Netanyahu (Al Monitor 6/1/26);
Israeli arms sales break record for 5th year in row, reaching $19.2 billion in 2025 (TOI 5/2/26)
“Annual Israeli arms sales reached a new record in 2025, for the fifth consecutive year, up nearly 30 percent compared to the previous year, according to Defense Ministry figures released Tuesday. The ministry’s International Defense Cooperation Directorate, known as SIBAT, said defense exports totaled nearly $19.2 billion last year, up from $14.8 billion in 2024 — the previous record high. Sales to the Asia-Pacific region alone nearly doubled, from around $3.4 billion in 2024 to $6.1 billion last year. Despite some governments, especially in Western Europe, canceling weapon deals with Israel or sanctioning Israeli defense firms — including barring them from defense expos — over the war in the Gaza Strip, ministry officials said they were still seeing a high demand for Israeli weapons from Europe. Despite some governments, especially in Western Europe, canceling weapon deals with Israel or sanctioning Israeli defense firms — including barring them from defense expos — over the war in the Gaza Strip, ministry officials said they were still seeing a high demand for Israeli weapons from Europe.” See also Exclusive: Israel sent troops to Azerbaijan during Iran war as part of secret network across region, sources say (CNN 6/5/26); Israel reportedly deployed elite forces in Azerbaijan, operated Somaliland base, during Iran war (TOI 6/5/26);
Microsoft to tighten human rights measures after inquiry into Israel’s use of its tech (The Guardian 6/4/26)
“Microsoft has said it will tighten human-rights controls when working with national security agencies after an inquiry into how the Israeli military used its cloud technology for the mass surveillance of Palestinians. On Thursday, Microsoft announced the completion of the inquiry and a series of new measures that include changes to how the company oversees employees with security clearances issued by foreign governments. Microsoft ordered the inquiry last year in response to a Guardian investigation with Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and Hebrew-language outlet Local Call revealing how the Israeli military used the company’s cloud to store a vast trove of intercepted Palestinian phone calls. Shortly after the inquiry was launched, Microsoft terminated the Israeli military’s access to cloud and AI services used to support the surveillance project after initial findings showed its spy agency, Unit 8200, had violated the company’s terms of service.”
Ireland bans hard-line Israeli ministers Ben-Gvir, Smotrich: What to know (Al Monitor 6/5/26)
“Speaking to reporters in Montenegro, Irish Taoiseach Michael Martin said the ministers’ actions and statements “amount to a desire to see the elimination of Palestinians from Palestine,” adding that he believes the European Union should adopt additional measures against them…“In my view, their behavior justifies sanctions at the EU level as well, and that’s something we will raise. Whether we can secure sufficient support across the European Union is a different matter,” Martin said.” See also Slovenia turns away Israeli passenger jet, forcing it to land in neighboring Croatia (TOI 6/3/26); After pro-Israel PM forms government in Slovenia, Israel to open first embassy there (TOI 6/5/26); Pew poll: Negative vibes for Israel in 36 countries (Jim Lobe//Responsible Statecraft 6/5/26)
Expanding the Abraham Accords is a pipe dream. Except, maybe, in Kuwait (Mira Al Hussein//+972 Magazine 6/3/26)
“Stripped of its institutional buffers, reorienting towards the UAE, and repeatedly targeted by Iran, Kuwait could be next to join the framework.”
Online commentators Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur barred from entering the UK for public events (AP 6/1/26)
“British authorities said Monday they blocked Hasan Piker, a Turkish American online streamer, and another political commentator from entering the U.K. to speak at public events…Uygur said on X that he had been banned “for criticizing Israel. Are we free any more?”’ See also Why have two US commentators been banned from entering the UK? (The Guardian 6/1/26); Why is Hasan Piker ‘not conducive to the public good’? Because on Gaza, we punish the witness, not the crime (Arwa Mahdawi//The Guardian 6/4/26); The UK banned me for criticising Israel. It’s disgusting (Hasan Piker//The Times 6/3/26)
GAZA
Israel kills 11 in strikes on Gaza (Drop Site 6/4/26)
“Over the last 24 hours, 11 Palestinians were killed and 32 injured in Israeli attacks across Gaza. The total recorded death toll since October 7, 2023 has risen to 72,956 killed, with 173,043 injured. Since October 11, the first full day of the so-called ceasefire, Israel has killed at least 947 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded 2,935, while 781 bodies have been recovered from under the rubble, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Israel bombards Gaza City, killing at least 9: At least nine Palestinians were killed and 15 others were wounded in a wave of Israeli airstrikes that struck Gaza City shortly after midnight Thursday.” See also Israeli attacks continue across Gaza…“The war is not over”: Gaza grandfather whose daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren were burned alive rejects claims of ceasefire (Drop Site 6/5/26)
How a shortage of gas, engine oil and spare parts is grinding Gaza to a halt (The Guardian 6/5/26)
“Palestinians in Gaza already grappling with limited supplies of food and medicine face new threats to their day-to-day existence: shortages of engine oil, spare parts and gas. The knock-on effects are impacting everything from bread production to water supplies and emergency response efforts, producing one fresh crisis after another.”
‘A jungle’: Reservists speak of permissive open-fire rules along Gaza’s Yellow Line (TOI 5/30/26)
“The Israeli combat soldier saw his teammates yelling in celebration, congratulating one another. They had just struck a vehicle of Palestinians driving near the Israeli-controlled part of the Gaza Strip, killing everyone inside. The reservist said scenes like this had become common after a fragile ceasefire took effect in October. In the weeks he was stationed in Gaza, he said, he saw soldiers relishing the chance to go after those who crossed — or came close to crossing — the Yellow Line that divides the Strip into Israeli-controlled land and Palestinian areas de facto under Hamas control. “It was a jungle,” the soldier, in his 20s, told The Associated Press. “After the ceasefire, the order was: If someone crosses the line, you shoot them.”’
More Mass Displacement: Israel’s Plan to Deepen Gaza Occupation (Jack Khoury//Haaretz 6/4/26)
“Residents of the Gaza Strip have long stopped measuring the war in terms of the number of dead and the scale of destruction. They are focused on the day-to-day struggle to obtain food and medicine, while also cautiously anticipating the implementation of reconstruction and humanitarian aid plans. However, in the past week, they have once again become concerned with political issues: specifically, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement of intent to expand Israel’s territorial control over Gaza from 60 percent to 70 percent of the enclave. For many Gazans, both the displaced and those remaining in their homes, this is not merely a military issue, but a question about their ability to continue living in the Strip…Tens of thousands of Gazans are expected to leave their homes, as Israel will not allow them to live in areas under its control, where members of militias opposing Hamas and their families are currently located.”
‘Server in the Sky’: How Israeli Drones Became a ‘Target and Intel Generator’ Over Gaza (Haaretz 6/5/26)
“Documents expose how AI software and military hardware have given Israel’s fleet of unmanned aircraft unprecedented surveillance and offensive prowess.”
RIVER TO THE SEA
Clinics Closing and Medications Running Out After Gaza, Israel Is Now Causing the West Bank Health System to Collapse (Amira Hass//Haaretz 6/3/26)
“The Palestinian health system is fearing a worsening of the condition of chronic disease patients in the West Bank, and an increase in mortality rates due to the Palestinian Authority’s extreme budgetary distress and its population’s impoverishment…Like all public sector employees, doctors and nursing staff also receive half their salaries, or even less. Most medications are unavailable in government pharmacies, and the stock of life-saving medications, such as those for cancer and kidney diseases, is dwindling. Many patients covered by public health insurance cannot afford to purchase medication in the private market…The two direct and main causes of this situation are the Israeli Finance Ministry’s seizure of Palestinian Authority customs revenues on imports (after the ministry automatically deducts the PA’s payments for the supply of products such as water and electricity) and the ban on approximately 170,000 Palestinians from returning to their jobs in Israel…The crisis in the health system has two additional factors, notes Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, director of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, which provides nonprofit medical services. According to him, the number of people seeking care at the organization’s clinics has also increased. One factor is the direct and declared Israeli effort to remove from the area UNRWA – the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East – and international aid organizations like Doctors Without Borders, as well as the closure order for several Palestinian civil society organizations. All of these organizations have been forced to reduce the medical care they provided or helped facilitate. Another factor, he explained, is the more than 1,000 permanent checkpoints and roadblocks on West Bank roads, which prevent quick access to treatment and force medical teams and ambulances to travel on circuitous and winding routes, or to transfer patients and those wounded by Israeli gunfire using the “back-to-back” method – whereby a patient is transferred by vehicle or stretcher to a locked gate or roadblock at the exit of a locality, and then transferred to an ambulance on the other side.”
Israeli Settlers Wound Three Palestinians in Attack Near West Bank’s Hebron, Medics Say (Haaretz 6/5/26)
“According to the reports, the settlers blocked residents’ access to their land with dirt mounds..In footage from the scene taken minutes before the shooting, soldiers can be seen standing nearby as settlers block the Palestinians’ path and confront them. Two of the settlers appear to be wearing IDF uniforms, one of them carrying a rifle. According to medics, two of the wounded were hit by gunfire, including the man in severe condition.” See also Israeli settlers torch Palestinian homes and cars (The Guardian 6/2/26);
Israel Puts Gaza Hospital Director in Solitary Confinement Without Explanation, Physicians for Human Rights Israel Says (Haaretz 6/5/26)
“Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, was transferred in recent days to solitary confinement without explanation in a maximum-security prison in southern Israel, Physicians for Human Rights Israel said on Friday. Abu Safiya was detained from Gaza by Israeli forces in December 2024 and has been held without charge since then.”
The Palestinian journalists held in Israel’s ‘cemeteries for the living’ (Basel Adra//+972 Magazine 6/1/26)
“Held without charge in Israeli jails, West Bank reporters describe beatings, starvation, isolation, and threats meant to force them into silence.”
Israel’s High Court Rejects Ban on Red Cross Visits for Palestinian Prisoners (NYT 6/3/26)
“The Supreme Court of Israel ruled on Wednesday that a government policy banning visits to Palestinian prisoners by representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross violated Israeli and international law. The policy, which prohibited the visits to those deemed “security” prisoners in the Israeli system and considered threats to national security, as opposed to “criminal” prisoners, was enacted after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that ignited the war in Gaza. The court ordered meetings between Red Cross representatives and detainees to resume and said the Israeli authorities must again share information about detainees, as had been standard practice before the war. The ruling stems from a petition brought by human rights groups early in 2024, months into the war in Gaza, and comes after numerous requests for extensions by the government…The decision comes as the Israeli authorities have faced repeated accusations of abuse of Palestinian detainees. Last week, the United Nations issued an annual report on sexual violence in conflicts, including Israel for the first time and citing an increase in severe mistreatment of Palestinian detainees. Israel said it would cut ties with the U.N. chief over its inclusion in the report.”
62 Haredim Arrested in Violent Protests Outside Supreme Court Justice’s Home (Haaretz 6/4/26)
“Over 60 suspects were arrested during a violent Wednesday night protest against the arrest of ultra-Orthodox who have ignored IDF draft orders in front of the home of Israel’s Supreme Court Deputy President Noam Sohlberg…The demonstrators came to Sohlberg’s home in the West Bank settlement of Alon Shvut and tried to break into the property, vandalized the entrance to the house, smashed flowerpots and windows, and shattered the windows of his car.”
U.S. SCENE
Congress wants to tie the United States to Israel with this new legislation. It’s a trap (Eli Clifton & Ian Lustick//The Guardian 6/5/26)
“Congress is considering legislation that would embed Israel’s military deeply within the US military-industrial complex. Stunned by the cratering of public support for Israeli policies in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank and towards Iran, Israel’s advocates are frantically seeking to preserve and even escalate US support for the Jewish state in ways that do not rely on defense of its policies or permit scrutiny of the manipulations involved…News of section 224 of the National Defense Authorization Act – a section that would deeply intertwine the US and Israeli militaries by committing to bilateral research and development, co-production of weapons, joint ventures, licensing agreements and an unprecedented integration of the US and Israeli weapons industries – triggered an immediate backlash led by Representatives Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, and Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, to strip the section from the defense budget. The origins of this addition to the defense budget tell us much about how Israel’s lobby pursues a foreign country’s interests even as 60% of Americans now hold an unfavorable view of Israel.”
Pro-Israel voices win out, kill bill to stop US-Israel military integration (Kelley Beaucar Vlahos//Responsible Statecraft 6/4/26)
“A House committee summarily struck down an amendment to strip a measure from the massive annual defense policy bill that would provide Israel “a higher level of military-industrial integration” with the U.S. than Washington has “with any other country in the world.” Pro-Israel voices on the House Armed Services Committee argued that reports about Section 224 — that Congress was trying to integrate U.S. and Israeli military systems as a way to entrench aid without proper oversight — were disingenuous and wrong.”
They Shut the Golden Gate Bridge for 4 Hours. Now They Face Up to 15 Years in Prison. (NYT 6/5/26)
“At 7:55 a.m. on April 15, 2024, some cars stopped in unison, right in the middle of one of the world’s most iconic spans. Out poured 26 protesters, determined to make a dramatic statement on Tax Day against American tax dollars funding Israel’s military while it attacked Gaza. Most of them stood in front of their vehicles and held banners, including one that read, “Stop the World for Gaza.” A smaller group — some remaining in their cars, others standing just outside them — locked their arms together in metal tubes and refused to budge…Many people missed work that day. Others missed important medical appointments. Nobody died and no one was believed to have been injured, but the protest infuriated plenty of people…The protesters were arrested and their vehicles towed after about four hours. Traffic moved on, but the protesters’ lives did not. The seven who chained themselves together are now in a multiweek criminal trial in San Francisco Superior Court, where they could face up to 14 or 15 years in state prison.”
A Baffling Congressional Report Threatens the Jewish Establishment (Josh Nathan-Kazis//Jewish Currents 6/2/26)
“Last week, the Republican staff on the House Judiciary Committee issued a baffling letter claiming that two of the largest Jewish charities in the US had endangered their nonprofit status by making grants to liberal Israeli civil society groups. The letter doesn’t convincingly substantiate its claims. But the strange, thinly argued attack indicates that mainstream pro-Israel Jewish groups that have been critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu face growing political peril as Netanyuahu scrambles to preserve his political future. The groups targeted in the Republican staff letter constitute the plumbing of Jewish communal giving to Israel.”
Far-right Israeli Ministers Join Thousands at Israel Day Parade in New York (Haaretz 5/31/26)
“Far-right Israeli ministers, including Bezalel Smotrich, were among a record-size delegation of Knesset members marching Sunday in the annual Israel Day Parade in Manhattan, as thousands lined Fifth Avenue to take part in and watch the event…The Israeli delegation was presented as part of efforts to bolster Israel’s public image in the United States and as a response to Mamdani, a fierce critic of Israel who has said he will not attend the parade, breaking with a tradition largely observed by New York mayors since 1964. Smotrich was joined by members of Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party, Amichai Eliyahu and Yitzhak Wasserlauf, as well as Likud lawmakers Ariel Kallner, Ofir Sofer and Amir Ohana.” See also Democrats who marched in New York’s Israel Day parade decry attendance of far-right minister Smotrich (The Guardian 6/2/26); A Litmus Test Backfires: The pro-Israel parade down Fifth Avenue on Sunday was a political disaster for the Jewish establishment. (Jewish Currents 6/2/26);
AIPAC is funneling pro-Israel money to candidates and covering its tracks (Arno Rosenfeld//The Forward 5/29/26)
“AIPAC is not shy about raising money for congressional candidates, emerging as one of the largest political spenders in the country. But as the Israel-boosting organization’s brand becomes toxic in many Democratic primaries, it has adopted a new fundraising method that hides its involvement in steering funds to favored contenders. In competitive races where Israel has become a wedge issue, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee is pointing donors to online portals that it controls but that funnel money directly to candidates’ campaigns — erasing AIPAC’s fingerprints in public data…AIPAC’s new efforts to obscure its support for Democratic candidates, which have also included creating political action committees with names that obscure their origin, underscore the extent to which support from the organization has become a liability on the campaign trail.” See also Super PAC Network Backing Connie Chan Received Hundreds of Thousands from AIPAC (Julian Andreone and Ryan Grim//Drop Site 5/30/26); Aipac affiliate has funded lavish trips to Israel for dozens of Congress members since 7 October, filings reveal (The Guardian 6/2/26); Van Hollen accuses AIPAC of ‘trying to buy’ congressional seat in Hoyer succession race (JI 6/4/26);
‘We call it the P-word’: Chicago professor suspended after assignment mentions Palestinians (The Guardian 6/5/26)
“A tenured art therapy professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) was suspended from teaching and placed under investigation following a student’s complaint about an assigned case study that mentioned violence against Palestinians.”
PERSPECTIVES//LONG READS
The Plot to Eliminate Gaza What Trump’s Board of Peace really means for the future of Palestine. (Mohammed Mhawish//New York Magazine 5/29/26)
“As far-fetched and out of touch as the Master Plan may seem, it is already being presented to donor countries and investors as reference points for reconstruction priorities. This is not to say that many believe the Master Plan or the Gaza Riviera will magically materialize in the next few years or even decades. In fact, the Financial Times reported earlier in May that the Board’s official fund has zero money in it. Rather, the Board’s political and economic vision for Gaza is quietly embedded, alongside the AI-generated mirages, in the Master Plan, under which Gaza’s economy will exist only within stifling, controllable channels. There is a cursory suggestion its people will have rights, protections, or autonomy. Gaza, as planned, will be a peripheral appendage to Greater Israel, a captive population toiling for low wages and a meager existence, following a pattern that has long been established in the West Bank. I asked Sara Roy, an associate at Harvard Center for Middle Eastern Studies, what the U.S. and Israel hoped to accomplish with their development plan. “It’s about eliminating a Palestinian presence in Gaza,” she said, “eliminating Gaza as the center of resistance, and about ending the whole Palestinian political project to which Gaza is the key.”’
The Israeli Paradigm That Led to October 7 Didn’t Collapse, It Was Fiction From the Start (Dahlia Scheindlin//Haaretz 6/2/26)
“Citizens need answers to the following: Why have Israeli leadership and society lied to themselves for so long that we “gave the Palestinians the West Bank,” and “gave them Gaza” in the disengagement? Why did society collectively suppress ever-expanding occupation; settlements; land and water theft; border control; military, bureaucratic and state-backed vigilante violence against Palestinians in the West Bank all this time? How exactly did those items demonstrate what Katz and Bohbot call (and most Israelis believe to be) Israel’s “perennial” desire for peace? Why was all this deceptively packaged to Israel and the world as status quo “conflict management”? Conflict management didn’t actually collapse as a paradigm, which is fashionable to say – it was a fiction from the start…Instead of asking, as Kadosh does, why no one in the months before October 7 realized that 18 planned breaches of Gaza’s fence were intended to occur simultaneously, why weren’t we asking about human nature: How do people behave under repressive regimes for a lifetime? What are the circumstances in which extremism grows and flourishes? How does national suppression, humiliation, stagnation, hopelessness overlapping with material deprivation and near-hermetic physical isolation play out?”
Revealed: Israel’s curriculum for ‘influencing public consciousness’ (Illy Pe’ery//+972 Magazine 6/4/26)
“Israel’s defense establishment is training soldiers and other defense officials to conduct psychological operations designed to “influence public consciousness” in Israel and abroad, an internal Defense Ministry tender published last July and obtained by the Israeli investigative outlet The Hottest Place in Hell reveals. The courses, taught in Hebrew and English by academics who are not affiliated with the military, are intended for defense personnel based both domestically and overseas, as well as unspecified “foreign partners.” Among the offerings are courses on how to use data to discretely shape the attitudes and actions of target audiences, intelligence gathering for such operations, and influencer training. Most of the courses are geared toward “offensive” influence operations — those aimed at actively disrupting or manipulating the beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors of target audiences rather than simply protecting an existing narrative.”
On boycott strategy and publishing Sally Rooney in Hebrew (Ahmed Moor//+972 Magazine 6/2/26)
“I follow +972 on Twitter, and have written for this site before. I believe in the work the magazine does and see real opportunity in working alongside anti-Zionists wherever they may be and whatever their national identity, Palestinian or Jewish Israeli…When Haggai Matar’s article announcing Rooney’s translation showed up on my Twitter feed, I felt vaguely annoyed. Why this? Why now?…The BDS movement exists for one reason: Palestine’s liberation from Zionism. Practically, that means arresting the violence. Stopping Jewish Israeli men and women from killing kids, women, and men in Palestine and Lebanon every day. In organizing campaigns locally, regionally or globally it’s worth evaluating where each of us sits, what our individual and organizing points of leverage are, and how they accrete in service of that big, urgent goal…But I fail to see how Jewish Israelis reading fiction that has nothing to do with the urgent reality and needs of their victims will produce Palestinian liberation…Yes, anti-Zionist Jewish Israelis have a role to play, and that role should leverage their privilege in the way many of the authors who write for +972 do. Others should boycott their army. They may engage in civil disobedience. Or stab the tires on the jeeps and throw their bodies before the bulldozers. Otherwise, gum the works of the meatgrinder. Do something real. And make it meaningful.”