Top news stories from Israel/Palestine: November 1, 2018

What We’re Reading

BDS

On Boycotts, Academic Freedom, and the Struggle for Justice in Israel-Palestine,

“How much vitality there is or isn’t among pro-democratic forces in Israel is, indeed, a crucial question.”

Brazil’s Bolsonaro indicates he wants to move embassy to Jerusalem,

Brazil’s president-elect Jair Bolsonaro has indicated to an Israeli newspaper he intends to defy the Palestinians and most of the world by moving his country’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Occupation/Human rights

Defense Ministry to advance plan for Jewish apartment building in Hebron,

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman announced Thursday that he had ordered his office to advance planning for the construction of an apartment building for Israeli settlers in the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron.

Defense Ministry: Israel Has Destroyed 45 Homes of Terrorists’ Families in Last 3 Years,

Israeli security forces have demolished 45 homes of families of terrorists since 2015, and requests for another four demolitions are currently pending, the head of the Defense Ministry’s operations department, Eran Uliel, told a session of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Wednesday.

AG rules out house demolition for mentally ill terrorists,

Mandelblit determines a terrorist who suffers from mental impairment ‘would not have the ability to rationally consider the real possibility the home he lives in would be demolished, and consequently decide against carrying out the terror act we wish to deter him from committing.’

Israeli politics

New leadership in West Bank could deepen cracks in settler unity,

Municipal election results embolden camp of council chairs who prefer working outside of Yesha settlement umbrella body to advance policies on behalf of Israelis over Green Line.

Israel & the Gulf

Opinion: Giant leap for Israel-Gulf ties hasn’t shattered the Palestinian glass ceiling,

Do Netanyahu’s visit in Oman and ‘Hatikva’ playing in Abu Dhabi show that normalization with the Arab world is not tied to progress in the peace process? Not so fast, analysts warn.

Gaza

Peacecast: Gaza, Preparing for Dawn,

APN’s Ori Nir interviews Donald McIntyre, the former Jerusalem bureau chief of the British Independent and the author of a new book on the Gaza Strip.

Report: Egyptian negotiators present Hamas, PA reconciliation agreement,

The proposed agreement would be enacted in stages. The PA would first take responsibility for civil services and the government ministries in the Gaza Strip, that are now under Hamas control.

Israel and Qatar reach deal to pay Gaza salaries: Report,

Israel and Qatar have reportedly agreed to a deal to allow funds to be sent to the blockaded Gaza Strip to allow the Hamas government to pay the enclave’s civil servants.

US-Israeli/Palestinian relations

New Al Jazeera film uncovers 'rotting foundation' of U.S. Israel lobby,

A new Al Jazeera documentary provides a sobering look at a lobby that continues to defend Israel’s control of Palestinian lives, despite the many Americans turning against it.