1. New from FMEP

2. Region//Global
   

3. Gaza

4. River to the Sea

5. U.S. Scene

6. Activism//Lawfare//Redefining Antisemitism to Stifle Criticism of Israel

7. Perspectives//Long Reads

NEW FROM FMEP

FMEP Legislative Round-Up August 2, 2024 (Lara Friedman)

1. Bills, Resolutions; 2. Letters; 3. Hearings; 4. Israel/Palestine in 2024 Elex/Politicsl; 5. Selected Media & Press releases/Statements; Also see FMEP Legislative Round-Up July 19, 2024

Settlement & Annexation Report: July 26, 2024 (Kristin McCarthy)

1. Israeli Army Seizes Key Area of Sebastia Archaeological Site 2) Family in Old City Faces Dispossession 3) First Demolition in Al-Walajah Area C Could be Sign of More to Come 4) Peace Now: In 2023, Israeli Government Funded 101 Illegal Outposts 5) Israeli Human Rights Groups Publish Joint “State of the Occupation” Report 6) Bonus Reads

REGION/GLOBAL

The Middle East is on the brink, again (Ishaan Tharoor//WaPo 8/2/24)

“Just a week ago, there was cautious optimism that diplomacy could prevail. As Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu left Washington following his controversial appearance before Congress, whispers trailed him of the renewed possibility of a cease-fire deal that could quiet hostilities in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip and free the remaining Israeli hostages. Then, well, this week happened. As the constant barrage of Israeli bombardments continued to fall on Palestinians in Gaza, an alleged rocket attack by Lebanese Shiite organization Hezbollah killed 12 children in a town in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights over the weekend. (Hezbollah has denied involvement.) The Israeli response was a targeted strike on a suburb of Beirut on Tuesday that killed Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr and at least six others. Lebanese officials denounced the attack on their soil, and urged restraint. The next day brought an even more stunning development: Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’s political wing, was assassinated while in Tehran for the inauguration of Iran’s new president. According to a New York Times report, an explosive device laid months in advance in the chambers where Haniyeh was staying detonated, killing him and his bodyguard. Though Israel did not claim responsibility, the assassination bore the hallmarks of a sophisticated Israeli intelligence operation, and both Iranian and Hamas officials have pinned the blame for Haniyeh’s death on Israel…The region is bracing for the next act.” Also from WaPo: Who are Hamas’s top leaders? What to know after Haniyeh, Deif killed; Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated; Netanyahu says Israel dealt ‘crushing blows’ to Iran-backed groups; Iran vows revenge for killing of Hamas leader in Tehran; As Hamas leader is buried in Qatar, Biden says killing didn’t help cease-fire talks; See also from Al Jazeera: Thousands mourn Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh at funeral procession in Iran; Iran’s Khamenei leads funeral prayers for Hamas chief Haniyeh; Read Hamas’s statement on the killing of Ismail Haniyeh in Iran

Bomb Smuggled Into Tehran Guesthouse Months Ago Killed Hamas Leader

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/01/world/middleeast/how-hamas-leader-haniyeh-killed-iran-bomb.html
“Ismail Haniyeh, a top leader of Hamas, was assassinated on Wednesday by an explosive device covertly smuggled into the Tehran guesthouse where he was staying, according to seven Middle Eastern officials, including two Iranians, and an American official. The bomb had been hidden approximately two months ago in the guesthouse, according to five of the Middle Eastern officials. The guesthouse is run and protected by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and is part of a large compound, known as Neshat, in an upscale neighborhood of northern Tehran. Mr. Haniyeh was in Iran’s capital for the presidential inauguration. The bomb was detonated remotely, the five officials said, once it was confirmed that he was inside his room at the guesthouse. The blast also killed a bodyguard.” See also US says not involved in killing of Hamas leader Haniyeh (Al Monitor); Haniyeh killed by a projectile fired at his room, eyewitnesses say (Middle East Eye)

U.S. prepares to counter Iranian attack on Israel within days, U.S. officials say (Axios 8/1/24)

“The Biden administration is convinced Iran is going to attack Israel in retaliation for the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran earlier this week and is preparing to counter it, three U.S. officials told Axios…U.S. officials say they expect any Iranian retaliation to be from the same playbook as their Apr. 13 attack on Israel — but potentially larger in scope — and it could also involve the Lebanese Hezbollah. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior Iranian political and military officials said Iran is going to retaliate for Haniyeh’s assassination. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has also vowed to respond to the Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Tuesday that killed his top military adviser. The Biden administration is concerned it may be more difficult to mobilize the same international and regional coalition of countries that defended Israel from the previous Iranian attack because Haniyeh’s assassination is in the context of the Israel-Hamas war, which has drawn sharp anti-Israel sentiments across the region. The attack in April was in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike on an Iranian facility in Damascus that killed a top Iranian general. Several Arab countries, including Jordan and Saudi Arabia, either helped shoot down Iranian and Houthi drones or allowed the U.S. and Israel to use their airspace to intercept threats.” See also Will Hezbollah and Israel Go to War? (Dexter Filkins//New Yorker 7/22/24); Does Israel Really Believe It Can Win a War Against Hezbollah? (Jeremy Scahill//Drop Site); The Assassination of Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh Will Only Embolden Resistance (Jeremy Scahill/Drop Site); How Israel is preparing for Iran’s retaliation as Netanyahu continues double game (Al Monitor 8/2/24); Israel runs several scenarios, prepares for attacks by Iran, Hezbollah (Al Monitor 8/1/24); U.S. Poised to Send More Combat Aircraft to Middle East, Officials Say (NYT 8/2/24)

Iran and its allies mourn militant leaders, vow revenge against Israel (WaPo)

“Mourners in Iran and Lebanon commemorated slain militant leaders Thursday, as they vowed retribution against common enemy Israel and signaled that the most recent paroxysm of violence gripping the Middle East may be far from over. Thousands of people, some waving Palestinian and Iranian flags, joined a funeral procession in the Iranian capital for Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed a day earlier in a murky attack in Tehran. In a Beirut suburb, hundreds of fighters, supporters and dignitaries also gathered for the funeral of Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commander Israel targeted in an airstrike Tuesday night.” See also Hezbollah leader says war with Israel has entered ‘new phase’ after killings of top militant figures (AP); Qatar holds funeral for Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh (New Arab); From Gaza to Ramallah, Haniyeh remembered as advocate of national unity (Fatima AbdulKarim & Mohammed R. Mhawish//+972); Hezbollah leader says war with Israel has entered ‘new phase’ after killings of top militant figures (AP)

Hezbollah chief says war with Israel in ‘new phase,’ vows ‘real response’ to Shukr’s killing (Al Monitor 8/1/24)

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah vowed an imminent response Thursday to the killing of one of the group’s commanders in an Israeli strike earlier this week…“The enemy and those supporting the enemy should expect our inevitable response, which will certainly come,” he warned. Nasrallah, visibly angry in the speech, said the conflict with Israel has entered a new phase. “We, on all support fronts, have entered a new phase. … Laugh now, but you will cry greatly, and you don’t know what red lines you have crossed and what kind of aggression you have committed,” he said…Nasrallah made the remarks in a televised speech during the funeral of Shukr, who was killed in Israeli drone strikes in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday. The attack left at least seven people dead, including women and children. The Israeli army said the attack came in response to a rocket strike in the Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights that killed at least 12 children last Saturday. Israel accused Hezbollah of carrying out the attack, which the group immediately denied. In his Thursday speech, Nasrallah reiterated that Hezbollah was not behind the attack. “We deny our responsibility for what happened in Majdal Shams, and our internal investigation confirms that.” See also from Al Monitor: Who is Fuad Shukr, senior Hezbollah military official targeted by Israel in Beirut?; Who was Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas political leader assassinated in Iran?; Israeli military confirms Hamas’ Mohammed Deif killed in strike; See also A cratered field, a mangled fence. Clues emerge from strike that killed 12 children in Golan Heights (AP 7/30/24); ‘It was indescribable’: Golan Heights town mourns 12 children killed in strike (Guardian 7/28/24)

Israel Has Opted for War on All Fronts: Netanyahu Is Coaxing the US into War with Iran. (Yousef Munayyer//Arab Center DC)

“If there is one thing at which Benjamin Netanyahu has honed his skills it is reading the American domestic political scene. In fact, he probably reads American politics better than Israeli politics. Right now, he sees a lame duck president and a potential Democratic nominee who will be attacked relentlessly by his allies on the American right if they back away from blank check support for Israel. On his end in Israel, Netanyahu has survived until the end of July and the Knesset recess for three months, plus a legally mandated 90-day minimum election period, if early elections were forced on him, which means that his government will survive into 2025 and, importantly, past the November elections. This means that between now and November he perceives maximum leeway to do as he pleases in the region. The dual assassinations in Beirut and Tehran come right after Netanyahu’s address to Congress and his meetings at the White House. The entire region will assume the strikes were carried out with American blessings. While Washington has said it was not informed about the strike that killed Haniyeh, it has not condemned it either or called on Israel to stop escalatory strikes. Netanyahu’s perceiving zero restraints from now until November is extremely dangerous…Washington needs to decide if it is going to allow Netanyahu to wag them into a direct war with Iran. Given the opportunity, he will undoubtedly try, and this is not something that can wait for the election to figure out.” See also Joe Biden’s Lame Duck Presidency Is the Opportunity of a Lifetime for Netanyahu (Jeremy Scahill/Drop Site)

The Middle East Is Inching Toward Another War (Trita Parsi//Time 8/1/24)

“By deliberately maximizing Tehran’s embarrassment—Haniyeh was killed only hours after the inauguration of Iran’s new reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian—the Israeli government also maximized the likelihood of Iranian retaliation. That is—at least in the view of a former Deputy Head of the Israeli National Security Council—because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to spark a larger war and drag the U.S. into it. Though Israel itself would pay a high price in a region-wide war, it would serve Netanyahu’s interests in numerous ways. Firstly, Haniyeh’s assassination kills the prospect of an imminent ceasefire deal. Netanyahu has consistently opposed a deal that would end the war…Secondly, Haniyeh’s killing may corner a future President Kamala Harris…Thirdly, killing Haniyeh also killed another line of potential negotiation: between the U.S. and Iran…Indeed, Netanyahu has for two decades sought to get the U.S. to go to war with Iran.” See also Flight disruptions, panic in Lebanon amid efforts to avoid all-out Israel-Hezbollah war (Al Monitor); Dutch KLM, Greece’s Aegean join major airlines canceling flights to Tel Aviv amid spiraling Middle East tensions (Times of Israel); IDF on ‘high alert’ as Biden vows US to defend Israel against ‘all threats from Iran’ (Times of Israel 8/2/24); Lufthansa, Delta among several airlines to cancel Israel flights (Al Monitor 8/1/24)

The world’s highest court has confirmed what we Palestinians always knew: Israel’s settlements are illegal (Raja Shehadeh//Guardian)

“Over the past 57 years, Palestinians in the West Bank such as myself have suffered the rise of Israeli settlements taking over our land, restricting our own development and destroying the natural beauty of the landscape. We spared no effort in describing how this aggression was contrary to local and international law. But it was like crying into the wind. No one was listening. Israeli defenders, meanwhile, spread spurious justifications for the country’s actions, raising doubts in the minds of many about the veracity of our position. Last Friday, the highest court in the world, the international court of justice (ICJ) in the Hague, ruled on the matter. In its advisory opinion to the UN, made upon the request of the general assembly, the court stated that “the Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem … have been established and are being maintained in violation of international law”. But the real bombshell was the court’s assertion that what is required by Israel is the “evacuation of all settlers from existing settlements” and that it is also under an obligation “to provide full reparation for the damage caused by its internationally wrongful acts to all natural or legal persons concerned”. In this way, the court confirmed the well established principle that violations of international law do not lapse by time, and are not subject to a period of limitation…This ruling by the ICJ lays bare the reality of the occupation as a colonial enterprise that is depriving Palestinians of their right to self-determination, exploiting their land and resources, driving them away from their land and leaving them with the only option of working as cheap labour in Israel, enduring the most deplorable conditions on the checkpoints on their way to work. All this has not gone without a persistent resistance from Palestinians that has taken many forms over the years, violent and non-violent. This has cost many lives and caused immense suffering.” See also The ICJ has demolished Israel’s claims that it is not occupying Palestinian territories (Kenneth Roth Guardian 7/22/24); U.K. ending challenge to ICC arrest warrants for Israeli leaders (WaPo)

The ICJ’s Paradigm Shift on Palestine (Zaha Hassan//Carnegie)

“Ending the occupation does not require a bilateral agreement guaranteeing Israel’s security and Palestinian concessions on territory, borders, the status of Palestinian refugees, and Jerusalem. Rather, the court stated, Israel must immediately withdraw its troops, evacuate all 750,000 Israeli settlers from the West Bank, and pay Palestinians reparations. The court added that the UN, international organizations, and other states must do everything in their power to compel Israel to adhere to the ruling, including through sanctions. The court’s opinion has not received a warm reception in Washington, where international law has little currency in discussions concerning Israel and Palestine. It will certainly complicate cooperation between U.S. allies in Europe and states forming part of the so-called global majority, where international norms figure more prominently in formulating foreign policy toward Israel and Palestine. The United States, however, ought to take this opportunity to recalibrate its approach to center the human security and rights of both Palestinians and Israelis.”

‘Israel always sold the occupation as legal. The ICJ now terrifies them’ (Ghousoon Bisharat interviews Diana Buttu//+972)

“Diana Buttu: So people should understand that there’s never going to be a legal knockout. The occupation is not going to end through courts and legal mechanisms — it’s going to end when Israel pays the price. And whether that price is paid externally because the world says enough, or internally because the system starts to implode, it’s going to be an Israeli decision to end the occupation…Now, this ICJ opinion opens new arenas [for accountability]: to make sure that Israel doesn’t get to use free trade agreements, that French citizens don’t get social security if they’re living in an illegal Israeli settlement, and that settlers are sanctioned financially and not allowed to travel to certain places around the world. But that all requires a lot of work.”

‘The Beijing Declaration,’ China brokers Hamas-Fatah unity deal: What we know (Al Monitor 7/23/24)

“Palestinian factions, including rivals Hamas and Fatah, signed in Beijing on Tuesday an agreement to end a yearslong rift and form an interim national unity government for the Palestinian territories. The “Beijing Declaration on Ending Division and Strengthening Palestinian National Unity” was signed during the closing ceremony of a two-day round of reconciliation talks attended by senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk, Fatah envoy Mahmoud al-Aloul and representatives of 12 other Palestinian factions, including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Palestinian People’s Party, Palestinian Popular Struggle Front and Palestinian National Initiative. Diplomatic envoys to China or their representatives from Egypt, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Russia and Turkey also took part in the dialogue, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement.” See also Palestinian factions including Hamas agree to form future unity government (Guardian)

Turkey’s President Says His Country Could Enter Israel to Help Palestinians (NYT)

“President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has raised the possibility that Turkey could enter Israel in support of the Palestinians, a significant step-up in his harsh words toward the Jewish state over the Gaza war. But it was unclear whether his comments reflected any concrete plans by Turkey or were just intended to appeal to his political base. “We should be very strong, so that Israel cannot do this stuff to Palestine,” Mr. Erdogan said on Sunday while addressing members of his ruling Justice and Development Party in the Black Sea city of Rize, his ancestral hometown.”

Turkey blocks Instagram amid ‘censorship’ row (Al Jazeera 8/2/24)

“Turkey has blocked access to Instagram, the national communications authority said, after a top government official slammed the social media platform for “censoring” Hamas-related content…The move follows comments on Wednesday by the Turkish presidency’s communications director, Fahrettin Altun, criticising the Meta-owned platform for what he called its decision to block condolence posts on the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. “This is censorship, pure and simple,” Altun wrote on X, noting that Instagram had not cited any policy violations for its decision to block the content…“We will stand by our Palestinian brothers at every opportunity and on every platform,” he said.”

GAZA

Destruction of Gaza water wells deepens Palestinian misery (Reuters 7/20/24)

“Israel’s military blew up more than 30 water wells in Gaza this month, a municipality official and residents said, adding to the trauma of airstrikes that have turned much of the Palestinian enclave into a wasteland ravaged by a humanitarian crisis. Salama Shurab, head of the water networks at Khan Younis municipality, said the wells were destroyed by Israeli forces between July 18-27 in the southern towns of Rafah and Khan Younis…Gaza City has lost nearly all its water production capacity, with 88% of its water wells and 100% of its desalination plants damaged or destroyed, Oxfam said in a recent report.” See also The IDF Just Destroyed a Key Rafah Water Facility Rachel Corrie Spent Her Last Month of Life Defending (Younis Tirawi//Drop Site)

UN says 86 percent of Gaza now under Israeli evacuation orders (Al Jazeera 7/29/24)

“The United Nations says 86 percent of the besieged Gaza Strip is now under Israeli evacuation orders as 33 more Palestinians are killed in yet another day of attacks and displacement. Thousands of Palestinians fled the Bureij and Nuseirat refugee camps in central Gaza on Monday after the Israeli army issued new evacuation orders…Reporting from Deir el-Balah, also in central Gaza, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud said recurrent mass displacements have become the norm with the Israeli military…“The attacks on schools in the past two days have shattered any sense of safety left for people staying in evacuation centres and has pushed people into further internal enforced displacement. There is literally no safe place in Gaza,” he said.” See also Israeli airstrike hits girls’ school that houses displaced people in central Gaza, killing at least 30 (CBS 7/27/24); Lice, scabies, rashes plague Palestinian children as skin disease runs rampant in Gaza’s tent camps (AP 7/31/24)

UN report: Since Oct. 7, Palestinians detained by Israeli authorities faced mistreatment and torture (PBS)

“The U.N. human rights office issued a report Wednesday saying Palestinians detained by Israeli authorities since the Oct. 7 attacks faced waterboarding, sleep deprivation, electric shocks, dogs set on them, and other forms of torture and mistreatment. The report said Israel’s prison service held more than 9,400 “security detainees” as of the end of June, and some have been held in secret without access to lawyers or respect for their legal rights. A summary of the report, based on interviews with former detainees and other sources, decried a “staggering” number of detainees — including men, women, children, journalists and human rights defenders — and said such practices raise concerns about arbitrary detention.” See also Israel used dogs, waterboarding on Palestinian detainees from Gaza, UN report says (Reuters); UN report: Palestinian detainees held arbitrarily and secretly, subjected to torture and mistreatment (UN OHCHR); Sexual assault, torture among accusations against 9 Israeli soldiers who guarded Hamas militants (Al Monitor); Israel’s Crimes Against Humanity at Sde Teiman—and the Complicity of Its Doctors (Adam Gaffney//The Nation)

‘The destruction is massive’: Khan Younis residents return to rubble after Israeli military withdraws (CNN 7/30/24)

“The Israeli military withdrew from eastern Khan Younis more than a week after an incursion and heavy bombardment that killed dozens of Palestinians and forced thousands of others to flee. Israeli forces had issued an evacuation order in parts of Khan Younis on July 22, saying it was “about to forcefully operate against the terrorist organizations” that it said were firing rockets from neighborhoods south of the city. The directive resulted in what international aid groups said was a “mass displacement.” More than 150,000 people fled, according to United Nations estimates, many on foot or on donkey carts, leaving virtually all their possessions behind.” See also Israeli Forces End East Khan Yunis Offensive as Palestinians Recover Dozens of Gazans’ Bodies (Haaretz 7/30/24); Scores killed in Israeli attacks, medics say, after IDF orders evacuation of Gaza humanitarian zone (Guardian 7/22/24); Israel Orders New Evacuation in Gaza as Aid Workers Say Bombing Kills Dozens (NYT 7/22/24); Israel orders evacuation of former Gaza safe area; U.N. aid convoy fired on (WaPo 7/22/24)

‘I Wanted Them to Like Me. That’s How You Survive’: Liat Atzili Spent Weeks Conversing With Her Hamas Captors. Here’s What They Talked About

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-07-27/ty-article-magazine/.highlight/she-spent-weeks-conversing-with-her-hamas-captors-heres-what-they-talked-about
“I was and I remain a leftist from the radical edges who believes in coexistence and peace,” she continues, softly. “Peace is not a dream of bleeding hearts. We have no other alternative. Without peace, we will not survive. And peace isn’t eating falafel in Khan Yunis with my captors. Peace is the absence of war. And if this war will not finally be leveraged to create dramatic change, then we really can pack our bags and leave this place. “The wretched statement that the whole Strip is Hamas is factually wrong. They were wrong in their support for what was done, like the Israeli public was wrong about many things. Here too there is a horrible government. Here too an unworthy prime minister is elected time and again by an disturbing majority. And yes, I think about what is happening in Gaza. I feel compassion for people who suffer, bereaved families on both sides are families that are overcome with sadness and loss, and my sadness and loss are no more important the sadness and loss of other families. War is not an end in and of itself. It’s clear to me that this war at the moment serves only political interests. And it’s clear that the government has sacrificed the hostages on the altar of its political survival.” See also Report: Nova Festival Survivor Recounts How Hamas Terrorists Raped Him on October 7 (Haaretz);

War on Gaza: Palestinian healthcare workers are the true heroes (Ghada Majadli//Middle East Eye)

“Since 7 October, Israeli forces have killed hundreds of Palestinian healthcare workers and imprisoned others under inhumane conditions. The ongoing attacks on physicians, nurses, paramedics and aid providers, coupled with the destruction of Gaza’s health infrastructure, are central to the ongoing genocide. Throughout this period, we have witnessed the bravery and steadfastness of medical teams in Gaza, who have shown remarkable resourcefulness in addressing the needs of their patients, even as Israel strikes have destroyed the region’s hospitals.  The commitment and fortitude displayed by healthcare workers have been aptly characterised as a form of resistance. Their tireless service amid severely challenging conditions, including shortages of essential food and medicine, is to be commended.” See also Many of Gaza’s Medical Workers Have Been Detained or Killed (NYT); IDF to Vaccinate Israeli Soldiers Against Polio After High Concentration of Virus Found in Gaza Sewage (Haaretz); Leaked UN report: Israeli war has killed 366 UN staff and family members as Netanyahu prepares to address Congress (Ryan Grim//Drop Site)

One Name, Two Lists (Airwars 7/24/24)

“In the largest and most in-depth public analysis of the MoH data yet, Airwars used open source monitoring to independently identify nearly 3,000 full names of civilian victims killed in the first 17 days of the war. Every name is listed below, linked to individual reports detailing where and how they died. Where possible the reports include personal stories of lives lost. By comparing those victims’ names with the first list produced by the MoH, this investigation found a high correlation between the official MoH data and what Palestinian civilians reported online – with 75% of publicly reported names also appearing on the MoH list.”

Israel Is Using Starvation as a Weapon of War. Where Is the Outrage? (Yousef Aljamal//The Nation)

“When starvation first started to spread in Gaza at the end of October 2023, the international community expressed alarm. The World Food Programme warned that “People in Gaza are starving to death right now. The speed at which this man-made hunger and malnutrition crisis has ripped through Gaza is terrifying.” The EuropeanUnion and the United States released statements urging Israel to open crossings and let in thousands of aid trucks…That was months ago. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has only gotten worse by every measure. And the starvation of Palestinians has become normalized.
Today, starvation is spreading both in the north and south of Gaza, with little outcry from the international community. Despite a ruling from the International Court of Justice affirming that Israel’s actions are plausibly genocidal, Israel has faced no material consequences. How long will we allow these atrocities to continue?”

Al Jazeera journalist, cameraman killed in Israeli attack on Gaza (Al Jazeera)

“Al Jazeera Arabic journalist Ismail al-Ghoul and his cameraman Rami al-Rifi have been killed in an Israeli air attack on the Gaza Strip. The reporters were killed when their car was hit on Wednesday in the Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, according to initial information. They were in the area to report from near the Gaza house of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas who was assassinated in the early hours of Wednesday in Iran’s capital, Tehran, in an attack the group has blamed on Israel…According to preliminary figures by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), at least 111 journalists and media workers are among those killed since the start of the war on October 7. The Gaza government media office has put the figure at 165 Palestinian journalists killed since the war began.” See also Al Jazeera refutes ‘baseless’ Israeli allegations against Ismail al-Ghoul (Al Jazeera)

RIVER TO THE SEA

Far right in uproar after Israel detains reservists over Gaza detainee abuse (WaPo 7/29/24)

“Chaos broke out at an Israeli military base holding Palestinian detainees Monday, as far-right demonstrators rallied after nine reservists were detained in connection to allegations of “serious abuse of a detainee.”…Videos on social media Monday showed a crowd rattling the base’s metal gates and then running inside behind a member of the country’s parliament…“I’m calling on the chief military prosecutor, get your hands off the reservists,” Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister, wrote on X. “Take your hands off the reservists,” posted Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel’s far-right national security minister, who oversees the prison system…The army’s chief of staff, Herzi Halevi, described the incident as “extremely serious and against the law.”’ See also Israeli inquest into alleged abuse of Palestinian detainees sparks far-right fury (Guardian)

Rioting for the Right to Rape Palestinians (Diana Buttu//Zeteo 7/31/24)

“For months, reports of torture and rape have emerged from Israel’s military base turned torture camp, Sde Teiman, where Israel has imprisoned thousands of Palestinians without charge. I wrote about it in a previous diary earlier this month. Palestinians who have emerged from this torture camp refer to it as the “slaughterhouse” with horrendous tales of torture, rape, abuse, and sleep deprivation being meted out by Israeli prison guards. Nearly 30 Palestinians have died while in Sde Teiman and other prisons, according to the information provided to date. And while the precise chain of events is unclear, what we do know is that the Israeli military advocate general decided to dispatch the military police to question nine Israeli soldiers on suspicion of gang-raping and sodomizing a Palestinian man from Gaza at Sde Teiman. The man was rushed to the hospital where he exhibited signs of rape, including a ruptured bowel and broken ribs…The arrival of the military police was violently resisted by the soldiers being detained for questioning and by others at the site. The soldiers barricaded themselves inside the camp and pepper-sprayed the military police…Crowds stormed the Sde Teiman prison camp with soldiers struggling to expel them. The Israelis who stormed the prison included Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu (the man said that dropping a “nuclear bomb” on the Gaza Strip is “an option.”). Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich later expressed his support for the soldiers “I call on the military advocate general, take your hands off our heroic fighters.” Hours later, as the Israeli soldiers were taken to another military base, more than 200 people, including members of Knesset tried to storm the base to release the soldiers being held for questioning.” See also The Legitimization of Rape Against Palestinians (Naomi Klein & Rula Jebreal//Zeteo)

A riot for impunity shows Israel’s proud embrace of its crimes (Oren Ziv//+972 8/1/24)

“The soldiers came to Beit Lid to support and demand the release of ten of their comrades who had been arrested on suspicion of raping a Palestinian detainee at Sde Teiman. The detainee, according to Physicians for Human Rights – Israel (PHRI), was hospitalized three weeks ago with severe injuries to his rectum…Along with members of Force 100, the demonstrators included Kahanists, hilltop settler youth from the occupied West Bank, supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and viewers of the TV station Channel 14. In the past, it was possible to say that these groups were a political minority. But today, they are in the government, they run the country’s law enforcement, and they are the face of Israel. One Israeli news headline said that the protesters “declared war on the State of Israel,” but they are in fact the state — a fact made clear by the support they received from ministers and parliamentarians…The police did not use horses or water cannon vehicles — tactics that are familiar to every Palestinian, Ethiopian, or ultra-Orthodox Israeli who has dared to protest. Even after demonstrators breached the entrances and broke into Sde Teiman, and later into Beit Lid, no one was arrested or even identified by the police…The source of the demonstrators’ rage, both at Sde Teiman and Beit Lid, was that Israeli law enforcement dared to interrogate soldiers. As far as they were concerned, soldiers deserve complete immunity — even if they commit rape.”

Al-Aqsa imam detained on suspicion of incitement, terror support for Haniyeh eulogy (Times of Israel 8/2/24)

“Police detained Al-Aqsa preacher Sheikh Ekrima Sabri on suspicion of incitement and supporting terrorism after he delivered a eulogy for slain Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh during Friday prayers. In his sermon, the former grand mufti of Jerusalem mourned “the martyr” Haniyeh, saying: “We ask Allah to have mercy on him and place him in paradise.”…Interior Minister Moshe Arbel wrote to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to inform her he would revoke Sabri’s permanent residency permit. Sabri, 85, does not hold Israeli citizenship. He lives in East Jerusalem, whose Palestinian residents hold Israeli residency permits that are relatively easy for the interior minister to revoke.” See also Israeli police arrest Al-Aqsa Mosque preacher for mourning Haniyeh (Al Anadolou 8/2/24)

In Umm al-Khair, the occupation is damning us to multigenerational trauma (Awdah Hathaleen//+972 7/22/24)

“The demolition forces enter the village. All the children run to their mothers, who scramble to salvage whatever they can from their homes before it’s too late. Everyone watches on anxiously to see who will be made homeless today. The bulldozers gather in the center of the village and then stop. Soldiers disembark. The villagers look each other in the eye, searching for words of comfort, but there are none. Our children ask us why this is happening, but we have no answers…In total, 10 houses were demolished that morning, along with the village council tent and the solar electricity room. Thirty-eight residents are now homeless — including my sister, whose house was destroyed along with all her possessions. What was particularly shocking was that these were among the oldest homes in the village, with some having received demolition orders all the way back in 2008. Now we are worried about every single house here in Umm al-Khair…Amid all of this injustice, we often feel forgotten, lost, or hopeless. Sometimes we wonder: why do Israelis see us as terrorists and enemies? Why is the world not acting to achieve justice for Palestinians? But most of the time, we feel tired. The attacks, the raids, the demolitions: we think about them all the time. I always say that I wish fate hadn’t brought us to this point. But now we are stuck here; there’s no way to leave.” See also Israeli settlers attack foreign activists and Palestinian farmers in West Bank (CNN); Which countries have sanctioned Israeli settlers – and does it mean much? (Al Jazeera)

‘I can’t justify this military operation any more’: the IDF reservists refusing to return to Gaza (Guardian)

“The three reserve soldiers speaking publicly about their unwillingness to return to service represent a minority, in part because military refusal in Israel is normally considered illegal. Last month, 41 reserve soldiers signed an open letter declaring that they would no longer continue to serve in the IDF assault on Gaza’s southern city of Rafah.” See also Thousands rally across Israel, urge hostage deal to mark 300 days since October 7 (Times of Israel); Families of American-Israeli hostages blast Netanyahu (Responsible Statecraft); Families of Hostages Despair as Hopes for Imminent Peace Deal Fade (NYT 8/2/24)

U.S. SCENE

Biden warns Netanyahu against escalation as risk of regional war grows (Axios 8/2/24)

“Biden and his top aides are deeply frustrated by the fallout from Israel’s assassinations in Beirut and Tehran, which took place less than a week after Netanyahu’s first visit to the Oval Office in four years…U.S. officials don’t mourn the deaths of either Hezbollah’s top military commander Fuad Shukr, who was involved in killing 241 U.S. Marines in Beirut in 1983, or Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who celebrated the Oct. 7 massacre. But they feel that Netanyahu kept Biden in the dark over his plans to carry out the assassinations, after leaving the impression last week that he was attentive to the president’s request to focus on getting a Gaza deal…One U.S. official said Biden complained to Netanyahu that the two had just spoken last week in the Oval Office about securing the hostage deal, but instead Netanyahu went ahead with the assassination in Tehran. Biden then told Netanyahu the U.S. will help Israel defeat an Iranian attack, but after that he expects no more escalation from the Israeli side and immediate movement toward a hostage deal, the U.S. official said. Biden also warned Netanyahu that if he escalates again, he shouldn’t count on the U.S. to bail him out, the U.S. official added.” See also Will Israel Drag the US Into a New Forever War? (Adam Weinstein & Annelie Sheline//The Nation 8/1/24)

Kamala Harris tells Netanyahu ‘time to get deal done,’ highlights Palestinian suffering (Al Monitor 7/25/24)

“After US Vice President Kamala Harris met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netyanhu at the White House on Thursday, she called for a “permanent end” to hostilities in Gaza, and she told the Israeli premier that “it is time to get this deal done,” urging him to accept an agreement with Hamas for a cease-fire in Gaza in exchange for the release of hostages. “It is time for this war to end and end in a way where Israel is secure, all the hostages are released, the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can exercise their right to freedom, dignity and self-determination,” said Harris. Harris said she relayed her “serious concerns about the scale of human suffering in Gaza” to Netanyahu, pointing to acute levels of food insecurity as well as “the images of dead children and desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second, third or fourth time. We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering and will not be silent.”’ See also Netanyahu irked by “critical” Harris comments (Al Monitor 7/26/24); Harris created distance from Biden on Gaza by emphasizing Palestinian suffering (WaPo 7/24/24); Trump Calls Schumer ‘Proud Member of Hamas’ for Not Shaking Hands With Israeli PM Netanyahu (Haaretz)

Biden resignees are more hopeful about Harris’ Israel policy (Politico 7/21/24)

“Several former Biden administration officials who resigned in protest of the White House’s policy toward Israel told POLITICO they’re somewhat optimistic about how Vice President Kamala Harris would handle the war in Gaza if she became president. Shortly after President Joe Biden announced he would drop his bid for reelection on Sunday, Lily Greenberg Call, who quit after working in the Interior Department for just over a year, said her personal experience working for the vice president gives her hope….Tariq Habash, who was a Biden policy adviser in the Education Department, said he’s “cautiously optimistic” that Harris would be more willing to consider policy changes that center Palestinian human rights and curb Israel’s continued actions in Gaza and elsewhere. Harris called for a cease-fire in Gaza before Biden did, he said, and she comes from a younger generation than the president. She has said on multiple occasions that she supports a two-state solution.”

Kamala Harris on Gaza: The Campaign Needs to Change Course to Win the White House in November (Simone Zimmerman//Teen Vogue)

“Without the endorsement of material consequences for Israel’s actions — such as the withholding of arms transfers, demanding the restoration of funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, and ensuring that Israel allows humanitarian aid into Gaza — some voters will continue to see Democrats as abetting Israel’s horrific decimation of the Gaza Strip. A Democratic Party that is serious about inspiring hope would work to end the war both because it’s wrong and because it’s bad politics…On Wednesday, surrounded by those who cheered for the man presiding over the slaughter of her people, Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in Congress, stood holding a sign that read, “Guilty of genocide.” Behind her, Congressman Jerry Nadler stood holding a book, a critical biography of Netanyahu, who, earlier in the day, Nadler had called “the worst leader in Jewish history.” Nadler could have joined the estimated 136 other Democrats — including Sara Jacobs, the youngest Jewish member of Congress — in skipping the speech in protest. He could have used his presence in the room to actually stand up to Netanyahu, as Tlaib and the families of some Israeli hostages did. Nadler’s act of trolling represents the Democratic Party’s past; Tlaib’s clarity and courage is the future.”

ACTIVISM//LAWFARE//REDEFINING ANTISEMITISM TO STIFLE CRITICISM OF ISRAEL

Hundreds Arrested as JVP Activists Occupy U.S. Gov’t Office to Protest Against Netanyahu (Haaretz 7/24/24)

“U.S. Capitol Police say they arrested some 200 Jewish Voice for Peace activists protesting against U.S. military support for Israel inside a congressional building in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, a day before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to deliver a speech to Congress. The some 400 members of JVP, among them two dozen rabbis, were demanding an immediate arms embargo on the Israeli government, decrying what they describe as a genocidal campaign in Gaza.” See also US Capitol Police arrest Jewish activists calling for Israel arms embargo (Al Jazeera 7/23/24); About 200 arrested in Cannon Rotunda for protesting Gaza war (WaPo) Interfaith leaders, activists disrupt Christians United for Israel in Washington (New Arab 7/31/24)

How These Battle-hardened Israeli and U.S. Veterans Hope to End the Gaza War (Haaretz)

“As the Israel-Hamas war nears its 10th month, a coalition of American and Israeli veterans are working together and calling for a cease-fire and radical shift in U.S. policy toward the conflict. Common Defense – a U.S. veterans’ group advocating progressive policies – and Breaking the Silence, an Israeli veterans’ group against the occupation, are determined to reshape public and political perceptions of the war. Last week, in a press conference, they released a petition, signed by more than 5,000 veterans and military families, demanding that U.S. President Joe Biden and Congress “act immediately to achieve a permanent cease-fire in Gaza.”’

Bella Hadid Responds to Adidas Campaign Controversy: “Antisemitism Has No Place in the Liberation of the Palestinian People” (Hollywood Reporter)

“Bella Hadid offered a response on Monday to the controversy surrounding her involvement in a recent Adidas campaign featuring shoes inspired by the 1972 Munich Games. The ”SL 72” running shoe campaign, released earlier this month, coincided with the 52nd anniversary of the Munich Games, where 11 Israeli coaches and athletes were massacred by Palestinian terrorists. Though the shoes and campaign made no mention of the tragic incident, a statement from the pro-Israel American Jewish Committee condemned Hadid’s involvement in the campaign because of the model’s support of relief efforts for Palestinians in Gaza amid the war between Hamas and the Israeli Defense Forces…”I would never knowingly engage with any art or work that is linked to a horrific tragedy of any kind,” Hadid wrote in a lengthy Instagram story on Monday. “In advance of the campaign’s release, I had no knowledge of the historical connection to the atrocious events in 1972. I am shocked, I am upset, and I am disappointed in the lack of sensitivity that went into this campaign. Had I been made aware, from the bottom of my heart, I would never have participated.”…Hadid went on to condemn the connection between “the liberation of the Palestinian people” and an antisemitic attack, saying that “Palestine is not synonymous with terrorism and this campaign unintentionally highlighted an event that does not represent who we are.” “I am a proud Palestinian woman and there is so much more to our culture than the things that have been equated over the past week,” she wrote. “I will forever stand by my people of Palestine while continuing to advocate for a world free of antisemitism. Antisemitism has no place in the liberation of the Palestinian people. I will always stand for peace over violence, any day.”’

U.S., 30 other nations unveil new ‘global guidelines’ to fight antisemitism (Jewish Insider 7/17/24)

“Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, the U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, formally announced the “Global Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism” at a Wednesday event at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Buenos Aires alongside antisemitism envoys from several European and Latin American countries. The document was signed by 30 countries and the Council of Europe, the European Commission, the Organization of American States and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe…The Global Guidelines do not have the force of law, but they offer a clear statement of where the U.S. government and its partners stand in their fight against antisemitism. The guidelines indicate strong U.S. support for the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)’s working definition of antisemitism, despite a global campaign against it from far-left activists in recent months who take issue with its assertion that some forms of anti-Zionism are antisemitic.  “In order to combat antisemitism, governments need tools to understand its various manifestations,” the guidelines state. The IHRA definition “is an important internationally recognized instrument used by over 40 U.N. member states since its adoption in 2016. In addition, hundreds of sub-national public authorities, universities, sports bodies, NGOs and corporations rely on it.””

PERSPECTIVES//LONG READS

What Haniyeh’s Assassination Means for a Gaza Ceasefire (Mairav Zonszein//Time 8/1/24)

“In just a few days, Israel has switched the focus from Gaza to Tehran, and from causing mass civilian casualties to precise, surgical operations targeting its enemy’s command structures…In the view of Israeli leaders, this will restore Israel’s power projection, bolster its deterrence and its reputation for superpower-level military intelligence, and demonstrate that its adversaries are safe nowhere—that it has been able to penetrate and compromise Hezbollah and Iran’s security on their own soil. Less clear is how Israel will leverage what it sees as an upper hand. Although logic dictates that killing the very people you are negotiating with is not going to hasten a ceasefire deal with them, Netanyahu could use this moment to build a victory narrative that pacifies the far right on which he relies to stay in power…No one is interested in an all-out war, but the question of whether the region will find peace depends less on that than whether the key players—Israel, Hamas, Iran, and especially the U.S.—are willing to use every tool available to them to put a stop to all the hostilities and pursue a diplomatic way out. Israel could use this moment to make a move in this direction. Unfortunately, and especially under Netanyahu, there is not much evidence to suggest it will.” See also Haniyeh’s Assassination Made It Clear: Israeli Hostages Are Not at Top of Netanyahu’s Agenda (Amos Harel//Haaretz)

The Killing of a Hamas Leader Is Part of a Larger War (Matthew Duss and Nancy Okail//NYT 8/1/24)

“The almost certain escalation from the Haniyeh assassination signals a fundamental flaw in President Biden’s Gaza policy: the hope that the Gaza war could be contained to Gaza. The possibility of regional conflict has always been Mr. Biden’s real red line. But for months, the war has already been spreading — to Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and now, to Iran. The fact that it hasn’t yet erupted into even more widespread and intense conflict is the result of both diplomatic skill and a lot of luck, the latter of which appears to be running out…With each new red line crossed, the risk of escalation increases, and Washington should not underestimate either the willingness of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to drag the United States into a disastrous war, nor the potential for Iran to engage militarily or worse, to finally decide to commit fully to developing a nuclear deterrent…The time is late, but it is essential now for President Biden to finally apply real pressure to stop this war, by halting the supply of offensive arms, facilitating the return of hostages to Israel and enabling the provision of desperately needed humanitarian aid into Gaza. The United States must state loudly and clearly that the country will no longer support this war. And then show that it means it.”

Israeli leaders celebrate assassinations — and make the living pay the price (Orly Noy//+972)

Ten months after the massacre, Israeli society could have been somewhere else. It could have already been in the process of recovering from its terrible trauma, with all the hostages returned home alive. Tens of thousands of its citizens would not have been displaced from their homes in the north and south, and so many soldiers’ lives would have been spared. The Gaza Strip would not have become the Hiroshima of the Middle East, with nearly two million besieged Palestinians uprooted and starved. Instead, ten months of criminal choices have brought us to a security, economic, social, and moral abyss that even the pessimists among us could not have imagined.

The decimation of Gaza’s academia is ‘impossible to quantify’ (Ibtisam Mahdi//+972)

“Dr. Refaat Alareer was a good friend of mine. A poet, writer, and prominent activist for the Palestinian cause, Refaat taught English literature and poetry for many years at the Islamic University of Gaza…Refaat is one of at least 105 Palestinian academics killed in Gaza since the start of Israel’s war, according to the Palestinian Education Ministry’s latest statistics. His home institution, the Islamic University, has been completely demolished by the bombing campaign — and all of Gaza’s 19 universities have sustained severe damage or lie in utter ruins, with over 80 percent of university buildings destroyed. The Strip’s nearly 90,000 students who were enrolled in institutions of higher learning before the war have largely been unable to continue their studies. The annihilation of higher education is particularly tragic for Gaza’s future: this source of learning, economic growth, livelihoods, and community is now gone. But the stories of the teachers and schools we have lost, and the educational opportunities that are now foreclosed, deserve to be told.”

The Perils of a Looming Saudi-Israeli Normalization Deal (Tariq Dana//Al Shabaka)

“Amid the Israeli regime’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, high-stakes negotiations aimed at formalizing and upgrading the long-standing, covert relationship between Israel and Saudi Arabia persist. While attempting to draw the parameters of a ceasefire agreement, the Biden administration has likewise doubled down on efforts to broker a historic deal between the two countries. This policy memo examines the mutually reinforcing interests of the US, Saudi Arabia, and Israel that fuel the prospective agreement. It interrogates Saudi’s feigned solidarity with the Palestinian struggle and situates the normalization deal within shifting regional dynamics.”

The end of Israel’s economy (Shir Hever//Mondoweiss)

“The economic indicators speak of nothing less than an economic catastrophe. Over 46,000 businesses have gone bankrupt, tourism has stopped, Israel’s credit rating was lowered, Israeli bonds are sold at the prices of almost “junk bonds” levels, and the foreign investments that have already dropped by 60% in the first quarter of 2023 (as a result of the policies of Israel’s far-right government before October 7) show no prospects of recovery. The majority of the money invested in Israeli investment funds was diverted to investments abroad because Israelis do not want their own pension funds and insurance funds or their own savings to be tied to the fate of the State of Israel. This has caused a surprising stability in the Israeli stock market because funds invested in foreign stocks and bonds generated profit in foreign currency, which was multiplied by the rise in the exchange rate between foreign currencies and the Israeli Shekel…These are all financial indicators. But the crisis strikes deeper at the means of production of the Israeli economy. Israel’s power grid, which has largely switched to natural gas, still depends on coal to supply demand. The biggest supplier of coal to Israel is Colombia, which announced that it would suspend coal shipments to Israel as long as the genocide was ongoing. After Colombia, the next two biggest suppliers are South Africa and Russia. Without reliable and continuous electricity, Israel will no longer be able to pretend to be a developed economy. Server farms do not work without 24-hour power, and no one knows how many blackouts the Israeli high-tech sector could potentially survive. International tech companies have already started closing their branches in Israel.”

Daybreak in Gaza: New anthology aims to preserve a culture being destroyed (Middle East Eye)

“Published by Saqi and set for release on 3 October, Daybreak in Gaza: Stories of Palestinian Lives and Culture is an anthology of essays, which hopes to capture and preserve both of these worlds. Described by its publishers as a record of heritage, which reveals an “extraordinary place and people”, the collection will feature the stories of the Palestinians who have spent their entire lives under occupation and suffered decades of war. “Vignettes of artists, acrobats, doctors, students, shopkeepers and teachers across the generations offer stories of love, life, loss and survival. They display the wealth of Gaza’s cultural landscape and the breadth of its history.” Saqi says in its announcement of the book.”

Poems from Gaza; Zeina Azzam reviews ‘Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear’ by Mosab Abu Toha (Zeina Azzam//Poetry School)

“To read poetry from and about Gaza in these times is an act of solidarity, or perhaps even one of resistance. After all, a genocide* has been unfolding in the enclave by the Mediterranean Sea and the world has been unable – or unwilling – to do anything about it. Poetry is indeed political; it can dig below the surface of the human condition while exposing uncomfortable truths. So it is with Mosab Abu Toha’s debut poetry collection, Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear. Published in 2022, Abu Toha’s book has likely seen a resurgence of interest as a result of Israel’s current war on Gaza. The fact that the poet drew international attention in November 2023 after being abducted, detained, and beaten by the Israeli army, then released to leave Gaza with his family, has deepened the awareness of his and Gaza’s – and all of Palestine’s – unjustifiable plight…There is indeed a feeling of steadfastness in Abu Toha’s collection, despite the myriad dangers and challenges meted out by life in Gaza (words like ‘war’, ‘bomb,’ ‘shrapnel’, ‘attack’, ‘wound’ and ‘death’ occur frequently). He embraces the experiences of both war and wonder simultaneously; there is a hopefulness that reflects a wholeness in his approach and a deep, multilayered conception of life, family, culture and nature. He explains, ‘I want everyone to know what it means to be living in Gaza, to be living in Palestine, to be thinking about death even while you are looking at flowers and looking at the sun in the sky.’’

What if the U.S. Doesn’t Veto Sanctions Against Israel? ‘It’s the End of the World,’ Says Legal Expert (Haaretz)

“The effects of mounting sanctions on settlers won’t be limited to the West Bank, and they’re already chipping away at Israel’s international legitimacy, says Shuki Friedman, vice president of the Jewish People Policy Institute”

1. New from FMEP

2. Gaza

3. Region//Global

4. River to the Sea

5. U.S. Scene

6. Activism//Lawfare//Redefining Antisemitism to Stifle Criticism of Israel

7. Perspectives//Long Reads

NEW FROM FMEP

The Core Truths About Palestine and Israel (New Occupied Thoughts episode)

FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with writer Ahmed Moor about why Israel/Palestine is not exceptional, why Palestinians turn to armed resistance, and why neither Palestinians nor Jewish Israelis will leave the land between the Jordan river and the Mediterranean Sea. Ahmed’s new essay, “The Palestine-Israel nightmare won’t end until we accept these basic truths” was published in the Guardian on July 8, 2024.

FMEP Legislative Round-Up July 19, 2024 (Lara Friedman)

1. Bills, Resolutions; 2. Letters; 3. Hearings; 4. Israel/Palestine in 2024 Elex/Politics; 5. Selected Media & Press releases/Statements

Settlement & Annexation Report: July 19, 2024 (Kristin McCarthy)

1) Historic ICJ Advisory Opinion Says Israel’s Occupation is Illegal, Calls for Settlements to be Dismantled; 2) Israel Grants Itself Civilian Control of An Additional 3% of West Bank Land; 3) Settlers Enter Abu Nab House in Batan al-Hawa, Silwan As Shehadeh Family Faces 20-Day Eviction Notice; 4) Palestinians Blast IDF Closure of Courtyard in Ibrahimi Mosque Complex; 5) New Outpost Established East of Ramallah; 6) European Union Issues New Sanctions on Israeli Settlers, Orgs, and Outposts; 7) U.S. Sanctions Two More Individuals, Including First Military Target; 8) Further Reading on Silwan, Masafer Yatta & More; 9) Bonus Reads

GAZA

Israel bombards central Gaza, fighting rages in Rafah (Reuters 7/19/24)

“Israeli forces bombed parts of central Gaza on Friday, killing at least eight Palestinians in the Al-Nuseirat camp area, while fighting with Hamas militants raged in Rafah city in the south, where health officials said another five residents were killed. Into the tenth month of war, Israel’s aerial and tank shelling of central Gaza has intensified in the past week, killing dozens. Residents said the Israeli army blew up dozens of homes there in the past three days.” See also At least 60 people killed in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza Strip (Guardian 7/16/24); Gaza: Palestinian with Down syndrome ‘left to die’ by Israeli soldiers after combat dog attack (Middle East Eye); Israel’s war on Gaza live: Israeli attacks kill more than 80 in 24 hours (Al Jazeera 7/17/24)

Israeli strikes targeting Hamas military leader kill 90 in Gaza (WaPo 7/13/24)

“Israeli strikes on a stretch of Gaza filled with displaced residents killed at least 90 people on Saturday, according to the local health ministry, an attack Israel said had targeted top Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif. It was not clear whether Deif, who heads Hamas’s armed wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, was killed in the strike…The strikes occurred in an area designated by Israel as a “humanitarian area,” according to the Post analysis of videos — an area where the IDF has touted the presence of hospitals, shelter, and “increased amounts” of supplies such as food and medicine…The [Israeli military] official did not deny that the area Israel struck was in the “humanitarian area,” but said it was struck “because we knew it was a Hamas compound.”’ See also from WaPo: Who is Mohammed Deif, Hamas military commander targeted by Israel?; These are Hamas’s top leaders; See also from Al Jazeera: Israel’s war on Gaza updates: 70 percent of UNRWA schools in Gaza bombed; Israel keeps bombing Gaza schools. Why do people still shelter there?

Highly infectious poliovirus found in Gaza sewage samples (The Guardian)

“The poliovirus has been found in sewage samples from Gaza putting thousands of people living in crowded displaced persons’ camps at risk of contracting the highly infectious disease that can cause deformities and paralysis. The Gaza ministry said tests carried out with the UN children’s agency, Unicef, “showed the presence of poliovirus” in the territory that has endured a devastating Israeli military offensive since the 7 October Hamas attacks…It highlighted “severe overcrowding” and “scarce water” that is becoming contaminated with sewage and the accumulation of rubbish. The ministry said Israel’s refusal to let hygiene supplies into Gaza “creates a suitable environment for the spread of different diseases”. “The detection of poliovirus in wastewater threatens a real health disaster and places thousands of people at risk of contracting polio.”’

UN rights office says ‘anarchy’ spreading in Gaza (Reuters)

“The United Nations human rights office (OHCHR) on Friday warned that “anarchy” was spreading in the Gaza Strip, with rampant looting, unlawful killings and shootings as the population faces an acute humanitarian crisis. Ajith Sunghay, head of OHCHR for Gaza and the West Bank, described unlawful killings and looting in the absence of law enforcement linked to “Israel’s dismantling of local capacity to maintain public order and safety in Gaza”…Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for OHCHR, said the conditions in Gaza had “led to the predictable and entirely foreseeable unravelling of the fabric of society in Gaza, setting people against one another in a fight for survival and tearing communities apart.” “There is looting, mob justice, extortion of money, family disputes, random shootings, fighting for space and resources, and we see youths armed with sticks manning barricades,” he said.” See also US military shuts down problematic Gaza aid pier, shifts to Israeli port (Al Jazeera);

Israel Is Reviewing a Proposal to Install a “Moderate Muslim” Puppet Regime in Gaza (Yaniv Cogan//Drop Site)

“Israeli security officials praised the recent academic paper recommending the elimination of democracy in Gaza and the rebuilding of Gazan society into a “moderate Muslim entity” in the mold of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. In the plan are several ideas for entirely remaking Gazan society, including razing refugee camps, banning “every existing” schoolbook, and establishing total control of the media. The proposal also calls for the elimination of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency and shutting down the social and humanitarian programs run by Hamas and replacing them with an alternative Israeli-controlled structure…While some prominent Israeli political leaders and government officials have advocated a more extreme plan for Gaza that would entail a permanent military occupation or even the removal of the entire Palestinian population, the academics’ proposal opens a window into the range of options being contemplated at the highest levels of power in Israel…The paper, which you can access in full here, aggregates lessons from four different historical regime change operations—Japan and Germany after the Second World War, and Iraq and Afghanistan after the U.S.-led invasions—and outlines recommendations for Israel’s current efforts to overthrow the democratically elected Hamas government in Gaza.” See also from Drop Site: Palestinian Islamic Jihad: “Oslo Is Over”

Why researchers fear the Gaza death toll could reach 186,000 (Mona Chalabi//The Guardian)

“Even if Israel’s bombing campaign were to stop, the death toll in Gaza is expected to soar. A letter published in the medical journal the Lancet claims that the final figure could eventually be about 186,000. Written by scientists who model how war affects health, the letter lays out the importance of an accurate count – and the difficulty of achieving one. For the past nine months, Israeli forces have waged an intense military campaign that has killed about 38,000 people in Gaza, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Over time these numbers (acknowledged by the United Nations, the World Health Organization and Israeli intelligence services) have become more difficult to assess, with officials less able to keep pace with the killings. An additional 10,000 people are believed to be buried under the rubble in Gaza. They have not been counted among the dead. If a permanent ceasefire were declared today, you might think the death toll would stop there. But warfare doesn’t just kill people through direct violence. In recent years, epidemiologists who study the spread of disease during armed conflict have begun to count what they call the indirect casualties of war. These deaths are caused by factors such as malnutrition, lack of medication, and unsanitary living conditions – the reverberations of warfare, which follow inevitably and predictably from it. The number of indirect casualties often vastly exceeds direct ones.”

Searching for Gaza’s missing children (Ibtisam Mahdi//+972)

“Anas’ family are among thousands of Palestinians recorded as “missing” in Gaza since October 7, the majority of whom are thought to be trapped dead or alive under destroyed buildings and whose bodies have not been registered as arriving at hospitals. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has received enquiries regarding more than 8,700 such cases; three-quarters of them remain unresolved. Gaza’s Health Ministry estimates the total number of missing persons to be even higher: around 10,000. This number is not incorporated into the ministry’s overall death toll from Israel’s bombardment, which currently stands at more than 38,000. With most of Gaza’s medical facilities no longer functioning as a result of being bombed or forcibly evacuated, the work of retrieving, identifying, and counting all of the victims is likely to continue for years to come.” See also We Volunteered at a Gaza Hospital. What We Saw Was Unspeakable. (Mark Perlmutter & Feroze Sidhwa//Politico); Nine Months of Israel’s War on Gaza: the Mental Health Impacts & the GCMHP’s Response — July, 2024 (Gaza Community Mental Health Programme); A Border Crossing Shuttered for Months Traps the Sick and Wounded in Gaza (NYT); Israeli PM blocks hospital for sick Gaza children in Israel (BBC)

Israel’s Netanyahu gambles on Gaza cease-fire with new conditions (Al Monitor)

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to ramp up the pressure on Hamas, even as he faces growing calls to take a deal to free the remaining hostages held in the Gaza Strip…The prime minister has hardened some of Israel’s positions on what’s required for a deal, including by insisting that Israeli troops retain control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt as well as the Philadelphi Corridor border area that Hamas has long used for smuggling. Netanyahu also called for a mechanism to prevent Hamas fighters from returning along with displaced residents to northern Gaza. The new conditions dim chances of a breakthrough before Netanyahu visits Washington next week, where he is scheduled to address a joint meeting of Congress on July 24.” See also Scoop: U.S., Israel, Palestinian Authority hold secret talks on Rafah crossing (Axios); How Netanyahu Has Systematically Foiled Talks to Release Hostages From Hamas Captivity (Haaretz)

October 7 Crimes Against Humanity, War Crimes by Hamas-led Groups (Human Rights Watch)

“Hamas’ military wing – the Qassam Brigades – and at least four other Palestinian armed groups committed numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity against civilians during the October 7, 2023 assault on southern Israel, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Governments with influence over the armed groups should press for the urgent release of civilian hostages, an ongoing war crime, and for those responsible to be brought to justice…“Human Rights Watch research found that the Hamas-led assault on October 7 was designed to kill civilians and take as many people as possible hostage,” said Ida Sawyer, crisis and conflict director at Human Rights Watch. “The October 7 atrocities should spur a global call to action for an end to all abuses against civilians in Israel and Palestine.” Between October 2023 and June 2024, Human Rights Watch interviewed 144 people including 94 Israeli and other nationals who witnessed the October 7 assault, victims’ family members, first responders, and medical experts. Researchers also verified and analyzed over 280 photographs and videos taken during the assault and posted on social media or shared directly with Human Rights Watch…Across many attack sites, Palestinian fighters fired directly at civilians, often at close range, as they tried to flee, and at people driving through the area. The attackers hurled grenades, shot into shelters, and fired rocket-propelled grenades at homes. They set houses on fire, burning and choking people, and forcing out others whom they shot or captured. They took dozens hostage and summarily killed others…The armed groups committed numerous violations of the laws of war that amount to war crimes, including attacks targeting civilians and civilian objects; willful killing of people in custody; cruel and other inhumane treatment; crimes involving sexual and gender-based violence; hostage-taking; mutilation and despoiling bodies; use of human shields; and pillage and looting. The widespread attack was directed against a civilian population. Killing civilians and taking hostages were central aims of the planned attack, not an afterthought, a plan gone awry, or isolated acts. Human Rights Watch concluded that the planned murder of civilians and the hostage-taking were crimes against humanity.” See also Hamas rejects HRW accusation of war crimes in October 7 attack (Al Jazeera)

REGION/GLOBAL

Israel should evacuate settlements, pay reparations, ICJ says (WaPo)

“The International Court of Justice, the top judicial arm of the United Nations, said Friday that Israel should bring an end to its illegal occupation of Palestinian territory, cease new settlement activity, evacuate existing settlements and pay reparations to Palestinians who have lost land and property. The court, based in The Hague, said Israel is responsible for “systematic discrimination” against Palestinians based on race or ethnicity and has breached the right of Palestinians to self-determination. “Israel has an obligation to bring an end to its presence in the occupied Palestinian territory as rapidly as possible,” said Nawaf Salam, the president of the court. The searing advisory opinion issued by judges is not legally binding, but the decision could have wide consequences in the international arena, including in trade and diplomacy. The court said member states should not recognize as legal the situation arising from Israel’s unlawful presence in occupied territory, nor should they render aid or assistance in maintaining it…The ruling marked the first time any international court has weighed in on the core issues related to the legality of Israel’s occupation of the territory it seized during the 1967 war with neighboring Arab countries.” See also Top UN court says Israel’s presence in occupied Palestinian territories is illegal and should end (AP) Top UN court says Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal (Reuters)

Reactions to World Court Ruling | As Israel’s Leaders Seethe at ‘Antisemitic’ ICJ Decision, Palestinian President Says Justice Has Won (Haaretz)

“Israel’s prime minister, cabinet ministers, and lawmakers have categorically condemned the legal opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday. The opinion labeled the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories as “unlawful” and characterized it as “apartheid.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the Jewish people cannot be considered occupiers in their historic homeland…Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the court’s decision, calling it a “victory for justice.” Abbas stated, “The Palestinian presidency urges the international community to demand that Israel, as an occupying power, end the occupation and withdraw unconditionally.”…Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said that the ruling is “disconnected, one-sided, tainted by antisemitism,” and “serves only Islamic terrorism.”…Former IDF deputy chief of staff and the head of the newly formed left-wing party “The Democrats” Yair Golan took to X, saying that “Controlling millions of Palestinians is a real threat to Israel’s existence as a Jewish and democratic state,” adding that the very idea “is a prescription for collective suicide.”…Arab lawmaker and leader of Ta’al party, Ahmad Tibi said that the court’s decision has “accurately captured reality, determining that the state of segregation and the application of Israeli law in the occupied territories is apartheid.”’ See also Why ICJ ruling against Israel’s settlement policies will be hard to ignore (Peter Beaumont//Guardian); ICJ’s Decision on the Occupation Goes Beyond Israel’s Worst Fears (Alon Pinkas//Haaretz); Palestinians urge world to end Israel’s illegal occupation after ICJ ruling (Al Jazeera);

Houthis claim responsibility for drone strike on Tel Aviv (Axios)

“At least one person was killed and seven others wounded in a large explosion that took place in Tel Aviv, Israel, early Friday. The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that the explosion was the result of “an aerial target which fell without an early warning.”…This is one of the most serious attacks on Tel Aviv since Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault. A spokesperson for Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the drone strike.” See also Drone attack on Israel’s Tel Aviv leaves one dead, at least 10 injured (Al Jazeera); Drone evades Israel’s vaunted air defenses in Tel Aviv strike (Axios); Israel shaken as fatal Houthi drone hits Tel Aviv after interception failure (Guardian)

Britain will resume funding to UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA (Reuters)

“Britain’s new Labour government said on Friday it would resume funding to the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA in the first major change in how it will approach the Israel-Palestinian conflict after winning power earlier this month. Britain was one of several countries to halt their funding to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) following accusations by Israel that some agency staff were involved in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war. British foreign minister David Lammy told parliament he was reassured that the agency, which provides education, health and aid to millions of Palestinians, had taken steps to ensure it has the “highest standards of neutrality”, including improving vetting. Lammy said the UNRWA is the backbone of aid operations in Gaza helping feed about half of the territory’s population, and the government would provide 21 million pounds ($27 million) in new funding to the agency.” See also ‘Shocking’: UNRWA Chief Decries Israel’s Destruction of Agency Headquarters (Common Dreams); UK’s Labour ‘backtracks’ on decision to drop objection to ICC arrest warrants (Middle East Eye)

Hezbollah leader threatens new attacks on Israeli towns as tensions rise (WaPo)

“The leader of Lebanon’s Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group threatened Wednesday to target new areas in Israel if its military does not stop striking civilians in southern Lebanon. Hasan Nasrallah delivered his televised speech marking Ashura, a Shiite Muslim day of mourning, amid an increase in exchanges of fire along the Israeli-Lebanese border and fears that the all-out war in Gaza might expand to other fronts…Israeli military leaders have been drawing up plans for a Lebanon offensive for months, but both sides have said they would like to reach a diplomatic solution, as the United States and other countries try to broker a truce. Hezbollah has long maintained that it will not consider ending its attacks until there is cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.” See also Hezbollah launches dozens of rockets at north; drone from Lebanon intercepted (Times of Israel 7/19/24)

RIVER TO THE SEA

With Gantz’s Backing, Israel’s Parliament Passes Resolution Opposing Palestinian Statehood (Haaretz)

“Israel’s parliament voted on Thursday to affirm its opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state. The declarative proposal garnered support from 68 Knesset members, including those from Benny Gantz’s centrist National Unity Party. Nine Knesset members from Arab parties opposed the proposal, and members of the Labor Party not present at the time of the vote. The resolution, put forward by the right-wing opposition party New Hope-United Right faction, states that “the establishment of a Palestinian state in the heart of the Land of Israel would constitute an existential threat to the State of Israel and its citizens, perpetuate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and destabilize the region.” Party chairman Gideon Sa’ar added that, “the resolution decision is intended to express the blanket opposition that exists among the [Israeli] people to the establishment of a Palestinian state, which would endanger Israel’s security and future. [The resolution] signals to the international community that pressure to impose a Palestinian state on Israel is futile.” See also Israel’s parliament passes bill rejecting Palestinian statehood (Middle East Eye)

“Any Second They Could Come” (Maya Rosen//Jewish Currents)

“Samira recognized these settlers; they often harassed the village’s residents, and had become bolder in the past weeks after the Israeli military demolished 11 structures in Umm al-Khair, leaving 38 people, including 30 children, homeless. Three days after the demolitions, the settlers arrived and forcibly entered Palestinians’ homes, demanding to be served coffee; two days after that, they carried out the attack Samira witnessed. During that incursion, Shimon Attia, a notoriously violent local settler, arrived with a gun and began shooting live fire into the air as his compatriots continued pepper spraying and beating the old women. When an ambulance eventually arrived to try to bring the six injured women and children to a hospital, the settlers blocked it, with Attia calling out in Hebrew, “come on, come on, to the grave, to the grave!” The attack on Umm al-Khair was one of hundreds that Palestinians in Area C of the West Bank have faced in the past months as the Israeli government has intensified its demolitions in the region and settlers have continued to rampage. The goal of such activities is clear: to make life untenable for Palestinians in these rural villages so as to facilitate the large-scale Israeli takeover of their land…Palestinian residents say that settlers often seize upon moments of crisis and despair following demolitions to escalate their violence. “Settlers think that once Israel has taken the step of demolishing our homes, we will lose hope of continuing to live in this community. So that is when they come to raise the pressure on the people,” Ali Awad—a journalist and community organizer from the nearby village of Tuba, whose family owns an orchard in Umm al-Khair—told me in an interview. In keeping with this trend, settlers began making near-daily trips to Umm al-Khair in the two weeks since the demolition, including one where Attia set up a tent inside the village and his sons shouted racial and sexual slurs at locals, and another where settlers cut the village’s only water pipe as the army stood by and watched, leaving Palestinian residents with no access to water even as temperatures approached the high 90s. “What the state and the Civil Administration can’t do by law against Palestinians, settlers do masked,” Awad told me.” See also Mounting home demolitions and settler attacks plunge a Palestinian village into crisis (AP); How Israeli settlements are taking over the West Bank as Gaza war rages (Al Jazeera); A Palestinian Mother Was Having Coffee in Her West Bank Home When She Was Killed by an Israeli Missile (Haaretz)

Israeli right-wing minister visits Temple Mount, showcasing influence (WaPo)

“Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, visited one of Jerusalem’s most contested holy sites on Thursday morning, the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, in a bid to inflame tensions and derail renewed talks for a cease-fire agreement with Hamas that he condemned as a “surrender” and a “reckless deal.” Ben Gvir’s visit to the compound, which is frequently a flash point of violence, came one day after an Israeli delegation landed in Cairo to resume negotiations through U.S. and Egyptian mediators. The talks have collapsed repeatedly since November, but momentum has grown over the past week amid signals from both Israel and Hamas that a deal is possible.” See also EU imposes sanctions on five Israeli individuals and three entities (Reuters)

In Fassouta (Fida Jiryis//London Review of Books)

“Fassouta, my village in the Upper Galilee, is three kilometres from the Lebanese border. We watch the rockets fly in both directions. Clouds of smoke fill the sky. Fighter planes roar overhead, and drones whirr for days on end. There is artillery fire all around. This has been our life since 7 October 2023, when Hamas carried out its attack outside Gaza and the Israeli counter-attack began. Hizbullah began to fire into Israel the next day. Most of the nearby Jewish communities, especially in the north-east ‘finger of the Galilee’, such as Metula and Kiryat Shmona, have been evacuated. ‘In 1948,’ my father pointed out, ‘the Jewish militias drove many Palestinians out of this region and brought in the Jews. Today, Hizbullah has driven so many of them out and we have stayed.’ We have stayed, in part, out of fear of losing our homes to another Nakba. ‘Leave where?’ asked one my neighbours, a young mother of two. ‘How do we know they won’t come in and take our homes?’”

U.S. SCENE

Middle East takeaways from Trump’s Republican convention speech (Al Monitor)

“Former US President Donald Trump demanded the return of Americans held in Gaza and vowed to sanction Iran during his speech at the Republican National Convention on Thursday night and warned that amid raging wars in Europe and the Middle East, the world is “teetering on the edge of World War Three.”…Trump said that there will be a “very big price” if the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza are not returned, though he did not directly mention the Palestinian armed group. “And the entire world, I tell you this: We want our hostages back, and they better be back before I assume office or you will be paying a very big price,” he said to chants of “bring them home” in the crowd…Trump praised Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system, noting its performance during Iran’s April attack on Israel. Iran fired hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel in the attack and most were intercepted by Israel, the United States and other regional partners. “Why should other countries have this and we don’t? No, we’re going to build an Iron Dome over our country. We’re going to be sure that nothing can come and harm our people,” he said…Trump alluded to more placing sanctions on Iran if reelected, saying the Islamic Republic was “broke” during his presidency. Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on the country, including its energy industry. The 2015 accord had removed some sanctions on Iran in exchange for the scaling down of its nuclear program.” See also Republican platform a preview of Trump’s Middle East agenda (Al Monitor); Trump Vows to ‘End the War Caused by the Attack on Israel,’ Blames Biden for October 7 (Haaretz)

Biden faces ridicule for saying he’s been ‘very supportive’ of Palestinians (Al Jazeera)

“After the Israeli military bombed a school housing displaced people in central Gaza on Tuesday, a young man stood at the chaotic scene with a rocket fragment in his hand. “This is an Israeli American missile,” he said…After air raids in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis killed at least 90 Palestinians last week, the Gaza Government Media Office blamed the US directly for the attack. But US President Joe Biden has a different view of Washington’s role in the war. “I’m the guy that did more for the Palestinian community than anybody,” he said in an interview that aired online on Monday. “I’m the guy that opened up all the assets. I’m the guy that made sure that I got the Egyptians to open the border… I’m the guy that’s been able to pull together the Arab states to agree to help the Palestinians with food and shelter.” He added, “I mean, I’ve been very supportive of the Palestinians.” The US president’s assertion was met with ridicule by Palestinian rights advocates, who stressed that Biden’s unconditional support for Israel is fuelling a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.” See also Biden: Without Israel, Every Jew in the World Would Be at Risk (Haaretz); US-made munitions used in Israeli strike on Gaza school that killed 22, experts say (CNN);

A Palestinian American raises more than $1 million to feed his family and others in Gaza (NPR)

“Hani Almadhoun says that for months he felt guilty after the war began between Hamas and Israel in early October. He was living safely in the Washington, D.C., area, while his family in Bait Lahia, in northern Gaza, was being bombed…He is a Palestinian who came to the United States in 2000 on a college scholarship and is now a U.S. citizen. Almadhoun is a professional fundraiser. He’s the director of philanthropy at UNRWA USA, an American nonprofit that raises private sector funds and supports the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, commonly known as UNRWA….After several phone calls with a younger brother, Mahmoud, who along with their parents and two sisters live in Bait Lahia, they agreed that setting up a food kitchen was key for their survival and the survival of their neighbors, especially children, Almadhoun says. He created a GoFundMe in February. He set a goal to raise $25,000. Today, people are still giving, and so far he’s raised more than a million dollars.”

The True Cost of Biden’s Unconditional Support for Israel (Annelle Sheline//New Republic)

“I resigned my State Department position over the administration’s position on Gaza. Biden’s unflagging support for Israel now risks a wider regional war, and could cost him the presidency.”

ACTIVISM//LAWFARE//REDEFINING ANTISEMITISM TO STIFLE CRITICISM OF ISRAEL

Student Organizing & Change-Making on University Campuses (Samer Alatout//Al Shabaka)

“This commentary offers key insights into this new wave of student mobilization. It details student demands and places them within the historical legacy of US student organizing. The commentary also examines the relationship between university administrators, students, and faculty, and finds hope in the kinship emerging between the latter two groups at this critical moment.” See also UC unveils steep price tag for handling campus protests: $29 million, most for policing (LA Times)

Adidas Apologizes for Bella Hadid’s 1972 Munich Olympics Shoes Ad, Is ‘Revising’ Campaign (The Wrap)

“Adidas apologized on Thursday for running an ad featuring vocal Israeli critic Bella Hadid in a shoe campaign for retro sneakers referencing the 1972 Olympics, the tragic year when terrorists killed 11 Israeli athletes in the Munich Olympic Village. In a statement shared to social media, the company wrote, “We are conscious that connections have been made to tragic historical events – though these are completely unintentional – and we apologize for any upset or distress caused. As a result we are revising the remainder of the campaign.“ “At the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, 12 Israelis were murdered and taken hostage by Palestinian terrorist group Black September. For Adidas to pick a vocal anti-Israel model to recall this dark Olympics is either a massive oversight or intentionally inflammatory. Neither is acceptable. We call on Adidas to address this egregious error,” the American Jewish Committee said in a statement issued before the sports wear company’s public apology.” See also Adidas removes Bella Hadid from ad campaign after criticism from Israel (The Guardian)

PERSPECTIVES//LONG READS

A Legal Justification for Genocide (Nicola Perugini and Neve Gordon//Jewish Currents)

“Over the past nine months, this pattern has been repeated hundreds of times, with Israel bombing and raiding Gaza’s hospitals, refugee camps, clinics, houses, apartment buildings, children’s pools, schools, universities, mosques, cemeteries, and agricultural lands, all of which it has claimed Hamas was using as a “human shield.” According to the laws of armed conflict, the warring party that uses human shields, rather than the party that kills them, tends to be guilty of a war crime. By casting all the protected sites and people it has bombed as “shields,” Israel thus seeks to shift the responsibility for its mass killings of civilians and sweeping destruction of civilian infrastructure onto Hamas—absolving itself of blame and legal accountability…Parties alleging the use of human shields have typically restricted the charge to limited territorial areas; in contrast, Israel has cited Hamas’s underground tunnel system to cast every square inch of Gaza as a human shield. This apparently endless multiplication of the human shielding accusation has functioned to erase the possibility of Palestinian civilianness altogether…This deadly logic has already justified unprecedented carnage…Furthermore, by deploying the shielding allegation at scale, Israel has created a way to use international humanitarian law—which is technically meant to regulate war and make it more humane—to the opposite effect, essentially carving out a legal justification for genocide.”

Explosive Remnants of War in Gaza: A Long-Term Threat to Palestinian Life (Yara Asi//Arab Center DC)

“Explosive ordnance refers to military weapons and ammunition used in war. The term “explosive remnants of war (ERW)” refers to ordnance that fails to detonate upon use or is left behind—either exposed or, more dangerously, hidden under rubble or underground after active conflict ends…When a permanent ceasefire is reached and the rebuilding of Gaza can begin, the international community must prioritize clearing debris to ensure safety of the general population and the workers tasked with reconstruction. It is one thing to clear piles of rubble—a painstaking process that takes years but is not typically deadly. Identifying, removing, and destroying thousands of ERW is another problem entirely—not just difficult, but extremely dangerous. Unexploded bombs may be buried underground or under piles of rubble and may inadvertently detonate during clearing or reconstruction…In just the first three months of the current Gaza war, it is estimated that Israel dropped at least 45,000 bombs on the enclave, between 9 and 14 percent of which may have failed to detonate. This suggests there are at least thousands of UXO [unexploded ordnance] throughout Gaza—one expert guessed that the number reaches “high tens of thousands.” This shocking figure does not even include grenades or other munitions that Israeli soldiers abandoned as they occupied Palestinian homes, schools, and other infrastructure after forcing civilians to evacuate…The risk of explosion is the most acute, but explosive ordnance poses many environmental threats even if it is not detonated. The shells are usually made of heavy metals that can contaminate soil, water, and air, leading to disorders like anemia and cancer and harming animals and plant life. Explosive residues can also cause contamination that can last for years, meaning that people who were unaffected by initial bombing can still suffer years later because they ate or drank from contaminated sources.”

A Holocaust Scholar Meets with Israeli Reservists (Isaac Chotiner interviews Omer Bartov//New Yorker)

“Omer Bartov is one of the preëminent historians of the Third Reich. In the course of his four-decade career, he has written numerous books and articles examining Hitler’s regime, with a specific focus on how Nazi ideology functioned in institutions such as the German Army…Bartov: ‘[Jewish Israelis] feel so traumatized and so confused that they have no way of speaking about it. They don’t actually want to speak in a reasonable, analytical manner about what happened on October 7th. They don’t even want to speak about it at all. In a sense, they feel that your presence as someone who’s come from the outside is destructive to their understanding among themselves—that they have been terribly hurt and that somehow the only thing they can talk about is how they feel and what has happened to their society, what has happened to people they know. People were killed, people were displaced, and they have absolutely no ability to speak about people in Gaza. It’s absolutely striking.”

In the U.K. and France, There Was a Gaza Vote. And in the U.S.? (Matthew Duss, Daniel Levy//New Republic)

“Among Muslim voters and a slew of progressive and younger voters, positions on Gaza had translated into electoral choices. That had never happened before in U.K. politics. While some of it may have been a luxury vote, assuming an inevitable Labour win, Britain’s governing party is well aware of the consequences for maintaining its rule if this trend cannot be reversed. In sum, the evidence suggests that the narrative that Labour’s aggressively distancing itself from Corbyn-era criticism of Israel by aligning with the Sunak government on Gaza was an essential element of its success was not only wrong but precisely wrong, with that shift acting as a drag on the party in the current circumstances…What has helped close the enthusiasm gap for the left, whereby previously momentum, energy, and excitement were all on the right, was a set of commitments in the manifesto of the NFP alliance. Those included support for an immediate cease-fire and enforcement of the ICJ and ICC rulings, calls for an embargo on arms deliveries to Israel, and calls for French and other European sanctions vis-à-vis Israel for its human rights and international law violations….As for the United States, while foreign policy rarely determines elections, a July 2024 Century Foundation/Morning Consult poll indicates that 2024 might be an exception. According to the Century Foundation report, “Many core constituencies—including independents, swing state likely voters, and Democratic Party activists—are angry at Biden’s unqualified support for the Israeli assault on Gaza… Nationwide, nearly four in 10 voters (38 percent) say they are less likely to vote for President Biden because of his handling of the war in Gaza.”

For Palestinian parents, every day of this war provokes existential anxiety (Abed Abou Shhadeh//+972)

“For Palestinians in Gaza, it has been more than nine months of relentless bombardment. For me, a Palestinian in Israel, it has been more than nine months of constant anxiety about my daughter and her future. I have yet to become desensitized to the horrific videos: every image of a Palestinian father holding the lifeless body of his child reminds me of the danger my daughter faces here. If the war has taught me anything, it is the sad truth that our children’s lives are worthless, not only to Israeli society but to the world at large — a world where they are unwanted, that judges them by their skin color, religion, and nationality, and sees their existence as a “demographic problem.” How selfish and disconnected I must sound when I compare our situation to the magnitude of the disaster in Gaza, where parents are facing the worst nightmares imaginable. And we Palestinians in Israel and in the occupied West Bank have not taken to the streets en masse to protest the ongoing massacres — whether out of fear of persecution, or simply paralysis. This is a mark of shame we will have to live with. I cannot bring myself to criticize other Palestinians for staying in their homes, despite seeing the ruthlessness of the Israeli military and how these war crimes are justified in Israeli media. As parents, we all grapple with the same existential fears…For me and my family, as residents of Jaffa — the only Palestinian community amid some 4 million Jews in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area — we cannot help but wonder: what will they do to us? Maybe they’ll put us in a ghetto like they did after 1948? Maybe armed Jewish groups will organize to harm us like they did during the Unity Intifada of May 2021 — and as they do in the West Bank every day?”

1. New from FMEP

2. Gaza

3. Region//Global

4. River to the Sea

5. U.S. Scene

6. Activism//Lawfare//Redefining Antisemitism to Stifle Criticism of Israel

7. Perspectives//Long Reads

NEW FROM FMEP

The Assault on the Khalidi Library in Jerusalem (Occupied Thoughts podcast 7/10/24)

FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with Columbia Professor Emeritus Rashid Khalidi about how and why Jewish settlers are trying to take over the Khalidi Library in Jerusalem and the history of Israel’s treatment of Palestinian educational institutions. They also reflect on the current war, looking at its impact on Palestinians, on U.S. politics, and the ways in which it is strengthening Hamas.

Witnessing in the West Bank & Gaza Strip (Occupied Thoughts podcast 7/3/24)

FMEP Fellow Rania Batrice speaks with Palestinian communication and advocacy specialist Riham Jafari about Gaza and the West Bank, focusing specifically on the impact of the last nine months on women and girls, on the health system in Gaza, and on the use of starvation as a weapon against the Palestinians in Gaza.

Settlement & Annexation Report: July 12, 2024 (Kristin McCarthy)

1. A Stunning, Expansive Time for Israel’s West Bank Annexation; 2) Civil Admin Seizes Patchwork of Plots as “State Land” in Order to Legalize the Evyatar Outpost; 3) Government Establishes Jurisdiction for New Settlement on World Heritage Site Near Bethlehem; 4) Settlers Takeover New Building in Hebron; 5) Historic Year for Land Grabs: Israel Seizes Over 3,000 Acres in the Jordan Valley as “State Land”; 6) Civil Admin Advances Plans to Legalize Three Outposts & Build 5k New Units Across West Bank; 7) Israeli Cabinet Gives Civil Admin Authority Over Antiquity Sites in Area B; 8) Israeli Cabinet Supports Knesset Considers Bill to Transfer West Bank Antiquities Control from Civil Admin to Domestic Body; 9) U.S. Issues New Round of Sanctions Against Settlers & Settler Organizations; 10) Israeli Court Orders 11 Families Out of Homes in Batan al-Hawa, Silwan; 11) Israeli Court Rules to Demolish Wadi Hilweh Info Center in Silwan; 12) Israeli Court Tells Settlers To Leave Khalidi Library in Old City of Jerusalem; 13) Israel to Advance 6,000+ Settlement Units in East Jerusalem in Coming Weeks; 14) Amidst Wave of Violence, Settlers Lead Progrom On Massafer Yatta Region; 15) Ariel Settlers Close Access Road to Palestinians; 16) IDF Demolishes Outposts, Clashes With Settlers; 17) Bonus Reads

 

​​FMEP Legislative Round-Up July 12, 2024 (Lara Friedman)

1. Bills, Resolutions; 2. Letters; 3. Hearings; 4. Israel/Palestine in 2024 Elex/Politics; 5. Selected Media & Press releases/Statements See also FMEP Legislative Round-Up July 5, 2024

GAZA

Bodies of about 60 Palestinians reportedly found after Israeli attack on Gaza City (WaPo 7/12/24)

“Emergency workers claim to have recovered the bodies of approximately 60 Palestinians from two districts of Gaza City after Israeli forces pulled back from days of battles with Hamas militants in the territory’s biggest urban area. The civil defence agency in Hamas-run Gaza on Friday said the bodies were found in the Tal al-Hawa and Al-Sinaa districts after the week-long offensive. “There are still missing people under the rubble of destroyed homes, which is difficult for our crews to reach,” the agency’s spokesperson Mahmud Bassal said. “There are reports that many people are missing since the first day of the incursion.” “There are many calls for help but we just cannot reach them. We just do not have enough crews,” Bassal added….The Israeli military and Shin Bet intelligence agency announced on Friday that they killed Ayman Shweidah, the deputy commander of Hamas’s Shujaiya battalion. The joint statement said he was involved in planning the 7 October attacks and took part in the fighting that followed.” See also Israel bombards Gaza City in one of the fiercest weeks of war, killing 26 (Reuters 7/11/24);

Israel toughens Gaza ceasefire demands just as optimism for deal growing (Axios 7/11/24)

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hardened his demands for a ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas on Thursday, even as the White House expressed optimism that a deal was getting closer…Talks were making progress in part because Hamas had softened some of its positions, U.S. and Israeli officials say. But Netanyahu has responded to intelligence suggesting Hamas wants a ceasefire because of its weak military position by toughening his own stance.” See also Israel-Gaza war: US mediators making progress on ceasefire deal but still ‘gaps to close’, says Biden – as it happened (Guardian 7/12/24); Israel will send cease-fire negotiators to Cairo for more talks, Netanyahu says (AP 7/11/24); Israeli government accused of trying to sabotage Gaza ceasefire proposal (Guardian); Senior official says Netanyahu holding up hostage-truce deal with new demands (Times of Israel 7/12/24); Biden indicates Israel can pursue Hamas leadership after war, which ‘should end now’ (Times of Israel 7/12/24)

Israel calls for Gaza City to evacuate, affecting hundreds of thousands (WaPo 7/10/24)

“Palestinians to leave Gaza City on Wednesday, calling the area a “dangerous combat zone” as it ramped up operations in the enclave’s largest urban center. The Israel Defense Forces dropped leaflets over the city — the largest in the Gaza Strip — urging civilians to flee south along two designated routes. The warning, which the military characterized as an “evacuation recommendation,” came just days after the IDF announced a new offensive in the region, causing fear and panic among the hundreds of thousands of people still living in northern Gaza, including Gaza City, according to United Nations estimates.” See also Israeli military orders the evacuation of Gaza City, an early target of its war with Hamas (AP 7/10/24); Israeli army launches new, massive wave of forced displacement against the people of Gaza City and North Gaza (Euro Med Human Rights Monitor 7/9/24); Gaza City residents say they won’t leave, despite warnings from the Israeli military. (NYT);

Israeli strike on Khan Younis shelter kills at least 31 amid surge in Gaza fighting (Guardian 7/10/24)

“An Israeli airstrike on the entrance of a school-turned-shelter in southern Gaza has killed at least 31 people as a stepped-up military offensive in the territory sent thousands fleeing in search of refuge. The airstrike on Tuesday afternoon hit the tents of displaced families outside a school in the town of Abassan, east of Khan Younis. Officials at the nearby Nasser hospital said on Wednesday that 31 people had been killed, including eight children, and more than 50 wounded. Footage broadcast by Al Jazeera showed children playing football in the school’s yard when a sudden boom shook the area, prompting shouts of “a strike, a strike!” The Israeli military said it was reviewing reports that civilians were harmed. It said the incident occurred when it struck with “precise munition” a Hamas fighter who took part in the 7 October raid on Israel that precipitated the Israeli assault on Gaza.” See also A game of football, a boom, then scattered bodies: video shows moment of Israeli strike on Gaza school (Guardian); Deadly Israeli strike on school-turned-shelter in southern Gaza (Al Jazeera 7/10/24);

Israel ordered thousands to ‘safe’ areas in Gaza City — then bombed them (Mahmoud Mushtaha//+972 7/10/24)

“On Sunday, July 7, the Israeli army ordered residents of three neighborhoods in eastern Gaza City to immediately evacuate toward the west, ahead of a new ground invasion. Thousands of displaced families abandoned their shelters and searched desperately for a place to stay the night in the city’s western neighborhoods. Within hours, however, Israeli forces attacked those very areas.”

Israeli weapons packed with shrapnel causing devastating injuries to children in Gaza, doctors say (The Guardian)

“Israeli-made weapons designed to spray high levels of shrapnel are causing horrific injuries to civilians in Gaza and disproportionately harming children, foreign surgeons who worked in the territory in recent months have told the Guardian. The doctors say many of the deaths, amputations and life changing wounds to children they have treated came from the firing of missiles and shells – in areas crowded with civilians – packed with additional metal designed to fragment into tiny pieces of shrapnel. Volunteer doctors at two Gaza hospitals said that a majority of their operations were on children hit by small pieces of shrapnel that leave barely discernible entry wounds but create extensive destruction inside the body. Amnesty International has said that the weapons appear designed to maximise casualties.” See also Dangerous skin diseases spreading among children in Gaza (Guardian)

Counting the dead in Gaza: difficult but essential (Rasha Khatib, Martin McKee, Salim Yusuf//The Lancet)

“Armed conflicts have indirect health implications beyond the direct harm from violence. Even if the conflict ends immediately, there will continue to be many indirect deaths in the coming months and years from causes such as reproductive, communicable, and non-communicable diseases. The total death toll is expected to be large given the intensity of this conflict; destroyed health-care infrastructure; severe shortages of food, water, and shelter; the population’s inability to flee to safe places; and the loss of funding to UNRWA, one of the very few humanitarian organisations still active in the Gaza Strip. In recent conflicts, such indirect deaths range from three to 15 times the number of direct deaths. Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death to the 37 396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186 000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.” See also UN experts declare famine has spread throughout Gaza strip (UN OHCHR);

‘I Was Beaten Day and Night’: Freed Gaza Detainees Allege Torture by Israeli Forces (Common Dreams)

“Palestinians recently released from detention by Israeli forces alleged in newly released interviews that they were subjected to various forms of torture during their time in prison, including frequent beatings and sleep deprivation…Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank have been detained en masse, often without charge, since Israel launched its latest assault on the Gaza Strip following a deadly Hamas-led attack on October 7. Addameer, a Palestinian human rights organization, estimates that 54 Palestinians—the majority of them from Gaza—have died in Israeli prisons since October “due to torture, inhumane detention conditions, systematic abuse, and deliberate attacks.”…Whistleblower accounts from Israel’s notorious Sde Teiman prison camp in the Negev desert have alleged that Israeli doctors have amputated the limbs of detainees due to injuries caused by handcuffing—”a routine event,” according to one doctor’s testimony.” See also What released Palestinian detainees say about torture in Israeli jails (Al Monitor); ‘I have the prison inside me’: The emaciated Palestinian bodybuilder broken by Israel (Middle East Eye); I Spoke To Palestinians Tortured By Israel. What They Endured Is Unimaginable (Diana Buttu//Zeteo); Head of Gaza’s largest hospital says he was tortured during seven-month detention (The Independent)

‘I’m bored, so I shoot’: The Israeli army’s approval of free-for-all violence in Gaza (Oren Ziv//+972)

“In early June, Al Jazeera aired a series of disturbing videos revealing what it described as “summary executions”: Israeli soldiers shooting dead several Palestinians walking near the coastal road in the Gaza Strip, on three separate occasions. In each case, the Palestinians appeared unarmed and did not pose any imminent threat to the soldiers. Such footage is rare, due to the severe constraints faced by journalists in the besieged enclave and the constant danger to their lives. But these executions, which did not appear to have any security rationale, are consistent with the testimonies of six Israeli soldiers who spoke to +972 Magazine and Local Call following their release from active duty in Gaza in recent months. Corroborating the testimonies of Palestinian eyewitnesses and doctors throughout the war, the soldiers described being authorized to open fire on Palestinians virtually at will, including civilians. The six sources — all except one of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity — recounted how Israeli soldiers routinely executed Palestinian civilians simply because they entered an area that the military defined as a “no-go zone.” The testimonies paint a picture of a landscape littered with civilian corpses, which are left to rot or be eaten by stray animals; the army only hides them from view ahead of the arrival of international aid convoys, so that “images of people in advanced stages of decay don’t come out.” Two of the soldiers also testified to a systematic policy of setting Palestinian homes on fire after occupying them.”

Road to Redemption: How Israel’s War Against Hamas Turned Into a Springboard for Jewish Settlement in Gaza (Haaretz)

“The IDF has taken control of 26% of the Gaza Strip, building bases and paving roads. Israel’s religious right is already advancing towards its target. This is how it looks through the eyes of Israeli soldiers…The Israeli army’s occupation of parts of the Gaza Strip, for an undefined period of time, is one of the most dramatic developments in the war that began with Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on October 7. The IDF considers Israeli control over these areas as a strategic step, while Israel’s political leadership is pushing to continue the war. In the ongoing cease-fire negotiations, Hamas is demanding that Israel withdraw from areas that have been occupied and to end the war. Despite reports suggesting progress in the negotiations, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made it clear Israel may renew the fighting, and the parties are still far from reaching an agreement. The army’s activities in the occupied areas are diverse: expanding military bases, building infrastructure and even paving roads, all while under persistent Hamas fire. Based on satellite imagery analysis and other open sources, Haaretz calculates that the Israeli army now controls about 26 percent of Gaza. A senior IDF officer discussing the territory under full IDF control in the heart of Gaza called it “an effort at prolonged occupation.” But the military’s activity also provides a tailwind for supporters of the reestablishment of settlements which were evacuated in 2005. Conditions for the emergence of a new reality are being created: an indefinite Israeli presence in Gaza.” See also The Awful Plan to Turn Gaza Into the Next Dubai (Kate Wagner//The Nation)

About 90% of people in Gaza displaced since war began, says UN agency (The Guardian)

“About 90% of the population of the Gaza Strip have been displaced at least once since the war between Israel and Hamas began, according to the UN’s humanitarian agency. Andrea De Domenico, head of the UN’s OCHA agency in the Palestinian territories, said on Wednesday that about 1.9 million people are thought to be displaced in Gaza. “We estimate that nine in every 10 people in the Gaza Strip have been internally displaced at least once, if not up to 10 times, unfortunately, since October,” he told reporters.” See also ‘Systematic targeting’: Israel war ravages Gaza’s archives and manuscripts (The National)

Thousands of Palestinians missing amid Gaza’s unrelenting warfare (Guardian)

“About 6,400 Palestinians reported as missing to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) since the outbreak of the war in Gaza on 7 October are yet to have been found, the group has said. Many are believed to be trapped under debris, buried without identification, or held in Israeli detention while others have been separated from their loved ones, who have been unable to contact them. Approximately 1,100 new cases of missing people have been registered and remain unsolved since April, the ICRC said.”

How Israel destroyed Gaza’s ability to feed itself (Al Jazeera)

“Satellite images analysed by Al Jazeera’s digital investigation team, Sanad show that more than half (60 percent) of Gaza’s farmland, crucial for feeding the war-ravaged territory’s hungry population, has been damaged or destroyed by Israeli attacks.” See also US Gaza aid pier to be permanently dismantled after operating for just 20 days (Guardian)

Hamas faces growing public dissent as Gaza war erodes support (BBC)

“Open criticism of Hamas has been growing in Gaza, both on the streets and online.
Some have publicly criticised Hamas for hiding the hostages in apartments near a busy marketplace, or for firing rockets from civilian areas. Residents have told the BBC that swearing and cursing against the Hamas leadership is now common in the markets, and that some drivers of donkey carts have even nicknamed their animals after the Hamas leader in Gaza – Yahya Sinwar – urging the donkeys forward with shouts of “Yallah, Sinwar!”…There are still those in Gaza fiercely loyal to Hamas and after years of repressive control, it’s difficult to know how far the group is losing support, or how far existing opponents feel more able to speak their mind. But a senior Hamas official privately acknowledged to the BBC, months ago, that they were losing support as a result of the war.” See also Gazan anti-Hamas activist critically injured in attack by masked men (Times of Israel)

REGION/GLOBAL

The Scariest Lesson From Hezbollah’s Footage Deep Inside Israel (Haaretz)

“A few hours before the rocket barrage, Hezbollah released a video highlighting its intelligence capabilities, threatening to strike bases and troop concentrations in Israel’s northern Golan region. Arab media reported that the aerial photos were taken by an Iranian Hudhud drone, which is difficult to confirm, given that the footage includes images collected by several drones with varying photo-reconnaissance capabilities taken over several months…Hezbollah called the video a follow-up of the “Haifa Port video” that mapped a series of bases and troop concentrations. A header in the corner of the screen says “kabel al-astedhadef” – a military concept that means pre-strike targeting. Once again, Hezbollah is signaling that Israel’s longstanding air supremacy over all the region’s countries is no guarantee of protection of its own airspace. The signal illustrates a genuine threat, considering the possible number of sorties carried out over time. Hezbollah’s footage demonstrates that the non-state actor and terrorist organization, which lacks even a single combat jet, possesses aerial capabilities that can reach deep into Israel to collect intelligence before using that intelligence to strike.”

As fears mount of an Israel-Lebanon war, Hezbollah’s arsenal looms large (WaPo)

“Analysts estimate Hezbollah has between 130,000 and 150,000 rockets and missiles, more than four times as many as its ally Hamas was believed to have stockpiled before the war in Gaza. And the Lebanese group says it commands more than 100,000 soldiers, well over double the high-end estimates of Hamas’s prewar fighting force. Most of Hezbollah’s weapons are lower-grade, unguided munitions, which could threaten Israel’s aerial defense systems if unleashed in large numbers. Even more concerning for Israel are precision munitions the group has said it possesses. Hezbollah keeps a tight lid on its arsenal, leaving weapons experts to guess about the full extent of its capabilities.” See also from Al Monitor: Israel fires at Lebanese army in south, strikes southern Syria (7/12/24); Lebanon FM warns of ‘devastating’ regional war if Israel escalates campaign against Hezbollah (7/11/24); Hezbollah drones critically wound one in Israel (7/11/24); Hezbollah airs drone footage of Israeli military sites in Golan Heights (7/9/24)’; More than 200 rockets from Lebanon’s Hezbollah rain down on Israel (7/4/24)

Report: New German Citizenship Law Requires Applicants to Declare Israel’s ‘Right to Exist’ (Haaretz)

“The details of a landmark new German citizenship law were announced on Tuesday, which will require applicants to declare Israel’s right to exist, according to a report by the Financial Times. The requirement comes as part of a citizenship overhaul designed to emphasize loyalty to German values…The citizenship law also stated that the specific requirements of the test given to applicants would be set by government regulation. At the time, Germany’s Ministry of the Interior indicated it intended to include questions on Judaism and Jewish life in Germany but stopped short of saying whether it would include a specific declaration regarding the state of Israel. On Tuesday, Interior Minister Nancy Fraeser confirmed to the Financial Times that it would now be a requirement. “New test questions have been added on the topics of antisemitism, the right of the state of Israel to exist and Jewish life in Germany,” Fraser said. The test will also require applicants to affirm their commitment to gender equality, democracy and “Germany’s historic responsibility towards Judaism as a result of the crimes of National Socialism,” according to the minister.”

RIVER TO THE SEA

Smotrich Has Completed Israel’s Annexation of the West Bank (Michael Sfard//Haaretz)

“The regime revolution in the West Bank is being conducted in accordance with the commitments Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave to Religious Zionism leader Bezalel Smotrich as part of the coalition agreement. Its essence is the transfer of all the governing powers in the West Bank, except those directly relating to security, from the army to an apparatus headed by Smotrich himself. At the end of May, it happened. Quietly, without any ceremonies or press announcements, Yehuda Fuchs, the head of the army’s Central Command (and the commander of Israeli forces in the West Bank), signed an order creating a new position in the army’s Civil Administration, “deputy head for civilian affairs” and the Civil Administration’s head signed a document delegating powers to the holder of the new office…The order and the letter of delegation of powers transferred most – in fact almost all – of the powers held by the head of the Civil Administration to the new deputy. Land management, planning and construction, enforcement against unpermitted construction, supervision and management of local authorities, professional licensing, trade and economy, management of nature reserves and archaeological sites…The transfer of administrative powers to public servants of the occupying government and to its elected officials creates a direct rule by the occupiers’ citizens over the occupied territory, thereby expanding the occupiers’ sovereignty into the occupied territory. In other words: annexation. This is what Smotrich has succeeded in doing. He has completely removed the army (including military legal counseling) from the decision-making process regarding anything not directly related to security in the West Bank, in practice imposing Israeli sovereignty over the area. And this will have disastrous implications for the rights of Palestinians. The few restrictions the army has somehow placed on the dispossession and violation of Palestinian rights will now be removed.” See also Israel turbocharges West Bank settlement expansion with largest land grab in decades (AP); Seven Palestinians killed as Israel raids West Bank’s Jenin (Al Monitor); ‘Era of Miracles’: Israeli Far-right Minister Rejoices at West Bank Settlement Expansion (Haaretz); Israeli forces fatally shoot 14-year-old Palestinian boy in the back near Ramallah (DCI-Palestine)

Mounting International Sanctions Against Powerful Israeli Settler Group Could Be Earth-shattering (Haaretz)

“The Amana organization has ties with all the banks in Israel and with thousands of settlers who live in its homes. An extension of the sanctions imposed by Canada could spell an earthquake in the settlement movement” See also U.S. sanctions extremist Israeli group Lehava and several West Bank outposts (JTA); US steps up sanctions against Israeli settlers and ‘outposts’ in occupied West Bank (Guardian)

‘Constant anxiety’: hundreds of Palestinians face eviction threat in East Jerusalem (Guardian)

“A recent ruling by Israel’s supreme court ended the legal battle of one local family against eviction and in hearings this week judges dismissed two other attempts to block moves to force 66 people out of their homes Batn al-Hawa too. “In 15 years of working on these cases, this is definitely the worst it has ever been,” said a lawyer, Yazeed Kawar. The sudden flurry of activity in Batn al-Hawa comes amid a concerted effort by Israeli settler organisations to expand existing projects and start new ones…The driving force behind the influx of Jewish Israelis into Batn al-Hawa is Ateret Cohanim, which describes itself as “the leading urban land reclamation organisation in Jerusalem … working for over 40 years to restore Jewish life in the heart of ancient Jerusalem”.’

Israel transfers $116 million of withheld tax revenue to Palestinians (Reuters)

“Israel transferred 435 million shekels ($116 million) of withheld tax revenue to the Palestinian Authority, the first such transfer since April, the Israeli and Palestinian finance ministries said on Wednesday. Israel collects tax on goods that pass through Israel into the West Bank on behalf of the Palestinian Authority and transfers the revenue to Ramallah under a longstanding arrangement between the two sides. Since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has withheld sums earmarked for administration expenses in Gaza. Israel also deducts funds for electricity, water and costs to treat Palestinians in Israeli hospitals. Even after these deductions, Palestinian officials say the amount is far below taxes collected each month. The ultranationalist Smotrich has been opposed to sending funds to the PA, which uses the money to pay public sector wages.”

The Companies Making it Easy to Buy in a West Bank Settlement (The Intercept)

“On websites largely tailored for Jewish American buyers looking to move to Israel, prospective homeowners can browse properties that include listings for homes in settlement communities, which offer the typical trappings of suburban life. Around a dozen real estate firms have participated in real estate fairs organized by My Israel Home across North America this year. Six of these firms are actively marketing at least two dozen separate properties for sale located within eight different West Bank and East Jerusalem settlements, according to their online listings. Other real estate firms commonly list dozens of West Bank properties on their sites.”

IDF Ordered Hannibal Directive on October 7 to Prevent Hamas Taking Soldiers Captive (Haaretz)

“’There was crazy hysteria, and decisions started being made without verified information’: Documents and testimonies obtained by Haaretz reveal the Hannibal operational order, which directs the use of force to prevent soldiers being taken into captivity, was employed at three army facilities infiltrated by Hamas, potentially endangering civilians as well” See also Israeli military says it failed to protect Gaza border town on Oct. 7 (WaPo); Israeli Oct. 7 probe of Kibbutz Be’eri shows massive operational failures (Al Monitor)

Israeli protesters block highways, call for cease-fire to return hostages 9 months into war in Gaza (AP 7/7/12)

“Marking nine months since the war in Gaza started, Israeli protesters blocked highways across the country Sunday, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step down and pushing for a cease-fire to bring back scores of hostages held by Hamas.” See also In the Face of Despair, a Glimmer of Hope: Hostages’ Families March to Jerusalem (Haaretz); First Israeli Conscientious Objector of the Gaza War Freed After More Than Six Months in Prison (Haaretz)

U.S. SCENE

U.S. to again ship 500-pound bombs to Israel, reversing suspension (WaPo)

“The United States is resuming a shipment of 500-pound bombs to Israel that had been held up since May, when the Biden administration suspended delivery of two types of large, airdropped weapons amid concerns about the ballooning scale of civilian casualties in Gaza, said U.S. officials familiar with the matter. The paused delivery included 1,800 2,000-pound bombs, which remain on hold, U.S. officials said. But the supply of 1,700 500-pound bombs will move forward. The U.S. decision followed a pressure campaign by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and pro-Israel lobbyists in the United States, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, demanding the resumption of all weapons shipments regardless of their lethality.”

Biden highlights frustrations with Israel during high-profile press conference (JTA 7/12/24)

“President Joe Biden said Israel had been “less than cooperative” with the United States in its efforts to deliver assistance to Palestinian civilians, adding to pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept the terms the Biden administration has brokered to bring about an end to the war…Biden administration officials have generally held back on criticizing Israel for difficulties in delivering humanitarian assistance to Gaza, which international officials have said verges on famine, attributing the halting aid delivery to wartime exigencies and to thieving by the Hamas terrorist group, which launched the war on Oct. 7 with massacres in Israel. But Biden appeared to argue that much of the obstruction the United States has encountered stems from Israel’s government, the most right-wing in the country’s history. Cabinet ministers belonging to extreme right-wing parties have sought to delay the delivery of assistance and have backed protesters who block aid trucks as a means of forcing Hamas to release 120 hostages it still holds. “This war cabinet is one of the most conservative war cabinets in the history of Israel, and there’s no ultimate answer other than the two-state solution here,” said Biden, who at the outset of the war wholly backed Israel. Netanyahu adamantly rejects a two-state outcome as a long-term goal in the talks. Biden also rejected the Israeli far right’s ambitions to reoccupy the Gaza Strip, and of maintaining an Israeli military presence there. “The day after in Gaza has to be the end,” he said, “has to be no occupation by Israel in the Gaza Strip, as well as the ability for us to access, get in and out as rapidly as you can for all that’s needed there.”’

Exclusive: 12 Biden Administration Resignees Blast ‘Intransigent’ Gaza Policy (Huff Post)

“President Joe Biden’s policy on Gaza is “a failure and a threat to U.S. national security” that “dehumanizes both Palestinians and Jews” and should be immediately overhauled, 12 former U.S. government officials who quit their posts over Biden’s controversial approach argued in their first joint public statement, which they exclusively shared with HuffPost. The statement outlines steps that the former officials — four from the State Department, three from the military, one from the U.S. Agency for International Development and four from Biden’s political staff — recommend for a change in course. It suggests they will keep challenging the administration on public platforms, increasing pressure on Biden’s team to demonstrate progress in winding down the U.S.-backed Israeli offensive and addressing the humanitarian crisis it has created.”

Kamala Harris: Campus protesters over Gaza war ‘showing what human emotion should be’ (Times of Israel)

“Young Americans protesting Israel’s war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza are “showing exactly what the human emotion should be,” Harris said in an interview with the left-wing magazine The Nation, an excerpt of which was published on Monday. She noted, however, that “there are things some of the protesters are saying that I absolutely reject, so I don’t mean to wholesale endorse their points. But we have to navigate it. I understand the emotion behind it.”’

Here’s How Biden Loses Michigan (NYT Video)
“Does President Biden realize how angry some voters in Michigan are — specifically, Arab Americans?…Opinion Video traveled to Dearborn to understand voter sentiment in a population that has the power to sway the election. Michigan has over 200,000 registered voters who are Muslim — enough to swing the state. (Biden won Michigan by 154,000 votes in 2020.) Just finding a pro-Biden Arab American voter in Dearborn is not an easy task.” See also What Are Arab American Women Supposed to Do This November? (New York Magazine)

These Corporations Are the True “Winners” of the War on Gaza (Spencer Ackerman//The Nation)

“Whatever the debates about the decline of US hegemony, the global arms market is a place where American power is growing. The United States was responsible for 34 percent of all arms exports from 2014 to 2018, according to SIPRI, an independent research institute. By 2023, that number had grown to 42 percent. Some 38 percent of US arms exports during that time went to the Middle East, with Israel accounting for 3.6 percent; Israel gets 69 percent of its arms imports from Washington. That America’s imperial wars have been agonizing failures has obscured the fact that there have been winners—and the same goes for this latest US-backed assault. Those winners are in the boardrooms of the companies shown here, from a tally assembled by the American Friends Service Committee. We highlight them not because of any company’s particular instrumentality in the bloodshed but because they are unexceptional, representing routine operations within Israel’s machinery of oppression. Some are not even primarily known as weapons manufacturers. Their wins compound every day that Israel continues its genocide in Gaza.”

A Biden Confidant Emerges as a Crucial Mideast Diplomat (NYT)

“Officially, Mr. [Amos] Hochstein, 51, is Mr. Biden’s top aide for global energy and infrastructure. But his wonky title does not capture the ever-broadening portfolio bestowed upon him by a president whose close confidence he has earned over more than a decade and who is said to view his adviser as a results-getting “doer.” Mr. Hochstein has made at least five trips to Israel and Lebanon since the war in Gaza prompted Hezbollah to launch rocket attacks on northern Israel in solidarity with Hamas. He speaks constantly with Lebanese officials as well as top Israeli officials, sometimes including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu…Mr. Hochstein’s mission is to find a diplomatic alternative. U.S. officials say the best hope is a cease-fire in Gaza, which Hezbollah leaders say would cause them to stop their attacks. But even then, Israel would still insist that its northern border be made more secure. So in addition to trying to restrain the two sides from major escalation, Mr. Hochstein has been negotiating a plan under which Hezbollah would pull back its forces several miles from Israel’s border — possibly in return for U.S. economic aid for southern Lebanon and changes to Israeli military positions.”

The UAW’s federal monitor twice pressured the union to back off its call for Gaza ceasefire, then launched an investigation (Ryan Grim//Drop Site)

“The federally appointed monitor tasked with overseeing the United Auto Workers, Neil Barofsky, is ratcheting up his conflict with UAW President Shawn Fain, announcing another investigation into the union leader who rose to national prominence amid the successful “Stand Up Strike” against the Big Three automakers.  Yet newly unveiled documents suggest Barofsky’s pursuit of Fain has less to do with concerns over union self-dealing and more to do with the politics of Israel-Palestine.’”

ACTIVISM//LAWFARE//REDEFINING ANTISEMITISM TO STIFLE CRITICISM OF ISRAEL

Columbia Law Professor Smeared by Israel Supporters Could Lose Her Job (The Intercept)

“The university recently deposed tenured law professor Katherine Franke as part of an investigation stemming from an interview she gave to “Democracy Now!” in January. During that interview, Franke was asked about allegations that two students who had previously served in the Israeli army had sprayed a chemical at their classmates at an on-campus rally for Gaza. Franke, who has worked at the school for decades, responded by linking the incident to a documented pattern of on-campus harassment that Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students have alleged for years…By February 13, Franke was notified of a complaint against her based on the interview, filed by two law school professors who alleged violations of university discrimination policy. Online, supporters of Israel continued to misconstrue Franke’s statements, while a Republican lawmaker asked University President Minouche Shafik about Franke during an April hearing about campus antisemitism…Franke is one of several Columbia staff to face investigation — many of whom have defended Palestinian rights — while the House Committee on Education and the Workforce continues to apply pressure on the school. Recently, three deans were placed on indefinite leave for exchanging text messages the university says “touched on ancient antisemitic tropes.” Professors elsewhere across the country have had their livelihoods imperiled upon speaking out in defense of Palestinians.” See also Columbia’s President Denounced Her Before Congress. Firing Could Be Next. (Inside Higher Ed)

Accusing Israel of genocide cost me a job — just another example of a university failing Jews (Raz Segal//The Forward)

“In my own case — as an Israeli-American, Jewish scholar of Jewish history and Holocaust and genocide studies — senior administrators at the University of Minnesota were so alarmed by my evidence-based argument that Israel is committing a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza that they rescinded my offer to direct UMN’s Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies. My treatment is emblematic of a much broader problem within American universities: As a whole, their administrators have utterly failed to understand the distinction between antisemitism and anti-Zionism — and therefore ended up reproducing an antisemitic stance themselves.

Meta expands hate speech policy to remove more posts targeting ‘Zionists’ (Guardian)

“Meta Platforms said on Tuesday it would start taking down more posts that target “Zionists” when the term is used to refer to Jewish people and Israelis rather than representing supporters of the political movement. The Facebook and Instagram parent said in a blog post it would remove content “attacking ‘Zionists’ when it is not explicitly about the political movement” and uses antisemitic stereotypes or threatens harm through intimidation or violence directed against Jews or Israelis.” See also Meta bans use of ‘Zionists’ as a cover for attacks on Jews or Israelis (JTA); Update from the Policy Forum on our approach to ‘Zionist’ as a proxy for hate speech (Meta); Digital Rights Advocates Share Concern over Meta’s Updated Hate Speech Policy (7amleh)

A Wall Street Law Firm Wants to Define Consequences of Israel Protests (NYT)

“Sullivan & Cromwell, a 145-year-old firm that has counted Goldman Sachs and Amazon among its clients, says that, for job applicants, participation in a protest — on campus or off — could be a disqualifying factor. The firm is scrutinizing students’ behavior with the help of a background check company, looking at their involvement with pro-Palestinian student groups, scouring social media and reviewing news reports and footage from protests…Candidates could face scrutiny even if they weren’t using problematic language but were involved with a protest where others did. The protesters should be responsible for the behavior of those around them, Mr. Shenker said, or else they were embracing a “mob mentality.”…Sullivan & Cromwell’s policy stands out because of the way it holds applicants accountable for the actions of others, and considers commonly used protest slogans to be out of bounds. No other law firm on Wall Street has publicly discussed a similar policy toward protesters, but leaders at four of Sullivan & Cromwell’s elite rivals privately said they are considering adopting similar rules.”

 

PERSPECTIVES//LONG READS

The Neck and the Sword (Tariq Ali interviews Rashid Khalidi//New Left Review)

“RK: I grew up in a world where there was no Palestinian voice—in the Arab world, in the public sphere in the West; none at all, it didn’t exist. Palestinians didn’t exist. My four grandchildren are growing up in a time when there are quite vigorous voices for Palestine, all over the world. So that’s an element of change for the better. I grew up in a world in which the Zionist narrative was completely hegemonic and Israel was fulsomely described as ‘a light unto the nations’. That is no longer the case. Today it is widely, and rightly, seen as a pariah state because of its own genocidal actions. These are among the few good things that have happened in these very bad times.”

The Rise of October 7th Tourism (Maya Rosen//Jewish Currents)

“These visitors were part of a wave of “solidarity missions” bringing diaspora Jews to Israel. While in the country, these travelers—the vast majority of whom are from the US, though others have come from Europe, South America, Australia, South Africa, and Canada—not only tour sites of devastation, but express their support by visiting wounded soldiers and evacuated communities, packing or cooking food on military bases, and picking produce on Israeli farms. The trips bill themselves as an opportunity to “stand in solidarity, bear witness, and provide comfort and support to those in need,” in the words of a New Jersey Federation. On top of sit-downs with survivors and victims’ and hostages’ families, their busy itineraries almost always include meetings with representatives of the emergency rescue and medical groups Zaka or Magen David Adom, as well as with Israeli public officials, soldiers, and civil society leaders. Thus far, tens of thousands of American Jews have taken part in these trips, which many Jewish groups began planning just weeks after October 7th…But beyond their interest in fundraising, the disparate groups behind the missions seem united in the belief that showing diaspora Jews the scars of October 7th is essential to shoring up their support for Israel’s deadly assault on Gaza. As UJA-Federation of New York executive vice president Mark Medin, who has led multiple trips, has said, “There are two wars going on,” including both the physical war and “an information war for the Jewish world that the diaspora Jewish community has to fight as well.” To be able to do their part in this war against misinformation, American Jews “have to bear witness . . . If you do, you’re able to be a much stronger advocate; back in America, you’re able to talk to your family, to your professional colleagues, to your friends, to the media, to members of Congress . . . with firsthand authenticity.”’

I am an Israeli American Jew. Bulldozing Palestinian homes is personal for me (J Street Board Member Ben Linder//J.)

“Some call this apartheid. Some call it ethnic cleansing. Some call it the systematic colonization of private Palestinian land by Israel. For me, however, it is more personal. I call it the destruction of my friend’s life, livelihood and future. I call it the destruction of his children’s future. I call it pure evil. I am a Jew. I was born in Israel. I am an Israeli citizen. I am deeply ashamed today of those who claim to represent my religion and my nationality. I am also an American. I steadfastly support America’s commitment to Israel’s defense. But this is not a matter of self-defense. I implore the Biden administration to cease enabling Israel’s de facto annexation of Area C of the West Bank. It’s a clear violation of international law.”

The Palestine-Israel nightmare won’t end until we accept these basic truths (Ahmed Moor//The Guardian)

“As a Palestinian American who has lived in both Gaza and the West Bank and has observed the unfettered encroachment of settlements first-hand, I’ve long been a proponent of a single shared state in Palestine-Israel – an idea that many have rejected as unworkable. Now, as we observe what scholars have described as a genocide in Palestine, the question resolves to whether it’s even thinkable for Israeli Jews and Palestinians to live as fellow citizens in a shared society. But a two-state outcome is equally hard to envisage – Israeli settlements have made partition impossible. What is clear is that the Palestinians, who have faced brutality for 100 years, need a resolution. And perversely, the carnage may present a new chance at redirecting history…As a Palestinian American who has lived in both Gaza and the West Bank and has observed the unfettered encroachment of settlements first-hand, I’ve long been a proponent of a single shared state in Palestine-Israel – an idea that many have rejected as unworkable. Now, as we observe what scholars have described as a genocide in Palestine, the question resolves to whether it’s even thinkable for Israeli Jews and Palestinians to live as fellow citizens in a shared society. But a two-state outcome is equally hard to envisage – Israeli settlements have made partition impossible. What is clear is that the Palestinians, who have faced brutality for 100 years, need a resolution. And perversely, the carnage may present a new chance at redirecting history.”

“The Law Cannot Let Itself See the Nakba” (Joshua Abramson Cohen interviews Rabea Eghbariah//Jewish Currents)

“Across the two pieces, Eghbariah poses a straightforward question to the legal community: If the name of the crime Israel is committing in Gaza today is genocide, then what do we call the crime that Zionism has been committing against the Palestinians for the past 100 years? International law has lacked the language to accurately describe that project of erasure, Eghbariah argues, but Palestinians have long had a precise name for it: the Nakba. In his HLR piece, Eghbariah suggests that the international community adopt Palestinians’ language for their experience of Zionism, and in the expanded CLR article, he proposes that we speak about the Nakba in two overlapping ways: as the event that displaced over 750,000 Palestinians from their homes between 1947-1949, and as the structure of oppression that Palestinians have been subject to ever since. Eghbariah also advances the idea of “Nakba,” without a definite article, as a common noun that could be used along the lines of “apartheid” or “genocide” to refer to a mode of group domination founded in displacement, continued through fragmentation, and aimed at the denial of self-determination. I had the opportunity to speak with Eghbariah about the Nakba as the material truth of Zionism, the history of Palestinians’ use of the term, and the power of inventing new concepts and borrowing existing ones to capture the distinctiveness of Palestinian subjugation.”

‘Film was the best way to convey our art amid the suffering in Gaza’ (Ruwaida Kamal Amer//+972)

“Politics has long been a staple at Cannes, the premier film festival in the world, both on and off screen. Initially, this rich tradition seemed to be followed this year as well: Rashid Masharawi, the renowned Palestinian director, submitted his most recent project to the festival, titled “From Ground Zero,” a collection of 22 short features and documentaries made by Palestinian filmmakers in Gaza since the start of the current war. Ground Zero was accepted by the festival — but Masharawi was then informed that the collection ultimately would not be screened…And so, Masharawi decided to organize a separate protest screening. Just outside the festival grounds, Masharawi put up a tent, and, wearing a suit with a necktie made of the Palestinian keffiyeh, he screened Ground Zero.”

In Bad Faith: A Satire (Mohammed El-Kurd//Mondoweiss)

“When a Palestinian is brought onto Western media to talk about what’s happening in Palestine, it’s never in good faith. This video satirizes the hostile and bad-faith questions that Palestinians confront during mainstream media interviews.”

On the Record with Hamas (Jeremy Scahill//Drop Site)

“Drop Site conducted a series of interviews with senior Hamas officials alongside a comprehensive review of its statements and those of its leaders. I interviewed a variety of Hamas sources on background for this story and two—Basem Naim and Ghazi Hamad—agreed to speak on the record. I also spoke to a range of knowledgeable Palestinians, Israelis, and international sources in an effort to understand the tactical and political aims of the October 7 attacks. Some people will inevitably criticize the choice to interview and publish Hamas officials’ answers to these questions as propaganda. I believe it is essential that the public understand the perspectives of the individuals and groups who initiated the attack that spurred Israel’s genocidal war—an argument that is seldom permitted outside of simple soundbytes.” See also The Resistance Will Continue,” Hamas Pledges Amid Gaza Ceasefire Talks (Jeremy Scahill//Drop Site 7/12/24)

What can Palestinian artists do in the face of our slaughter? (Tamer Nafar//+972)

“As a Palestinian rapper, my creative expression has always been rooted in our collective oppression and traumas…For most of my life, I stupidly believed that art exists to change the world. Now, I think about art more like the black box flight recorder on an airplane: it won’t navigate the landing; it’s here to document the crash. And as we witness this second Nakba, there are several new songs that I believe best capture the moment we’re living through. This is my Black Box Playlist.”

A flawed peace conference offers a radical proposal: hope (Haggai Matar//+972)

“At first glance, the Israeli-Palestinian peace conference in Tel Aviv on July 1 appeared detached, almost delusional. And in some ways, it was. With around 6,000 attendees, the event was the country’s largest anti-war gathering since October 7, outside of street protests…The event brought together Jewish and Palestinian survivors, displaced persons, hostages, former prisoners, bereaved families, activists, security officials, religious and cultural figures, intellectuals, and current and former parliamentarians to echo a common commitment to justice, nonviolence, partnership, equality, democracy, self-determination, security, freedom, and peace for all who live between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. It was a radical proposal for hope.” See also Can this conference inspire a new Israeli-Palestinian peace movement? (Oren Ziv//+972)

Only an anti-fascist front can save us from the abyss (Orly Noy//+972)

“One day — and who knows how much more destruction and death will be wrought before this day comes — the war will end. Israeli society will emerge more violent, more nationalist, more militaristic, and more openly fascist. But right now, we must begin preparing for this day by building a broad anti-fascist front that can curb the worst impulses of this new society and chart a different path forward…The anti-fascist front that must arise here can only be led by Palestinian citizens — not only because no other political camp comes close to matching their record of struggle against Israeli fascism, but because no one else has a coherent political vision, based on the values substantive democracy and full equality, as Palestinian citizens have articulated in various party platforms and civil society statements. Today, after the shock of October 7 that has convulsed Israeli society, decent citizens are faced with an existential choice. They can continue to cling to the idea of “Jewish and democratic” Israel, a dangerous deception that masks an increasingly fascist ethnocratic state. Or they can strive for a substantial democracy, without which Israeli society will irrevocably plunge into the abyss.

1. New from FMEP

2. Gaza

3. Region//Global

4. River to the Sea

5. U.S. Scene

6. Activism//Lawfare//Redefining Antisemitism to Stifle Criticism of Israel

7. Perspectives//Long Reads

NEW FROM FMEP

Israel is Annexing the West Bank (New podcast episode)

FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with Professor Yael Berda about Israel’s de facto annexation of the West Bank. A few days ago, the Guardian reported that “[t]he Israeli military has quietly handed over significant legal powers in the occupied West Bank to pro-settler civil servants working for the far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich” (“IDF transfers powers in occupied West Bank to pro-settler civil servants,” 6/20/24) and the New York Times reported Smotrich’s declaration that he succeeded in changing the “DNA” of the occupation (“Israeli Official Describes Secret Government Bid to Cement Control of West Bank, 6/21/22). Looking at the ongoing annexation efforts, Beinart and Berda discuss the ways in which – and the reasons why – Israeli settlers want to control the Israeli military; how Smotrich’s “decisive plan” is well underway; and the potential that international opposition may stop Israel’s annexation of the West Bank.

FMEP Legislative Round-Up June 28, 2024 (FMEP)

1. Bills & Resolutions 2. Letters 3. Hearings & Markups 4. Israel/Palestine in 2024 Elex/Politics 5. Selected Media & Press releases/statements. This week’s round-up was guest-written by Haydn Welch and Sheridan Cole, advocacy officers at the Middle East Democracy Center, with contributions by Lara Friedman.

Settlement & Annexation Report: June 28, 2024 (Kristin McCarthy)

1. West Bank Annexation: Israeli Military Cedes Control of West Bank Civilian Affairs to Settlers; 2. In Secretly Recorded Tapes, Smotrich Confirms Israel is Annexing the West Bank via Bureaucracy; 3. Israel Authorizes Five Outposts, Hints at Thousands of Units & More Annexation to Come; 4. Knesset Forms Caucus to Push for Resettlement of Gaza; 5. Canada Sanctions Prominent Settler Groups & Leaders; 6. Israeli High Court Hears Petition Challenging De Facto Annexation in the Jordan Valley; 7. Bonus Reads

 

GAZA

Battles rage in north Gaza as Palestinian fighters ambush Israeli troops (Al Jazeera 6/28/24)

“Palestinian fighters engaged Israeli forces in fierce battles in northern Gaza City’s Shujayea neighbourhood a day after tanks and troops rolled in and sent tens of thousands of terrified civilians fleeing. In a statement on Friday, al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, said it blew up a booby-trapped residential building in Shujayea, killing four Israeli soldiers and wounding five others…A day earlier, Israeli forces carried out heavy air and artillery attacks and sent armoured vehicles into war-ravaged northern Gaza in a renewed assault after pulling out in January saying Hamas had been “dismantled” in the area. Palestinian civilians are leaving on foot carrying their meagre belongings through rubble-strewn streets in the intense summer heat. Israel displaced at least 60,000 people from Gaza City since Thursday, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Friday.” See also from Al Jazeera: Palestinians flee as Israeli forces renew Gaza City assault (Al Jazeera 6/27/24); Israel war on Gaza updates: Israeli attacks across enclave kill 60 people (Al Jazeera 6/26/24); Israeli air strikes kill dozens of Palestinian civilians across Gaza (Al Jazeera 6/25/24); Israeli air strike kills 10 family members of Hamas chief Haniyeh in Gaza (Al Jazeera 6/25/24); Israel war on Gaza updates: Deadly attack on Palestinians awaiting aid (6/24/24); Israel kills more than 100 Palestinians in 24 hours (6/23/24); Israel air raid on Gaza clinic kills senior Palestinian health official (6/24/24); See also Israeli forces pound north and south Gaza, battle Hamas in Rafah (Reuters 6/26/24); Israeli airstrikes kill dozens in Gaza City, authorities say (WaPo 6/22/24); More than 50 people killed or missing in Israeli strikes on central Gaza, local officials say (CNN 6/22/24)

Half a million people in Gaza face starvation risk: report (Axios)

“Nearly half a million people in the Gaza Strip are at risk of starvation and the entire population faces acute food insecurity, a UN-backed body said in a report on Tuesday…Nearly the entire population of the Gaza Strip, 2.15 million people, faces “high levels of acute food insecurity” through September 2024, per the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a group of governments, UN agencies, and aid groups that monitor global hunger. 22% of the population, more than 495,000 people, face “catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity.” State of play: Nutrition status slightly improved in April and May, which “should not allow for complacency about reduced risk of famine in the coming weeks and months,” the IPC report said. “If anything, the prolonged nature of the crisis means the risk of famine remains at least as high as at any time during the last nine months.”’ See also High risk of famine amid Israel’s war on Gaza and aid restrictions (Al Jazeera); New famine alert for Gaza where families go days without food (UN News); Gaza Is World’s Deadliest Place for Aid Workers, U.N. Says (NYT); UN to Israel: Aid operations across Gaza will be suspended without improved safety (PBS); Israeli drone strike kills sixth MSF member in Gaza (Middle East Eye); UN tells Israel it will suspend aid operations across Gaza without improved safety (AP); ‘Now There’s Barely Anything’: Gazans Describe Life on the Verge of Famine (NYT); What Is a Famine and Who Determines That One Exists? (NYT); Israel blames U.N. for Gaza aid crisis amid fresh reports of starvation (WaPo); Half-million Gazans face ‘catastrophic’ hunger levels, U.N.-backed report says (WaPo)

Over 20,000 children buried, trapped, detained, lost amid Gaza war: Report (Al Jazeera)

“Nearly 21,000 children are missing in Gaza, British aid group Save the Children has claimed. In a report published on Monday, the group said the thousands of missing Palestinian children are believed to be trapped beneath rubble, buried in unmarked graves, harmed beyond recognition by explosives, detained by Israeli forces, or lost in the chaos of conflict. “It is nearly impossible to collect and verify information under the current conditions in Gaza,” the group said, “but at least 17,000 children are believed to be unaccompanied and separated and approximately 4,000 children are likely missing under the rubble, with an unknown number also in mass graves”.” See also The Missing Children of Gaza (Save the Children); Critically ill children leave Gaza in first evacuation in weeks (WaPo)

Gazans living in ‘unbearable’ conditions: UNRWA (Al Monitor)

“Gazans are forced to live in bombed-out buildings or camp next to giant piles of trash, a United Nations spokeswoman said Friday, denouncing the “unbearable” conditions in the besieged territory. Louise Wateridge from UNRWA, the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees, described the “extremely dire” living conditions in the Gaza Strip…Nearly nine months into the war between Israel and Hamas, Wateridge said the Gaza Strip had been “destroyed”. She said she had been “shocked” on returning to Khan Yunis in central Gaza. “The buildings are skeletons, if at all. Everything is rubble,” she said. “And yet people are living there again. “There’s no water there, there’s no sanitation, there’s no food. And now, people are living back in these buildings that are empty shells,” with sheets covering the gaps left by blown-out walls. With no bathrooms, “people are relieving themselves anywhere they can”.

How Israeli drone strikes are killing journalists in Gaza (+972 Magazine)

“According to the Committee for the Protection of Journalists, 103 journalists and media workers are among the more than 37,000 Palestinian casualties of Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip since October 7. Faced with the deadliest war for journalists in modern history, Forbidden Stories — whose mission is to continue the work of journalists who are killed on the job — set out to investigate the targeting of the press in Gaza and the West Bank. In a unique collaboration, Forbidden Stories brought together 50 journalists from 13 media organizations around the world. The consortium analyzed nearly 100 cases of journalists and media workers killed in Gaza, as well as other cases in which Israel has allegedly targeted, threatened, or wounded members of the press over the past eight months. Unable to report freely from inside the Strip, consortium members remotely contacted over 120 journalists and witnesses to military activities in Gaza and the West Bank; consulted around 25 ballistics, weapons, and audio experts, including Earshot; and used satellite images from Planet Labs and Maxar Technologies. Today, after four months of collaborative work, we are together publishing “The Gaza Project.” Below is one of two articles from the project that +972 is co-publishing with Forbidden Stories. For the full list of articles comprising “The Gaza Project” and more information about the collaboration, click here.” See also ‘The grey zone’: how IDF views some journalists in Gaza as legitimate targets (Guardian); ‘An incredible loss for Palestine’: Israeli offensive takes deadly toll on journalists (Guardian); ‘The livestream was critical evidence’: Tracing attacks on Gaza’s press buildings (+972); Israel’s War on Gaza is the Deadliest Conflict on Record for Journalists (Intercept)

Why Ceasefire Talks Are Stuck (Alex Kane//Jewish Currents)

“With no ceasefire deal in sight, Israel and the US have pinned the blame on Hamas, with Biden saying it was Hamas that has to “move” on the new proposal and an Israeli official claiming the militant group had “rejected the proposal.” A Hamas official, however, said in an interview with Reuters that he saw no major gap between Biden’s plan and the group’s response, and that it was Israel that was blocking a truce. In this explainer, Jewish Currents interviewed regional experts to cut through the claims and counterclaims and examine why a ceasefire hasn’t been reached…[Daniel] Levy said that Biden’s decision to publicly lay out a ceasefire deal for the first time may have been a gambit to change Netanyahu’s calculations, encouraging him to break with his far-right coalition partners and join his political opponents Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid in a governing coalition…But, Levy said, the Biden administration has weakened its cause by advancing the ceasefire proposal without threatening consequences if Netanyahu refuses. “Shifting Netanyahu’s calculation would require the administration to sustain a stand-off with Israel’s leadership, something they have shown no sign of doing,” he said…The prospects of such a US policy change, however, appear to be low. “The US, as usual, is exerting all the pressure on Hamas,” said [Tariq] Kenney-Shawa. Biden administration officials have repeatedly blamed the Palestinian group for the stalling of talks…Kenney-Shawa said that this approach is a reflection of the Biden administration’s priorities, which include allowing Israel to “achieve its [stated] objectives” with further massacres of Palestinians, while “managing the war in the eyes of the international community and the domestic public.” “If this means forcing Hamas into a ‘ceasefire’ agreement that doesn’t actually ensure the war will end,” he said, “the US seems to be saying, so be it.” See also Netanyahu dismisses cease-fire proposal, angering hostage families (WaPo); Netanyahu says war will continue even if ceasefire deal agreed with Hamas (Al Jazeera 6/23/24); Netanyahu walks back proposal for Gaza hostage-ceasefire deal endorsed by Biden (Axios 6/23/24)

‘More horrific than Abu Ghraib’: Lawyer recounts visit to Israeli detention center (Baker Zoubi//+972)

““The situation there is more horrific than anything we’ve heard about Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo.” This is how Khaled Mahajneh describes the Sde Teiman detention center as the first lawyer to visit the facility. More than 4,000 Palestinians whom Israel arrested in Gaza have been held at the military base in the Naqab/Negev since October 7; some of them have subsequently been released, but most remain in Israeli detention…Most Palestinians at Sde Teiman do not even know where they are being held; with at least 35 detainees having died in unknown circumstances since the war began, many simply call it “the death camp.”…Mahajneh told +972 that [journalist & Sde Teiman inmate Muhammad] Arab was nearly unrecognizable after 100 days in the detention facility; his face, hair, and skin color had changed, and he was covered with dirt and pigeon droppings. The journalist had not been given new clothes for nearly two months, and was only allowed to change his pants for the first time that day because of the lawyer’s visit. According to Arab, detainees are continually blindfolded and tied up with their hands behind their backs, forced to sleep hunched over on the floor without any bedding. Their iron handcuffs are removed only during a weekly, minute-long shower…Arab also testified to his lawyer that Israeli guards sexually assaulted six prisoners with a stick in front of the other detainees after they had violated prison orders. “When he talked about rapes, I asked him, ‘Muhammad, you’re a journalist, are you sure about this?’” Mahajneh recounted. “But he said he saw it with his own eyes, and that what he was telling me was only a small part of what was happening there.” Multiple media outlets, including CNN and the New York Times, have reported on instances of rape and sexual assault at Sde Teiman. In a video circulating on social media earlier this week, a Palestinian prisoner recently released from the detention camp said that he had personally witnessed multiple rapes, and cases in which Israeli soldiers made dogs sexually assault prisoners.” See also Gaza: Israeli army systematically uses police dogs to brutally attack Palestinian civilians, with at least one reported rape (Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor); Traumatised Palestinian detainee describes torture in Israeli custody (Al Jazeera 6/23/24)

Forensic Architecture probe concludes Israeli tank likely killed Palestinian child Hind Rajab (Middle East Eye)

“A UK-based research group published the findings of a forensic investigation on Friday, revealing that Hind Rajab, the six-year-old Palestinian girl found dead along with members of her family in northern Gaza earlier this year, was most likely killed by Israeli tank fire. The investigation found that the car in which Rajab was killed had been hit with 335 bullets, with most of the entries coming from the right side of the vehicle. The investigation was conducted by Forensic Architecture, Al Jazeera’s Fault Lines and the NGO Earshot…The probe – using a mix of kinetic analysis, satellite imagery and footage sourced from the site of the incident – also found that the Israeli tank that fired upon the vehicle Rajab was sitting inside must have been positioned within 13 to 23 metres when it killed Layan, Rajab’s 15-year-old cousin. The close proximity means that the tank must have been able to see into the vehicle, with the investigators concluding: “It’s not plausible that the shooter could not have seen that the car was occupied by civilians, including children…The investigation refutes the claim by Israel denying responsibility for the killing and said that Israeli forces were not present in the area at the time of Rajab’s death.” See also Red Crescent Says Israel Never Reached Out About Hind Rajab’s Death, Despite State Department Claim that Israel Said Otherwise (Intercept); The Killing of Hind Rajab (Forensic Architecture)

REGION/GLOBAL

With Israel ‘Emboldened,’ Washington Braces For Fresh Middle East Bloodshed In Lebanon (HuffPost)

“Last Tuesday, Israel’s military approved a plan to invade Lebanon to fight its dominant militia, Hezbollah. Hezbollah’s leader issued his strongest threats against Israel in years the following day. And the U.S., Israel’s most powerful ally, has indicated that it will not block an Israeli offensive… for now, the danger of an Israel-Hezbollah war is higher than it has ever been, Biden administration officials and national security experts say — and many insiders are skeptical that President Joe Biden can ultimately avert it. The core of the concern is the defining theme of Biden’s Middle East policy since Oct. 7: the U.S.’s overwhelming support for Israel.” See also U.S. warned Hezbollah it can’t hold Israel back if escalation continues (Axios); The U.S. readies to evacuate Americans from Lebanon if fighting between Israel and Hezbollah intensifies (NBC);  US rejects limited Israeli war in Lebanon, continues 2000-lb bomb freeze (Al Monitor); Pentagon hosts Gallant as US seeks to avert Israel-Hezbollah war; Israel’s Gallant in US as Netanyahu hints at moving Gaza troops to Lebanon border

Satellite Images Show Devastation in the Villages of Southern Lebanon (Haaretz)

“Israel’s response to Hezbollah fire has resulted in the evacuation of 100,000 Lebanese. Thousands of houses have been totally destroyed in the south with billions in damage” See also Lebanon bombed over 6,000 times by Israel since October (The Cradle); Israel warns can send Lebanon ‘back to Stone Age’ as UN seeks  de-escalation (Al Jazeera); Mapping 7,400 cross-border attacks between Israel and Lebanon (Al Jazeera); Hezbollah’s ‘axis of resistance’ allies waiting in reserve to fight Israel (Al Jazeera)

Lebanon holds airport tours to dispel weapons report amid Israel-Hezbollah tension (Al Monitor)

“Lebanon’s government organized a tour for foreign diplomats and journalists at the Beirut airport Monday following reports that the paramilitary Hezbollah group was stocking weapons at the facility as the group and Israel edge closer to full-blown war…The tour came in response to a report published Sunday by British daily The Telegraph, citing anonymous whistleblowers at the airport who claimed weapons supplies have been increasingly entering the facility on direct flights from Iran since the cross-border hostilities began last October…Lebanon’s caretaker Minister of Information Ziad Makary denounced the report as part of a “psychological war” aimed at undermining the country’s “promising” summer tourism season. “The airport is a public utility that concerns all the Lebanese,” he told the local MTV station from the airport on Monday, adding that it was impossible for Hezbollah to store missiles at the airport.” See also from Al Monitor: India, Jordan join chorus of countries warning against travel to Lebanon; As Lebanon braces, four scenarios for Hezbollah’s confrontation with Israel

Dutch foreign ministry calls in Israeli ambassador over ICC spying claims (Guardian)

“Dutch officials asked to meet the ambassador, Modi Ephraim, to discuss concerns raised by a Guardian investigation that revealed Israeli intelligence agencies attempted over a nine-year period to undermine, influence and allegedly intimidate the ICC chief prosecutor’s office. The meeting was disclosed by officials in response to questions raised in parliament by several Dutch MPs about the revelations, part of a joint investigation with the Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and the Hebrew-language outlet Local Call.” See also ICC allows UK to submit arguments on jurisdiction over Israelis in Gaza case (Reuters); ICC decision on Netanyahu arrest warrant may be delayed by UK (Guardian)

As Norway’s largest private pension fund, we are divesting from Caterpillar (Al Jazeera)

“At Norway’s largest private pension fund, KLP, we have decided to divest from United States industrial group Caterpillar over concerns about its role in human rights abuses in occupied Palestine. KLP has previously divested from companies linked to the illegal Israeli settlements and the separation wall in the West Bank following the important United Nations report on businesses linked to settlements.” See also Norwegian pension fund dumps Caterpillar over Gaza war risks (Al Jazeera); ‘Against violence towards civilians’: Armenia recognises Palestinian state (Al Jazeera); More countries recognize Palestinian state as Israel-Hamas war rages on (Axios)

Jordan’s U.S. ambassador: ‘Israel is losing all of the Arab countries’ (Jewish Insider)

“Jordanian Ambassador to the U.S. Dina Kawar warned on Wednesday that Israel is at risk of losing its relationships with Arab nations, including Jordan, with which Israel has had a peace deal for three decades…Kawar spoke alongside Tom Nides, who served as U.S. ambassador to Israel until July 2023. Nides, who was a champion of the Abraham Accords during his time in Jerusalem, said that Israel and Saudi Arabia are close to a normalization deal — but only after the war ends.” See also Canada places sanctions on extremists, settler groups over violence against West Bank Palestinians (Times of Israel)

Yemen’s Houthis undeterred by U.S. campaign to halt Red Sea attacks (WaPo)

“Despite months of U.S.-led airstrikes against Yemen’s Houthi fighters, the once ragtag rebels have continued to threaten some of the world’s most vital shipping routes, drawing from an arsenal of increasingly advanced weapons to attack vessels in and around the Red Sea. Just this month, Houthi militants sank one ship and set another ablaze. The fighters, operating on land and in the water, have launched swarms of drones at U.S. warships and deployed a remote-controlled boat packed with explosives, tactics and weapons that experts say are associated with the group’s patron, Iran. The recent uptick in Houthi activity has underscored the group’s ability to pose a sustained threat, relying in part on a steady flow of Iranian arms and expertise both to withstand U.S. strikes and remain on the attack. The faltering U.S. efforts to halt Houthi operations and protect global shipping have also drawn scrutiny from Congress, where lawmakers say not enough is being done to establish deterrence.”

RIVER TO THE SEA

A Palestinian was shot, beaten and tied to an Israeli army jeep. The army says he posed no threat (AP)

“When Mujahid Abadi stepped outside to see if Israeli forces had entered his uncle’s neighborhood, he was shot in the arm and the foot. That was only the start of his ordeal. Hours later, beaten and bloodied, he found himself strapped to the searing hood of an Israeli military jeep driving down a road. The army initially said Abadi was a suspected militant, but later acknowledged he had not posed a threat to Israeli forces and was caught in crossfire with militants. Video showing the 24-year-old strapped to the jeep circulated on social media, sparking widespread condemnation, including from the United States. Many said it showed that Israeli soldiers were using him as a human shield — a charge Israel has frequently leveled at Hamas as it battles the group in Gaza.” See also Israeli forces targeted by explosions during occupied West Bank raid (Al Jazeera 6/27/24); Israeli forces arrest 28 Palestinians in raids in occupied West Bank (Al Jazeera 6/27/24)

Meltdown Looms for the West Bank’s Financial Lifelines (International Crisis Group)

“Palestinian banks may collapse after 1 July, unless Israel renews a waiver that allows Israeli banks to transact with them by that date. The waiver is critical for imports of essential goods into the Palestinian territories, payments of essential services and salaries, and all banking activity. Without it, the Palestinian economy could face a liquidity crisis and a meltdown with dire consequences for West Bank Palestinians – and maybe for Israel as well. Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s far-right finance minister, issued a three-month waiver for transactions in March, but indicated that he did not plan to extend it further. In addition, he has refused to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenues that Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority (PA), pursuant to deals the two sides struck in the 1990s. The U.S. and other major powers have urged Israel to renew the waiver, fearing calamity in the West Bank, where economic and security conditions have already deteriorated markedly during the Gaza war. But the Israeli government has yet to yield, and many U.S. officials believe that Smotrich in fact intends to bring about the PA’s collapse. With the deadline fast approaching, the U.S. and its partners must intensify their pressure on the Israeli government while preparing for the worst.”

Israel destroys 11 homes in West Bank village amid spiralling violence (Guardian)

“Israeli soldiers have destroyed 11 homes and other structures in an isolated community in the occupied West Bank, leaving 50 people homeless, amid a reported uptick in house demolitions and spiralling violence in the Palestinian territory. Contractors with bulldozers accompanied by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops arrived in Umm al-Kheir, a village mostly home to shepherds, on Wednesday morning and demolished six houses, tent residences, an electricity generator, solar cells and water tanks, according to residents and Israeli activists who documented the proceedings. Agricultural land and fences were also damaged and trees uprooted. The demolition has destroyed about a third of the village’s infrastructure.” See also FMEP’s Spotlight on Masafer Yatta. See also Israel’s Smotrich promises ‘a million’ new settlers under expansion plan (Al Jazeera); Security cabinet okays legalizing 5 outposts, sanctioning PA officials (Times of Israel)

Israel Reduces Food for Palestinian Security Prisoners, Conceals Data, Sources Say (Haaretz)

“Israeli security sources say that the Israel Prison Service has been concealing information about the amount of food given to security prisoners since the start of the war, Haaretz has learned. The sources say that the Prison Service has been harshly criticized in several recent closed discussions, in the wake of a petition filed by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) and being heard on Wednesday by the High Court of Justice…The sources say that the Prison Service has been harshly criticized in several recent closed discussions, in the wake of a petition filed by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) and being heard on Wednesday by the High Court of Justice.”

‘Protest Until Netanyahu’s Gone’ | Israelis Conclude Day of Countrywide Rallies Demanding Hostage Deal, Immediate Election (Haaretz)

“Anti-government protest organizations launched a day of demonstrations on Thursday by blocking a major highway in central Israel. Across the country, protests demanding a hostage deal and immediate elections took place throughout the day. Activities included blockades and demonstrations outside the homes of Likud lawmakers, including the prime minister’s residences in Jerusalem and Caesarea. In Tel Aviv, dozens of activists and relatives of hostages blocked the main highway, igniting a cage on the road with the plea “Help.” Earlier, hundreds of protesters against the government blocked intersections in central Tel Aviv and various points along Israel’s coastal road.” See also Protesters in Jerusalem, Caesarea urge Netanyahu ouster, demand hostage deal (Times of Israel)

Three Israeli Army Reservists Explain Why They Refuse to Continue Serving in Gaza (Haaretz)

“Yuval was required to torch two residential buildings; Michael realized how many civilians were likely to be killed during every bombing he observed; and Tal broke down when Israel entered Rafah. They are willing to suffer the price for their refusal to serve in Gaza…At the end of last month, Vardi, along with 41 other reservists who have served in the military since October 7, signed the first letter of refusal published by reservists since the beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip.” See also Israel’s Supreme Court orders conscription for ultra-Orthodox men (Al Jazeera); Ultra-Orthodox Jews block highway to protest Israel’s new mandatory military service ruling (AP)

U.S. SCENE

Trump Turned “Palestinian” Into a Slur (Mother Jones)

“Donald Trump criticized Joe Biden’s efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, insisting that Biden should let Israel “finish the job.” Then the former president reduced an entire people into a political insult. Biden has “become like a Palestinian,” Trump said. “But they don’t like him because he’s a very bad Palestinian. He’s a weak one.”’ See also Biden: ‘We Saved Israel’; Trump: ‘He’s Become Like a Palestinian’: Disastrous Performance vs. Constant Lies at First Presidential Debate (Haaretz); Joe Biden Is a Good Man and a Good President. He Must Bow Out of the Race. (Tom Friedman//NYT); Trump again uses ‘Palestinian’ as slur, this time employing it against Schumer (Times of Israel); The Pro-Israel Donor With a $100 Million Plan to Elect Trump (NYT)

Prosecutors treating attempted drowning of Palestinian-American child as hate crime (Middle East Eye)

“On 19 May, a Palestinian–American mother living in an apartment complex in Euless, Texas took her children for a swim in the building’s pool. What followed was a violent altercation where a drunk woman allegedly made racist remarks and then proceeded to try and drown her three-year-old daughter. Prosecutors are now seeking to treat the case as a hate crime, and rights groups say the incident is a symptom of the larger spike in anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia that has taken place in the United States since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza in October.” See also Woman Tried to Drown 3-Year-Old Girl After Making Racist Comments, Police Say (NYT)

Exclusive: Israeli documents show expansive government effort to shape US discourse around Gaza war (Guardian)

“The Guardian has uncovered evidence showing how Israel has relaunched a controversial entity as part of a broader public relations campaign to target US college campuses and redefine antisemitism in US law…Its latest incarnation is part of a hardline and sometimes covert operation by the Israeli government to strike back at student protests, human rights organizations and other voices of dissent. Voices’ latest activities were conducted through non-profits and other entities that often do not disclose donor information…None of the groups identified in this story’s reporting have registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (Fara). This law requires groups receiving funds or direction from foreign countries to provide public disclosures to the US Department of Justice. “There’s a built-in assumption that there’s nothing at all weird about viewing the US as sort of an open field for Israel to operate in, that there are no limitations,” said Lara Friedman, president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace.”

Bowman crushed by GOP-fueled AIPAC cash (Eli Clifton//Responsible Statecraft)

“Executive George Latimer in the Democratic primary was an undeniable victory by moderate Democrats who sought to retake Bowman’s seat — particularly in light of his alignment with the progressive wing of the party, and his sharp criticism of Biden’s material support for Israel’s war in Gaza. But Latimer’s win also provided the most dramatic proof of concept for a controversial new strategy by AIPAC, the country’s biggest pro-Israel lobby: using its super-PAC, United Democracy Project, to funnel millions of dollars in Republican donor funds into a Democratic primary. Put another way, AIPAC effectively acted to launder campaign funds for Republican megadonors into the Democratic primary, where the spending was generally identified in media as “pro-Israel,” not “Republican.” By election day, Latimer-aligned groups had outspent Bowman’s backers by a margin of over seven-to-one, with UDP leading the spending, injecting approximately $15 million to support Latimer. Most of UDP’s money didn’t come from Bowman’s district and much of it didn’t even come from within the Democratic Party.” See also Progressives on AIPAC’s Defeat of Bowman: “Now We Know How Much it Costs to Buy an Election” (Intercept); Is Jamaal Bowman pro-Palestinian enough for pro-Palestinians? (Rafael Shimunov//The Forward); Why Jamaal Bowman’s New York primary is huge for pro-Israel groups (WaPo)

How Israel Bonds Put the Cost of the War in Gaza on US States and Municipalities (The Nation)

“The Israeli Finance Ministry has estimated the per diem cost of its government’s unremitting attacks on Gaza as $270 million. By midsummer, Israel is projected to have spent $50 billion, more than 10 percent of the nation’s total GDP. The Israeli government has taken on these costs by relying heavily on debt financing…In the six months following the Hamas attack, at least 14 states and four municipalities invested in Israel bonds. Their total holdings, as of February 2024, amounted to $1.6 billion. This swell of support, despite a shrinking Israeli economy, illustrates how Israel bonds have more in common with war bonds than with standard Treasury bills…Without the ability to trade, the buyer is tied to the bond regardless of market or political conditions. This intentional feature of the bond signals the commitment of the investor to the project of Israel, not necessarily to their own profit maximization…Last Wednesday, May 22, residents of Palm Beach County filed a groundbreaking lawsuit alleging that the county comptroller and clerk of the Circuit Court, Joseph Abruzzo, violated his fiduciary duty by investing $660 million of local tax revenues in Israel bonds in the months following the October 7 attack.”

We Are Israelis Calling on Congress to Disinvite Netanyahu (David Harel, Tamir Pardo, Talia Sasson, Ehud Barak, Aaron Ciechanover and David Grossman//NYT)

“To date, Mr. Netanyahu has failed to come up with a plan to end the war in Gaza and has been unable to gain the freedom of scores of hostages. At the very least, an invitation to address Congress should have been contingent upon resolving these two issues and, in addition, calling for new elections in Israel.” See also Our relatives are held hostage in Gaza. We are begging American Jews to pressure Netanyahu to make a deal now (The Forward)

62 Democrats Join 207 Republicans in Vote to Conceal Gaza Death Toll (Intercept)

“On Thursday, lawmakers voted 269-144 on an amendment to prohibit the State Department from citing statistics from the Gaza Health Ministry. The measure is part of the annual State Department appropriations bill…In total, 62 Democrats joined 207 Republicans in supporting the amendment…Mohammed Khader, policy manager at the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights Action, told The Intercept that the amendment is part of a trend of anti-Palestinian sentiment in Congress since the start of Israel’s atrocities in Gaza. “By preventing any recognition of the number of Palestinians killed since October, this amendment is a clear example of genocide denial and is no different from what was done towards victims of genocides in Rwanda and Armenia.” On Wednesday, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., the only Palestinian member of Congress, took to the floor to make a similar argument. “This is genocide denial,” she said.” See also House spending bill erases UNRWA, Gaza pier funding, blocks refugee resettlement (Al Monitor); For this U.S. airman, the Gaza war hit too close to home (WaPo); Two US military airmen seek to become conscientious objectors over Gaza war (Al Jazeera)

ACTIVISM//LAWFARE//REDEFINING ANTISEMITISM TO STIFLE CRITICISM OF ISRAEL

States Are Restricting Protests and Criminalizing Dissent (Teen Vogue)

“Since 2017, 21 states across the country have passed new laws that restrict protests — nearly 50 in total — with dozens more being introduced annually. Most of these new laws increase criminal penalties for conduct, like interfering with traffic, involved in some kinds of protests…In many cases, these laws go further than punishing individual protesters to include the people and organizations that support them, putting organizers and community groups at risk…Codifying additional crimes related to protest activity also expands law enforcement’s authority to arrest protesters, creating more situations where protesters may face police violence…In addition to new laws, authorities are demonstrating a new willingness to deploy existing draconian restrictions against protesters.”

SXSW ends US Army partnership after backlash from artists over Palestine (Guardian)

“South by Southwest has discontinued its partnership with the US Army and the defense contractor RTX Corporation for its 2025 festival in response to concerns from numerous artists who withdrew from the 2024 event, the festival announced on Wednesday…The film, culture and tech festival, held each March in Austin, Texas, will also discontinue its partnership with Collins Aerospace, a subsidiary of weapons manufacturer RTX Corporation, formerly known as Raytheon. Over 80 artists withdrew from the 2024 festival in support of Palestine after Israel’s invasion of Gaza, citing SXSW’s ties to the weapons manufacturer and its sponsorship by the US army.”

What the LA synagogue pro-Palestinian protest was really about (The Forward)

“A pro-Palestinian protest outside an Orthodox synagogue here in Los Angeles drew President Biden’s condemnation Monday after videos of fighting with counterprotesters spread on social media. The protest was organized by Palestinian Youth Movement, a national activist group, in response to an Israeli real estate seminar held Sunday at the Adas Torah synagogue. Scores of protesters, clad in face masks or keffiyehs and chanting slogans like “Zionism’s got to go,” assembled near the synagogue’s front door with signs and Palestinian flags. Because the synagogue is located at the heart of Pico-Robertson, an Orthodox enclave on the city’s Westside, Jewish community notices were shared widely in advance of the protest. Hundreds of counter-protesters — toting their own flags and megaphones — were present when it began at 12 p.m…The event at Adas Torah was organized by My Home In Israel, a real estate company that specializes in helping American Jews buy property in Israel…The scene recalled a fracas at a pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA the night of April 30 which began when a pro-Israel mob arriving after the conclusion of Passover lobbed fireworks, poles and other items at the encampment and tried to tear down its makeshift walls…Some of the pro-Israel protesters present at the UCLA encampment riot were also at the Adas Torah protest, based on my observations at the scene of  both protests and texts I received from participants.” See also Biden and Democratic Leaders Condemn Protest Outside L.A. Synagogue as Antisemitic (NYT)

PERSPECTIVES//LONG READS

Displacement Is the Point: Contextualizing Israel’s Decades of Violence and Destruction in Gaza and the West Bank (Yara Asi//TIMEP)

“Every Palestinian lives in the shadow of the Nakba, the forcible displacement of more than 700,000 Palestinians in 1948, when the state of Israel was created. The recent events in the Gaza Strip have not just demonstrated that the Nakba has never ended but serve as a reminder that leaders of the state of Israel have made their intentions clear since its inception.” See also from Yara Asi and co-authors: Racism as a Threat to Palestinian Health Equity (Health Equity June 2024)

Seven displacements in eight months (Sahar Al-ijla//We Are Not Numbers)

“As if war is not enough! Our dreams are being stolen away by forced moves, near-deaths, and the Rafah border closing.”

I Accuse Netanyahu of Betrayal (Ehud Olmert//Haaretz)

“I accuse the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, of taking deliberate action to prolong the war between Israel and the Palestinian murder organizations. The desire to drag out the fighting without specifying an end date is the reason precise objectives have not been set for the combat forces. I accuse the prime minister of Israel of intent to expand the war and initiate a direct, all-out military confrontation with Hezbollah in the north, instead of reaching, with French and U.S. mediation, an agreement with the Lebanese government that will bring an end to the current violent conflict…I accuse the prime minister of Israel of taking deliberate actions meant to cause a widespread flare-up of violence in the West Bank, in the knowledge that this would trigger the expansion of war crimes against Palestinians who are not involved in terrorism in any way…I accuse the prime minister of Israel of deliberately abandoning the Israeli hostages who are still being held by Hamas murderers.” See also Inquiry warns Netanyahu risked Israel’s national security in submarine deal (Axios)

The Floating Gaza Pier: A Symbol of Future Colonial Plans (Salma Al Zurai’i, Mohammed Al-Hafi//Al Shabaka)

“This commentary examines available data related to the pier’s operations, and unpacks the many incentives for its development by key geopolitical players. It positions the pier within Israel’s longer-term strategy for both Gaza and Palestine as whole, using the structure as a window into understanding the regime’s broader regional aims. Temporary or not, this commentary contends that the pier must not be viewed as merely a short-term humanitarian effort, but also as a symbol of the US and Israel’s continued imperial and colonial endeavors.”

Fact or Fiction: Is Israel Unfairly Singled Out for Global Condemnation? (Dahlia Scheindlin//Haaretz)

“The decades-old image that Israel alone gets named, blamed and punished for the kinds of things all others do for free is one of the greatest historical fictions in Israel’s history. It would be more accurate to say that for most of its life, Israel has gotten an incredibly free ride in its foreign relations…The current war is the first time Israel has confronted more significant international consequences for its actions. Let’s tell the truth: beyond rhetorical wrist slaps, Israel has been a triumph of global integration. Sorry to shock people who make a living peddling the myth, but Israelis need to realize how good they’ve had it – and how much they have to lose.”

As Netanyahu abandons the hostages, Hamas may seek to extend the war (Meron Rapoport//+972)

“Since the end of November, when fighting resumed in Gaza following a week-long ceasefire, Hamas has demanded the total cessation of the war and the complete Israeli withdrawal from the Strip as unequivocal conditions for the release of any more Israeli hostages. Nearly seven months later, Hamas still publicly insists on these conditions — but it is highly doubtful whether the group genuinely believes that the hostages provide the leverage required to pressure Israel to end its onslaught…Just last week, the prime minister made it clear that he was not prepared “to commit to ending the war without achieving our goals — the elimination of Hamas.” Since Netanyahu knows that Hamas will not agree to eliminate itself, this means that he refuses any ceasefire deal…There is no doubt that Hamas wants a permanent ceasefire, a full Israeli withdrawal, the return of the displaced residents to what remains of their homes, and the beginning of Gaza’s reconstruction. The unbearable suffering of the population demands it, and the group has sustained significant military setbacks. The growing voices of opposition to Hamas from inside and outside Gaza are likely adding to this. But it is possible that Hamas today believes that its best leverage for achieving this goal is not the hostages, but rather the continuation of the fighting in Gaza — which may ultimately threaten Israel more than it threatens Hamas.”

1. New from FMEP

2. Gaza

3. Region//Global

4. River to the Sea

5. U.S. Scene

6. Activism//Lawfare//Redefining Antisemitism to Stifle Criticism of Israel

7. Perspectives//Long Reads

NEW FROM FMEP

FMEP Legislative Round-Up: June 21, 2024

1. Bills, Resolutions; 2. Letters; 3. Hearings; 4. Israel/Palestine in 2024 Elex/Politics; 5. Selected Media & Press releases/Statements. This week’s round-up was guest-written by Haydn Welch and Sheridan Cole, advocacy officers at the Middle East Democracy Center, with contributions by Lara Friedman.

GAZA

The war in Gaza has wiped out entire Palestinian families. AP documents 60 who lost dozens or more (AP)

“To a degree never seen before, Israel is killing entire Palestinian families, a loss even more devastating than the physical destruction and the massive displacement. An Associated Press investigation identified at least 60 Palestinian families where at least 25 people were killed — sometimes four generations from the same bloodline — in bombings between October and December, the deadliest and most destructive period of the war. Nearly a quarter of those families lost more than 50 family members in those weeks. Several families have almost no one left to document the toll, especially as documenting and sharing information became harder…In the 51-day war of 2014, the number of families that lost three or more members was less than 150. In this one, nearly 1,900 families have suffered multiple deaths by January, including more than 300 that lost over 10 members in the first month of the war alone, according to Gaza’s health ministry.” See also These “Tent Massacre” Survivors Couldn’t Afford to Leave Rafah. The Next Israeli Attack Nearly Wiped Their Family Out. (The Intercept)

Israeli bombing kills dozens in Gaza in ‘difficult and brutal day’ (Al Jazeera 6/21/24)

“Israeli bombardment of Gaza killed dozens of people as it intensified its attacks on the besieged territory amid a worsening humanitarian crisis. The Gaza health ministry said the bodies of 30 people killed in Israeli raids arrived at al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City on Friday in what it described as a “difficult and brutal day”. At least 25 people were also killed and 50 others wounded in Israeli attacks on tents for displaced Palestinians in al-Mawasi, near Rafah, in the south of the coastal enclave, it said. In a separate incident, the Palestinian Civil Defence agency said crews transported a number of people killed and injured in Israeli shelling of al-Shakoush area, northwest of Rafah. Israeli forces bombed the garage of the Gaza City municipality as well as a five-storey building in the city, Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul reported. The health ministry said earlier Israel’s military killed at least 35 Palestinians over the previous 24 hours, bringing the death toll from the invasion to 37,431 since October 2023.” See also Israel pounds central Gaza camps, deepens invasion of Rafah (Reuters 6/20/24); Israel war on Gaza live: 18 killed, 35 wounded in attack on Mawasi (Al Jazeera 6/21/24); Israeli tanks push deeper into Rafah, forcing people to flee again (Reuters 6/19/24); Israeli forces deepen Rafah invasion, kill 17 in central camps (Reuters 6/18/24) ‘A Hellscape’: Dire Conditions in Gaza Leave a Multitude of Amputees (NYT)

Children starving, parents helpless as famine consumes northern Gaza (Ibrahim Mohammad//+972)

“With the northern Gaza Strip once again facing critical shortages of food, water, and infant formula as a result of Israel’s siege and ongoing military bombardment, Saeed is one of many Palestinian children whose bodies are wasting away from starvation. The doctors at Kamal Adwan Hospital, in the town of Beit Lahia, say Saeed is suffering from severe fatigue, emaciation, and anemia…Khalil fears that Saeed could join a growing list of more than 30 Palestinian children in Gaza who have died of malnutrition and dehydration in recent months. In March, northern Gaza was declared to be facing imminent famine. Now, according to the World Health Organization, “a significant proportion” of Gaza’s entire population is experiencing “catastrophic hunger and famine-like conditions.” At Kamal Adwan Hospital alone, 50 children are currently being treated for severe malnutrition. The scarcity of humanitarian aid entering the Strip means that many families have no access to basic essentials. In the north, “there’s no rice, vegetables, or flour,” Khalil explained. “If any of these goods are available [in the market], their prices are insane. The majority of the population cannot afford them.”’ See also With Rafah crossing closed by Israel, Gazans have no way out (WaPo); UN chief says most aid going into Gaza is being looted amid ‘total lawlessness’ (Times of Israel);

States and companies must end arms transfers to Israel immediately or risk responsibility for human rights violations: UN experts (UN Human Rights Office fo the High Commissioner)

“The transfer of weapons and ammunition to Israel may constitute serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian laws and risk State complicity in international crimes, possibly including genocide, UN experts said today, reiterating their demand to stop transfers immediately …“These companies, by sending weapons, parts, components, and ammunition to Israeli forces, risk being complicit in serious violations of international human rights and international humanitarian laws,” the experts said. This risk is heightened by the recent decision from the International Court of Justice ordering Israel to immediately halt its military offensive in Rafah, having recognised genocide as a plausible risk, as well as the request filed by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court seeking arrest warrants for Israeli leaders on allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity. “In this context, continuing arms transfers to Israel may be seen as knowingly providing assistance for operations that contravene international human rights and international humanitarian laws and may result in profit from such assistance.”’ See also Israel may have violated laws of war in Gaza, UN rights office says (Reuters); Israel’s actions in Gaza ‘intentional attack on civilians’: UN inquiry (Al Jazeera); Gaza Is World’s Deadliest Place for Aid Workers, U.N. Says (NYT); U.N. says Israeli use of bombs in civilian areas may have violated laws of war (WaPo); Israel’s systematic sexual abuse and torture of Palestinians detailed in new reports (Middle East Eye)

U.S. Pier for Gaza Aid Is Failing, and Could Be Dismantled Early (NYT)

“The $230 million temporary pier that the U.S. military built on short notice to rush humanitarian aid to Gaza has largely failed in its mission, aid organizations say, and will probably end operations weeks earlier than originally expected. In the month since it was attached to the shoreline, the pier has been in service only about 10 days. The rest of the time, it was being repaired after rough seas broke it apart, detached to avoid further damage or paused because of security concerns.”

Report claims only 50 hostages in Gaza still thought alive (Times of Israel)

“United States officials estimate that as few as 50 hostages in Gaza are still alive, according to a report Thursday, confirming the worst fears of family members who say time is running out for their loved ones after nearly nine months in captivity. The assessment, based on a combination of Israeli and American intelligence, put the number of deceased hostages at 66, a far higher number than Israel has publicly confirmed, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Israel Defense Forces have confirmed the deaths of 41 hostages still in captivity, based on intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza. Talks for a deal to free the hostages, including the remains of those killed in captivity or during the October 7 Hamas onslaught on southern Israel, have failed to notch progress in recent weeks, with the terror group insisting on a permanent halt to fighting in Gaza, a condition rejected by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.” See also Freed Israeli hostage recounts ordeal in Gaza, where she says she was held in a hospital and civilian homes (CBS)

Report: Israeli Army Ignored Warning by Spotter That Hamas Held ‘Unusual’ Training Near Border Days Before October 7 (Haaretz)

“A female Israeli army spotter who was stationed at the Nahal Oz outpost on the Gaza border reported on October 3, four days before Hamas’ attack on Israel, that the group conducted an unusual training exercise near the border fence, according to a report published Thursday by Israeli public broadcaster Kan 11. The spotter reported to her commanders that around 9 A.M. Hamas operatives conducted an extensive and unusual training session, but that security officials decided that it was “another training session.” The spotter, according to the report, said that some 170 Hamas terrorists were training to launch rockets while attacking Israeli tank crews. The routine rehearsed by the militants was eventually implemented almost exactly on October 7, when Hamas terrorists raided the outpost, killed soldiers, set fire to the observation posts, and kidnapped female soldiers to the Gaza Strip.” See also 8 Israeli soldiers killed in southern Gaza in deadliest attack on Israeli forces in months (AP News 6/15/24)

Women and children of Gaza are killed less frequently as war’s toll rises, AP data analysis finds (AP)

“The proportion of Palestinian women and children being killed in the Israel-Hamas war appears to have declined sharply, an Associated Press analysis of Gaza Health Ministry data has found, a trend that both coincides with Israel’s changing battlefield tactics and contradicts the ministry’s own public statements. The trend is significant because the death rate for women and children is the best available proxy for civilian casualties in one of the 21st century’s most destructive conflicts. In October, when the war began, it was above 60%. For the month of April, it was below 40%…Omar Shakir, the Israel and Palestine director for Human Rights Watch, said his group has always found the Health Ministry’s numbers to be “generally reliable” because it has direct access to hospitals and morgues. Whatever the reason for fewer women and child being killed, Shakir said, in the grand scheme, the trend pales when compared with the war’s overall devastation. “The death toll may be an undercount,” he added, because many bodies are still under rubble and the war has made it difficult for the Health Ministry to comprehensively gather data.”

REGION/GLOBAL

Salvo of rockets fired from Lebanon into Israel as Cyprus responds to Hezbollah (Al Monitor)

“A fresh salvo of rockets was fired from Lebanon toward northern Israel on Thursday, one day after Hezbollah’s chief warned that “no place” in Israel would be spared if war began amid escalating fears of an all-out conflict. The scope of escalation grew on Thursday with Cyprus finding itself drawn into the picture as Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah threatened to attack the country if its territory were used by Israel in a full-blown war against Lebanon. In a phone call with his Lebanese counterpart on Thursday, Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos reiterated his country’s position and stressed that “Cyprus has no intention of getting involved in any way in the ongoing war in the region.”’ See also Hezbollah threatens war against Cyprus if it helps Israel (Politico); Israel’s air defense caught off guard by Hezbollah’s low-tech drones (WaPo); Conflict in Lebanon displaces vulnerable Syrian refugee communities (WaPo)

Iran signals a major boost in nuclear program at key site (WaPo)

“A major expansion underway inside Iran’s most heavily protected nuclear facility could soon triple the site’s production of enriched uranium and give Tehran new options for quickly assembling a nuclear arsenal if it chooses to, according to confidential documents and analysis by weapons experts. Inspectors with the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed new construction activity inside the Fordow enrichment plant, just days after Tehran formally notified the nuclear watchdog of plans for a substantial upgrade at the underground facility built inside a mountain in north-central Iran.”

Israel defence exports hit record $13.1 billion in 2023 (Reuters)

“Israeli defence exports rose to a record $13.1 billion in 2023, a government report said on Monday, citing hundreds of contracts signed at various defence firms.Some 36% of exports came from missile, rocket and air defence systems, followed by radar and electronic warfare, weapon stations and launchers at 11% each, with crewed aircraft and avionics at 9%, the Defence Ministry said. Defence exports, which totalled $12.5 billion in 2022, have doubled over the past five years.” See also French Court Strikes Down Ban on Israeli Companies at Weapons Show (NYT)

Shipping industry groups call for action after Houthis sink second vessel (Al Jazeera)

“Yemen’s Houthi armed group has been launching attacks on shipping lanes in the region since November in what it says is an effort to support Palestinians and pressure Israel to end its war on Gaza. In response, the United States and its allies have attacked Houthi targets in Yemen since January. The Houthis, however, have pledged to continue targeting ships if Israel continues to press its war on Gaza.” See also U.S. Treasury Imposes New Sanctions to Cut Off Weapons to Houthis in Yemen (NYT)

RIVER TO THE SEA

IDF transfers powers in occupied West Bank to pro-settler civil servants (Guardian)

“The Israeli military has quietly handed over significant legal powers in the occupied West Bank to pro-settler civil servants working for the far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich. An order posted by the Israel Defense Forces on its website on 29 May transfers responsibility for dozens of bylaws at the Civil Administration – the Israeli body governing in the West Bank – from the military to officials led by Smotrich at the defence ministry. Smotrich and his allies have long seen control of the Civil Administration, or significant parts of it, as a means of extending Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank. Their ultimate goal is direct control by central government and its ministries…The transfer of laws, which was largely unremarked upon in Israel, follows a years-long campaign by pro-settlement politicians to accrue many of the legal powers previously wielded by the military chain of command…Mairav Zonszein, a senior analyst for Israel-Palestine at Crisis Group, said: “The big story is that this is no longer ‘creeping annexation’ or ‘de facto annexation’, it is actual annexation.”’ See also Is the US poised to sanction an Israeli minister for the first time? (Times of Israel);

Israeli Official Describes Secret Government Bid to Cement Control of West Bank (NYT)

“An influential member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition told settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank that the government is engaged in a stealthy effort to irreversibly change the way the territory is governed, to cement Israel’s control over it without being accused of formally annexing it. In a taped recording of the speech, the official, Bezalel Smotrich, can be heard suggesting at a private event earlier this month that the goal was to prevent the West Bank from becoming part of a Palestinian state. “I’m telling you, it’s mega-dramatic,” Mr. Smotrich told the settlers. “Such changes change a system’s DNA.”…“We created a separate civilian system,” Mr. Smotrich said. To deflect international scrutiny, the government has allowed the defense ministry to remain involved in the process, he said, so that it seems that the military is still at the heart of West Bank governance. “It will be easier to swallow in the international and legal context,” Mr. Smotrich said. “So that they won’t say that we are doing annexation here.”’

Israel’s Netanyahu is at war with almost everyone (Ishaan Tharoor//WaPo)

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a leader locked in battle — many battles. His nation is still in the depths of an unprecedented military offensive against militant group Hamas that has pulverized the Gaza Strip, killed tens of thousands of people and displaced most of the territory’s population. Meanwhile, tensions on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon are spiking, with both Israeli officials and the leader of Lebanese militant organization Hezbollah trading threats of war as Iran’s proxies in the region maintain their antagonism with the Jewish state. But Netanyahu is also picking fights closer to home and much further away. He recently folded his wartime “cabinet,” a small clique of officials including more moderate political rivals that formed in “unity” to administer Israel’s response to Hamas’s shocking Oct. 7 terrorist strike on the country’s south. Differences over Netanyahu’s handling of the conflict and his pandering to Israel’s far right obviated the purpose of the panel. The Israeli prime minister has sparred with Israel’s generals, with a growing number of public dissensions coming from the top brass. And then there’s President Biden, whom Netanyahu attacked earlier this week for supposedly withholding weapons from Israel and thwarting its goal to fully defeat Hamas. Netanyahu’s broadside against the White House, which brushed under the rug the huge amount of support that the Biden administration has offered Israel, seemed calculated to curry favor with his right-wing base and boost Biden’s own Republican opponents, who led the charge in inviting the polarizing Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress next month. Netanyahu, a wily politician and Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, is pulling what levers he can in an increasingly desperate quest to cling to power.” See also The many battles of Benjamin Netanyahu (WaPo); Rift grows between Netanyahu and Israeli military over Hamas elimination (WaPo); Benjamin Netanyahu dissolves Israeli war cabinet (Guardian); Amid Gaza War, Netanyahu Feuds With Military, His Coalition and Washington (NYT)

Rifts seem to appear between Israel’s political and military leadership over conduct of the Gaza war (AP News)

“The Israeli army’s chief spokesman on Wednesday appeared to question the stated goal of destroying the Hamas militant group in Gaza in a rare public rift between the country’s political and military leadership…“This business of destroying Hamas, making Hamas disappear — it’s simply throwing sand in the eyes of the public,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the military spokesperson, told Israel’s Channel 13 TV. “Hamas is an idea, Hamas is a party. It’s rooted in the hearts of the people — whoever thinks we can eliminate Hamas is wrong.” Netanyahu’s office responded by saying that the country’s security Cabinet, chaired by the prime minister, “has defined the destruction of Hamas’ military and governing capabilities as one of the goals of the war. The Israeli military, of course, is committed to this.”’

A settler shot my husband. Then Israel bulldozed my childhood home (Shoug Al Adara//+972)

“Since October 7, the entire world has focused on the war between Israel and Hamas. But here in At-Tuwani, there is no Hamas. I want the whole world to know that an Israeli settler shot my husband with an illegal bullet, and see the lasting effects of settler violence on our families and communities. I want the whole world to understand what it is like to watch Israeli soldiers turn your home to rubble, while you stand helplessly by. The settler who shot Zakariyah hasn’t been seen in At-Tuwani since, nor has he been charged or prosecuted for his crime. Meanwhile, Zakariyah and our whole family continue to suffer. Occupation and war inflict wounds that are slow to heal.”

Polls show soaring Palestinian support for Barghouti as Hamas, Abbas stumble (Al Monitor)

“Three Palestinian public opinion polls conducted in May 2024 and published in recent weeks showed sustained support for Hamas in the West Bank and Gaza and a slight improvement in support for Fatah. Notably, since the Oct. 7 attack and subsequent war, Hamas has been more popular than Fatah in the West Bank, while Fatah is more popular than Hamas in the Gaza Strip…All three polls showed extremely low favorability ratings for President Mahmoud Abbas and his handpicked prime minister, Mohammad Mustafa…Meanwhile, all three polls show overwhelming support for the imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, putting him ahead of any possible opponent if he were to run to replace Abbas.” See also As War Drags On, Gazans More Willing to Speak Out Against Hamas (NYT)

Israel’s New Air War in the West Bank: Nearly Half the Dead are Children (The Intercept)

“Israel has also transformed its tactics in the West Bank. Since June of last year, and with increasing regularity during the Gaza offensive, the Israel Defense Forces have shown a new willingness to use air power in the West Bank, regardless of the collateral damage to children and other civilians caught in the blasts. An open-source Intercept investigation documented at least 37 Israeli airstrikes, drone strikes, and attacks by helicopter gunships in the West Bank since June 2023, which have killed 55 Palestinians, according to the United Nations. Most attacks struck densely populated urban areas and refugee camps in Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nablus, all in the northern part of the West Bank. The Israeli military repeatedly stated on social media that the strikes were carried out to kill terrorists. But this investigation identified a different pattern: Nearly half of the people killed in the strikes were children.”

Protesters block major highways and interchanges in call for early elections (Times of Israel)

“Anti-government protesters blocked several major highways and interchanges across the country on Sunday in a call for early elections…Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is facing massive blame over its failure to prevent the October 7 massacre, with some also charging that it has fumbled when dealing with key matters relating to the conflict such as negotiating a deal to release the hostages.” See also Israeli anti-government protesters rally in Jerusalem (Reuters); Jerusalem police forcefully disperse protesters demanding Netanyahu’s departure (WaPo); Israeli Police Crack Down on Protesters With Violence, False Arrests and Surveillance (Haaretz)

How Israeli Society Has Unified, and Divided, in Wartime (Pew Research Center 6/20/24)

“93% of Jewish Israelis think the military has a positive influence on the way things are going in Israel, while just 34% of Arab Israelis agree. This gap has grown significantly since we last asked the question in 2007, when 77% of Israeli Jews and 57% of Israeli Arabs said the military’s influence was positive. (Read more about confidence in the government and institutions in Chapter 2.) Israelis as a whole are still divided over whether the building of Jewish settlements in the West Bank helps (40%) or hurts (35%) Israel’s security. But Jewish Israelis have grown more likely to see the settlements as helping security, widening the ethnic gap on this question. (Read more about views of settlements in Chapter 3.) Fewer Israelis think a way can be found for Israel and an independent Palestinian state to coexist peacefully than said the same last year (26%, down from 35%).”

U.S. SCENE

White House baffled by Netanyahu’s claim Biden is withholding weapons (Axios)

“A White House spokesperson responded bluntly on Tuesday to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claim that the Biden administration is withholding weapons from Israel: “We genuinely do not know what he is talking about.” Netanyahu’s remarks, made on video in English, were one of his harshest public criticisms of the Biden administration since the war in Gaza began on October 7. They come despite the fact that the U.S. has only withheld one weapons shipment since the war began, while providing billions worth of arms and ammunition.” See also Report: Netanyahu ignored warnings from ministers, advisers not to openly criticize US (Times of Israel); Netanyahu accuses Biden of withholding weapons. White House: We ‘do not know what he’s talking about.’ (JTA); Key Democrats approve major arms sale to Israel, including F-15s (WaPo); US vexed, disappointed by Netanyahu claim of arms holdup: ‘No one has done more for him’ (Times of Israel); U.S. officials say Netanyahu’s accusation video hurts effort to avoid war in Lebanon (Axios); Scoop: White House cancels meeting, scolds Netanyahu in protest over video (Axios); As Netanyahu protests, Blinken says Israel arms shipments moving ‘normally’ (Al Monitor)

State Dept. expert on Israeli-Palestinian affairs resigns amid Gaza crisis (WaPo)

“A senior State Department official and skeptic of the Biden administration’s “bear hug” approach to the government of Israel resigned this week in a setback for U.S. diplomats pushing for a sharper break with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right coalition, said three people familiar with the matter. Andrew Miller, the deputy assistant secretary for Israeli-Palestinian affairs, told colleagues Friday that he had decided to leave his job. He cited his family, saying he has seen them sparingly as the eight-month war in Gaza has become all-consuming…Miller’s resignation, which has not been previously reported, comes amid growing frustration inside and outside government over the war’s steep civilian death toll and concerns among some that influence over policy matters has been dominated by a narrow coterie of President Biden’s closest advisers. Miller is the most senior U.S. official to resign to date whose portfolio focuses on Israeli-Palestinian issues.” See also ‘Should be wakeup call to Jerusalem’: US pointman on Israeli-Palestinian conflict resigns (Times of Israel)

AIPAC Unleashes a Record $14.5 Million Bid to Defeat a Critic of Israel (NYT)

“Pro-Israel political groups have transformed a Democratic primary on the outskirts of New York City, overwhelming the race with record-shattering outside spending to take down one of Israel’s most outspoken detractors, Representative Jamaal Bowman. The onslaught by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and allied groups has made good on a warning delivered to lawmakers like Mr. Bowman after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack: Moderate your views or face a deluge of political attacks. Now, in barely a month, an AIPAC-affiliated super PAC has spent $14.5 million — up to $17,000 an hour — on the race, filling television screens, stuffing mailboxes and clogging phone lines with caustic attacks. With days to go, the expenditures have already eclipsed what any interest group has ever spent on a single House race. Pro-Israel groups are using the same approach elsewhere, most notably in an August primary in St. Louis. AIPAC’s super PAC, the United Democracy Project, has already spent $1.5 million there to take out Representative Cori Bush, who is a Black member of the House’s left-wing “squad” like Mr. Bowman.” See also Bowman slams AIPAC in final debate with Latimer (Punchbowl)

Nonprofits Are Taking a Stance on Gaza — and Paying the Price (Chronicle of Philanthropy)

“A donor pulling a longtime grant in response to a nonprofit executive’s politically-charged social media post. A family foundation forced to bring in an outside facilitator to mediate internal divisions over the war in Gaza. Risk-averse grant makers asking organizations to scrub language like “ceasefire” from their websites. Those are just some of the conflicts brewing over language, funding, and free speech that have engulfed the progressive nonprofit world in recent months, as a growing number of foundations threaten to pull support from grantees over their stance on the war in Gaza…For the progressive groups most affected, many of them small and BIPOC-led, the funding cuts and censorship demands have started to hit hard — forcing painful conversations about whether to tone down messaging to preserve needed revenue and avoid layoffs and program cuts. After multiple complaints from progressive grantees with similar experiences, a group of Jewish philanthropy professionals and major donors composed an open letter last month deriding what they called a “dramatic ramping up of efforts in philanthropy to marginalize, discredit, and censor voices — including Jewish voices — that dissent from certain orthodoxies.”…Nonprofits known to the letter’s signatories say they’ve collectively lost $5 million to $10 million over the past several months related to their stance on the ongoing hostilities, and Lynch says the actual number is likely much higher.”

ACTIVISM//LAWFARE//REDEFINING ANTISEMITISM TO STIFLE CRITICISM OF ISRAEL

ADL faces Wikipedia ban over reliability concerns on Israel, antisemitism (Asaf Elia-Shalev//JTA)

“Wikipedia’s editors have voted to declare the Anti-Defamation League “generally unreliable” on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, adding it to a list of banned and partially banned sources. An overwhelming majority of editors involved in the debate about the ADL also voted to deem the organization unreliable on the topic of antisemitism, its core focus. A formal declaration on that count is expected next. The decision about Israel-related citations, made last week, means that one of the most prominent and longstanding Jewish advocacy groups in the United States — and one historically seen as the leading U.S. authority on antisemitism — is now grouped together with the National Inquirer, Newsmax, and Occupy Democrats as a source of propaganda or misinformation in the eyes of the online encyclopedia. Moreover, in a near consensus, dozens of Wikipedia editors involved in the discussion said they believe the ADL should not be cited for factual information on antisemitism as well because it acts primarily as a pro-Israel organization and tends to label legitimate criticism of Israel as antisemitism.”

Examining the ADL’s Antisemitism Audit (Shane Burley and Jonah ben Avraham//Jewish Currents)

“In mid-April, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released a report tallying the total number of antisemitic incidents in the United States in 2023. The annual audit highlights 8,873 instances of antisemitic “harassment, vandalism and assault”—a 140% increase from the organization’s 2022 numbers, and the highest since the organization began tracking such incidents in 1979. The report was quickly picked up by Axios, The Seattle Times, and various local TV stations, among other outlets, and often uncritically cited as evidence that the movement for a ceasefire in Gaza is a wellspring of rising antisemitism….But considering that the ADL has recently attracted scrutiny over its ongoing effort to categorize anti-Zionism as antisemitism—and has historically faced broader questions over its statistical methods—it is unclear whether the organization’s audit provides an accurate portrait of American antisemitism. So we reanalyzed the ADL’s data line-by-line, drawing on our expertise as researchers and writers on contemporary antisemitism. …While we expected that this difference in methodology would create a disparity between our findings and the ADL’s, our reappraisal also highlighted more basic problems with the ADL’s tracking system. In addition to identifying more than a thousand items we believe were misclassified as antisemitic—all cases of speech critical of Israel or Zionism—we found that the data included misapplications of the organization’s own standards and often did not provide enough information for us to assess the group’s judgment. Our analysis clarifies what the ADL’s prominent report captures and excludes, and shows how the conflation of anti-Zionism and antisemitism skews the data—ultimately serving as a reminder of the need for serious statistical analysis done by an organization not beholden to Israel advocacy.

Apple Matches Worker Donations to IDF and Illegal Settlements, Employees Allege (The Intercept)

“As with many large corporations, Apple employees can make donations to a number of nonprofit organizations and receive matching contributions from their employer through a platform called Benevity. Among the charitable organizations eligible for dollar-matching from Apple are Friends of the IDF, an organization that collects donations on behalf of soldiers in the Israeli military, as well as a number of groups that contribute to the settlement enterprise in the West Bank, including HaYovel, One Israel Fund, the Jewish National Fund, and IsraelGives.”

PERSPECTIVES//LONG READS

Why Palestinian Unity Matters (Salam Fayyad//Foreign Affairs)

“As I argued in Foreign Affairs last fall, the Palestinian national movement’s leadership must unite under the auspices of the Palestine Liberation Organization. To do so, the PLO must admit Hamas, as well as other significant outlying factions, to its membership. Doing so is key to enabling the Palestinian Authority to assume its rightful role in governing both Gaza and the West Bank—consistent with the PA’s mandate when it was created, in 1994…Hamas is not going away. When the so-called day after arrives in Gaza, Hamas will still be around. In fact, having survived the full brunt of Israel’s military might in an enclave that Israel took literally only a few hours to capture in 1967, Hamas will credibly claim to be victorious. The sense that the group will win has tempered voices of dissent, particularly in Gaza. It has enabled the Islamist movement to stem and withstand second-guessing of its decision to attack Israel last October.”

Hamas Is Winning (Robert Pape//Foreign Affairs)

“Nine months of Israeli air and ground combat operations in Gaza have not defeated Hamas, nor is Israel close to vanquishing the terrorist group. To the contrary, according to the measures that matter, Hamas is stronger today than it was on October 7…Despite its losses, Hamas remains in de facto control of large swaths of Gaza, including those areas where the territory’s civilians are now concentrated…Hamas is now waging a guerrilla war, involving ambushes and improvised bombs (often made from unexploded ordnance or captured IDF weapons), protracted operations that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s national security adviser recently said could last through the end of 2024 at least. It could still strike in Israel; Hamas likely has some 15,000 mobilized fighters—roughly ten times the number of fighters who carried out the October 7 attacks. Further, more than 80 percent of the group’s underground tunnel network remains usable for planning, storing weapons, and evading Israeli surveillance, capture, and attacks. Most of Hamas’s top leadership in Gaza remains intact. In sum, Israel’s fast-moving offensive in the fall has given way to a grinding war of attrition that would leave Hamas with the ability to attack Israeli civilians even if the IDF presses ahead with its campaign in southern Gaza…For a terrorist or insurgent group, the key source of power is not the size of its current generation of fighters but its potential to gain supporters from the local community in the future… And that ability to recruit is rooted, ultimately, in a single factor: the scale and intensity of support a group derives from its community…To assess the group’s true strength, analysts should consider the various dimensions of its support among Palestinians…Five PSR surveys from June 2023 to the most recent, completed in June 2024, present a striking finding: on virtually every measure, Hamas has more support among Palestinians today than before October 7.”

Black Liberation and Palestinian Liberation Are Interconnected (Nina Turner & Rashida Tlaib//The Nation)

“In this spirit, it has been deeply inspiring to see organizations focused on Black liberation, from the NAACP to the Council of Bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Church to The King Center, embrace the cause of Palestinian human rights. All of these groups have called for a cease-fire in Gaza—and recently, the NAACP, the nation’s leading civil rights organization, went a step further, urging the Biden administration to stop weapons shipments to Israel. This courageous declaration by the NAACP is the latest example of the shared struggle for Black and Palestinian liberation. When we come together in solidarity to build a multi-racial, cross-faith, multi-generational movement, we realize our power to bend the arc of the moral universe. Just as our civil rights leaders who came before us did, we all have a moral responsibility to speak out against injustice everywhere and dismantle systemic racism, white supremacy, and all systems of oppression. We also have to unite because our struggles are so interconnected; for instance, according to US Census Bureau estimates, the poverty rate is 33.8 percent in Detroit and 31.8 percent in Cleveland—two of the highest rates among America’s largest cities. In a country that wastes trillions of dollars on war while continuing to defund our social safety net, we know that poverty is a policy choice…Why is it that our country always has enough money to bomb people, but never enough to provide people with health care, housing, and enough food to feed their families?…The movement that forces our government to stop funding endless war is the same movement demanding universal healthcare, housing for all, reparations, and clean air and water. The same students, teachers, labor leaders, and community activists who are organizing for a permanent cease-fire are also organizing for the liberation of all people, including Black liberation.”

Self-Rule Without Sovereignty (Dana El Kurd//Jewish Currents)

“In the months since Israel began its annihilatory assault on Gaza, there has been extensive discussion in global policy circles about Palestinian governance on the elusive “day after.” For its part, the Israeli government has refused to entertain the idea of Palestinian self-government or statehood, with members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet instead pledging their full support for ethnic cleansing and re-settlement of the Gaza Strip. On the other hand, the Biden administration, until recently, has supported bringing the Palestinian Authority (PA) back into Gaza, even as PA officials warn that they cannot arrive “on the back of an Israeli tank.” The idea of multinational or Arab peacekeeping forces administering Gaza has also been floated, with almost no input from Palestinians. Meanwhile, Palestinians have been debating the role Hamas should play in future governance, with some insisting that Hamas cannot be sidestepped in any post-war coalition, others holding that Hamas should play no role, and yet others arguing that it is time to move beyond the PA–Hamas paradigm entirely, possibly reviving the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and creating space for more diverse Palestinian political perspectives. Political scientist Diana B. Greenwald’s new book, Mayors in the Middle: Indirect Rule and Local Government in Occupied Palestine, historicizes this debate, showing how Palestinian governance, even at the local level, has long been connected to the context of the occupation and the question of Palestinian national liberation. Focusing largely on the West Bank in the period immediately following the Second Intifada—a rare time of electoral competition in Palestinian towns and cities—Greenwald documents how Palestinian local leaders navigated Israel’s regime of territorial domination, alternately working amidst, upholding, or resisting it. I spoke to Greenwald about Palestinian local politics, the promises and limitations of self-rule under occupation, and thinking about the future of Palestinian governance amidst Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.”

An Israeli Hostage’s Parent: This Is Not the Holocaust (Jonathan Dekel-Chen//NYT)

“That horrific day and the devastation of Gaza caused by Israel’s military response have led to countless references to the Holocaust and related terms: genocide, Nazis, pogroms. Some of Israel’s opponents have loosely and irresponsibly accused Israel of genocide against the Palestinians. My own government has also invoked those terms, mainly to convince Israelis of the magnitude of the threat they face from Hamas. As the son of a father who survived the Holocaust and a mother who fled Nazi Germany, I find our government’s use of such references to the Nazi genocide to be deeply offensive. As the father of a hostage, I find the use of such language excruciating. And as a professor of history, I am appalled at the inaccuracy of such statements and frightened by their implications for Israeli society. There is one truth to our leaders’ invoking of the Holocaust: Oct. 7 was indeed the deadliest single day for world Jewry since the Holocaust. The comparison ends there. By invoking collective memories of the Holocaust, Israeli government ministers and other leaders are effectively absolving themselves of the horrors of that “Black Saturday” — in effect, shirking their own accountability for the massacre and their sacred responsibility to return all the hostages alive.”

1. New from FMEP

2. Gaza

3. Region//Global

4. River to the Sea

5. U.S. Scene

6. Activism//Lawfare//Redefining Antisemitism to Stifle Criticism of Israel

7. Perspectives//Long Reads

NEW FROM FMEP

The Gaza Catastrophe: 2024 Congressional Briefing Series (4 part podcast series)

The Congressional Briefing Series is an educational program conducted annually by the Middle East Institute’s Palestinian Affairs Program and the Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP) to brief members of Congress and their staff on the most pressing issues facing Israel and Palestine today.

Settlement & Annexation Report: June 14, 2024 (Kristin McCarthy)

1. Israel Ministry of Agriculture Has Made Long Term Investments into Illegal Farming Outposts Over Past Six Years; 2) U.S. Sanctions Settler Entity Behind Attacks on Gaza-Bound Aid Convoys; 3) Israeli Settler Group To Hold Conference on Settling Southern Lebanon; 4) Bonus Reads

FMEP Legislative Round-Up: June 7, 2024 (Lara Friedman)

1. Bills, Resolutions; 2. Letters; 3. Hearings; 4. Israel/Palestine in 2024 Elex/Politics; 5. Selected Media & Press releases/Statements

GAZA

Blinken says some Hamas changes to Gaza cease-fire ‘not workable’ (Al Monitor)

“Hamas submitted its formal response to mediators Qatar and Egypt on Tuesday, more than a week after President Joe Biden made public what he described as a three-phase Israeli plan to halt the fighting and release the hostages taken on Oct. 7. The proposed cease-fire begins with a six-week pause in the fighting and the release of women, wounded and elderly hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners and a surge in humanitarian assistance. The second and third phases call for the release of male and deceased hostages, the full withdrawal of Israeli troops and the reconstruction of the devastated Palestinian territory. Speaking in a news conference with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Blinken said the United States would seek to “bridge the gaps” between the deal accepted by Israel and the changes demanded by Hamas.” See also Hamas has proposed ‘unworkable’ changes to ceasefire plan, Blinken says – as it happened (Guardian); Israel claims Hamas rejected hostage and ceasefire deal proposal (Axios); Hamas Demands Israeli Gaza Pullout Within a Week of Truce, Also Releasing Hostage Bodies Initially (Haaretz); Israel alleges journalist held hostages in Gaza, without providing evidence (CNN)

UN Security Council adopts a cease-fire resolution aimed at ending Israel-Hamas war in Gaza (AP)

“The U.S.-sponsored resolution welcomes a cease-fire proposal announced by President Joe Biden that the United States says Israel has accepted. It calls on the militant Palestinian group Hamas to accept the three-phase plan. The resolution — which was approved with 14 of the 15 Security Council members voting in favor and Russia abstaining — calls on Israel and Hamas “to fully implement its terms without delay and without condition.”’ See also Israel vows to press on in Gaza after UN Security Council approves ceasefire proposal (CNN)

Israeli tanks advance in Rafah as fleeing Palestinians ‘face death and starvation’ (Guardian 6/13/24)

“Israeli tanks rolled into the western part of Rafah on Thursday as the city came under intense helicopter, drone and artillery fire in what residents described as one of the worst bombardments of the area so far. The assault on Rafah has driven out more than a million Palestinians who had been sheltering there, forcing them into areas with little or no access to food, water or shelter. The UN has warned that more than a million people are expected to “face death and starvation by the middle of July”…Hamas said its fighters were battling Israeli troops on the streets of the city, which lies on Gaza’s southern border with Egypt.” See also Israeli forces advance deeper into Rafah as diplomacy falters (Reuters); ‘We’re all at risk of being targeted’: Doctors evacuate Rafah’s last hospitals (Ruwaida Kamal Amer//+972 6/5/24)

The international criminal court should investigate Israel’s hostage rescue raid (Kenneth Roth//Guardian)

“The enormous loss of Palestinian life attendant to the Israeli military’s 8 June rescue of four hostages held by Hamas cries out for investigation. Hamas’s abduction and detention of these four civilians was a clear war crime, but that does not exempt the Israeli military from the duty to comply with international humanitarian law in the rescue operation. The available evidence suggests that Israel fell short in several deadly respects. The Gaza health ministry, whose numbers have generally proved reliable, says that at least 274 Palestinians were killed in the operation and more than 600 wounded. The ministry does not distinguish combatants from civilians, but it reports that the dead included 64 children and 57 women, or 44% of the total…International humanitarian law requires that a military refrain from launching an assault if the anticipated civilian toll “would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated”. It is reasonable to conclude that the Israeli operation fell short of this standard. All the more so given questions about its necessity. With the rescue of these four hostages, Israeli military operations have freed a total of seven hostages alive. By contrast, more than 100 hostages were released as a result of Israel’s November 2023 ceasefire deal with Hamas. Few doubt that another deal will be necessary to bring most of the remaining hostages home alive…Israel notes that Hamas endangered civilians by holding the hostages in a densely populated neighborhood in Nuseirat in central Gaza. International humanitarian law requires militaries to take “all feasible precautions” to spare civilians, which Hamas violated by holding the hostages in two apartment buildings in Nuseirat, but that does not relieve Israel of the separate duty to avoid an attack that causes disproportionate harm to civilians. Palestinian civilians do not stop being civilians just because they are endangered by Hamas.” See also Death toll from Israeli hostage rescue adds to legal scrutiny of Gaza war (WaPo); Israel shrugs at Palestinian civilian casualties. So does Hamas. (Ishaan Tharoor/WaPo); Israel rescues four hostages held by Hamas in Gaza (Axios); ‘How is it reasonable to kill over 200 for the sake of four?’ (Ruwaida Kamal Amer//+972)

In the search for hostages, U.S. is Israel’s key intelligence partner (WaPo)

“The daring and deadly hostage rescue that Israeli military forces mounted in Gaza last Saturday relied on a massive intelligence-gathering operation in which the United States has been Israel’s most important partner. Since the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, the United States has ramped up intelligence collection on the militant group in Gaza and is sharing an extraordinary amount of drone footage, satellite imagery, communications intercepts and data analysis using advanced software, some of it powered by artificial intelligence, according to current and former U.S. and Israeli intelligence officials. The result is an intelligence-sharing partnership of rare volume, even for two countries that have historically worked together on areas of mutual concern, including counterterrorism and preventing Iran from building a nuclear weapon.”

Pentagon says Gaza aid pier had no link to Israeli hostage raid (Al Monitor)

“An Israeli military helicopter landed south of the pier facility along the beach following the hostage rescue operation. US officials told CBS over the weekend that the helicopter was not within the pier’s security cordon. Ryder acknowledged that Israeli personnel involved in the hostage raid had operated “near” the pier but said any proximity was “incidental,” without providing specifics. US warships on standby in the eastern Mediterranean also played no role in the Israeli operation, he said.”

Gaza Chief’s Brutal Calculation: Civilian Bloodshed Will Help Hamas (Wall Street Journal)

“For months, Yahya Sinwar has resisted pressure to cut a ceasefire-and-hostages deal with Israel. Behind his decision, messages the Hamas military leader in Gaza has sent to mediators show, is a calculation that more fighting—and more Palestinian civilian deaths—work to his advantage. “We have the Israelis right where we want them,” Sinwar said in a recent message to Hamas officials seeking to broker an agreement with Qatari and Egyptian officials…In dozens of messages—reviewed by The Wall Street Journal—that Sinwar has transmitted to cease-fire negotiators, Hamas compatriots outside Gaza and others, he’s shown a cold disregard for human life and made clear he believes Israel has more to lose from the war than Hamas. The messages were shared by multiple people with differing views of Sinwar…Despite Israel’s ferocious effort to kill him, Sinwar has survived and micromanaged Hamas’s war effort, drafting letters, sending messages to cease-fire negotiators and deciding when the U.S.-designated terrorist group ramps up or dials back its attacks. His ultimate goal appears to be to win a permanent cease-fire that allows Hamas to declare a historic victory by outlasting Israel and claim leadership of the Palestinian national cause…Even without a lasting truce, Sinwar believes Netanyahu has few options other than occupying Gaza and getting bogged down fighting a Hamas-led insurgency for months or years. It is an outcome that Sinwar foreshadowed six years ago when he first became leader in the Gaza Strip. Hamas might lose a war with Israel, but it would cause an Israeli occupation of more than two million Palestinians. “For Netanyahu, a victory would be even worse than a defeat,” Sinwar told an Italian journalist writing in 2018 in an Israeli daily, Yedioth Ahronoth.” See also Hamas official says ‘no one has any idea’ how many Israeli hostages are still alive (CNN); Four troops killed in booby-trapped building as fighting rages in Rafah, central Gaza (Times of Israel)

Almost 3,000 malnourished children at risk of “dying before their families’ eyes” as Rafah offensive disconnects them from treatment (UNICEF)

“Almost 3,000 children have been cut off from treatment for moderate and severe acute malnutrition in southern Gaza, putting them at risk of death as harrowing violence and displacement continue to impact access to healthcare facilities and services for desperate families. This number, based on reporting from UNICEF’s nutrition partners, equates to approximately three-quarters of the 3,800 children who were estimated to be receiving life-saving care in the south ahead of the escalating conflict in Rafah. The looming risk of more vulnerable children falling sick to malnutrition is also a concern. While there has been a slight improvement in the delivery of food aid to the north, humanitarian access in the south has declined dramatically.” See also Unrwa accuses Israel of frequently preventing aid deliveries to Gaza (Guardian); Significant part of Gaza facing ‘famine-like conditions’, WHO says (Al Jazeera)

Gazans describe life in tents as ‘hell’ as summer’s heat arrives (WaPo)

“As wrangling continued Friday over a cease-fire proposal meant to facilitate the delivery of aid into the Gaza Strip, the humanitarian situation grew only more dire. The onset of punishing summer temperatures in the densely populated enclave, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians live in tents, is making life even more arduous for residents struggling to survive with little electricity, food, clean water or shelter. Children, in particular, continue to bear the brunt of the conflict, humanitarian groups say.” See also Aid groups warn they face looting, danger in Gaza after Israeli raid (WaPo); U.S. sanctions right-wing Israeli group for blocking Gaza aid (Axios); How Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir Took Over Israel’s Police (Haaretz)

Eight Months Into the Gaza War, Support for Hamas’ October 7 Attack Declines Among Gazans, Survey Finds (Jack Khoury//Haaretz)

“A recent survey conducted among Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip indicates continued public support for Hamas and its October 7 attack on Israel, although support for the terror group within the Gaza Strip has decreased compared to previous surveys. The latest survey, conducted by Dr. Khalil Shikaki of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR), includes a sample of 1,570 Palestinians – 760 from the West Bank and 750 from the Gaza Strip – representing the entire populations of the two regions…According to the survey, some two-thirds of the Palestinian public supports the October 7 attack, compared to 71 percent in a survey conducted in March, and 72 percent about six months ago. 80 percent believe it put the Palestinian issue at the center of global attention. The main decrease in support for the October 7 attack is in the Gaza Strip, where it stands at 57 percent today compared to 71 percent three months ago…As for the humanitarian situation in Gaza, 64 percent of Gazans said they had enough food for a day or two, while 36 percent said they did not have enough food even for two days. This constitutes a slight improvement compared to three months ago, when only 44 percent said they had enough food for one or two days. The survey also shows that 61 percent of Gaza residents reported that they lost at least one family member in the war, while 65 percent said that one or more family members were wounded.” See also Press Release: Public Opinion Poll No (92) (Palestinian Center for Policy & Survey Research, 6/12/24)

“May Gaza burn”: The flood of genocidal rhetoric from Israel’s soldiers (Zeteo)

“Senior Israeli military commander Gur Rosenblat is explicit: All of Gaza, “not just the Hamas organization,” must be eliminated and its 2 million people driven out. The Strip, he writes on social media, should “cease to exist.” While Rosenblat, the head of Israel’s Northern Infantry Brigade who also serves as the deputy general director of the country’s Education Ministry, makes clear he’s not speaking in his official capacity in an Oct. 13 Facebook post, he does not attempt to disguise his genocidal calls. “People who are human beasts and their supporters must pay a high price – if not with their lives, then with expulsion,” he writes…Rosenblat is not alone. Since Oct. 7, we’ve uncovered hundreds of social media posts by Israeli military personnel, including commanders, filled with dehumanizing, hateful, and often genocidal rhetoric. The posts contribute to a mounting body of evidence pointing to what human rights groups and others have called a systematic pattern of war crimes committed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip. They also lay bare the intent of Israel’s war on Gaza. It’s not a “defensive war” aimed at ensuring “minimum harm to civilians,” as Israel and its allies like to claim. The soldiers’ own words suggest harming civilians through death, destruction, and displacement is, in fact, an objective. In part one of our investigation for Zeteo, we highlighted the dehumanizing photos soldiers have shared from Gaza. In part two, we document the genocidal rhetoric that has become an all too common theme among Israeli soldiers, including those deployed to Gaza.”

REGION/GLOBAL

Hezbollah-Israel clashes intensify as fears grow of all-out war in Lebanon (Al Monitor 6/13/24)

“Israeli jets on Thursday struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon following a larger-than-usual rocket attack by the group, accelerating fears of an all-out war despite US warnings. The Israeli military said that its air force struck Hezbollah infrastructure in southeast Lebanon’s Deir Seryan. Earlier, the Israeli military said Hezbollah launched 40 projectiles toward northern Israel. Some were intercepted, but others landed and caused fires, the military said in statements. Hezbollah said it targeted six Israeli military sites with missiles and three other bases with explosive-laden drones. The strikes, which Hezbollah said hit their targets, were in “response to the assassination” carried out on Tuesday, the group’s Al-Manar news outlet reported. On Tuesday, an Israeli strike killed Hezbollah commander Taleb Sami Abdullah, the highest-ranking official killed since the start of the hostilities on Oct. 7. The attack prompted Hezbollah to fire more than 215 rockets toward Israel on Wednesday.” See also Hezbollah fires 160 rockets at Israel after senior commander killed (Al Monitor 6/12/24); Hezbollah fires most rockets yet in war after Israel kills a top commander (Reuters); Pentagon hosts Lebanon’s army chief in bid to avert Israel-Hezbollah war (Al Monitor); Attack on US Embassy in Lebanon, Syrian gunman wounded (Al Monitor 6/5/24); Israel’s Gallant slams France’s ’hostile policies,’ rejects trilateral proposal on Hezbollah (Al Monitor 6/14/24)

Israeli authorities, Palestinian armed groups are responsible for war crimes, other grave violations of international law, UN Inquiry finds (UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner 6/12/24)

“Israeli authorities are responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the military operations and attacks in Gaza since 7 October 2023, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, said in a new report today. The Commission also found that Palestinian armed groups are responsible for war crimes committed in Israel. The Commission’s report – the UN’s first in-depth investigation of the events that took place on and since 7 October 2023 – is based on interviews with victims and witnesses conducted remotely and during a mission to Türkiye and Egypt, thousands of open-source items verified through advanced forensic analysis, hundreds of submissions, satellite imagery and forensic medical reports. Israel obstructed the Commission’s investigations and prevented its access to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory…“Israel must immediately stop its military operations and attacks in Gaza, including the assault on Rafah, which has cost the lives of hundreds of civilians and again displaced hundreds of thousands of people to unsafe locations without basic services and humanitarian assistance,” Pillay said. “Hamas and Palestinian armed groups must immediately cease rocket attacks and release all hostages. The taking of hostages constitutes a war crime.” In relation to Israeli military operations and attacks in Gaza, the Commission found that Israeli authorities are responsible for the war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare, murder or wilful killing, intentionally directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects, forcible transfer, sexual violence, torture and inhuman or cruel treatment, arbitrary detention and outrages upon personal dignity.” See also Israel and Hamas have both committed war crimes since 7 October, says UN body (Guardian); ‘Unprecedented scale’ of violations against children in Gaza, West Bank and Israel, UN report says (Guardian)

In Egypt, displaced Gazans organize in grassroots movements (Al Monitor)

“Since Oct. 7, 2023, the beginning of Israeli operations in the Gaza Strip, tens of thousands of Palestinians have entered Egypt through the Rafah border crossing. Between 80,000 and 100,000 Gazans are estimated to have crossed into Egypt from Gaza since then, the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) ambassador to Cairo told Agence France-Presse (AFP) in April, without elaborating on how they entered.  Today, many of them, especially those who lack the financial means, live in the suburbs of the Egyptian capital, Cairo, in a precarious situation, with no rights and the constant fear of being expelled from the country.”

RIVER TO THE SEA

Israeli forces kill six Palestinians in West Bank raid (Al Jazeera)

“An Israeli special forces unit entered the village on Tuesday and besieged a home before shelling it, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported…The Jenin battalion of the al-Quds Brigades – the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad – had said earlier on Tuesday that it was engaged in “fierce” fighting with Israeli troops in Kafr Dan. The Israeli military said it carried out a “counterterrorism” operation in the village, killing four armed Palestinians. The army added that it used attack helicopters in the assault and sustained no casualties. Israeli forces killed four Palestinians west of Ramallah on Monday and three others in Jenin on Friday.” See also Six Palestinians Killed in Israeli Counterterrorism Raid Against West Bank Militants (Haaretz)

Civilians or Soldiers? Settler violence in the West Bank (Dr. Ameneh Mehvar & Nasser Khdour//ACLED)

“While violence in the West Bank is far from a new phenomenon, a sharp rise in settler violence in recent years turned into a tsunami following Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023…Armed settlers operate in different capacities, ranging from private civilians owning handguns to settlement residents acting as part of civilian security squads and settler soldiers either as part of the regional defense battalions or as rank-and-file soldiers. This study assesses each of the different armed settler groups that have engaged in violence against Palestinians, with a focus on their activity since 7 October. ACLED data suggest the security situation in the West Bank is increasingly perilous as more settlers are armed, and the line between settlers and the army blurring. Over the past several decades, the settler movement has evolved from a small faction to a significant presence within the Israeli mainstream. Its members now hold key positions in government and the military, and their considerable political sway presents a serious obstacle to future peace efforts with Palestinians.” See also Lords of the land: Rising settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank (Haaretz)

Why Israel is expanding the Gaza war to the West Bank refugee camps (Ameer Makhoul//Middle East Eye)

“The refugee camps of Nur Shams and Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank are witnessing a comprehensive, Israeli-driven war of destruction. It is part of a plan to uproot Palestinian refugee camps, similar to ongoing events in Gaza and reminiscent of the 1948 Nakba. This aligns with Israel’s vision of a war declared long ago on the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, which has reached its peak during the war on Gaza. Are things headed towards a forced displacement situation in the occupied West Bank? The camps of Jenin and Nur Shams have been raided repeatedly in a process of uprooting that began before the war on Gaza. The northern occupied West Bank and the Jordan Valley have long been targeted for intensified settlement activity.” See also Shrugging off international sanctions, extremist settlers appear emboldened (Times of Israel)

Israeli joy at hostage rescue undiminished by regret over Palestinian casualties (Guardian)

“Gaza’s health ministry does not differentiate between civilian and militant casualties, but graphic images and videos from the scene in Nuseirat and a local hospital suggested dozens of women and children were among the dead and dying. Ben Saul, the UN’s special rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights, has suggested that the operation may be deemed a war crime if it was anticipated “that civilian casualties would be excessive”. Mairav Zonszein, a senior Israel analyst at the International Crisis Group thinktank, said the Palestinian deaths during the rescue mission were unlikely to have much impact on the Israeli public…“People have not cared about the Palestinian casualty count the whole time, and the media doesn’t really report it, so I wouldn’t expect them to start caring about it now, during of all things a rescue operation. As we have seen before, there is an Israeli narrative in the war, and an international narrative, and they don’t really meet.”’

Israel’s North Is Burning (Mairav Zonszein//NYT)

“On the night of June 3, vast parts of northern Israel went up in flames after Hezbollah fired rockets on the area. The raging fires burned more than 3,000 acres. They are a painful reminder that the protracted war in Gaza not only is devastating for the people of Gaza and a threat to lives of the hostages held by Hamas, but also has serious consequences for northern Israel, much of which has become a largely abandoned war zone since October. It is increasingly evident that without a cease-fire, the situation at the northern border could rapidly deteriorate into a full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah.”

What Gantz’s exit reveals about Israel’s failed Gaza strategy (Meron Rapoport//+972)

“On the face of it, it’s hard to make sense of the rift within Israel’s government over the “day after” in Gaza, which led Benny Gantz to quit the coalition on Sunday. In a press conference announcing his decision, Gantz accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “preventing … real victory” by failing to present a viable plan for the Strip’s post-war governance. Gantz, who joined the government and war cabinet after October 7 as a minister without portfolio, has been urging Netanyahu for months to lay out his “day after” plan. The prime minister, who has a personal and political interest in prolonging the war, has so far refused to produce one; instead, he has only repeatedly insisted that he rejects both the continued existence of a “Hamastan” and its replacement with a “Fatahstan” run by the Palestinian Authority (PA)…What Gantz and Gallant are implicitly acknowledging, and Netanyahu and his allies refuse to admit, is that Israel’s decades-old “separation policy” has collapsed in the wake of the October 7 attacks. No longer able to maintain the illusion that the Gaza Strip has been severed from the West Bank and thus from any future Palestinian political settlement, Israel’s leaders are in a bind.”

Facing war and incitement, is there any hope left for Palestinians in the Knesset? (Baker Zoubi//+972 6/6/24)

“The Gaza war has revived a longstanding debate among Palestinian citizens of Israel about whether to participate in or boycott the parliament.”

U.S. SCENE

Israel and the Leahy Law (Charles Blaha//Just Security)

“United States law requires foreign nations, including Israel, to comply with international human rights standards and international humanitarian law to receive U.S. security assistance. The best known of these laws, the “Leahy law,” mandates that U.S. security assistance may not be provided to units of foreign security forces that are alleged to have committed gross violations of human rights. For seven and a half years, I served as director of the State Department office that leads Leahy vetting of foreign security units. I have seen how even and fair application of the Leahy law is key to U.S. foreign policy and credibility abroad. But when it comes to Israel — the story so far is about a lack of application. U.S. State Department spokespersons assert that the department complies with the Leahy law via “ongoing processes,” and that treatment of Israel under the Leahy law is the same as for any other country. Both assertions are incorrect.”

ACTIVISM//LAWFARE//REDEFINING ANTISEMITISM TO STIFLE CRITICISM OF ISRAEL

Why are America’s elite universities so afraid of this scholar’s paper? (Guardian)

““What is so scary about Palestinians having the right to narrate their own realities?” Eghbariah said. Student-run law review journals rarely if ever hear from their outside boards. “It’s unprecedented to even interfere in editorial processes,” he said. There have been no substantive or factual contestations of the claims of the Columbia Law Review article.”

Campus Protests for Palestine: Students Face Criminal Charges, Disciplinary Hearings (Teen Vogue)

“More than 3,000 people were arrested or detained at campus protests for Palestine this spring. Most of the Gaza solidarity encampments have since been disassembled, but students are now dealing with subsequent challenges. Some are trying to sort out whether they can still technically graduate despite being suspended, and many face potential criminal charges. Legal advocacy organizations and human rights clinics are urging college administrations not to use responses to activism that are discriminatory or punitive. On the ground, meanwhile, experienced activists and students are engaging in another form of public solidarity: community campaigns for legal defense.” See also At U.C.L.A., Police Arrest More Than 20 Pro-Palestinian Protesters (NYT); University of Minnesota pauses hiring of professor who called Israel’s war against Hamas ‘a textbook case of genocide’ (Jewish Insider)

AOC calls for strong response to antisemitism in progressive spaces, but also decries ‘false accusations of antisemitism’ (Jewish Insider)

“Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) acknowledged in a webinar on Monday that there is a “line past which criticism of the Israeli government can slip into antisemitism” and said it’s incumbent on progressives to condemn such behavior, while also condemning instances in which “false accusations of antisemitism are weaponized.” The Squad member’s comments, which came during a session with Jewish Council for Public Affairs CEO Amy Spitalnick and Stacy Burdett, a former Anti-Defamation League and U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum official…”Criticism of the Israeli government is not inherently antisemitic, and criticism of Zionism is not automatically antisemitic,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “That being true does not mean that we should not recognize when criticism and when that criticism crosses a line into real harms against our Jewish community.”…“It is also true that accusations and false accusations of antisemitism are wielded against people of color and women of color by bad faith political actors. And weaponizing antisemitism is used to divide us and create a false choice between the fight for Jewish safety and the cause for Palestinian self-determination,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “Defending and standing for the rights of Palestinians is not antisemitic, and we must be able to identify when bad faith political actors make accusations simply to divide us.”’ See also Antisemitism and the Fight for Democracy (Rep. AOC//YouTube; AIPAC, AOC and the American Left’s Antisemitism Problem (Haaretz); ‘The Zionists Are Not Human’: Pro-Palestinians Protest Outside NY Exhibit Commemorating Oct. 7 Victims (Haaretz)

PERSPECTIVES//LONG READS

My Nuseirat (Hadar Eid//Mondoweiss)

“I was born in the Nuseirat refugee camp; all my siblings were born there too. My father, together with my sister and brother, are buried in two of its cemeteries. Almost the entire Eid clan still lives there, and those butchered by genocidal Israel’s killing machine are buried there. Hundreds of my students are from there. I know almost every single street of the camp; I am familiar with the faces of its residents, all of whom are refugees from towns and villages erased by apartheid Israel in 1948…Nuseirat is a microcosm of the genocide. The lives of four white Ashkenazi Israelis are equivalent to the lives of 274 native mothers, doctors, and children. The white world is celebrating this “victory” regardless of the “collateral damage,” as long as the victims are not like “us,” the white gods of this unjust world. The Nuseirat massacre is not a moment of victory after which Benjamin Netanyahu and his gang of fascist thugs can call it a day. There will be more massacres committed by the same bloodthirsty colonizers. But Nuseirat, like all massacres committed by colonialists, whether in Algeria, South Africa, Ireland, or other settler colonies, will be a signpost in our long walk to freedom. Only those who stand on the right side of history can read the signs.” See also ‘I heard all of my friends’ last breath’: Testimonies from the Nuseirat massacre (Tareq Hajjaj//Mondoweiss)

Confronting the Abject: What Gaza Can Teach Us About the Struggles That Shape Our World (Tareq Baconi//LitHub)

“Gaza is the abject of our time. It is a miserable stretch of land, overpopulated and dirty, drowning in its own shit and decrepit infrastructure, beaten and abused, on the brink of death refusing the dignity of passing, of letting go. In the Israeli collective psyche (but not just), Gaza is a dark place, full of terrorists, of angry hordes, a place where—in the words of a minister of justice no less—Palestinian mothers give birth to snakes, not babies. Gaza is a nuisance that persistently clings to Israel, demanding attention, disrupting the lives of Israelis, seeking recognition. None will be forthcoming because deep within, in some shrouded corner, is a resounding truth that can never be fully banished even as it remains unspoken: The Gaza Strip is Israel’s creation. In its present abject manifestation, Gaza is a colonial construct, territorially and demographically engineered to enable the emergence of a Zionist entity in Palestine.”

How a Palestinian/Jewish Village in Israel Changed After October 7th (Masha Gessen//New Yorker)

“Wahat al-Salam/Neve Shalom was founded on a total belief in the power of dialogue. In the wake of Hamas’s attack and amid Israel’s war in Gaza, a “very loud silence” has fallen.”

 

1. New from FMEP

2. Gaza

3. Region//Global

4. River to the Sea

5. U.S. Scene

6. Activism//Lawfare//Redefining Antisemitism to Stifle Criticism of Israel

7. Perspectives//Long Reads

NEW FROM FMEP

FMEP Legislative Round-Up: June 7, 2024 (Lara Friedman)

1. Bills, Resolutions; 2. Letters; 3. Hearings; 4. Israel/Palestine in 2024 Elex/Politics; 5. Selected Media & Press releases/Statements
   

Settlement & Annexation Report: June 7, 2024 (Kristin McCarthy)

1) Jerusalem Flag Parade Terrorizes Jerusalem, Ben Gvir Tests Temple Mount Status Quo; 2) IDF Demolishes Outpost, Ben Gvir Calls (Again) for Gallant to Be Dismissed; 3) Settlers & Knesset Call for Israel to Create “Special Regime” With Open Fire Directives to Fortify Settlement Safety; 4) Israeli Govt is Working with “Friends in the U.S.” To Cancel/Reduce Sanctions on Settlers; 5) Bonus Reads

GAZA

Israeli forces batter central, south Gaza as tanks advance in Rafah (Reuters 6/7/24)

“With a renewed ceasefire push in the eight-month-old Gaza war stalled, Israel bombarded central and southern areas again on Friday, killing at least 28 Palestinians, and tank forces advanced to the western edges of Rafah. U.S.-backed Qatari and Egyptian mediators have tried again this week to reconcile clashing demands preventing a halt to the hostilities, a release of Israeli hostages and Palestinians jailed in Israel, and an untrammelled flow of aid into Gaza to alleviate a humanitarian disaster. But sources close to the talks said there were still no signs of a breakthrough.” See also Gallant vows war won’t end until Hamas is destroyed; IDF advances further in Rafah (Times of Israel); Biden: PM heeded warning against major Rafah offensive, scaling down IDF ops there (Times of Israel); Israel’s war on Gaza updates: ‘Over 1 million’ flee Rafah as Israel attacks (Al Jazeera)

Israeli strike on UN school kills dozens in Gaza (Reuters 6/6/24)

“Israel hit a Gaza school on Thursday with what it described as a targeted airstrike on up to 30 Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters inside, and a Hamas official said 40 people were killed including women and children sheltering at the U.N. site.” See also Dozens Killed in Israeli Strike on UNRWA School in Gaza; IDF: Hamas Used Building as Base (Haaretz); Dozens killed in Israeli strike on U.N. school in Gaza (Reuters); Israeli strikes kill at least 75 Palestinians in central Gaza (Middle East Eye 6/5/24); Israel used a U.S.-made bomb in a deadly U.N. school strike in Gaza (NPR); Survivors of Israeli strike on Gaza school describe finding children’s bodies (The Guardian); ‘Falling for Hamas tactics’: IDF names 9 terrorists killed in school strike, slams media (Times of Israel); Israel used U.S. munition in deadly strike on U.N. school, experts say (WaPo)

Starvation already causing many deaths and lasting harm in Gaza, agencies say (The Guardian)

“Months of extreme hunger have already killed many Palestinians in Gaza and caused permanent damage to children through malnutrition, two new food security reports have found, even before famine is officially declared. The US-based famine early warning system network (Fews Net) said it was “possible, if not likely” that famine began in northern Gaza in April. Two UN organisations said more than 1 million people were “expected to face death and starvation” by mid-July…“Regardless of whether or not the famine (IPC phase 5) thresholds have been definitively reached or exceeded, people are dying of hunger-related causes across Gaza,” the Fews Net report found. “Acute malnutrition among children is extremely high and this will result in irreversible physiological impacts…The term famine, when used by food and emergency aid professionals, has a strict technical definition, with three conditions that must be met in an area. The high threshold means that by the time famine has been declared, many people will already have died of hunger.” See also UNICEF finds 90 percent of children in Gaza not eating enough for proper growth (New Arab); Gaza’s sick and malnourished children die as hospitals collapse from Israel’s war (NPR); Children die of malnutrition as Rafah operation heightens threat of famine in Gaza (The Guardian); UN agencies say over 1 million in Gaza could experience highest level of starvation by mid-July (The Independent)

Cautious optimism in Gaza, Israel as US makes last-ditch cease-fire push (Al Monitor 6/6/24)

“So far, neither Hamas nor Israel has explicitly approved the cease-fire proposal…The Biden administration maintains the ball is in Hamas’ court and that the deal approved by Israel’s war cabinet is similar to a previous version accepted by the Palestinian militant group…Sullivan and other senior US officials have portrayed Hamas as the sole obstacle to the deal, even as Biden recently acknowledged to Time magazine that “there is every reason” to believe Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is prolonging the war to serve his own political agenda. Publicly, Netanyahu has offered only vague support for what Biden described as an “Israeli proposal.” Complicating his potential endorsement are threats from far-right members of his coalition who said they would sink Netanyahu’s fragile government if Israel accepts a cease-fire deal that doesn’t ensure Hamas’ total defeat.” See also UAE, Qatar join efforts to support Biden’s Gaza proposal (Al Monitor); IDF tells families of 4 Israeli hostages held in Gaza ‘they are no longer alive’ (CNN); A former Israeli hostage recalls the brutality of Hamas captivity (WaPo); Biden sees Hamas as ‘only obstacle’ to Gaza deal, White House says (Al Jazeera)

UN Adds Israel to ‘Blacklist’ of Countries That Harm Children in Conflict Zones Amid Gaza War (Haaretz)

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has notified Israel he will add it to the “blacklist” of nations that hurt children in conflict zones, Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan said on Friday…A diplomatic source told Reuters that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad would also be included on the UN blacklist…Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “the UN has put itself today on the blacklist of history, when it joined those who support the Hamas murderers. The IDF is the world’s most moral army, and no absurd UN decision can change that.”’ See also Israeli official poised to resign as post-war plan fails to materialize (WaPo); Israel’s Gantz Expected to Announce Resignation From Netanyahu’s Government on Saturday (Haaretz)

Hamas still strong in areas ‘cleared’ by Israel in northern Gaza, say experts (The Guardian)

“There may be more Hamas militants in the north of Gaza, supposedly cleared by Israeli forces months ago, than in Rafah, the southern city in the territory described by Israeli officials as the extremist Islamist organisation’s “last stronghold”, analysts believe…though Israeli forces have now invaded Rafah, it was fighting in Jabaliya, the second-most populous town in northern Gaza, that was described last month by IDF officials as “perhaps the fiercest” yet seen in the seventh-month-long conflict…The battles in Jabaliya between lightly armed Hamas militants and a powerful IDF force underlined the ability of Hamas to return to parts of Gaza from which it was forced to retreat by earlier Israeli offensives, threatening a “forever war” for months or even years to come, as Israel tries to stamp out a tenacious insurgency, experts say.” See also Gallant says Israel working on ‘a different government’ to replace Hamas in Gaza (Times of Israel); War on Gaza: Jabalia left an ‘unrecognisable’ wasteland after Israeli assault (Middle East Eye)

Gaza’s Doctors Were Building a Health System. Then Came War. (Reuters)

“In the current war, 55 specialist doctors in Gaza have been killed, according to information from the ministry of health, as well as relatives, colleagues and friends…That works out at nearly 4% of Gazan specialists. In some specialties with small cadres of doctors, the losses are stark. The enclave had just three kidney specialists before the war – one has been killed and the other fled abroad, Reuters learned. With each specialist killed, Gaza has lost a network of knowledge and human connections, blows more enduring than those borne by most of the area’s 35 hospitals since Oct. 7, the doctors and experts said. The killing of even one doctor could cripple the services they led where specialists were few.”  See also Mass graves and body bags: al-Shifa hospital after Israel withdrew its forces (BBC)

Israel Declares ‘Humanitarian Zones’ in Gaza, Then Attacks Them (Forensic Architecture)

“Israel claims that the poorly worded 24 May ruling by the International Court of Justice gives it license to continue attacking Palestinians in Gaza, if it warns civilians to evacuate combat zones and move to safe ‘humanitarian zones’. But we have geolocated three recent strikes within areas Israel suggested were safe…The Israeli military’s communication of ‘safe’ or ‘humanitarian’ zones in this way—relying on low-resolution maps and confusing motion graphics—is demonstrably ineffective and leaves civilians in harm’s way. This lack of clarity is part of a pattern since October 2023 of unclear, inconsistent, and contradictory information published by the Israeli military regarding so-called ‘safe zones’ and ‘evacuation orders’…In a context in which as many as 1.5 million Palestinian civilians are seeking safe refuge from Israeli’s continued ground and air assault, such a limited, incomprehensible, and often inaccessible set of instructions (civilians in Gaza are faced with significantly limited internet connectivity, and regular blackouts), Israel’s efforts can only be understood as performative, aimed at rebutting criticism from international observers instead of protecting Palestinians civilians. The orders themselves evidence little regard for the safety of those civilians, rather inspiring uncertainty and fear, notwithstanding multiple well-evidenced examples wherein those orders have led directly to civilian deaths.” See also At event in southern Israel, Smotrich again calls to reestablish Jewish settlements in Gaza (Times of Israel)

Inside the Base Where Israel Has Detained Thousands of Gazans (NYT)

“Once an obscure barracks, Sde Teiman is now a makeshift interrogation site and a major focus of accusations that the Israeli military has mistreated detainees, including people later determined to have no ties to Hamas or other armed groups. In interviews, former detainees described beatings and other abuse in the facility…A three-month investigation by The New York Times — based on interviews with former detainees and with Israeli military officers, doctors and soldiers who served at the site; the visit to the base; and data about released detainees provided by the military — found those 1,200 Palestinian civilians have been held at Sde Teiman in demeaning conditions without the ability to plead their cases to a judge for up to 75 days. Detainees are also denied access to lawyers for up to 90 days and their location is withheld from rights groups as well as from the International Committee of the Red Cross, in what some legal experts say is a contravention of international law…Of the 4,000 detainees housed at Sde Teiman since October, 35 have died either at the site or after being brought to nearby civilian hospitals, according to officers at the base who spoke to The Times during the May visit. Mr. al-Hamlawi, the senior nurse, said a female officer had ordered two soldiers to lift him up and press his rectum against a metal stick that was fixed to the ground. Mr. al-Hamlawi said the stick penetrated his rectum for roughly five seconds, causing it to bleed and leaving him with “unbearable pain.” A leaked draft of the UNRWA report detailed an interview that gave a similar account. It cited a 41-year-old detainee who said that interrogators “made me sit on something like a hot metal stick and it felt like fire,” and also said that another detainee “died after they put the electric stick up” his anus. Mr. al-Hamlawi recalled being forced to sit in a chair wired with electricity. He said he was shocked so often that, after initially urinating uncontrollably, he then stopped urinating for several days.” See also Israeli detention center faces legal challenge after ‘unimaginable abuses (WaPo)

 

REGION/GLOBAL

Israel mulls 3 options against Lebanon’s Hezbollah, including full-scale war (Al Monitor)

“As violence on Israel’s northern border escalates with several drone attacks launched from Lebanon, the Biden administration is trying to persuade Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to launch an all-out war against Hezbollah…Wednesday’s direct targeting of the army contingent suggests Hezbollah has high-quality intelligence on the troops deployed on Israel’s northern front…Despite Hezbollah’s exposing of the Israel Defense Forces’ underbelly in its attacks on Israel since the start of the Gaza war, Israeli airstrikes pose a greater threat to the group in Lebanon. Hezbollah, by its own account, has lost at least 350 of its fighters since Oct. 8, some of them senior commanders…Nonetheless, while Israel achieves tactical victories daily, Hezbollah can justifiably claim a major strategic one. Tens of thousands of residents living near the Lebanon border were evacuated from their homes at the start of the Gaza war, turning entire communities into ghost towns, and homes, fields and facilities have been heavily damaged by the daily barrages of Hezbollah anti-tank rockets. The border town of Kiryat Shmona suffered extensive damage this week from fires sparked by Hezbollah and Israel ordnance and spread by the hot dry weather…Despite the escalation of fighting in recent weeks, “this is not yet a full-scale war,” a senior Israeli military source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. “But at this rate, the sides will reach a full-scale war that could also spark an all-out regional war.”’ See also Scoop: U.S. warns Israel “limited war” with Lebanon could draw Iran to intervene (Axios); Reserve soldier killed, 10 hurt, in Hezbollah drone attack on northern town (Times of Israel); Hezbollah ‘ready’ for an all-out war with Israel, deputy head says (Al Jazeera)

Gaza demands a new kind of humanitarian action (Yara Asi//The New Humanitarian)

“What we are seeing in Gaza is part of a decades-long pattern: Israel creates humanitarian crises by enacting unchecked violence, imposing movement restrictions, throttling the Palestinian economy, and preventing the import of needed goods and equipment. Israel then outsources its obligations as the Occupying Power under international law to provide Palestinians with food, healthcare, education, and other services to the aid sector while exercising control over the humanitarian agencies providing these services – including by blocking them from working entirely when it sees fit. Aid agencies – by and large – comply with Israeli restrictions and diktats in order to maintain access. And the international community picks up the tab without pushing back much on the overall arrangement. By working under these conditions, the aid sector – wittingly or not – helps to entrench the vast power asymmetry that has allowed Israel to continually seize Palestinian land while enacting ever-greater violence and restrictions on its people. In other words, undertaking humanitarian action without meaningfully working towards Palestinian liberation has helped to perpetuate the status quo that is causing the need for humanitarian intervention in the first place.” See also Isolating Gaza from the World: Humanitarian Implications of Israel’s Seizure of Rafah (Yara Asi//Arab Center DC)

Israel rejects Security Council resolution in support of its own hostage deal offer (Times of Israel)

“Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan informed his US counterpart Linda Thomas-Greenfield on Thursday that Jerusalem opposes the Security Council resolution being advanced by Washington that expresses support for the hostage-ceasefire proposal Israel made last week. The opposition is not expected to influence the vote, which could take place as early as Monday, given that Israel is not a member of the Security Council. However, the resistance from Jerusalem is likely to irk the United States, given that the latter has repeatedly blocked initiatives at the Security Council deemed hostile to the Jewish state. Explaining Erdan’s opposition, an official in the Israeli mission pointed out that an updated version of the resolution refers to the hostage deal as one that will bring about a “ceasefire,” as opposed to the original draft that described the end goal as a “cessation of hostilities,” which Israel reads as less permanent in nature.” See also Spain says to join South Africa’s Gaza genocide case against Israel at ICJ (Al Jazeera); UN experts urge all countries to recognise Palestinian statehood (Reuters); Which countries have joined South Africa’s case against Israel at the ICJ? (Al Jazeera)

Lebanon: Israel’s White Phosphorous Use Risks Civilian Harm (Human Rights Watch)

“Israel’s widespread use of white phosphorus in south Lebanon is putting civilians at grave risk and contributing to civilian displacement, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch verified the use of white phosphorus munitions by Israeli forces in at least 17 municipalities across south Lebanon since October 2023, including 5 municipalities where airburst munitions were unlawfully used over populated residential areas.”

Saudi Arabia largely removes negative portrayal of Israel from its school curriculum (Times of Israel)

“Textbooks for the 2023-2024 school year no longer teach that Zionism is a “racist” European movement, and no longer deny the historical Jewish presence in the region, according to the study, published last week by the nonprofit IMPACT-se, which monitors educational curricula in Middle Eastern and North African countries…Designations of Israel as an “enemy state” have been expunged, but references to the “Israeli occupation” can still be found, and the curriculum still underscores Saudi Arabia’s commitment to the Palestinian cause. The name “Israel” still does not appear on maps, but the name “Palestine,” which previously covered the entirety of Israeli territory, has now been removed, the report highlights. “It indicates that if the Saudis are heading towards normalization, they are doing it all in line with the model of the UAE and Bahrain,” [Nimrod] Goren [of Mitvim & the Middle East Institute] added, referencing diplomatic ties established with the two Gulf monarchies in the framework of the Abraham Accords in 2020.”

Palestinian presidency criticizes Iran’s Khamenei publicly: What we know (Al Monitor)

“The Palestinian presidency on Monday hit back at remarks made by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, praising the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza, which the Palestinian side saw as exploitation of their own struggle…In a statement carried by the official WAFA news agency, the Ramallah-based presidency said such comments are “clearly” aimed at sacrificing Palestinian blood and destroying Palestinian land. These comments “will not lead to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital.” “The Palestinian people have been fighting and struggling for a hundred years, and they do not need wars that do not serve their ambitions for freedom and independence and for the preservation of Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian sanctities,” the presidency stressed. “What we want is an end to the occupation,” the statement noted, “not policies that do not serve the national goals.”’ See also Fatah wants Hamas to join PLO: Official (Al Monitor)

RIVER TO THE SEA

Chanting ‘burn Shu’afat’ and ‘flatten Gaza,’ masses attend Jerusalem Flag March (Oren Ziv//+972)

“The annual “Jerusalem Day” Flag March has long been notorious for its open displays of Jewish supremacy. Every year, in celebration of Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967 and continued control over the city, tens of thousands of mostly young Israeli Jews rampage through the Old City, harass and attack Palestinian residents, and shout racist slogans — all under police protection.  However, if in the past it could be said that only some of the participating groups engaged in such behavior, this was the year that it became the norm. Emboldened by their government’s brutal war of revenge on the Gaza Strip, almost every group that amassed at Damascus Gate ahead of the march yesterday afternoon joined in the incitement. Popular chants included “May your village burn,” “Shuafat is on fire,” “Muhammad is dead,” and the genocidal “revenge” song which includes a biblical injunction turned on the Palestinians: “May their name be erased.” National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich both arrived at Damascus Gate with their bodyguards toward the end of the festivities, and jubilantly joined the revelers as they sang and danced…However, the primary focus for the participants was not Gaza, but rather the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif. The day started with over 1,000 Jews ascending to the compound, which is holy to both Jews and Muslims and administered jointly by the Israeli police and the Islamic waqf. Many of them carried Israeli flags, and some violated the site’s long-standing “status quo” by engaging in acts of prayer. They were led by activists who aspire not only to enable Jews to pray on the site but to rebuild a Jewish temple on the site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock…Except for arresting a handful of marchers who attacked journalists, the police — among them the police commissioner and several senior commanders — did nothing to prevent or punish the incitement.” See also Thousands of Israelis march through Jerusalem, some attacking Palestinians (Al Jazeera); Israeli nationalists march in Jerusalem as a far-right minister boasts of Jewish prayer at key site (AP)

UN human rights chief accuses Israel of ‘wanton’ killing in West Bank since Oct. 7 (Times of Israel)

“United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Turk said on Tuesday that it was “unfathomable” that more than 500 Palestinians had been killed in the West Bank since October 7. Two dozen Israelis, including eight soldiers, have also been killed in West Bank clashes or alleged attacks by Palestinians from the West Bank during the same period, Turk noted. “As if the tragic events in Israel and then Gaza over the past eight months were not enough, the people of the occupied West Bank are also being subjected to day-after-day of unprecedented bloodshed,” he said in a statement.” See also Israeli forces kill three Palestinians in raid on West Bank’s Jenin (Al Jazeera);

Israeli settlers in the West Bank were hit with international sanctions. It only emboldened them (AP)

“When the banks froze his accounts, his community raised thousands of dollars for him, and Israel’s finance minister vowed to intervene on sanctioned settlers’ behalf. Two months after sanctions were issued, Levi was granted access to his money. “America thought it would weaken us, and in the end, they made us stronger,” Levi, 31, told The Associated Press from his farm in the South Hebron Hills — one of dozens of unauthorized settlement outposts dotting the West Bank. Levi is among 13 hard-line Israeli settlers — as well as two affiliated outposts and four groups — targeted by international sanctions over accusations of attacks and harassment against Palestinians in the West Bank. The measures are meant as a deterrent, and they expose people to asset freezes and travel and visa bans. But the measures have had minimal impact, instead emboldening settlers as attacks and land-grabs escalate, according to Palestinians in the West Bank, local rights groups and sanctioned Israelis who spoke to AP. See also In the West Bank, Guns and a Locked Gate Signal a Town’s New Residents (NYT); US sanctions Palestinian Lion’s Den armed group in West Bank (Al Monitor); US sanctions Palestinian group under decree used to target Israeli settlers (Al Jazeera); Israeli colonists torch agricultural land in Ramallah-district town (WAFA 6/7/24)

U.S. SCENE

Biden’s Gaza Announcement: What to Make of the Bizarre Spectacle (Yousef Munayyer//Arab Center DC)

“Why would Biden be the one announcing, in detail, an Israeli proposal?…Biden was essentially telling the Israelis that this proposal will allow them to achieve all their war aims. But why did Biden feel compelled to try to sell an Israeli proposal to the Israelis? Why did he feel it necessary to try to convince the Israelis not to back away from a deal that they authored? The explanation is likely that, after months of working with the Israelis on an exchange deal, US negotiators have come to understand that the makeup of the Israeli government and the personal political ambitions of Netanyahu are the primary obstacles to an agreement. After all, Hamas has been offering an exchange deal for a ceasefire since the early days after October 7, 2023. It has been Netanyahu—reportedly often over the objections of his own negotiators—whom the families of Israeli hostages have accused of sabotaging the cease-fire deals that would lead to an exchange.” See also Biden: People have ‘every reason’ to think Netanyahu extending war to stay in power (Times of Israel)

Israel Secretly Targets U.S. Lawmakers With Influence Campaign on Gaza War (NYT)

“Israel organized and paid for an influence campaign last year targeting U.S. lawmakers and the American public with pro-Israel messaging, as it aimed to foster support for its actions in the war with Gaza, according to officials involved in the effort and documents related to the operation. The covert campaign was commissioned by Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, a government body that connects Jews around the world with the State of Israel, four Israeli officials said. The ministry allocated about $2 million to the operation and hired Stoic, a political marketing firm in Tel Aviv, to carry it out, according to the officials and the documents. The campaign began in October and remains active on the platform X. At its peak, it used hundreds of fake accounts that posed as real Americans on X, Facebook and Instagram to post pro-Israel comments. The accounts focused on U.S. lawmakers, particularly ones who are Black and Democrats, such as Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader from New York, and Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia, with posts urging them to continue funding Israel’s military…The secretive campaign signals the lengths Israel was willing to go to sway American opinion on the war in Gaza.” See also Israel targeted more than 120 US lawmakers in disinformation campaign (Politico)

Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu is set to address the US Congress on July 24 (AP)

“Congressional leaders confirmed the date of the address late Thursday after formally inviting Netanyahu to come speak before lawmakers last week…“The existential challenges we face, including the growing partnership between Iran, Russia, and China, threaten the security, peace, and prosperity of our countries and of free people around the world,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, along with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, said in the letter. “To build on our enduring relationship and to highlight America’s solidarity with Israel, we invite you to share the Israeli government’s vision for defending democracy, combatting terror, and establishing a just and lasting peace in the region.”’ See also Bernie Sanders says will boycott ‘war criminal’ Netanyahu’s Congress speech (New Arab); Trump says Schumer has ‘become like a Palestinian’ (The Hill); Van Hollen says effort to sanction the ICC is ‘mafia thug’ behavior (Jewish Insider); U.S. House votes to sanction international court over warrants for Netanyahu and other Israeli officials (NBC); 42 House Democrats join Republicans in support of ICC sanctions (Jewish Insider)

Exclusive: NAACP asks Biden to halt weapons to Israel as he seeks to shore up Black voter support (Reuters)

“The NAACP urged President Joe Biden on Thursday to “indefinitely” halt all weapons deliveries to Israel and pressure the U.S. ally to end its war in the Gaza Strip, sending a reminder that his support for Israel could hurt him among Black voters in November’s election. The NAACP’s call was a rare instance of the influential civil rights organization taking a position on U.S. foreign policy towards a country without a significant Black population. It appeared likely to deepen the Democratic president’s election-year challenges as he tries to back a key ally abroad and temper unrest among his supporters at home. The 115-year-old civil rights group said Israel had a right to defend itself after the Hamas militant attacks on Oct. 7 that Israel says killed some 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages. The NAACP urged Hamas to return the hostages and “stop all terrorist activity.” It also urged Israel to “commit to an offensive strategy that is aligned with international and humanitarian laws.” Israel faces accusations at the International Court of Justice that it has violated the genocide convention, which it denies.” See also Biden’s popularity plummets to 18% among Arab American voters over Gaza (Al Monitor)

Bend The Arc: Jewish Action Sounds The Alarm: Continued U.S. Support for the Siege of Gaza is a Threat to Millions Abroad and Democracy at Home (Bend the Arc)

“So today, as the Israeli government continues to ignore your red lines, has publicly vowed to continue to cross them, and has now promised at least seven more months of attacks, we, as American Jews, are sounding an alarm: U.S. support for continued violence in Gaza is putting American safety and U.S. democracy in danger. For the sake of the lives of all people in the region, and the safety and futures of all of us in the United States, we urge you to make good on your own promise to cease sending offensive munitions to Israel. We urge you to end the ongoing violence, and reach a resolution that brings all captive loved ones home to their families, ends mass atrocities, prevents world war, and begins to achieve self-determination for all Israelis and Palestinians.”

Former Obama adviser: Kushner engaged in ‘level of corruption that we’ve just never seen’ with foreign relations (The Hill)

“Former Obama deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner engaged in a “level of corruption that we’ve just never seen” when talking about his firm’s recent investments overseas. Rhodes made the comment when asked about The New York Times’s recent reporting that detailed that 99 percent of Kushner’s investment fund’s money came from foreign sources…“This is a guy, Jared Kushner, who had no expertise, no qualification whatsoever to be in the White House while he was there. He made it his account to work in the Gulf Arab states. He basically helped lead the cover-up for [Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman]. Get him in from the cold after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.” Rhodes said Kushner securing a $2 billion investment from Saudi Arabia six months after leaving the White House is a way for Crown Prince Mohammed to exert influence on U.S. foreign policy if Trump returns to the Oval Office after the November election.”

Jewish officer resigns from US Army to protest Gaza war, citing lessons of the Holocaust (JTA)

“An American Jewish military intelligence officer has resigned to protest U.S. support for Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza, saying that what is happening to the Palestinians there reminds him of the Holocaust. Major Harrison Mann submitted his resignation to the military and the Defense Intelligence Agency in November. He announced it publicly last month in a letter that gained renewed attention this week, when he officially exited the military.” See also “‘Not the Career in Pubic Service I Signed Up For’: Federal Workers Protest War” (The Intercept)

ACTIVISM//LAWFARE//REDEFINING ANTISEMITISM TO STIFLE CRITICISM OF ISRAEL

Columbia Law Review Refused to Take Down Article on Palestine, So Its Board of Directors Nuked the Whole Website (Natasha Lennard, Prem Thakker//The Intercept)

“Last November, the Harvard Law Review made the unprecedented decision to kill a fully edited essay prior to publication. The author, human rights lawyer Rabea Eghbariah, was to be the first Palestinian legal scholar published in the prestigious journal. As The Intercept reported at the time, Eghbariah’s essay — an argument for establishing “Nakba,” the expulsion, dispossession, and oppression of Palestinians, as a formal legal concept that widens its scope — faced extraordinary editorial scrutiny and eventual censorship. When the Harvard publication spiked his article, editors from another Ivy League law school reached out to Eghbariah. Students from the Columbia Law Review solicited a new article from the scholar and, upon receiving it, decided to edit it and prepare it for publication. Now, eight months into Israel’s onslaught against Gaza, Eghbariah’s work has once again been stifled — this time by the Columbia Law Review’s board of directors, a group of law school professors and prominent alumni that oversee the students running the review. Eghbariah’s paper for the Columbia Law Review, or CLR, was published on its website in the early hours of Monday morning. The journal’s board of directors responded by pulling the entire website offline. The homepage on Monday morning read “Website under maintenance.” According to Eghbariah, he worked with editors at the Columbia Law Review for over five months on the 100-plus-page text. “The attempts to silence legal scholarship on the Nakba by subjecting it to an unusual and discriminatory process are not only reflective of a pervasive and alarming Palestine exception to academic freedom,” Eghbariah told The Intercept, “but are also a testament to a deplorable culture of Nakba denialism.”’ See also “Toward Nakba as a Legal Concept”: Meet the Palestinian Lawyer Censored by Columbia and Harvard (Democracy Now!)

Columbia Law Review Back Online After Students Threaten Work Stoppage Over Palestine Censorship (The Intercept)

“On Thursday afternoon, the board of directors reinstated the website, including Eghbariah’s article. A link at the bottom of the CLR homepage went to a statement from the board about Eghbariah’s article. Eghbariah told The Intercept he viewed the board of directors’ actions as an example of a “Palestine exception” to free speech and academic freedom. “The CLR Board of Directors has yet to contact me or officially explain to me their decision to take down the website, let alone their proposal to add a disclaimer to the article,” Eghbariah said, in a statement received after publication. “The fact that the Board could not cite any substantive deficiencies with the piece but rather resorted to allegations about internal processes, which were rejected by CLR editors, tells me all I need to know. This is not only a Palestine exception in action but also a disingenuous attempt to manufacture controversy that undermines and deflects attention from the content of the article.”’

‘Israelism,’ the progressive Jewish documentary roiling college campuses, gets digital release with Watermelon Pictures (JTA)

“Over the last seven months, the documentary critiquing the American Jewish relationship to Israel has become something closer to a foundational text for the campus pro-Palestinian movement. It’s been screened at more than 100 colleges, including several encampments. It has toured overseas and won support from an array of Jewish groups on the left, from the liberal J Street to avowed anti-Zionists…This week, following some previous small windows of online availability, “Israelism” is getting a full digital release. A movie made to prompt a difficult Jewish conversation is now being distributed by Watermelon Pictures, a Palestinian-owned company (the watermelon has become a popular symbol for Palestinian rights) with the motto, “From the river to the screen, Palestine will be seen.”’

Former Meta engineer sues company saying he was fired over handling of Gaza content (Reuters)

“A former Meta engineer on Tuesday accused the company of bias in its handling of content related to the war in Gaza, claiming in a lawsuit that Meta fired him for trying to help fix bugs causing the suppression of Palestinian Instagram posts…In the complaint, Hamad accused Meta of a pattern of bias against Palestinians, saying the company deleted internal employee communications that mentioned the deaths of their relatives in Gaza and conducted investigations into their use of the Palestinian flag emoji. The company launched no such investigations for employees posting Israeli or Ukrainian flag emojis in similar contexts, according to the lawsuit.”

BDS founder hails campus protests for taking Israeli divestment mainstream (The Guardian)

“Omar Barghouti, a Palestinian human rights defender who helped launch the BDS movement almost 20 years ago, said the students’ solidarity had helped educate the world about the Israeli occupation and “apartheid” while exposing the hypocrisy – and repressive tendencies – of some of the world’s most prestigious universities with investments in corporations which put “profit before people and the planet.”’ See also Police arrest student protesters who occupied Stanford president’s office (The Guardian)

 

PERSPECTIVES//LONG READS

The Destruction, Starvation and Death in Gaza Are Israel’s Defeat (Amira Hass//Haaretz)

“Israel was defeated and is still being defeated, not because of the fact that at the start of the ninth month of this accursed war, Hamas has not been toppled. The emblem of defeat will forever appear alongside the menorah and flag, because the leaders, commanders and soldiers of Israel killed and wounded thousands of Palestinian civilians, sowing unprecedented ruin and desolation in the Gaza Strip. Because its air force knowingly bombed buildings full of children, women and the elderly. Because in Israel people believe there is no other way. Because entire families were wiped out. The Jewish state was defeated because its politicians and public officials are causing two million three hundred thousand human beings to go hungry and thirsty…The defeat, forever, lies in the fact that a state that views itself as the heir of the victims of genocide carried out by Nazi Germany has generated this hell in less than nine months, with an end not yet in sight. Call it genocide. Don’t call it genocide. The structural failure lies not in the fact that the G-word was affixed to the name “Israel” in the resounding petition filed by South Africa at the International Court of Justice. The failure lies in the refusal of most Israeli Jews to listen to the alarm bells in this petition.”

Postscript: Disrupting the Colonial Gaze—Gaza and Israel after October 7th (Sara Roy & Ivar Ekeland//The Markaz Review)

“The Gaza experiment is ongoing, and it is taking the world further than any of us would have thought possible. In our article, “The New Politics of Exclusion: Gaza as Prologue,” published more than two years ago, we claimed that Israel had turned Gaza into a human laboratory where entirely new conditions were artificially created. A society numbering over two million people found itself cut off from the world, confined by fences and walls to a small sliver of land and kept under constant surveillance, deprived of every right except the right to what Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben calls a “bare life”; that is, a life reduced to the mere biological dimension of eating and reproducing. They were even deprived of the means to exercise that right, since they were almost entirely dependent on the outside world for food, water, medicine, and fuel, like animals in a cage. We claimed that this experiment was a portent of things to come, that Western countries were creating mini-Gazas around the world to park unwanted people, mostly non-white migrants (Ukrainians are welcome in Europe, Africans are not), and we were wondering where this terrible state of affairs would lead us. Now we know. The end of the Gaza experiment is no longer to ensure separation or repudiation, but elimination through genocidal slaughter, or, more euphemistically, “forced” or “voluntary” emigration to other lands largely unwilling to accept these Palestinians.”

The Enduring and Racist Trope of Palestinian Rejectionism (Fathi Nimer//Al Shabaka)

“Since the beginning of the Zionist project in Palestine, large efforts have been exerted to paint all resistance to its colonial endeavors as irrational and at odds with progress and modernity…This deliberately manufactured dichotomy between the prosperous and civilized Settler and the regressive and rejectionist Arab standing in the way of progress set the tone for developments between Palestinians and Zionist settlers for decades to come. This commentary explores the nascence of this trope, unpacking its weaponization to deny Palestinians their fundamental rights and demonize their collective aspirations for sovereignty.”

The Complicity of Israeli Academia (Raphael Magarik//Jewish Currents)

“In Towers of Ivory and Steel: How Israeli Universities Deny Palestinian Freedom, scholar Maya Wind investigates precisely those material realities, showing how Israeli academia is deeply embedded in the state and implicated in decades of Palestinian dispossession. From their very inception, schools like the Hebrew University served as outposts in the Jewish settlement of historic Palestine, provided material support and ideological cover to the Israeli military, and excluded or mistreated their relatively few Palestinian students. By examining universities’ links to the long history of settler colonialism, Wind indicts the Israeli academy both for its own complicity and for its silence on the state’s attack on Palestinian higher education—which includes the repression of political mobilization inside Israeli institutions, raids and restrictions on universities in the occupied West Bank, and now the total destruction of Palestinian academia in the Gaza Strip.”

Superlatives (Rozina Ali//n+1)

“Over the following weeks, and then months, as Israel’s onslaught continued, I noticed a growing number of experts, humanitarian workers, and investigators turning to superlatives to describe what is taking place in Gaza. What they narrate is a conflict that has surpassed their records, expectations, and imagination, and a scale of destruction in the face of which comparisons break down. If there are limits to war, they have yet to be defined.”

1. New from FMEP

2. Gaza

3. Region//Global

4. River to the Sea

5. U.S. Scene

6. Activism//Lawfare//Redefining Antisemitism to Stifle Criticism of Israel

7. Perspectives//Long Reads

NEW FROM FMEP

Centering Gaza, Punished in College: What it’s Like to be a Campus Activist Against this War (New podcast episode)

FMEP fellow Peter Beinart speaks with Shraddha Joshi and Asmer Safi, two student activists organizing for Palestinian solidarity at Harvard University. Harvard is withholding both of their degrees due to their campus activism. Peter, Shraddha, and Asmer discuss the dynamics and motivations that draw students into pro-Palestinian activism, the messages that campus activists are trying to convey, and how Harvard has failed to keep campus activists safe.

A Look From the Radical Israeli Left: A Multi-Front Battle Against Fascism & Jewish Supremacy (New podcast episode)

FMEP fellow Peter Beinart speaks with Sapir Sluzker Amran about her identity as a Mizrachi, queer activist – and her recent action to document and disrupt right-wing Israeli settlers attacking a convoy of aid at the Gaza barrier.

FMEP Legislative Round-Up: May 31, 2024 (Lara Friedman)

1. Bills, Resolutions; 2. Letters; 3. Hearings; 4. Israel/Palestine in 2024 Elex/Politics; 5. Selected Media & Press releases/Statements See also FMEP Legislative Round-Up: May 24, 2024

Settlement & Annexation Report: May 31, 2024 (Kristin McCarthy)

1) Gallant Further Rolls Back 2005 Disengagement Law to Allow Reestablish of Three More Settlements in Northern West Bank; 2) Israel Court Finalizes the Dispossession of Shehadeh Family in Silwan; 3) Activists Petition for Demolition of Violent Jordan Valley Outpost Under Int’l Sanctions; 4) Two New Outposts Reported; 5) Extensive Updates on the Continued Politicization of Archaeology in Service of Settlements; 6) 21 New Roadblocks & 8 Newly Closed Gates Propel Settler Takeover in Bethlehem Area; 7) Bonus Reads

GAZA

Biden announces new Israeli proposal for temporary cease-fire deal (WaPo 5/31/24)

“President Biden on Friday announced what he said was a new Israeli proposal that, if agreed to by Hamas, will lead to a permanent cease-fire in Gaza, the release of hostages and the withdrawal of all Israeli troops from the enclave. As outlined by the president in White House remarks, the three-phase plan would echo previous proposals, beginning with a six-week cease-fire and the return of women, children and other vulnerable hostages; the release of “hundreds” of Palestinian prisoners; withdrawal of Israeli troops from populated areas of Gaza; and the surging of “600 trucks [of humanitarian aid] carried into Gaza every single day.” The new element in the proposal would come with a second phase, during which Israel and Hamas would negotiate a permanent cease-fire and complete Israeli withdrawal. Under the newly announced plan, the temporary cease-fire would continue beyond the six weeks until such a permanent plan is put in place, provided neither side violated its terms and negotiations continued.” See also Hamas says it is ready for a ‘complete agreement’ if Israel stops war (Reuters 5/30/24); Hamas says it ‘postively views’ Gaza ceasefire proposal presented by Biden (Times of Israel 5/31/24); Full text of Biden’s speech laying out hostage and ceasefire deal for Israel-Hamas war (Times of Israel)

Israel won’t end war for deal to free all hostages, PM’s aide said to tell families (Times of Israel)

“National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi reportedly told relatives of hostages on Thursday that the current government will not agree to end its war against Hamas in exchange for the release of all the remaining hostages held by the terror group. The message — made during a heated meeting during which Hanegbi reportedly rebuked and insulted the relatives of several hostages –appeared to be the first time a top Israeli official was quoted making such an admission. It highlighted the crux of the repeated impasse in the hostage negotiations where Hamas has insisted on a permanent ceasefire, while Israel has only been willing to agree to a temporary truce.” See also Israel says war on Gaza likely to last another seven months (Al Jazeera); Gaza conditions worse than ever, USAID chief says, as Rafah invasion rages (WaPo 5/30/24); Two soldiers killed in Gaza as IDF leaves Jabaliya, presses into center of Rafah (Times of Israel 5/31/24)

Amid ongoing Israeli incursions into Gaza, aid facilities shut ‘one after another’ (UN News)

“‘Humanitarian facilities in Rafah are forced to close one after another…The flow of humanitarian aid supplies into Gaza, already insufficient to meet the soaring needs, has dropped by 67 per cent since 7 May,” reported the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, amid reports that kitchens, clinics and hospitals are shutting down…After nearly eight months of war, the entire population of Gaza of 2.2 million people is almost exclusively dependent on humanitarian assistance, including food.” See also Aid Groups in Rafah Say Israel’s Advance Is Pushing Them Out (NYT); Israel’s latest offensives unleash ‘hell’ in Gaza, aid groups say (WaPo); Palestinians surviving on 3% of minimum daily water needs in Gaza (New Arab); Humanitarian operations ‘near collapse’ in Gaza, says World Food Programme (Guardian 5/22/24); Access to Aid in Gaza Was Dire. Now, It’s Worse. (NYT 5/27/24); War on Gaza: Overflowing waste threatens health crisis as hepatitis spreads (Middle East Eye); Pentagon pauses humanitarian airdrops in Gaza, citing Israel’s Rafah operation (Al Monitor); Gaza aid pier breaks down, halting US humanitarian deliveries by sea (Al Monitor)

Israeli attack on Rafah tent camp kills 45, prompts international outcry (Reuters 5/27/24)

“An Israeli airstrike triggered a fire that killed 45 people in a tent camp in the Gazan city of Rafah, officials said on Monday, prompting an outcry from global leaders who urged the implementation of a World Court order to halt Israel’s assault…More than half of the dead were women, children, and elderly people, health officials in Hamas-run Gaza said, adding that the death toll was likely to rise from people with severe burns.” See also Headless child, charred bodies: Survivors recount Israel’s Rafah camp massacre (Middle East Eye); Israel’s Netanyahu says Rafah strike went tragically wrong and will be investigated (Reuters); Israel Used U.S.-Made Bombs in Strike That Killed Dozens in Rafah (NYT); US says latest Rafah deaths won’t change Israel policy, military aid (Reuters); Flattened Buildings, Widespread Destruction: This Is What Israel’s ‘Limited Operation’ in Rafah Looks Like (Haaretz, 5/22/24); Israeli airstrike on Rafah kills 12 Palestinians, Gaza medics say (Reuters 5/30/24); ‘Bodies everywhere’: the horrors of Israel’s strike on a Rafah camp (Guardian 5/29/24)

Eyewitnesses describe horrific scenes after Israeli strike on Rafah camp (WaPo)

“A deadly Israeli airstrike on a tent camp in Rafah late Sunday drew widespread international condemnation Monday — focusing further scrutiny on Israel’s controversial offensive against Hamas in the south and the desperate plight of Gaza’s civilians. Witnesses described a horrific scene late Sunday as fires tore through the makeshift encampment in the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood, killing at least 45 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Parents were burned alive in their tents while children screamed for help. Doctors recounted struggling to treat gruesome shrapnel wounds with dwindling medical supplies…The Israel Defense Forces said two militants were killed in the attack, including the commander of Hamas operations in the West Bank. “There were many measures taken before the attack to minimize harm to non-involved people,” the IDF said Monday, adding that the incident was under investigation.” See also Gaza: After ICJ order to halt attacks on Rafah, Israel launches over 60 air raids on the city in 48 hours (Euro Med Human Rights Monitor 5/26/24)

Israel says its forces seize entire Gaza-Egypt border corridor (Reuters 5/29/24)

“Israeli forces have achieved tactical control over the entire corridor that runs along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, Israel’s chief military spokesperson said on Wednesday. The statement came as Israel continued its deadly raids on Rafah in southern Gaza despite an order from the International Court of Justice to end its attacks on the city, where half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people had previously taken refuge…[Chief IDF spokesperson] Hagari said the forces located some 20 tunnels along the corridor. He said soldiers discovered and destroyed a 1.5 kilometer-long tunnel route in eastern Rafah that contained “large quantities of weapons”, with the entrance shaft found 100 metres from the Rafah Crossing…A “high-level” Egyptian source denied Israeli reports on the existence of tunnels along the Gaza-Egypt border, Egypt’s state-affiliated Al-Qahera News TV said on Wednesday.” See also Israeli forces kill dozens of Palestinians in Gaza strikes, battle Hamas in Rafah (Reuters 5/23/24); Egypt tight-lipped over Israeli takeover of Gaza buffer zone (Guardian); ICJ orders Israel to ‘immediately halt’ military operations in Rafah (Al Monitor); Israel in control of Philadelphi Corridor, expects 7 months of war (Al Monitor)

Far-right Israeli settlers step up attacks on aid trucks bound for Gaza (WaPo)

“Radical Israeli settlers have expanded their attacks on aid trucks passing through the West Bank this month, blocking food from reaching Gaza as humanitarian groups warn that the enclave is sinking deeper into famine. Groups of settler youths are tailing relief convoys, setting up checkpoints and interrogating drivers. In some cases, far-right attackers have ransacked and burned trucks and beaten Palestinian drivers, leaving at least two hospitalized. The assailants use a web of publicly accessible WhatsApp groups to track the trucks and coordinate attacks, providing a window into their activities. Working off what they say are tips from Israeli soldiers and police, in addition to the public, members pore over photos to work out which vehicles might be carrying aid to Gaza and mobilize local supporters to block them.” See also Israeli soldiers and police tipping off groups that attack Gaza aid trucks (Guardian)

Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza’s Jabalya, leaving devastation (WaPo)

“After an operation lasting nearly three weeks, Israeli forces said Friday that they have “completed their mission” in the Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza — five months after the military declared victory in the same area. The Israel Defense Forces said its troops killed “hundreds” of militants, destroyed about six miles of underground tunnels and recovered the bodies of seven hostages in the densely built-up area.”

‘The smell of death and blood wafts throughout Jabalia camp’ (Ibrahim Mohammad//+972 5/29/24)

“On the morning of May 11, the Israeli army spokesperson announced that the military had begun a new operation in Jabalia, the city and adjacent refugee camp in northern Gaza. Evacuation orders were issued to Palestinian residents of several neighborhoods, but many have been unable to leave; others have decided to stay, given the lack of any safe areas throughout the Strip. The northern half of the Strip bore the initial brunt of the Israeli army’s bombardment in the first weeks of the war, and, on Oct. 27, was the first region of Gaza to be targeted by the Israeli ground invasion. By March, the north was facing a Phase 5 famine — the highest level measured by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, designated as “catastrophe.” Nearly no humanitarian aid is reaching northern residents, and an estimated third of all children there under the age of two are suffering from acute malnutrition. The situation is perhaps most dire in the Jabalia refugee camp, the largest in Gaza, with a prewar population of over 100,000 Palestinians living in an area of just 1.4 square kilometers…The latest Israeli attack on the camp, involving both aircraft and ground troops, has had devastating consequences: the army has bombed and bulldozed entire residential squares, markets, and food warehouses, exacerbating the already desperate humanitarian crisis, while corpses remain scattered in the streets…And for those that remain, Al-Batsh predicted, “whoever does not die of hunger will be killed by the bombs.”’

My family has fled Rafah for yet another ‘safe’ area. By now we know there is no such thing (Mohammed Al Khatib//Guardian 5/29/24)

“I am an aid worker, and my work involves supporting the local healthcare system and providing aid to communities around me. But like everyone in Gaza, I am also simply trying to survive. Until recently, I was sheltering and working in Rafah. I was forced to flee there from Khan Younis with my family, after the area was designated as a “humanitarian safe zone”. Yet it was not long until the Israeli military began its invasion of Rafah, and we were forced to move again after Israel’s evacuation orders. The situation in Rafah is now utterly chaotic. People do not know where to move to, and are terrified of going somewhere else that will get bombed…As I write this, Israeli soldiers and tanks are advancing deeper into Rafah while Palestinians, scared for their lives, have nowhere to go.”

Cementing its military footprint, Israel is transforming Gaza’s geography (Ruwaida Kamal Amer//+972)

“Since the start of the war, the military has demolished buildings along the eastern edge of the Gaza Strip, part of what is widely believed to be a plan to establish a kilometer-wide “buffer zone” between populated areas in Gaza and Israel — the equivalent of 16 percent of Gaza’s territory — which Palestinians would be banned from entering. Doing so would permanently displace thousands of civilians and severely impact Gaza’s already-limited agricultural sector.”

Gaza’s Stolen Healers (Kavitha Chekuru//The Intercept)

“As early as November, reports emerged of doctors being detained and going missing in north Gaza. According to the World Health Organization, at least 214 medical staff from Gaza have been detained by the Israeli military. In early May, the detention and alleged torture of medical staff from Gaza made headlines when Israeli authorities announced the death of Adnan Al-Bursh, a well-known surgeon and the head of orthopedics at Al-Shifa Hospital. After being taken into custody in December, officials said Al-Bursh died in April while in Ofer Prison, an Israeli detention facility in the occupied West Bank…Al-Bursh is one of at least 493 Palestinian medical workers who have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to the Ministry of Health. The Israel Defense Forces has systematically targeted hospitals from the north to the south of the strip, claiming that Hamas operates in the facilities. Medical staff in Gaza’s hospitals have repeatedly denied this claim.” See also Stop the Gaza genocide immediately (Muhammad Abu Salmiya, Director of Al Shifa Hospital, The Lancet)

REGION/GLOBAL

Revealed: Israeli spy chief ‘threatened’ ICC prosecutor over war crimes inquiry (Guardian)

“The former head of the Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency, allegedly threatened a chief prosecutor of the international criminal court in a series of secret meetings in which he tried to pressure her into abandoning a war crimes investigation, the Guardian can reveal. Yossi Cohen’s covert contacts with the ICC’s then prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, took place in the years leading up to her decision to open a formal investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in occupied Palestinian territories…Cohen’s personal involvement in the operation against the ICC took place when he was the director of the Mossad. His activities were authorised at a high level and justified on the basis the court posed a threat of prosecutions against military personnel, according to a senior Israeli official. Another Israeli source briefed on the operation against Bensouda said the Mossad’s objective was to compromise the prosecutor or enlist her as someone who would cooperate with Israel’s demands…The Mossad also took a keen interest in Bensouda’s family members and obtained transcripts of secret recordings of her husband, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the situation. Israeli officials then attempted to use the material to discredit the prosecutor.” See also How Israeli Security Nixed Haaretz’s Report Into Alleged Mossad Extortion of International Court Prosecutor (Haaretz); Israeli journalist describes threats over reporting on spy chief and ICC (Guardian)

Surveillance and interference: Israel’s covert war on the ICC exposed (Yuval Abraham & Meron Rapoport//+972)

“For nearly a decade, Israel has been surveilling senior International Criminal Court officials and Palestinian human rights workers as part of a secret operation to thwart the ICC’s probe into alleged war crimes, a joint investigation by +972 Magazine, Local Call, and the Guardian can reveal. The multi-agency operation, which dates back to 2015, has seen Israel’s intelligence community routinely surveil the court’s current chief prosecutor Karim Khan, his predecessor Fatou Bensouda, and dozens of other ICC and UN officials. Israeli intelligence also monitored materials that the Palestinian Authority submitted to the prosecutor’s office, and surveilled employees at four Palestinian human rights organizations whose submissions are central to the probe. According to sources, the covert operation mobilized the highest branches of Israel’s government, the intelligence community, and both the civilian and military legal systems in order to derail the probe…Our investigation draws on interviews with more than two dozen current and former Israeli intelligence officers and government officials, ex-ICC officials, diplomats, and lawyers familiar with the ICC case and Israel’s efforts to undermine it. According to these sources, initially, the Israeli operation attempted to prevent the court from opening a full criminal investigation; after a full probe was set in motion in 2021, Israel sought to ensure that it would come to nothing. Moreover, according to several sources, Israel’s underhanded efforts to interfere with the investigation — which could amount to offenses against the administration of justice, punishable by a prison sentence — have been managed from the very top.” See also ‘Sounds Like Cosa Nostra Blackmail’: Former Mossad Chief on Successor’s Alleged Threats Against ICC Prosecutor (Haaretz); Israeli campaign against ICC may be ‘crimes against justice’, say legal experts (Guardian)

Israel Must Stop Its Campaign Against UNRWA (Philippe Lazzarini//NYT)

“The war in Gaza has produced a blatant disregard for the mission of the United Nations, including outrageous attacks on the employees, facilities and operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. These attacks must stop and the world must act to hold the perpetrators accountable. As I write this, our agency has verified that at least 192 UNRWA employees have been killed in Gaza. More than 170 UNRWA premises have been damaged or destroyed. UNRWA-run schools have been demolished; some 450 displaced people have been killed while sheltered inside UNRWA schools and other structures. Since Oct. 7, Israeli security forces have rounded up UNRWA personnel in Gaza, who have alleged torture and mistreatment while in detention in the Strip and in Israel…We must meaningfully defend U.N. institutions and the values they represent before the symbolic shredding of the charter establishing the United Nations. This can only be achieved through principled action by the nations of the world and a commitment by all to peace and justice.”

Unpacking the ICC arrest warrant bids against Israeli and Hamas leaders (Middle East Eye 5/20/24)

“On Monday, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said he filed an application for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh and Mohammed Deif. The application was based on evidence collected by the prosecutor during his visit to Israel, Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, and Egypt’s Rafah on the border with Gaza. Khan, however, has not visited Gaza, as his requests to enter the enclave for investigation have been declined by the Israeli government.”

Spain, Ireland and Norway recognise Palestinian statehood (Reuters)

“Spain, Ireland and Norway officially recognised a Palestinian state on Tuesday, prompting an angry reaction from Israel, which has found itself increasingly isolated after more than seven months of conflict in Gaza. Madrid, Dublin and Oslo said they sought to accelerate efforts to secure a ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza. The three countries say they hope their decision will spur other European Union countries to follow suit.” See also Israel orders recall of ambassadors to Ireland and Norway (Reuters); Israel’s FM Cuts Ties Between Spanish Embassy and West Bank Palestinians After Recognition of Palestinian State (Haaretz); Palestinian prime minister visits Madrid after Spain, Norway and Ireland recognize Palestinian state (AP News); Brazil withdraws ambassador to Israel after Gaza war criticism (Al Jazeera)

Joint U.S.-British attack kills at least 16 in Yemen; Houthis claim attack on carrier (WaPo)

“Airstrikes carried out by the United States and Britain targeting the Houthi rebel group in Yemen killed at least 16 people and wounded 35 on Thursday, according to Houthi media reports. If confirmed, the death toll would make the strikes the deadliest to have been publicly acknowledged in the months-long campaign.”

RIVER TO THE SEA

Hamas Fires Rocket Barrage From Rafah at Tel Aviv, Central Israel for First Time in Months (Haaretz 5/26/24)

“According to the IDF, a barrage of eight rockets were fired from Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, close to the positions of Israeli forces. The army said that most of the rockets were intercepted, with some falling in open areas. Hamas quickly accepted responsibility for the barrage.” See also Israel says it killed 18 Gaza-based Hamas members in charge of West Bank attacks (Times of Israel); Jenin resistance defiant as Israeli army kills 12 Palestinians in raid (Mondoweiss 5/23/24); IDF: Terrorist involved in 2023 murder of Israeli killed in rare West Bank airstrike (5/18/24)

Israeli forces spark devastating fire at Ramallah vegetable market (Middle East Eye)

“Israeli forces ignited a devastating fire at Ramallah and al-Bireh’s main vegetable market in the occupied West Bank on Thursday that has destroyed dozens of shops owned by Palestinians and caused millions of shekels in losses. Troops raided the neighbouring West Bank cities at dawn, firing live ammunition, stun grenades and tear gas in residential areas and the local market, known locally as al-Hisbah. Wooden carts caught on fire and the flames spread throughout the market and to nearby commercial buildings, wounding at least one person and ravaging over 100 stalls and shops, according to al-Bireh’s acting mayor, Robin al-Khatib. Initial losses from the devastation are estimated at tens of millions of shekels, al-Khatib told local media.” See also How Palestinians Near Bethlehem Are Expelled From Their Land (Amira Hass//Haaretz)

Israel’s Cause for Detention: ████ ██ █████ (Jonathan Pollak//Haaretz)

“Administrative detention is based on secret suspicions, secret evidence and no charges being brought. To conceal its inherent absurdity, hearings are held in-camera and away from the public eye. As such, even the little that is revealed to the defense remains prohibited for publication…Like Bassem, thousands more are held captive by Israel under administrative detention. In the past, it was considered, at least officially, a measure reserved for the most extreme of cases. This hypocritical position has always been false, but now there is no longer any need to save face. According to the Israeli army’s own data, almost 5,000 arrests were made in the West Bank in the past eight months. These are very conservative numbers, as they don’t include the many thousands arrested and released without being indicted. The data shows that administrative detention, this so-called extreme of extremes, is now the norm. According to Israeli Prison Service numbers, Israel now holds 7016 people who have not yet been convicted in its jails – either awaiting trial or under administrative detention. Of these, 4,299 – more than 60%! – are held without charge or trial. And all that is without saying a single word about the torture, hunger and humiliation to which all Palestinian prisoners held by Israel are subjected these days.” See also Sources: Internal IDF Report Finds Two Gazans Died After Being Beaten en Route to Israeli Prison (Haaretz); Israeli police arrest Palestinian woman over Gaza Tent Massacre social media post (New Arab); Seven Israeli Cops Expected to Be Tried for Stamping Star of David on Palestinian’s Face (Haaretz)

Israeli Views of the Israel-Hamas War (Pew Research Center 5/30/24)

“Arab Israelis are less likely than Jewish Israelis to think Israel will succeed in achieving its war aims (38% vs. 76%) and less optimistic when thinking about the future of the country’s national security (21% vs. 63%). Israeli Arabs are much more likely than Jews to say the country’s military response has gone too far (74% vs. 4%). Almost no Israeli Arabs (3%) want Israel to govern the Gaza Strip after the war, while half of Israeli Jews think it should do so. A plurality of Arabs would like the people who live in Gaza to decide who governs (37%), while only 8% of Jews prefer this outcome.” See also Most Israelis rate military’s campaign in Gaza ‘about right’ or not enough (WaPo);

Inside the scheme to grab ‘holy’ land in Jerusalem’s Armenian quarter (Al Monitor)

“Jewish settlers, a shady Australian developer and a defrocked priest. This unlikely cast sits at the heart of a multimillion-dollar real estate deal that has caused an uproar within Jerusalem’s ancient Armenian community and mobilized its youth in an unprecedented campaign to defend their land. The legal case to sink the deal, which would see a long-coveted chunk of the Armenian quarter of Jerusalem fall into suspect hands, is inspiring Christian and Muslim Jerusalemites as they face down Messianic Jews bent on eradicating their presence in the bitterly contested city, now through dubious real estate deals. Armenian resistance to that long-running effort has spurred repeated attacks by masked thugs hired to intimidate the activists and revived gripes from the community about the conduct of the Armenian church, all of which has caught the attention of diverse foreign governments amid the conflict in Gaza.” See also Israel’s Ben Gvir says he wants to live in Gaza (Middle East Eye); Al-Aqsa ‘belongs only to Israel’, says Ben Gvir during ‘incendiary’ visit (Middle East Eye)

Israeli military censor bans highest number of articles in over a decade (Haggai Matar//+972)

“In 2023, the Israeli military censor barred the publication of 613 articles by media outlets in Israel, setting a new record for the period since +972 Magazine began collecting data in 2011. The censor also redacted parts of a further 2,703 articles, representing the highest figure since 2014. In all, the military prevented information from being made public an average of nine times a day…​​Israeli law requires all journalists working inside Israel or for an Israeli publication to submit any article dealing with “security issues” to the military censor for review prior to publication, in line with the “emergency regulations” enacted following Israel’s founding, and which remain in place. These regulations allow the censor to fully or partially redact articles submitted to it, as well as those already published without its review. No other self-proclaimed “Western democracy” operates a similar institution.”

How Israel uses financial control as a tool of collective punishment against Palestine (Shahzad Uddin & Dalia Alazzeh//The Conversation)

“Israel’s finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, announced on May 22 that Israel will withhold Palestinian tax revenues from the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank “until further notice”. The move came on the same day that Norway, Spain and Ireland announced that they will recognise a Palestinian state. These funds constitute between 60% and 65% of the Palestinian public budget. Withholding them will have a devastating effect both on a Palestinian government already in financial crisis and on the lives of the Palestinian people. This is not the first time Israel has withheld funds that provide basic goods and services to people in the West Bank and Gaza. Israel has used this tool six times since the peace accords of the 1990s, when it began collecting tax on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.”

Abandoned by the state, Palestinian citizens of Israel face record crime wave (Baker Zoubi//+972)

“But in addition to widespread discrimination against and increasing political persecution of Palestinian citizens by the Israeli government, the number of Palestinian victims of organized crime continues to rise at a frightening rate. According to a Taub Institute study, the Arab community in Israel had the third-highest murder rate among OECD countries in 2019 — just below Mexico and Colombia — with 11.11 murders per 100,000 citizens, a figure that tripled for those between the ages of 20 and 34. The study also noted that murders in Palestinian communities more than doubled, from 109 cases in 2022 to 233 in 2023, with a consistent climb in the murder rate every month through last September…Since the beginning of this year, 86 Arab citizens have been murdered — a startlingly high number that suggests the murder rate this year will be similar to last year’s. Yet although the numbers are roughly the same, criminal organizations have recently escalated their tactics, publishing lists of murder targets, abducting civilians, and hiding the bodies of their victims.”

How Changes in the Israeli Military Led to the Failure of October 7 (New Lines Magazine)

“The punishing system of control maintained by the Israeli government over Gaza prior to Oct. 7 collapsed because of a decadeslong failure to address structural and operational problems within the military-intelligence system, systematic dehumanization of the Palestinians that blinded Israeli analysts to Palestinian capabilities, rising politicization of military decision-making and a fixation with technological “solutions” as a substitute for political engagement to address the long-running conflict. The blind spots created by this approach bred systemic rot inside Israel’s security establishment. These failures ultimately enabled Hamas’ assault, shattering Israel’s image of invulnerability.” See also Eisenkot: Israel needs elections this year; Netanyahu government must be replaced (Times of Israel); Thousands Protest Across Israel as Opposition Leader Lapid Calls on Gantz and Eisenkot to Leave Gov’t (Haaretz)

 

U.S. SCENE

Two more US officials resign over Biden administration’s position on Gaza war (Guardian 5/30/24)

“Two more US officials have resigned over the Gaza war, saying that the Biden administration is not telling the truth about Israeli obstruction of humanitarian assistance to more than two million Palestinians trapped and starving in the tiny coastal strip. Alexander Smith, a contractor for the US Agency for International Development (USAID), said he was given a choice between resignation and dismissal after preparing a presentation on maternal and child mortality among Palestinians, which was cancelled at the last minute by USAID leadership last week…In another resignation on Tuesday, a state department official from the bureau of population, refugees and migration, Stacy Gilbert, sent an email to colleagues explaining that she was leaving because of an official finding by the department that Israel was not deliberately obstructing the flow of food or other aid into Gaza…Smith and Gilbert bring the total number of Biden administration officials to have publicly resigned over US policy on Gaza to nine, though Josh Paul, the first official to resign, said that at least two dozen more had left quietly, without a public declaration.” See also US state department falsified report absolving Israel on Gaza aid – ex-official (Guardian 5/30/24); White House stands by support for Israel amid deadly Rafah incident (Jewish Insider); Johnson formally announces Netanyahu invitation, slams Biden in Israeli Embassy speech (Jewish Insider)

Another State Department official resigns over Gaza, taking aim at aid (WaPo)

“A career State Department official involved in the Biden administration’s contentious debates over Israel’s conduct in Gaza resigned this week, citing disagreements with a recently published U.S. government report that claimed that Israel was not impeding humanitarian assistance to Gaza, two officials told The Washington Post. The outgoing official, Stacy Gilbert, served in the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. Gilbert sent an email to staff Tuesday explaining her view that the State Department was wrong to conclude that Israel had not obstructed humanitarian assistance to Gaza, officials who read the letter said. The cause for resignation is unusual in that it speaks to internal dissent over a hotly disputed report that the Biden administration relied on to justify continuing to send billions of dollars of weapons to Israel…Gilbert, whose views were echoed by the vast majority of aid and humanitarian organizations, said Israel was impeding the aid from reaching civilians in Gaza.”

Trump told donors he will crush pro-Palestinian protests, deport demonstrators (WaPo)

“Former president Donald Trump promised to crush pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses, telling a roomful of donors — a group that he joked included “98 percent of my Jewish friends” — that he would expel student demonstrators from the United States, according to participants in the roundtable event with him in New York.” See also With swollen war chests, AIPAC-backed pro-Israel candidates are winning primaries (USA Today); House races to sanction ICC over Israel war crimes allegations (The Hill); ‘FINISH THEM,’ Nikki Haley scribbles on Israeli artillery shell (Politico)

Israel Policy Could Cost Biden the White House—and Us Democracy (Yousef Munayyer//TNR)

“Democrats should be very worried about November because the White House’s pro-Israel policy may well cost them dearly in an election that could be decided by under 100,000 total votes in a few key states. It is not too late for President Biden to switch gears on Israeli policy, but every day that passes without a shift brings us closer to a 2016-like outcome. This time, however, the consequence may not just be a Trump presidency but, as Democrats have warned, the potential end of the American democratic experiment…Even if overall voter turnout is down in 2024 compared to the historic turnout of 2020, Biden simply cannot afford significant dips in voter turnout among either the youth or the Black vote if he hopes to win in November. Right now, it is hard to escape the likelihood that we will see dips in both.” See also Biden’s support among Arab Americans plummets amid Gaza war, new poll shows (Al Jazeera)

 

 ACTIVISM//LAWFARE//REDEFINING ANTISEMITISM TO STIFLE CRITICISM OF ISRAEL

New Report Analyzes Crackdown on Palestine Solidarity in the U.S. (Palestine Legal)

“Today Palestine Legal published a new report on the post-Oct 7th crackdown on Palestine solidarity in the US. The report is Palestine Legal’s first total accounting and analysis of the reports of repression the organization received between Oct 7th and Dec 31, 2023, with the high volume of reports continuing into 2024. The report comes as universities continue to summon state, local, and campus police to brutally crack down on student activists on a scale not seen in decades. Within the last month alone, university administrators called in law enforcement to arrest over 3,000 students, professors, and solidarity activists on more than 80 campuses. The report shares data showing how repression targeting Palestinians and their supporters is at an all-time high…The report breaks down the trends in repression, describing numerous incidents and challenges to them across all arenas, including severe campus crackdowns; attacks on K-12 students and teachers; widespread workplace discrimination and retaliation; criminalization of protesters and physical threats and violence; and increased legislation targeting Palestine advocacy. All of these repression tactics are fueled by the dehumanizing anti-Palestinian rhetoric coming from Israel and its allies, and echoed by elected officials and institutional leaders.”

Business titans privately urged NYC mayor to use police on Columbia protesters, chats show (WaPo 5/16/24)

“A group of billionaires and business titans working to shape U.S. public opinion of the war in Gaza privately pressed New York City’s mayor last month to send police to disperse pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, according to communications obtained by The Washington Post and people familiar with the group.” See also Pro-Israel billionaires urged New York crackdown on Gaza protests: Report (Al Jazeera)

Booking.com Sued for Laundering Profits from Israeli War Crimes in Palestine (ELSC)

“The European Legal Support Center (ELSC), Al-Haq, SOMO and The Rights Forum have filed a criminal complaint to the Dutch Public Prosecution Service to hold Booking.com to account for profiting from the commission of war crimes in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT). This case is being brought after years of research into Booking.com’s activities in illegal Israeli settlements as part of a longer trajectory of actions on businesses profiting from abuse in OPT. By facilitating the rental of vacation homes on land stolen from the indigenous Palestinian population, Booking.com profits from war crimes. Profiting from war crimes is illegal under Dutch criminal law…By profiting from serious violations of international humanitarian law, Booking.com is bringing proceeds of crime into the Dutch financial system – which means that the company is guilty of money laundering, the claimants assert.”

UCLA’s Unholy Alliance (Robin D.G. Kelley//Boston Review)

“House Republicans accuse student protesters of vicious anti-Semitism, but it is administrators who are courting violence.”

October 7 Survivors Sue Campus Protesters, Say Students are ‘Hamas’s Propaganda Division’ (Akela Lacy//Intercept)

“Survivors of the October 7 attacks filed a lawsuit in U.S. federal court last week alleging links between Hamas and the pro-Palestinian student groups leading nationwide protests against Israel’s war on Gaza. The survivors claim the student groups are liable for monetary damages because of the purported terrorism links. “When someone tells you they are aiding and abetting terrorists — believe them.” That’s the opening line the suit filed Wednesday against the Palestinian advocacy groups American Muslims for Palestine and National Students for Justice in Palestine, the umbrella group supporting student organizers for Palestine, which supports more than 350 Palestine solidarity groups, including more than 200 campus organizations across the country…The survivors of the October 7 attack alleged that American Muslims for Palestine “serves as Hamas’s propaganda division in the United States.” “Through NSJP, AMP uses propaganda to intimidate, convince, and recruit uninformed, misguided, and impressionable college students to serve as foot soldiers for Hamas on campus and beyond,” the October 7 survivors wrote in their suit.”

PERSPECTIVES//LONG READS

The Palestinian challenge to US medical ethics (Joelle M. Abi-Rached & Eric Reinhart//The Lancet)

“For the past 7 months, the world has been witnessing the murder of health workers, as well as their abduction, torture, execution, and the dumping of their bodies in mass graves;1 killing of patients in their hospital beds; deliberate bombing of hospitals and clinics; targeted destruction of health and sanitation infrastructure; blockades to humanitarian aid and essential medications during a historic famine manufactured to serve as a weapon of war; and the infliction of conditions designed to be incompatible with life on Palestinians in Gaza…And yet, in the USA, the most influential medical professional organisations, journals, and lobbies have been disturbingly reluctant to take any meaningful stand against the systematic obliteration of health systems in Gaza, including the killing of at least 491 of our Palestinian colleagues by Israeli forces since Oct 7, 2023. This inaction is particularly notable as it is the US Government’s provision of arms, diplomatic cover, and financial resources that makes Israel’s campaign against Palestinians possible.”

Open letter by Gaza academics and university administrators to the world (Gaza Academics and Administrators//Al Jazeera)

“We have come together as Palestinian academics and staff of Gaza universities to affirm our existence, the existence of our colleagues and our students, and the insistence on our future, in the face of all current attempts to erase us. The Israeli occupation forces have demolished our buildings but our universities live on. We reaffirm our collective determination to remain on our land and to resume teaching, study, and research in Gaza, at our own Palestinian universities, at the earliest opportunity…Our civic infrastructure – universities, schools, hospitals, libraries, museums and cultural centres – built by generations of our people, lies in ruins from this deliberate continuous Nakba. The deliberate targeting of our educational infrastructure is a blatant attempt to render Gaza uninhabitable and erode the intellectual and cultural fabric of our society. However, we refuse to allow such acts to extinguish the flame of knowledge and resilience that burns within us.”

The Right’s Anti-Israel Insurgents (Ben Lorber//Jewish Currents)

“As Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip approaches its eighth month—bolstered so far by $17 billion in emergency supplemental aid from the US, on top of the regular $3.8 billion yearly aid package—dissent is growing across segments of the MAGA movement’s leadership and base. The trend recalls an earlier era in which a sizable right-wing bloc opposed US support of Israel on nativist grounds. And like its earlier manifestations, today’s right-wing anti-Israel sentiment frequently dovetails with broader racist and anti-Jewish sentiment. Indeed, while the left at its best adopts a structural understanding of US imperial support for Israel, the America First right almost axiomatically arrives at antisemitism when it slots anti-Zionism into its pre-existing nationalist frame, positing that a shadowy Zionist cabal is subverting American sovereignty from within. As mounting pressure from progressives over Israel’s war on Gaza finds little outlet in an obdurate bipartisan establishment, this insurgent right threatens to capitalize on this opening to build power and reshape the political landscape.”

Can Palestinians imagine a future with Israelis after this war? (Mahmoud Mushtaha//+972)

“Reflecting on my grandfather’s stories, I often find myself wondering when our struggle will end. How long will this land, sacred to Muslims, Christians, and Jews, continue to be soaked in blood? Many people, especially young Palestinians, see the bloody history of the conflict and ask themselves, “How can we live with them after all they’ve done to us?” This is a sentiment that is almost certainly growing in the face of the current onslaught…Can Jews and Palestinians truly coexist in historic Palestine? This is the question at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the question that runs through our history and our present. Despite the formidable obstacles and entrenched divisions, is there a path forward towards a future of peaceful reconciliation? Under military occupation, discrimination, ethnic cleansing, and apartheid, the answer is no.”

When the Gaza War Ends, Israel’s Mainstream Media Will Have a Lot to Answer For (Michael Sfard//Haaretz)

“Let them explain, for example, how their ethos and professional ethics fit with the shameful decision to withhold from Israelis documentation of what’s happening in the Strip. Not only are images of Gazans suffering withheld from us, there are no interviews with Gazans. Seven months of Israel displacing, shelling, starving, killing, crushing and crowding together about 2 million people – and on the Israeli channels there’s nothing. Absolutely nothing. They’ve decided that the public doesn’t need to see and hear what we’re inflicting on the people of Gaza. Then Israelis are shocked by what people say about us in Western capitals, where the media still believes that its job is to reveal, not conceal.”

Rebuilding Gaza: Considerations for a Habitable Future (Omar Shaban//Al Shabaka)

“Even so, it remains necessary for Palestinians to lead the conversation on what comes after Israel’s genocide. To opt out of these discussions is to leave our collective future in the hands of the very people who have sought for decades to erase us. Accordingly, this commentary offers an entry point to a Palestinian dialogue on what may follow after a ceasefire is reached. It does so by delving into the current non-Palestinian “day after” discourse, then by identifying the ways in which today’s reconstruction effort is distinct from those of the past, and finally by putting forth a possible approach to begin to embark on such a project.”

For many American Jews protesting for Palestinians, activism is a journey rooted in their Jewish values (Atalia Omer//The Conversation)

“As of April 2, 62% of American Jews believe Israel has responded to Hamas’ attack in an “acceptable” way. Yet that support drops to 52% among U.S. Jews ages 18-34, with 42% saying Israel’s response has been “unacceptable,” according to Pew Research Center polling. Many of those young people are involved in the variety of Jewish organizations that have mobilized for a cease-fire since October, such as IfNotNow and Jewish Voice for Peace…as a peace and religion scholar, I know that some U.S. Jews’ involvement in Palestinian solidarity movements began years before the current war. In my ethnographic research, which included in-depth interviews and participant observation work, activists emphasized that they were inspired to act because of their Jewish identity and values, not in spite of them.”

We’re Israelis who study fascism. This week, our country took a terrifying step toward the abyss (Shira Klein & Lior Sternfeld//Forward)

“The National Union of Israeli Students on Tuesday proposed a new law that would require universities to fire all academics who express dissent, including tenured professors. “Academic institutions will be obliged to immediately fire a lecturer, a teacher or researcher who expresses or acts in a manner that includes denial of the existence of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, incitement to racism, violence or terrorism and/or support for an armed struggle or an act of terrorism against Israel,” the bill reads.  Institutions that fail to comply would lose their state funding. With even the proposal of this law — which reportedly enjoys the support of a Knesset majority — Israel is hurtling toward fascism at breakneck speed…If passed, this law will legitimize and intensify the already rampant persecution of educators who have dared to criticize the war or the government…As attacks on Gaza continue to shock the world, and as settlers and soldiers terrorize West Bank Palestinians with impunity, let there be no mistake: Israel is also turning on its own citizens.

How Israel twists antisemitism claims to project its own crimes onto Palestinians (Amos Goldberg & Alon Confino//+972)

“Indeed, influential Jewish and non-Jewish actors in the media and politics have deliberately sought to create a public moral panic by conflating harsh criticism of Israel and Zionism with antisemitism. This conflation is the outcome of a decades-long campaign waged by Israel and its supporters around the world to stymie opposition to the state’s violent policies of occupation, apartheid, and domination over the Palestinians — which over the past seven months have taken on immense, plausibly genocidal proportions. This strategy is not only cynical, hypocritical, and harmful to the essential fight against real antisemitism. It also allows Israel and its supporters, as we will argue here, to deny Israel’s own crimes and violent discourse by inverting and projecting them onto the Palestinians and their supporters, and calling it antisemitism.”

‘The international legal order needs repair — and Gaza is a part of this’ (Ghousoon Bisharat//+972)

“+972 spoke with Issam Younis, director of the Gaza-based Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, and a former commissioner general of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights. Younis was displaced with his family from Gaza City at the outset of the war, before leaving the Strip for Cairo, where he currently remains. In a wide-ranging interview, Younis welcomed Khan’s request for arrest warrants, emphasizing the need to use every legal tool to hold Israel accountable; he similarly saw the ICJ ruling as a significant step toward securing a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. Nonetheless, Younis warned, the global system of international law was clearly at its breaking point. Palestinians, he explained, feel that there is a “chronic antagonism” between their pursuit of justice and a world in which the rules of international law are only selectively applied to certain actors. Gaza, in Younis’ view, is thus a test for the legal order, as countries from the Global South fight to uphold the moral convictions articulated by the Global North nearly eight decades ago.”

The View from Palestinian America (Zaina Arafat, Photography by Kholood Eid//New Yorker)

“To be a Palestinian in the diaspora is to miss one’s home, the blād—the mountains and the sea, the family members left behind, the distinct bitterness of our olives and our sumac- and za’atar-dusted mezze spreads—even as one enjoys the privilege of distance from Palestine’s hardships. It is to possess a luxury that is missing from Palestine itself: a choice. A new series of photographs by Kholood Eid, a New York-based photographer who grew up in Missouri and the West Bank, tries to depict what this tension does to a person. Her photos are full of sharp contrasts: joy and sorrow, light and dark, past and present.” See also Cartoon of Palestinian Boy Inspires, Years After Creator’s Murder (NYT); Gaza’s Historic Heart, Now in Ruins (NYT)

 

1. New from FMEP

2. Gaza

3. Region//Global

4. River to the Sea

5. U.S. Scene

6. Activism//Universities

7. Perspectives//Long Reads

NEW FROM FMEP

Legislative Round-Up: May 17, 2024 (Lara Friedman)

Settlement & Annexation Report: May 17, 2024 (Kristin McCarthy)

GAZA

The Latest | UN says over half a million people flee fighting in Gaza; Israel marks Independence Day (AP)

“More than half a million Palestinians have been displaced in recent days by escalating Israeli military operations in Rafah and northern Gaza, the United Nations says…No food has entered the two main border crossings in southern Gaza for the past week. Some 1.1 million Palestinians face catastrophic levels of hunger — on the brink of starvation — according to the United Nations. A “full-blown famine” is taking place in the north. Around 450,000 Palestinians have been driven out of Rafah in Gaza’s south over the past week, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said Tuesday. Israeli forces are pushing into the city, which they portray as the last Hamas stronghold. In northern Gaza, Israeli evacuation orders have displaced at least 100,000 people so far, U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters Monday. Israeli forces are battling Palestinian militants in areas the military said it had cleared months ago.” See also 600,000 people have fled Rafah, U.N. says, amid Israeli operation in the city (WaPo); Talks over Gaza ceasefire at stalemate after Rafah operation, Qatar PM says (Reuters); US assesses Israel has amassed enough troops to launch full-scale incursion into Rafah, officials say (CNN); Israeli military says 5 soldiers killed by friendly fire in northern Gaza, more troops to join Rafah operation (NBC); U.S. officials see strategic failure in Israel’s Rafah invasion (WaPo)

Israeli defence chief challenges Netanyahu over post-war Gaza plans (Reuters)

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was publicly challenged about post-war plans for the Gaza Strip on Wednesday by his own defence chief, who vowed to oppose any long-term military rule by Israel over the ravaged Palestinian enclave.The televised statement by Defence Minister Yoav Gallant marked the most vocal dissent from within Israel’s top echelon against Netanyahu during a seven-month-old and multi-front conflict that has set off political fissures at home and abroad…While reiterating the Netanyahu government’s goals of defeating Hamas and recovering remaining hostages from the Oct. 7 cross-border rampage by the Islamist faction, Gallant said these must be complemented by laying the groundwork for alternative Palestinian rule. “We must dismantle Hamas’ governing capabilities in Gaza. The key to this goal is military action, and the establishment of a governing alternative in Gaza,” Gallant said.”In the absence of such an alternative, only two negative options remain: Hamas’ rule in Gaza or Israeli military rule in Gaza,” he added, saying he would oppose the latter scenario and urging Netanyahu to formally forswear it.” See also For Netanyahu, Gaza’s ‘day after’ must wait (Ishaan Tharoor//WaPo); Rift in Israel war cabinet as defence chief opposes ‘military rule’ in Gaza (Al Jazeera); What Israel’s strategic corridor in Gaza reveals about its postwar plans (WaPo); Analysis | Defense Chief’s Dire Warning to Netanyahu Exposes a Deep Rift Within Israeli Leadership (Haaretz)

Israeli protesters block aid convoy headed to Gaza (Reuters)

“Israeli protesters blocked aid trucks headed for Gaza on Monday, strewing food packages on the road in the latest in a series of incidents that have come as Israel has pledged to allow uninterrupted humanitarian supplies into the besieged enclave. Four protesters, including a minor, were arrested at the protest, at Tarqumiya checkpoint, west of Hebron in the Israeli occupied West Bank, according to a statement from lawyers representing the protesters. Videos circulated on social media showed protesters throwing supplies from the trucks onto the ground, with the contents of opened cartons lying spilled across the road. “The aid that the State of Israel transfers goes directly into the hands of Hamas,” a statement from the Order 9 group which organised the protests said.” See also West Bank Israeli Settlers Assault, Wound Palestinian Truck Driver, Falsely Assuming He Was Hauling Gaza Aid (Haaretz); Israeli protesters block aid trucks destined for Gaza (BBC); Two Trucks With Humanitarian Aid Bound for Gaza Set on Fire in the West Bank (Haaretz); Gaza: Israel Flouts World Court Orders (Human Rights Watch); Israeli settlers attack aid convoy of 98 trucks heading to Gaza from Jordan (Al Monitor); ‘Barbaric’: Palestinian lorry drivers recount settlers’ attack on Gaza aid convoy (Guardian); Extremist settlers again attack truck and injure driver in W. Bank; wound 3 soldiers (Times of Israel 5/17/24); See also these Al Jazeera interviews with Israeli activist Sapir Sluzker Amran: Israeli lawyer exposes looting of Gaza aid convoy by far-right activists protected by police; Israeli’s tearful plea decrying Gaza aid convoy attacks (Al Jazeera)

UN says it has no more food or tents for nearly 2m people in Gaza (Guardian 5/15/24)

“The UN has run out of tents and food to distribute to almost 2 million people in Gaza, the majority displaced from their homes and dependent on aid to stave off looming famine. UN officials told the Guardian on Wednesday afternoon that their warehouses were now completely empty south of the river dividing the northern third of the Gaza from the south, with no likelihood of resupply as long as the main entry points into the territory remain closed after Israeli offensives launched in recent days…Throughout the seven-month conflict, the WFP and Unrwa have supplied much of Gaza’s population with basic essentials to survive. However, their distribution has depended on a flow of trucks principally through Gaza’s crossing with Egypt at Rafah and the nearby entry point from Israel, at Kerem Shalom. The Rafah crossing remains shut after being seized by Israeli troops last week.” See also In Rafah, People Flee to Nowhere in a Desert of Devastation and Sand (Amira Hass//Haaretz); More than half a million Palestinians flee as Israel escalates Gaza attacks (Al Jazeera); Satellite Images Show Widening Destruction Amid Israeli Push Toward Central Rafah (NYT)

U.S. military begins Gaza aid deliveries from floating pier (WaPo)

“U.S. military personnel began moving aid to Gaza using a makeshift pier afloat off the Palestinian territory’s coastline early Friday, as aid groups warn of famine in Gaza. U.S. Central Command said aid trucks started moving in using a temporary pier, adding that no U.S. troops went ashore to Gaza. It said the effort to deliver supplies through a maritime corridor “will involve aid commodities donated by a number of countries and humanitarian organizations.” See also US installs Gaza floating pier despite aid groups’ security fears (Al Monitor)

As Hamas returns to the north, Israel’s Gaza endgame is nowhere in sight (WaPo)

“It was last December when the Israeli military declared victory in the Jabalya refugee camp, saying it had broken Hamas’s grip on its traditional stronghold in the northern Gaza Strip…Five months later, Israeli forces are back in Jabalya. Ground troops are pushing into the densely packed camp, backed by artillery and airstrikes — one in a string of recent “re-clearing” operations launched by the Israel Defense Forces against Hamas, whose fighters have rapidly regrouped in areas vacated by the IDF. Israel’s fast-moving offensive in Gaza has given way to a grinding battle of attrition, highlighting how far it remains from its chief military aim — the complete dismantling of Hamas. As an adaptable militant organization that has easy access to recruits, an expansive tunnel network and is deeply embedded in the fabric of Gaza, Hamas has shown it can weather a protracted and devastating war.” See also War on Gaza: Palestinian fighters battle Israeli army in Gaza refugee camp on Nakba day (Middle East Eye)

Israel’s return to areas of Gaza it said were clear of Hamas raises doubts about its military strategy (CNN)

“The Israeli military has renewed its fighting in northern Gaza where it previously claimed to have dismantled Hamas’ command structure. But it now says the Palestinian militant group is trying to “reassemble” in the area, raising doubts about whether Israel’s goal to eradicate the group in the enclave is realistic. Israel’s renewed ground operation began on Saturday, with intense shelling and gunfire gripping much of the Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza. The Israeli military also began operating in the area of Zeitoun in central Gaza, as it continues its offensive in eastern Rafah and near the Rafah crossing with Egypt. Israel’s return to pockets it had supposedly cleared of Hamas renews questions about its long-term military strategy, which after more than seven months of war has left more than 35,000 Palestinians dead and much of Gaza in ruins – but more than 100 hostages from Israel still in captivity and Hamas’ top leadership still at large.” See also Israel unlikely to achieve ‘total victory’ over Hamas, US official says (Al Monitor); Israel’s ‘total victory’ in Gaza is unlikely, top US official says (Politico)

Did the UN really say Israel has killed fewer people in Gaza? (Al Jazeera)

“Has the UN really said fewer people were killed by Israel in Gaza? No, is the short answer. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) published on May 8 an infographic that referred to a figure of 34,844 total Palestinian deaths. Below that, it said of the deaths: “24,686 identified as of 30 April as: 10,006 men, 4,959 women, 7,797 children, 1,924 elderly”. The graphic used the Gaza Ministry of Health (MoH) figures and included a note that figures were “Not including more than 10,000 reported missing or under the rubble”. The figures for bodies that had been identified were seized on by many media outlets as the UN “revising down” its estimates of the number of women and children Israel had killed in its assault on Gaza. Rather, the UN was publishing the latest information from Gaza’s MoH about its progress in a massive effort to identify the dead…“There’s about another 10,000 plus bodies who still have to be fully identified, and so then the details of those – which of those are children, which of those are women – that will be reestablished once the full identification process is complete,” [UN spokesperson Farhan] Haq said at the UN in New York.” See also UN Says Overall Death Count in Gaza Remains Unchanged After Revising Source of Data (Haaretz); Why news outlets and the U.N. rely on Gaza Health Ministry for death tolls (WaPo)

Gaza: Israelis Attacking Known Aid Worker Locations (Human Rights Watch)

“Israeli forces have carried out at least eight strikes on aid workers’ convoys and premises in Gaza since October 2023, even though aid groups had provided their coordinates to the Israeli authorities to ensure their protection, Human Rights Watch said today. Israeli authorities did not issue advance warnings to any of the aid organizations before the strikes, which killed or injured at least 31 aid workers and those with them. More than 250 aid workers have been killed in Gaza since the October 7 assault in Israel, according to the UN.” See also U.N. staff member killed in attack on car marked with U.N. flag in Rafah (WaPo); American Medical Missions Trapped in Gaza, Facing Death by Dehydration as Population Clings to Life (The Intercept); Rafah border closure strands American doctors in Gaza hospital (WaPo)

Gaza’s Unexploded-Bomb Crisis (Isaac Chotiner//New Yorker)

“Late last month, Charles (Mungo) Birch, who oversees the United Nations Mine Action Service (unmas) in the Palestinian territories, issued a warning about the dangers posed by unexploded ordnance in Gaza, especially if and when Gazan civilians return to the enclave’s north. (On Tuesday, the Israeli military entered the southern city of Rafah, after ordering tens of thousands of people to evacuate, and took control of the Rafah border crossing.) Birch said that more unexploded missiles and bombs have fallen in Gaza than anywhere in the world since at least the Second World War.” See also In Gaza, a hidden threat could kill Palestinians even after a cease-fire (NPR)

Health Crisis in Gaza Spirals as New Diseases, Infections Spread (Haaretz)

“As the war in Gaza persists, Palestinians in Gaza are grappling with a proliferation of diseases and infections attributed to a scarcity of food and clean water, as well as overcrowded shelters and nonfunctioning sanitation systems. After more than 220 days of war, those falling ill face severely restricted treatment options…The ongoing outbreaks of diarrheal diseases and hepatitis A, among others, are exacerbated by the poor water and sanitation conditions affecting all residents.” See also Gaza aid gains may be lost as fighting rages in Rafah, the U.S. secretary of state says. (NYT)

REGION/GLOBAL

South Africa asks U.N. court to order Israel to halt Rafah assault (WaPo)

“South Africa made a searing and impassioned plea Thursday for the International Court of Justice to order Israel to cease all military operations in the Gaza Strip, arguing that its assault on Rafah and closure of key crossings are aimed at destroying “the essential foundations of Palestinian life” there. In a hearing at The Hague’s Peace Palace, South Africa’s legal team asked the ICJ to issue urgent “provisional measures” to stem the violence in Gaza.” See also Israel tells ICJ South Africa’s Gaza allegations ‘totally divorced’ from facts (Times of Israel)

As they throw punches, will Egypt downgrade ties with Israel over Rafah? (Al Monitor)

“Israeli officials are concerned over steps Egypt has recently taken, including its intent to join South Africa’s International Court of Justice case accusing Israel of genocide, and Cairo’s decision earlier this month to halt the entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza as long as Israel controls the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing following Israel’s launching of its Rafah operation. The officials do not believe the 1979 bilateral peace treaty between Egypt and Israel is at risk, but they warn that a continued deterioration of relations could harm regional security and even jeopardize Cairo’s willingness to pursue its mediation efforts toward a deal for a hostage release and cease-fire with Hamas.” See also Egypt announces intention to join South Africa’s lawsuit against Israel in UN’s top court (Times of Israel); South Africa asks U.N. court to order Israel to halt Rafah assault (WaPo); Ireland to recognise Palestinian state by end May, foreign minister says (Reuters); Egypt warns Israel of ‘dire repercussions’ over Rafah operation in Gaza (CNN); srael’s Smotrich will abolish free trade deal with Turkey, slap 100% tariff (Al Monitor)

Palestinian surgeon Ghassan Abu-Sittah’s Schengen-wide travel ban overturned (Middle East Eye)

“Germany’s travel ban against British–Palestinian doctor Ghassan Abu Sitta has been overturned, according to a leading legal advocacy group in the UK. The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) announced in a social media post on Tuesday that it, along with lawyer Alexander Gorski and the European Legal Support Centre, had successfully challenged the travel ban imposed on Abu Sitta by Germany…On 12 April, Abu Sitta was detained at an airport in Germany and was refused entry into the country. He was travelling there to attend a conference on Palestine that he had received an invitation for. He was then slapped with a Schengen-wide travel ban for one year, which barred him from travelling to 29 countries across Europe.”

RIVER TO THE SEA

The writing was on the wall for Israel’s torture of prisoners (Janan Abdu//+972)

“For months, revelations have emerged about the nightmarish transformation of Israel’s Sde Teiman army base, located near the southern city of Be’er Sheva/Bir al-Saba, into a detention center. Stories of the abuse of Palestinians detained by Israeli forces in Gaza echo the notorious American prisons at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and Abu Ghraib in Iraq, and confirm what many suspected: that Israeli security personnel have been engaging in acts of torture against Palestinians detained since October 7. According to Haaretz, as of March, at least 27 detainees from Gaza had died in Israeli military facilities since the beginning of the war, including some at Sde Teiman…In December, photographs emerged of thousands of Palestinians who were arrested by Israeli forces in Gaza, stripped naked and handcuffed, and transported by truck to facilities in Israeli including Sde Teiman (it is worth noting that transporting individuals outside of occupied territory is itself a violation of international law). Some of those who were subsequently released described the horrors they endured: a never-ending series of torture, humiliations, and watching friends die. In the words of one former detainee, it was “a journey to hell and back.” After the shocking images were exposed, Israeli officials admitted that approximately 90 percent of the detainees were civilians unaffiliated with any militant groups…The cumulative effect of these regulations is that a person can be tortured, and even die, without anyone knowing about their detention or the conditions and location of their imprisonment…Also by March, according to the IPS [Israeli Prison Service], the number of Palestinian detainees defined as “security prisoners” reached 9,077, including 3,582 administrative detainees, who are held without charge or trial. Crucially, the Israeli legal code does not explicitly forbid torture. The conditions in detention centers run by the Israel Prison Service reflect much the same spirit of abuse that prevails in military prison facilities: Palestinian detainees regularly report torture, physical and psychological violence, as well as inhumane, humiliating, and extremely cruel conditions of incarceration.” See also Military Court Watch April 2024 Newsletter; A Senior Gazan Doctor Died During Israeli Detention. Officials Refuse to Explain How (Haaretz)

The Unpunished: How Extremists Took Over Israel (NYT)

“After 50 years of failure to stop violence and terrorism against Palestinians by Jewish ultranationalists, lawlessness has become the law. This story is told in three parts. The first documents the unequal system of justice that grew around Jewish settlements in Gaza and the West Bank. The second shows how extremists targeted not only Palestinians but also Israeli officials trying to make peace. The third explores how this movement gained control of the state itself. Taken together, they tell the story of how a radical ideology moved from the fringes to the heart of Israeli political power.” See also ‘Proud to Prevent Arab Takeover’: Israel’s Smotrich Confirms NYT Investigation, Dubs It ‘Blood Libel’ (Haaretz); Israel kills more than 500 Palestinians in the West Bank since October 7 (Al Jazeera); Israeli forces use Palestinian children as human shields in Tulkarem (DCI-Palestine); Palestinian life under Israeli occupation (Al Jazeera); Calls for justice on 2nd anniversary of the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh (New Arab)

‘The fourth generation remembers’: Nakba commemorated in shadow of Gaza war (Baker Zoubi & Ghousoon Bisharat//+972)

“In the shadow of what many Palestinians are describing as a second Nakba in Gaza, around 15,000 Palestinian citizens of Israel participated in the 27th annual March of Return on Tuesday. After gathering in the northern city of Shefa-Amr, participants marched to the site of Hawsha and Al-Kasair, Palestinian villages that were forcibly depopulated during the Nakba of 1948 and subsequently destroyed…In addition to the ongoing assault on Gaza, this year’s march took place under the oppressive weight of an extreme-right Israeli government. Since coming to power a year and a half ago, this government has slashed budgets for Palestinian communities; continued to neglect the spiraling problem of organized crime and violence; and ramped up house demolitions — most recently with the razing of an entire Bedouin village in the Naqab/Negev last week in order to expand a highway.” See also ‘Blood on Your Hands’ | Families Rage Against Netanyahu Gov’t as Israel Marks an Unprecedented Memorial Day (Haaretz)

The View Within Israel Turns Bleak (Megan Stack//NYT)

“Israel has hardened, and the signs of it are in plain view. Dehumanizing language and promises of annihilation from military and political leaders. Polls that found wide support for the policies that have wreaked devastation and starvation in Gaza. Selfies of Israeli soldiers preening proudly in bomb-crushed Palestinian neighborhoods. A crackdown on even mild forms of dissent among Israelis. The Israeli left — the factions that criticize the occupation of Palestinian lands and favor negotiations and peace instead — is now a withered stump of a once-vigorous movement. In recent years, the attitudes of many Israelis toward the “Palestinian problem” have ranged largely from detached fatigue to the hard-line belief that driving Palestinians off their land and into submission is God’s work…If U.S. officials understand the state of Israeli politics, it doesn’t show. Biden administration officials keep talking about a Palestinian state. But the land earmarked for a state has been steadily covered in illegal Israeli settlements, and Israel itself has seldom stood so unabashedly opposed to Palestinian sovereignty…The carnage and cruelty suffered by Israelis on Oct. 7 should have driven home the futility of sealing themselves off from Palestinians while subjecting them to daily humiliations and violence. As long as Palestinians are trapped under violent military occupation, deprived of basic rights and told that they must accept their lot as inherently lower beings, Israelis will live under the threat of uprisings, reprisals and terrorism. There is no wall thick enough to suppress forever a people who have nothing to lose.”

 

U.S. SCENE

Biden advances $1 billion in arms for Israel amid Rafah tensions (WaPo)

“The Biden administration informally notified congressional committees Tuesday that it planned to move forward with more than $1 billion in weapons deals for Israel, said U.S. officials familiar with the matter, a major transfer of lethal aid that comes a week after the White House paused a single shipment of bombs because of concerns that a planned assault in southern Gaza could cause immense civilian casualties.” See also After More Than 100 Arms Shipments to Israel, Biden Withholds One (Alex Kane//Jewish Currents); House passes bill to force Biden to lift bomb shipment pause to Israel (Al Monitor); Long-anticipated AIPAC blitz against Bowman begins with $2 million, one-week ad buy (Jewish Insider)

Congressional Republicans Launch ‘Fishing Expedition’ Against Progressive, Jewish, and Palestinian Nonprofits (Reason)

“House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R–Ky.)…and House Education Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R–N.C.) are “investigating the sources of funding and financing for groups who are organizing, leading, and participating in pro-Hamas, antisemitic, anti-Israel, and anti-American protests” on college campuses, they announced in a Tuesday letter. “This investigation relates both to malign influence on college campuses and to the national security implications of such influence on faculty and student organizations,” Comer and Foxx wrote…The letter from Foxx and Comer demands that the Department of the Treasury provide all Suspicious Activity Reports, or bulletins on potential tax evasion and money laundering, for 20 different organizations. The list includes Students for Justice in Palestine and its sponsor, the WESPAC Foundation. It also names off-campus Muslim and Palestinian-American groups, Jewish peace movements, and many organizations that are not primarily focused on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “This is part of a broader effort to demonize parts of the tax-exempt sector that a part of the Republican Party views as a key target in the war on woke,” says Lara Friedman, president of the nonprofit Foundation for Middle East Peace, which has been tracking Congress’ stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “If you make this about supposedly fighting antisemitism, you bring parts of the Democratic Party with you…Friedman, the Foundation for Middle East Peace president, believes that the congressional letter is more likely to have a “chilling effect” on nonprofits than to turn up any real evidence of illegal activity. “It’s partly a fishing expedition,” she says. “And by lodging an accusation, they hope to paint a picture in the mind of the public.”’ See also Lara Friedman’s X Thread and Congressional Round-Up discussion of of this legislation.

Jewish Biden appointee publicly resigns over president’s handling of Israel-Hamas war (Times of Israel)

“A United States Interior Department staffer on Wednesday became the first Jewish political appointee to publicly resign in protest of US support for Israel’s war in Gaza. Lily Greenberg Call, a special assistant to the chief of staff in the Interior Department, accused US President Joe Biden of using Jews to justify US policy in the conflict…She is at least the fifth mid- or senior-level administration staffer to make public their resignation in protest of the Biden administration’s military and diplomatic support of the now seven-month Israel-Hamas war…In an interview with The Associated Press, Call pointed to comments by Biden, including at a White House Hanukkah event where he said, “Were there no Israel, there wouldn’t be a Jew in the world who was safe,” and at an event at Washington’s Holocaust Memorial last week in which he said the October 7 Hamas-led terror attacks that triggered the war were driven by an “ancient desire to wipe out the Jewish people.” “He is making Jews the face of the American war machine. And that is so deeply wrong,” she said, noting that ancestors of hers were killed by “state-sponsored violence.”’ See also Lily Greenberg Call’s resignation letter (on X); Army officer resigns in protest of U.S. support for Israel in Gaza (WaPo); ‘Worse than Iraq’: Three Former Biden Officials Explain Why They Resigned Over War in Gaza (Zeteo); Lily Greenberg Call, Jewish staffer who quit Biden administration over Israel policy: ‘There are so many of us who feel this way’ (Ron Kampeas//JTA)

Anti-Defamation League ramps up lobbying to promote controversial definition of antisemitism (Guardian)

“The Anti-Defamation League has spent record amounts on lobbying in recent years, including on bills opponents say are meant to punish criticism of Israel and target Jewish peace and Palestinian rights groups. The Jewish civil rights organization, founded in 1913, is the self-described “leading anti-hate organization in the world”, and has historically focused on combating antisemitism by shaping public opinion. Its lobbying spike marks a dramatic shift – it spent about $100,000 on lobbying in 2020 and is on pace to spend nearly $1.6m this year based on its first quarter expenditures, a Guardian analysis of federal records finds. The spending positions the ADL as the largest pro-Israel lobbying force on domestic issues. Records show the surge’s broader aim is to promoting a controversial definition of antisemitism across a range of federal agencies and mobilizing the government to enforce it…The ADL also lobbied for a bill supporters say is aimed at pro-Palestinian protesters. It would grant the Internal Revenue Service power to eliminate the non-profit status of groups determined to support terrorism. In late April, during a CNN appearance, the ADL president, Jonathan Greenblatt, likened the student groups to Hezbollah, a US-designated terrorist organization. In its online antisemitism tracker regularly cited by mainstream media, the ADL often attributes “support for terror” to anti-war and ceasefire rallies by Jewish groups such as Jewish Voice for Peace.”

The Biden Administration’s Have-It-Both-Ways Report on Gaza (Isaac Chotiner//New Yorker)

“On Friday, the State Department declared in a new report that Israel’s conduct during the war in Gaza has “raised serious questions” about whether it is “upholding established best practices for mitigating civilian harm.” At the same time, the report did not find sufficient evidence to restrict military aid to Israel, which would be required by U.S. law if American weapons and aid were not being used in accordance with international legal standards. The report is a result of National Security Memorandum 20, which the Biden Administration issued in part in response to criticism from congressional Democrats who have been arguing that Israel’s war is violating international law, and thus should trigger a reassessment of the nearly four billion dollars in annual military aid that the United States gives Israel…One of the main Democratic critics of the Biden Administration’s policy on this issue has been Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen. He and I have previously spoken about Israel’s role in blocking humanitarian assistance, and why the Biden White House was reluctant to put pressure on the Israeli government. We spoke again over the weekend, after the report was released. During our conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity, we discussed why he thinks the report doesn’t adequately address the way that the war in Gaza has been fought, why the Biden Administration may have been concerned about the consequences of issuing a tougher report, and why the humanitarian situation in Gaza is once again getting worse.” See also Israel “Likely” Used U.S.-Supplied Weapons in Violation of International Law. That’s OK, Though, State Department Says. (The Intercept); U.S. report says it’s ‘reasonable to assess’ that Israel has violated humanitarian law (NPR)

The Right’s Anti-Israel Insurgents (Ben Lorber//Jewish Currents)

“A burgeoning anti-Zionist strain in the America First movement looks to capitalize on popular disaffection over Palestine for its own sinister ends.”

 

ACTIVISM//UNIVERSITIES

Unmasking counterprotesters who attacked UCLA’s pro-Palestine encampment (CNN)

“Law enforcement stood by for hours as counterprotesters attacked the pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA on April 30, which erupted into the worst violence stemming from the ongoing college protests around the country over Israel’s war in Gaza. While a criminal investigation is underway into the assaults that occurred at UCLA, the identities of the most aggressive counterprotesters have gone largely unknown. A CNN review of footage, social media posts, and interviews found that some of the most dramatic attacks caught on camera that night were committed by people outside UCLA – not the university students and faculty who were eventually arrested.” See also Medics, physicians recall ‘dystopian’ violence of encampment attack and sweep (Daily Bruin)

Campus protest crackdowns claim to be about antisemitism – but they’re part of a rightwing plan (Arielle Angel//The Guardian)

“The months since 7 October have seen shocking attacks on freedom of expression and assembly on campus. Even before the stunning display of police brutality in recent weeks, campuses have been home to canceled speakers and events, arbitrary disciplinary hearings, and outright censorship…Universities have suspended chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace, in decisions that PEN America has said are “united by a degree of opacity, in that university leaders have not been fully forthcoming in delineating how these student groups broke campus rules, or how the decision to suspend them was reached”. These curtailments of civil liberties, enacted in the service of “protecting Jewish students”, are not now and will not be confined to Palestine-related speech. The recent history of suppression of Palestine activism suggests that tactics employed by legislatures, universities, and other institutions will soon pop up elsewhere. Anti-boycott laws – targeting the non-violent tactic of boycott when applied to the state of Israel – exist in 38 states, under the argument that such boycotts constitute antisemitism. In the past few years, this tactic has spread to protect other causes beloved by the right. Now, several states have laws on the books that prohibit the government from doing business with groups or individuals who are boycotting fossil fuels or the gun industry…The pro-Palestine movement has also provided cover for the right to expand its attack on protest – a project advanced significantly after the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020…In a tactic familiar from the post-9/11 landscape, GOP lawmakers and civil society leaders from groups like the ADL and the Brandeis Center have endeavored to paint student protesters and groups as “terrorists”…Alongside this effort to tar protest as terrorism, the right is seizing on the emotions inflamed by Israel’s war to make headway in a longstanding offensive on education…Though these attacks on academic freedom and free speech on campus have been spearheaded by the right wing, under the guise of “fighting antisemitism”, Democrats are playing along.”

Watching the watchdogs: How US media weaponised campus protests coverage (Rami Khouri//Al Jazeera)

“The mainstream media’s coverage of the campus encampments and the violence against them has exposed it as a central actor in the power elite that sustains Israel’s war and simultaneously tries to silence Palestinians and criminalise anyone who supports them. As I closely followed US media outlets in recent weeks, I was shocked to see reporters, commentators and hosts use the exact same words and phrases that Biden and US and Israeli officials have used to smear the protesters…The mainstream media has widely condemned students and accused them of using “hate speech and hate symbols” (in the words of the US president), endorsing terrorism, advocating for Israel’s destruction, resorting to anti-Semitic slurs and threatening and frightening Jewish students. Everywhere they look in the student protest encampments, the media oracles have seen “terrorists” in training, “anti-Semites” at work, “Jew-haters” being groomed, universities collapsing, and “Nazi mobs” in the making.” See also Frustrated by Gaza Coverage, Student Protesters Turn to Al Jazeera (NYT);

In first for US, California public university agrees to academic boycott of Israel (Times of Israel)

“The president of a public university [Sonoma State University] in Northern California announced Wednesday that was he on leave, less than a day after endorsing an academic boycott of Israel as part of an agreement with pro-Palestinian demonstrators to remove their tent encampment that was fiercely denounced by Jewish groups and lawmakers.” See also After making deals with protesters, universities are granting hearings on Israel divestment (JTA); University Professors are Losing Their Jobs Over “New McCarthyism” On Gaza (The Intercept)

PERSPECTIVES//LONG READS

Rain is Coming (Mohammed El-Kurd//Mondoweiss)

“Every year since I started writing, whether in Arabic or English, I have produced various iterations of the same essay or poem on Nakba Day, riddled with the same facts and figures and tired arguments, in hopes that one day such persuasion and schooling would no longer be necessary. The thesis has been consistent: pairing “anniversary” and “Nakba” in the same sentence is a misalliance; the time frame, 76 years, is a miscalculation. The English translation—“Catastrophe”—is reductive, because it wasn’t a sudden natural disaster. Nor is it a tragic relic from the past. The Nakba is an organized and ongoing process of colonization and genocide that neither began nor ended in 1948. The perpetrators have names and the crime scene remains active. And where you cannot see the rubble, know that pine trees have been planted on top of it, to conceal it…In parallel, there is also more to our enemy. Zionism, behind the facade of the impenetrable superpower it purports to be, is more vulnerable today than ever. And I do not say this naïvely: I do not ask that we gloss over our enemy’s capabilities or the power of the empires and mercenaries that back it. Nor do I ask that we trivialize the crushing weight of forty thousand martyrs, or glamorize the men confronting tanks in tracksuits and burden them with more than they can handle…Zionism may remain a formidable opponent, but it is also an aging, trembling beast, blinded by its own significance, unpredictable as it may be. Sometimes it pounces on you and pierces its fangs in your flesh. Sometimes it is but a paper tiger. And it is this discovery that not only shatters the myth of colonial invincibility, but it reminds us that liberation is attainable, the future is within reach.”

I Was Shot in Vermont. What if It Had Been in the West Bank? (Hisham Awartani//NYT)

“I think back to the circumstances in which I was shot with my two friends, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Aliahmad, and imagine them instead in the context of the West Bank. A Hisham, Kinnan and Tahseen shot there could have been left to die. Our names would circulate for a day or two in pro-Palestinian circles, but in the end, we would be commemorated only on a poster in the streets of Ramallah, our faces eventually worn down with time like the countless others I’ve walked past in the streets of my home. If that scenario does not stir the same feelings in you as my shooting, if your first instinct when a Palestinian is shot, maimed or left handicapped is to find excuses, then I do not want your support…In class, between Mesopotamian myths and commutative algebra, a few thoughts play on a loop in my mind: How can we come back from so much grief? How could we let this happen? What are we supposed to make of the world when Palestinian deaths are excused by talking points, repeated again and again on the news? I yearn to return to my home, to my olive trees, my cats and my family. I realize, though, that when I cross the King Hussein Bridge from Jordan into the West Bank, I will return to my designation as a potential terrorist. I cease to be a junior at Brown University, a student of archaeology and mathematics, a San Francisco Giants fan, a Balkan history nerd. My entire identity will be reduced to my capacity for violence, not as a human being, but as a Palestinian.”

Opinion | Amid War, We Bereaved Israelis and Palestinians Are Mourning Together (Robi Damelin//Haaretz)

“On this, of all Memorial Days, which begins in Israel on Sunday at sundown and lasts through Monday, how will we remember and honor losses on both “sides”? How does one walk that line sensitively with grief so raw, so fresh? These are questions my friends and colleagues and I have been wrestling with as we prepare for The Joint Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day Ceremony, a one-of-its kind event, and a controversial one, in a country where Memorial Day is usually reserved for mourning Israeli loss alone…We are sure that now more than ever our message of nonviolence, reconciliation and ending the war needs to be heard. But, how, we asked ourselves. And where could we give the grieving angry, fearful people from both sides, some hope?” See also Activists Hold a Ceremony Reflecting on Both Israeli and Palestinian Losses (NYT)

A Disturbing New Book About Netanyahu’s Relationship With Hamas (Haaretz)

interview with Adam Raz, author of “The Road to October 7: Benjamin Netanyahu, the Production of the Endless Conflict and Israel’s Moral Degradation”: “Netanyahu, who was on the verge of losing his power, is a genius manipulator. In his speech at 8 P.M. on the evening of October 7, when he said ‘Vengeance for the blood of a small child, Satan has not yet created; we will turn Gaza into ruins,’ he managed to lure Israelis from the center-left. The same people who only a day earlier were protesting against his judicial coup,” Raz says. “The strategic campaign of airstrikes Netanyahu commanded is unprecedented in the 21st century. Yet the people who did it weren’t settlers or the ultra-Orthodox; it was secular, center-left Israelis who serve in the army – educated pilots who bombed Gaza. I wished to explain in the book that it is a well-known conclusion from past wars that airstrikes don’t work. I have interviewed many senior army officers, who told me that there simply was no military strategy in the early bombings of Gaza. It was a strategy of revenge. Not a military praxis but a political praxis.”…”The ‘Dresdenization’ of Gaza is serving Netanyahu. He manages to make the Israeli public, which was eager to avenge the crimes of October 7, a partner in crime. And with the killing of so many civilians, he ensured that Israel would become more and more isolated. The war in Gaza is a continuation of his judicial coup and his attempt to turn Israel into a ‘second-world’ country – from a so-called democratic and liberal society into a state that is not part of democratic societies or international law. For years, he has been weakening Israeli institutions from within, and now he is harming Israel’s standing in the world.”

What Will Happen When the Holocaust No Longer Prevents the World From Seeing Israel as It Is? (Hagai El-Ad//Haaretz)

“In Arendt’s words, what we’re doing to the Palestinians – those who are still in Gaza – is still not rallying the world against Israel. But the world is already permitting itself to think about it aloud. All this still isn’t making us rethink the way we “treat the Arabs.” Instead, we are once again trying to breathe new life into the used hasbara balloon. If in 2019 Netanyahu declared that the investigation at the International Criminal Court is an “antisemitic decree” (that didn’t stop the investigation) and in 2021 he asserted that this was “pure antisemitism” (and that didn’t stop the investigation), then a week ago he started to shout about an “antisemitic hate crime.” We’re approaching the moment, and perhaps it’s already here, when the memory of the Holocaust won’t stop the world from seeing Israel as it is. The moment when the historic crimes committed against our people will stop serving as our Iron Dome, protecting us from being held to account for crimes we are committing in the present against the nation with which we share the historical homeland.”

 

1. New from FMEP

2. Gaza

3. Region//Global

4. River to the Sea

5. U.S. Scene

6. Activism//Universities

7. Perspectives//Long Reads 

NEW FROM FMEP

FMEP Legislative Round-Up: May 10, 2024 (Lara Friedman)

1. Bills, Resolutions; 2. Congress Continues to Stoke Hysteria Over Student Protests for Palestinian Rights; 3. Letters; 4. Hearings & Markups; 5. Selected Media & Press releases/Statements

Settlement & Annexation Report: May 10, 2024 (Kristin McCarthy)

1.Israeli High Court Order Investigation into Unauthorized Construction Financed by Settler Regional Council; 2. Smotrich Threatens to Defy Netanyahu and Start Settlement Construction; 3. Gallant Calls for Establishment of a New Settlement East of Ariel; 4. Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Returning Palestinians to Khirbet Zanouta; 5. IDF Demolishes “Threatening” Palestinian Building Following Regavim Petition; 6. Yesh Din Wins Case After Citing International Sanctions on Settler; 7. Israel Tracks 1.9% Rise in Settler Population Over Last Year; 8. Bonus Reads

 

GAZA

‘The scenes of the Nakba are repeating’: Rafah in panic as Israeli invasion begins (Ruwaida Kamal Amer and Mahmoud Mushtaha//+972)

“Israel’s long-threatened invasion of Rafah has begun. Under cover of intense aerial bombardment Tuesday morning, Israeli forces moved into Gaza’s southernmost city, which has become a shelter for 1.5 million Palestinians with nowhere else to go. This is the moment they most feared, carrying the potential for a catastrophe greater than anything we’ve seen so far. Gazans counted on the world to stop this invasion, and the world let them down. Residents of Rafah have long been in a state of panic in anticipation of this eventuality. That panic intensified Monday morning, when the Israeli army dropped leaflets from the sky ordering those living in Rafah’s eastern districts to immediately flee to the ill-equipped coastal area of Al-Mawasi. Within hours, tens of thousands packed up what remains of their lives — many of them for the third, fourth, or fifth time since October — and headed northwest to what Israel is calling an “expanded safe zone.” But if Palestinians have learned anything from the past seven months, it is that nowhere in Gaza is ever safe from Israel’s onslaught.” See also from Al Jazeera: Israel’s war on Gaza live: Palestinians evacuate eastern Rafah ahead of expected Israeli assault; Border closure means injured Palestinians can’t leave Gaza; See also U.N. says roads ‘jammed’ as more than 110,000 flee Rafah; cease-fire talks stall (WaPo); Number of Palestinians fleeing Rafah rises above 150,000 amid Israeli strikes (Guardian)

Israeli war cabinet votes to expand Rafah operation area, amid growing U.S. concerns (Axios)

“Amid growing U.S. concerns about the humanitarian situation in Rafah, the Israeli security cabinet approved last night the “expansion of the area of ​​operation” of the Israel Defense Forces in the southern Gaza city, according to three sources with knowledge of the details. The big picture: President Biden said this week said if Israel invades Rafah, where more than one million displaced Palestinians are sheltering, the U.S. will stop supplying it with artillery shells, bombs for fighter jets and other offensive weapons…The Israeli cabinet decision comes as concern grows in the Biden administration about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Rafah area since Israel took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing earlier this week, two U.S. officials said…One of the main shortages in Gaza is fuel — almost none has entered Gaza since May 7, according to one U.S. official.” See also Four IDF soldiers killed as battles rage across Gaza; tanks said to advance into Rafah (Times of Israel); Israel’s war on Gaza live: Troops met with Hamas fire in Rafah operations (Al Jazeera); Biden says US won’t supply weapons for Israel to attack Rafah, in warning to ally (AP);

Netanyahu says Israel can ‘stand alone’ after Biden threatens arms halt (WaPo)

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel was strong enough to fight alone as the United States warned that it could cut military aid to the country. “If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone,” Netanyahu said in a video message Thursday for Israel’s Independence Day. Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the IDF’s spokesman, added Thursday that the IDF had the “necessary weapons” for its planned operations, “including in Rafah.” Their remarks came after President Biden threatened to halt shipment of U.S. offensive weapons to Israel if the country moves ahead with its long-planned ground invasion of Rafah in the Gaza Strip.” See also ‘Fight with our fingernails’: Israel’s Netanyahu defies US weapons warning (Al Jazeera); U.S. pauses shipment of thousands of bombs to Israel amid Rafah rift (WaPo); Israeli troops seize Rafah border crossing, imperiling Gaza aid (WaPo)

Blast wounds, burns and disease: Rafah’s spiraling health-care crisis (WaPo)

“Rafah’s threadbare health network is collapsing when people there need it most. The city’s largest hospital was shuttered two days ago, in a panic, after Israel ordered 100,000 Palestinians in southeastern Gaza to evacuate. Small clinics that accommodated hundreds of people a week closed as well, with staff members forced to flee the violence. Bodies lay where they fell, in the “red zone” that the few ambulances available could not reach because of Israeli bombardment, a Palestinian Red Crescent spokeswoman said Tuesday. Border crossings remained closed Thursday, stranding critically ill patients waiting to be evacuated to Egypt and preventing international doctors and badly needed medical supplies from getting in. Israel’s military operations in Rafah this week have overwhelmed health-care workers, who were already struggling to treat displaced Palestinians suffering from malnourishment, explosive injuries and an array of diseases, which doctors say are spreading rapidly through the city’s filthy and overcrowded tent camps. Children were most at risk, as they have been throughout seven months of war. Thousands of infants in southern Gaza are acutely malnourished, and nearly all children under 5 in the area are suffering from “one or more infectious diseases,” according to UNICEF. Israel has called its operations “limited.” Doctors said it was nothing of the sort, as munitions fell on an area smaller than the Istanbul Airport complex, packed with more than a million people.” See also Patients and medics flee major Rafah hospital (Reuters);Hospitals in south Gaza will run out of fuel in three days, WHO warns (Al Jazeera)

CIA director, Israel and Hamas leave Egypt talks with no deal reached (Al Monitor)

“Both the Israeli and the Hamas delegations as well as CIA director Bill Burns left Cairo on Thursday with no deal reached on a cease-fire or hostage release, hours after US President Joe Biden threatened to stop weapons shipments to Israel if it invades Rafah…The departures come as another indication that a deal is not close. On Monday, Hamas said it accepted a proposal for a six-week cease-fire, the release of 33 hostages both alive and dead and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Israel would free 30 Palestinian prisoners for each female civilian hostage released. Israel rejected those terms, including Hamas’ insistence that it choose which Palestinian prisoners are released from Israeli jails without an Israeli veto. Israel had made it clear before the first deal was struck last November that all living hostages must be released before the return of bodies. Israeli authorities confirmed Tuesday that at least 38 of the 132 hostages still held in Gaza are no longer alive.” See also Gaza ceasefire talks end with no deal as Israel ramps up Rafah attacks (Al Jazeera);

Parts of Gaza Are in Famine, World Food Program Chief Says (NYT)

“The director of the World Food Program, Cindy McCain, says that parts of the Gaza Strip are experiencing a “full-blown famine” that is rapidly spreading throughout the territory after almost seven months of war. Ms. McCain is the second high-profile American leading a U.S. government or U.N. aid effort who has said that there is famine in northern Gaza, although her remarks do not constitute an official declaration, which is a complex bureaucratic process. “There is famine — full-blown famine in the north, and it’s moving its way south,” Ms. McCain said in excerpts released on Friday of an interview with “Meet the Press.”…The first American official to say there was famine in Gaza during the conflict was Samantha Power, the director of the U.S. Agency for International Development, who made her remarks in congressional testimony last month.” See also Israel, Gaza and the Law on Starvation in War (NYT); How Much Aid Is Actually Reaching Gazans? (Isaac Chotiner interviews Arif Husain, the chief economist of the United Nations World Food Programme//New Yorker); Far-right Israeli Protesters Block Aid Trucks Bound for Gaza (Haaretz)

Reports mount of mass graves at Gaza hospitals, some bodies found ‘without heads’ (The Hill)

“A third mass grave was discovered Wednesday at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Gaza’s media office announced, including some containing bodies without heads, raising concerns of potential war crimes after Israeli military sieges on the territory’s hospitals.The new discovery raises the total to seven mass grave sites between three Gaza hospitals, containing the bodies of about 520 men, women and children…The United Nations called for an investigation late last month after the first mass graves were discovered at Al-Shifa, Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis and Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.The mass graves contained some people stripped naked with their hands tied, further raising concerns over potential war crimes, the U.N. said, describing the bodies as “buried deep in the ground and covered with waste.”’ See also UN denounces ‘onslaught of violence against women’ by Israel, notes mass graves in Gaza (Politico); War on Gaza: Baby saved from dying mother’s womb killed by Israeli strike on Rafah (Middle East Eye)

Artificial Genocidal Intelligence: how Israel is automating human rights abuses and war crimes (Access Now)

“As recent media investigations have uncovered, Israeli AI targeting systems “Lavender” and “The Gospel” are automating mass slaughter and destruction across the Gaza Strip. This is the apotheosis of many AI rights-abusing trends, such as biometric surveillance systems and predictive policing tools, that we have previously warned against. The AI-enhanced warfare in Gaza demonstrates the urgent need for governments to ban uses of technologies that are incompatible with human rights — in times of peace as well as war…Israel’s use of AI in warfare is not new. For decades, Israel has used the Gaza Strip as a testing ground for new technologies and weaponry, which it subsequently sells to other states. Its 11-day military bombardment of Gaza in May 2021 was even dubbed by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) the “first artificial intelligence war.” In the current assault on Gaza, we’ve seen Israel use three broad categories of AI tools: 1. Lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS) and semi-autonomous weapons (semi-LAWS): The Israeli army has pioneered the use of remote-controlled quadcopters equipped with machine guns and missiles to surveil, terrorize, and kill civilians sheltering in tents, schools, hospitals, and residential areas…2. Facial recognition systems and biometric surveillance: Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza was an opportunity to expand its biometric surveillance of Palestinians, already deployed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem…3.Automated target generation systems: most notably the Gospel, which generates infrastructural targets, Lavender, which generates individual human targets, and Where is Daddy?, a system designed to track and target suspected militants when they are at home with their families.”

Israel shuts down Al Jazeera’s operations, raids Jerusalem office (WaPo)

“Israel’s government moved Sunday to shut down the Al Jazeera Media Network’s operations in Israel, clamping down on one of the few international broadcasters providing largely uninterrupted coverage of the Gaza war. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the decision followed a unanimous vote by Israel’s war cabinet, posting on X that “the incitement channel Al Jazeera will be closed in Israel.” In a separate statement, he accused Al Jazeera correspondents of having “harmed the security of Israel” and said “the time has come to eject Hamas’s mouthpiece from our country.” Israel’s actions placed it in the company of several autocratic countries in the region that have tried to stifle the network — which has attracted praise and controversy since it was founded nearly 30 years ago and helped reshape the media landscape in the Arab world…On Sunday afternoon, several uniformed and plainclothes Israeli officers were seen by a Washington Post reporter entering one of Al Jazeera’s offices in a hotel in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem. The officers carted out camera equipment, cases and cardboard boxes as a group of photographers looked on.”

REGION/GLOBAL

General Assembly votes to grant Palestine more UN rights short of membership (Al Monitor)

“The UN General Assembly voted Friday to grant Palestine additional privileges at the United Nations and called on the Security Council to reconsider its request for full membership following the US veto last month. The resolution was adopted with 143 votes in favor, 9 against and 25 abstentions.  As expected, the United States voted against the Palestinian bid…Palestine is currently a non-member observer state, the same status held by the Vatican. It can’t vote in the General Assembly but can participate in UN bodies such as the International Criminal Court.” See also Belgium endorses Palestine’s UN bid, Spain and Ireland may follow (Al Monitor); Australia supports revised UN resolution on Palestinian membership (Guardian)

Who are Israel’s main weapons suppliers and who has halted exports? (Reuters)

“Washington has suspended a shipment of heavy, bunker-busting bombs to Israel, weapons Israeli forces have used in their war against Hamas militants that has killed nearly 35,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. President Joe Biden also publicly warned Israel for the first time, in a CNN interview on May 8 that the U.S. would withhold arms supplies if Israeli forces carry out a threatened assault on the Gaza city of Rafah, given this could endanger the lives of hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians there. The U.S. has long been by far the largest arms supplier to its closest Middle East ally, followed by Germany – whose strong support for Israel reflects in part atonement for the Nazi Holocaust – and Italy. Two countries, Canada and the Netherlands, have halted arms shipments to Israel this year over concern they could be used in ways violating international humanitarian law – causing civilian casualties and destruction of residential areas – in Gaza…Following are some details of Israel’s weapons suppliers.”

Israel: US Arms Used in Strike that Killed Lebanon Aid Workers (Human Rights Watch)

“An Israeli strike on an emergency and relief center in south Lebanon on March 27, 2024, was an unlawful attack on civilians that failed to take all necessary precautions, Human Rights Watch said today. If the attack on civilians was carried out intentionally or recklessly, it should be investigated as an apparent war crime. The strike, using a US-made Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) guidance kit and an Israeli-made 500-pound (about 230 kilograms) general purpose bomb, killed seven emergency and relief volunteers from the town of Habbarieh, five kilometers north of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.” See also Over 30 Rockets Fired From Lebanon at Northern Israel; 14 Rockets Fired From Rafah, Central Gaza (Haaretz)

RIVER TO THE SEA

Israeli Demonstrators Torch UNRWA East Jerusalem Compound; ‘Extensive’ Damage Reported (Haaretz)

“Israeli right-wing extremists shouted anti-UN slogans as children ignited a brush fire along the perimeter of the UN Refugee Agency (UNRWA) headquarters in Jerusalem, prompting its commissioner-general to shut down the compound. The arson attack caused “extensive damage to the outdoor areas,” according to UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, but no one was hurt…Police officials say that the ones suspected of setting the fires are children who are probably below the age of criminal responsibility, and that the investigation is ongoing. Lazzarini wrote on his X account on Thursday, “In light of this second appalling incident in less than a week, I have taken the decision to close down our compound until proper security is restored.”’See also UN agency closes East Jerusalem HQ after arson attack by ‘Israeli extremists’ (Guardian)

Israel razes entire Bedouin village to expand a highway (Oren Ziv//+972)

“On the morning of May 8, Israeli forces razed the entire Bedouin village of Wadi al-Khalil in the Naqab/Negev desert. The demolitions, which were carried out in order to expand the Route 6 highway, left more than 300 residents homeless. Wadi al-Khalil is one of 35 Bedouin villages in the Naqab whose existence the Israeli authorities do not officially recognize; as a result, the villages, which are home to around 150,000 Bedouin Arab citizens of Israel, face the constant threat of demolition. Many of the villages are decades old — some even pre-date Israel’s establishment — but they are prevented from connecting to state infrastructure including water and electricity, and their residents are denied municipal services. According to the Regional Council for the Unrecognized Bedouin Villages, Wednesday’s demolition was the largest in the Naqab for 14 years. It comes as Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir vows to crack down on what he calls “lawbreakers” and restore meshilut — literally “governance,” a euphemism for Jewish-Israeli control — to the area. Eight other unrecognized villages are currently under threat of forced eviction under the guise of urban development.” See also Negev: Israel carries out largest demolition of Palestinian homes in years (Middle East Eye)

Strapped down, blindfolded, held in diapers: Israeli whistleblowers detail abuse of Palestinians in shadowy detention center (CNN)

“CNN spoke to three Israeli whistleblowers who worked at the Sde Teiman desert camp, which holds Palestinians detained during Israel’s invasion of Gaza…They paint a picture of a facility where doctors sometimes amputated prisoners’ limbs due to injuries sustained from constant handcuffing; of medical procedures sometimes performed by underqualified medics earning it a reputation for being “a paradise for interns”; and where the air is filled with the smell of neglected wounds left to rot. According to the accounts, the facility some 18 miles from the Gaza frontier is split into two parts: enclosures where around 70 Palestinian detainees from Gaza are placed under extreme physical restraint, and a field hospital where wounded detainees are strapped to their beds, wearing diapers and fed through straws. “They stripped them down of anything that resembles human beings,” said one whistleblower, who worked as a medic at the facility’s field hospital…Reports of abuse at Sde Teiman have already surfaced in Israeli and Arab media after an outcry from Israeli and Palestinian rights groups over conditions there. But this rare testimony from Israelis working at the facility sheds further light on Israel’s conduct as it wages war in Gaza, with fresh allegations of mistreatment. It also casts more doubt on the Israeli government’s repeated assertions that it acts in accordance with accepted international practices and law.”

Israeli Academia, Police Wage War on Palestinian Students and Faculty (Adalah)

“Since the beginning of the war, Israeli universities and colleges initiated a severe crackdown on the freedom of expression rights of Palestinian students seeking to suspend or even expel them for their posts on social media platforms. Adalah has represented 95 Palestinian students from 34 Israeli academic institutions in disciplinary proceedings prompted by complaints by far-right Jewish Israeli student groups and individuals. The academic institutions’ actions occur amid an organized campaign of incitement against Palestinian citizens of Israel (PCI) as a whole, which aims to criminalize any opposition to the war.”

The Army Has a New Strategy (Awdah Hathaleen//Humans of Masafer Yatta)

“The occupation army has a new strategy: closing the roads that connect all of the villages and cities in Masafer Yatta… If any emergency occurs, there is no road for us to reach the city, or for an ambulance to reach us. There is no means of access between us and others, isolating us all from one another. We cannot bring medicine or food. We cannot go to the doctor, to the hospital, to the clinic, or even to the pharmacy.”

Do Palestinians Have Human Rights? (Hamdan Huraini//Humans of Masafer Yatta)

“Here in the village of Susya, every day, Israeli settlers throw stones, attack Palestinian homes, and attack shepherds. There is not a moment when you feel that you are safe. With every passing moment, you can’t imagine what will happen. You are a Palestinian, so you do not have rights. The first and last right is for the settler. So what does this occupying settler do? They break into homes, threaten Palestinians with death, destroy agricultural crops and trees, and demolish water wells. As a Palestinian, you should not defend yourself or protect your family, and if you do, you will go to prison. If you, as a Palestinian, do nothing, you must just die in silence.” See also West Bank: Israeli Forces’ Unlawful Killings of Palestinians (Human Rights Watch); Israel accused of possible war crime over killing of West Bank boy (BBC)’

A Diary of a Palestinian Living in Israel (Diana Buttu//Zeteo)

“People often ask what it is like to be a Palestinian living in Israel. Here’s what it’s like: We are the remnants and reminders of the 1948 Nakba, people whose nation was destroyed, communities razed, and whose families remain scattered around the world to make way for Jewish immigrants to take over our country and homes. We are the “enemy from within” for whom laws are enacted to enshrine our subservient status while at the same time being told we should be grateful for being “allowed” to live in our homeland. As Palestinians in Israel, we must maneuver a system of Jewish supremacy and open racism every day, while living with the very people who perpetrated the Nakba or support it. Israeli politicians have made it clear that we are only here because David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister and who spearheaded the Nakba, did not, they say, “finish the job” in 1948, referring to the ethnic cleansing of Palestine…Since Oct. 7, genocide fever has been in full swing. For seven months, Israeli politicians and pundits have spewed genocidal statements on Israeli television and social media on a daily basis.”

Protesters block roads to demand Israel accept ceasefire-hostage deal, halt Rafah push (Times of Israel)

“Angry protests erupted in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem late Monday as families of hostages held in Gaza and anti-government activists calling for a deal to free the captives took to the streets to rally against the government’s rejection of a Hamas ceasefire offer. Police forces twice dispersed hundreds of protesters blocking traffic on Tel Aviv’s Ayalon highway, with demonstrators banging drums, blowing on bullhorns, and lighting fires.”

 

U.S. SCENE

Biden’s Public Ultimatum to Bibi (Susan Glasser//New Yorker)

“It took seven months almost to the day, but Joe Biden appears to have, finally, reached a public moment of reckoning over Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza. On Wednesday morning, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed that the Biden Administration had paused delivery of thirty-five hundred heavy bombs to Israel. That evening, the President himself explained why, admitting that “civilians have been killed in Gaza” as a result of American-supplied weapons and saying flatly that he could not accept them being used in a military offensive against Hamas in the densely populated city of Rafah, which Israel has threatened to carry out. Biden insisted that the U.S. would continue to help Israel secure itself from external threats, but he laid down what appeared to be an uncrossable line for the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. “If they go into Rafah,” the President told CNN’s Erin Burnett, “I’m not supplying the weapons.” His decision amounts to the most high-profile example in decades of a U.S. President publicly imposing such limits on American military assistance to Israel, and it came accompanied by a stark rebuke of how Israel has treated Palestinian civilians. “It’s just wrong,” Biden said…The reaction from the American right was swift, loud, and hyperbolic. Republican congressional leaders put out a statement on Wednesday night warning that Biden “risks emboldening Israel’s enemies…But even some Democrats who are vocal supporters of Israel expressed concern about Biden’s “mistake,” as Dennis Ross, the former longtime U.S. envoy in the region, put it.” See also from Jewish Insider: Center-left Democrats break with Biden over Israel arms threat; White House stands by plan to withhold arms to Israel over Rafah disagreement; Biden’s Israel threat slammed by pro-Israel lawmakers, mainstream Jewish groups; See also Israel due to get billions of dollars more in US weapons despite Biden pause (Reuters); ‘Didn’t fall from the sky’: Biden threat follows months of feeling PM ignored his warnings (Jacob Magid//Times of Israel); Democratic backlash grows over Biden pausing Israel arms sales (Axios); Republicans want to force Biden to send arms to Israel (Axios); White House Aide Warns Israel Against ‘Smashing Into Rafah’ (NYT)

A disturbing national security bill could silence nonprofits and college protests (The Hill)

“This week, the Senate may pass a bill granting the executive branch extraordinary power to investigate and strip nonprofits of tax-exempt status based on a unilateral accusation of wrongdoing. The potential for abuse under H.R. 6408 is staggering. If it were to become law, the executive branch would be handed a tool perfectly designed to stifle free speech, target political opponents and punish disfavored groups. This week, the Senate may pass a bill granting the executive branch extraordinary power to investigate and strip nonprofits of tax-exempt status based on a unilateral accusation of wrongdoing. The potential for abuse under H.R. 6408 is staggering. If it were to become law, the executive branch would be handed a tool perfectly designed to stifle free speech, target political opponents and punish disfavored groups…Several members of Congress have repeatedly, without evidence, conflated students involved in the protests regarding the conflict in Gaza with Hamas and other foreign terrorist organizations. If this law were to pass, it stands to reason that the executive branch could threaten to strip a university of its tax-exempt status on the grounds that allowing student groups exercising protest rights to operate on campus qualifies as providing material support to terrorist organizations.” See also Lara Friedman’s Legislative Round-Up (May 3) on this bill and Criticizing Israel? Nonprofit Media Could Lose Tax-Exempt Status Without Due Process (The Intercept)

Biden Is Not the First U.S. President to Cut Off Weapons to Israel (NYT)

“Mr. Reagan used the power of American arms several times to influence Israeli war policy, at different points ordering warplanes and cluster munitions to be delayed or withheld. His actions take on new meaning four decades later, as President Biden delays a shipment of bombs and threatens to withhold other offensive weapons from Israel if it attacks Rafah, in southern Gaza…But what the Reagan comparison really underscores is how much the politics of Israel have evolved in the United States since the 1980s. For decades, presidents and prime ministers have quarreled without permanently damaging the robust relationship between the two countries.”

Nearly 700 Jewish professors call on Biden not to sign controversial antisemitism legislation (The Hill)

“A group of nearly 700 Jewish college faculty signed a letter to President Biden on Wednesday encouraging him not to back the controversial Antisemitism Awareness Act. The academics took issue with the act’s use of the International Holocaust Awareness Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which has raised concerns that legitimate criticisms of the state of Israel could be seen as antisemitic under the bill…“Criticism of the state of Israel, the Israeli government, policies of the Israeli government, or Zionist ideology is not — in and of itself — antisemitic,” the letter to Biden and Senate leaders reads. “We accordingly urge our political leaders to reject any effort to codify into federal law a definition of antisemitism that conflates antisemitism with criticism of the state of Israel,” it continues.” See also I’m Jewish. Here’s why I voted against the Antisemitism Awareness Act. (Rep. Jerry Nadler//WaPo); Resources on “Anti-Semitism Awareness Act” & Related Efforts (Lara Friedman)

 

ACTIVISM//UNIVERSITIES

The Kids Are Not All Right. They Want to Be Heard (Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor//New Yorker)

“What explains this growing student movement? Sometimes the correct answer is the one right in front of you. The students want an end to a war that has been executed with breathtaking violence and killed more than thirty-four thousand Palestinians, most of them women and children…In ways reminiscent of the genesis of the Black Lives Matter movement, Palestinians have captured scenes of unimaginable brutality and narrated their experiences. Every smartphone has become a portal into Gaza. The obliteration of civil society, pictures of dead children, and the wails of their mothers are no longer mediated by the press. They come to you directly…The eruption of the student movement threatens to deepen the problem for Biden’s campaign. The singling out of students may make it appear as though they are extreme and out of touch with the public when, in fact, they are giving expression to widely held sentiment. Since Israel began its offensive, in the wake of Hamas’s attack on October 7th, American support for the war has steadily eroded. According to Gallup, last November fifty per cent of the public approved of Israel’s military action; by this past March, that support had dropped to thirty-six per cent with fifty-five per cent disapproving. And for Democrats the collapse of support for the war has been even more dramatic, falling from thirty-six per cent last fall to eighteen per cent.”

After Raids, NYPD Denied Student Protesters Water and Food (The Intercept)

“Students arrested during the police crackdown on protests at universities in New York City last week were denied water and food for 16 hours, according to two faculty members at Columbia University’s Barnard College who collected reports from students who were inside. Other students reported that they were beaten by New York City Police Department officers after their arrests and taken to the hospital for injuries before being returned to central booking. Photos of the injuries were provided to The Intercept. Police arrested 282 protesters at Columbia University and the City College of New York…Students arrested during the crackdown said at least two of them were put in solitary confinement for three hours and others reported much longer stays.” See also We Columbia University students urge you to listen to our voices (Columbia College Student Council//Guardian); US police break up Gaza protest encampment at George Washington University (Al Jazeera); Police break up pro-Palestine protests at Berlin, Amsterdam campuses (Al Jazeera); Hundreds of Jewish Columbia students express pride for Israel and their Jewish faith in open letter (Jewish Insider); Oxford and Cambridge students set up camps as campus protests against Gaza war gather steam (The Independent)

United Methodist Church votes to divest from Israel bonds (United Methodists for Kairos Response//Mondoweiss)

“On April 30, 2024, the General Conference of The United Methodist Church, being held in Charlotte, North Carolina, made a groundbreaking call for church investment managers to exclude the bonds of three countries – Israel, Turkey, and Morocco – that are holding subject populations under prolonged military occupation. In the first such divestment action by a major Christian denomination, the church has called on all its investment managers to avoid “the governmental debt of each such country until the time when each government ends their military occupation.”’

Letter from Palestinian Universities to students and faculty in Gaza Solidarity Encampments in US academic institutions (signed by 20 Presidents of Palestinian Universities)

“In a moment of great darkness, your protests erupt and give hope for humanity that justice is not an abstract concept but a continuous struggle that connects us all…We draw inspiration from the courage of those who refuse and resist the continuing injustices of settler colonialism and military occupation. We welcome you at our universities in a liberated Palestine.”

What we can learn from 4 schools that have reached agreements with Gaza protesters (NPR)

“Administrations at several schools have reached agreements with student protesters, pledging to take certain steps in exchange for the dismantling of protesters’ encampments as graduation approaches.
Protesters’ demands vary by school, though they generally call for an end to the Israel-Hamas war, disclosures of institutional investments and divestment from companies with ties to Israel or that otherwise profit from its military operation in Gaza. Northwestern and Brown were the first schools to announce agreements last week, followed quickly by others including Rutgers, Johns Hopkins, the University of Minnesota and the University of California, Riverside…None of the schools outright committed to divest from Israel. But they say they will provide more transparency around their endowments and limit disciplinary action against students, among other commitments. Several also pledged scholarships or aid for Palestinian students and improved space for Muslim students on campus…Here’s a look at how four schools made it to the bargaining table, and what they’re promising protesters next.” See also Some Universities Chose Violence. Others Responded to Protests by Considering Student Demands (The Intercept)

NJ may pull public investments from Japanese company for cutting ties with Israeli defense contractor (Politico)

“Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration may divest tens of millions of dollars from a Japanese conglomerate after the company severed ties with an Israeli defense contractor over the war in Gaza, according to records obtained by POLITICO. The state’s potential divestment from the Itochu Corporation would make New Jersey one of the first publicly known states since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel to penalize a company for cutting ties with an Israeli business. And it comes as college campuses across the country, including in New Jersey, face student protests demanding that colleges divest from companies linked to Israel…The state “preliminarily determined” that the company’s decision to cut ties with an Israeli-based military contractor triggered a 2016 state law that prohibits the state pension fund from investing in companies that boycott Israel or Israeli businesses, according to a letter obtained by POLITICO through a public records request. That law was in response to the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement that pushes for economic punishment of Israel and businesses tied to the country over its policies towards Palestinians.”

PERSPECTIVES//LONG READS

American politicians forget: disruption and disorder are the point of protests (Patrick Gaspard//Guardian)

“I have trespassed in peaceful protest. I have shut down government offices in civil disobedience. I have made the powerful uncomfortable in their routines as I’ve dissented in peaceful but committed disorder. In each instance, disruption and disorder were precisely the point. I have done all this in the finest American tradition of the “good trouble” exhorted by the late John Lewis, which is oft quoted but seems little subscribed to by our political leaders, who are pleased to consign his legacy to a postage stamp…As an immigrant from an authoritarian society, and proud American activist all too aware of the relationship between unchecked state power and violence, I’ve been perturbed by unexamined claims against all these students that link them to “terrorism”, foreign agents and outside agitators. I’ve also been alarmed by calls from leading Democrats and Republicans for surveillance and investigations of students by the FBI. Dozens of state legislatures are advancing bills to designate street-blocking protests as “acts of terror” with federal-level punishments. This is shocking but in keeping with the darkest chapters of a history that haunts in its proximity to current affairs…Protest is never convenient, never comfortable and frequently unpopular. But dissent from indifference – and through the discomfort of disorder – is the work of choosing democracy.”

Let Israel’s Leaders Get Arrested for War Crimes (Gideon Levy//Haaretz)

“Israeli hasbara, or public diplomacy, does not try to deny the reality in Gaza. It only makes the claim of antisemitism: Why pick on us? What about Sudan and Yemen? The logic doesn’t hold: A driver who is stopped for speeding won’t get off by arguing that he’s not the only one. The crimes and the criminals remain. Israel will never prosecute anyone for these offenses. It never has, neither for its wars nor its occupation…But the human sense of justice wants to see criminals brought to justice and prevented from committing crimes in the future. By this logic, we can only hope that the International Criminal Court in The Hague will do its job…The killing and destruction in Gaza has gotten Israel in way over its head. It is the worst catastrophe the state has ever faced. Someone led it there – no, not antisemitism, but rather its leaders and military officers. If not for them, it wouldn’t have turned so quickly after October 7 from a cherished country that inspired compassion into a pariah state. Someone must stand trial for this.”

Under the Jumbotron (Anahid Nersessian//LRB)

“Over the weekend, following the formation of the [UCLA] encampment, a large group of counter-protesters, few to none of whom appeared to be UCLA students, arrived on campus. They screamed, hurled racial slurs and sexual threats (‘I hope you get raped’) at the students, and opened a sack full of live mice – swollen, seemingly injected with some substance – on the ground near the camp. When the counter-protesters dispersed, they left behind a Jumbotron – a massive flat-screen TV, about ten feet high – in the middle of campus facing the encampment and surrounded by metal barriers. Paid security guards remained inside the barriers to protect the screen. For the next five days, the Jumbotron played, on a loop, footage of the 7 October attacks along with audio clips describing rape and sexual violence in explicit terms. Mixed in among the clips were speeches by Joe Biden vowing unconditional support for Israel and ‘Meni Mamtera’, a maddeningly repetitive children’s song that went viral earlier this year when IDF soldiers posted a video of themselves using it as a form of noise torture on captive Palestinians. When I arrived on campus on Tuesday morning, to lead a class on Byron’s Don Juan, the sound from the Jumbotron was so loud it was impossible to hear myself think, let alone teach. I walked over with a colleague to take footage of the footage. You couldn’t ask for a better allegory: on one side, the encampment, full of young people risking their degrees, their future employment prospects and their physical and mental health to draw attention to the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza; on the other, a costly media machine, financed by D-list celebrities (who proudly posted their contributions on Instagram), unmanned except for a trio of hired guards who, when questioned, admitted they had nothing to do with the Zionist cause…At 11 p.m. on 30 April, a large group of men, mostly middle-aged, many wearing Halloween masks, arrived at the encampment carrying knives, bats, wooden planks, pepper spray and bear mace, which they used to attack the unarmed students. They shot fireworks into the camp and used its plywood barricades to crush students into the ground. Footage from ABC News shows half a dozen counter-protesters punching and kicking a student. Videos from independent journalists and people on the ground captured calls for a ‘second Nakba’. On the ABC newsreel you can hear a reporter shouting in disbelief: ‘Where are the police? Where is security? Where is authority here?’ The answer to the first two questions is clear: the police, as well as campus security forces, were there, but they did not intervene.” See also Ex-Israeli special forces agent says he went ‘undercover’ at UCLA protest encampment (Middle East Eye); More than 600 UCLA faculty, staff demand chancellor’s resignation over protest arrests (CBS)

In Israel, Jewish Extremists Worshipping a God of Holy War Are Getting Stronger (Michael Manekin//Haaretz)

“This mode of religious thinking, which sees God as a God of holy wars and vengeance and demands that Jews act violently in His name, has been gaining ground for more than half a century in some extremist corners of Israel and the Diaspora. But since October 7, it has developed into a more coherent and grotesque worldview, a political theology that licenses and even commends collective punishment and the proliferation of gun licenses while undermining or even dismissing efforts to return the hostages. This mode of religious thinking, which sees God as a God of holy wars and vengeance and demands that Jews act violently in His name, has been gaining ground for more than half a century in some extremist corners of Israel and the Diaspora. But since October 7, it has developed into a more coherent and grotesque worldview, a political theology that licenses and even commends collective punishment and the proliferation of gun licenses while undermining or even dismissing efforts to return the hostages.”