Catastrophe in Gaza: What’s Next?

Parts 1 & 2

Part 1: Monday, October 30th, 2023

ft. Inès Abdel Razek (Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy), Fadi Quran (Avaaz), & Lara Friedman (FMEP)

Listen to this webinar as a podcast

Part 2: November 1, 2023

ft. Sari Bashi (Human Rights Watch), Amjad Iraqi (+972 Magazine) & Lara Friedman (FMEP)

Listen to this webinar as a podcast

In the wake of Hamas’s massacres of citizens & residents of Israel on October 7th, Israeli leadership has articulated its aim of destroying the “human animals” in Gaza, leading many to sound the alarm that Israeli intentions are genocidal. Coming in the context of 16 years of a brutal Israeli blockade, and targeting a population a large percentage of which is present in Gaza as a direct result of the Nakba 75 years ago, which left them and their families unable to return to homes in what became Israel, Israel’s current war on Gaza is wreaking incomprehensible levels of civilian death, injury, and destruction.

The possibilities for expanded conflict loom, including in Jerusalem and the West Bank, where the IDF & IDF-backed settlers have escalated their terrorism of Palestinians and their efforts to Palestinians from Area C of the West Bank, and on Israel’s border with Lebanon. In parallel, delegitimization and repression of Palestinian voices and support for Palestinians and Palestinian rights are increasing around the globe, including in Israel and Palestine.

Join FMEP for conversations with trusted partners who will ground us in what’s going on, what’s at stake for Palestinians, Israelis, the broader Middle East, and the rest of the world; what Israeli, Palestinian, and American leadership are envisioning as next steps, and also for the day-after this war ends; and what the opportunities and obligations are for grassroots mobilization, civil society actors, and human rights defenders in this moment.

Panelist Biographies

Sari Bashiis the Program Director at Human Rights Watch and leads the organization’s research. Prior to joining Human Rights Watch, Sari co-founded and ran Gisha, the leading Israeli human rights group promoting the right to freedom of movement for Palestinians in Gaza.

Amjad Iraqi is an editor and writer at +972 Magazine, based in Haifa. He was previously an advocacy coordinator at Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel.

Inès Abdel Razek is the Executive Director of the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy (PIPD) and its digital platform Rabet, an independent Palestinian organization focusing on international mobilization and digital campaigning for Justice, Freedom and Equality.

Fadi Quran is Campaigns Director at Avaaz and a Popular Struggle community organizer. He previously served as UN Advocacy Officer with Al-Haq’s legal research and advocacy unit.

Lara Friedman is the President of the Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP) and a leading authority on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, with particular expertise on the Israeli-Arab conflict, Israeli settlements, Jerusalem, and the role of the U.S. Congress.

Resources for Part 1: 

Follow our panelists on X and subscribe to follow their work:

• Lara Friedman: https://twitter.com/LaraFriedmanDC
• Inès Abdel Razek: https://twitter.com/InesAbdelrazek
• Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy: https://twitter.com/Rabetbypipd
• Subscribe to PIPD’s updates: https://www.thepipd.com/
• Fadi Quran: https://twitter.com/fadiquran

For documentation on the “genocidal intent” of Israeli leadership, see:

• This X thread by human rights defender Yehuda Shaul
• This X thread by researcher Zach Foster
• In a speech over the weekend, Benjamin Netanyahu invoked the biblical enemy of the ancient Israelites: “You must remember what Amalek has done to you, says our Holy Bible”

Ceasefire Petition: https://www.change.org/p/sign-and-share-this-urgent-petition-calling-for-a-ceasefirenow-in-gaza-and-israel

On the escalated threats of ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian villages in Masafer Yatta in the South Hebron Hills, see this FMEP spot report.

Resources for Part 2: 

Follow our panelists’ work:

• Sari Bashi: https://twitter.com/saribashi
• Human Rights Watch: https://twitter.com/hrw
• Human Rights Watch: https://www.hrw.org/
• Amjad Iraqi: https://twitter.com/aj_iraqi
• +972 Magazine: https://twitter.com/972mag
• +972 Magazine: www.972mag.com
• Lara Friedman: https://twitter.com/LaraFriedmanDC

Recent publications from Sari Bashi:

• “Nowhere to go in Gaza” by Sari Bashi in the NY Review of Books (Oct 13, 2023): https://www.nybooks.com/online/2023/10/13/nowhere-to-go-in-gaza/
• Interview by Isaac Chotiner in the New Yorker: “The Humanitarian Catastrophe in Gaza”: https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-humanitarian-catastrophe-in-gaza
• Human Rights Watch: Questions and Answers: The Humanitarian Catastrophe in Gaza: https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/10/16/questions-and-answers-humanitarian-catastrophe-gaza

Human rights briefs Sari Bashi mentioned:

• The HRW publication from today that Sari Bashi just mentioned: Gaza: Israeli Attacks, Blockade Devastating for People with Disabilities —> https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/11/01/gaza-israeli-attacks-blockade-devastating-people-disabilities
• Human Rights Watch: Israel: White Phosphorus Used in Gaza, Lebanon —> https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/10/12/israel-white-phosphorus-used-gaza-lebanon
• Amnesty International’s publication regarding white phosphorous: Lebanon: Evidence of Israel’s unlawful use of white phosphorus in southern Lebanon as cross-border hostilities escalate —> https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/10/lebanon-evidence-of-israels-unlawful-use-of-white-phosphorus-in-southern-lebanon-as-cross-border-hostilities-escalate/
• Human Rights Watch’s 2021 report on Israel’s crimes of apartheid: https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/04/27/threshold-crossed/israeli-authorities-and-crimes-apartheid-and-persecution

Recent publications from Amjad Iraqi:

• “After the Flood,” November 2nd in the London Review of Boos: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v45/n21/amjad-iraqi/after-the-flood
• “Get out of there now,” October 10th in the LRB: https://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2023/october/get-out-of-there-now
• “A psychological barrier has just been shattered in Israel-Palestine” → https://www.972mag.com/hamas-october-attack-gaza-barrier/
• “What the War Means for Palestinians Inside Israel” – New Yorker Interview → https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/what-the-war-means-for-palestinians-inside-israel

Resources on Hamas from Tareq Baconi:

• “Where the Palestinian Political Project Goes from Here” → Interview with Tareq Baconi on Hamas and the “violent equilibrium” – https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/where-the-palestinian-political-project-goes-from-here
• More from Tareq Bacon: “Gaza without Pretenses” in the NYRB: https://www.nybooks.com/online/2023/10/11/gaza-without-pretenses/
• Book: Hamas Contained —> https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=26309

“Expel all Palestinians from Gaza, recommends Israeli gov’t ministry” —> https://www.972mag.com/intelligence-ministry-gaza-population-transfer/

A few resources on the ongoing ethnic cleansing in the West Bank:

• October 29, 2023: Escalations in the threat of forcible transfer & ethnic cleansing in Masafer Yatta → https://fmep.org/resource/october-29-2023-escalations-in-the-threat-of-forcible-transfer-ethnic-cleansing-in-masafer-yatta/
• Settler-soldier militias threaten Susiya with death and displacement → https://www.972mag.com/susiya-settler-soldier-militia-displacement/

On the internal repression and escalation of threat inside of Israel:

• ‘This is political persecution’: Israel cracks down on internal critics of its Gaza war —> https://www.972mag.com/israel-gaza-war-political-persecution/
• ‘Hamas’ Attack Has Accelerated Israel’s Domestic Arms Race’ —> https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-10-24/ty-article-magazine/.premium/israel-is-basically-telling-citizens-you-need-to-take-care-of-yourself/0000018b-6180-d312-a1fb-f7fb54730000