Abbas’s shortsighted Gaza policy; How Israel has erased the Green Line

What We’re Reading

Palestinian politics

Abbas’s Shortsighted Gaza Policy,

Palestinian Authority (PA) leader Mahmoud Abbas’s efforts to increase Hamas’s isolation – by cutting salaries and then electricity to the Gaza Strip – mirror regional dynamics in the age of Trump. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt have all mobilized to isolate Qatar, a major investor in the Gaza Strip and a supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Hamas in Gaza.

Occupation/Human rights

No One Actually Knows Where Israel Ends and the Palestinian Territories Begin,

“Israel has worked hard since 1967 to erase the Green Line from public consciousness, even as the invisible border became increasingly impenetrable to Palestinians,” writes Shakked Auerbach.

New Guideline Permits Israel to Deny Entry to Visitors Over 'BDS Activity',

The new regulation follows the passing of a law this past March that forbids the issuance of a visa or other entry permit to foreign citizens who have called for a boycott of Israel or the settlements.

The myth of a 'Palestinian economy',

“Israel has used the last 50 years of occupation to shape the Palestinian economy to suit its own interests,” writes Nur Arafeh.

NGO to Israeli court: force the Attorney General to indict Lehava head, outlaw group,

The Israel Religious Action Center on Wednesday asked the High Court of Justice to compel the prosecution to indict the head of radical right-wing group Lehava.

Netanyahu vetoes bill for 300 homes in Beit El settlement,

Netanyahu had promised he would build the homes in exchange for the peaceful evacuation in 2012 of 30 families from the Ulpana outpost on the outskirts of Beit El.

High Court: Israel won't demolish homes of Palestinian teen's killers,

Court rejects petition filed by family of Muhammad Abu Khdeir, claiming too much time passed since his murder and the filing of the petition.

Opinion: The Israeli media has kept us in the dark for 50 years,

“Since 1967, the Israeli media has hid the ugly, everyday reality in the occupied territories. But even if they really knew, would Israelis still choose to end 50 years of military rule over the Palestinians?” asks Yizhar Be’er.

Israeli politics

Polls: Netanyahu trounces Labor candidates,

Polls claim no chance of either Labor leader defeating current Prime Minister.

US-Israeli/Palestinian relations

Fed-Up Reform Leaders Are Thinking Twice About Their Donations To Israel,

Messinger, the chair of the Union for Reform Judaism, will be boycotting Israel’s national airline as part of her protest of the Israeli government’s two votes last week that empowered its Orthodox sector at the expense of more liberal groups.

US envoy Haley leads anti-Palestinian 'crusade': PLO,

Hanan Ashrawi says Nikki Haley is leading a ‘one-woman crusade … against Palestine and the Palestinian people’.