Assessing Israel’s Pledge To Scale Back Settlements

What We’re Reading

Israeli settlements/Occupation

Assessing Israel's Pledge To Scale Back Settlements,

Israel says it’s going to restrain settlement construction in order to please the Trump administration. But critics say their plan allows for a lot more construction.

What growing Jewish settlements in the West Bank mean for Mideast peace efforts,

“If you are not going to support the two-state solution, the long-held U.S. policy, if you fail to clearly condemn the settlement expansion and the colonial grab of our land, then you better come up with an alternative for the equal number of population inhabiting this land and the six million Palestinians,” Husam Zomlot tells PBS Newshour.

A Village Under Occupation,

A Village Under Occupation is the story of the Palestinian village of Qaryut in the occupied West Bank which residents say comes under regular attack by nearby Israeli settlers.

Israeli soldier killed in Palestinian car ramming in West Bank: army,

The Israeli military said a car driven by a Palestinian deliberately rammed two Israeli soldiers, killing one and injuring the other, in the occupied West Bank on Thursday.

US-Israel relations

Jewish groups across board defend J Street against ‘anti-Semitic’ label by state legislator,

Is J Street anti-Semitic? A South Carolina state legislator insists it is. But few — if any — Jewish leaders seem to agree.

Senior Fatah member hit with lawsuit upon arrival at JFK,

A senior member of the Palestinian Authority was served with a $250 million civil lawsuit on Wednesday, upon his arrival at a New York airport, over his alleged involvement in the torture and killing of a Palestinian-American man.

Palestinian politics

Fatah’s Barghouti pushes hunger strike for 3,500 prisoners,

Imprisoned Fatah senior leader Marwan Barghouti calls for the group’s prisoners in Israel to start a hunger strike over imprisonment conditions.

Israeli politics

Opposition MKs accuse Netanyahu of 'trying to take over the media',

The Knesset plenum held a debate Wednesday on the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation issue under the title “The Prime Minister’s attempts to take over the media.”

Gaza

Hamas hangs three 'collaborators' in death of Gaza official,

Gaza’s Hamas rulers hanged three men they accused of collaborating with Israel on Thursday, fulfilling vows of revenge for the assassination of one of their commanders last month.

Palestinian Authority pay cut angers Gaza workers,

The PA says falling foreign aid has left it unable to provide full salaries; others see the move as an attempt to weaken Hamas with social crisis.

Israeli planes spray herbicides inside Gaza for fourth time this year,

Israeli planes have been reported spraying herbicides over land inside the Gaza Strip on four occasions in 2017, including twice in the last two days.