With the normalization of relations between Israel and some Arab countries moving at a relatively fast pace, and with the Abraham Accords having taken over a significant proportion of US policy conversations and priorities for the region, there is a great need to provide a detailed and objective assessment of this new policy direction and its potential impacts and implications. Arab Center Washington DC (ACW) and the Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP) hosted a half-day conference to discuss the implications of these agreements for human rights and democracy across the region, as well as for US policies and priorities, regional and global alliances, and the future of both peace and Palestinian human rights. The conference panels included an examination of the diplomatic, economic, military, and technological components of these newly established relations, the motivations of each of the countries involved, and an overall assessment of the future of the Abraham Accords. Featuring Diana Buttu, Dana El Kurd, Marwa Fatafta, Lara Friedman, Zaha Hassan, Khalil Jahshan, Tamara Kharroub, Tariq Kenney-Shawa, Eitay Mack, Yousef Munayyer, Josh Ruebner, Shibley Telhami, and Kristian Coates Ulrichsen.

Palestinian-American civil rights attorney Huwaida Arraf speaks with FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart about what happened since she was invited to address a high school diversity assembly in Michigan last month. After Arraf spoke to the students about her family and life experiences, the backlash began almost immediately, with prominent local leaders and the school district superintendent accusing Arraf of spreading “antisemitic rhetoric.” This Middle East Eye article, “How a Palestinian activist’s appearance at a US school triggered a smear campaign,” offers a detailed overview of the incident and its aftermath. Jewish Voice for Peace led the effort to support Arraf and spearheaded this petition, which has gained wide support: “Bigotry Comes in Many Forms: We Oppose the Targeting of Huwaida Arraf & Silencing of the Palestinian Narrative with Bogus Charges of Antisemitism.” As of this week, both the school principal and the district superintendent have resigned their posts.

1.Bills, Resolutions & Letters

2. Hearings
3. Media & Reports
4. Members on the Record (Palestine/Palestinians)
5. Members on the Record (Israel)
6. Members on the Record (Iran)
7. Members on the Record (other Mideast countries)

“The Israeli army said two of the three Palestinians killed were suspected to have been involved in the attack near Hamra, an illegal Israeli settlement in the Jordan Valley in April, which killed three members of a British-Israeli settler family, Haaretz reported.” See also Israeli Army Kills Two Palestinians Responsible for Dee Family Terror Attack in Nablus Raid (Haaretz); ‘Scores settled’: IDF kills Palestinians who allegedly shot dead 3 Dee family members (Times of Israel); Palestinian woman shot dead in West Bank after alleged stabbing attack (Middle East Eye)

“Militant groups in the Gaza Strip launched at least 26 rockets into Israel on Tuesday in retaliation for the death of a high-profile hunger striker in an Israeli prison, which Palestinian officials called a “deliberate assassination.” Khader Adnan, a 45-year-old father of nine and an influential member of the Islamic Jihad militant group, had been on hunger strike for 87 days after spending much of his adult life in prison on terrorism charges. Shortly after the announcement of his death, Hamas, the Islamist militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller Islamic Jihad fired four rockets and one mortar shell at Israeli border towns. Later in the day, Israeli tanks fired on Hamas sites in Gaza, followed by 22 more rockets fired from Gaza into Israel.” See also ‘Enough excuses’: Coalition amps up pressure on PM for firm response to Gaza rockets (Times of Israel); Israeli airstrikes on Gaza kill Palestinian as violence ebbs (AP);  Palestinian groups, Israeli forces agree to Gaza ceasefire (Al Jazeera)

“Adnan was last arrested on Feb. 5 as part of an Israeli security crackdown on Islamic Jihad infrastructure in Jenin, on suspicion of membership in the organization designated terrorist by Israel, and for incitement to violence. According to the Palestinian Prisoners Association, he had been detained by Israel 12 times and had spent around eight years in Israeli prisons in total, mostly under administrative detention without indictment or trial…Adnan had gone on hunger strike several times while in Israeli detention. In 2012, Adnan refused to eat for 66 days. He ended his strike with a deal for his release. Back in prison in 2015, he again refused to eat for 55 days. He also refused any medical care and stopped his strike only when he was released. Immediately after his Feb. 5 arrest, he again went on hunger strike and refused to undergo medical checks or receive any medical treatment while incarcerated. According to the Israeli human rights group HaMoked, Israel is currently holding around 1,000 Palestinian detainees without charge or trial, the highest number since 2003.” See also ‘Tell everyone I have a right to live like any human being’ (Oren Ziv//+972); International Committee of the Red Cross in Israel & Occupied Territories (Twitter): “We call on the Israeli authorities to release Mr. Adnan’s body, so his family can mourn and arrange a dignified burial according to their customs and beliefs.”; See also Who was Khader Adnan, the Palestinian detainee who died on hunger strike? (New Arab); Khader Adnan: Veteran Palestinian hunger striker and fierce anti-occupation activist (Middle East Eye); Photos: Protests in Palestine after the death of Khader Adnan (Al Jazeera);

“Israel is increasingly relying on facial recognition in the occupied West Bank to track Palestinians and restrict their passage through key checkpoints, according to a new report, a sign of how artificial-intelligence-powered surveillance can be used against an ethnic group…Israel has long restricted the freedom of movement of Palestinians, but technological advances are giving the authorities powerful new tools…In Hebron and East Jerusalem, the technology focuses almost entirely on Palestinians, according to Amnesty’s report, marking a new way to automate the control of interior boundaries that separate the lives of Palestinians and Israelis. Amnesty called the process “automated apartheid.” Israel has strongly denied that it operates an apartheid regime.” See also Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories: Automated Apartheid: How facial recognition fragments, segregates and controls Palestinians in the OPT (Amnesty International); ‘The system learns to recognize you’: Amnesty calls out automated apartheid (+972); What a cat in a keffiyeh reveals about AI’s anti-Palestinian bias (+972); Wolf Pack: Israel’s accelerated use of facial recognition is ‘automated apartheid’ (Middle East Eye)

“A separate road for Palestinians connecting the southern and northern West Bank without passing through near settlements is reaching its final planning stages. The road will enable Israeli construction in an area called E1, which is considered essential to the establishment of a future Palestinian state…Israel has so far avoided building in the areain the face of severe international criticism, on the grounds that building there will lead to a lack of geographic and demographic contiguity between areas under the Palestinian Authority’s control.” See also Danny Seidemann’s analysis of this road: “The completion of this road will be a quantum leap towards de facto annexation of a large portion of Area C. Dovetailed with E-1, and the demolition of Khan al Ahmar, which are intimately-linked to the road project, would further solidify the irrefutable reality of de facto annexation.” (Insiders’ Jerusalem, May 1, 2023)

“An investigation by +972 and Local Call reveals that 2.5 years ago, the Israeli military established a unit called “Desert Frontier” specifically for hilltop youth settlers, who make up the vast majority of the unit’s soldiers…A security official familiar with the incident told +972 on condition of anonymity that Desert Frontier, which was established in 2020 and is subordinate to the Jordan Valley Brigade, “consists mainly of hilltop youth…”The official, in addition to another source familiar with the unit, said that a few dozen soldiers serve in Desert Frontier, most of them from so-called shepherding outposts in the northern area of the Judean Desert and the Jordan Valley. According to these officials, many of them have a history of violence. You have to read it again to believe it: the military is enlisting hilltop youth settlers known for their violence toward Palestinians to serve in a unit that acts against Palestinians living in the same area.” See also Settlers accused of beating Palestinians in northern West Bank (ToI); Israeli forces kill Palestinian teenager in Jericho raid (Middle East Eye); Israeli troops kill Palestinian teen near West Bank’s Bethlehem (New Arab)

“The orchard, in which scores of olive, lemon, fig and other fruit trees were growing, as well as strawberries, was one of the last to survive the increasingly crowded neighborhood…Police officers and security guards removed the family from the site while workers from Elad, an organization promoting Palestinian displacement by Jewish settlers, took down the fence…to this day no signs of the pool have been uncovered…On the morning the dig started, archaeologists Alon Arad and Prof. Raphael Greenberg from Emek Shaveh, a human rights NGO trying to prevent the politicization of archaeology, warned against this excavation. In a letter to the director of the Antiquities Authority, Eli Escusido, they wrote: “We were astonished to learn about this operation, coordinated by the Authority and private organizations, during which Palestinian residents were forcibly removed from a plot they’ve been cultivating for decades, with an archaeological operation aimed at revealing the Siloam Pool. “This operation, at the service of a private organization with controversial messianic ambitions, again makes archaeological excavations a political tool meant to promote the control of a few over the past and future of the city, dear to us all.””

“The outlet quoted the far-right minister as saying armed civilians are crucial in thwarting many terror attacks, “and we will do anything we can to allow all those who meet the criteria to get gun permits.”…Ben Gvir has pushed to overhaul the current policy, following a series of terror attacks. Since handing down new orders in February, there was a spike in approvals, with 12,000 licenses issued since, according to Walla.”

“Yesterday, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit charging that a Palestinian rights organization had provided “material support” for terrorism by engaging in advocacy. Brought by the Jewish National Fund (JNF) and several U.S. citizens who live in Israel, the suit targeted First Amendment-protected activities of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR), including its support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. As the Court found, “[a]dvocating and coordinating a boycott of Israel — ‘economically, academically[,] and diplomatically,’… — is not unlawful.” The suit is part of a broader, global effort to repress and silence the political activities of supporters of Palestinian rights, advocates say…At issue were USCPR’s fiscal sponsorship of the Boycott National Committee and expressions of support for the rights and demands of Palestinians participating in the Great Return March, when they protested to demand respect for their right to return to the villages from which Israeli forces expelled them in 1948. These two activities, the lawsuit claimed, were a violation of the Antiterrorism Act, which prohibits “material support” for terrorism. But the suit did not establish a direct connection between USCPR’s activities and any unlawful acts.”

“A Jewish dermatologist who gave a guest lecture to Arkansas medical students found himself stiffed on his speaking fee because he refused to sign a pledge opposing the BDS movement…In 2017, the state enacted Act 710, “An Act To Prohibit Public Entities From Contracting With And Investing In Companies That Boycott Israel,” making Arkansas one of over 30 states to have passed laws related to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. BDS is a Palestinian-led grassroots campaign designed to put economic pressure on Israeli businesses, cultural institutions and universities in support of Palestinians. The Arkansas law, however, is particularly stringent, as it requires individuals or companies to pledge not to engage in BDS activities if they wish to conduct business with state-run institutions such as state schools. In February, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal in a case where a lower court had ruled that the editor of the Arkansas Times would be required to make such a pledge in order to receive advertisement contracts from the state.”

“In suing to stop the Frankfurt concert, state and city officials cited the artist’s support for the nonviolent Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement for Palestinian human rights—many of whose prominent members are Jewish—as well as his display of a pig-shaped balloon marked with a Star of David during his shows and his comparisons of Israel with apartheid-era South Africa as justification for canceling the performance…While the court found that it may be in “especially poor taste” to let Waters perform at the Frankfurt Festhalle—where 3,000 Jews were imprisoned before being shipped off to concentration camps during the Holocaust—the tribunal said the concert would “not be injurious to the human dignity of those people.” The court also said that although Waters’ concerts feature “symbolism manifestly based on that of the National Socialist regime,” the shows can be “viewed as a work of art” that “did not glorify or relativize the crimes of the Nazis or identify with Nazi racist ideology.””

“House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, on a visit to Israel, has placed himself in the middle of a widening rift between President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, criticizing the White House for not hosting the premier and suggesting he come address the Congress instead.” See also White House reiterates Netanyahu visit not yet planned, after McCarthy vows invite (Times of Israel); McCarthy extols ties at Knesset, vows full support for Israeli security against Iran (Times of Israel); Speaker McCarthy’s Remarks at the Knesset; McCarthy on Bibi’s judicial overhaul: “Israel can decide what it wants to do” (Axios)

“A week before the one-year anniversary of the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, Democratic lawmakers are set to renew calls on the Biden administration to seek accountability for her death…While the Biden administration has called for accountability over her death both publicly and behind the scenes, dissatisfied Democrats have spent the past year operating an unprecedented pressure campaign against their own administration. They are demanding that the White House take a firm stance against Israel on a matter related to the Palestinians. This campaign culminated in the reported opening of an FBI investigation into the matter at the end of last year, though nothing has yet emerged from that apparent probe. Sen. Chris Van Hollen has been perhaps the leading advocate in Congress on Abu Akleh’s behalf over the past 12 months. On Monday, he urged U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken not to edit a new report on Abu Akleh’s death before sharing it with U.S. lawmakers.”

“The speech Monday morning, at the ADL’s annual leadership summit in Washington, D.C., was remarkable for barely mentioning what has, for years, been the group’s focus: the threat from the far right, spurred in part by Trump’s ascendance. Instead Greenblatt, in prepared remarks, tacked to the center, remaining focused on a message he sounded at the same summit a year ago — that anti-Zionism is unquestionably antisemitism. “I know that for bigots — especially those who self-style as ‘anti-Zionists’ — Israel’s Independence Day is a day to redouble their efforts to make sure it is Israel’s last Independence Day,” he said, adding later, “To underscore what I said at this event last year: Anti-Zionism is antisemitism. Full stop.”

“Israel’s military court ruled on Sunday to extend the detention of Jordanian parliament member Imad al-Adwan, who was arrested a week prior on suspicion of smuggling weapons into the West Bank. The news was announced by Adwan’s lawyer, Jawad Boulos, who added that Israeli authorities are preventing him from meeting with his client.” See also Israel carries out airstrikes in Aleppo, Syria: local media (Al Monitor); Israel launches deadly air raid on Aleppo airport: media (Al Jazeera)

“For Israel, which last week offered to mediate between the two generals now at war, there is growing concern that if a cease-fire is not soon reached, a broader war could also threaten the implementation and expansion of the celebrated Abraham Accords, which it signed in 2020 first with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain and later spurred bilateral normalization treaties with Morocco and Sudan.”

“In 2023, Levin and his friends speak of “legal reform,” but actually seek to fully formalize Jewish supremacy between the river and the sea. This is how the leaders of the overhaul — as well as much of the opposition — view the concept of “Jewish democracy”: a country that is ruled only by and cares only for Jews…Crushing the judicial system and eliminating the power of the liberal sectors of Jewish society is merely collateral damage on the road to this goal. Precisely because Levin, Rothman, and their friends view themselves as revolutionaries, they see Netanyahu as a remnant of the “Ancien Régime.” As such, they are presenting him with an almost impossible choice: either put on the battle uniform and attack the court together in what currently appears to be a lost battle, or risk toppling his government, which may increase the chances that he will be convicted and sent to prison over corruption charges.” See also Right-Wing Israelis Come Out in Force to Support Judicial Overhaul (NYT); Israel’s Netanyahu sinks in polls as Gantz, Bennett jockey to replace him (Al Monitor)

“Justice Minister Yariv Levin has claimed the United States administration has been cooperating with protesters against his judicial overhaul proposals, and has blamed dissent from within his Likud party for the pause in the legislation, Hebrew media revealed Monday.” See also ‘Demonstrably false’: US pans Levin’s claim it’s cooperating with overhaul opponents (ToI)

“In college, my exposure to both the Palestinian struggle and the Mizrahi struggle changed fundamentally how I understood the reality of Israel. It allowed me to put into words that which until then I had no more than an inarticulate feeling: That there is an inherent contradiction between Israeli and Middle Eastern identity, and that in order to be accepted as a “true” Israeli, I would have to deny my Iranian identity, to be ashamed of it. Over time I have learned just how formative an experience this is for the Mizrahi community…Over the years, the Israeli establishment, from the days of Mapai (the original party that became the Labor Party today) until now, did everything it could to pit Mizrahim and Palestinians against each other — whether by settling immigrants in the homes of Palestinians who had fled the Nakba, or to make us fight over the crumbs at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder, or by encouraging Mizrahi hatred towards Arabs as a way to prove we weren’t like them. Yet in truth our oppression has the same source: namely, the Zionist-orientalist view of the Middle East and its people. The Palestinians suffer from this worldview infinitely more, but our interests in freeing ourselves from this oppression are aligned.”

“Declassified files reveal the extent of Israel’s ties with the regime known for torturing and murdering thousands of its citizens in the 1960s-70s.”