Featuring Kareem Jubran (B’Tselem) & Sarit Michaeli (B’Tselem) with Dr. Yara Asi (FMEP). Forcible transfer of Palestinians in the West Bank is a reality. The Israeli government, its security forces, and Israeli settlers are actively targeting Palestinian communities through a growing matrix of tools geared towards making their lives so economically untenable, functionally unbearable, and fundamentally unsafe that they are compelled to abandon their homes and lands, disperse their communities, and give up their means of earning their livelihoods. In this briefing, we describe these communities and discuss the official and unofficial tools Israel used to displace them and how this oppression amounts to the war crime of forcible transfer.

1.Bills, Resolutions & Letters

2. Members of Congress’ Most Excellent Recess Adventures in the Middle East – final installment
3. Israel & AIPAC in the 2024 Election Cycle
4. Hearings & Markups
5. Media & Reports
6. Members on the Record

1. New from FMEP
2. Israel Advances Plan for New, Heavily Fortified Settlement Enclave in East Jerusalem – “Kidmat Tzion”
3. Israel Advances Plan to Massively Expand of Givat Hamatos Settlement (New Talpiyot Hill/Hebron Strip Plan)
4. Settlers Forcibly Seize East Jerusalem Home, Later Removed
5. Oslo & The Settlements
6. Bonus Reads

“…legal experts and human rights activists argue that the radical changes in Israel are aimed at facilitating and hastening the changes occurring in the West Bank. For all practical purposes, this amounts to annexation in every respect, except for an official declaration. The change in Israel’s policy is already quite evident on the ground: Since the beginning of the year, there has been a record number of permits issued for building in the settlements, nearly complete law enforcement paralysis regarding illegal construction by Jews, and an increase in incidents of violence against Palestinians…“Smotrich is establishing an entire apparatus subordinate to himself,” says attorney Michael Sfard. “It runs parallel to the military apparatus. This is annexation in every way, without all the pomp and circumstance of cutting the ribbon, as Putin did in the Crimean Peninsula. This is a complete and total annexation achieved through small, bureaucratic means.”” See also Israel’s finance minister now governs the West Bank. Critics see steps toward permanent control (AP); Israeli Army Begins Routine Border Closure of Gaza and West Bank Ahead of Rosh Hashanah (Haaretz)

“Community after community of Bedouin shepherds, the weakest and most helpless population in the West Bank, are leaving the land they have dwelt on for decades, no longer able to bear the settlers’ violence, which has spiked sharply in recent months. Far from the eyes of Israelis and the international community, an unbelievable systematic population transfer is underway here – effectively the ethnic cleansing of vast areas in the South Hebron Hills, the Jordan Valley and now also of areas in the heart of the West Bank.” See also ‘They like parading their power’: In Hebron, a case study in Israeli apartheid (New Arab); 

“The [Israeli government’s plans for a judicial] overhaul is designed to erode judicial review and weaken the oversight powers of Israel’s Supreme Court. It has alarming implications for human rights, particularly for Palestinians, as well as other marginalized groups in Israel. Dangerous though these plans are, the fact remains that Israel’s judiciary has regularly upheld laws, policies and practices which help to maintain and enforce Israel’s system of apartheid against Palestinians – the Supreme Court has signed off on many of the violations that underpin the apartheid system. Below is a brief guide to what’s happening, why the overhaul could make things even worse – and why, despite its serious flaws, Israel’s judiciary must not be made subordinate to the government.”

“According to data issued quarterly by the Israeli Prison Service (IPS), as of 30 June 2023, there were 4,839 Palestinians (West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza) held as “security prisoners” in detention facilities including 161 children (12-17 years)…Eighteen children were held in administrative detention without charge or trial – the highest number since January 2008. According to the IPS, 72 percent of child detainees were unlawfully transferred from the occupied West Bank to prisons inside Israel in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. More statistics. Threats to extract confessions – Ten years ago UNICEF reported on the widespread use of threats by Israeli interrogators to obtain confessions from children detained in the occupied West Bank. At the time, children reported being threatened in 47% of cases. UNICEF made 3 recommendations with a view to eliminating the practice. A decade on, children report being threatened in 73% of cases and none of UNICEF’s recommendations have been implemented. [Emphasis added by FMEP.]  The types of threats made include: long-term imprisonment; arrest of family members; revocation of work permits; physical violence; solitary confinement; administrative detention; and house demolition. Without domestic or international accountability there is no reason to anticipate substantive improvement.” 

“Since the start of the school year, Israeli police officers stationed at the Temple Mount/Al-Aqsa compound have searched the bags of Palestinian high school students wishing to enter and confiscated textbooks depicting the Palestinian flag. According to East Jerusalem education officials, hundreds of books have been confiscated thus far with police claiming they are incendiary materials.” See also Israel Police Ban Selling Items Featuring Palestinian Flag in Jerusalem’s Old City (Haaretz); See also Likud MKs lead call to ease conditions for extremist who killed Palestinian family (Times of Israel: “The 14 Knesset members, more than half from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, made their appeal on behalf of Amiram Ben Uliel to Shin Bet security chief Ronen Bar…Ben Uliel was sentenced to three life sentences plus 20 years for a deadly firebombing in the West Bank village of Duma in which Riham and Saad Dawabsha were killed along with their 18-month-old son, Ali Saad.”

“Nasser Nawaj’ah saw his family expelled from its village, which was demolished, and witnessed the murder of a shepherd by a settler. After choosing the path of nonviolent resistance, he became a field researcher for B’Tselem, and has now received the New Israel Fund’s Truth to Power Award”

“These are the ruins of the Palestinian village of Qadas, whose residents were forced to flee during Israel’s 1948 War of Independence. The abandoned village was then bulldozed by Israeli authorities so that refugees would have no chance of reclaiming their homes and lands. For the last three years, the site has been the focus of a unique project by Israeli archaeologists, who have sought to expose those ruins and shed light on the last days of Qadas and its subsequent destruction. The dig is the first in Israel specifically dedicated to archaeologically exploring the legacy of what Palestinians remember as the Nakba (“catastrophe” in Arabic)…The excavation at Qadas uncovered new insights about the village’s history during the 1948 war. But more broadly, it aims to put Israelis face to face with the Nakba, a controversial and oft-ignored topic, as well as make a point about Israeli archaeology, its practices, and its role in erasing recent Palestinian history.”

“Now, 11 years later, I am leaving the site, and finally have an opportunity to reflect…A site like +972 can never bring about liberation or equality. But it could, perhaps, play a role in tackling the questions that need answering…inspiring people to take action, and keeping even the smallest flame of hope alive in a place where there is often no choice but to believe that things can be different…To understand how to act today, we need to stop fearing the language that so accurately describes the regime that rules the lives of Palestinians and Jews between the river and the sea. Do not fear terms like settler colonialism. Do not fear a word like apartheid. Do not fear BDS. The faster we normalize them for ourselves, our friends, our families, our communities, the faster we can dream of new formulations for resistance. There is no time left.”

“U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview published Wednesday that Saudi Arabia has made it clear to the United States that the Palestinian issue will play a central role in any future agreement with Israel.” See also Saudi Arabia to co-host Israel-Palestine ‘peace forum’ at UN General Assembly (New Arab); Saudis co-hosting UN event aimed at revamping Israeli-Palestinian peace process (ToI)

“At least six people have been killed and more than a dozen wounded in clashes in Lebanon’s largest Palestinian camp, the Palestinian Red Crescent’s Lebanon branch said on Wednesday, taking the death toll to 15 since fighting broke out on September 7. Clashes intensified on Wednesday as a ceasefire fell apart in Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp on the outskirts of the southern port city of Sidon. Scores of civilians have been forced to flee to safer areas as multiple ceasefire agreements have failed to hold.” See also Gaza Palestinian factions hold drills amid infighting in Lebanon’s refugee camp (Al Monitor); Suspected Israeli strikes in Syria hit military sites in Tartus, Hama (Al Monitor)

“Israel foiled an attempt to smuggle 16 tons of chemicals that could be used to manufacture rocket fuel hidden in a shipment from Turkey headed to the Gaza Strip, customs authorities announced Thursday. Among the containers that arrived at Ashdod port in July were some containing 54 tons of plaster for construction in Gaza. In those containers, inspectors found 16 tons of ammonium chloride, a dual-use chemical that Israel bars from Gaza due to its potential to be used to construct rockets, the Customs Directorate said.” See also Deadly explosion hits Gaza rally marking 2005 Israel pullout (Al Jazeera: “At least five Palestinians have been killed and 25 others wounded in an explosion next to the separation fence along the Israeli frontier with Gaza, according to the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip. The cause of the blast was not immediately known.”); Gaza: Israel denied life-saving healthcare to ‘two Palestinian children a day’ in 2023 (Middle East Eye)

“A Haaretz investigation reveals that Israeli cyber companies developed technology that exploits the advertising system at the heart of the online economy to monitor civilians, hack into their phones and computers, and spy on them. This terrifying capability, against which no defense currently exists, has already been sold to a nondemocratic country”

“A sovereign Palestinian state is today perhaps further from reality than ever before. Indeed, with the demise of the so-called two-state solution and the entrenchment of Israeli settler colonialism and apartheid across Palestine, the possibility of a Palestinian nation-state is arguably defunct. What does a Palestinian political future beyond partition look like? What would this entail for Palestinians within colonized Palestine and across the diaspora? Given their forced fragmentation, how might Palestinians forge collective visions for their political future? In this Focus On, Al-Shabaka’s policy analysts imagine Palestinian political futures within the context of historical and ongoing realities. Among other topics, they revisit the history of popular committees and consensus-building efforts during the First Intifada to show how local Palestinian governance might be strengthened, and how we might rethink the meaning of self-determination from the grassroots. They consider how various aspects of Palestinian society, including health, education, and policing, could be transformed to help sustain a new political vision for liberation, and revive popular engagement in colonized Palestine and beyond. And they examine the different means through which Palestinians can utilize international legal avenues to strategize an effective anti-apartheid movement.” Authors: Amal Ahmad, Yara Asi, Sam Bahour, Nadim Bawalsa, Leila Farsakh, Layth Hanbali, Yara Hawari, Ahmad Samih Khalidi, Rania Muhareb

“We the undersigned, Palestinian academics, writers, artists, activists, and people of all walks of life, unequivocally condemn the morally and politically reprehensible comments made by President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas about the Holocaust. Rooted in a racial theory widespread in European culture and science at the time, the Nazi genocide of the Jewish people was born of antisemitism, fascism, and racism. We adamantly reject any attempt to diminish, misrepresent, or justify antisemitism, Nazi crimes against humanity, or historical revisionism vis-a-vis the Holocaust. The Palestinian people are sufficiently burdened by Israeli settler colonialism, dispossession, occupation, and oppression without having to bear the negative effect of such ignorant and profoundly antisemitic narratives perpetuated by those who claim to speak in our name. We are also burdened by the PA’s increasingly authoritarian and draconian rule, which disproportionately impacts those living under occupation. Having held onto power nearly a decade and a half after his presidential mandate expired in 2009, supported by Western and pro-Israel forces seeking to perpetuate Israeli apartheid, Abbas and his political entourage have forfeited any claim to represent the Palestinian people and our struggle for justice, freedom, and equality, a struggle that stands against all forms of systemic racism and oppression.” See also Dozens of Top Palestinian Intellectuals Condemn Abbas’ Holocaust Revisionism (Haaretz: “Among the signatories include historian Rashid Khalidi, human rights lawyer Zaha Hassan, novelist Isabella Hammad, filmmaker Annemarie Jacir, businessman Sam Bahour and writer Joey Ayoub. Noura Erekat, an activist who joined the letter, noted “it’s a shame we have to put out this statement at all.”)

“Palestinian politicians on Wednesday raged against dozens of Palestinian academics who had criticized President Mahmoud Abbas’ recent remarks on the Holocaust that drew widespread accusations of antisemitism. They lambasted the open letter signed earlier this week by over a hundred Palestinian academics, activists and artists based around the world as “the statement of shame.”…“Their statement is consistent with the Zionist narrative and its signatories give credence to the enemies of the Palestinian people,” said the secular nationalist Fatah party that runs the Palestinian Authority. Fatah officials called the signatories “mouthpieces for the occupation” and “extremely dangerous.””

“Abbas is America’s man. The reason he remains in his position, over a decade beyond his democratic mandate, is entirely due to US intervention, which has propped up Abbas as the leader of an increasingly authoritarian PA…Commentators often justify the US’s decision to intervene in favor of Abbas by pushing a narrative that Palestinian politics is a binary of a collaborationist Fatah versus an extremist Hamas, implying that US intervention is necessary to stop extremist elements from gaining control in Palestine. The reality, however, is that US support of Fatah has created such a binary by allowing Abbas to prevent leftist and progressive alternatives from emerging.” See also Palestinians receive US-made vehicles, weapons through Jordan – report (Jerusalem Post)

“Traditional Palestinian embroidery is on UNESCO’s list of cultural heritage. Now there is a push to revive interest in the craft among younger generations.”

“In what is being described as the most important judicial proceeding in its history, Israel’s Supreme Court on Tuesday heard petitions about whether the court itself could have its powers of legal oversight stripped away by the legislature. The process, which will last for months, comes as the deeply polarized country has been racked by protests and teeters on the edge of a grave constitutional crisis as the most right-wing government in its history seeks to change how the country’s institutions function. The arguments, which started just after 9 a.m. local time, are being heard by all 15 justices, an unprecedented seating of the entire court…Whichever way the court rules, the prospects for a crisis in governance are high. Some key ministers have said they would not obey a ruling that reverses their July vote to trim the court’s powers of judicial review. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to say clear that he would comply. Last week, Netanyahu retweeted a video of a speech by the Knesset speaker, who said that “the Knesset will not surrender and accept being trampled upon.”” See also Ohana says coalition could set up ‘constitutional court’ to bypass judicial oversight (ToI); 

“Without judicial review, “What if Parliament passes a law that said that elections should be held in 10 years?” asked Anat Baron, a judge on the court, during an exchange on Tuesday. What if the government decides “that Arabs have no right to vote, or that it is forbidden to drive on the Sabbath, including for secular people?” Justice Baron added. “What then?” Speaking in response, Simcha Rothman, a coalition lawmaker and an architect of the legislation, said that it wasn’t the court’s place to overrule lawmakers chosen by the people.” 

“A perusal of the stated goals of the current government shows that it is working based on a guiding principle: “The Jewish people have an exclusive and indisputable right to all expanses in the Land of Israel.”…It is true that Palestinians on both sides of the Green Line will suffer more if the judicial coup is carried out, and it’s true that the repeal of the reasonableness standard will lead to further human rights violations. It is also true that the High Court of Justice has granted some appeals against discrimination against Palestinians in Israel. However, these did not pertain to recognition of the collective rights of Palestinian citizens and did not touch upon the heart of the national struggle between them and the Jewish majority…All this means that the very participation of Palestinian citizens in the protest against the coup means voicing explicit support for the Supreme Court, despite its rulings. The call for us to take part in the protest forces us in effect to adopt the emblem of the protests, the Israel flag, and the call to protect democracy in Israel.”

“Roni Numa, a reserve major general in the Israeli military, is one of several petitioners who have requested that the High Court strike down the law for fear, he said, of “the risk it posed to soldiers and to everyone at the heart of operational action in every arena.”…That the High Court covers up the crimes of the occupation is clear for all to see. For many, especially those in the security establishment, this is an essential feature, not a bug, of the Court’s role in society. Numa’s petition is but another reminder that Israeli military officers not only expect the Court to spare them from having to stand trial in Israel, allowing them to live with a clear conscience; now they expect the Court to intervene against the judicial overhaul to shield them from judgment in international courts.” See also ‘Wounds Will Need to Be Healed’: Collisions in a Fractured Israel (NYT: “The judicial crisis has become a proxy for an even broader battle among Israelis about the future of their country, as well as about what it means to be both a Jewish state and a democratic one…Since the start of that effort in January, the longstanding grievances have burst to the surface, foregrounding deep rifts, not only between the religious and the secular, but between different ethnic groups and social classes — all of whom now feel under attack, and are quick to go on the offensive themselves.”); An Israeli TV Channel for Netanyahu Fans Rapidly Gains Influence (NYT)

“The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed to Al-Monitor Thursday that he will meet with Elon Musk, owner of the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), on Monday in Silicon Valley, before heading to New York for the annual UN General Assembly meeting. Netanyahu also confirmed that he will meet with US President Joe Biden in New York, though no date was given…A statement issued Thursday evening by the office of Netanyahu said the Israeli premier will meet in New York with Biden, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.”

“An influential academic association representing lecturers specialising in Middle Eastern studies has called on UK universities to drop a controversial definition of antisemitism endorsed by the British government because of concerns it is being used to target students and staff critical of Israel. A new report released on Wednesday and co-authored by the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES) and the European Legal Support Centre (ELSC), found that cases of staff and students being accused of antisemitism in universities that have adopted the definition were “undermining academic freedom and freedom of expression” on campuses. More than 200 universities, colleges, and higher education providers in the UK have adopted the definition proposed by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)…Based on 40 cases reported to the ELSC, the report found that antisemitism complaints against academics, student unions, students, and societies led to universities cancelling events critical of Israel and “sustained levels of monitoring and surveillance of complainants” including the recording of student speeches and staff lectures and the monitoring reading lists, course material, and social media posts. Describing the IHRA definition as “not fit for purpose”, BRISMES and the ELSC said it was harming the mental health, reputation, and career prospects of students and staff who had been falsely accused of antisemitism. The report also noted that “certain groups of staff and students, who are under-represented and marginalised within UK academia” particularly Palestinian, Black, and ethnic minority are targeted with complaints that rely on the IHRA definition.” See also New Report Highlights Major Free Speech Issues in UK Universities (European Legal Support Center); Antisemitism definition used by UK universities leading to ‘unreasonable’ accusations (Guardian)

“On Tuesday, Palestine Legal filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), demanding an investigation into the University of Illinois Chicago’s (UIC) discriminatory treatment of Palestinian students, including barring Palestinian students from attending a January 2023 informational session on a university sponsored Israel study abroad program and threatening legal action against them for speaking about their experiences of discrimination. The complaint explains that UIC faculty and staff singled out and excluded students with Arab-sounding names in order to prevent them from voicing concerns about Israel’s discrimination against Palestinians, only admitting students with non-Arab sounding or ethnically ambiguous names. Partway through the information session, three Palestinian students renamed themselves and were then promptly admitted, while UIC staff excluded those who had not hidden their Palestinian identities. Palestine Legal is representing six Palestinian UIC students who were excluded from the session and one Jewish UIC student who was censored during the session. The complaint demands that the Department of Education investigate UIC’s violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000d, which protects students from discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin.”

“Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) led a letter on Friday to Secretary of State Tony Blinken highlighting ongoing concerns about Israel’s entry into the Visa Waiver Program, arguing that Israel is still not in compliance with program regulations and likely will not be by the Sept. 30 deadline. The letter alleges that Israel is establishing a “two-tiered system that discriminates between different groups of U.S. citizens” and that admitting it to the program would be a “violation of law.” Given that Israel is reportedly on track to enter the program, the letter appears to be a last-ditch effort to stop it, with the lawmakers requesting a phone call with Blinken “as soon as possible.” The letter was co-signed by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Peter Welch (D-VT), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Tom Carper (D-DE), Tina Smith (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).”

“Polling shows that, like many Israelis, many American Jews oppose the judicial changes in Israel. Yet some have also been reluctant to criticize Israel openly for what seems a domestic matter…“American Jews are really accustomed to being asked to rally for Israel,” said Rabbi Michelle Dardashti of Brooklyn’s Kane Street Synagogue. “Being asked to reassess our relationship with Israel and to protest the government, and publicly — that’s foreign for American Jews.””

“In her elegant and measured tone, Ashrawi looks back with anger. Anger at the Americans and Europeans who broke all their promises to the Palestinians. Anger at the Israelis who used Oslo as an instrument to perfect the occupation and distance the Palestinians from independence. And anger — or perhaps more accurately, pain — that the Palestinian leaders in exile who signed Oslo did not realize in real time that Israel was misleading them. “They didn’t know the Israelis,” she says, “They didn’t know, from direct experience, how the occupation works.” And yet, despite all the disappointments, Ashrawi has not lost her optimism — both because Palestinians are not giving up, and because of what is happening inside Israel these days. While she is aware that only a small minority within Israel’s anti-government protests are talking about the occupation, she believes that the alarming scenes from the settler pogroms in the West Bank town of Huwara, to the police brutality against protesters in Tel Aviv these past months, will have an impact. “Once you start removing the lid, it’s like popcorn — everything pops out,” she said.”

“Remarkably, the notion that the Oslo Accords were a well-intentioned but failed peace process still holds strong sway in some circles in the West. The truth is that the architects of Oslo were not interested in Palestinian statehood or liberation but rather wanted to find a way to get the Palestinian leadership to quietly agree to capitulation and suppress any further resistance at the grassroots. They have encouraged and supported Palestinian authoritarianism because it falls in line with these goals. In the end, Oslo did not bring peace to the Palestinians but yet another major obstacle to liberation.” See also The Oslo trap: How the PLO signed its own death warrant (Raef Zreik//+972); I am part of the Oslo Generation brought up on a lie about ‘peace’ (Inès Abdel Razek//Middle East Eye)

“Three decades on, the Oslo accords framework continues to affect and shape major aspects of Palestinian life and death. Since its inception and adoption, Oslo has created processes, institutions, and arrangements in Palestinian society that have resulted in major structural transformations and deficiencies, particularly in the occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Oslo accords framework distorted Palestinian civil society, redefined and reconceptualised key pillars of the social contract, and further fragmented and divided the Palestinian people. It solidified Palestinian economic dependence on, and asymmetrical containment by, the Israeli economy, creating an economy that is inherently reliant on international aid and institutionalising a process that denied the Palestinian right to development. Politically, the Oslo framework led to the domination of personal styles of governance over inclusive, accountable, and participatory approaches. This inevitably alienated the Palestinian people from the core of the political system and governing bodies by breeding corruption and failing to establish effective mechanisms of accountability and transparency. Such flaws are neither accidental nor unintended; they are integral to the design of the Oslo Accords and constitute fundamental prerequisites for the “peace and state-building” processes.”

“Thanks to Oslo, Israel absolved itself of the occupier’s responsibility for the people and their welfare. And it kept the cream: control over land, water, the cellphone wavelengths, the maritime and air space, freedom of movement, the economy and borders (both external and of every pocket of territory). Israel rakes in enormous profits from these levers of control, as it oversees a large human laboratory where it develops and tests its most profitable exports: arms, munitions and control-and surveillance technology. The Palestinians in this lab – deprived of authority and whose resources are shrinking – have been left with the responsibility of managing their problems and civilian affairs.” See also Thirty years on, the Oslo Accords betrayal still haunts Palestinians (Yara Asi//New Arab); 30 Years After Oslo – The data that shows how the settlements proliferated following the Oslo Accords (Peace Now); The contradictory afterlives of Oslo (Dahlia Scheindlin//+972);