In this episode of “Occupied Thoughts,” FMEP 2023 non-resident fellow Rabea Eghbariah speaks to Raafat Sub Laban, a Palestinian human rights attorney from the Old City of Jerusalem whose family is under the threat of imminent dispossession from their home. Raafat explains how the dispossession of Palestinians in Jerusalem is enabled by Israeli law and settler organizations who work together to “Judaize” the city and drive Palestinians out. Raafat also shares updates about the Sub Laban family situation and the #SaveNorasHome campaign.

1.Bills, Resolutions & Letters

2. FY24 Appropriations bills
3. FY 24 NDAA
4. Hearings & Events
5. Media & Reports
6. Members on the Record (Israel/Palestine)
7. Members on the Record (Iran & other Mideast countries)

1. Israel Advances Plans for 5,700 New Settlement Units, Making 2023 (after just 6 months) A Record Year for Settlement Growth
2. In the Midst of Settler Rampages, Six New Outposts Established Last Week
3. New “Youth Center” Planned for East Jerusalem Settler Enclave
4. Terrestrial Jerusalem on The Big Picture of Jerusalem Settlement Activities
5. Ir Amim & Bimkom Warn of Potential for Mass Dispossession Via East Jerusalem Land Registration
6. Bonus Reads

“Israel’s army on Wednesday declared the end of a large-scale military operation in the occupied West Bank that killed 12 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier over the previous two days. The raid, involving hundreds of forces, drone strikes and armoured bulldozers, targeted the northern West Bank city of Jenin, a centre for multiple armed Palestinian groups. Thousands of Palestinian mourners joined a funeral procession in Jenin for those killed, where militants fired gunshots into the air and the crowd chanted “With our souls and blood, we will sacrifice for you, martyr!” Amid the days of violence, a Palestinian attacker in Tel Aviv on Tuesday wounded seven Israelis in a car ramming and stabbing attack before an armed civilian shot him dead. Overnight, Israel carried out air strikes on targets inside the blockaded Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire from the Palestinian coastal enclave, with no deaths reported. As the army pulled out of Jenin, much of the city’s crowded refugee camp was left charred and in rubble from the incursion which displaced at least 3,000 residents…Late on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to launch more operations if needed.” See also In photos: Jenin left in rubble after Israeli raid killed 12 Palestinians (Washington Post); Jenin under fire: A timeline of Israeli raids (Washington Post); Israel attacks Jenin in biggest West Bank incursion in 20 years (Guardian); Broken walls, crushed cars: Jenin assesses damage of Israeli raid (Al Monitor); ‘We are reliving the Nakba’: Palestinians in Jenin describe the Israeli attack on the refugee camp (New Arab); Displaced at Israeli gunpoint, Jenin residents return to find their homes in ruins (Middle East Eye: “According to city officials, more than 4,000 residents were displaced and 800 houses were damaged or destroyed.”)

“Residents threw rocks at the security headquarters of the Palestinian Authority in the city, furious that its security forces had allowed Israeli troops to operate freely in the camp. Palestinian security personnel fired tear gas at the protesters. Memes on social media ridiculed the Palestinian Authority, saying that if it was not going to fight the Israelis, it could at least hand out ammunition…anger at the Palestinian Authority is soaring in Jenin. Many scoffed at Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s declaration that he will cut all security coordination with Israel in response to the raid.” See also Jenin raid: Mourners kick out Palestinian Authority leaders from funeral held for victims (Middle East Eye)

“Israel‘s increasing use of sophisticated military hardware in the occupied West Bank, including drones and Apache attack helicopters, has been met with a muted response from the Biden administration, underlining Washington’s lack of red lines as violence against the Palestinians escalates.” Also from Middle East Eye: Jenin under attack: Israel bulldozers ‘plough’ streets and destroy infrastructure; Jenin refugee camp: A symbol of resistance and resilience in the West Bank; Israeli forces hit Jenin’s hospitals, Netanyahu says raid not ‘one-time’ event;

“The morning brought news of a devastating attack on The Freedom Theatre, where a group of families sought refuge amidst the turmoil. The occupying forces callously targeted them with missiles, shattering their hopes for safety…The occupation relentlessly tightens its grip on the refugee camp, decimating its infrastructure and obliterating the main roads in the camp. The message is crystal clear – punish the stronghold of popular resistance in Jenin, and project an image of invincibility to Israeli society regarding their military prowess…The occupation’s attempts to eradicate the resistance in Jenin will not succeed, just as their predecessors failed in 2002. Buildings may crumble, cars may be reduced to wreckage, and countless individuals may be detained, wounded and even martyred. However, these actions will only serve to breed a new generation that will carry the torch of resistance passed down by those who came before them, as we do today, and as our children will do in the future. It is a relentless pursuit, driven by the aspiration to reclaim our land and restore the dignity of every human being.” See also ‘They want to punish Jenin refugee camp as revenge’, Vera Sajrawi’s interview with The Freedom Theatre’s Ahmed Tobas in +972: “The sight of what is happening takes me back 20 years,” he continued, referring to the Israeli army’s invasion during “Operation Defensive Shield” amid the Second Intifada. “It’s the same atmosphere, the same danger, the same destruction. We have no electricity, no internet, they broke the water pipelines, they cut all the electrical cords, there are Israeli snipers everywhere. Soldiers are moving in groups right now from one house to another — the same strategy they used in 2002.”…“For the first time in 20 years they fired Apache missiles at us,” he continued.”

“Amid this ongoing escalation, Palestinian journalists are being prevented from covering what is happening inside the camp. Videos emerged yesterday of Israeli snipers shooting directly and repeatedly at gear belonging to a camera crew from Al Araby TV and other freelancers, who had been transmitting live footage soon after the invasion began. The journalists were then reportedly besieged inside a home for more than two hours, unable to move or document at all. Such targeted attacks on journalists — which led the Palestinian Information Ministry to appeal for their urgent international protection — raise grave concerns about press freedom and the safety of reporters documenting Israeli military operations in the occupied territories.” Also from +972: ‘Her smile never left her face’ (Basel Adra: “Palestinian teen Sadeel Naghniyeh was shot in the head while standing at the entrance to her home in Jenin refugee camp during an Israeli raid last month.”)

“And according to experts and observers, early evidence suggests the siege might only embolden the resistance…“Such deployment of brutal force is also a short-term attempt to show who is in charge and who holds the power, to deter armed resistance against the occupation,” said Ines Abdel Razek, executive director of the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy. “But history shows us it will actually get Palestinians even more determined.”…For years, Jenin has been a sore spot for Israel, which has not managed to crush the tides of resistance despite many efforts. But observers say that Israel has failed to achieve its mission in Jenin, which is to root out the fighters completely. “Israel failed to achieve the military and political objectives it set out for its invasion of Jenin. The resistance groups remain, and have been strengthened as the refugee camp and the entire country has rallied behind them,” said Salem Barahmeh, a Palestinian activist…Yet Israel did achieve some of what it likely set out to do, said analysts. It destroyed large parts of the camp’s infrastructure, and with it, crippled the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency’s ability to rebuild. “Because they couldn’t secure a clear ‘win’, they completely destroyed the infrastructure of the camp and they terrorised an entire generation of refugees who are already traumatised,” said Diana Buttu, an analyst and former legal advisor to the Palestinian negotiating team. “UNRWA [UN Refugee Agency] is already cash strapped and so what they did was destroy the camp where people are going to be scrambling to rebuild it.””

“West Bank centers like Jenin and Nablus, already subjected to various forms of closure and invasion, are now catching a glimpse of what is yet to come. For many people there, the main experience of Israelis may no longer be of raiding troops or marauding settlers, but of soaring jets and humming drones. If the expulsion of Palestinians won’t be possible, Gazafication will be their future.” See also Why did Israel use helicopter gunships on Jenin refugee camp? (Al Jazeera)

“As with previous Israeli operations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip this one is likely to significantly degrade the Palestinian organizational infrastructure, and in the process deliberately inflict an enormous cost upon its civilian counterpart. Yet success at the strategic level will remain elusive; there is little reason to believe that Israel will today succeed where it failed not only in 2002, but repeatedly in the intervening years. Indeed, the fact of Israel’s current attack, and the reality that is being unleashed against an emboldened and more sophisticated Palestinian adversary, demonstrates the temporary nature of its earlier achievements. At the same time the weakness of a Palestinian national movement beset by fragmentation and disintegration prevents it from translating Israel’s failures into Palestinian progress. The repeatedly proclaimed “unity of the arenas”, for example, thus far remains a slogan rather than collective defense agreement, and earlier this year failed to materialize even within the Gaza Strip when Israel assassinated a number of senior Islamic Jihad cadres and Hamas refrained from direct involvement. Israel’s campaign to transform the Palestinians from a unified people to a politically inconsequential demographic presence thus continues.”

“Whatever the next raid looks like, there is little doubt that the battlefield dynamics have shifted. The Israeli military is no longer just confronting Palestinian resistance fighters in the West Bank in an urban warfare setting but is now increasingly facing guerilla tactics like the use of tunnels and IEDs…Multiple Israeli analysts have described the military operation in Jenin as “maintenance,” and much like the phrase “mowing the lawn,” often used to describe periodic Israeli attacks on Gaza, this policy does not envision an end to armed conflict but rather assumes and guarantees its permanence. Jenin may well now go on the Israeli military’s “maintenance” schedule, but as we have witnessed in recent years the time between Israeli operations in Jenin seems to be getting shorter and the level of force used only gets greater.”

“A Palestinian on Tuesday rammed a pickup truck into pedestrians in Tel Aviv before carrying out a stabbing attack, wounding eight people, on the second day of Israel‘s biggest military operation in the occupied West Bank in years. The Palestinian, identified as 20-year-old Abed al-Wahab Khalaila from Hebron, was shot and killed by an armed civilian at the scene, Israeli police said.”

“Palestinian hopes of establishing a sovereign state “must be eliminated,” Netanyahu told Knesset (Israeli parliament) committee members in a closed-door meeting about his government’s plans for the eventual departure of PA President Mahmoud Abbas. “We are preparing for the period after Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas],” Netanyahu said, adding that Israel “need[s] the Palestinian Authority. We must not allow it to collapse.”…In an official response, Hussein al-Sheikh, civil affairs minister for the PA, rejected Netanyahu’s remarks. “The role of the Palestinian Authority is to achieve the Palestinian national project of freedom, independence, and protection of the Palestinian people,” Sheikh said. The PA “has not and will not accept anything other than this national and historical role.”” See also Opinion | Israeli Occupation Perpetuates Palestinian Authority’s Weakness (Jack Khoury//Haaretz)

“Israel is currently holding over 1,100 Palestinians without trial or charge, the highest figure since 2003, an Israeli rights group said Sunday. The group, HaMoked, which regularly gathers figures from Israeli prison authorities, said that 1,132 people were being held in administrative detention, a practice in which prisoners can be held without charge practically indefinitely and are not granted access to the evidence against them. The vast majority of them are Palestinians. Just four of the detainees are Jewish Israelis.”

“Tel Aviv’s District Police Commander Ami Eshed announced Wednesday that he is resigning from the police, saying that he was ousted on political grounds…Referring to National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s demands that he use a strong hand against demonstrators protesting the government’s judicial overhaul, Eshed said: “I sinned by not being able to meet the expectations of the ministerial level, which included violating the rules, protocols, organizational structure and culture in decision-making and in operational judgment.”” See also Thousands Protest Across Israel After Ouster of Tel Aviv Police Chief (Haaretz)

“The latest step in the coalition’s planned overhaul of the judiciary, the bill would completely block judicial review or discussion of the “reasonableness” of decisions and appointments made by the cabinet, individual ministers and “other elected officials, as set by law.”” See also Explained: How Israel’s Top Court Could Lose a Key Power to Rein in the Government (Haaretz); Israelis protest at international airport against judicial overhaul plan (AP); Protesters block key highway as anti-overhaul demonstrations show no sign of easing (Times of Israel)

“The army Halevi commands today serves as an armed security force for the lawbreakers, so that they can return home safely at the end of their pogrom. In reality, the distinction between the army and the lawbreakers often no longer exists. On the ground, a hybrid organism of soldiers and pogromists has already evolved.” See also Israel Can (But Won’t) Stop West Bank Settlers’ Attacks on Palestinians (Ori Givati of Breaking the Silence//The Daily Beast: With one government decision, an order could be given to soldiers to arrest violent settlers, and the effect would transform the rates of violence and convictions of perpetrators. This act will not end the military occupation, but it would be a massive blow to the process of settlement expansion and land theft from Palestinians—and might put both Palestinians and Israelis on a better trajectory. Unfortunately, Israel’s leaders wake up every single morning and decide to let this violent destruction continue to multiply.”)

“Elizabeth Tsurkov, an Israeli-Russian researcher with deep knowledge of the Levant who was abducted on March 21 in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, is alive, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Wednesday.  The statement said that Iraq was “responsible” for the safety of Tsurkov, who was finalizing research for her doctoral thesis on patronage networks for Princeton University, and that the “relevant authorities” in Israel are handling the case. Tsurkov, 36, is being held by Kataib Hezbollah, the prime minister’s statement noted. The group is a radical Iran-backed Shiite paramilitary group that is part of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) formed to fight the Islamic State.” See also Kidnapped Scholar Elizabeth Tsurkov Deserves America’s Every Effort To Bring Her to Safety (New Lines Magazine; Elizabeth Tsurkov is a fellow at New Lines Institute)

“The State Department has named former US Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro as its point person for expanding the Abraham Accords between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Shapiro’s appointment as the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs’ senior advisor for regional integration comes as the Biden administration seeks to build on the Abraham Accords, which under former President Donald Trump in 2020 established formal ties between Israel and Arab states including Morocco, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.”

“Israeli political and defense officials have been told that their government’s acquiescence to the presence of unauthorized West Bank settlement outposts and its failure to deal with violence toward Palestinians would harm Israel’s relations with the Gulf states and the prospects of the establishment of diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia. They were told that it would also affect planned cooperation between Israel and the United States, including efforts to exempt Israeli visitors to the U.S. from having to apply for visas in advance.”