“Special representative for international negotiations Avi Berkowitz returned to Washington on Wednesday and met with senior advisor Jared Kushner to brief him on his meetings in Israel. Berkowitz met three times with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Alternate Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gabi Ashkenazi. Kushner is expected to hold a series of discussions with his team before taking the subject to President Donald Trump.”

“According to Axios, Trump thinks in retrospect that listening to Kushner on this issue was a mistake and is planning to ‘stick closer to his own instincts’ ahead of the November election….Kushner is viewed by Israeli officials as a moderating force when it comes to annexation. Twice in the past six months, he has successfully slowed U.S. ambassador to Israel David Friedman from getting Trump to green light massive Israeli annexation of West Bank settlements and the Jordan Valley. Kushner isn’t opposed to annexation per se, but the view in Israel is that he prefers a more cautious and calculated approach than Friedman.”

“A group of 12 US Senators proposed on Thursday legislation that would ensure American military aid to Israel would not be used to fund Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s annexation plans in the latest effort in Congress to oppose the looming Israeli move. The legislators proposed an amendment to the US defence budget for 2021 that would prohibit the use of American funds “to deploy defense articles, services or training” in annexed territories in the West Bank or to facilitate their annexation.”

“Following the delayed start to Israel’s plans to annex territory in the West Bank, prominent evangelical leaders in the U.S. implored President Donald Trump to go through with the intuitive – with some warning that withholding will jeopardize his chances of reelection in November. Dr. Mike Evans, a leading figure within the Evangelical community, told Ynet that Trump’s reelection is dependent on ‘our vote, the Evangelical vote’. ‘Our support is crucial, and he cannot win it without us,’ said Evans. ‘We are 100% supportive of applying Israeli sovereignty to the region. Our support of this did not begin with Trump, but with our Bible, because we believe that God decided to apply sovereignty thousands of years ago and told it to the Jewish people’s prophets’.”

An edited version of a webinar with Lara Friedman and Danny Seidemann on West Bank annexation.

“In a rare show of unity between rival Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas held a press conference on Thursday, where they presented a joint plan of action to counter Israel’s intents to annex parts of the West Bank. Jibril Rajoub, secretary general of the Fatah Central Committee, spoke from Ramallah, while Salah al-Aruri, head of the Hamas political bureau, joined via video call from Beirut. Reiterating a ‘unified voice,’ Rajoub confirmed that the two factions held a ‘quiet and balanced conversation’ and reached a stage where they want to ‘become a model of unity,’ a step that ‘the Palestinian people have been waiting for.’ The Fatah leader added that ‘annexation will be the bullet that will kill the two-state solution’.”

“At a press conference in Ramallah today, Palestinian Finance Minister Shukri Bishara said the Palestinian Authority’s domestic revenues had dropped by 80% in the last four months. He added that public salaries would be paid out at 50% through the end of the year, unless the government is able to secure emergency funds.”

“The Palestinian rights movement, although decentralized with a variety of different actors and an array of demands and agendas, does not generally tie itself to a particular political framework, whether one state or two, but rather aims to disrupt the systems of control and domination that curtail Palestinian lives. Instead of seeking a state, these campaigners highlight the values that must underpin any progress toward Palestinian self-determination, whatever form that might take: freedom, justice, and equality. Freedom connotes the call to end Israel’s military occupation; justice refers to the demand for restitution that Palestinian refugees seek for their dispossession and expulsion following the formation of the state of Israel in 1948; and equality refers to the demands of Palestinian citizens of Israel to end that nation-state’s institutional discrimination.”

“The only good thing that can come out of the current state of affairs, says Baconi, is the transition from a Palestinian struggle for independence and a state of their own, to an anti-colonial struggle.”

“However, real success requires some housecleaning first, a strategic decision and an organized plan of action involving all factions. Declarations and good intentions, as witnessed Thursday, won’t suffice.”

“The difficulties facing Palestinian journalists have led many to express themselves solely on digital media. But even with this relatively free medium, they are now dealing with a restrictive cybercrime law and pressure from Israel and social media companies in the absence of clearly defined rights and responsibilities. These three powerful forces are threatening press freedom in Palestine.”

“Thousands of Palestinians demonstrated in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday to protest the Israeli annexation plan. The West Bank was calm amid increased efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic…The demonstration in the Gaza Strip was organized by various Palestinian factions as part of a “popular day of rage” against the planned annexation.”

“The Hamas terror group arrested several members of an ‘Israeli-directed’ spy ring planning ‘sabotage’ in the Gaza Strip, the Hamas Interior Ministry announced on Friday morning. ‘The security services discovered a cell directed by the Israeli occupation as it attempted to conduct sabotage against resistance elements,’ the ministry said in a statement.”

“If Israel annexes part of the West Bank in early July and denies the Palestinians who come with it equal rights, I will confront one of the deepest dilemmas I have had to face since 1965, when I migrated to Israel from Apartheid South Africa…This is not Apartheid South Africa, but one stroke from a cynical pen annexing parts of the West Bank while denying equal rights and citizenship to all those living in the affected territory, is a sure death knell for Israel as a Jewish and democratic country as defined in our Declaration of Independence. Defending the essence and soul of this unique place is the battle now.”

“On its first day, the viral video logged over 100,000 views, becoming a hot news item. Its credits directed viewers to the sponsor the Geneva Initiative, an organization established 20 years ago to advance the vision of two states for two people. Ahead of the July 1 target date for the start of Israeli annexation of West Bank territory, the group choose a shocking message for its campaign to win over Israeli public opinion. It succeeded beyond all expectations.”

“But we can’t confuse this resizing of the annexation plan with it fizzling out altogether. In fact, the excuses, “compromises” and delays are aimed at softening our vigilance, diffusing our voices, weakening our resistance, making us think that maybe it’s not so bad, or maybe that annexation won’t even happen. Benjamin Netanyahu knows this game of distraction and delay incredibly well, finding ways to turn the unfathomable and indigestible into something we can swallow with a slight grimace. We can’t let him win that game; we must instead proactively debunk the misleading justifications that he and his allies will continue to roll out over the coming days, or weeks, with facts.”

“But even though the controversial and illegal move appears to be on hold for now, Jordan is careful not to let down its guard. During a meeting with a number of military retirees July 1, the king stressed that ‘Jordan’s position on the Palestinian cause remains unwavering,’ reaffirming that ‘any unilateral Israeli measures to annex lands in the West Bank are unacceptable,’ according to a Royal Court statement cited by The Jordan Times. He added, ‘Jordan has clearly expressed its steadfast position that such measures would undermine chances to achieve peace and stability in the region,’ pointing out that the kingdom was coordinating its position with a number of Arab and European countries.”

“Justice Hayut ultimately repeals the law, not because substantively a law like this cannot be made (the Knesset has done it before and will do it again) or because its purpose is improper (she finds that both sides presented valid arguments). Rather, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court disqualifies the law because it is disproportionate. And why is that? For one thing, a Justice Department team has already come up with a plethora of administrative possibilities (from the ‘market regulation’ rule to the statute of limitations under Article 78 of the 1858 Ottoman Land Code), for effecting the original dispossession (‘regularising the construction at the heart of the Regularisation Law’) even without the law. The attorney general, who supposedly declined to defend the original law, was the one who served up these goods to the court, and the Chief Justice lapped them up”

“On Wednesday, after a month of pressure by the family, officials confirmed in a court hearing that investigators are studying security-camera footage of the shooting, said the family’s lawyer.”

“Rana and Khairy are not interested in financial compensation, they say; all they want is for the policemen responsible to stand trial. A number of lawyers, among them the human rights attorney Michael Sfard, have offered their help.”

“‘Settlers are surrounding us right and left, and we had to live with their daily harassment. My childhood was not quiet and neither is my children’s,’ he said. In addition to settler harassment, excavation work done by Israeli authorities underneath Silwan have deprived the Sumarins of sleep for many years. Despite their suffering, the Sumarins refuse to give up on their home. With the Al-Aqsa Mosque so close, they say they feel as if they are living in a sacred place, and that they won’t concede – regardless of the circumstances. ‘Our ordeal is a difficult one, and hope is very dim because the Israeli government is standing behind the settlers, whereas we are fighting this battle alone,” Alaa said. “Notwithstanding the financial burden that we are bound to go through, we are determined, more than ever, to keep and maintain our historical rights in our house until the last breath’.”

“The premier rolled out the new restrictions, approved during an urgent Thursday evening Cabinet meeting, which include a limit of up to 20 people at closed spaces – such residential homes; and a limit of 50 people at bars, clubs, event halls, and synagogues. A decision about the opening of restaurants was put off for a later date due to internal disputes between the ministries of health and finance. Netanyahu said that if Israel wishes to keep the economy going, certain restrictions must be introduced to combat the continued spread of coronavirus.”

“A cabinet meeting Thursday to discuss new coronavirus restrictions became heated and contentious, and ended early, as ministers bickered over the correct course of action. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu angrily rebuked Blue and White and threatened a new election, Hebrew-language media reported, apparently over the latter’s push to gain more responsibility over the health crisis. The meeting of the so-called coronavirus cabinet, a ministerial panel that oversees the country’s pandemic response, revealed many disagreements between the ministers about the restrictions amid swiftly rising infections, as the Health Ministry pushed for dramatic steps that were opposed by others out of fear for the economic fallout.”

“Two Israeli defense contractors will partner with Abu Dhabi-based technology company Group 42 to develop technologies to help fight the new coronavirus, the companies said. Israel has no diplomatic relations with Gulf Arab countries, but common concerns over Iran’s regional influence have led to a limited thaw in ties…The partnership focuses on artificial intelligence, sensors and lasers, IAI said in a statement.”

“Abrams is surely free to continue suing entities over the cookies they choose to serve. But, the ACLU warned in a motion Friday, one of his latest lawsuits threatens any nonprofit engaged in any civil rights advocacy on any politically charged issue. Abrams’ target this time is the New Israel Fund, an organization dedicated to advancing democracy, equality, and basic freedoms in Israel. It raises millions of dollars that it distributes through grants to private Israeli organizations engaged in promoting human and civil rights, social and economic justice, religious pluralism, and other democratic causes. Abrams’ complaint openly states that, as was the case in the Carter Center litigation, his principle objection to NIF’s work is that he disagrees with its mission. As his complaint contends, ‘although the stated purpose of NIF is to help strengthen Israel’s democracy,’ NIF opposes what he views as ‘Israeli security” by supporting organizations that “seek to undermine Israel’…The lawsuit is a longshot, but Abrams does not need to succeed in court to declare victory. As Lara Friedman has detailed at length here, Abrams has used the ambiguous language of ‘material support’ regulations to “intimidate and coerce NGOs into abandoning moral, humanitarian, political and financial support for Palestinians…The truly frightening aspect of the lawsuit, and the reason the ACLU has intervened to stop it, is that it is trying to leverage the federal tax code into suppressing activity that represents core political and expressive activity.