Top News from Israel & Palestine: July 9, 2020

What We’re Reading

All Eyes (still) on Annexation

The Occupation of the West Bank and the Crime of Apartheid: Legal Opinion,

“Continued creeping legal annexation, let alone official annexation of a particular part of the West Bank through legislation that would apply Israeli law and administration there, is an amalgamation of the regimes. This could mean strengthening the argument, which already is being heard, that the crime of Apartheid is not committed only in the West Bank. That the Israeli regime in its entirety is an apartheid regime. That Israel is an Apartheid state.”

Annexation Puts EU-Israel Cooperation at Risk, EU Foreign Policy Chief Says,

“’Peace cannot be imposed, it has to be negotiated, however hard this can be,’ writes Josep Borrell in support of multilateral initiative to restart Israeli-Palestinian talks.”

New Report: With Annexation Looming:The Vulnerability of the Israeli Economy during Hostilities with the Palestinians,

“…The Palestinians, as always, will be the main victims, whether due to the overwhelming Israeli military force or because most clashes take place on Palestinian territory…The Israeli economy, largely based on foreign trade, is vulnerable to double crises – those resulting from worldwide developments and those particular to Israel, triggered by endless violent clashes with the Palestinians. A similar dual crisis could happen again if Israel’s declaration of annexation leads to widespread Palestinian resistance just when Israel is grappling with the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.”

PLO: Annexation will lead to dismantling of PA,

“PLO warns that sovereignty move will mean transfer of full responsibility over Judea and Samaria to Israel as “’the occupying ruler’.”

US Scene

Palestinians hope Biden would roll back Trump's embrace of Israel,

“Palestinian leaders hope Democrat Joe Biden will tone down Washington’s pro-Israel policies if he becomes U.S. president, and Palestinian-Americans have been pressing his campaign for a change, sources familiar with the efforts said.”

Trump’s Polarizing Election Campaign Raises Stakes for Netanyahu and Israel,

“Donald Trump is doubling down on his divisive and polarizing campaign tactics. Rather than rebuffing his perceived image as a reactionary racist, which has plagued his polling numbers since the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Trump has embraced it. But while U.S. commentators debate whether Trump is hurting or helping his reelection chances, one thing’s for sure: The stakes for Israel just keep getting higher.”

Palestinian Scene/Occupation

‘An illegitimate regime’: How a top rights group shed Israeli myths to recognize apartheid,

“In an exclusive interview, human rights lawyer Michael Sfard explains what led Yesh Din to charge Israel with the crime of apartheid in the West Bank.”

Abbas says ready to resume peace talks with Israel,

“Abbas told Russian President Vladimir Putin that the Palestinians want the proposed negotiations to be based on ‘international legitimacy.’”

Hamas: We will never recognize 'the enemy',

“On the occasion of the sixth anniversary of Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014, the Hamas organization says it will continue the fight against the ‘Israeli occupation’ until it is uprooted. The terrorist organization said in a statement released on Wednesday that the fight would not stop until the Palestinians regained all their rights to their land, the holy places and the natural resources stolen from them.”

Cars in Palestinian town vandalized, tagged in apparent hate crime,

“Palestinians in the northern West Bank village of Luban a-Sharqiya woke up Thursday morning to discover their town had been targeted in an apparent hate attack, with 17 vehicles vandalized and a bus daubed with Hebrew graffiti…Photos from the scene showed that a bus near the vandalized cars was spray-painted with the phrase ‘We will take our fate into our own hands,’ an apparent reference to the intentions of ultra-nationalist settler youths known to commit such crimes. Despite dozens of hate crimes targeting Palestinians and their property over the past year, arrests of suspects have been exceedingly rare. Thursday’s incident came a day after two Israeli settlers set ablaze fields belonging to Palestinian farmers from the nearby village of Burin, according to the Yesh Din rights group.” Also see: Haaretz – Racist Graffiti, Vandalized Cars in Palestinian Village Amid Reported Rise in Settler Violence [“The army is here 24 hours, we know that they have cameras. How is it that when it comes to settlers inside the village, suddenly they don’t have a clue?’]

Israel arrests Palestinian expert on settlements in Jerusalem,

“Israel yesterday arrested Khalil Tafakji, head of the maps department at the Arab Studies Society in Jerusalem, Anadolu reported. A source in the Tafakji family told the news agency that large numbers of occupation police and intelligence services stormed the department and tampered with its possessions. The source said after extensive searches, the Israeli forces arrested Tafakji, who is also an expert in Israeli settlements. The source, who preferred not to be named, explained that ‘the Israeli police and intelligence services did not provide reasons for the raid or Tafakji’s arrest.’”

IDF arrests two Hamas commanders in West Bank,

“Hamas claimed on Thursday that the arrest of two of its senior officials in the West Bank by the IDF was intended to derail Palestinian efforts to prevent Israel from applying its sovereignty to parts of the West Bank.The two, Jamal Tawil and Hussein Abu Kwiek, were arrested during a pre-dawn IDF raid on their homes in Ramallah and its twin city of El-Bireh…Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said that the arrest of the two top officials was part of “desperate attempt to obstruct the joint path of national work to confront plans to liquidate the Palestinian cause.”

Palestinian workers stay in Israel for three weeks in a row,

“Some 46,000 Palestinians are now lodged on construction sites in Israel; they must stay where they work for three weeks before going back home.”

In the West Bank, Coronavirus Is Bad, but the Economy Is Worse,

“Abdo Idris, head of the Hebron Chamber of Commerce, told Haaretz that the economic implications of the coronavirus have become Palestinians’ main concern: ‘Yes there is a health risk but what people are really thinking about is how they are going to support their families. A city like Hebron is a central anchor for trade and attracts a lot of business, including from Arabs in Israel, and it has been almost completely shut down since March.’”

Jerusalem church leaders: Israel threatening Christian presence in the city,

“As many as 13 church leaders in the occupied city of Jerusalem yesterday warned that the Israeli court’s decision concerning the Greek Orthodox Church’s property at Jaffa Gate threatens the Christian presence in the holy city, Anadolu reported. In a joint statement, they said: ‘We, the Heads of the Churches and Christian Communities in Jerusalem, stand united in our commitment to safeguard the historical Status Quo of the Holy Sites and rights of the Churches which are universally recognized…We don’t see this case as a mere property dispute. We see the undertaking of radical groups to take control of properties at Jaffa Gate as a systematic attempt to undermine the integrity of the Holy City, to obstruct the Christian pilgrim route and to weaken the Christian presence in Jerusalem…’”

Israel forces attempt to raid home of OIC representative in Jerusalem,

“Israeli occupation forces attempted on Wednesday night to raid the home of a representative of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in East Jerusalem, Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported. OIC’s Representative in Palestine Ahmed Al-Ruwaidi lives in Jerusalem’s neighbourhood of Silwan, but the OIC’s office is located in the West Bank city of Ramallah…“I told them that I would put full responsibility on the Israeli occupation if they raided my house,” informing them that he is a representative of the OIC, which is an international organisation. ‘Therefore, they retreated,’ according to Al-Ruwaidi, ‘and did not raid my house.’ Al-Ruwaidi considers the Israeli attempt to raid his home an endeavour to silence the voices rejecting the Israeli occupation and its violations in Jerusalem, specifically the increasing demolition of Palestinian homes.”

Israeli Scene

Israel proposes Hamas outline for prisoner exchange deal,

“Israel has given Hamas a new outline for a prisoner exchange deal through an intermediary, a source familiar with the subject told Ynet on Wednesday.”

Israel: Iran threatens retaliation against attacks on its nuclear facilities,

“Iran has threatened to retaliate against the latest attacks on its nuclear facilities in Natanz, Israeli media reported on Wednesday. According to Israeli TV Channel 13, Iran threatened to take revenge for the attacks, pointing out that the Israeli army raised the state of alarm.”

Blue and White reneges on promise to appoint Arab minister for minority affairs,

“Despite repeated promises by the centrist Blue and White party, the largest government in Israel’s history won’t be appointing a minister for minority affairs, possibly at the moment when the Arab community most needs one.”

International Community

Canada PM candidate will move embassy to Jerusalem if elected,

“Canadian parliament member seeking to become the country’s next prime minister has promised to move his country’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem if elected. Erin O’Toole, a member of Canada’s Conservative Party, claims Canada has ‘weakened and wavered’ its support for Israel under the current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and he wants to reverse that.”

Lawfare/Targeting Free Speech/Weaponization of claims of Antisemitism

Lawfare Project wins “Most Outrageous SLAPP Award”,

Lawfare Project wins “Most Outrageous SLAPP Award” — Awarded to the most shocking legal bullying attempt. “The Lawfare Project uses the court system to stifle constitutionally protected free speech related to Israel and Palestine worldwide by operating as an attack-dog for the far right, deploying frivolous lawsuits and smear campaigns against any critics of Israel. Professors at Kingsborough Community College in New York City have been targeted by the Lawfare Project for organizing progressive faculty on campus (read more about the professors at Kingsborough College here).”

Bella Hadid calls out Instagram for censoring Palestine post,

“Palestinian-Dutch supermodel Bella Hadid has called out Instagram for removing one of her posts, in which she shared a photo of her father’s passport showing his birthplace as Palestine. The 23-year-old model used the social media platform’s stories function to proudly show her father Mohamed Hadid’s now-expired US passport, which lists his place of birth as Palestine. Alongside the photo, Hadid added the comment, ‘My baba and his birthplace of Palestine.’ It is not clear why the platform chose to take down the image, however Hadid later shared a screenshot of the message she received from Instagram, citing violations of community guidelines, including harassment and bullying. Hadid hit back, tagging Instagram and asking why her post was taken down. ‘What part of me being proud of my father’s birthplace of Palestine is ‘bullying, harassment, graphic, or sexual nudity’? Are we not allowed to be Palestinian on Instagram? This, to me, is bullying,’ her post read. ‘You can’t erase history by silencing people. It doesn’t work like that,’ she added.” Also see: Middle East Monitor – Instagram apologises for deleting Bella Hadid’s post celebrating Palestinian identity

“The 3rd wave of anti-Semitism is upon us”,

“Today, in the age of a sovereign Jewish state, anti-Semitism has been redirected to demonizing Israel. It delegitimizes Israel as a racist, genocidal, and apartheid state.”

Meet the Law Professor Laying Out the Facts on Annexation,

“Scan any news story from the past two years relating to Israel’s legal rights and you’re likely to come across professor Eugene Kontorovich’s name. Whether it was drafting the Pompeo Doctrine, where the U.S. secretary of state disavowed a 1978 policy deeming settlements illegal, or the passage of anti-boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) laws, or the reversal of Airbnb’s policy of removing Israeli settlement listings from its site, Kontorovich played a key role in facilitating these legal wins.”