“The IDF understands the sensitivity of the issue and is refraining from making any statements that could be interpreted as taking a position, but in private conversations senior officers believe that in the map of threats to Israel for which the army is meant to prepare, the focus should be on the north, and that an escalation in the West Bank would undermine preparations to counter those threats, and would divert significant funds from those plans to deal with violence in the territories.”

“It seems as if the conditions being posed by Kahol Lavan for annexation make a compromise between the party and Netanyahu almost impossible. Yet this compromise it what the Americans require right now as a condition of their support. What’s more, Netanyahu keeps saying, including at the Likud faction meeting, that he has no intention of bringing the entire Trump plan, including recognition in principle for the idea of a Palestinian state, to the Knesset or the cabinet for approval – only the steps toward annexation.”

“Though Netanyahu and Trump pay lip service to the future viability of an independent Palestinian state, no serious expert believes it would be more likely once the internationally brokered understandings of the past three decades get cleaved apart by a unilateral act of annexation. Instead, the specter of an entrenched apartheid looms.”

“European Union foreign ministers on Monday urged the United States to join a new effort to breathe life into long-stalled peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, but they rejected President Donald Trump’s Middle East plan as the basis for any international process…Speaking after chairing video talks between the ministers and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the Europeans ‘recognize the merit of the U.S. plan because it has created a certain momentum where there was nothing. ‘This momentum can be used to start a joint international effort of the basis of existing internationally agreed parameters,’ Borrell said, referring to the need for a two-state solution, based along the 1967 lines, with the possibility of mutually agreed land-swaps. ‘We made clear that it is important to encourage the Israelis and the Palestinians to engage in a credible and meaningful political process,’ Borrell said. ‘For us, there is no other way than to resume talks.’ But he insisted that any new initiative must respect the ‘internationally agreed parameters’.”

“The UN Security Council is scheduled to meet on June 24 to discuss Israeli plans to annex parts of the West Bank, the NGO Middle East Monitor reported on Monday, citing Palestinian Authority observer to the UN Riyad Mansour. Mansour told Voice of Palestine Radio that he had sent invitations to foreign ministers from different countries, including members of the Arab League. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is also expected to take part in the meeting, added the observer, who hopes that ‘the Security Council will assume its responsibilities, and will ask the [Israeli] government to suspend all activities… in the occupied Palestinian territories’.”

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his opponent-turned-coalition partner Benny Gantz and his Kahol Lavan faction might be in favor of his annexation plan, as the prospects of a July 1 start to the process remain uncertain. ‘I wanted to bring annexation for approval soon, but the map isn’t ready yet,’ Netanyahu said at a Likud party meeting. ‘We don’t know what’s with Kahol Lavan, it’s a good question, even I don’t know where they stand,’ he added. ‘They may be in favor of [annexing] the Jordan Valley and settlement blocs’.”

“A vast number of archaeological sites located in the West Bank, many of which are connected to Jewish history and tradition, will be placed or remain under Palestinian control according to what is currently known of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, the Hebrew newspaper Yediot Ahronot reported on Tuesday…According to data presented in the report and provided by the organization Preserving the Eternal, which describes itself as a network of entities devoted to ‘protect antiquities in Israel and Judea and Samaria,’ there are about 6,000 sites of historical and archaeological importance in the area, 2,300 of which are officially catalogued as protected archaeological sites. Moreover, the organization described 365 sites as having major importance for their connection to Israel’s national heritage, with 258 of them located in Area C. Preserving the Eternal warned that based on maps released in the context of the Trump peace plan, 135 of such sites will be transferred to Palestinian control. In the past, the organization has often denounced how archaeological sites under the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority have not been adequately protected and preserved, not only suffering from looting and vandalism but also being damaged in the context of construction projects.”

“Israel’s plan to annex nearly a third of the West Bank is a vision of ’21st-century apartheid,’ a large group of independent United Nations experts warned Tuesday. The experts argued that annexation would be a ‘serious violation’ of the United Nations charter and the Geneva Conventions, and would only intensify human rights violations in the West Bank.”

“The Israel Antiquities Authority halted an underground excavation in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem due to fears of a structural collapse in the area, according to a Monday report. The authority made the decision after finding out the land around the dig was sinking, Haaretz reported. Silwan residents have warned for years of fissures, collapses, and undermined buildings in the neighborhood due to the excavations, but the Antiquities Authority said the digs were not related to any problems.”

“Palestinians say the new road will primarily benefit settlers, and will further undermine the feasibility of East Jerusalem as the capital of the state they seek in the West Bank and Gaza. ‘This project cuts off Palestinian neighborhoods within the city from one another,’ Fadi Al-Hidmi, the Palestinian Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, said via email. Responding to questions from Reuters, Al-Hidmi said The American Road was part of Israel’s ‘illegal’ ring road project, which ‘surrounds occupied East Jerusalem to further connect Israeli settlements and sever the occupied Palestinian capital from the rest of the West Bank’.”

“Lebanese Al-Akhbar newspaper reported June 15 that Israel has approved the transfer of $50 million to the Gaza Strip, in financial aid from Qatar. The money is expected to reach Gaza later this week or at the beginning of next week, and probably in two installments. The money will be transferred to projects supported by Qatar, especially infrastructure and electricity, and also to assist needy families.”

“The High Court of Justice issued an order Monday giving the state two months to explain why it is not opening a criminal investigation into unauthorized construction undertaken in the outpost of Hayovel, which is within the boundaries of the northern West Bank Jewish settlement of Eli. The outpost, which at times has been described as a neighborhood of Eli, was established in 1998 and is home to about 40 families. In 2016, new construction work was begun there consisting of 14 buildings, including 20 residential units. The work was undertaken without building permits and in the absence of a valid master city plan.”

“Israeli forces demolished a residential and commercial building in the Palestinian Shuafat refugee camp in occupied East Jerusalem on Monday, the official news agency Wafa reported…He added that the building housed six Alqam families, and that Israeli bulldozers demolish it along with the furniture and belongings. ‘They didn’t let us take anything. We are 30 individuals living in the building, 18 of them are underage,’ Alqam said. ‘This is a tax we, Palestinian Jerusalemites, pay for living in Jerusalem, but we are ready to pay this tax, and we insist on living in Jerusalem, and stay here no matter how much they demolish and expel’.”

“It is no wonder that George Floyd’s cries of ‘I can’t breathe’ have provoked so much reaction in Palestine. He uttered these words while being suffocated under the knee of a police officer and amid the approving gaze of fellow officers, a technique commonly used against Palestinians. Indeed, Israel has developed a flourishing industry of training international police in the utilisation of such fatal techniques. Palestinians’ sympathetic identification with Floyd’s breathlessness is not only due to the effortless choking of a Black man by a white police officer; it also resonates with the Israeli ‘no-touch technique’, in which people are suspended in positions where the weight of their own bodies inflict pain and damage, possibly causing them to die alone. “

“An even more sensitive issue is that of Israeli action against terrorism within Palestinian Authority territories. Until Abbas’ declaration, Israel’s security forces had entered villages and cities almost nightly to arrest men wanted for suspected membership in terrorist organizations. Before nearly every such incident, the Palestinian security forces were alerted to keep away from the site. Following Abbas’ announcement such operations virtually ceased, but they have restarted, and miraculously, there hasn’t been any friction. Several residents of the large village of Yabed were arrested June 8 on suspicion of killing Israeli soldier Amit Ben-Ygal on May 12 by throwing a rock at his head during an IDF operation in the village. Israeli security forces worked in the village for several nights without Palestinian interference before suspects were arrested.”

“As Israel prepares to extend sovereignty over large parts of the West Bank, a senior Hamas official called for resistance among Palestinian groups who seek the land for part of a future state. ‘We call for the annexation project to be confronted with resistance in all forms,’ said Hamas official Salah al-Bardawil. ‘It is the duty of each free Palestinian citizen to rise up against this flagrant aggression on our land,’ he said, calling for a meeting between Hamas and other Palestinian groups.”

“Senior officials in the Likud party claimed on Sunday that the unity government would not last for much longer and will dissolve even before Benny Gantz officially takes office as Prime Minister. ‘This marriage between us and Blue and White will end much quicker than everyone thinks,’ the officials told Channel 12 News. ‘Netanyahu is trying to find the right timing to go to elections. The upcoming budget may give him the opportunity.’ The senior officials claimed that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s wife Sara and son Yair are pressuring the Prime Minister not to continue with this government and dismantle the partnership with Blue and White, partly due to the concern that the Supreme Court will rule against the existence of the role of Alternate Prime Minister just as Netanyahu passes the helm to Gantz.”

“The letter is being circulated by four Democratic lawmakers, who usually represent different viewpoints within the party regarding Israel: Reps. Ted Deutch of Florida, Brad Schneider of Illinois, Jan Schakowsky of Illinois and David Price of North Carolina. While Deutch and Schneider are considered close to AIPAC, Shackowsky and Price tend to lean closer to JStreet, which is more critical of the Israeli government on issues related to settlements and the occupation. The purpose of their joint letter is to try and create a broad consensus within the party on the issue of annexation. The lawmakers sent a draft of their letter to all Democratic members of Congress on Monday, asking for their signatures on it. The letter is addressed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi.”

“The letter, now circulating among the party’s House caucus and obtained exclusively by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, warns Israel about the dangers annexation would pose to Israelis and to the region. But it does not hint at any danger to the U.S.-Israel relationship and restates the signers’ commitment to the relationship. The House formulation comes just weeks after a letter with much tougher language failed to garner a majority of the Democratic caucus in the Senate. It seeks to reconcile two competing interests for Democrats: sounding off about a looming annexation that the party believes would be disastrous for the Middle East, and not alienating the centrist pro-Israel movement, still seen as a critical component of support for Democrats in an election year.”

“As of Monday, at least 28 of the 47 Democrats in the Senate have expressed their opposition to annexation, most of them by sending letters on the subject to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz. A Democratic source in the Senate told Haaretz that more lawmakers are expected to make similar statements against annexation in the coming days.”

“A slew of Democratic Senate candidates hoping to unseat Republican incumbents in key battleground states came out today against Israeli efforts to annex parts of the West Bank. The left-leaning lobby group J Street touted their warnings as part of its ongoing campaign to deter annexation. The rival American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) took the unusual step of greenlighting Democrats to push back against annexation without fear of repercussion, so long as the criticism stops there, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported last week.”

“DMFI President and CEO Mark Mellman told Jewish Insider on Tuesday that the report was ‘dishonest and deceptive’ and misrepresented the source of the funding. ‘Americans for Tomorrow’s Future PAC is a bipartisan pro-Israel PAC,’ Mellman told JI. ‘As we understand it, two of its three Board members are registered Democrats and one is a registered Independent.’ Mellman said that the article’s authors, Ryan Grim and Akela Lacy, failed to contact DMFI for a comment on their story, and he accused the publication of having ‘a long record of hostility towards Israel, our organization and Congressman Engel’.”

“On March 25, 2019, Republican Representative Mo Brooks took to the floor of Congress and read aloud a passage from ‘Mein Kampf.’ Brooks, who represents Alabama’s 5th District, claimed that by initiating impeachment proceedings against Trump, the Democrats were perpetrating the ‘Big Lie’ — a propaganda technique Hitler accused German Jews of using, which involves creating a fiction so massive no one could believe it was an invention. Throughout his speech, Brooks repeatedly referred to Hitler and the Nazi party as ‘socialists’ in an effort to imply political proximity to the Democrats. A few days later, Donald Trump, Jr. gave an interview to TruNews, a far-right racist website that most recently drew attention for referring to Trump’s impeachment as a ‘Jew Coup.’ Just over a week later, on April 6, President Trump told an audience at a Republican Jewish event that Benjamin Netanyahu was their prime minister, invoking the antisemitic “dual loyalty” trope, which holds that Jews are more loyal to the Jewish community worldwide (or, more recently, to Israel) than they are to their own countries. As much as observers were shocked by these incidents, this was a fairly typical fortnight in contemporary U.S. politics. As a new website, How to Fight Antisemitism, shows, rarely a week goes by without the GOP engaging in antisemitic rhetoric or actions, or enabling the wider ecosystem of white nationalism it has emboldened in recent years.”