Top News from Israel & Palestine: May 12, 2021

What We’re Reading

Escalation

Israel, Hamas escalate heavy fighting with no end in sight,

“Israel stepped up its attacks on the Gaza Strip, flattening a high-rise building used by the Hamas militant group and killing at least three militants in their hideouts on Tuesday as Palestinian rockets rained down almost nonstop on parts of Israel. It was the heaviest fighting between the bitter enemies since 2014, and it showed no signs of slowing. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to expand the offensive, while Gaza militants unleashed a fierce late-night barrage of rockets that set off air-raid sirens and explosions throughout the densely populated Tel Aviv metropolitan area. Five Israelis, including three women and a child, were killed by rocket fire Tuesday and early Wednesday, and dozens of people wounded. The death toll in Gaza rose to 35 Palestinians, including 10 children, according to the Health Ministry. Over 200 people were wounded.”

 

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Israel collectively punishes the population in Gaza by targeting homes and civilians,

“Israel’s escalation of violence and widespread bombardment, including civilian objects without respecting the principle of proportionality, in the Gaza Strip is utterly appalling, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said today in a statement.”

 

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Hamas: Gaza City commander killed by Israeli airstrike,

“Militant group Hamas confirms that its Gaza City commander was killed in an Israeli airstrike, the highest-ranking militant killed since the 2014 war in the Palestinian territory. Earlier, Israel’s internal security agency said that a series of airstrikes had killed Bassem Issa and several other senior Hamas militants.”

 

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Israel Pledges More Attacks to Bring 'Total Quiet' Before Any Truce,

“Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz on Wednesday vowed more attacks on Palestinian militant groups in Gaza to bring ‘total, long-term quiet’ before considering a ceasefire. ‘”The army will continue to attack to bring a total, long-term quiet. Only when we reach that goal will we be able to speak about a truce,’ Gantz said in the southern city of Ashkelon which has been hit by Palestinian rocket fire.”

 

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West Bank/Jerusalem

Israeli police injure 7 worshippers in Al-Aqsa Mosque,

“Violent confrontations renewed at dawn Wednesday in the Old City of Jerusalem, especially inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex, after Israeli police stormed its courtyards and fired rubber bullets and sound bombs. As a result, seven worshippers were injured and three of them were transferred to Al-Maqasid Hospital for treatment, according to an Anadolu Agency reporter.”

Israeli army kills Palestinian teen in occupied West Bank,

“A Palestinian teenager has been shot dead by the Israeli army in the northern occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian authorities, the second such fatality within hours during a major escalation in violence. The Palestinian health ministry said Rashid Abu Arreh, 16, was killed in Tubas, north of Nablus, on Wednesday. There was no immediate comment by the Israeli army.”

 

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PA president cancels Eid celebrations following Israel's attack on Gaza,

“Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday cancelled the official Eid Al-Fitr celebrations ‘to mourn the Palestinian martyrs’ killed by the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip.”

Inside the Green Line

Gantz Asks Government for Two-Week Extension to Home Front State of Emergency,

“Israel’s Defense Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz asked the government on Wednesday to extend the Home Front’s state of emergency another two weeks, which includes all communities within an 80-kilometer radius from the Gaza Strip. Gantz said that there was ‘no end date’ to the Gaza military operation as Israel likely faces another night of rocket attacks aimed not just at the south but the center of the country where the overwhelming majority of the population resides.”

Bennett vows to back government Gaza response, says Hamas must pay ‘heavy price’,

“Yamina party leader Naftali Bennett and Yesh Atid chief Yair Lapid both expressed support Wednesday for a forceful response by the Israeli government to Gaza terrorists and Arab mobs in Lod, even as the pair moved on with their efforts to form a coalition that would replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.”

Protests, violence break out in mixed Jewish-Arab cities of Israel,

“There was considerable violence in the mixed Jewish-Arab city of Lod last night as well as protests in other largely Arab parts of Israel. The events show that the current unrest and conflict is not limited to Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories. Israeli media outlets reported that a mob of Arab residents threw stones and fire bombs at Jewish-owned homes in the central city of Lod, in addition to attacking a Jewish school and a synagogue. They also reported that an Arab man was shot and killed in the city, possibly in relation to the violence. The unrest occurred Monday night and Tuesday morning. The Arabic-language news outlet arab48 also reported a protest in solidarity with Jerusalem in the Arab majority city of Nazareth in northern Israel on Monday night. The High Follow-up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel — an Arab-Israeli political organization — called for more protests in Arab areas of Israel on Tuesday, according to the outlet. Israel’s public broadcaster Kan also reported protests in the mixed Jewish-Arab city of Ramla on Monday night.”

 

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Netanyahu: We will bring rule of law to Israel’s cities with an iron fist,

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to crack down on rioters on Wednesday, after Arabs in mixed cities attacked their Jewish neighbors’ homes, synagogues and businesses. ‘We are in a struggle on multiple fronts,’ Netanyahu said on a visit to Acre. ‘Last night, after the discussions and decisions at the Defense Ministry about the Gaza Strip, I went to Lod at 2 a.m., another front that opened up with anarchy.’ Netanyahu pointed to the extra police and Border Patrol officers sent with emergency powers to Lod and Acre following the violence, and said the government will continue efforts to ‘stop the anarchy and bring back the rule of law to Israel’s cities with an iron fist if need be, with all the forces and authority necessary.’”

 

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As Arab street roils, Islamist party leader Abbas calls for calm,

“As Israeli Arabs rioted in multiple locations across the country Tuesday night, the head of the Islamist Ra’am party Mansour Abbas pleaded for calm, warning that the violent protests could take a dangerous turn. ‘Peaceful popular protests have become confrontational and endanger our young people,’ said Abbas, who has been locked in negotiations on the formation of the next government, with a list of demands to improve the sector.” Also see:  Al-Aqsa attacks: Mansour Abbas calls for end to protests against Israeli actions (Middle East Eye)

Co-existence in Jaffa Could Cost Arab Residents Their Homes,

“At the heart of the tensions in Jaffa, the mixed Arab-Jewish part of Tel Aviv, is also a move to push its inhabitants out of their homes. Here are the stories of three of them.”

 

Reactions

Israel-Palestine: ICC prosecutor says possible 'war crimes' over escalating violence,

“The International Criminal Court (ICC) is concerned about escalating violence between Israel and the Palestinians and the possibility that war crimes are being committed there, its prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said on Wednesday. ‘I note with great concern the escalation of violence in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as well as in and around Gaza, and the possible commission of crimes under the Rome Statute,’ Bensouda wrote on Twitter.” Also see: The I.C.C. is monitoring the Israeli-Palestinian violence for possible war crimes. (New York Times)

UN warns of 'full scale war' as US delays joint Security Council statement,

“As Israel continues to bombard Gaza following days of violent clampdown against Muslim worshippers in the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque, a top UN envoy has warned of an eruption of a ‘full-scale war.’ ‘Stop the fire immediately. We’re escalating towards a full-scale war,’ Tor Wennesland, a Norwegian diplomat and the UN’s special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said on Twitter yesterday. The remarks, which were made as the US is said to be stalling on issuing a joint statement with the 15 member UN Security Council, are being viewed as a rebuke of Washington dragging its feet over the escalation in violence.”

 

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Amnesty International: Israel Using 'Unlawful' Force in Jerusalem,

“Amnesty International said Israel is using ‘abusive and wanton force against largely peaceful Palestinian protesters’ in east Jerusalem clashes that have wounded hundreds of demonstrators and dozens of police. Israel on Tuesday firmly defended the conduct of its officers, insisting they have responded to violent Palestinian rioters with appropriate measures. But the London-based human rights group described some of those measures as ‘disproportionate and unlawful’, accusing security forces of ‘unprovoked attacks on peaceful demonstrators’.”

Large protests held in solidarity with Palestinians around the world,

“Large protests were held in solidarity with Palestinians around the world, including in London, as well as in Muslim-majority countries including Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Tunisia and Turkey.”

 

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U.S. Response & Role

Analysis: Violence upends Biden’s Israel-Palestinian outlook,

“The surge in Israeli-Palestinian violence has flummoxed the Biden administration in its first four months as it attempts to craft a Middle East policy it believes will be more durable and fairer than that of its predecessor. Its early hesitation to wade more deeply into efforts to resolve the decades-long conflict has created a leadership vacuum that is exacerbated by political uncertainty in Israel and the Palestinian Authority, each of which is clamoring for outside support and unhappy with America’s new determination to toe a middle line. Israelis and Palestinians alike have denounced the Biden administration’s call for all sides to step back following clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinians in east Jerusalem that escalated into rocket attacks on Israel from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and retaliatory strikes from Israel’s military.”

Biden fumbles attempt to please everyone with tepid response to Mideast violence,

“The Biden administration irked quite a few allies on Monday when it blocked the approval of a joint statement from the United Nations Security Council that criticized both sides for the ongoing escalation of violence in Israel and Gaza…One European diplomat expressed bewilderment over the US stalling the statement, claiming it was nearly identical to the one issued by the State Department several days earlier. “It appears that saying the same thing as one cohesive unit in the Security Council would have been too much for the Americans,” the diplomat said. Not only did the stance alienate the Biden administration from allies that it entered office vowing to ‘reassure,’ but it did not even impress Israel, which the posture appeared at least partially aimed at satisfying.”

In a sign of greater willingness to criticize Israel, Democrats blame both Israel and Hamas for current conflict,

“Last year, when AIPAC wanted a Democrat to sponsor the pro-Israel lobby’s signature legislative effort, it turned to one of its most reliable partners in the Senate, Chris Coons of Delaware. Coons contributed to a result the group wanted: having the $3.8 billion in U.S. defense assistance Israel gets each year codified into law. Yet on Monday, as fighting between Israel and terrorist groups in Gaza escalated, Coons took to Twitter to commit what at an AIPAC conference would certainly elicit boos: He said in specific and hard-hitting language that both sides needed to deescalate the conflict. Similar tweets by other lawmakers once closely aligned with the powerhouse pro-Israel lobby underscore the trend among Democrats away from uncritical support for Israel that for decades characterized the relationship.”

Community groups rally in support of Palestinians outside US State Department,

“A coalition of US civil rights and community groups held a rally on Tuesday outside the State Department to protest Israeli aggression against the Palestinians, and to press Secretary of State Antony Blinken to pressure Tel Aviv to end its ongoing airstrikes against Gaza and its efforts to evict Palestinians from their homes in Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. The coalition leadership delivered a petition signed online by more than 200,000 people and organizations demanding that the US government hold Israel accountable for its actions against the Palestinians in Jerusalem and Gaza.” Also see: US must put ‘brakes on the Israelis’ as violence rises: Activists (Al Jazeera)

Biden plans to send envoy as Israel and Hamas escalate toward war,

“The Biden administration is trying to work with Egypt to push for de-escalation, U.S. and Israeli officials told me. Deputy assistant secretary of state for Israeli-Palestinian affairs Hady Amr is expected to travel to Tel Aviv on Wednesday. Israeli officials tell me the trip is likely to happen but they’re waiting on final confirmation. The State Department didn’t comment. It would be the most active U.S. intervention so far in the Gaza crisis, and Amr’s first trip to the region since assuming office.”

Bringing Assistance to Israel in Line With Rights and U.S. Laws,

“After many years of increasing U.S. military aid to Israel, members of Congress are beginning to debate the wisdom and morality of writing a blank check for weapons—some of which are used against Palestinians living under military occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in violation of U.S. laws.”

Analysis/Commentary

Netanyahu Is Leading Israel Into Civil War Between Jews and Palestinians,

“A whole generation of Jewish Israelis, raised in the safest (for them) Israel ever, have grown up with no awareness of the Green Line at all. They heard stories about the intifadas but for them, the conflict was ‘well-maintained’ and mostly out of sight and mind. The Abraham Accords, with the eager, unconditional embrace of Gulf states, seemed to prove that the there was no  ‘Palestinian issue’ anymore. What they couldn’t see from their segregated world was that for Palestinians, the conflict never ended. But even the most carefully constructed house of cards eventually starts tumbling down, and that exactly what is happening now.”

States Can’t Control the Narrative on Israel-Palestine Anymore,

“As Israel carries out military operations, many of which result in the deaths of Palestinian civilians, including airstrikes on the Gaza Strip that killed at least five children, the visceral impact of the rest of the world seeing the results in real time may make it politically difficult for even its friends to support it in the years ahead.”

The latest Israel-Palestine crisis isn't a 'real estate dispute.' It's ethnic cleansing.,

“For years, the situation in Israel has been painted as a war of survival, the Israelis against the Palestinians and, by proxy, their Arab neighbors. That no longer reflects the realities on the ground, where the ability of one side to harm the other is in no way balanced. This “real-estate dispute,” as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government calls it, is a microcosm of the wildly unbalanced Israeli-Palestinian situation today.”

‘The Skunk’: Another Israeli weapon for collective punishment,

“In addition to those killed, hundreds have been injured by live and rubber bullets, tear gas and beatings, but also by a weapon that is lesser known to the global media covering the protests. Many have erroneously referred to it as a water cannon or a sewage truck. In Arabic, we call it the ‘kharara’- literally ‘the shitter’ – for its putrid smell. In English, it is called skunk water, after the notoriously awful smell released by skunks. Skunk water was developed as a ‘crowd control weapon’ by an Israeli company called Odortec. Skunk water is a liquid compound with an overpowering odour that has been described by those who have experienced it as the smell of sewage mixed with rotting corpses. In reality, it is a concoction of chemicals that causes intense nausea, obstructing normal breathing, causing violent gagging and vomiting. The company’s safety sheet also indicates that it can cause skin irritation, eye and abdominal pain. Palestinians have also reported that it causes hair loss. Security forces that use skunk water claim that it is non-lethal and non-toxic. Yet high doses can have a lethal effect, and when it is fired from a water cannon, it is sprayed at extremely high pressure, which can cause serious injury.”

Al-Aqsa attacks: How the media gives Israel a free pass,

“Language has become as effective a tool as land grabs and military force in erasing the aspirations and legitimate national identity of Palestinians.”

The Abraham Accords have already become a Middle East afterthought,

“In this maelstrom, even the Arab countries that normalized relations with Israel are loosening their embrace. Both the UAE and Bahrain condemned Israel’s storming of the al-Aqsa Mosque, considered the third holiest site in Islam, this past weekend, as well as its moves to kick dozens of Palestinians out of their homes in Sheikh Jarrah. Social media in both countries saw a surge of hashtags in support of their Arab compatriots in the Jerusalem neighborhood. Following a virtual meeting of the foreign ministers of the Arab League on Tuesday, Morocco’s top diplomat condemned the “hateful” rhetoric and actions of the far-right Jewish groups involved in the violence in Jerusalem. The bloc, long derided for inaction, said it would exert more pressure on behalf of Palestinians at the United Nations and at the International Criminal Court, whose chief prosecutor in March launched a formal investigation into alleged Israeli war crimes in the occupied territories.”

 

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Israel’s Hubris Scored Its Own Goal in Jerusalem,

“…The stupidity is the hubris of a country convinced that it’s omnipotent and has finished building an iron wall to protect its realm from an uprising that was bound to happen. The ruler has scored an own goal and has given young Palestinians another opportunity to show that nothing here is normal, thus speaking in the name of their people. But if Israel’s friends don’t act quickly against the Israeli arrogance, the risk grows that the stupidity will hasten the day when the problem of the Israeli occupation turns into a religious war spilling over the country’s borders.”

Sheikh Jarrah: Zionism Distilled to Its Purest Expression,

“Palestinians do not adhere to the correct religion and so they become surplus.  Displacement is their natural destiny.  The soldiers arrive with batons and sound bombs, with tear gas and live ammunition.  They wave court orders explaining that the neighborhood must host a different class of resident.  The settlers accompanying the soldiers create a bloody ruckus.  Together, soldier and settler unleash hell on people whose primary motivation is to exist.  This is what colonizers like to call ‘democracy.’ The land is Jewish.  The houses are Jewish, too.  The Palestinians are merely human.  There is no place for such creatures in an inhumane society.”