“Israeli forces began Monday demolishing buildings in an East Jerusalem neighborhood under the control of the Palestinian Authority, following a legal challenge to the Defense Ministry-issued order to evacuate apartments deemed too close to the West Bank separation barrier, which runs through the city.”

“United Nations officials had appealed to Israel to call off the demolition, which Palestinian officials condemned as a ‘war crime’ and ‘ethnic cleansing.’ The office of President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority called it “a serious escalation against our defenseless Palestinian people” and called for international intervention.”

“As part of the IDF’s overall security responsibility for the entire West Bank, the only authority which Israel has retained in Areas A is those deriving from military necessity. In the present case, the State therefore argued that the demolition of these homes is not based on “illegal’ construction, but rather a military necessity due to the proximity of these 13 buildings to the barrier. The High Court ruled in favor of the State, and the IDF gave the residents until July 18th to implement the demolition orders.”

“The protest leaders were certain that as soon as the soldiers saw that the villagers had retreated, they would stop shooting. But the troops kept up their fire. At about 2 P.M., Murad heard shouts: ‘A boy has been killed!’ He ran toward the site, which was an offshoot of the main demonstration, involving a few dozen youngsters.”

“Wadi Fuqin, which means the valley of thorns, is a small agricultural village in the occupied West Bank, known for its organic farming tradition and production of grapes, fruits, almonds and olive oil. This village in a valley is wedged between the towering and expanding settlement of Beitar Illit to the east and to the west, the Israeli town of Tzur Hadassah inside the Green Line. The expansion of Beitar Illit and Tzur Hadassah coupled with water shortages, Israeli confiscation of land, and settler violence, is threatening to destroy the agricultural practices that have long been Wadi Fuqin’s main source of income.”

“An industrial zone funded by Qatar is set to be established east of Gaza City, by the Karni crossing. The zone is projected to provide jobs to 5,000 Palestinian workers from the Gaza Strip, Israel’s Walla News reported July 4. The project was discussed and approved during a security Cabinet meeting led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several high-ranking security officials in May.”

“Surveying began this month for the erection of a 43,000-square-foot field hospital for Gaza Strip residents next to the Erez border crossing into Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had approved the preliminary work as part of understandings reached in Egyptian-mediated talks with Hamas. The hospital, like almost every other new project in Gaza, will be funded by the Qatari government. It will rely on the infrastructure, expertise, experience and resources of Friendship, an American NGO staffed by volunteers who provide humanitarian assistance to people in war zones and victims of natural disasters.”

“Political analyst Talal Okal told Al-Monitor, ‘Israelis have not complied with the terms of the truce, not even once. The Palestinians, who want it to start lifting the siege on the Gaza Strip, are escalating the situation by launching incendiary balloons and resorting to other means of pressure to force it to meet its commitments.'”

“Israel will not deny entry to any member of Congress, its Washington envoy said. Ron Dermer responded Friday to speculation about whether two congresswomen who back the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement targeting Israel would be allowed to enter. ‘Out of respect for the U.S. Congress and the great alliance between Israel and America, we would not deny entry to any member of Congress into Israel,’ Ron Dermer said in a message his spokesman sent to reporters via WhatsApp.”

“Calling on parties to the right of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud to join forces, Shaked said they must put their differences aside. ‘A union is the ideological right wing’s insurance certificate,’ she said. ‘Together, under my leadership, we’ll become  a significant and powerful force that will lead the State of Israel with courage and faith.’ “

“If Netanyahu lets them in, he will be emptying an amendment to the Entry to Israel Law of any real substance. The amended law was intended to prevent supporters of boycotts of Israel from entering the country, so allowing them in would be the statute’s death knell. If, on the other hand, he denies the two representatives entry, he could find himself in hot water with the Democratic Party and at the center of an international incident, even if President Donald Trump tweets his support for such as decision.”

“DeLauro added that she was opposed to the bill because it ‘seeks to single out Israel for criticism, and seeks to appropriate money to investigate, document, and report only on Israeli abuses.'”

“President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, is returning to the Mideast at month’s end to promote the administration’s $50 billion economic support plan for the Palestinians that they’ve rejected because it ignores their political demands.”

“But to forbid any members of the U.S. Congress – let alone the first two Muslim women ever to serve – would have been unprecedented. It would have been a wrecking ball to bipartisan support of Israel, further alienating the bulk of U.S. Jewry, who identify as Democrats. In addition to the diplomatic ramifications, Netanyahu would also be denying the first Palestinian-American woman congresswoman the ability to visit her grandmother and her family in the West Bank, a move which would play into the hands of those who wish to paint Israel as a heartless violator of human rights.”

Zena Agha writes, “The availability of satellite imagery through open-access platforms only confirms the hindrance created by the Kyl-Bingaman Amendment (KBA). In fact, so absurd is the KBA that Israel itself provides free high-resolution satellite imagery of the territories it controls (modern-day Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and the Golan Heights), rendering the KBA utterly pointless while also belying the claim that the KBA serves Israeli national security interests.”

“While rarely spoken about openly or reported on, Birthright – a nonprofit that provides free trips for Jews to Israel in an attempt to foster Jewish identity and a connection to Israel – has been taking participants over the Green Line (Israel’s pre-1967 borders) for years. Whether driving through or staying the night, these trips quietly normalize travel to the occupied territories and the Israeli settlements in them.”

“But at least one of those congresswomen — Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota — is about to drop her own resolution that may not go over so well with Democratic leadership. Her resolution would defend the pro-Palestinian boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. ‘We are introducing a resolution … to really speak about the American values that support and believe in our ability to exercise our first amendment rights in regard to boycotting,’ Omar told Al-Monitor. ‘And it is an opportunity for us to explain why it is we support a nonviolent movement, which is the BDS movement.'”