Occupation/Human rights
AG green-lights legalization of 2,000 settler homes built on Palestinian land, Times of Israel
Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit on Thursday officially approved the use of a legal tactic that will allow for the de-facto legalization of roughly 2,000 illegally built Israeli homes throughout the West Bank.
Israeli arrests of Palestinians spark protests across West Bank, Middle East Eye
Israel has intensified its military presence in the occupied West Bank on Friday, declaring Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority, as a closed military zone.
Settlers rebuild the Amona outpost to protest terror attacks, Jerusalem Post
The IDF forcibly evacuated the outpost in 2017. It did so in response to a High Court of Justice ruling that the outpost was built on private Palestinian property and must be evacuated.
Palestinians in Lebanon reflect on 'fading dream' of return, Al Jazeera
Seventy years on since UN resolution 194, Palestinian youth in Lebanon share their hopes and fears about their future.
Why the Illegal Housing in Ofra Should Not Be Legalized, Peace Now
Following the attack on Israeli settlers near the settlement of Ofra on Sunday (December 9th, 2018), Israeli ministers and politicians, including Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, called to legalize the Ofra settlement. Peace Now analyzes the implications of such a move.
US-Israeli/Palestinian relations
Inside Sources Say the State Dept Refuses To Trace Whether Israel Is Using U.S. Military Aid Illegally, In These Times
An In These Times survey of detailed reports published by the United Nations, Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International reveals that, since 2009, at least 272 Palestinians appear to have been killed by U.S.-made weapons used by Israeli forces.
This man says there’s a crisis between Israel and Jews. But he’s causing it., Washington Post
Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Naftali Bennett attributes the crisis in relations between Israel and American Jewry exclusively to “growing apathy among Jews in the Diaspora toward their Judaism and toward Israel.”
BDS and settlement boycotts
REVEALED: Secret ADL Memo Slammed Anti-BDS Laws As ‘Harmful’ To Jews, The Forward
Illinois warns Airbnb of blacklist placement over its settlement boycott, JTA
At the request of Gov. Bruce Rauner, the outgoing Republican governor, the Illinois Investment Policy Board on Wednesday unanimously voted to notify Airbnb it is in violation of state law that bars state investment in businesses that boycott Israel or Israeli entities in territories Israeli controls.
ACLU of Arkansas Files First Amendment Challenge to Law Targeting Anti-Israel Boycotts, ACLU
Calling the law an unconstitutional tax on free speech, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas today filed suit challenging a state law that requires government contractors to pledge not to boycott Israel or reduce their fees by 20 percent.