Top news stories from Israel/Palestine: July 26, 2018

What We’re Reading

Israeli politics

I Am Not Allowed to Speak to Children in Israeli Schools. Even More Worrying, These People Can,

B’Tselem Executive Director Hagai El-Ad says attempts to silence Israelis speaking out about the occupation are ultimately doomed to failure, but only if the international community refuses to accept it.

Did Israel Just Stop Trying to Be a Democracy?,

“The effort to guarantee equal rights for non-Jews has at times seemed like trying to square a circle. Last week, Israel gave up on even trying.”

Occupation/Human rights

Palestinian Teen Ahed Tamimi to Be Released From Israeli Prison,

The 17-year-old turned into a Palestinian protest icon after she was filmed slapping Israeli soldiers.

Trump peace plan

How the US and Israel are working to transform Gaza into the Palestinian state,

“Trump’s team is focusing on how to force the Palestinians in Gaza – and Hamas – to submit and accept their dictates or face further misery.”

White House Promises Trump's Middle East Peace Plan Will Be 'Most Detailed Ever',

The Trump administration’s plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians will be “the most detailed ever” and will include a “robust” economic component, according to senior White House officials who briefed a number of American media outlets this week.

Palestinian envoy says US peace plan is ‘dead upon arrival’,

The Trump administration’s long-awaited plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace is “dead upon arrival,” the Palestinian U.N. ambassador said Tuesday.

Palestinian politics

Is there reason for hope with new Palestinian reconciliation bid?,

Hamas has officially agreed to a new reconciliation push sponsored by Egypt, and Fatah is expected to soon do the same.

BDS

Spanish boycott activist refused entry to Israel,

A senior Spanish member of an international organization that encourages boycotts of Israel was denied entry into the country Tuesday, as authorities acted again on a relatively new law that allows the interior minister to deport, or deny entry to, anti-Israel activists.