Top news stories from Israel/Palestine: March 6, 2019

What We’re Reading

Occupation/Human rights

Clash Over Israeli Settlements Has a New Front: A Delayed U.N. Report,

The United Nations’ human rights office has worked for three years to compile a database of companies that have directly enabled, supported or profited from the settlements, which are considered illegal under international law.

In photos - Israeli settlers seize Palestinian home in East Jerusalem,

Israeli settlers seized a Palestinian home belonging to the al-Halabi family, on Tuesday, in the Old City of occupied East Jerusalem.

Israeli politics

Elections body holds raucous debate on disqualifying right-wing extremist,

Elections officials debated Wednesday whether to disqualify extremist Otzma Yehudit candidate Michael Ben Ari from running for the Knesset, a day after Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit backed a petition against Ben Ari’s candidacy.

Right-wing ally of Netanyahu proposes bill to save him from prosecution,

“The ‘deep state’ has in recent years reached heights we have never seen before, and there is a fear that there are elements that joining together in order to overthrow the right-wing government,” MK Bezalel Smotrich said.

At a West Bank high school, Knesset candidates discuss future of students’ homes,

Pupils at the Kfar Adumim Community High School were relieved to hear from a diverse panel of would-be (and one current) members of Knesset that their parties had no intention of evacuating their homes in the small West Bank town.

US-Israeli/Palestinian relations

Ilhan Omar Has a Less Bigoted Position on Israel Than Almost All of Her Colleagues,

“Omar’s remarks about Zionists were insensitive and counterproductive. But her colleagues’ enthusiastic support for the subjugation of Palestinians is something much worse,” writes Eric Levitz.

House Dems delay vote on resolution rebuking Omar over Israel remarks,

House Democratic leaders are delaying a vote on a resolution condemning anti-Semitism that had been slated to take place on Wednesday, according to a Democratic aide.