Top news stories from Israel/Palestine: May 28, 2019

What We’re Reading

Israeli politics

Israel could be going to the polls, again,

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has until Wednesday to form a majority ruling government coalition, but has been stymied in his efforts in large part over the military draft law.

Trump tweet about Israeli coalition negotiations is derided as meddling,

“Hoping things will work out with Israel’s coalition formation and Bibi and I can continue to make the alliance between America and Israel stronger than ever. A lot more to do!” Trump tweeted on Monday.

Occupation/Human rights

Israel's High Court Seeks Order, Not Justice,

A recent ruling allowed structures built without a permit to be demolished within 96 hours of a court ruling, with no right of appeal. “Our role is limited …we’re only discussing demolition, not planning,” one justice said.

For Israelis the Nakba is a footnote. For Palestinians it's the heart of the conflict,

Israelis tend to view the expulsions of the 1948 war as a small, local affair that was quite restrained compared to the Nazi genocide. For Palestinians, it is an ongoing dispossession.

Palestinian MK released from prison after two-year sentence,

Ghattas served a two-year sentence for smuggling cellphones to Palestinian political prisoners. ‘The conditions that Palestinian prisoners face are a central tool the occupation uses to reinforce itself.’

A 5-year-old Gaza Girl, Dying All Alone,

Aisha al-Loulou needed surgery to remove a brain tumor, and chemotherapy, in East Jerusalem. Israel wouldn’t allow her parents to go with her.

First Israel Locked This Palestinian Family Out of Its Home. Now It Locked the Gate Connecting Them to Their Village,

The Hajajlas’ house is located on the Israeli side of the separation barrier, which separates it from their Palestinian village. After the family placed a bell on the gate to ease movement, Israel locked it due to ‘security threat’.

Israeli Army Blamed Palestinians for West Bank Arson, but Settler Soldier Is Behind It,

One of the two settlers filmed setting fire to a field is an Israeli soldier who was on leave at the time.