Top news stories from Israel/Palestine: September 12, 2018

What We’re Reading

US-Israeli/Palestinian relations

US-PLO row jeopardizes consular services for Palestinians,

Palestinian-Americans are at risk of being collateral damage in the escalating diplomatic row between Washington and Ramallah.

New York senate candidate accuses Netanyahu spokesman of sexual assault,

Writing on Twitter on Tuesday evening, Julia Salazar said that David Keyes had sexually assaulted her and that she was going public with the information as a story was about to be broken detailing the accusations.

The Trump administration’s new idea for Israeli-Palestinian peace is actually an old, failed idea,

“There is a history to Jordanian-Palestinian confederation proposals, and critically important political issues have always stood in the way. What adviser Jared Kushner and the Trump White House are pitching as a new and innovative solution is actually a decades-old idea that gets periodically revived and continually shot down.”

Opinion: Closing PLO Office Is Part of Trump's Effort to Tame the Palestinians via Humiliation. It's Bound to Fail,

“The Israeli right rejoices in the one-sided U.S. offensive, but history proves it’s a time bomb that will eventually blow up in our face,” writes Chemi Shalev.

Occupation/Human rights

The High Holidays: Keeping a close eye on the Temple Mount,

We have repeatedly cautioned that the trends of radicalization in and around the Temple Mount are intensifying, creating a serious erosion in the substantive (if not technical) status quo.

Israel's eased gun laws: Palestinian fear over new gun permits,

Residents of the occupied West Bank fear increasing violence by settlers, as a result of Israel’s relaxed gun laws.

Opinion: I Advised the Palestinian Negotiating Team. It Was a Mistake to Have Negotiated With Israel at All ,

“Buoyed by the Oslo Accords, I moved to the West Bank as a legal adviser to the PLO team. I was wrong. 25 years since that iconic Arafat-Rabin handshake, it’s clear talks are futile – and Palestinians are no closer to freedom,” writes Diana Buttu.

Palestinian politics

Public Opinion Poll,

As Fatah and Hamas lose popular support and more than 60% demand the resignation of president Abbas, and as half of the public views the PA as a burden on the Palestinian people, two-thirds reject a Palestinian-Jordanian confederation, three-quarters view conditions today as worse than those prevailing before the Oslo agreement, and 90% view the Trump Administration as biased in favor of Israel.

Palestinian judges resign in protest against executive branch interference,

Fourteen judges from the Supreme Court of Palestine announced their collective resignations Sept. 5 in protest against amendments to the Judicial Authority Law that would pave the way for the executive branch’s interference in the judicial sector.

After US shuts PLO mission, Abbas said to mull severing last ties with Trump,

The Palestinian Authority is considering cutting its last ties with the US government, including crucial security cooperation, after a series of steps by the Trump administration against the Palestinians, including shuttering the PLO office in Washington, Israel’s Channel 10 news reported Tuesday.

BDS and Settlement boycotts

Education Dept. Reopens Rutgers Case Charging Discrimination Against Jewish Students,

In effect, Arab-American activists say, the government is declaring the Palestinian cause anti-Semitic.

Pro-Israel Group Secretly Ran Misleading Facebook Ads To Target Palestinian-American Poet,

The social media campaigns provide another example of how well-funded advocacy organizations are using deceptive strategies to promote their cause online.