Top news stories from Israel/Palestine: April 11, 2018

What We’re Reading

Gaza

Opinion: To Save Gaza, Israel and the World Must Talk to Hamas,

But neither short-term humanitarian fixes, nor long-term economic development, can deliver a sustainable and dignified future for Gazans absent concomitant progress on the political front. This requires a serious international effort to support Egyptian sponsored reconciliation talks between Hamas and Fatah, pressure on Abbas to roll-back his punitive sanctions against Gaza, and greater international willingness to engage with Hamas as a legitimate Palestinian political actor.

Palestinian shot by sniper in viral video speaks out,

The Palestinian – who says he’s the man shown being shot by an Israeli sniper in a video that emerged this week – insists he was in no way a security threat or a legitimate target.

Israel strikes Hamas military posts in retaliatory attack,

The Israeli army attacked several Hamas military targets in Gaza in response to an explosive device that was set off near a military bulldozer on the Israel-Gaza border.

Slain Gaza Journalist, Branded Hamas Militant by Israel, Received U.S. Grant,

A media firm co-founded by a Palestinian journalist killed by Israeli gunfire on the Gaza border over the weekend, who Israel says was a Hamas militant, recently received a grant from the U.S. government.

Left-wing Party's Lawmakers Barred From Knesset Talks on Gaza Border Operations,

Meretz MKs will not be able to attend Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee discussions on the recent military operations on the Gaza border, even though it was Meretz MK Michal Rozin who requested an urgent discussion of ways to calm the situation.

Occupation/Human rights

'Arabs Prohibited': Main West Bank Road Barred to Palestinians as Army Protects Settlers' Prayer,

Settlers praying in the middle of a road serving about a dozen Palestinian villages, along with prolonged security checks by soldiers, are for all intents and purposes blocking the road for thousands of Palestinians living west of Ramallah.

Israel Refuses to Let 110 Palestinians Participate in Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day Event,

The Defense Ministry is refusing to grant entry to 110 Palestinians seeking to attend an Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day ceremony scheduled for the eve of Memorial Day next week in Tel Aviv.

Palestinian politics

Fatah: Hamas using Gaza protests to score political points,

Leaders of the West Bank-based ruling Fatah faction are worried that the mass demonstrations along the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel are being used by Hamas to make political gains and bolster its popularity among the Palestinian public.