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

What We’re Reading

Gaza

Israel’s Violent Response to Nonviolent Protests,

“Yasser Murtaja was a self-taught photojournalist who reported on his community and had the distinction of doing camerawork for a documentary by Ai Weiwei, the Chinese dissident and artist,” write the editors of the New York Times. “On Friday, Mr. Murtaja was shot and killed by Israeli security forces while covering protests that over the past two weeks have drawn tens of thousands of Palestinians to Gaza’s border with Israel.”

Israel accused of 'cover-up' and 'propaganda' in Gaza reporter's death,

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) on Wednesday accused Avigdor Lieberman of falsely claiming that the journalist Yasser Murtaja was a member of Hamas, even though it had previously arrested and beaten him during his work.

Behind the headlines: Gisha’s analysis of the situation in Gaza,

Regardless of the political affiliation of the protestors, who organized the protest, or the agenda they wish to promote, international law prohibits the use of lethal force against civilians unless they participate directly in acts of hostility or pose a concrete risk to life, and even then, only as a last resort and only to the extent necessary to alleviate the risk.

PHOTOS: Life inside Gaza's Return March protest camp,

This is what happens at the protest camp when the IDF isn’t shooting — and when the world isn’t looking.

Gaza's humanitarian crisis began long before Hamas,

The deliberate suffocation of Gaza began in the 90s, when the first restrictions on the movement of Palestinians were introduced.

Trump Envoy Greenblatt Decries Gaza's 'Monstrous' Leadership, Calls on Hamas to Relinquish Power,

President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process Jason Greenblatt denounced Hamas on Wednesday and called on the group to disarm and relinquish control of the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority.

Israel Denied Passage for Medical Treatment to Two Palestinians Who Protested in Gaza - and Their Legs Were Amputated,

The two were shot in the legs during the Gaza border fence demonstrations roughly two weeks ago, which Israeli authorities gave as the reason their requests to enter the West Bank were denied, even though they acknowledged that the injuries met the criteria for permit.

1,297 Palestinians Shot and Wounded by Israeli Soldiers Overwhelming Gaza's Hospitals,

Raed Jadallah belonged to an exclusive club — a small band of surfers who escaped the claustrophobia of blockaded Gaza by riding the waves of the Mediterranean. Now he’s immobile, a metal fixation device clamped to his left leg after an Israeli bullet fractured his femur in two places.

Egypt opens Gaza border ahead of new protests against Israel,

Egypt on Thursday opened its largely sealed border with the blockaded Gaza Strip for three days on the eve of more planned protests against Israel, Palestinian authorities said.

Jerusalem

'Greater Jerusalem means no churches and no mosques',

Palestinian interfaith officials have warned against monopolising the city of Jerusalem by the Israeli government and the effects that would have on Christianity and Islam.

U.S. Embassy Move to Jerusalem Stalled, Despite Government Efforts,

The conversion of the American consulate in Jerusalem into an embassy was exempted from needing a building permit, and a contractor has been chosen to do the work, but the chances of it being completed by Independence Day are slim, TheMarker has learned.

BDS and Settlement Boycotts

Don’t Believe Politicians Who Say the Israel Anti-Boycott Act Doesn’t Target Political Boycotts,

Palestine Legal has compiled a non-exhaustive list of statements made by the bill’s chief supporters in Congress that highlight the bill’s objective to combat political boycotts.

Israeli politics

Israel's war on consciousness,

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit is engaged of “a war over consciousness,” in order to change how people think of Israel, its army — and if you’re an Arab, what you think of your own leaders, government, and society.