Top news stories from Israel/Palestine: April 13, 2018

What We’re Reading

Gaza

Israeli soldiers open fire on Gaza protesters third week in a row,

Several thousand Palestinians protest as part of the Great Return March, now in its third week. Israeli snipers wound at least 30 Palestinian protesters.

American Laws Can Help Stop Israeli Massacres in Gaza,

The United States gives Israel over $3 billion in annual military aid and, under the terms of US-Israeli agreements, 75 percent of that aid must be spent on US-made weapons. At the same time, laws governing the sale of US-made weapons to foreign countries require that these countries do not misuse this weaponry on civilians.

On the unlawful shooting of unarmed demonstrators in Gaza,

B’Tselem provides legal analysis explaining why the orders given the soldiers, permitting live fire at unarmed civilians who do not pose a danger, are unlawful.

We were Israeli snipers and are filled with sorrow at Gaza shootings ,

“As we know from our own experience, these young soldiers will always carry with them the scenes they witnessed,” write members of Israeli veterans organization Breaking the Silence.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren urges Israel to express restraint toward Gaza protesters,

“I am deeply concerned about the deaths and injuries in Gaza,” Warren said. “As additional protests are planned for the coming days, the Israel Defense Forces should exercise restraint and respect the rights of Palestinians to peacefully protest.”

Occupation/Human rights

Mosque in northern West Bank torched in apparent anti-Arab hate crime,

Aqraba residents believe they were targeted with ‘revenge’ and ‘death’ graffiti because the killer of Israeli Adiel Kolman last month was from village.

Court lets Jerusalem venue hold Israeli-Palestinian memorial event,

The Jerusalem’s Magistrate’s Court on Thursday rejected an attempt by the city to prevent an open meeting about a planned Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day ceremony.

The Israeli Army Snatched a Palestinian Boy From His Bed and Arrested Him – Then Realized It's a Mistake ,

Mahmoud Mahdi thought his mother was waking him up for school, but it was soldiers coming to arrest him.

Court Orders Israel to Justify Refusal to Grant Gazan Entry for Medical Care ,

The High Court of Justice issued a warrant Thursday evening ordering the state to explain why it did not let an injured Gaza resident leave the Strip in order to receive urgent medical care in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Israel’s arms exports: A decade of war and new markets,

As Europe stops relying on Israel for arms exports, the Jewish state is looking for new markets, forging alliances with right-wing authoritarians who will likely use those weapons against their own citizens.

Israel, Palestine & the Middle East

Why Gaza’s ‘March of Return’ isn’t dominating Arab headlines,

This time, while most Arab media did cover the Gaza protests and subsequent violence, many key outlets covered it as one issue among many. These changes are rooted in fundamental alterations in the structure of the Arab media and the underlying political conflicts that have evolved since the 2011 Arab uprisings.

Palestinian politics

In Harsh Letter, Top Palestinian Negotiator Tells Foreign Diplomats Trump Envoy Greenblatt Has Turned Into Israel's Spokesman ,

Saeb Erekat charges that since the Gaza border protests began, Trump’s envoy to the peace process has ‘consistently repeated Israeli talking points’.

BDS and Settlement Boycotts

South Carolina is set to become first state to define anti-Semitism by law,

The bill uses as its template the State Department definition of anti-Semitism, which includes as anti-Semitic calls for violence against Jews, advancing conspiracy theories about Jewish control and Holocaust denial. More controversially, it also includes “applying double standards” to Israel “by requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.”

Israeli politics

Liberman backs bill targeting NGOs that film IDF soldiers ,

The proposal, submitted by Yisrael Beytenu faction chairman Robert Ilatov on Wednesday, states that anyone who films or records on-duty soldiers or disseminates such recordings on social media or mass media with the goal of undermining IDF soldiers’ or Israelis’ morale would get a five-year sentence, and anyone who does so with the intention of harming national security would go to prison for 10 years.