Top news stories from Israel/Palestine: December 5, 2017

What We’re Reading

US-Israeli/Palestinian relations

Uncertainty, anger as Trump keeps alive dispute over moving U.S. embassy to Jerusalem,

Muslim world pressure on the Trump administration intensified Tuesday after the White House left open the possibility of moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem despite warnings it could imperil Middle East peace efforts and touch off violence.

US officials warn Trump not to call Jerusalem Israel's capital,

The possibility that US President Donald Trump may recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital has stirred opposition from US and foreign officials who fear it could unleash violence.

State Department warns of violence ahead of Trump Jerusalem decision,

The State Department has warned American embassies worldwide to heighten security ahead of a possible announcement Wednesday by President Donald Trump that the U.S. recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

'Kiss of death' to two-state solution if Jerusalem declared Israel capital: PLO envoy,

“That would be actually the kiss of death to the two-state solution because Jerusalem is at the very heart of the two-state solution,” Zomlot said.

Trump’s Biggest Donor Pushed For Jerusalem Embassy Move,

Adelson, who once accused Palestinians of existing “to destroy Israel,” was reportedly “furious” with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in May for suggesting in a Meet The Pressinterview that moving the embassy should be contingent on the peace process.

FMEP Resources

What would Israel Anti-Boycott Act Do? Read the Law (amended by the Act) for Yourself,

People continue to argue about what the Israel Anti-Boycott Act would or wouldn’t do, or aims or doesn’t aim to do. To facilitate a clearer debate about this issue, Lara Friedman reviews the existing law that would be amended by the S. 720 (with links), and then adds the amendments that S. 720 would make in those laws.

FMEP Legislative Round-Up: December 1, 2017,

Lara Friedman gives a run-down of the latest Middle East-related developments on Capitol Hill.

Occupation/Human rights

Hopes for solving Israeli-Palestinian conflict fall across the Mideast, poll finds,

Only in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE are majorities still inclined to support a two-state solution, while more than 40 percent of Lebanese, Jordanians, and Palestinians now say they no longer believe any solution is possible.

The unknown history of the UN plan to partition Palestine,

Twenty years after the Palestinian leadership declared partition ‘entirely illegal,’ they reversed course and recognized that accepting the division of the homeland could lay the groundwork for an independent state.

'I tried not to scream, I was afraid they’d hit me even harder',

An Israeli raid on Al-Aqsa compound earlier this year turned violent when hundreds of Palestinian worshippers were beaten, arrested, and marched barefoot through the streets of Jerusalem. Now two young men describe the brutality they faced that night, and the humiliation they encountered while in custody.

How Israel is digitally policing Palestinian minds,

In recent years, Israeli authorities have been arresting and holding hundreds of Palestinians it accuses of fanning the flames of violence in the occupied West Bank and Israel. This incitement, they say, comes in various forms: Facebook posts, media articles, even songs and poetry – and in recent months, all have landed their authors in jail.

Palestinian reconciliation

The uncertain future of Palestinian security forces,

Despite the signing of the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation agreement in Cairo on Oct. 12 and further reconciliation talks in Cairo on Nov. 21 and 23, security appears to remain the most challenging and complex issue.

Hamas accuses Palestinian Authority of holding up unity pact,

Hamas on Saturday accused the Palestinian Authority of blocking a landmark unity deal and called for a lifting of its sanctions on the Gaza Strip.