Top news stories from Israel/Palestine: February 28, 2018

What We’re Reading

US-Israeli/Palestinian relations

US ambassador to Israel lobbies in favor of settlers,

“US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman acts more like an ambassador of the settlers vis-a-vis the Trump administration,” writes Akiva Eldar.

Israeli officials discussed ways to manipulate ‘naive’ Kushner — report,

Officials in Israel and three other countries discussed ways they could manipulate White House official Jared Kushner by taking advantage of his complex business arrangements, financial difficulties and lack of foreign policy experience, according to a report Tuesday.

US team said headed to Israel to coordinate consulate transformation,

An American delegation coordinating the transfer of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem will land in Israel next week, according to a report Tuesday.

Trump peace plan could recognize Palestinian state – report,

The Trump administration’s plan for peace in the Middle East may include US and international recognition of a Palestinian state and acceptance of East Jerusalem as its capital, the London-based Saudi newspaper Asharq al-Awsat reported on Wednesday.

Occupation/Human rights

Adding insult to injury: Israel officially recognizes Gilad Farm settlement ,

The settlers’ presence on the site and their seizure of land from the villages have been accompanied from the outset by violence against local Palestinians.

The IDF spreads a lie and the Israeli press plays along,

“Facts show that Mohammed Tamimi was shot in the head by Israeli soldiers. But the facts were not enough for the Israeli army, or the journalists who tow the government line,” writes Haggai Matar.

How the occupation seeped into Israel's judicial system,

The ongoing investigations against Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu have exposed the use of detention by Israeli police and court officers in Israel to pressure suspects into breaking, a tactic typically used by the Shin Bet on Palestinians in the occupied territories.

Demolition of homes in West Bank outpost delayed by 3 months,

Israel’s Supreme Court delayed by three months the scheduled demolition of homes in a West Bank outpost built completely or in part on Palestinian-owned land.

Jerusalem's Holy Sepulchre reopens: 'This is a victory',

Palestinian Christians, pilgrims, celebrate church reopening after three days of closure in protest of Israeli policy.

Money, not the protection of Palestinian Christians, was at the root of Holy Sepulchre protest,

“Whatever the public relations spin, the Holy Sepulchre was shuttered chiefly because the churches’ business interests were in jeopardy,” writes Jonathan Cook.

UN Palestinian aid agency plans fundraiser in response to US cuts,

The UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees is planning a special fundraising conference next month in Rome to make up for the millions of dollars in funding cuts by the Trump administration, the body announced Wednesday.

Gaza

An economy in ruins leaves Gazans with hard choices,

The man who makes crisps, chocolate and vanilla snacks for Gaza had just finished explaining how his business was going through the worst economic crisis of his life when the lights went out, shutting down his factory. Again.

Will the crisis in Gaza finally force Israel to lift its siege?,

Qatar and the UAE have donated money to ease the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, but such assistance will likely only postpone an implosion in the absence of arriving at a solution to the enclave’s isolation and lifting of the Israeli blockade.

Israeli politics

The Scorched Earth Of Netanyahu’s Israel,

“For Israeli Jews there will be some gains in Netanyahu’s departure. But in terms of Israel’s overall trajectory, little is apt to change,” writes Mitchell Plitnick.