Top news stories from Israel/Palestine: January 16, 2018

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FMEP Resources

FMEP Legislative Round-Up: January 12, 2018,

FMEP’s round-up of Middle East-related activity on the Hill took some time off last month, so this week’s edition covers a lot of ground: December 8, 2017 – January 12, 2018.

Settlement Report: January 12, 2018,

In this issue: Israel advances plans for 1,122 new settlement units; the plan to legalize a radical outpost after an inhabitant is killed in a drive-by shooting; and more.

Gaza

[PDF] 2017: Tightening of the Closure,

A new publication by Gisha reviews and analyzes the measures taken by Israel over the course of 2017, further restricting movement of people to and from Gaza via Erez Crossing.

Gaza's Prison Warden and the Strip's Ever-rising Collapse Threshold,

“The isolation of the Gaza Strip and its residents, as a political project rather than a security project, began long before the Qassam rockets did,” writes Amira Hass.

Israel says it destroyed 'attack tunnel' that went from Gaza into Israel and Egypt,

At 7 a.m. on Sunday, Israel announced that its air force had destroyed a tunnel running from the Gaza Strip south into Egypt and north into Israel under the delicate triple-border area of Rafah.

Gaza fisherman shot dead by Egyptian army,

A fisherman from the Gaza Strip was shot dead by the Egyptian army overnight for unclear reasons, Palestinians said Saturday, calling for an immediate investigation into the incident.

Living among the dead in Gaza,

“I asked a man who lives among the graves in Gaza how he could bear to live among the dead. He challenged me. ‘How is living among the dead is worse than living among the living?’” writes Mohammed Arafat.

Palestinian politics

Palestinian leaders vote to urge PLO to suspend recognition of Israel,

The vote ordered the Palestine Liberation Organisation to suspend its recognition of the Jewish state until Israel “recognizes the state of Palestine,” cancels its annexation of East Jerusalem, and stops settlement activity, a statement said.

Bitter Abbas to Trump: We reject your peace ‘deal of the century’,

“We told Trump we will not accept his project, the ‘deal of the century,’ which has become the ‘slap of the century,’” said Abbas, expressing Palestinian anger over the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. “But we will slap back.”

PA ‘still in contact’ with Trump administration despite vow to cut ties,

The Palestinian Authority has retained some contact with the Trump administration, despite vowing to cut off all ties to the US leadership in protest of its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat reported Saturday.

Palestinian unity in doubt before summit on Jerusalem,

Palestinian leaders are set to hold a crucial summit in response to the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, but political movements Hamas and Islamic Jihad are boycotting the event, raising questions about unity as President Mahmoud Abbas ramps up the campaign for statehood.

Occupation/Human rights

Israeli settlers use cemeteries to gain foothold on land,

The funeral procession of Rabbi Raziel Shevach, who was killed Jan. 9 in a shooting attack in the West Bank, took place in the illegal outpost of Havat Gilad. The settlement had no cemetery until the rabbi’s death, but in a hasty decision made together with the rabbi’s family, the settlers decided to prepare a plot and bury him in the unauthorized settlement where he lived. By doing this, the settlers of Havat Gilad established a new fact on the ground.

Amnesty demands Israel release soldier-slapping Palestinian teen,

Amnesty International on Monday demanded that Israel release a 16-year-old Palestinian teenager who faces assault charges after she was filmed slapping and shoving IDF soldiers last month in her West Bank village of Nabi Saleh.

Palestinian companies to offer 3G in West Bank after Israel lifts ban,

Palestinian companies in the West Bank are getting permits to supply high-speed mobile data services to customers, after a years-long Israeli ban.

Across the Mideast, Palestinians brace for Trump aid cuts,

Across the Middle East, millions of people who depend on UNRWA are bracing for the worst. The expected cut could also add instability to struggling host countries already coping with spillover from other regional crises.

Israeli politics

Settlement watchdog head resigns to run for Meretz leadership,

The head of the Peace Now settlement watchdog resigned Sunday in a move seen as preparing the way for him to run for the leadership of the dovish Meretz party.