Top news stories from Israel/Palestine: June 15, 2018

What We’re Reading

US-Israeli/Palestinian relations

Palestinians to U.S.: No 'Deal of the Century' if Jerusalem Not Addressed ,

Ahead of Kushner’s visit, Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said that any talks about the “the deal of the century” would not lead to any if the proposal skip over the issues of Jerusalem and the Palestinian refugees.

US-Kuwait ties strained over Israel's response to Gaza protests,

After the diplomatic standoff between Kuwait and the United States over the events in Gaza, the Kuwaiti daily Al-Rai on June 6 quoted an unnamed US diplomat as saying that a few days before in Washington, Kuwaiti Ambassador to the US Salem al-Sabah met with Jared Kushner, senior adviser to and son-in-law of President Donald Trump. The source said it was a short and stormy meeting that lasted five minutes.

BDS

Israel confirms BDS activity added to list of reasons to blacklist visitors,

The state confirmed that Boycott Divestment and Sanctions Campaign activity has been added to its computer network list of reasons to systematically flag people from certain organizations and so that they cannot enter Israel, Kan reported on Thursday.

In first, a Spanish state adopts BDS as policy,

Navarre became the first state in Spain to endorse the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel.

Occupation/Human rights

Preliminary Approval for Settlement Division Bill,

The Knesset approved in preliminary reading a bill that would allow the Settlement Division to manage most of the land in Area C of the West Bank. Peace Now: Instead of curbing the illegal activity, they are scrambling to make it legal.

The two-state solution is dead. Palestine needs a new UN mandate ,

“Israel’s disregard for civilian lives is clear. The occupied territories need proper UN protection,” writes Mark Seddon.

Israel calls on Twitter to shut down terror groups’ accounts,

Israel’s security chief has called on Twitter to shut down the accounts of terrorist groups including Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad.

Gaza

Palestinian dies after being shot in head at protest,

Ahmad al-Assi is one of 132 Palestinians to have been killed by Israeli forces since the beginning of the Great March of Return.

IDF said to mull shooting Gazans preparing fire kites,

The IDF is looking into the legality of targeting groups of Palestinians preparing to send incendiary kites and balloons from Gaza into Israel, according to a Thursday report, as the army searches for ways to stop a spate of launches causing fires across the border.

Palestinian politics

The night the Palestinian Authority showed us whose side it is on,

“The violence meted out by PA forces against Palestinian demonstrators Wednesday night was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. When it was all over, one thing became clear: the PA isn’t a subcontractor of the occupation, they are in lock step,” writes Rami Younis.