Top news stories from Israel/Palestine: May 18, 2018

What We’re Reading

US-Palestinian relations

Obama’s Failure Set Stage for Trump’s Unilateral Israel Policy,

Obama’s sorry legacy—no serious or direct talks, no agreed upon objective, no agreed upon framework for diplomatic engagement on Jerusalem or indeed on any of the basket of “final status” issues that had engaged the parties for decades—ripped open an inviting vacuum for Trump’s disruptive brand of diplomacy.

Once Upon a Time, America Supported Palestinians,

“The United States is slowly forgetting it was ever committed to Palestinian rights,” writes Khaled Elgindy.

Gaza

The myth of the Gaza 'border',

“The Green Line disguises the fact that Palestinians in Gaza are no longer being oppressed outside the Israeli state, but are being caged and brutalized inside it,” writes Amjad Iraqi.

A suicide in Gaza,

A talented writer whose short stories, many posted on his Facebook page, had won a wide audience, Mohanned was about to graduate in pharmacy, expecting excellent grades.

Why are they storming the fence, and what can we do about it?,

End the siege, negotiate with Hamas, tolerate unarmed demonstrations. There are many other ways Israel can deal with the reality in Gaza.

Meet Tarek Loubani, the Canadian Doctor Shot by Israeli Forces Monday While Treating Gaza’s Wounded,

As Palestinians vow to continue protesting against the Israeli occupation of Gaza, Democracy Now speaks to a Canadian doctor who was shot by Israeli forces in both legs Monday while he was helping injured Palestinians.

13 Inconvenient Truths About What Has Been Happening in Gaza,

While certain facts about Gaza may be inconvenient for the loudest partisans on either side, they should not be inconvenient to the rest of us.

FMEP in the News

Palestinians to submit applications to join three U.N. agencies,

Lara Friedman talks to the Jerusalem Post about how current law could require the US to withdraw from UN agencies which the Palestinian Authority joins as a full member.

BDS and Settlement boycotts

BDS — the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement against Israel — explained,

For both critics and supporters of the BDS movement, a high level of Israeli concern may be the clearest evidence that the campaign is picking up momentum. Whether it will be able to change Israeli policy is a different question entirely.

Democratic nominee for Congress in Philadelphia district led fund that gave to BDS groups,

The Democratic nominee for Congress in a key race in Philadelphia suburbs with a large Jewish population headed a charitable foundation that gave money to groups backing the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement targeting Israel.

Occupation/Human rights

The Two-State Solution: An Autopsy,

Israelis have the right to defend themselves against Palestinian terrorism, Henry Siegman writes, but “the Israeli argument that there is no moral equivalence between Palestinian terrorism and Israeli preventive and retaliatory violence is deeply flawed.”

West Bank demolitions and displacement: April 2018,

Highlights include:

  • An increase in Area C demolitions, alongside decline in East Jerusalem.
  • A donor-funded playground demolished and 12 donor-funded residential shelters placed at risk.
  • A Bedouin community in Area C of the Jerusalem governorate experiencing a heightened risk of forcible transfer following a court hearing.