Top news stories from Israel/Palestine: May 21, 2018

What We’re Reading

Occupation/Human rights

Human rights activist accuses policeman of intentionally breaking his leg,

During a remand extension hearing at the Haifa Magistrates’ Court held Sunday evening one of the detainees—Director of the nonprofit Mossawa Center Jafar Farah—spoke about the circumstances leading to his leg being broken and alleged it was intentionally broken by a policeman after he was arrested at a protest rally.

The New Target of Israeli Police: Palestinian Flags ,

There have been increasing reports of a police crackdown on flying the Palestinian flag in public even though there is nothing illegal about displaying the flag.

Sheikh Jarrah: A Tale of Eviction and Resettlement,

Six years on, a young Palestinian reflects on coming of age in one of the world’s most contested cities.

FMEP Resources

Settlement Report: May 18, 2018,

In this edition: Israeli Cabinet Approves Projects to ‘Deepen Israeli Sovereignty Over East Jerusalem’; IDF Applies New Israeli Law in the Settlements, Before It Is Even Law; and more.

Gaza

How do Israeli journalists report on a place they can't reach?,

For the past 11 years, Israeli journalists have been forbidden from entering Gaza. This has affected not only their reporting, but also the way fellow Israelis understand what is happening there.

US-Israeli/Palestinian relations

Political amnesia in Washington: From the Nakba to the occupation,

Within less than a generation, both the political significance of the Nakba and the roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were all but forgotten in Washington, writes Khaled Elgindy.

Israel and Evangelicals: New U.S. Embassy Signals a Growing Alliance,

Mr. Netanyahu’s relationship with conservative Christians in America is much closer than his ties to almost any other constituency abroad.

US envoy accuses ‘liberal media’ of ‘glorifying’ Hamas terrorists,

US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman on Sunday accused the “liberal media” of “glorifying” Hamas terrorists in its coverage of last week’s US embassy move and concurrent Gaza riots in order to denigrate US President Donald Trump, and appeared to accuse the press of having “blood on its hands” for allowing Hamas to garner front page real estate.

Israeli politics

Liberman calls Arab party chief a ‘terrorist’ who belongs in jail,

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman on Sunday called Joint (Arab) List party leader Ayman Odeh and his associates “terrorists” who belong in jail, after the Arab MK lashed out at police for their dispersal of a Gaza solidarity protest in Haifa that he described as “brutal.”

Palestinian politics

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas admitted to hospital,

President Mahmoud Abbas is in hospital for a third time this week, according to Palestinian media.