1. New from FMEP

2. Gaza

3. Region//Global

4. River to the Sea

5. U.S. Scene

6. Media//Activism

7. Perspectives//Longreads

NEW FROM FMEP

“Incitement, Displacement, Destruction, Willful Flouting of International Law”: Israel’s Assault on Al Shifa Hospital (New Occupied Thoughts Podcast episode)

2023 FMEP Fellow Dr. Yara Asi joins FMEP’s Dr. Sarah Anne Minkin to discuss Israel’s March 2024 attack on Al Shifa hospital, the largest and most important medical center in Gaza, known as the heart of the healthcare system in the Gaza Strip. In addition to looking at the details of Israel’s assault on Al Shifa and the area around it, Dr. Asi discusses the destruction of Al Shifa as part of Israel’s ongoing effort to destroy the infrastructure needed to sustain any life in Gaza.

FMEP Legislative Round-Up: April 5, 2024 (Lara Friedman)

1. Bills, Resolutions; 2. Letters; 3. Hearings & Markups; 4. Selected Media & Press releases/Statements

Settlement & Annexation Report: April 5, 2024 (Kristin McCarthy)

1) Israel Advances Plan for New Settlement In Hebron; 2) Archaeology as Tool of Annexation & Displacement, Part 1: Israel Declares Area Surrounding Herodium Site as “State Land” 3) Archaeology as Tool of Annexation & Displacement, Part 2:  Israel Expands Jordan Valley Settler Jurisdiction to Take Control of Archaeological Site in Heart of Palestinian Village 4) Israel Police Assist Settlers Attempt to Take Control of Land in the Armenian Quarter 5) Israel Plans Sports Field of Nof Zion Settlement Enclave 6) U.S. Plans to Enforce Label Requirement for Goods From Israeli Settlements 7) Bonus Reads

GAZA

Israel to reopen Erez crossing for Gaza aid after US pressure (Al Monitor)

“Israel’s government announced on Friday that it will reopen a key border crossing with the Gaza Strip to allow for more aid into the besieged enclave for the first time since the war with Hamas erupted Oct. 7. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed the temporary reopening of the Erez border crossing with northern Gaza as well as the Ashdod port about 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Gaza, along with an increase of aid coming from Jordan via the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza…The measures were approved during a meeting of the Israeli security cabinet late on Thursday, hours after a tense phone call between Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden.”See also Biden says Israel doing what he asked on Gaza aid (Al Monitor); What aid routes will Israel open into Gaza and what happens next? (Guardian)

Biden’s ultimatum to Bibi: Change Gaza policy or we will (Axios)

“President Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when they spoke on Thursday that “an immediate ceasefire” is needed to “protect innocent civilians” in Gaza and improve the humanitarian situation, the White House said. Why it matters: Biden is making his strongest push for an end to the fighting in Gaza in six months of war, and warning for the first time that U.S. policy on the war will depend on Israel’s adherence to his demands…Biden “emphasized that the strikes on humanitarian workers and the overall humanitarian situation are unacceptable,” per the readout.” See also Biden: Israel “has not done enough to protect aid workers” in Gaza (Axios); Blinken says Israeli offers to increase flow of aid to Gaza are welcome but may not be sufficient (AP News); Israel Agrees to Open Erez Crossing for Gaza Aid After Biden Pressure (NYT); 

How Israeli strikes on a World Central Kitchen convoy in Gaza unfolded (WaPo) 

“The team had coordinated with Israeli military officials and had clearance to drive the route, WCK said. Israel Defense Forces officials said they have been working closely with WCK for months in its Gaza operations…The WCK workers wore bulletproof vests within the armored cars. The group had reportedly complained to the Israeli military days earlier that an IDF sniper had fired into a WCK car, without any of the occupants being struck…Imagery of the aftermath reviewed and geolocated by The Post shows that all of the vehicles were destroyed within a mile and a half of each other, suggesting that some had a chance to keep driving after the attack began.” See also Anera Pauses Gaza Operations Amid Rising Threats and Attack on WCK (Anera) ; Scoop: UAE pauses Gaza aid route support after Israeli strike kills humanitarian workers (Axios); Israel’s ‘unintentional’ strike on aid workers stirs global outrage (Ishaan Tharoor//WaPo); IDF says aid convoy attack was ‘serious violation’ of procedures (WaPo); In Israel’s war against Hamas rule, Gazans go hungry, aid groups retreat (WaPo); Israel sacks 2 top IDF officials, citing ‘serious failure’ in strike on Gaza aid workers (Al Monitor); New Report: Killing starving Palestinians, targeting aid trucks is a deliberate Israeli policy to reinforce famine in the Gaza Strip (Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor) 

WCK’s statement about the IDF preliminary investigation (World Central Kitchen)

“The IDF has acknowledged its responsibility and its fatal errors in the deadly attack on our convoy in Gaza. It is also taking disciplinary action against those in command and committed to other reforms. These are important steps forward. However it is also clear from their preliminary investigation that the IDF has deployed deadly force without regard to its own protocols, chain of command and rules of engagement. The IDF has acknowledged that our teams followed all proper communications procedures. The IDF’s own video fails to show any cause to fire on our personnel convoy, which carried no weapons and posed no threat. Without systemic change, there will be more military failures, more apologies and more grieving families. The root cause of the unjustified rocket fire on our convoy is the severe lack of food in Gaza. Israel needs to dramatically increase the volume of food and medicine traveling by land if it is serious about supporting humanitarian aid…We demand the creation of an independent commission to investigate the killings of our WCK colleagues. The IDF cannot credibly investigate its own failure in Gaza.”

José Andrés: Let People Eat (NYT)

“Israel is better than the way this war is being waged. It is better than blocking food and medicine to civilians. It is better than killing aid workers who had coordinated their movements with the Israel Defense Forces. The Israeli government needs to open more land routes for food and medicine today. It needs to stop killing civilians and aid workers today. It needs to start the long journey to peace today…You cannot win this war by starving an entire population…Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said of the Israeli killings of our team, “It happens in war.” It was a direct attack on clearly marked vehicles whose movements were known by the Israel Defense Forces.”

Israeli forces withdraw from Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital after two-week raid (The Guardian)

“Israeli forces announced their withdrawal from al-Shifa hospital in Gaza on Monday after a two-week raid, amid claims from Hamas that the Israel Defense Forces killed 400 people in the compound and allegations from the Palestinian Red Crescent of torture and “executions”. According to the IDF, the facility – Gaza City’s main hospital before the war – was used to harbour Hamas fighters. The army described the operation as one of the most successful of the nearly six-month conflict and cited the killing of of 200 militants including senior operatives. The claim they were all militants could not be confirmed. However, the UN health agency said several hospital patients had died and dozens were put at risk during the raid. Palestinians who fled the facility described days of heavy fighting, mass arrests and forced marches past dead people.”

Gaza: Shifa Medical Complex witnesses one of the largest massacres in Palestinian history (Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor)

“The Israeli army carried out a massive, shockingly horrific military operation in Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City over the course of the past two weeks, indiscriminately targeting and attacking Palestinians regardless of their civilian status, professional standing, gender, age, or health condition. Though the exact number of casualties from the atrocity is still unknown, preliminary reports suggest that over 1,500 Palestinians have been killed, injured, or are reported missing as a result of the massacre at Al-Shifa, with women and children making up half of the casualties. Euro-Med Monitor is able to confirm from its initial investigation and testimonies that hundreds of dead bodies, including some burned, and others with their heads and limbs severed, have been discovered both inside Al-Shifa Medical Complex and in the hospital’s surrounding area…The attack on Al-Shifa Medical Complex is the most visible aspect yet of Israel’s systematic and carefully-crafted plan to destroy and besiege the Gaza Strip’s health sector, bring it to the brink of collapse, and deny the Palestinian population any chance at survival or medical care, or shelter.”  See also Israeli troops exit Gaza’s Shifa Hospital, leaving rubble and bodies (Reuters); Award-winning Gaza doctor’s body found in ruins of Al-Shifa Hospital (New Arab); Israeli Army Withdraws From Major Gaza Hospital, Leaving Behind a Wasteland (NYT); Inside the ruins of Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital (WaPo);

The destruction of Shifa Hospital is latest evidence of Israel’s systematic dismantling of Gaza’s health system (Medical Aid for Palestinians)

“After a two-week-long invasion and siege, the Israeli military withdrew from Gaza’s largest hospital, Shifa Hospital, on 1 April, leaving it in ruins and completely out of service. The hospital’s main surgery building, its intensive care unit, and emergency, general surgery, and orthopaedic departments have all been destroyed…Dozens of bodies, many of which were dismembered, have also been found in the hospital’s grounds…Israeli forces killed hundreds of Palestinians around Shifa, including at least two doctors, Dr Ahmad al-Maqadmeh and his mother Yusra, while they were at their home in an area nearby the hospital…Following the destruction of Shifa Hospital, at least 350,000 Palestinians in the north are now served by as few as 200 hospital beds…MAP has been warning for months that the Israeli military is systematically dismantling the healthcare system in Gaza. The destruction of Shifa Hospital is the latest evidence that this is the case.”

Gaza is going hungry. Its children could face a lifetime of harm. (WaPo)

“Gaza’s children are going hungry. More than 25 have reportedly died of complications linked to malnutrition, according to the World Health Organization. Hundreds of thousands more face starvation as Israel continues its siege. Doctors and nutrition experts say the children who survive the lack of nourishment — and the ongoing bombing, infectious diseases and psychological trauma — are further condemned to face a lifetime of health woes. Malnutrition will rob them of the ability to fully develop their brains and bodies. Many will be shorter and physically weaker as a result.”

‘Lavender’: The AI machine directing Israel’s bombing spree in Gaza (Yuval Abraham//+972)

“A new investigation by +972 Magazine and Local Call reveals that the Israeli army has developed an artificial intelligence-based program known as “Lavender,” unveiled here for the first time. According to six Israeli intelligence officers, who have all served in the army during the current war on the Gaza Strip and had first-hand involvement with the use of AI to generate targets for assassination, Lavender has played a central role in the unprecedented bombing of Palestinians, especially during the early stages of the war. In fact, according to the sources, its influence on the military’s operations was such that they essentially treated the outputs of the AI machine “as if it were a human decision.” Formally, the Lavender system is designed to mark all suspected operatives in the military wings of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), including low-ranking ones, as potential bombing targets. The sources told +972 and Local Call that, during the first weeks of the war, the army almost completely relied on Lavender, which clocked as many as 37,000 Palestinians as suspected militants — and their homes — for possible air strikes…The result, as the sources testified, is that thousands of Palestinians — most of them women and children or people who were not involved in the fighting — were wiped out by Israeli airstrikes, especially during the first weeks of the war, because of the AI program’s decisions…In an unprecedented move, according to two of the sources, the army also decided during the first weeks of the war that, for every junior Hamas operative that Lavender marked, it was permissible to kill up to 15 or 20 civilians; in the past, the military did not authorize any “collateral damage” during assassinations of low-ranking militants. The sources added that, in the event that the target was a senior Hamas official with the rank of battalion or brigade commander, the army on several occasions authorized the killing of more than 100 civilians in the assassination of a single commander.” See also Israel offers a glimpse into the terrifying world of military AI (Ishaan Tharoor//WaPo); US looking at report that Israel used AI to identify bombing targets in Gaza (Reuters); ‘The machine did it coldly’: Israel used AI to identify 37,000 Hamas targets (The Guardian); Gaza: Israeli Strike Killing 106 Civilians an Apparent War Crime (Human Rights Watch) 

‘Not a normal war’: doctors say children have been targeted by Israeli snipers in Gaza (The Guardian)

“Nine doctors gave the Guardian accounts of working in Gaza hospitals this year, all but one of them foreign volunteers. Their common assessment was that most of the dead and wounded children they treated were hit by shrapnel or burned during Israel’s extensive bombardment of residential neighbourhoods, in some cases wiping out entire families. Others were killed or injured by collapsing buildings with still more missing under the rubble. But doctors also reported treating a steady stream of children, elderly people and others who were clearly not combatants with single bullet wounds to the head or chest. Some of the physicians said that the types and locations of the wounds, and accounts of Palestinians who brought children to the hospital, led them to believe the victims were directly targeted by Israeli troops.” See also Over 2% of Gaza’s Child Population Killed or Injured in Six Months of War (Save the Children) 

Israel Created ‘Kill Zones’ in Gaza. Anyone Who Crosses Into Them Is Shot (Haaretz)

“The number of dead Gazans is now estimated to be over 32,000. According to the army, some 9,000 of these are terrorists. However, a host of reserve and standing army commanders who have talked to Haaretz cast doubt on the claim that all of these were terrorists. They imply that the definition of terrorist is open to a wide range of interpretation. It’s quite possible that Palestinians who never held a gun in their lives were elevated to the rank of “terrorist” posthumously, at least by the IDF. “In practice, a terrorist is anyone the IDF has killed in the areas in which its forces operate,” says a reserve officer who has served in Gaza.”

Gaza infrastructure damages estimated at $18.5bn in UN-World Bank report (Al Jazeera)

“The cost of damage to critical infrastructure in the first four months of Israel’s continuing war on Gaza is estimated at about $18.5bn, a new report by the World Bank and the United Nations has found…The continuing conflict has damaged or destroyed approximately 62 percent of all homes in Gaza, equivalent to 290,820 housing units, and more than a million people are without homes. Housing accounts for 72 percent of the total damage costs, at an estimated value of $13.3bn. Public service infrastructure, such as water, health and education, account for 19 percent, while commercial and industrial buildings make up 9 percent. The energy, water and municipal sectors have suffered nearly $800m in damages and the water and sanitation system has been significantly reduced, delivering less than 5 percent of its previous output. With 84 percent of health facilities damaged or destroyed, and a lack of electricity and water to operate the remaining ones, the population has minimal access to healthcare, the report found. The education system has collapsed, with all of Gaza’s 625,000 students out of school. Damage to education infrastructure amounts to $341m as an estimated 56 school facilities have been destroyed and 219 partially damaged. Additionally, 26 million tonnes of debris and rubble have been left in the wake of the destruction, an amount that is estimated to take years to remove.”

REGION//GLOBAL

Israeli strike on Iran’s Syria consulate kills 7, including 2 IRGC generals (Al Jazeera)

“Iran has promised to respond after two commanders from its Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) were among seven people killed in an Israeli air strike that flattened the Iranian consulate in Damascus.” See also Israeli strike on Iranian Consulate in Damascus kills key commander, Iran says (WaPo); Hezbollah Chief Vows ‘Definite’ Retaliation for Iranian General’s Assassination; Israeli Defense Minister: ‘We Are Preparing’ (Haaretz); Biden vows to defend Israel from Iran’s retaliation over Damascus strike (Al Monitor); US braces for retaliation after attack on Iran consulate — even as it says it wasn’t involved (AP); Israel’s Military Cancels Leave for Combat Units and Jams GPS Signals (NYT) 

U.S. tells Iran it “had no involvement” in Israel strike (Axios)

“The U.S. told Iran that it “had no involvement” or advanced knowledge of an Israeli strike on a diplomatic compound in Syria that killed a senior Iranian general, according to a U.S. official. The big picture: The rare message shows the Biden administration is deeply concerned that the Israeli strike could lead to a regional escalation and the resumption of attacks by pro-Iranian militias against U.S. forces.”

Spain to recognise Palestinian statehood by July, leader says -reports (AP)

“According to the reports, Sanchez said he expected events to unfold in the conflict ahead of the European Parliament elections in early June and highlighted ongoing debates at the United Nations. He expected Spain to extend recognition to the Palestinians by July, he said, adding that he believed there would soon be a “critical mass” within the European Union to push several member states to adopt the same position, according to EFE.”

Palestine to bid for full UN membership this month, says ambassador (Al Monitor)

“The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations said the State of Palestine will seek full membership in the organization this month, a move, he argues, will advance a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “It will send the message that Israel is not the party that decides whether we will have a state. It is the Palestinian people who will decide that,” Riyad Mansour told Al-Monitor. “This is an investment in peace and an investment in saving the two-state solution.” In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor on Wednesday, Mansour provided details on Palestine’s workings at the United Nations amid the war.

Ireland wealth fund to divest from 6 Israeli companies in blow to relations (Al Monitor)

“Ireland’s sovereign fund is divesting from six Israeli companies in response to domestic political pressure, Dublin’s finance minister said on Friday, as relations between the two countries take another hit. Finance Minister Michael McGrath said in a statement that the National Treasury Management Agency decided to divest the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund from Israeli firms that “have certain activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” The total amount divested amounts to 2.95 million euros ($3.2 million) from the following companies, most of them banks.” See also Majority of British want UK arms sales cut to Israel: poll (New Arab); Sadiq Khan says UK arms sales to Israel have ‘got to stop’ (Guardian); Global pressure grows on U.S. and Germany to stop arming Israel (WaPo)

RIVER TO THE SEA

Doctor at Israeli Field Hospital for Detained Gazans: ‘We Are All Complicit in Breaking the Law’ (Haaretz)

“A doctor at the field hospital set up at the Sde Teiman detention center to hold arrested Gazans described conditions that he said could compromise the inmates’ health and put the government at risk of violating the law, in a letter sent last week to Israel’s defense minister, health minister, and attorney general. “Just this week, two prisoners had their legs amputated due to handcuff injuries, which unfortunately is a routine event,” the physician said in the letter. He said inmates are fed through straws, defecate in diapers, and are held constant restraints, which violate medical ethics and the law. The Sde Teiman facility was established immediately after the outbreak of the Gaza war to hold Hamas terrorists, including those who took part in the atrocities of October 7, until they could be moved to a regular prison…He stressed that all the patients at the hospital set up at Sde Teiman are handcuffed by all four limbs, regardless of how dangerous they are deemed. They are blindfolded and fed through a straw.”

‘Hamas Mouthpiece’: Netanyahu Lauds New Law Allowing Him to Shut Al Jazeera in Israel (Haaretz)

“Israel’s parliament has passed a law allowing the government to halt the broadcasting of Al Jazeera, the Qatari television station, in Israel due to its coverage during the Gaza war…Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the law’s passing, saying that “Al Jazeera has harmed Israel’s security, actively participated in the October 7 massacre, and incited against IDF soldiers. It’s time to remove Hamas’ mouthpiece from our country.”He added: “The terrorist channel Al Jazeera will no longer broadcast from Israel. I intend to take immediate action in accordance with the new law to halt the channel’s activities.”’

Israel’s Top Court: Not Enough Humanitarian Aid Is Getting Into the Gaza Strip (Haaretz)

“The High Court of Justice held a hearing on Thursday to review a petition filed by human rights organizations which had demanded an expansion of the scope of humanitarian aid delivered to the Gaza Strip. They claimed that Gaza’s inhabitants were suffering from malnourishment and that Israel should supply the needs required for their survival…At the beginning of the hearing, the plaintiffs claimed that the war caused civilians in Gaza incalculable harm. Attorney Osnat Cohen-Lifschitz from the Gisha nonprofit organization said that “Israel is violating international law, leading to the spread of hunger, thirst and disease in Gaza.”

Palestinian Muslims mark sad and tense ‘holiest Ramadan night’ in Jerusalem (Al Monitor)

“Palestinian Muslims marked a tense and sombre last Friday of Ramadan in Jerusalem, with minor scuffles between worshippers and Israeli police controlling the entrance to the Al-Aqsa mosque, the third holiest site in Islam. Some 120,000 people descended on the shrine, which dominates the Old City, officials said, with grand mufti Muhammad Ahmad Hussein urging the faithful to brave the heavy police presence because of the war in Gaza. Adli al-Agha, 53, from Jerusalem, told AFP that many people “had to flee dawn prayers” after Israeli police deployed a mini-drone spraying tear gas to disperse people chanting “Glory to God”.”

After nearly six months of war, hostages’ families join with anti-government rallies (Times of Israel)

“Tens of thousands of people turned out for mass protests across Israel on Saturday night, and the weekly demonstrations in Tel Aviv by the hostages’ families took a dramatic turn after speakers called on attendees to “take to the streets” and join the anti-government protesters in the heart of the city, announcing an apparent discontinuation of the separate gathering…Police made over a dozen arrests and deployed water cannons to disperse the demonstrations in Tel Aviv, where some protesters blocked major roads…Clashes with police were also recorded in Jerusalem, where some 200 protesters burst through a set of police barriers to demonstrate about 100 yards from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence on Azza Street, and in Caesarea where police detained protesters who blocked roads near Netanyahu’s private residence and chanted for him to resign.” See also Gantz calls for early elections in Israel, warns of ‘rift in the nation’ (Al Monitor)

The Problem Isn’t Just Netanyahu. It’s Israeli Society. (Mairav Zonszein//Foreign Policy)

“Despite blaming the prime minister, a large majority of Jewish Israeli citizens support his destructive policies in Gaza and beyond.”

U.S. SCENE

U.S. approved more bombs to Israel on day of World Central Kitchen strikes (WaPo)

“The Biden administration approved the transfer of thousands more bombs to Israel on the same day Israeli airstrikes in Gaza killed seven aid workers for the charity group World Central Kitchen, three U.S. officials told The Washington Post this week after the incident elicited global condemnation. The transaction demonstrates the administration’s determination to continue its flow of lethal weaponry to Israel despite Monday’s high-profile killings and growing calls for the United States to condition such support on greater protection for civilians in the war zone. A U.S. citizen was among the dead.” See also U.S. signs off on more bombs, warplanes for Israel (WaPo); Biden considers $18bn arms transfer to Israel, including F-15 jets: Report (Al Jazeera) 

Biden’s Increasingly Contradictory Israel Policy (Isaac Chotiner interviews Aaron David Miller//New Yorker)

“Oh, if you’re asking me: Do I think that Joe Biden has the same depth of feeling and empathy for the Palestinians of Gaza as he does for the Israelis? No, he doesn’t, nor does he convey it. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that.” See also Michigan lawmaker says Gaza should be approached ‘like Nagasaki and Hiroshima’ (WaPo)

MEDIA//ACTIVISM

The Gaza Genocide in Western Media: Culprits of Complicity (Yara Hawari//Al Shabaka)

“Indeed, mainstream media coverage of the genocide throughout the West has highlighted not only deep biases in favor of the Israeli regime, but also the ease in which Palestinians are dehumanized. Former UN human rights official Craig Mokhiber has noted that intent is often the hardest thing to prove in a genocide. In the case of Israel’s assault on Gaza, however, the opposite has been true: Palestinian dehumanization is a key and clear tactic being deployed. To justify such intense and cruel violence on a people, they must first be unpeopled.”

In Masafer Yatta, our camera can be stronger than the bulldozer (Hamdan Ballal Al-Huraini//+972)

“On the evening of March 14, we set out 350 chairs in the courtyard of the school in At-Tuwani, in the Masafer Yatta region in the West Bank, preparing for a larger crowd than had ever been assembled in the small village…These guests had come to see the film, “No Other Land,” produced by Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, and myself. The film was our attempt to give people insight into the realities of our lives in Masafer Yatta: the constant onslaught of Israeli state and settler violence, and the toll it takes on us; everyday moments and interactions with our families; and the complicated relationships we Palestinians navigate with those who come here to support and resist alongside us…We’re often told that representation matters, yet I’ve never seen this as clearly as when I looked at the faces of the children of Masafer Yatta as they watched our film, waiting for their faces, their homes, and their loved ones to show up on the screen. I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea for the children to watch it — it depicts graphic violence and disturbing images of their communities. But they, too, live through this. They see it every day. It doesn’t matter whether or not they see it again on the screen. In fact, several kids told us that it was the first time they had seen their own lives laid out like a story. It gives the feeling that your story is important, that it deserves to be seen, and that people are with you.” See also Joaquin Phoenix, Elliott Gould, Chloe Fineman and More Jewish Creatives Support Jonathan Glazer’s Oscars Speech in Open Letter (EXCLUSIVE) (Variety) 

PERSPECTIVES//LONG READS

The Two-State Solution Is an Unjust, Impossible Fantasy (Tareq Baconi//NYT)

“Repeating the two-state solution mantra has allowed policymakers to avoid confronting the reality that partition is unattainable in the case of Israel and Palestine, and illegitimate as an arrangement originally imposed on Palestinians without their consent in 1947. And fundamentally, the concept of the two-state solution has evolved to become a central pillar of sustaining Palestinian subjugation and Israeli impunity. The idea of two states as a pathway to justice has in and of itself normalized the daily violence meted out against Palestinians by Israel’s regime of apartheid…The vacuity of the two-state solution mantra is most obvious in how often policymakers speak of recognizing a Palestinian state without discussing an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory. Quite the contrary: With the United States reportedly exploring initiatives to recognize Palestinian statehood, it is simultaneously defending Israel’s prolonged occupation at the International Court of Justice, arguing that Israel faces “very real security needs” that justify its continued control over Palestinian territories…A single state from the river to the sea might appear unrealistic or fantastical or a recipe for further bloodshed. But it is the only state that exists in the real world — not in the fantasies of policymakers. The question, then, is: How can it be transformed into one that is just?”

The Cunning of Gender Violence in Israel’s War on Palestinian Women (Sarah Ihmoud//Jadaliyya)

“War is always about a performance of hypermasculinity, as feminist scholars remind us, and sexual atrocity transforms women’s bodies into a method of communication between men. In our own history, gender and sexual politics have played a central role in Israel’s genocidal violence since its inception; rape was used as part of an attempt to terrify Palestinian communities into fleeing their ancestral homes and villages. Indeed, in 1948 it was our great grandmothers recounting their violation in Deir Yassin; today it is their granddaughters in Gaza. In war and military conflict, women’s bodies are always situated as symbolic national peripheries; in genocide, Indigenous women’s bodies and sexualities are targeted because of what they represent: land, Indigenous reproduction, sovereignty, and the possibility of Indigenous futures. While rape or sexual violence might be inflicted on the bodies of women, its broader purpose is often to humiliate and punish the collective to which they belong. The gendered logics of the militarized performance that is unfolding in Gaza today is precisely to force us, through mass violence and psychological terror, to recognize and accept our defeat. And yet, the persistent efforts by Palestinian feminists to call attention to the pervasive gendered logics that animate Israeli settler colonialism have been met with little political interest by feminists in the West, making feminism “a silent bystander for many everyday forms of state criminality.” [1] Instead, we as Palestinian women and feminists are consistently asked to participate in our own pathologization and criminalization by colonial powers; to reproduce the culturalized narratives that contribute to the protracted violence directed at our communities, and to internalize our oppressors’ own fear.”

Israel Must No Longer Live by the Sword (Joshua Leifer//NYT)

“The moment Israel’s devastating war in the Gaza Strip ends, the unfinished conflict within Israel over its future will begin again. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing coalition partners know this. That may be, in part, why they have set the improbable aim of “total victory” as the war’s ultimate objective, and why they have so far refused any deal that would end the fighting in exchange for returning the roughly 100 hostages still in Hamas captivity…In service of keeping the war going, and unencumbered by any real opposition, Mr. Netanyahu also steered his country into a head-on collision with its most significant backer, the United States, putting his short-term political considerations ahead of the country’s long-term interests.”

The Road to Famine in Gaza (Neve Gordon and Muna Haddad//NYRB)

“Hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza are at the brink of famine—a human-made disaster with roots in Israel’s history of using food as a weapon.”

‘People Are Constantly Cursing Sinwar’: Gazans Opposing Hamas Are Sure They’re the Majority (Amira Hass//Haaretz)

“Four Gazans who spoke with Haaretz rail against the Hamas leader in the Strip and the decision to go to war on October 7. They say many people fear that Hamas will punish them for speaking out, and blame the Arab media for looking the other way when someone criticizes the group.”

War First, Then Annexation: Is Israel Preparing to Permanently Occupy Gaza? (Dahlia Scheindlin//Haaretz)

“But the real reason this government wants to keep power is to advance its broad agenda: Inequality by law (Jewish supremacy); theocracy; annexation; gut the welfare state; legitimize corruption. To do these, the government is rapidly consolidating executive power, stacking the public sector with political loyalists and dismantling democratic institutions. The anti-government protests and their perfect storm can’t force elections. They may even act as an accelerator for the most coveted part of this plan: annexation. And this time we’re talking not only about the West Bank; the big vision stretches into Gaza, too… Before October 7, the government probably wouldn’t even let itself dream of such a scenario. Now its members – Likud ministers included – have openly declared their intention to reoccupy Gaza permanently and rebuild settlements. The plans may sound wild, but the pieces are all there.”