NEW FROM FMEP
FMEP Legislative Round-Up August 30, 2024 (Lara Friedman)
- Bills, Resolutions; 2. Letters; 3. Hearings; 4. Israel/Palestine in 2024 Elex/Politics; 5. Selected Media & Press releases/Statements; See also FMEP’s Legislative Round-Up August 23, 2024.
Settlement & Annexation Report August 23, 2024 (Kristin McCarthy)
- Smotrich Tours Land Near Bethlehem He Now Controls, Threatens Systematic Demolition of Palestinian Buildings; 2. Following Pogrom in Jit, Borrel Threatens EU Sanctions Against Israeli Ministers; 3. New Outpost Reported Near Jericho; 4. IDF Invades Ramallah Neighborhoods to Demolish Two Homes; 5. The Israeli Government Has Transferred 150,000+ Guns to Settlers; 6. Peace Now Releases New Settlements Map; 7. Bonus Reads
The Accountability Archive (New Occupied Thoughts episode)
FMEP Non-Resident Fellow Nour Joudah speaks with Philip Proudfoot and Mahdi Zaidan from the Accountability Archive (@archivegenocide), which describes itself as a “crowdsourced record of journalists, politicians, and public figures endorsing or encouraging the ethnic cleansing of Gaza and/or defaming pro-Palestinian activists.” The trio discuss how the archive came about, how it is coming along, and plans for the future, as well as what it has been like to undertake both such a massive project as well as the experience of wading through such incredibly graphic material.
U.S. Policy Through the Looking Glass (New Occupied Thoughts episode)
FMEP Non-resident Fellow Rania Batrice talks with Matt Duss (Center for International Policy) about the current state of politics on Israel and Palestine in the U.S.
GAZA
Israel strikes aid convoy organized by U.S. humanitarian group, killing 5 (WaPo 8/30/24)
“The Israeli military fired a missile killing five people in the lead vehicle of an aid convoy in Gaza that it claimed had been hijacked by militants…The D.C.-based nonprofit that organized the convoy, American Near East Refugee Aid, known as Anera, described it as a “shocking incident” in a statement on Friday and said that those killed were from a local transportation company. It was urgently seeking more details about the incident…The deadly strike in southern Gaza on Thursday comes just days after a World Food Program truck was fired on in the enclave and amid an increasingly strained environment in which humanitarian organizations are operating.” See also Israeli military launches fatal airstrike on humanitarian aid convoy in Gaza (Guardian 8/29/24)
World Food Program suspends staff movement after vehicle shot at in Gaza (Al Monitor 8/28/24)
‘“Despite being clearly marked and receiving multiple clearances by Israeli authorities to approach, the vehicle was directly struck by gunfire as it was moving towards an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) checkpoint,” said the WFP in a statement. “It sustained at least ten bullets: five on the driver’s side, two on the passenger side and three on other parts of the vehicle.” The WFP added that this is the first time during the war that one of its vehicles has been directly shot at near a checkpoint. No WFP employees were injured in the exchange. The organization is “pausing the movement of its employees in Gaza until further notice,” per the release.” See also Israel says its attack on UN vehicle was ‘communication error’ (Al Jazeera 8/30/24)
Israeli evacuation orders force displaced Gazans into ever-smaller spaces (WaPo 8/30/24)
“In August alone, Israeli military evacuation orders in Gaza have displaced more than 250,000 Palestinians, according to the United Nations — shrinking the enclave’s only humanitarian zone and making it increasingly difficult for civilians to find food, water and shelter. Ten months into the war in Gaza, Israeli forces have repeatedly ordered evacuations as they battle Hamas militants and search for hostages. The orders — always expanding, sometimes overlapping, often confusing — have forced Gaza’s 2.2 million residents to move again and again, wedged into increasingly small segments of the shattered Strip. There have been 16 evacuation orders this month, with the most recent covering parts of Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, the only major urban area that has yet to see a prolonged military incursion…“The IDF so-called humanitarian zone is no longer a viable place for us to render aid,” Georgios Petropoulos, head of the U.N. humanitarian agency’s Gaza office, told The Post. “The system is dead.” See also Aftermath of Israeli offensive in Gaza’s Khan Younis and Deir el-Balah (Al Jazeera 8/30/24); Israeli airstrikes kill at least 36 Palestinians in southern Gaza (Guardian 8/24/26); Israel strikes market and school in Gaza, killing at least 20 Palestinians (Al Jazeera 8/20/24); Eighteen members of same family killed in Israeli strike on Gaza (Guardian 8/18/24); IDF wraps up 3-week raid in south Gaza; 250 gunmen killed, 6 km of tunnels destroyed (Times of Israel 8/30/24); U.N. says evacuation order in Gaza’s Deir al-Balah ‘upends’ aid efforts (WaPo 8/28/24)
‘The polio vaccine is effective, but delivering it requires a ceasefire’ (Ruwaida Kamal Amer//+972 8/27/24)
“For 25 years, the Gaza Strip was free of polio. No longer. Earlier this month, the health ministry reported that a 10-month-old baby had contracted the disease; a week later, he was paralyzed. This came after poliovirus had been detected in sewage samples from six locations in the cities of Deir Al-Balah and Khan Younis. With raw sewage flowing through Gaza’s streets, in close proximity to the tents of displaced people and the few remaining sources of freshwater, a potentially catastrophic epidemic could soon be afoot. A mass vaccination campaign is essential, but so long as Israel’s military offensive continues, such a campaign seems impossible — even as vaccines have started to be brought in. All across the Gaza Strip, Palestinians fear the consequences of the spread of the disease, especially to children who comprise half of the enclave’s population. “When my children go out to play, we run after them, shouting not to go near the sewage water,” Reem Al-Masry, a 35-year-old mother of three displaced from Beit Hanoun to Deir al-Balah, told +972. “But they are bitten all the time by mosquitoes and flies that live on piles of garbage and sewage and transmit diseases to us. Every day, my children complain of stomach pain, fever, skin rashes, and other health problems.”’ See also Gaza sees first polio case in 25 years as UN calls for mass vaccinations (Guardian); A 10-month-old Palestinian baby suddenly stopped crawling. Polio had struck Gaza (AP);
WHO delivers 1.2m polio vaccine doses to Gaza as pauses in fighting agreed (Guardian 8/30/24)
“The World Health Organization has said it delivered 1.2m doses of polio vaccine to Gaza, with 400,000 more to follow, as part of an emergency campaign after the first case of the childhood disease in the war-hit coastal strip in a quarter of a century. The vaccinations, due to begin this weekend, will be accompanied by three-day pauses in the fighting in several areas of the territory to allow the inoculation of more than 640,000 children. However, UN officials warned that Hamas and the Israeli military “must respect” the humanitarian pauses negotiated to allow the vaccinations, after two incidents this week – one deadly – when Israeli forces fired on aid vehicles, raising questions over how safely the vaccinations could be conducted.” See also Gaza polio vaccine rollout hindered by Israeli evacuation orders, says UN (Guardian 8/27/24); Israel agrees to brief pause in Gaza for polio vaccinations, U.S. official says (WaPo 8/28/24)
Children are drinking from puddles and wading through sewage pools, as Israel pummels water systems in Gaza (CNN 8/23/24)
“The Israeli offensive has displaced up to 1.9 million people – nearly the entire population – in Gaza, according to the UN. People in sprawling tent camps say they can barely access potable water or sanitation facilities in areas polluted by raw sewage and teeming with bugs. Women endure several menstrual cycles without washing, according to the UN. Others queue in the heat to use toilets at overwhelmed hospitals – or risk being chased by dogs to use washrooms in the middle of the night. The UN previously recorded one improvised shelter with only 25 toilets for 14,000 people inside and 59,000 outside. Palestinians told CNN they must prioritize scarce water supplies for consumption instead of bathing, washing clothes or cleaning dishes. Parents told CNN they struggle to find enough gas or fuel to boil and sterilize water, increasing the risk of illness. Some give their children food that requires minimal water for preparation – but offers poor nutritional value. Others describe water contaminated during transportation in unclean tanks.” See also Israel using water as weapon of war as Gaza supply plummets by 94%, creating deadly health catastrophe: Oxfam (Oxfam);
Netanyahu’s Insistence on Israeli Control of Philadelphi Route Jeopardizes Hostage Deal (Haaretz 8/30/24)
“Israeli and foreign officials warned on Friday that negotiations for a cease-fire and hostage release are threatened by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence on keeping Israeli troops along the Philadelphi route, which runs along the Gaza-Egypt border…According to sources, the defense minister told Netanyahu that he had never before expressed a willingness to back down from the Israeli presence in the corridor. However, he advised that the cabinet ministers look at it as a turning point: the hostages’ lives or staying in the Philadelphi corridor for six weeks.” See also Gallant said to fume at cabinet that PM potentially condemning hostages to their deaths (Times of Israel 8/30/24); Gaza talks focus on “nitty gritty” in hope of getting hostage-ceasefire deal (Axios 8/29/24); US tells UN Security Council Gaza ceasefire ‘in sight’ ahead of Cairo talks (Al Jazeera 8/22/24); ‘Members of Israel’s negotiating team accuse Netanyahu of intentionally sabotaging hostage deal talks — report (Times of Israel 8/20/24); Gaza Cease-Fire Talks Will Continue in Cairo, Officials Say (NYT 8/26/24)
Israel’s Hunt for the Elusive Leader of Hamas (NYT 8/25/24)
“He is by far Hamas’s most important figure, and his success in evading capture or death has denied Israel the ability to make a foundational claim: that it has won the war and eradicated Hamas in a conflict that has decimated the group’s ranks but also destroyed the Gaza Strip and killed tens of thousands of civilians…Interviews with more than two dozen officials in Israel and the United States reveal that both countries have poured vast resources into trying to find Mr. Sinwar.” See also As he stalls Gaza talks, Israel’s Netanyahu prioritizes capturing Sinwar (Al Monitor 8/29/24);
‘They told me to strip.’ Former Palestinian detainee says he was sexually abused in an Israeli prison (CNN 8/25/24)
“Salem alleges to have been beaten, verbally abused, had hot water poured on him, and told by soldiers that the rest of his family had been killed. But the worst part, he said, was the sexual abuse…“They would bring the metal detector and run it all over our bodies, then they would hover it over private parts and hit me there,” he said. As he crouched in pain, naked, with five or six soldiers looking, he said he felt the troops violate him from behind…As of April, more than 9,500 Palestinians were being held in Israeli prisons, including more than 3,500 without charge, according to Addameer Prisoner’s Support and Human Rights Association, a Palestinian NGO. The figure doesn’t include detainees from Gaza, the group said.” See also Israel: Palestinian Healthcare Workers Tortured (Human Rights Watch 8/26/24); We Served on Israel’s Sde Teiman Base. Here’s What We Did to Gazans Detained There (Haaretz);
Israel Is Buying Google Ads to Discredit the UN’s Top Gaza Aid Agency (Wired 8/26/24)
“Back in mid-January, Mara Kronenfeld was googling the name of the nonprofit she runs, which raises money in the US on behalf of the leading humanitarian aid provider in Gaza. Atop the search results for her organization—UNRWA USA, partner to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)—she saw a surprising ad. It read like a promo from the UN agency, but the link directed to an Israeli government website. Kronenfeld says she had found the beginnings of a months-long online advertising campaign by Israel to discredit and defund UNRWA….By buying ads for searches for “UNRWA” and “UNRWA USA,” the Israeli government now appeared to be aiming to draw potential donors to a webpage full of allegations about why the UNRWA couldn’t be trusted…After seeing the ads—paid for by the Israeli Government Advertising Agency, according to details shown when clicking on the menu button beside them—Kronenfeld and her staff of seven quickly appealed to Google for help fighting what they viewed as a misinformation campaign. What has happened since shows the delicate relationship Google has kept with its advertising client, Israel, and the limits of the company’s policing of alleged misinformation in ads.”
Israeli Hostage Escaped Gaza Captors, Returned to Israel by IDF (Haaretz 8/27/24)
“Israeli hostage Kaid Farhan Elkadi, who was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, was found on Tuesday in a tunnel in southern Gaza and was subsequently rescued by the Israeli army. He was found alone in the tunnel, and the soldiers did not come across Elkadi’s captors or other terrorists, and no other hostages were found in the tunnel where he was being held.” See also Freed Israeli captive Noa Argamani says she was wounded by Israel, not Hamas (Middle East Eye 8/23/24); An Israeli freed from Gaza returns to a village where 70% of homes are targeted for demolition (AP 8/29/24); Israeli military recovers bodies of 6 hostages in Gaza operation (WaPo 8/20/24)
Satellite Imagery Shows Vast Destruction in Rafah (Bellingcat 8/27/24)
“Israel Defense Forces (IDF) invaded Rafah in May this year in order to establish control over the Gaza-Egypt border – an eight-mile-long strip of land referred to as the “Philadelphi Corridor”. Recent imagery provided by Planet Labs PBC showed a large amount of destruction not only along the corridor but in neighbourhoods two kilometres from the border such as eastern Tall As Sultan.” See also Bombed hospitals, buried children: we have become numb to Gaza’s destruction (Hala Alyan//Guardian 8/19/24)
Gaza Reduced to 42 Million Tonnes of Rubble. What Will It Take to Rebuild? (Bloomberg 8/15/24)
“So far, Israeli air strikes have left more than 42 million tonnes of debris across the Strip, according to the UN. That’s enough rubble to fill a line of dump trucks stretching from New York to Singapore. Removing it all may take years and cost as much as $700 million. The task will be complicated by unexploded bombs, dangerous contaminants and human remains under the rubble. The majority of the debris is destroyed housing, and its distribution across the Strip roughly mimics Gaza’s population density before the war…Property rights and difficulties in finding disposal sites for contaminated debris will further complicate the process. Rebuilding Gaza could cost far more than $80 billion, when taking into account hidden expenses like the long term impact of a labor market devastated by death, injury and trauma, according to Daniel Egel, a senior economist at California-based think tank RAND.”
REGION/DIPLOMACY
Israel and Hezbollah both claim victory after night of heavy fighting (Axios 8/25/24)
“Israel said it hit dozens of targets in Lebanon on Sunday morning local time in a preemptive strike ahead of what Israeli and U.S. intelligence said was expected to be a major missile and drone attack on Israel by Hezbollah…Both Israel and Hezbollah tried to present their strikes on Sunday as a major success. Israel said it managed to thwart a large-scale Hezbollah attack with a preemptive strike. Hezbollah claimed its major attack was successful and said it had ended its military operations for the day. The exchange of blows, which U.S. and Israeli officials feared could ignite a much larger crisis in the region, appears contained for now, officials said… Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah confirmed the militia launched drones towards the Unit 8200 intelligence base in northern Tel Aviv and towards an air defense base in central Israel. But he claimed Israel is lying when it says it thwarted the attacks. Nasrallah also claimed Israel was lying about the success of its preemptive strike and said none of the rockets and drone launchers used for the attack were damaged.” See also Hezbollah’s Nasrallah says group reserves ‘right to respond’ in future after cross-border fire with Israel (Al Monitor 8/25/24); Hezbollah’s attack disappoints Hamas but averts all-out war with Israel (Al Monitor 8/26/24); Pentagon shared intel with Israel to thwart Hezbollah attack (Al Monitor 8/26/24); How Israel and Hezbollah stepped back from the brink of all-out war (WaPo 8/26/24)
Mapped: U.S. rushes warships to Middle East in show of force to Iran (Axios 8/27/24)
“The U.S. has positioned about 18 warships including two aircraft carriers in and around the Middle East as it seeks to deter Iran and its proxies from conducting attacks that could evolve into all-out war with Israel. The big picture: This is a frantic year for the U.S. Navy. Some of the vessels operating in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden have been combating the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels for months, while more Navy and Air Force assets are being brought in now as a show of force. Zoom in: In addition to two carrier strike groups now operating in the Middle East, an Air Force F-22 Raptor squadron has already arrived in the region and the USS Georgia — a guided-missile submarine — is lurking nearby. Disclosing the location or destination of a submarine like the nuclear-powered USS Georgia is a rare and purposeful power move.” See also White House’s Kirby says US would defend Israel in Iranian attack (Reuters 8/27/24)
Inside the Movement to Settle Southern Lebanon (Maya Rosen//Jewish Currents 8/19/24)
“Since October 7th, the drive to war has been widespread within Israeli society—especially in the country’s north, where mayors and heads of local municipalities facing Hezbollah attacks have been demanding that Israel enter Lebanon, destroy its southern region, and occupy parts of the country as a means of ensuring security. Ministers and Members of Knesset have joined these exhortations, with MK Avigdor Lieberman arguing that “everything between the Litani [River] and Israel must be under the control of the IDF.” Such remarks make it clear that both war and occupation are firmly on the agenda as Israel expands its military operations toward Lebanon. Now, a new Israeli group is looking to push this extreme vision even further. Uri Tzafon, named for a biblical verse literally meaning “awaken, O North,” was founded in late March with the goal of demanding not only war and reoccupation but also Israeli civilian settlements in southern Lebanon…It is tempting to dismiss Uri Tzafon as fringe..And yet, experts warned me again and again that the movement to settle Lebanon ought not to be discounted lightly. [Scholar of the far-right Natasha] Roth-Rowland agreed, noting that “there is a fairly well-established track record of even the most fringe parts of the Israeli settler movement becoming not so fringe over a period of decades or even years,” and pointing to the ways that the movement has succeeded in establishing and growing settlements, including, for example, the particularly violent one in the heart of the Palestinian city of Hebron.”
EU’s top diplomat asks member states to sanction some Israeli ministers (Al Monitor 8/29/24)
“On Tuesday, Borrell said he intends to ask member states to impose joint sanctions on Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Borrell’s request requires unanimous approval by all 27 EU members. Israeli diplomatic sources told Al-Monitor that the chances of such an approval are low, especially since Hungary, a friend of Israel, currently holds the presidency of the EU Council. Israel is also hoping for a change of tone in Brussels after Borrell steps down at the end of the year and is replaced by former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas. On Aug. 12, Borrell condemned statements by Ben-Gvir that the transfer of humanitarian aid and fuel to the Gaza Strip should be stopped “until all our abductees are returned home.” Borrell said on the platform X that sanctions should be on the EU agenda and urged the Israeli government to distance itself from Ben-Gvir’s comments. “Like Minister Smotrich’s sinister statements, this is an incitement to war crimes,” Borrell noted.” See also Israel’s Right to Defend Itself Has a Limit’: Top EU Diplomat Borrell on Israel, Netanyahu and the Gaza War (Dahlia Scheindlin interviews Borrell//Haaretz 8/29/24)
Scottish government suspends meetings with Israel (BBC 8/19/24)
“The Scottish government has announced it will not hold any more meetings with Israeli ambassadors until “real progress” is made in peace talks over the Gaza conflict.” See also Norway forced to shut down Palestine office after Israel’s move to rescind accreditation to diplomats (AA 8/16/24);
RIVER TO THE SEA
Israel’s Violent Invasion of West Bank Parallels the Early Stages of War on Gaza: UN Rapporteur on Palestine (Jeremy Scahill//Drop Site 8/30/24)
“Israel is in the midst of its largest scale assault of the occupied West Bank since 2002.
Beginning in the predawn hours on Wednesday, hundreds of Israeli forces in columns of armored vehicles and bulldozers backed by drones and helicopters stormed into refugee camps in Jenin, Tulkarem, and Tubas. Israel also carried out drone strikes and snipers have reportedly been firing on people inside Jenin. Internet and cell phone service, as well as water and sewage systems, were shut down in parts of the West Bank as Israeli forces conducted house raids. Local residents have reported widespread demolitions of their homes and streets and the blocking of ambulances and medical workers attempting to reach wounded people. Israeli forces surrounded the main hospital in Jenin and have reportedly been searching people entering and exiting the facility…In an interview with Drop Site News, [UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca] Albanese said, “I see a serious pattern parallel with what is happening in the Gaza Strip”—“patterns of torture, of destruction, of extrajudicial killings, of uprooting that are very similar to Gaza.” “It is my responsibility to warn against the risk of the genocide leaking into the West Bank. There is similar rhetoric, similar patterns, and escalating violence, ordering similar things.” See also Israel launches large-scale West Bank raid as minister calls for Gaza-style operation (CNN 8/28/24); ‘This is a war’: FM urges Gaza-style temporary evacuation of Palestinians in West Bank (Times of Israel 8/28/24); Top Hamas official urges resumption of suicide terror attacks against Israel (Times of Israel 8/28/24); Hamas, Islamic Jihad claim responsibility for bomb blast in Tel Aviv (Reuters 8/19/24);
Israel kills Palestinian commander, traps civilians in West Bank incursion (WaPo 8/29/24)
“A major Israeli military incursion in the northern West Bank stretched into a second day on Thursday, as troops battled militants in cities and refugee camps, trapping civilians, destroying roads and infrastructure and raising the operation’s death toll to at least 16, according to Israeli authorities and Palestinian health officials. Around Tulkarm and Jenin, where the raids were concentrated, residents said they were stuck at home or in mosques and hospitals as clashes erupted and Israeli military vehicles blocked the roads. Others were detained by soldiers and later released, they said, but were unable to get home. In some places, basic services such as water, power, internet and cellular service shut down amid the fighting.” See also Toll Reaches 17 Dead in Israel’s West Bank Raid, Including a Militant Commander (NYT 8/29/24); Deadly Israeli raids in occupied West Bank as Gaza war rages (Al Jazeera 8/29/24); Israeli forces kill at least 10 Palestinians in West Bank raids and strikes (Guardian 8/28/24); Israeli settlers kill Palestinian in West Bank, military strike kills 5 others (Reuters 8/26/24); Israeli strike kills five Palestinians in occupied West Bank refugee camp (Al Jazeera 8/27/24)
‘If you try to defend yourself, you’re dead’: A West Bank village’s night of terror (Oren Ziv//+972 8/29/24)
“On Tuesday morning, the streets of Wadi Rahal were littered with stones and bullet casings — evidence of an attack the night before. According to the Palestinian residents of the village, which is located south of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, about a dozen Israeli settlers had driven in, some of them armed. They threw stones at cars and houses, and when residents came out to defend themselves, the attackers opened fire. One resident, 47-year-old Khalil Salem Ziadeh, who divided his time between Jerusalem and Wadi Rahal, was shot dead. Four others were wounded…Ziadeh’s murder comes just two weeks after a pogrom in the village of Jit, where settlers set houses and cars on fire and shot dead another Palestinian man.”
Israeli condemnations ring hollow after settler pogrom in Jit (Oren Ziv//+972 8/19/24)
“As night fell, settlers descended upon the village. “There were more than a hundred of them — masked and armed with guns and clubs. They smashed the windows of my two cars and threw gasoline inside, setting them alight along with the entrance to my home. We rushed out with water to try to douse the flames. We had nothing to protect ourselves with except stones.” This was the scene on Aug. 15, as described by Ibrahim Sidda, in the Palestinian town of Jit — the latest in the occupied West Bank to suffer a pogrom at the hands of Israeli settlers…In all, the settlers burned three cars and four houses, but their violence didn’t stop at property damage: they attacked any Palestinian who dared to come out and try to defend themselves and their families, shooting dead 23-year-old IT technician Rashid Sidda and wounding five more. According to Ibrahim Sidda, it took Israeli soldiers around an hour to arrive and put a stop to the pogrom; another testimony published in Haaretz alleged that soldiers were present in the town during the attack and did nothing to stop it…What was different this time, however, was the immediate condemnations of the attack by Israeli politicians. Evidently spooked by the recent wave of U.S. and international sanctions targeting violent settlers and their organizations — and the looming threat that these could soon be leveled at senior government figures and state-funded bodies — Israeli leaders were quick to denounce the latest pogrom.” See also ‘They Came to Kill’: After Israeli Settler Attack on Palestinian Village, Locals Fear There’s No One to Save Them (Haaretz 8/18/24); Israeli Army Probe Finds Settler Attack on Palestinian Village a ‘Terrorist Act’ (Haaretz 8/28/24); Editorial | Jewish Terror Has Exploded, and Nothing Is Standing in Its Way. It May Bring Israel Down (Haaretz Editorial 8/25/24)
U.S. sanctions group that supports illegal West Bank outposts (Axios 8/28/24)
“The U.S. State Department and the Department of Treasury on Wednesday announced new sanctions against an Israeli non-governmental organization that operates in the occupied West Bank for its support of violence by extremist settlers against Palestinian civilians…The organization “Hashomer Yosh” has been funded and supported in recent years by the Israeli government. Senior members of the NGO are affiliated with the parties of ultranationalist ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Betzalel Smotrich…Some of these outposts and farms have been sanctioned by the U.S. government for their involvement in violence against Palestinian civilians. Hashomer Yosh has received political and material support from the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Environment, and from individual ultranationalist lawmakers in the governing coalition. The NGO also raises donations in the U.S. through several foundations and online.” See also What is Hashomer Yosh, the latest settler group hit with U.S. sanctions? (+972)
Israeli settlers are seizing Palestinian land under cover of war – they hope permanently (BBC 8/27/24)
“They are stealing our land to build their dreams on our catastrophe,” says Ghassan Olyan, whose property is among that seized…Last week, Israel’s domestic intelligence chief Ronen Bar wrote to ministers warning that Jewish extremists in the West Bank were carrying out acts of “terror” against Palestinians and causing “indescribable damage” to the country. Since the start of the war in Gaza, there has been an acceleration in settlement growth in the occupied West Bank. Extremists in Israel’s government boast that these changes will prevent an independent Palestinian state from ever being created.” See also ‘Life Has Been Hell’: Inside Bethlehem, the West Bank’s Tourism Capital Turned Ghost Town (Haaretz); Masked Israeli Army and Police Forces Attack Palestinians in West Bank, Eyewitnesses Say (Haaretz 8/29/24)
How Israel is Arming Israeli Settlers (Visualizing Palestine)
“This visual captures how the Israeli government has transferred hundreds of thousands of guns and other weapons to Israeli settlers since October 7, 2023, as settler violence against Palestinian communities skyrockets with impunity.”
“I was severely beaten if I moved”: Palestinian children held without charge or trial by Israeli forces (DCI-Palestine 8/27/24)
“Israeli authorities are unlawfully detaining Palestinian children from the occupied West Bank by holding them without charge or trial and subjecting them to torture and ill-treatment…Ill treatment and torture of Palestinian children remains widespread and systematic in the Israeli military detention system as children arrested by Israeli forces arrive at Israeli interrogation centers blindfolded, bound and sleep deprived, according to documentation collected by DCIP. Israeli forces used blindfolds and hand ties on almost all the children interviewed by DCIP. Children frequently report they signed documents during interrogation drafted in Hebrew, a language they do not understand. The rise in the number of Palestinian children subjected to administrative detention coincides with the alarming conditions faced by Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons. The situation of Palestinian prisoners has become increasingly worse, with children reporting very harsh conditions since October 7. Israeli forces are holding 75 Palestinian children in administrative detention as of June 30, according to the latest information shared by the Israel Prison Service. This is a record number since DCIP began monitoring child administrative detainees in 2008. The majority of these children were detained after October 7, 2023, as Israeli forces escalated military operations throughout the occupied West Bank. Around one in three Palestinian child detainees are held under administrative detention orders, according to the Israel Prison Service. At the end of June, Israeli forces were detaining 226 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank.”
Now in Power, Israel’s Messianic Far-right Is Dead Serious About Rebuilding the Temple (Haaretz)
“Recruitment of kohanim [priests], breeding red heifers, architectural plans – anyone who thinks that Ben-Gvir and his cohorts want only to pray on the Temple Mount should look again. The big project is already underway.” See also Israeli minister Ben-Gvir says he would build synagogue on Al-Aqsa compound (Al Jazeera 8/26/24); Saudi Arabia denounces call by Israeli minister to build synagogue inside Al-Aqsa Mosque (AA 8/27/24); Open Jewish prayer, prostration on Temple Mount now ‘routine,’ activists say (Times of Israel 8/29/24); Heritage Ministry to fund Temple Mount tours amid far-right push to alter status quo (Times of Israel 8/27/24)
A Video Shows an Israeli Settler Shooting a Palestinian Point-Blank. 10 Months Later, No One Has Been Arrested (Zeteo)
“Jewish settler Yitzhak Nir does not deny shooting Zakaria al-Adra, a 28-year-old Palestinian father of four, on Oct. 13, 2023. Nir, armed with an Israeli military-issued assault rifle, and at least one other settler left the illegal Ma’on Farm outpost in the occupied West Bank late that morning, walked 350 meters down a rugged hillside, and entered the neighboring village of At-Tuwani, according to court documents…Within a day of the shooting, the video of it went viral. A police investigation, according to court documents, named Nir as the shooter. Nir later claimed self-defense: Al-Adra, he said, intended to throw a stone. Ten months after the shooting, the police have made no arrests. Al-Adra and his family continue to live as neighbors with the man who shot him.” See also The battle to document Israeli settler violence in Masafer Yatta (New Arab); In this West Bank village committed to nonviolence, attacks by Israeli settlers are the new daily norm (The Forward)
For a Bit of Air, the Palestinian Lawmaker Lies Down on the Floor, by the Crack Under the Cell Door (Haaretz 8/30/24)
“Palestinian lawmaker Khalida Jarrar was arrested again after the war broke out and has been jailed ever since without charges – now in total isolation, in inhuman conditions” See also West Bank: Palestinian MP Khalida Jarrar faces slow death in Israeli solitary confinement; effective and immediate action needed (Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor 8/29/24);
How Israel’s Elite Intelligence Unit Targets Queer Palestinians in the West Bank (Drop Site)
“Over the past several months I spoke with dozens of queer Palestinians who had encounters with Israeli intelligence. Many had received threatening messages via Grindr, Instagram, or Facebook from an anonymous individual who had their identifying information, forcing them to turn into informants. That, in turn, has sown suspicion across the West Bank and frayed trust. “Israel’s objective in the occupied Palestinian territory is control, domination, and subjugation,” said Jalal Abukhater, who works at 7amleh, a Palestinian digital security organization. Its larger goal, he said, “to instill fear in Palestinians, preventing them from acting or socializing naturally.”…Over the decades, numerous investigations have exposed how Israeli intelligence targets LGBTQ+ people. In 2013, Vice published an investigation detailing how the Palestinian Authority’s preventative security forces, under the direction of the IDF, had isolated gay Palestinians from their communities, kept files on them, and exploited them for intelligence. In 2015, news reports revealed that a surveillance technology company run by a former Unit 8200 official had helped provide Uganda with malware allegedly used against LGBTQ+ activists…For queer Palestinians blackmailed by Israel, the impossible question before them is whether to risk being outed for their sexuality or for collaboration.”
U.S. SCENE
Harris says she won’t change US policy on arming Israel, stresses need for hostage deal (Times of Israel 8/30/24)
“US Vice President Kamala Harris said Thursday that she won’t change US President Joe Biden’s policy of arming Israel, in her latest rejection of calls to curb weapons shipments or end them completely. Harris was pressed on the matter during a CNN interview with her running mate Tim Walz — her first since becoming the Democratic party’s presidential nominee last month. Highlighting calls by progressives to withhold weapons shipments to Israel, CNN asked Harris whether she would take a different approach to the Israel-Hamas war than Biden has…“I’m unequivocal and unwavering in my commitment to Israel’s defense and its ability to defend itself, and that’s not going to change,” Harris said…“As I said then, I say today: Israel has a right to defend itself. We would,” she said. “And how it does so matters. Far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed,” Harris added, referencing her concern over Israel’s prosecution of the war — something she has been slightly more vocal in Biden in emphasizing. The vice president then reiterated her belief in the urgent need for a ceasefire and hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas…Pushed again on whether she would change the current policy regarding weapons shipments, Harris responded, “No” before quickly continuing her point about the need for a hostage deal.” See also Trump to Jewish supporters: ‘Schumer is like a Palestinian’ (JNS 8/19/24); Trump Accuses Schumer of Being a Hamas Member, Blames Democrats for Israel Losing PR Battle (Haaretz 8/22/24)
Israel says US shipments of arms and equipment during war exceed 50,000 tons (Times of Israel 8/26/24)
“Five hundred transport planes and 107 ships have delivered more than 50,000 tons of armaments and military equipment from the United States to Israel since the start of the war in Gaza last October, the Defense Ministry said on Monday. The military equipment delivered to Israel since the beginning of the war includes “armored vehicles, munitions, ammunition, personal protection gear and medical equipment,” according to the ministry. The deliveries are “crucial for sustaining the IDF’s operational capabilities during the ongoing war.”’
Palestine Won at the Democratic Convention (Jim Zogby//AAI)
“The 2024 Democratic National Convention was an exhausting roller coaster ride for Arab Americans and supporters of Palestinian rights. It was a messy affair, with highs and lows, some small victories and some setbacks. But on balance, the naysayers are wrong, because Palestine and supporters of Palestinian rights were big winners during the four days in Chicago. We didn’t get language on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict changed in the party platform, nor did we get a Palestinian American speaker in prime time from the convention’s main stage. But the issue of Palestine was front and center from Monday through Thursday, and in the days that followed. They were little wins, to be sure, but they were victories, nonetheless.” See also Why the Uncommitted Movement Was a Success at the DNC (Waleed Shahid//Jacobin);
Here Is the Speech That the Uncommitted Movement Wants to Give at the DNC (Mother Jones 8/22/24)
“Delegates with the Uncommitted movement at the Democratic National Convention have continued pushing this week for either a Palestinian American or a doctor who has volunteered in Gaza to be allowed to speak on the main stage of the arena. There are thirty uncommitted delegates at the DNC representing the hundreds of thousands who voted uncommitted in lieu of supporting President Joe Biden’s primary campaign. They have been calling for a ceasefire and a halt to arms transfers to Israel while in Chicago. As we reported on August 1, the Uncommitted movement has also been continually requesting a speaker for the main stage. Last night, national Democrats denied their request for a speaker. Yesterday, ceasefire delegates began a sit-in to continue pushing for a brief speaking slot tonight…Mother Jones obtained the speech that Georgia State Rep. Ruwa Romman, a Palestinian American and Democrat, is still hoping to give…Below, you can find the speech Romman wants to give…Rep. Romman and Uncommitted organizers both confirmed that this was the speech she was planning to give if allowed for a potential 2-minute speaking slot. Uncommitted said they were open to the speech being edited and vetted. They said the DNC did not ask to see the speech.” See also DNC Faces Backlash After Organizers Deny Request for Palestinian Speaker (Prem Thakker//Zeteo 8/23/24)
Harris Can Change Biden’s Policy on Israel Just by Upholding the Law (Peter Beinart//NYT)
“Without supporting an arms embargo, she can still signal a clear break with Joe Biden’s near-unconditional support for an Israeli war effort that many legal scholars believe has led to genocide. And she can do so in a way befitting a former prosecutor: When it comes to Israel, Ms. Harris should simply say that she’ll enforce the law. The law in question has been on the books for more than a decade. It prohibits the United States from assisting any unit of a foreign security force that commits “gross violations” of human rights. Aid can be reinstated if the foreign country adequately punishes the perpetrators. Passed by Congress in 1997, it bears the name of former Senator Patrick Leahy — and it has been applied hundreds of times — including reportedly against U.S. allies like Colombia and Mexico.But it has never been applied to Israel, the country that over the past eight decades has received more U.S. aid, by far, than any other. That’s not because the Israel Defense Forces don’t commit serious abuses. “There are literally dozens of Israeli security force units that have committed gross violations of human rights” and should thus be ineligible for U.S. aid, a former State Department official, Charles Blaha, told ProPublica in May.” See also Meet the megadonors pumping millions into the 2024 election (WaPo 8/26/24); ‘Very Bad Sign for Democracy’: AIPAC Has Spent Over $100 Million on 2024 Elections (Common Dreams 8/28/24)
Gaza Debate Reopens Divisions Between Left-Wing Workers and Union Leaders (NYT 8/30/24)
“Since last fall, many rank-and-file union members have been outspoken in their criticism of Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 attacks, in which Hamas-led militants killed more than 1,000 people and took about 250 hostages. The leaders of many national unions have appeared more cautious, at times emphasizing the precipitating role of Hamas…In some ways, this divide reflects tensions over Israel and Gaza that exist within many institutions — like academia, the media and government. But labor’s divide over Gaza also reflects a deeper, more existential debate: Is the future of organized labor with its left-leaning activists, who have become increasingly outspoken on various issues inside and outside the workplace? Or is it with establishment leaders whose politics are more pragmatic?”
A Palestinian American’s Place Under the Democrats’ Big Tent? (Ta-Nehisi Coates//Vanity Fair 8/21/24)
“This is a formulation that depends on seeing Palestinians, and Palestinian life, with the same clarity as all other human life. One way this clarity and equality is expressed in our society is through our arts, our media, our public rituals—rituals like national political conventions. Maybe more than in any other year, this DNC has urged its various constituencies to highlight their identities and the collective pain that animates them. Racism, forced birth, land theft. It has been an exhibition of what the Palestinian scholar Edward Said called “the permission to narrate,” and it is that permission that Palestinian Americans have been denied. They have heard their names mentioned fleetingly by a handful of speakers but have not been granted the right to speak their names themselves. Perhaps that is for fear of what else a Palestinian American speaker might name. I cannot say that fear is unwarranted.”
The Democratic Party Has Been Avoiding This Fight for Too Long (Farah Stockman//NYT 8/20/24)
“The party still faces a long-term moral quandary of how to square its rhetoric about being the party of freedom, equality and racial justice with the virtually unconditional support it has offered to a far-right government in Israel that is accused of starving and bombarding large numbers of civilians in Gaza since the brutal Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.”
This Is Who Kamala Harris Fails (Hala Alyan//NYT 8/28/24)
“There is no doubt Ms. Harris is more articulate than President Biden on the issue. In her speech accepting the Democratic nomination, she spoke of Palestinians’ devastation, of their displacement, their hunger, their right to “freedom” and “self-determination.” “The scale of suffering is heartbreaking,” she said. I appreciate Ms. Harris’s broken heart. What I’d appreciate more is a direct naming of who is killing and starving Palestinians, acts that are neither inevitable nor without a perpetrator. I’d appreciate the upholding of international law through sanctions and an arms embargo. It’s hard to abide the passive framing of Palestinian death in the same speech that reasserts a nuclear power’s right to defend itself — a “defense” that in the past few months has included both American and Israeli representatives calling to level Gaza, mobs rioting to defend the rights of soldiers accused of raping a Palestinian prisoner, and bombs shredding hundreds of starving children in refugee camps.”
LAWFARE//REDEFINING ANTISEMITISM TO QUASH ADVOCACY FOR PALESTINIAN RIGHTS
Columbia Cuts Due Process for Student Protesters After Congress Demands Harsher Punishment (The Intercept 8/29/24)
“In early August, Columbia University told Congress that most of the students arrested in the past year for protesting against Israel’s war on Gaza would be allowed to return to campus for the fall. Then a congressional inquiry applied pressure…Now dozens of student protesters have received notices that their cases are being fast-tracked to university disciplinary hearings, short-circuiting Columbia’s own investigation process. Scheduled interviews with students have been canceled, and cases are moving directly to the University Judicial Board, which can expel or otherwise punish students, according to an email reviewed by The Intercept. Moving a case to a hearing without interviewing students for their version of events is an unprecedented move, and likely a sign that the university is caving to external pressure from Congress, said Katherine Franke, a professor at Columbia Law School.”
College Administrators Spent Summer Break Dreaming Up Ways to Squash Gaza Protests (Natasha Lennard//The Intercept 8/27/24)
“Tucked into a document purportedly offering clarification on school policy, the new NYU guidelines introduce an unprecedented expansion of protected classes to include “Zionists” and “Zionism.” Referring to the university’s nondiscrimination and anti-harassment policy, known as NDAH, the updated conduct guide says, “Speech and conduct that would violate the NDAH if targeting Jewish or Israeli people can also violate the NDAH if directed toward Zionists.” The university’s NDAH rules are intended to reflect the school’s legal obligations, including to Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination and harassment based on a student’s race, color, national origin, religious identity, shared ancestry, or ethnicity. “Using code words, like ‘Zionist,’” the guide says, “does not eliminate the possibility that your speech violates the NDAH policy.”…According to NYU’s guidance, then, Zionist and Zionism are either antisemitic dog whistles when invoked critically or a protected category akin to a race, ethnicity, or religious identity.” See also NYU issues new hate speech guidelines discouraging students from targeting ‘Zionists’ (JTA 8/23/24);
Aug 25. Press Release: Responding to New Student Conduct Document (NYU Faculty for Justice in Palestine)
“We are alarmed by NYU’s updated guidance on student conduct shared by Provost Gigi Dopico and Executive Vice President Martin Dorph on August 22, 2024. The new guidance sets a dangerous precedent by extending Title VI protections to anyone who adheres to Zionism, a nationalist political ideology, and troublingly equates criticism of Zionism with discrimination against Jewish people. Furthermore, the new guidance implies that any nationalist political ideology (Hindu nationalism, Christian nationalism, etc.) that is integrated into some members of that group’s understanding of their own racial or ethnic identity should be entitled to civil rights protections. This is a disturbing development that will legitimize far-right and ethnonationalist ideologies under the guise of protecting students from racial discrimination. This weaponization of the Title VI apparatus openly threatens the university’s commitments to academic freedom and to nondiscrimination, and we insist that the administration reconsider these changes for the good of the university community.”
The Cost of Trying to Make Palestinian Lives Matter in the Newsroom (Soda Sherif//The Nation 8/19/24)
“On World Press Freedom Day, the National Writers Union published a report titled “Red Lines: Retaliation in the media industry during the Gaza conflict.” It documented 44 cases of retaliation against media workers—whether by way of assignment restriction, social-media suppression, or termination—in response to a belief that the accused either supported Palestinians or appeared “critical of the Israeli government.” The investigation did not yield a similar trend toward pro-Israeli media workers. According to the report, this wave of retaliation impacted more than a hundred media professionals across North America and Europe from October through February, a large portion of whom were of Middle Eastern, North African, or Muslim descent. The effect of this is clear: the production of less news about the reality of Palestine.” See also More Than 65 Palestinian Filmmakers, Including Hany Abu Assad, Elia Suleiman and Farah Nabulsi, Sign Letter Accusing Hollywood of ‘Dehumanizing’ Palestinians (Variety)
San Francisco State University divests from weapons companies aiding Israel’s war on Gaza (Middle East Eye 8/29/24)
“California’s San Francisco State University has begun the process of divesting from four weapons manufacturers currently involved in Israel’s war on Gaza, in a move activists are describing as a “major victory” for Palestinian rights advocacy in the United States…Noam Perry, the strategic research coordinator with the AFSC, told Middle East Eye the move was significant for a variety of reasons, none more so than “the transformative process the university went through, and the moral stance it committed to” in reaching its decision to change track on the investments. “It’s not that the university decided to divest from these four companies. It’s that the university decided on a new ethical investment policy, and when it screened its direct investments through this new lens, these are the companies that were flagged. So the policy would make sure the university cannot directly invest in these and other similar companies in the future.”
PERSPECTIVES//LONG READS
The real schism in the Israel–Hamas ceasefire talks is about who decides Gaza’s future (Amjad Iraqi//Chatham House 8/23/24)
“Notwithstanding disputes over the ‘phasing’ of troop withdrawals and a hostage-prisoner exchange, the core divergence in the negotiations revolves around a vital political question: what will happen to Gaza following a ceasefire – or what has crudely been described as the ‘day after’. And it is here that international actors, chiefly the US, are harming prospects both for a deal and a path out of the conflict…To break from this trajectory, the US must abandon the dangerous logic that says Israel’s ‘right to self-defence’ grants it the right to control the Palestinians as it wishes. Washington must call out Netanyahu’s manoeuvres and use its extensive military, economic, and diplomatic leverage to ensure a total Israeli withdrawal. In Gaza, the immediate priority must be facilitating the swift delivery of humanitarian aid, including by lifting the siege. But governments must also make Palestinian agency and sovereignty a fundamental pillar of Gaza’s present and future. This can be realized through measures such as the empowerment of a Palestinian-led reconstruction council; a Gazan economy reconnected to the West Bank and wider region; an integrated Palestinian security force (rather than foreign peacekeepers); and a reformed Palestinian political body that brings Hamas into the fold. All this must be done with regional and international support, but it must be steered and owned by Palestinians – irrespective of what their occupiers demand.”
The US diplomatic strategy on Israel and Gaza is not working (Daniel Levy//Guardian 8/27/24)
“The staggering shortcomings in the Biden administration’s approach, exacerbated in secretary of state Antony Blinken’s latest mission, are highly consequential and worth unpacking. Alarm bells should have been set off when Blinken at his recent press conference in Jerusalem announced that Benjamin Netanyahu had accepted the US “bridging proposal” – when the Israeli prime minister himself declared no such thing. Within hours, it became clear that Israel’s chief negotiator, Nitzan Alon, would not participate in the talks as a way of protesting against Netanyahu’s undermining of the deal. That was followed by senior US and Israeli security officials anonymously briefing the press that Netanyahu was preventing a deal. Similar conclusions were also reached and made public by the main forums representing the Israeli hostage families. On his ninth visit to Israel since the 7 October attack, Blinken again failed – not just at mediating between Israel and Hamas, but even in closing the gaps between the competing camps inside the Israeli system. The US refusal to take seriously that there are Hamas negotiating positions which are legitimate, and which will need to be part of a deal (and with which the US ostensibly agrees to in substance – such as a full Israeli withdrawal and a sustainable ceasefire), has condemned US-led talks to repeated failure.”
“I Couldn’t Ask if She Was Still Alive”: A Girl, Her Mother, and a Bloody Night In Gaza (Lujayn//The Nation 8/26/24)
“I am Lujayn, a 14-year-old girl who has survived many wars in Gaza, though this is the worst one I have ever experienced. In the last week of May, my family and I had to leave the place where we were living after the occupation forces threatened to invade Rafah. It was the ninth time we’d had to move since October…I write these lines while we are still in the house with nowhere to go. The bombing continues. They keep discussing ceasefire proposals at the cost of our blood. I may not be able to finish my story this time, and I hope anyone who reads my words and feels the bitter reality we live in will wish for my mother, my people, and me to complete our stories with the end of this war. I don’t know when I’ll be able to send more lines again…My mother keeps whispering in my ear, “Be safe and well,” and I tell her, “There is no life, no goodness, no peace without you.” Together we will bury that shrapnel that wounded her and was stained with her blood. It will sprout and grow into courage, dignity, and love.”
Read about why JNF Canada lost charitable status after a decade of problems (Canadian Jewish News 8/26/24)
“Jewish National Fund of Canada has known for years that Canada’s tax agency had “major concerns” with how the charity operates, The Canadian Jewish News has learned. Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) warned JNF Canada in 2019 it planned to take away its charitable status and then warned them again in 2023 and in 2024, due to “repeated and serious non-compliance” with the Income tax Act rules governing charities, particularly covering JNF Canada’s work in Israel. Documents recently released to The CJN by the CRA show the venerable Canadian Jewish charity–that has helped reforest and build infrastructure in Israel since the late 1960s—had been warned repeatedly to clean up its act between 2016 and 2023, and even earlier…Barring any future legal reversals which JNF Canada may obtain through the courts, the revocation order means the charity is now unable to issue any tax-exempt donation receipts, or to receive tax-exempt donations or gifts from other registered Canadian charities. It must wind up its charitable business within one year, dispose of its $30 million in assets, or risk paying a 100 percent tax….In its full report on the 2014 audit, the tax department examined at least 17 projects that either indirectly or directly helped the Israel Defense Forces or were built in areas of the West Bank including East Jerusalem or in the Golan Heights. While the CRA permits charities to operate anywhere in the world, and doesn’t explicitly forbid charities from working in the West Bank, officials say they are bound to follow Canadian government policy on the issue, which is set by Global Affairs Canada.”
Food Sovereignty in a Palestinian Economy of Resistance (Fathi Nimer 8/27/24)
“In their struggle against Zionist settler colonialism, Palestinians have long worked towards establishing a resistance economy. Understood as a form of popular organizing such that economic institutions and activities serve the political aims of the Palestinian struggle, the notion of a resistance economy emerged organically during the early decades of the liberation struggle and later became a central pillar of the First Intifada. During this time, economic autonomy was regarded as a means to sustain the anti-colonial struggle. Today, food sovereignty constitutes a natural continuation of such modes of resistance, building upon the principles of agricultural self-sufficiency practiced throughout the history of the Palestinian revolution. Accordingly, this policy brief traces the origins of food sovereignty and the challenges Palestinians face to effectively put the framework into practice. The brief argues that doing so will help better recontextualize the resistance economy today, thus paving the way for establishing a more contentious economic order.”
Israeli society’s dehumanization of Palestinians is now absolute (Meron Rapoport//+972 8/23/24)
“After every war in recent decades that Israelis have fought in, there have been public displays of remorse. This has often been criticized as a mentality of “shooting and crying” — but at least the soldiers were crying…During the First Intifada, many soldiers spoke out about the abuse of Palestinians. The Second Intifada gave rise to the NGO Breaking the Silence. The moral discourse about the occupation may have been narrow and hypocritical, but it existed. Not this time. The Israeli military has killed at least 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza — about two percent of the Strip’s population. It has wreaked total havoc, systematically destroying residential neighborhoods, schools, hospitals, and universities. Hundreds of thousands of Israeli soldiers have fought in Gaza over the past 10 months, and yet the moral debate is almost non-existent. The number of soldiers who have spoken out about their crimes or moral difficulties with serious reflection or regret, even anonymously, can be counted on the fingers of one hand.”
The Fall and Fall of Mahmoud Abbas (Khaled Elgindy//Foreign Affairs 8/30/24)
“For nearly two decades, Palestinian leadership has been fractured. Along with a basic division between Hamas in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, numerous other groups have competed for influence. In late July, leaders of all 14 Palestinian political factions, including Fatah and Hamas, met in Beijing to issue a call for national unity. The agreement they signed, known as the Beijing Declaration, promised to create a consensus government presiding over both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, to reform and expand the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and to hold national elections…Yet despite the gravity of the situation, Mahmoud Abbas, the longtime president of the Palestinian Authority and leader of Fatah in the West Bank, has—through a spokesman—disparaged the Beijing Declaration as unhelpful and insignificant. (Abbas sent a Fatah representative to the talks in his place.) It is puzzling that a political leader, especially one as deeply unpopular as Abbas, in a moment of national trauma and existential despair, should show such open contempt for a display of national unity…Either way, Abbas’s arrogant dismissal of the plan highlighted two hallmarks of his nearly 20 years in power—a profound disconnect with his people and an unwillingness to promote a coherent strategy for Palestinian liberation…Once seen as a promising peacemaker and political reformer, Abbas has steadily devolved into an erratic and small-minded authoritarian with a virtually unbroken record of failure…Now, amid a terrible and unending war, Abbas has an opportunity to mitigate some of the damage done to Palestinians and to his own legacy by pursuing Palestinian unity. And yet even at this most decisive moment in Palestinian history, Abbas remains a helpless bystander, with little say in either war or peace.”