[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Palestine and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Palestine Page co-editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each roundup to Palestine@jadaliyya.com.]
The Occupation Forces
Hamas Has Started Military Drills In Gaza After Israeli Airstrikes Hundreds of members of the armed Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades were deployed across the coastal strip in preparation for allegedly “pre-planned” military drills just one day after Israeli warplanes struck positions in Gaza’s south.
Three Palestinians Were Arrested After Crossing The Gazan Border Into Israel The Israeli media claims that the three unidentified Palestinians were armed with weapons when they were taken into custody after entering Israel through the border fence.
Israeli Forces Detained At Least 20 Palestinians During Overnight Raids On The West Bank The Israeli army claims that those taken in the late night raids include certain “wanted” Palestinians.
Israeli Occupation Forces Detained At Least 43 Palestinians After Further Raids On The West Bank Only twenty one of the forty three Palestinians taken during the middle of the night were identified by media reports.
Israeli Forces Wounded At Least Four Palestinian Protestors During Clashes Along Gaza Border Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian protestors as the participated in demonstrations against America’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, injuring four.
Israeli Forces Arrested Over 400 Palestinians Working In Israel Illegally In "Deep Clean" Operation Dozens of locations across Israel were raided with the assistance of Israeli officers and volunteers to arrest undocumented workers in preparation for the Jewish holiday of Passover.
A Three-Year-Old Palestinian Boy Was Detained By Israeli Occupation Forces The young boy was detained by Israeli officers after he was mocked by them outside of his home, though was released after his brothers intervened.
Settlers and Illegal Settlements
The First 25 Settler Families Have Moved Into A New Israeli Settlement Deep In The West Bank The settlers are now occupying the Amichai settlement, the first new settlement in the West Bank in around twenty years, despite such activity being recognized as illegal according to international law.
Israeli Settlement Activity Has Increased By 17% Since The Start Of The Trump Regime Settlement construction increased across the occupied West Bank by seventeen per cent during the first year of the American’s presidency according to the Israeli group Peace Now.
A Palestinian Farmer In Hebron Has Been Attacked By Israeli Settlers Twice So Far This Month The farmer, who resides in the village of al-Tiwani in the Hibron district, was assaulted by Israeli settlers from the illegal Havat Maon settlement while he was grazing his livestock. An earlier attack this month, by the same settlers, resulted in damage to his vehicle and rocks thrown at his home.
Law
An Israeli Court Has Ruled To Allow Jews To Worship At Al-Aqsa, Sparking Palestinian Rage Though the Jewish community would only be allowed to pray at the gates of the holy mosque, Palestinians have expressed their condemnations, citing the lack of Israeli jurisdiction over the site.
A Palestinian Student Leader Has Begun A Hunger Strike In Israeli Prison Omar Kiswani, the student body president at Birzeit University who was recently arrested by undercover Israeli agents, will be on an indefinite hunger strike to protest his arrest, torture and interrogation without charge.
Palestinian Activist Ahed Tamimi Has Reached A Plea Bargain With Israeli Courts And Will Spend Eight Months In Prison The seventeen-year-old was detained by Israeli forces in December will spend at least another four months in Israeli custody for slapping an Israeli officer that had encroached on her family’s property.
Domestic Politics
An Israeli Member Of The Knesset Insisted That Current Reality Is "Apartheid" MK Ahmed Tibi commented that the status quo in Israeli is “apartheid being maintained by military rule,” and that there are now more Palestinians than Israelis between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean.
The Palestinian Legislative Council Held A Session Near The Gaza/Israel Border The meeting was held to show support for the planned Great March of Return scheduled for this week. The march is intended to highlight Israeli crimes against humanity and the international community’s responsibility to the Palestinian people.
Palestinian President Abbas Has Forbidden PA Officials From Entering Gaza Strip Abbas secretly banned his officials from entering the coastal strip after an alleged attempt on Prime Minister Hamdallah two weeks ago.
Foreign Affairs
Pro-Palestinian Activists In Northern Ireland Reject Accusations Of "Threatening" Behavior The accusations come after activists protested the Israeli ambassador Mark Regev’s visit to Belfast, and a local library claims to have received a number of threatening phone calls after hosting an event celebrating former Israeli president Chaim Herzog.
Israeli Has Received Approval From The Americans For $705 Million In Missile Defense Aid The US Congress has approved the largest defense contribution since 1948, according to the Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, as part of a thirty eight billion dollars, ten-year aid package.
Despite Israeli Lobbying, Palestinian Rights Were Supported By The Inter-Parliamentary Union In Geneva The international body voted in support of a resolution that would condemn the American decision to move its embassy in Israeli to Jerusalem, while an Israeli effort to malign Iran failed to pass.
American President Trump Has Signed A Bill That Cuts Aid To Palestinians Trump signed the Tyler Force Act two days after the American congress passed it, allowing the Americans to cut funding to the PA if it continues to pay the families of martyrs and prisoners of Israel.
Kuwait Has Pledged $2 Million To Support UNRWA The gulf nation has donated the money to help make up for American reductions in aid to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees and to show its support for human development in the occupied territories and the region.
Economy and Development
Thousands Participated In The Sixth Annual Palestinian Marathon Around seven thousand people took part in the marathon, which begins in Bethlehem and follows the illegal Israeli separation wall, in order to draw attention to the continuous obstacles that Palestinians face in their daily commutes and lives.