[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
Funeral Processions of 2 killed Palestinians Set Off in Nablus Thousands of Palestinians marched, on Wednesday, in the northern occupied West Bank city of Nablus, in the funeral processions of two Palestinians who were killed by Israeli forces on predawn. Raed Hashem Muhammad Hamdan, twenty-one, and Zaid Imad Muhammad Nuri, twenty, were killed when Israeli Forces opened live fire at their vehicle in the al-Ghawi area of Nablus City.
Israeli Forces Detain 11 Palestinians in West Bank Raids Israeli Forces detained today at least eleven Palestinians from various parts of the West Bank, said the Palestine Prisoner’s Society. PPS said that Israeli military forces detained five Palestinians during the large military operation in Obwin village, north of Ramallah, where soldiers killed Omar Abu Laila, the alleged Ariel attacker. The remaining Palestinians detained in raids were from around Ramallah, Salafit, and Bethlehem.
Israeli Aircraft Bomb Areas Across Gaza Strip Israeli occupation military aircraft have carried out new airstrikes against the besieged Gaza Strip, bombarding the northern and southern sectors of the enclave. Israeli media said the aircraft struck several targets belonging to the Hamas resistance movement on Tuesday evening. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Israel Arrests Palestinian Woman For a Facebook post Israeli occupation forces arrested a twenty-two-year-old Palestinian woman named Isra’a Hammad Abu SNeineh at a military checkpoint in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron after she posted a comment on Facebook on Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Israel Approves Plan to Reoccupy Gaza The Israeli Occupation Army proposed a plan to reoccupy the besieged Gaza Strip during any future offensive, Al-Khaleej Online reported yesterday. The plan was approved fourteen years after Israel’s unilateral disengagement from the coastal enclave. Prepared by Gadi Eisenkot and approved by Aviv Kofach, the plan was put in place for fears that Israel-Hamas agreements would fail.
Domestic Policy
Gaza Protest Leaders Call For a Two-Day General Strike Leaders of the popular protests in Gaza have called for a two-day general strike tomorrow and after tomorrow to keep up pressure on the Hamas authorities in their call for better living conditions in the besieged Gaza Strip. The Youth Movement whose motto is “we want to live” said in a statement today that the protests will continue to force Hamas to respond to the just demands of the people for freedom, good life, and dignity.
Government Condemns Killing of Three Palestinians, Strike Declared Government spokesman Yousef al-Mahmoud held the Israeli government accountable for the killing of Omar Amin Abu Laila, nineteen, the alleged perpetrator of a stabbing and shooting attack outside Ariel settlement near Salfit, who was killed in the Ramallah area village of Obwin after a siege of the house he was in, as well as Raed Hamdan, twenty-one, and Ziad Nuri, twenty, after opening fire at their vehicle in Nablus.
PCHR: Attacking Peaceful Protesters is a Crime and Violation The Palestinian Center for Human Rights in a statement said it follows with deep concern the serious repercussions of incidents occurring in the Gaza Strip since Thursday, 14 March 2019, on grounds of peaceful protests. These protests were organized upon calls by the “we want to live” popular movement against the high prices and violations of human rights by security services and gunmen.
In campaign Ad, Israeli Justice Minister Rebuts Criticisms of Fascism by Saying Her Policies ‘smell like democracy’ Here’s a more detailed translation of her parody-video, including its subtitles: “Fascism – By Ayelet Shaked. A judiciary revolution. Reducing activism. Appointment of judges. Governance. Separation of authorities. Reigning in the Supreme Court. FASCISM. To me, it smells like democracy”. Shaked is mocking her leftist detractors, who are pointing to her fascist traits.
Israel MK: We Must Cut off Any Hope For Establishment of Palestinian State Speaking on March 17, Member of Knesset Motti Yogev, of the Jewish Home party and member of Netanyahu’s coalition, declared that “we must cut off any political hope for the establishment of a Palestinian state of murderers that has never existed and will never exist”.
Election Video Sees Jewish MK shooting Arab colleague Arab Member of Knesset and Chairman of the Arab-majority Balad party Jamal Zahalka yesterday filed a complaint against Jewish Member of Knesset from the Likud party Oren Hazan for incitement to murder, Haaretz reported. As part of his electoral campaign, Hazan published a video from the American film “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” superimposing his face and that of Zahalka on two of the characters. The clip shows Hazan’s character shoot and kill Zahalka.
Foreign Policy
WHO Appeals For $5.3 Million to Respond to Trauma and Emergency Needs in Gaza The World Health Organization has appealed for 5.3 million to provide life- and limb-saving interventions to massive numbers of injured patients overwhelming an already fragile health system in Gaza, according to a press statement. Funding is urgently required to ensure the minimum resources are available to immediate health needs, as well as enhance the quality of trauma and emergency care in the Gaza Strip and reduce mortality and morbidity among an at-risk population of two million people, said WHO.
‘Sanders smashes the Israel status quo,’ His New Ad Boasts Sanders, running again for president in the 2020 campaign, has released a new ad that explicitly states, “he spoke out against apartheid in South Africa” and “in Palestine.” The ad uses the apartheid reference with the graphics above and below, including the statement, “Bernie smashes the Israel status quo.”
Ilhan Omar Calls Out US Double Standard in the Middle East United States Congressman Ilhan Omar has called on America to put human rights, justice, and peace at the center of its foreign policy and cited examples in the Middle East where she said: “Washington has failed to apply these universal values to all nations”.
Israel Calls UN Members to Vote Against War Crimes Bill Israel on Tuesday asked twenty-six countries for support against a United Nations vote that singles out its violation of international human rights and humanitarian law in the occupied Gaza Strip, according to local media, Anadolu reports. The UN Independent Commission of Inquiry on the Protests in the Occupied Palestinian Territory said Monday that Israeli Security Forces violated international human rights and humanitarian law in Palestine’s occupied Gaza Strip.
Hungary Opens Trade Representation Office in Jerusalem Hungary on Tuesday opened a foreign trade representation office in Jerusalem, according to a statement issued by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, Anadolu reports. The inauguration was attended by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hungarian Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Peter Szijjarto.
Settlers and Illegal Settlements
2 Palestinians Killed as Israeli Settlers Raid Joseph's Tomb Two Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces’ live fire in the al-Ghawi area, east of the northern occupied West Bank city of Nablus, on predawn Wednesday. The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed the two killed as Raed Hashem Muhammad Hamdan, twenty-one, Zaid Imad Muhammad Nuri, twenty. Spokesperson of the Palestinian Red Crescent, Ahmad Jibril, told Ma’an that Israeli forces opened fire at the vehicle in Amman Street, prevented Red Crescent teams from approaching Hamdan and Nuri’s bodies and opened fire at their ambulance.
Settlers Attack Palestinians in South of West Bank Armed Israeli settlers today attacked Palestinian homes in the village of Twani, in the south of the occupied West Bank, according to Rateb al-Jabour, a local activist. He told WAFA that dozens of settlers from the illegal settlement of Maon attacked nearby Palestinian homes with stones and cursed their residents. He said Israeli soldiers who were in the area did not intervene.
Boycott, Divest, and Sanction Movement
Pitzer College Battle Over Suspending Israel Study Program Shows Divide on The Left Over BDS Last Thursday, Pitzer College’s governing council took a historic vote by a great margin to suspend a program of study at the University of Haifa because of Israel’s discriminatory policies. And just three hours later that resolution was vetoed, emphatically, by the college president Melvin Oliver. Pitzer presidents have reportedly never vetoed a College Council resolution before. Israel/Palestine is now at the center of the school’s concerns.
German Jews for Palestinian Rights Receive a Peace prize– And Are Dismissed as ‘the wrong kind of Jews’ Last week, the German organization Jewish Voice for a Just peace in the Middle East received a peace prize from the city of Göttingen. As the organization supports the Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions against Israel, the announcement of its nomination became a battleground with the mayor and the president of the Göttingen university withdrew their support. Despite this, the jury stuck to its decision.
Students at 30 UK Campuses Demand End to Complicity in Israel Apartheid Students at more than thirty UK universities are taking action on their campuses today “to protest their institutions’ complicity in Israel’s violations of human rights”, according to a press release by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. “As students, we do not want our tuition fees invested in war and apartheid,” said Emilia Micunovic, chair of the BDS campaign at University of Manchester “and we should have the right to a voice in our institutions’ investment and partnership policies.”
Law
Israeli Court Says Bab al-Rahma Prayer Area in Aqsa Mosque Should Remain Closed An Israeli court in Jerusalem today issued a decision to close Bab al-Rahma (The Golden Gate) prayer area in al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem and gave the Islamic Waqf, which is in charge of the Mosque, sixty days to appeal the decision. The Waqf department in Jerusalem, which is part of the Jordanian government, has said on several occasions that Israeli courts have no jurisdiction over All-Aqsa Mosque.
Israel’s Killing of Gazans May Amount to War Crimes: UN A United Nations fact-finding mission says Israeli forces committed rights violations during their crackdown against Palestinian protesters in the Gaza Strip last year that may amount to “war crimes,” urging the regime’s military to prevent its snipers from using lethal force against the demonstrators.
Israel: Top Court Bans Jewish Power's Michael Ben-Ari From Polls Israel's Supreme Court has banned the leader of a far-right ultranationalist party from running in next month's elections. Reversing the decisions of Israel's elections committee earlier this month, the court ruled on Sunday to bar Michael Ben-Ari, the leader of the Jewish Power party, in an 8-1 vote basing the decision on his “violent renunciation of the Arab population’s rights.”
Palestinians Intervene to Sue Israeli Settlers in Airbnb Lawsuit (Press release from the Center for Constitutional Rights). Palestinian landowners and West Bank residents filed to intervene in a lawsuit against Airbnb over the booking platform’s decision to remove listings for Israeli settlements in the West Bank in the occupied Palestinian territory. Dual Israeli-U.S. citizen settlers whose listings are to be removed and potential renters filed the original lawsuit against Airbnb, claiming discrimination.
Environment, Economy, and Other
Palestinians Gather at Al-Aqsa to Mourn New Zealand Victims Thousands of Palestinian worshipers performed prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, in the Old City of occupied East Jerusalem, mourning the forty-nine victims in the New Zealand mosque shootings, on Friday. Thousands of worshipers took to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and performed prayers following the attack as a form of solidarity. 6 Palestinians were killed in the white supremacist terror attack in Christchurch and 6 more are still struggling with injuries.
UN Rapporteur: 'Israel deprives Palestinians of access to clean water' A United Nations human rights investigator stressed that Israel is depriving millions of Palestinians of access to a regular supply of clean water while stripping their lands of minerals "in an apparent act of pillage,” on Monday. Michael Lynk, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, said that Israel "continues full-steam with settlement expansion" in the occupied West Bank.
Israel Military Censor Banned, Partially Redacted More than 3,000 News Items in 2018 Israel’s military censor “prohibited the publication of 363 news articles in 2018” in addition to “partially or fully redacting a total of 2,712 news items submitted to it for prior review”, reported +972 Magazine, a significant spike in “censor intervention”. Overall, “over the past eight years, the censor has prohibited a total of 2,661 news stories from seeing the light of day,” the article added. Israel is unique in the so-called “democratic world” in compelling journalists and publications to “submit their reporting for review prior to publication”, and the only country “where that censorship can be criminally enforced”.