[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
37 Palestinians Injured During Weekly Gaza Protests At least thirty-seven Palestinians, including paramedics and journalists, were injured by Israeli live fire across the eastern border fence of the besieged Gaza Strip, on Friday afternoon, as "The Great March of Return" protests continue.
IOF Explode Family Home of Martyr Omar Abu Laila Israeli Occupation Forces on Wednesday overnight exploded the family home of Omar Abu Laila, located in al-Zawiya village west of Salfit, causing damage to a number of neighboring houses. Abu Laila was killed by the IOF after allegedly killing two settlers near the illegal Ariel settlement.
Israeli Tanks, Aircraft Target Hamas Positions in Gaza Strip Israeli Occupation Forces have launched artillery and aerial attacks on positions belonging to Hamas movement of Hamas in the Gaza Strip borders with Israel. Israel’s military claimed that the attacks had been conducted after shots were fired from the besieged enclave at Israeli troops on the other side of the fence.
Clashes Erupt in Hebron-area Refugee Camp Clashes erupted today between Palestinian residents and Israeli forces at the entrance to Arroub refugee camp, north of Hebron, in the southern occupied West Bank, said WAFA correspondent. Israeli forces fired live ammunition and stun grenades toward the camp’s residents, causing a state of panic among children.
Israeli Forces Shoots Blindfolded, Handcuffed 16-year-old Palestinian Boy in West Bank Village According to local sources, following funeral processions of a Palestinian teacher, clashes broke out among Israeli forces and Palestinian students, during which soldiers fired live ammunition, rubber-coated bullets, and tear-gas bombs. Sources said that Israeli forces detained one of the students. However, the soldiers opened fire at him from a point-blank range as he attempted to flee, critically injuring him.
Domestic Policy
Israel Bans Gaza Christians From Entry to West Bank for Easter Israeli authorities denied issuing holiday entry permits for hundreds of Palestinian Christians in the besieged Gaza Strip, who were planning to visit holy sites in both Jerusalem and Bethlehem, during the Easter holiday and Palm Sunday.
Netanyahu Intends to Name New Golan Town After Trump Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced, on Tuesday, that he intends to name a town in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights after United States President Donald Trump. Netanyahu spoke during a family trip in the Golan Heights, "A few weeks ago, I attained the official recognition by President Trump recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights for all eternity.”
“Silence or Deportation…Israel’s Message to Human Rights Defenders” In a new and unprecedented move, an Israeli Court on 16 April 2019 has decided to uphold the revocation of the work permit of Human Rights Watch Israel and Palestine director, Omar Shakir, ordering him to leave the country within fourteen days based on allegations that he supported a boycott of Israel.
Gaza Fishermen: Israel Extending Fishing Zone is Token Gesture Speaking on the recent expansion of the Israeli-approved and militarily enforced fishing zone, Gazan fishermen argue that the rules of when and where they may fish are actually arbitrary. Zakaria Bakr, head of Gaza’s fishing union, explained that the long list of obstacles and threats render the expansion “redundant” and “empty”: “in reality, they do everything to make our job impossible.”
Jerusalem Orders Kindergartens Not to Let 'minorities' Visit Public kindergartens in Jerusalem were ordered by the city’s Emergency and Security Division not to allow “foreigners” and “minorities” into educational facilities in a document laying out security instructions distributed to kindergartens recently. Minorities is a semi-official and universally understood euphemism for Arabs in its Hebrew usage in Israel.
Foreign Policy
Aid Organizations Support Senate Resolution on Restoration of Humanitarian Aid to Palestinians A coalition of seventeen other international aid organizations led by Anera recently expressed their support for a resolution recently introduced in the US Senate calling for a restoration of humanitarian aid to the West Bank and Gaza.
President Abbas Calls For Political, Financial Arab Support to Face Challenges Ahead Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday that the Palestinian situation is very difficult, unbearable, and unsustainable, adding that Palestinians need Arab political and financial support to face future challenges.
Arab League Pledges $100m to Palestinian Authority in Summit The Arab League has pledged to pay one hundred million dollars a month to the Palestinian Authority to plug the gap left when Israel blocked tax transfers earlier in the year.
Despite Brave Stances, Bernie Sanders is Still to the Right of Democratic Voters on Palestine At CNN’s recent town hall, Sanders asserted that “Israel is run by a racist government” and called for “a level playing field” between Israel and the Palestinians. While this is quite different from the usual pro-Israel stance of mainstream Democrats, a 2016 Brookings poll found that sixty percent of Democrats support sanctions on Israel, meaning that Sanders is still not quite articulating the views of most Democratic voters.
USAID to Lay Off 85% of Local Employees on Palestinian Projects United States Agency for International Development, which was responsible for millions of dollars of aid projects in the occupied Palestinian territory, will be laying off some eighty-five percent of its local staff in the coming weeks.
Russia to Propose ‘alternative’ to Peace Deal, Says Palestinian Official Russia is currently working in coordination with the European Union “to crystallize a new vision for the Palestinian-Israeli peace process based on international legitimacy,” the Palestinian ambassador to Russia, Abdel Hafiz Nofal, announced yesterday.
Settlers and Illegal Settlements
Palestinian Child Injured After Run Over By a Settler A five-year-old Palestinian child on Saturday evening sustained injuries after he was run over by an Israeli settler in Herodion, Jabal al-Furdais, area east of Bethlehem. Local sources said that the child Mohammed Tnouh, sustained bruises, but his condition was described as stable.
Injuries From Israeli Gunfire in Nablus At least twenty-seven Palestinians were injured by Israeli gunfire and tear gas as some fifteen hundred Israeli settlers forced their way into Joseph’s Tomb in the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Israeli forces escorted a convoy of buses packed with some fifteen hundred fanatic Jewish settlers into the site, located in the Palestinian-controlled area, sparking confrontations with Palestinian residents.
Settler Rams Palestinian Woman with Truck, Killing Her A Palestinian woman was killed, earlier Thursday morning, near her home in Teqoua town, southeast of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, after being rammed by the car of an illegal colonialist settler. The woman was identified as Fatima Suleiman, forty-two, a teacher at Rashayda School.
Boycott, Divest, and Sanction Movement
DePaul Students Demand Professor Apologize for 'Immoral Conduct' After Pro-Israel Op-Ed A student coalition called for DePaul University in Chicago to censure Philosophy Professor Jason D. Hill and for him to issue a public apology for an op-ed he wrote in the Federalist, where he argued that Palestinians should not be able to vote and that the only “viable option” for Israeli policy towards Palestinians was “radical containment or expulsion.”
Israel Supporters Try to Shut Down UMass Forum About Efforts by Israel Supporters to Shut Down Debate On 4 May, activists are staging a star-studded event at UMass Amherst about their refusal to bow to intimidation tactics and shut up about Palestinian human rights. Titled “Not Backing Down,” the forum will feature Roger Waters, Linda Sarsour, Dave Zirin, and Marc Lamont Hill.
Law
Committee: Health of Hunger-striking Prisoners Continues to Deteriorate The health condition of five Palestinian prisoners, held in administrative detention by Israeli authorities, is deteriorating and require effective procedures to save their lives, according to the Prisoners and Former Prisoners' Affairs Committee.
Druze Draft Refuser Sent to Israeli Military Prison, Put in Solitary Kamal Zidan, an Arab-Druze citizen of Israel, presented himself at the Israeli army’s Tel HaShomer induction based last Sunday and declared that he refuses to be conscripted into the Israeli Defense Forces. Zidan, whose refusal is based on his Palestinian identity, was sentenced on the spot to five days in military prison by an administrative tribunal. During his week in military prison, Zidan says he was kept in harsh conditions, including being placed in solitary confinement.
Environment, Economy, and Other
Israel Shuts Down Palestinian Soccer Tournament in East Jerusalem Israeli police forces shut down a Palestinian soccer tournament in the Beit Safafa neighborhood, in the central occupied West Bank district of Jerusalem, reportedly for being held under the auspices of the Palestinian Authority.
Economy Minister: Israel’s Dual Use Goods System Hampers Production "The dual use of goods applies to many industries and plays a major role in the production inputs of the local economy,” said Minister of Economy Khaled Ossaili. “There are universal conditions for their use, but the Israeli conditions are cumbersome for the Palestinian manufacturer and cost him losses, while restricting industrial growth and increases the cost of manufactured goods."
Qatar Opens Gaza Artificial Limb and Rehab Centre Qatar opened the first prosthetic hospital and a disability rehab Centre in the Gaza Strip on Monday, overcoming obstacles that delayed the much-needed project in the besieged Palestinian enclave.