[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
Israel Conducts New Airstrike on Besieged Gaza Israel says its warplanes have launched a new airstrike against a position of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas in the besieged Gaza Strip, after the regime allegedly intercepted a rocket fired from the enclave into the Israeli-occupied territories. It was not clear whether the strike had caused any damage or casualties.
Israel to Destroy 2000 of Olive Trees Southeast of Bethlehem Israeli occupation authorities approved the destruction of thousands of trees between the western entrance of the town of Taqou’ and the entrance of the village of al-Minya, southeast of Bethlehem, the occupied West Bank, said a local activist.
Revealed: Israel Established Committee in 1967 to Devise Ways of Encouraging Palestinian Emigration The discovery was made by Omri Shafer Raviv, a PhD student in the Department of Jewish History at Hebrew University. The study uses official government documents from the 1967 war and its aftermath that have only recently been declassified. The documents uncovered by Shafer Raviv show that “mere weeks” after the Six Day War, “Israel enlisted teams of academics in the country to find ways to encourage Palestinians to emigrate from the newly occupied territories.”
Domestic Policy
Palestinians Take to The Streets to Protest Bahrain Workshop, Trump Peace Plan Dozens of Palestinian activists and political representatives marched against the US “Deal of the Century” and the upcoming Bahrain workshop in Ramallah city center on Saturday. Protesters held Palestinian flags and signs condemning the American administration and the involvement of Arab countries—especially Bahrain, for hosting the workshop.
PA Minister Hussein al-Sheikh: Trump’s “Deal of the Century” Not a Written Proposal That Can be Reviewed And Considered In an interview with the Horizon Center and the Palestine News Network, Minister Hussein al-Sheikh stated that US actions towards Palestine were “intended not only as punitive measures” but also as “practical steps meant to pre-empt a resolution of the conflict, at the expense of the Palestinian people.”
Foreign Policy
Philippine Army Troops to Train Under Israeli Defense Forces Nearly two hundred soldiers of the Philippine army will undergo counter-terrorism training under the Israeli Defense Forces later this month. Around ten soldiers of the Israeli Defense Force will conduct the training, the first collaboration of its kind for the Philippines and Israel.
With Japanese Support: UNDP Supports the Harnessing of Solar Power to Treat Wastewater in Gaza The project, worth half a million dollars will provide more than 170,000 Palestinians, including farmers, in Gaza with improved access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services. This will be done through the provision of 200 KWp of sustainable electricity supply that will allow the Rafah Wastewater Treatment and Reuse plants to treat the wastewater for irrigation and pump the treated water into farming areas.
New Zealand Government Website Removes Israel From Map An official website of New Zealand’s government has published a map of the Middle East that only shows Palestine and does not recognize Israel. The website Immigration New Zealand posted the map as part of a fact sheet that provided information about Palestinian immigrants to New Zealand. However, the map may be confusing as it labels the entire territory with the exception of the West Bank as “Palestine.”
US Envoy Hints Israeli-Palestinian Peace Plan Could Be Delayed US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy has hinted at a further delay until early November to the unveiling of a White House peace plan for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Greenblatt made the case for this by arguing that the United States should wait for a new Israeli government to be formed, which could be “as late as November 6.”
Is Israel Trying to Hide Arms Exports to Neo-Nazi Militias in Ukraine? A group of Israeli human rights activists filed a petition to the Tel Aviv District Court last June to demand the government halt weapons exports to the country, where armed groups have been engaged in fighting for the past five years. In response, the state has asked that the court slap a gag order on legal proceedings surrounding the alleged sale of weapons and military knowledge to neo-Nazis.
Settlers and Illegal Settlements
Israel Names Illegal Golan Settlement After Trump On Sunday, Netanyahu inaugurated an illegal settlement in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights as “Ramat Trump”–Hebrew for “Trump Heights.” Although over thirty years old, the illegal settlement has a population of just ten people. Israel is hoping the rebranded settlement will encourage a wave of residents to vastly expand it.
Israel Plans to Entrench Annexation of East Jerusalem: Report If current demographic trends continue, Jerusalem could become a minority-Jewish city as early as 2045, according to a report by the Jerusalem and Brussels-based International Crisis Group. And to stop this trend Israel may excise Palestinian neighborhoods located east of its separation barrier, entrenching its de facto annexation of most of occupied East Jerusalem, according to the report.
Israeli Settlers Attack Palestinian Civilian, Set Fire to Fields in North of West Bank In Kufl Haris village, north of Salfit, settlers threw rocks at a Palestinian house in the village injuring sixty-four-year-old Mahmoud Bouzieh in the hand, according to Abdul Rahim Bouzieh, director of the village’s municipality. Ghassan Daghlas, a local official, stated that settlers had also set fire to olive fields in Madama and previously razed village lands.
Boycott, Divest, and Sanction Movement
Reps. Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, Tlaib, Pressley, Jayapal Co-sponsor Historic Palestinian Children’s Human Rights Bill H.R.2407, the Promoting Human Rights for Palestinian Children Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act, was introduced by Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) in April. The legislation would amend a provision in the Foreign Assistance Act to block funding for the military detention of children in any country, including Israel.
Director of Berlin’s Jewish Museum Quits After Spat Over B.D.S. Pressure had been mounting against the director, Peter Schäfer, over what critics said was an inappropriately political stance. Critics allege that the museum’s inviting of a Palestinian scholar, hosting a tour for the cultural director of the Iranian embassy, and promoting an article by 240 Jewish and Israeli scholars which asked lawmakers not to sign the resolution declaring BDS as anti-Semitic.
Dozens of Jewish Scholars Back Berlin Museum Director who Resigned Over BDS Tweet furor Dozens of Jewish scholars have signed a letter in support of Peter Schäfer, the former director of Berlin’s Jewish Museum forced out over criticism of a tweet linking to a pro-Israel boycott article. According to the report by JTA, the letter–signed by forty-five academic Talmud scholars–is “unprecedented among the Talmudist community,” which normally “tends to shy away from commenting on current affairs.”
London Art Gallery Chief Quits Over Israel Spyware Firm Links Yana Peel today stepped down from her position as CEO of London’s Serpentine Galleries, a role she has held since 2016. She took the decision to resign after UK newspaper the Guardian last week revealed that Peel co-owns NSO Group, a controversial Israeli spyware firm known to have sold military-grade surveillance equipment to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and other authoritarian governments.
Law
Israel: Netanyahu's Wife Convicted of Fraud and Breach of Trust Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's wife, Sara Netanyahu, appeared Sunday in court to admit criminal offense over the ill-usage of public funds to pay for expensive meals. The court accepted a plea bargain in which she consented to admit having fraudulently exploited the mistakes of a government employee between 2010 and 2013, to spend more than 100,000 dollars of state funds on catering.
Palestine Urges Immediate ICC Probe into Crimes by Israeli Regime, Settlers The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates has called on the International Criminal Court to launch an immediate investigation into the crimes of the Israeli Government and its extremist settlers. The Palestinian foreign ministry also called on local, regional and international human rights organizations to quickly document these crimes in order to submit them to the ICC, which would help them to speed up the opening of an official investigation into these crimes in order to hold Israel accountable for war crimes.
Environment, Economy, and Other
Palestinian Finances Near Collapse As Cuts Deepen Palestinian finances are on the brink of ruin after the suspension of hundreds of millions of dollars of US aid, the head of the Palestine Monetary Authority said on Tuesday. The mounting financial pressures on the Palestinians’ self-ruling entity have sent its debt soaring to three billion dollars and led to a severe contraction in its estimated thirteen billion dollars GDP economy.
The Palestinian Film Directory 2019 The Palestine Film Institute is proud to present the second edition of the Palestinian Film Directory, which contains updated contact information for more than eighty companies, platforms and initiatives active in the Palestinian film scene. These contacts have been vetted and confirmed by the PFI and are available for collaboration.
Washington Sees Opening of First Palestinian Museum The Museum of Palestinian People (MPP) is the second museum of its kind in the United States, but the first in the nation’s capital. The temporary exhibit is called “Reimagining a Future” and features art by talents such as Ahmed Hmeedat, Manal Deeb, Mohammad Musallam, Dalia Elcharbini, and Haya Zaatry.
London to Host World’s Largest Exhibition on Palestine Organized by UK-based charity Friends of al-Aqsa, Palestine Expo aims to bring awareness to the Palestinian cause during the two-day event which is to be held on 6-7 July in the iconic Olympia Exhibition Centre. Fifty renowned speakers, authors, scholars, campaigners and political figures are expected to take part in the event along with chefs, artists, comedians, and spoken work performers.