[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
Two Palestinian Teenagers Shot Dead By Israeli Army On Friday, soldiers manning the separation fence fired live bullets and rubber-coated steel rounds at the protesters who gathered at many encampments along the border, killing Khaled Abu Bakr Rabie, fourteen, and Ali Sami Ashqar, seventeen. At least forty-eight protesters were injured by live bullets and thirty-three others by rubber-coated rounds, including two medics and a photojournalist.
Israeli Warplanes Attack Several Locations in Gaza Israeli warplanes attacked several targets across the Gaza Strip last night causing damage but no bodily harm, according to local sources. They said the warplanes attacked locations south of Gaza City and in Nusseirat refugee camp, Bureij refugee camp and the town of Beit Lahiya in responses to a drone attack from Gaza that hit an Israeli armored vehicle.
Israel Minister Vows Next Gaza Offensive to Include Extrajudicial Executions Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz has vowed that a supposedly imminent offensive on the occupied Gaza Strip will see the extrajudicial executions of Palestinians, reported Arutz Sheva. Blaming Iran, Katz stated that “it is clear that the top leaders of the terrorist organizations will be wiped out” in extrajudicial executions known as “targeted killings.”
Domestic Policy
President Abbas: All Agreements With Israel Will End Once It Annexes Any Part of The Palestinian Territory President Mahmoud Abbas stressed today that all agreements signed with Israel and their resulting obligations would end if the Israeli side annexes the Jordan Valley, the northern Dead Sea, and any part of the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967. This comes after similar recent statements from President Abbas.
Investigations Into the Case of Israa Gharib Are Ongoing, Says the Public Prosecution The investigations into the death of Israa Gharib of Beit Sahour, a town adjacent to Bethlehem, are continuing as a team from the Bethlehem Prosecution, the Family Protection from Violence Prosecution, and the Cybercrime Prosecution are looking into the case, the Palestinian Public Prosecution office said today.
Premier Briefs Mladenov on Government’s Measures to Disengage From Occupation Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh met today with the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov in Ramallah and discussed with him the government’s plans and measures for gradual disengagement from the Israeli occupation. These measures include ending medical referrals to Israeli hospitals, reinforcement of domestic products, and a “cluster-based strategy” of balanced economic development.
West Bank: 3 Doctors Resign After ‘anomalies’ in Israa Gharib’s Autopsy Three Palestinian doctors have retired in protest against the improper handling of the murder and autopsy of Israa Gharib. Israa was purportedly murdered at the end of August at the hands of her brothers after she reportedly posted a picture with her fiancé. Palestinian newspaper al-Hadath revealed that official bodies cooperated in the murder.
Foreign Policy
Al-Marsad Appeals to UN Experts to Protect Human Rights in The Occupied Syrian Golan Al-Marsad–Arab Human Rights Centre in Golan Heights, in coalition with fifteen organizations, including human rights groups, an academic institution, and a trade union, has submitted an emergency appeal to various United Nations experts demanding they intervene immediately to protect human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan.
Hamas Hails Decision of EU Court To Remove It From World Blacklist Hamas hailed on Friday a European court decision to remove it from the world’s terrorist list, a statement confirms. Hamas spokesperson, Hazim Qassim, stated that “we hope that this decision will lead to completely remove the name of the movement from any unjust list,” and that “resisting the Israeli occupation is legal according to the international conventions and laws.”
Sheffield Becomes First UK City to Recognize Palestine Sheffield City Council on Wednesday unanimously passed a motion to formally recognize the sovereign state of Palestine, making it the first city in the United Kingdom to do so. The passing of the motion was preceded by a ceremony during which the Palestinian flag was raised outside the city’s town hall by Palestinian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Husam Zomlot.
US-Canada Plan to Resettle 100,000 Palestinian Refugees in Canada Canada is “to receive one hundred thousand Palestinians,” including forty thousand from Lebanon and another sixty thousand from Syria as part of the US peace plan dubbed the “deal of the century,” Palestinian official source has revealed to the Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar.
Trump’s Top Middle East Peace Envoy is Quitting. There’s Still No Israel-Palestine Deal. Jason Greenblatt, President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Middle East peace, is stepping down from his post—throwing even more doubt on whether the “deal of the century” between Israel and the Palestinians that Trump has been teasing for months will actually work.
Settlers and Illegal Settlements
Netanyahu Faces Angry Protests in ‘provocative’ Visit to al-Khalil Palestinians in the occupied West Bank have held a protest to express their resentment against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “provocative” visit to the city of al-Khalil, also known as Hebron. In an apparent effort to rally right-wing votes for an election two weeks away, the Israeli premier said in his speech that Jewish people will never leave the settlements in the area.
Netanyahu Announces Post-election Plan to Annex Jordan Valley Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to annex the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank if he wins next week's general election. "Today, I announce my intention, after the establishment of a new government, to apply Israeli sovereignty to the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea," Netanyahu said.
Boycott, Divest, and Sanction Movement
Canadian Government To Appeal Landmark Decision on Labels for West Bank Settlement Products Last Friday, just before winding down for the weekend, Canada’s attorney general announced he was appealing a recent federal court ruling that banned labeling wines made in West Banks settlements as products of Israel.
UK’s TUC to Debate wide-ranging Israel Boycott During Conference A motion at this week’s annual conference of the Trade Unions Congress (TUC) will call for a boycott of Israel in line with the Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions. Submitted by Artists’ Union England, the motion urges the TUC–which has 5.6 million members–to adopt a policy to “prioritize Palestinians’ rights to freedom, justice and equality, including by applying these principles based on international law to all UK trade with Israel.”
Law
Dutch Court to Discuss Trial of Ex Israeli Army Chief For War Crimes in Gaza Haaretz Israeli newspaper reported that the Dutch Central Court in the Hague will discuss next Tuesday, which coincides with Israeli elections, whether it is within its competence to try Israeli politician Benny Gantz for war crimes committed during the 2014 Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Supreme Court Green-lights Withholding Bodies of Palestinian Martyrs The Israeli High Court on Monday gave the Israeli military green-light to keep bodies of Palestinians killed by Israelis. An expanded high court hearing of seven judges ruled four to three in favor of giving the military governor the power to withhold bodies of dead Palestinians and bury them for a period of time and use them in the future as a bargaining chip.
Detainee Ends Hunger Strike, Seven Others Are Still On, Says Prisoner Advocacy Group The Prisoners’ Commission announced that Fadi Yousef Hroub, thirty-one, from Deir Samet village in the south of the West Bank, has ended his hunger strike after the Israeli authorities agreed not to renew his detention order past the current date of release. The group said seven other Palestinians held in administrative detention are continuing with their hunger strike.
Cancer-stricken Palestinian Prisoner Dies in Israeli Jails Cancer-stricken Palestinian prisoner Bassam al-Sayyeh, from the West Bank district of Nablus, died today in Israeli jails due to medical negligence, said the Palestinian detainees and ex-detainees commission. Al-Sayyeh, forty-seven, was detained in 2015 and was diagnosed with bone cancer in 2011 and blood cancer in 2013.
Environment, Economy, and Other
Adapting to Climate Change Under ‘water apartheid’ ‘Water apartheid’, it’s called: Jewish settlers receive copious volumes for cheap, Palestinians scrape and scratch to get what they need, at great cost. A highly asymmetrical, discriminatory, and exploitative regime formalized in law, achieved through physical separation and enforced by soldiers and police.
‘The Most Vegan Army in the World’: How Israel Co-opts Veganism to Justify Palestinian Oppression Put simply, veganwashing is the act of using veganism to create positive image associations or appear more compassionate than one actually is. Israel’s veganwashing, however, is particularly insidious. This is because veganwashing promotes the idea that Israel, as a country claiming to have a vegan population constituting up to five per cent of its total population, is a necessarily less violent and more compassionate society than others due to its high proportion of vegans.
A Burgeoning Drag Scene Challenges Stereotypes Kawsar Zant is part of a burgeoning Palestinian drag scene in Jaffa and Haifa, involving Palestinians from all over historic Palestine–from Jerusalem to Umm al-Fahm, in present-day northern Israel. Kawsar tries to make it evident that her shows and visibility are challenging Israel’s attempts at pinkwashing decades of colonization and its more than half-century occupation of Palestinian territory.
UN Warns of Eminent Collapse of Palestine Economy United Nations Conference on Trade and Development yesterday warned of the eminent collapse of the Palestinian economy due to the destructive measures of the Israeli occupation.
Suicide Rate in West Bank Rises 14% Suicide cases increased by fourteen per cent among Palestinians in the occupied West Bank in 2018 compared to 2017, Palestinian ministry of health revealed on Monday. Interestingly, the suicide rate in the West Bank is higher among women than men, drastically different than the US rate.