[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Occupation, Intervention and Law and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the O.I.L. Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each biweekly roundup to OIL@jadaliyya.com by Monday night of every other week.]
Israel-Palestine
Gaza Rockets Hit South Israel, Army Strikes Back: Officials, Reuters
Israel and Palestine exchanged air strikes and rocket fire respectively in the most recent cross-border clash in Gaza.
Israel: Stop Shooting at Gaza Civilians, Human Rights Watch
Israeli troops have killed four and wounded more than sixty civilians near the border with Gaza in 2014 alone, Human Rights Watch reports in an investigation of incidents in which Israeli forces fired on civilians near the perimeter fence.
Mass Hunger-Strike Launched by Palestinian "Administrative Detainees," Addameer
Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association confirms the launch of an open-ended hunger strike involving more than one hundred Palestinian political detainees held without charge or trial.
Saudi Arabia Denies Liberman`s Claim of Secret Diplomacy, Haaretz
A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in Saudi Arabia has denied comments by Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman suggesting that Israel has held secret diplomatic talks with Saudi Arabia and other Arab states that do not recognize it.
Racism in Service of a pro-Israel Agenda--Two New York Times Editors Reveal a Bias, Ira Glunts
Glunts summarizes critical reactions to The New York Times Book Review decision to print a letter containing the statement "Palestinian Arabs have avowed as their goal the killing of all Jews."
UC Riverside Student Government Backs Israel Divestment Resolution, David Olson
Press-Enterprise covers the successful divestment campaign at UC Riverside and unsuccessful divestment campaigns at UC Santa Barbara and San Diego State.
Fatah-Hamas Reconciliation
Another Stillborn Palestinian "Reconciliation," Ali Abunimah
There is little to be optimistic about with the most recent attempt at reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah, writes Abunimah, given fundamental differences between the two factions that have yet to be resolved.
Six Questions for Mouin Rabbani, MERIP Editors
Middle East Research and Information Project interviews Jadaliyya co-Editor Mouin Rabbani on the reconciliation effort between Hamas and Fatah.
US to Reconsider Aid if Hamas-PLO Form Government, Al Arabiya News
A senior United States official has commented that a Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and Hamas unity government may prompt the United States to cut aid for the Palestinian Authority, given Hamas` status as a terrorist organization.
Law in the Middle East
Egypt Court to Pass Final Judgment on 529 Protesters Facing Death, Renee Lewis
On Monday 29 April, an Egyptian court will issue verdicts on several hundred Muslim Brotherhood supporters sentenced to death in a trial criticized by a number of human rights groups.
Saudia Arabia Sentences Qaeda Members to Death, Al Jazeera English
A court in Saudi Arabia handed down eight sentences of capital punishment and seventy-seven prison terms in charges related to attacks on expatriates in Riyadh in 2003.
Gaddafi Appears for Trial via Video Conference, Amy Mathieu
Jurist covers the opening proceedings of the trial of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi in a Libyan court.
US Law
Supreme Court Takes Jerusalem Passport Case on the Merits, Peter Spiro
An upcoming Supreme Court case will look at the question of whether Congress may require the State Department to list Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in American passports. Spiro provides a summary of the legal issues at stake.
Justice Breyer`s Intriguing Suggestions in Hussain: A Sign of Habeas Challenges to Come?, Marty Lederman
Justice Breyer`s separate opinion in the US Supreme Court denial of certiorari for a Guantanamo habeas petition, Hussain v. Obama, may open the door for future habeas petitions to stress arguments about whether simply being a member of al Qaeda, as opposed to one specifically engaged in armed conflict against the United States, justifies detention.
Muslim Americans Who Claim FBI Used No-Fly List to Coerce Them Into Becoming Informants File Lawsuit, Democracy Now
Democracy Now profiles several American Muslims accusing the FBI of placing them on a no-fly list without just cause.
Armed Conflict
The Hypocrisy of Tony Blair`s Middle East Vision, Arun Kundnani
A recent foreign policy speech by Tony Blair reveals a growing support in neoconservative thought for authoritarian governments in the Middle East perceived to be combating Islamic radicalism.
Drones Kill Al-Qaeda Suspects in Yemen, Al Jazeera English
A joint aerial campaign between the United States and Yemen has reportedly killed several senior members of al-Qaeda.
Is Washington Purposely Bleeding Syria?, Omar Ghabra
Ghabra alleges in The Nation that the White House has intentionally provided rebels in Syria with sufficient aid to maintain armed conflict but not enough to secure victory.
How to Not End Violence in a War-Torn Land, Nick Turse
Writing for TomDispatch, Turse reports on the US` plan to train thousands of Libyan conventional troops.
It`s Clear that Turkey was Not Involved in the Chemical Attack on Syria, Eliot Higgins and Dan Kaszeta
Kaszeta and Higgins refute the reasoning of Seymour Hers in a recent London Review of Books Article suggesting that Turkey assisted in a sarin attack in Damascus, as part of an attempt at drawing the United States into the Syrian conflict.
On Jadaliyya
كلاكيت: مصالحة, Nidal El Khairy
فلسطين: أن تفشل في أن تفشل, Raji Bathish
Press Release: ICAHD Joins Appeal to Israeli Supreme Court Against Military Planning in Area C of the West Bank, Jadaliyya Reports
(2) إضاءات على الحياة والمجتمع العربي في القدس خلال الحرب العالمية الثانية, Samih Hamouda
وتعطلت لغة الكلام, Janan Abdu
Jadaliya Co-editor Noura Erakat and Ali Abunimah Weigh In on Fatah-Hamas Unity Agreement in The New York Times, Noura Erakat
The Everyday Experience of Humanitarianism in Akkar Villages (Part One), Estella Carpi
Let`s Go to Guantanamo! An On-the-Ground Perspective on the 9/11 Trial, Lisa Hajjar
ICAHD Finland Interviews Jadaliyya Co-Editor Mouin Rabbani, Jadaliyya Interview
قراءة في مضامين تدريس اللغتين العربية والعبرية في الجامعة العبرية, Fadi Assli
غزة والبحر, Ebaa Rezeq
On the Struggle of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon, Moe Ali Nayel
On Not Despising the Present: Some Notes on Faris Giacaman’s `The Sadness of Post-Militance`, Anthony Alessandrini
الزمن الآخر\\اتصال هاتفي في ساعة متأخرة من الليل, Janan Abdu
Event: Angela Davis and Jadaliyya Co-Editor Noura Erakat on Mass Incarceration in the United States and Palestine (19 April, Evergreen State College), Jadaliyya Reports