[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.] 

Palestine-Israel

Palestinian Prisoners in Israeli Jails Stage Hunger Strike After Inmate Dies, Harriet Sherwood
Palestinian security prisoners have announced a three-day hunger strike following the death of inmate Maysara Abu Hamdiyeh.

Palestinians Shot Dead by Israeli Fire in West Bank, BBC News
Soldiers with the Israeli Defense Forces have killed two Palestinians following tensions between soldiers and youth set off by the death of Maysara Abu Hamdiyeh.

Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian During Raids, Dalia Hatuqa
Israeli Defence Forces troops searching for three missing Israeli teens in al-Jalazon refugee camp have shot Palestinian Ahmed Sabarin.

Presbyterians to Divest As Protest against Israel, The Associated Press
The US Presbyterian Church in the US has voted to sell stock in three companies manufacturing products used in the occupied territories.

The Kerry Initiative: The Next Round, Norman Finkelstein, Jamie Stern-Weiner
New Left Project interviews writer Norman Finkelstein on the collapse of the recent Kerry-brokered Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.


Iraq

Bombing Iraq Doesn’t Just Pose Serious Questions of Domestic Law, International Law May Be a Problem, Too, Deborah Pearlstein
Pearlstein debunks the notion that the United States might have international legal authority to launch air strikes against ISIS and other militant groups in Iraq.

Obama: Iraq Has to Solve Its Own Problems, Al Jazeera English
US President Obama has stated US troops will not be sent to Iraq to assist Iraqi troops, 

US Advisors Arrive in Iraq to Begin Assessing Insurgency, Nick Simeone
Three hundred US service members sent to Iraq to assist the Iraqi military in fighting ISIS and other insurgent groups arrived in Baghdad on 24 June.

Maliki`s Power Base Crumbles As Iraq Slips Into Chaos, Alice Fordham
NPR reports on Iraqis who hold Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki responsible for stoking sectarian violence in his country.

Iraqi Insurgents Secure Control of Border Posts, Tim Arango, Michael R. Gordon
The New York Times reports on the seizure of the western frontier of Iraq and much of its border crossings with Syria and Jordan by ISIS and other insurgent groups.

Kerry Urges Kurds to Save Iraq from Collapse, Lesley Wroughton
Reuters reports on the efforts of US Secretary of State John Kerry to convince Iraqi Kurds to temporarily abandon efforts towards statehood in favor of contributing to a unified Iraqi government.

Understanding the Coup in Mosul and its Consequences, Alaa al-Lami
ISIS and former Baathists contributed to the success of the coup in Mosul.

Law in the Middle East

U.N. Overwhelmingly Approves Global Arms Treaty, Louis Charbonneau
The UN General Assembly has approved the first treaty on global arms trade.

UAE: Tough Penalties for Evading Conscription, Samir Salama
The United Arab Emirates has passed a law requiring all men between eighteen and thirty to undergo military service, with penalties of ten years in prison for those failing to join at a time of mobilization.

Why the Benghazi Trial Should be Held in the Shadow of the Twin Towers, David Iglesias
Iglesias, writing for The Guardian, advocates holding Ahmed Abu Khattala, accused of orchestrating an assault on US diplomatic facilities in Benghazi, Libya, should be tried as a civilian and not as a war criminal.

Guantánamo Hunger Strike Numbers Rise; Yemen Proposes Visit, Carol Rosenberg
The government of Yemen has increased its efforts to secure the release of Yemeni nationals held in the detention center at Guantanamo Bay given news that nearly a fourth of detainees have begun hunger striking.

Last of Syria`s Known Chemical Arms Are Shipped Abroad for Destruction, Nick Cumming-Bruce, Rick Gladstone
Syria has exported its remaining known supplies of chemical weapons to be destroyed, reports The New York Times.
 

Egyptian Al-Jazeera Journalist Trial

Protesting the Al Jazeera Verdict, Nicholas Lemann
"Everyone who cares about freedom should protest the verdicts in Egypt," writes Lemann in The New Yorker criticizing the Egyptian judiciary for convicting Al Jazeera journalists to long prison terms for allegedly aiding the Muslim Brotherhood by producing deliberately false stories about political developments in Egypt.

Egypt`s President Says Will Not Interfere in Judicial Rulings, Reuters
Reuters reports on an Egyptian court ruling sentencing three Al Jazeera journalists to long prison sentences for allegedly aiding the Muslim Brotherhood, criticism that the trial was largely for show, and the vow of Egyptian President Abel Fatttah al-Sisi not to intervene with the sentences.
 

Drone Justification Memo

Drone Killing Memo Released After NY Court Fight, Associated Press
The Associated Press reports that the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan has released a memo providing legal justification for the targeted killing of Americans suspected of terrorism, calling the act legal as long as the target is part of an "enemy organization" and the killing is "carried out in accord with applicable laws of war."

A Thin Rationale for Drone Killings, The Editorial Board
The New York Times editorial board calls the memo justifying the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki "slapdash" and "clearly tailored to the desired result" in a lengthy criticism.

Let`s Call Killing al-Awlaki What It Still Is -- Murder, Kevin Jon Heller
Heller reacts to the release of an US government memorandum providing a legal justification for the targeted killing of Anwar al-Awlaki by noting its failure to explain the CIA using legal force in Yemen when it had no legal authority to do so.