[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
Palestinians Injured During 71st Nakba Day Protests in Gaza At least forty-seven Palestinian protesters were shot and injured with Israeli live ammunition, on Wednesday, during mass protests commemorating the seventy-first anniversary of Nakba Day or "catastrophe" near the return camps along the eastern borders of the besieged Gaza Strip. Sources said that Israeli forces opened heavy fire and fired tear-gas bombs towards the protests.
Israel Deploys Iron Domes For Eurovision Israeli Occupation army has deployed “extensive” Iron Dome aerial defense batteries for Eurovision contest which is taking place in Tel Aviv on Wednesday. This follows a ceasefire agreement announced on Monday.
Israeli Police Assault Medics in Jerusalem's Old City On Friday, Israeli police assaulted medics from the Palestinian Red Crescent while trying to help a patient outside the Lions Gate area in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem. Palestinian Red Crescent said in a statement that the assault occurred when its staff were trying to enter an ambulance to the Lions Gate area to help a patient who needed first aid.
Israel Gunfire Kills Palestinian in Gaza Days After Ceasefire Abdullah Abd al-Aal, twenty-four, was shot in the stomach on Friday near the Israeli fence east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Gaza's health ministry said, in the first protests there since a deadly flare-up last week.
Israel Violates Truce, Levels Land in North Gaza Several Israeli military vehicles raided Palestinian lands on Monday, east of Beit Hanoun, in the northern besieged Gaza Strip. A Ma’an reporter said that six large D-9 Israeli military bulldozers entered dozens of meters into Palestinian lands, east of Beit Hanoun.
Domestic Policy
Over One Million Palestinians in Gaza to Not Have Enough Food by June The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East expressed real concern, on Monday, that unless it secures at least an additional sixty million dollars by June, its ability to continue providing food to more than one million Palestinian refugees in Gaza will be severely challenged.
Palestinians Face Strict Israeli Restrictions to Visit Al-Aqsa for Ramadan Palestinians are facing extensive restrictions to visit the al-Aqsa Mosque compound for the holy month of Ramadan, on Tuesday. According to a report issued by al-Monitor, “Men who are under sixteen years old and over forty years old are allowed to visit the al-Aqsa Mosque.” The report said, “Women of all ages are allowed to visit the mosque on Fridays.”
Foreign Policy
Dr. Hanan Ashrawi Has Been Denied a Visa to the US Dr. Hanan Ashrawi a PLO Executive Committee member and a senior figure in the Palestinian public relations arena, announced Monday evening that her US visa application has been rejected. This comes after the US government denied entry to BDS co-founder Omar Barghouti and other well-known Palestinians.
Palestinian Americans Seeking to Include Palestinian Issue in US Democratic Party Platform The group Americans and Palestinians for Peace is attempting to create a Palestinian and Arab political action committee (PAC) in Iowa in order to push the Democratic Party to support Palestine. President John Dabeet stated that the decision came after activists in Iowa were able to get their Democratic Party representatives to support the right of return and other pro-Palestine policies.
Palestinian FM Calls for EU Sanctions to Halt US-Israeli Peace Plan Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki has urged European Nations to sanction Israel for illegally grabbing Palestinian land, saying the US Trump administration’s expected peace plan will do nothing to bring about Middle East peace. Maliki did not specify whether he was referring to a trade embargo or specific sanctions on Israeli officials, such as travel bans or asset freezes.
Allegation of Anti-Semitism Slapped Down by Rashida Tlaib And Democrats US Congresswoman and lawyer Rashida Tlaib has come under allegations of anti-Semitism after saying on a Podcast that Palestinians provided a safe haven for Jewish refugees of the Holocaust. Stating that she appreciated this safe haven but that the Nakba “took [Palestinians’] human dignity away,” Tlaib expressed support for a one-state solution based on “equality and justice.”
Settlers and Illegal Settlements
Hundreds of Settlers Storm “Solomon Pools” Site in Bethlehem Hundreds of settlers stormed on Thursday morning the archaeological area of Solomon’s Pools, south of Bethlehem, Central West Bank. Eyewitnesses told PNN that hundreds of extremist settlers stormed the area near al-Khader town accompanied with military protection reinforced by the Israeli army forces.
Israel to Demolish Buildings, Structures in Jerusalem’s Issawiya Staff from the Israeli municipality of west Jerusalem delivered twenty notices for the demolition of buildings and structures in the town of al-Issawiya, including in the Shu’fat refugee camp, in central occupied Jerusalem. Head of Shu’fat Popular Committee Mahmoud al-Sheikh stated that the demolition notices were delivered despite the buildings having the necessary permits from UNRWA, as the buildings are on UNRWA land and not the territory of the Israeli municipality.
Israeli Tourism Ministry to Begin Offering Grants for Hotel Construction in West Bank Settlements News that Israel’s tourism ministry will begin offering government grants for hotel construction in settlements in the occupied West Bank has been met with ire from human rights defenders, who have called the move “a violation of the most basic notions of international law.”
Israeli State Broadcaster Uses Eurovision Promo Videos to Market Occupied Territories as ‘Israel’ Israeli public broadcaster Kan has released the list of countries participating in Eurovision and the respective locations in which their introduction “postcard” videos were filmed. The locations include cites in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, which no country except the United States recognizes as Israeli, and occupied East Jerusalem, labeling them as Israel.
Boycott, Divest, and Sanction Movement
Palestinian Artists: 'Israel to use Eurovision to promote injustice' Palestinian artists have called on participants taking part in the Eurovision song contest “to boycott the international music competition that Israel is hosting next week.” According to the Palestinian Artists Association, based in the besieged Gaza Strip, Israel is using the singing event to “perpetuate oppression, promote injustice or whitewash a brutal apartheid regime.”
Palestinian Campaigners Call for Mass Boycott of Airbnb on May 15 A Palestinian campaign has called on people to deactivate their Airbnb accounts on 15 May, because the home-sharing platform continues to list rental properties in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. In January, human rights organization Amnesty International issued a report that accused Airbnb and other travel firms of profiting from "war crimes" by "normalizing" illegal settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Law
Foreign Minister Urges ICC Prosecutor to Begin immediate Investigation of Palestinian Situation Foreign Minister Riyad Malki urged the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, to begin an immediate investigation into the situation of the Palestinians under Israeli occupation. Citing the moving of the US embassy, the dropping of murder charges against those who killed the Dawabshe family, and other incidents, Malki told Bensouda the Israeli legal system’s failure requires ICC intervention.
Foreign Minister Submits Indictment Charges Against US to ICC Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Riyad Malki submitted today to the International Criminal Court in the Hague an indictment list for legal action against the United States for moving its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in clear violation of international law and United Nations resolutions.
Netanyahu to Curtail Israel Supreme Court, Guarantee Immunity From Prosecution Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to advance a bill which will curtail the power of the country’s Supreme Court, a move which could guarantee his immunity from prosecution for corruption. The bill would see the power of the Supreme Court curtailed by allowing the Knesset to “ignore its rulings,” turning the decisions of the court into suggestions rather than legally binding verdicts.
Prisoners Face ‘inhumane treatment’ in Israel: Report An official report on Sunday found that inhumane treatment of prisoners was widespread in Israeli prisons, according to The Times of Israel newspaper. The report published by the Public Defense Office found that inmates were often kept in facilities “unfit for human residence” and sometimes faced illegal punitive measures like extended solitary confinement, denial of medical care, and being tied down for days at a time.
Environment, Economy, and Other
EU Provides Over €20 Million For Vulnerable Families in Palestine The European Union and Ireland contributed of over twenty million euro to the Palestinian Authority payment of social allowances to vulnerable families in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Fox News Contributor Calls for Destruction of Palestine American author and Fox News contributor Janie Johnson called for Palestine to be “flattened” on Twitter after Israeli warplanes carried out over three hundred airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, claiming the lives of twenty-seven Palestinians, including an infant and a toddler.
Israel's Eurovision Webcast Hacked As Protests Continue Israel's webcast of the Eurovision Song Contest was hacked with animated images of explosions in the host city, Tel Aviv, amid growing calls by pro-Palestinian activists to boycott the event. Public broadcaster, Kan, blamed Hamas, but the group has not commented or claimed responsibility.
Israel Spyware Firm Linked to Khashoggi Case Used to Hack WhatsApp Software created by an Israeli spyware firm with links to the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi has been used to hack messaging app WhatsApp. The software was created by Israel’s NSO Group, famous for the notorious “Pegasus” software that was used in attempts to gather information on human rights activists.