[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
Minister Says Israel Is Planning a Large-scale Military Operation in Gaza Israeli Minister of Energy Yuval Steinitz also a member of Israel’s cabinet, said on Monday that they “are planning a large-scale military operation in Gaza,” adding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is working “firmly but in a wise and deliberate manner.”
Three Palestinians Killed in Israeli Fire North of Gaza Israeli fire in the north of the Gaza Strip has killed three Palestinians and critically injured one, according to Palestinian health officials and local media, hours after three rockets were allegedly fired from the blockaded enclave. In a statement on issued late on Saturday, the Israeli army said an attack helicopter and tank had fired at “armed suspects” along the fence that separates Israel from the besieged Gaza Strip, home to more than two million Palestinians.
IOF Kill Palestinian Youth in Alleged Stabbing Attack Israeli Occupation Forces have shot two Palestinian youths after accusing them of trying to stab them, leaving one of the teens dead at the scene. The Palestinian health ministry said one was killed at the scene, with the second left in critical condition at an Israeli hospital.
Israeli Forces Injure 67 Palestinians At Gaza Border At least thirty-four Palestinians were injured today by live bullets and thirty-three others by rubber-coated rounds as Israeli forces attacked thousands of protesters taking part in the weekly Great March of Return at Gaza-Israel border, according to medical sources.
Israel to Keep Body of Palestinian Boy to Use For Prisoner Swap Israeli Interior Minister Aryeh Deri decided to withhold the body of fourteen-year-old Nasim Abu Romi from Jerusalem in order to use it in an exchange with the body of an Israeli soldier currently held in Gaza. Abu Romi was shot more than seven times by occupation forces on 15 August from nearly point-blank range in an incident that also saw his friend, Hamoudah Khader al-Shaikh, killed.
Domestic Policy
Sabri: Erdan’s Statements Confirm Israeli Intentions To Control Al-Aqsa Mosque Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, head of the Islamic Supreme Council in Jerusalem and preacher of al-Aqsa Mosque, described the statements of the minister of the so-called internal security in the Israeli government, Gilad Erdan in which he called for changing the historical status quo at the Muslim holy site by allowing Jews to worship there, as dangerous, and that it affirms the aggressiveness of Israeli racist, expansionist objectives of the occupation.
Palestinian President Fires Advisers, Orders Return of Bonuses Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has sacked all of his advisers and ordered a former prime minister and other past cabinet ministers to return tens of thousands of dollars from a pay rise he secretly approved two years ago. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the officials told AP that Abbas would reinstate some advisers in the coming days.
Gaza University Closes Its Doors in Protest Al-Azhar University - Gaza closed its doors today in protest against the extension of the terms of its chairman. The Workers Union called for civil action after Abdel Khaliq al-Farra was handed a three-year extension to his term as chairman in contradiction to university policy.
Israel Actively Pushing Palestinians to Leave Gaza Israel is actively pushing Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip, asking a number of European and Middle Eastern countries to absorb them and offering to arrange their flights if they agree to emigrate. The policy was disclosed by an anonymous senior official accompanying Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a diplomatic visit to Ukraine this week.
DFLP: Abbas’ Call to Resume Negotiations With the Occupation Goes Against National Decisions On Monday, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine described the call of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to resume negotiations with the Israeli occupation as a coup against the decisions of the central councils. The last sessions of these councils recommended the discontinuation of the Oslo Accords.
Foreign Policy
President Abbas Meets Japanese Parliamentary Delegation in Ramallah President Mahmoud Abbas met with a Japanese parliamentary delegation, headed by Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs at Japan’s House of Representatives Wakamiya Kenji, in Ramallah. For his part, Wakamiya Kenji reiterated Japan’s commitment to the two-state solution and the right of the Palestinian people to establish their state alongside the state of Israel.
Trump: US Peace Plan Likely to Be Released After Israel Election US President Donald Trump has said he would likely wait until after Israel's 17 September elections before releasing the long-awaited peace plan for the region that was designed by White House senior adviser Jared Kushner.
Tlaib Won't Visit West Bank Under 'oppressive' Israeli Conditions US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has said she will no longer visit the occupied West Bank under the "oppressive conditions" required by the Israeli government, who hours earlier said they would allow her entry–only on "humanitarian" grounds. After her grandmother expressed her wishes that Tlaib not abide by Israel’s imposed conditions, Tlaib said “I have decided that visiting my grandmother under these oppressive conditions stands against everything I believe in–fighting against racism, oppression, and injustice.”
Settlers and Illegal Settlements
Settlers Storm Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus, Again Security sources said that hundreds of settlers stormed the historic site amid the protection of the Israeli army, which led to the outbreak of clashes. A number of Palestinians were wounded by rubber bullets and suffocation due to tear gas fired by the soldiers.
Israeli Settlers Set Fire to Agricultural Land North of Nablus Israeli settlers set fire to agricultural land belonging to Palestinians in the village of Burqa, north of Nablus, the northern occupied West Bank, said a local activist. Settlers also reportedly opened fire at residents and civil defense crews, preventing them from putting out the fires.
Boycott, Divest, and Sanction Movement
Israel Decides To Ban Entry For Two Newly-elected Muslim US Congresswomen The Israeli government officially decided today to bar two newly-elected Muslim US congresswomen; Rashida Tlaib, of Palestinian origin, and Ilhan Omar, of Somali origin, from entering Israel. The ban, which was justified on the grounds that Tlaib and Omar support the BDS movement, comes after US President Donald Trump and Likud officials recommended the move to Netanyahu.
Sanders: If Israel Doesn’t Want Congresswomen to Visit, It Should Decline US Aid US presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders has slammed Israel’s decision to ban Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar from visiting Israel and the occupied West Bank. In a television interview, Sanders said he was not surprised, but “if Israel does not want members of the United States Congress to visit their country to get a first-hand look…maybe they can respectfully decline the billions of dollars we give to Israel.”
Law
Palestinian Prisoner From Hebron Enters 16th Year in Israeli Jails Palestinian prisoner Feras Mreesh, from Hebron’s city in the occupied West Bank, entered his sixteenth year in Israeli jails, according to his brother. Mreesh was detained in 2004 and sentenced to eighteen years in jail, where he has suffered from stomach problems and pain in the joints and eyes.
Palestinian Prisoner Completes 50 Days of Hunger Strike Against His Administrative Detention Halabiyeh, from Abu Dis, east of Jerusalem, has been held in administrative detention for over one year. He was detained on 10 June of last year and placed in administrative detention for six months, renewed again for another six month and then another four months.
Conscientious Objector Released After 82 Days in Solitary Confinement After eighty-two days in solitary confinement, the Israeli army released conscientious objector Roman Levin from military prison last week. Levin, who refused to continue serving in the Israeli Defense Forces over its occupation policies, was discharged by an army committee for “poor and severe behavior.”
Philippine Police Are Executing People With Israeli Weapons Since Dutarte was elected president of the Philippines in June 2016, the country’s police force and its various militias have executed at least twelve thousand people without trial. And since 2017, Israel has been exporting weapons and military training to the Philippines, specifically the Ravor and Negev rifles.
Israel Police Limit Right to Protest Israel’s police have drawn up new regulations restricting the rights to civil protests, with those who break them committing “criminal offences.” Despite the Israeli High Court of Justice having permitted the holding of demonstrations of any size without the necessity for a permit two years ago, police are exploiting a loophole.
Environment, Economy, and Other
Lebanon’s Labor Minister Vows to Continue Crackdown Despite Wave of Protests The protests first started on 15 July, with a general strike taking hold inside some refugee camps, aimed against promises to “Lebanonize” the labor force by Lebanon’s labor minister, Camille Abousleiman. On 10 August, Lebanon’s cabinet met without Abousleiman to discuss repealing the work permit law for Palestinians.
In Solidarity With Rashida Tlaib, Twitter Erupts With Emotional Tributes to Palestinian Grandmothers Social media networks were flooded with odes to Palestinian grandmothers over the weekend, as Palestinians from across the diaspora shared photos and stories of their family matriarchs with the hashtag #MyPalestinianSitty.
Trump Branded Anti-Semitic After Accusing Jews of ‘great disloyalty’ US President Donald Trump described Jews who vote for Democrats of “great disloyalty,” prompting wide-scale condemnation and charges of anti-Semitism. Trump made the comments in the Oval Office yesterday during an exchange with journalists in which he lashed out against Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar for supporting the BDS movement.