[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
Israeli Military Uproot Trees, Raze Wells in Northeastern West Bank Human rights activist Aref Daraghmeh confirmed that Israeli military arrived to Um Kbeish, where they uprooted scores of olive trees and destroyed four water wells used for irrigation by local Palestinian farmers.
Israeli Forces Attack Worshipers Inside Mosque in Jerusalem’s Issawiyeh Neighborhood Israeli forces raided on 12 September a mosque in the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of al-Issawiyeh, and attacked worshippers, causing three people to suffocate, according to local sources. The three cases of suffocation and injuries related to inhalation of tear gas were treated at the scene.
Israel Frees Palestinian University Instructor Under Strict Conditions The Israeli authorities released late last night with strict conditions Widad Barghouti, an instructor in the media department at Birzeit University near Ramallah, who was detained for sixteen days for no clear reason.
Israeli Forces Shoot Palestinian Woman At Checkpoint Israeli security personnel shot a Palestinian woman at a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, Israeli police said, and Palestinian officials said she died of her injury, reports Reuters. A video circulated on social media, and which Reuters could not immediately verify, showed men with rifles confronting a woman.
Domestic Policy
Dr. Amal Jadou Becomes First Female Undersecretary of Palestine MOFA Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday signed a presidential decree appointing Ambassador Amal Azmi Jadou (PhD) as undersecretary of the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Israel's Ethiopian Community Denounces Racism Ahead of Election Although the Ethiopian community, which makes up about two per cent of the electorate, has traditionally voted for right-wing parties—with many supportive of Netanyahu's Likud party—community members say recent events will influence the way they vote this time.
President Says Within One Year, Not A Single Patient Should Need Treatment Abroad President Mahmoud Abbas said today that within a period of one year, and thanks to the latest achievements in the Palestinian medical sector, there should be no need for Palestinian patients to seek treatment abroad. He stated this during the opening of a new privatized hospital in Ramallah and after claims last week that he was looking for ways to disengage from Israel.
Blackout Expected in Parts of West Bank As Israel’s Electricity Company Starts Power Cut Several hours of blackout are expected to disrupt life in parts of the West Bank next Monday and Tuesday as the Israeli Electricity Company intends to cut power supply to the Palestinian-owned Jerusalem District Electricity Company.
'We're doomed anyway': Palestinians On Israeli Election Palestinians in the occupied West Bank cannot vote in the parliamentary poll and say they have little hope of change. Abdel-Fatah Abu Ahmed, Essam al-Khatib, and others interviewed by Al Jazeera expressed feelings that the election was largely irrelevant, as both major candidates support settlements, the occupation, and other anti-Palestinian policies.
PA Security Officers Shoot at Birzeit University Students Four of Birzeit University’s student leaders from the Hamas student wing in the occupied West Bank have disappeared after being chased and shot at by Palestinian Authority security officers. The incident happened in Ramallah.
Israel Election: Police Close Voting Station in Arab Town Police closed a voting station in the Arab town of Umm al-Fahm on the morning of 17 September. The town, the hometown of outspoken Palestinian political activist Sheikh Raed Salah, had its voting station shut down at 11:30 local time this morning due to a ballot secretary allegedly filming voters inside.
Israel Election: Joint List Alliance Celebrates High Turnout, Threatening to Topple Netanyahu The Joint List, an alliance of parties consisting of prominent Palestinian citizens, has celebrated a high turnout in the election. “We feel good that [Netanyahu] cannot form a government,” the Joint List leader, Ayman Odeh, stated. “We also feel good that the Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party failed to enter the Knesset.”
Birzeit Students in Protest at Israeli Violations Against Their Lecturers Students of Birzeit University in the occupied West Bank took part in a protest on Tuesday at Israeli violations against their Palestinian and international lecturers, Al-Wattan Voice has reported. The protest followed Israel’s rejection of visa renewals for seven of the university’s professors from overseas.
Poll: More Than 60% of Palestinians Want Abbas to Quit Sixty-one percent of Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip want President Mahmoud Abbas to step down, a poll has found. The survey conducted by the Palestinian Center for Political and Polling Research found that fifty percent would support a return to armed struggle as the peace process is dissolving, forty per cent want the Palestinian Authority itself to be dissolved, and seventy-two percent reject any American involvement.
Foreign Policy
Trump Discussed “mutual defense” Treaty with Netanyahu US President, Donald Trump said on Saturday that he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the possibility of moving forward on a “mutual defense” treaty between the allies, just three days before Israeli voters go to the polls.
Palestinian Refugees Protest to Demand Asylum in Lebanon In video: Palestinian refugees in Lebanon say they do not have enough money to live and are protesting to demand humanitarian asylum there.
Rep. Dingell Declares, ‘my heart has always been with the children of Palestine’ After Withdrawing Support From a Bill That Promotes Their Human Rights Representative Debbie Dingell recently withdrew her support for a bill that promotes the human rights of Palestinian children, explaining that she changed her mind after speaking with members of her community. This comes along with her tweeting that she is still committed to Palestinian children’s rights.
Settlers and Illegal Settlements
Netanyahu Approves New Settlement Only Two Days Prior To General Elections The cabinet agreed on Sunday to turn the wildcat settlement of Mevoot Yericho in the Jordan Valley into an official settlement, Netanyahu’s office said. It came only two days ahead of closely fought general elections as the premier and his main opponent Benny Gantz sought to rally support. Around thirty families live in the outpost, which was established in 1999.
Settlers Attack Palestinian Homes in Hebron Dozens of Israeli settlers, under the protection of the Israeli occupation forces, attacked on late Saturday night Palestinian homes in al-Haraiq neighborhood in Hebron throwing stones and burning bottles at them.
Jerusalem: Settlers Set Up New Outpost in Sawahra Town Israeli settlers set up on Sunday a new outpost at the Al-Muntar mountain, east of the Palestinian town of Sawahra. According to local sources, a number of settlers placed several mobile homes “caravans” and barrels of water on the mountain at four am today.
Boycott, Divest, and Sanction Movement
Democratic Voters Support Cutting Aid to Israel, So Why Have Only Two Candidates Even Mentioned it? A new report shows that a net majority of Democratic voters support cutting aid to Israel based on the country’s human rights violations. Nonetheless, only two Democratic presidential candidates have floated the idea.
US Diplomats Pressure Europe Lawmakers to Oppose BDS United States diplomats have pressured lawmakers and officials in certain European countries to oppose moves to boycott Israel or illegal settlements. A US State Department report, which it is required to make according to a 2015 law, states that diplomats engaged senior government figures and party leaders in Ireland and Germany to drop support for pro-boycott bills in the former and to support a resolution identifying BDS as anti-Semitic in the latter.
Victory as German Court Rules anti-BDS Motion Breaches Principle of Equality A German court has ruled that the exclusion of a Palestinian organization, The Women’s Association, from a cultural festival on account of its support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement constituted “unequal treatment” and was “not even remotely justified.” This is seen as a test of a non-binding resolution passed four months ago by the Bundestaag which labeled the BDS movement as anti-Semitic.
Law
The Public Prosecution Announces Investigation Result of The Victim Isra Ghrayeb Case After the Attorney General stating that the Public Prosecution did not forbid media from publishing details of the case, the prosecutor revealed the details of the investigation. These details include that Ghrayeb did not fall from a balcony as previously claimed but was rather subjected to psychological pressure and physical violence that worsened her mental and physical health over time.
Palestinian Sues Former Israeli Commander Gantz For War Crimes The Hague District Court weighed on Tuesday if it should hear a lawsuit brought by a Dutch-Palestinian man seeking damages from Benny Gantz and a co-defendant for their role in the killing of six of his relatives during the 2014 Gaza War. Ismail Zaida’s case is that Gantz targeted civilians and violated international law, while Gantz’s case is that the Dutch court does not have jurisdiction.
Israel to Rule on Revoking BDS Founder’s Residency Efforts to revoke the residency of Omar Barghouti, the co-founder of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement, have been escalated to Israel’s deputy attorney general for a decision over his status in the country.
Case of Forcibly Disappeared Palestinians in Saudi Arabia Before Human Rights Council The Euro-Mediterranean Human Right Monitor and the IRDG expressed in their speech before the Human Rights Council during the forty-second Ordinary Session their deep concern over the Saudi authorities’ detention of dozens of Palestinians and cases of forced disappearance with no legal support.
Environment, Economy, and Other
Palestine to Host First International Conference on Entrepreneurship in Bethlehem Under the name “3E” Palestine will host the first of its kind international conference on empowering the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Palestine. The conference is being organized by the Global Shapers Hubs in Palestine, a community of the World Economic Forum, in partnership with the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Empowerment and in cooperation with Hubert Burda Media in Germany.
Palestinians Are Facing Climate Dystopia Under Israeli Apartheid Worst case scenarios forecast a four degree rise in mean surface temperature in the Eastern Mediterranean region. And four degrees is just an average. This past summer, in Sodom, on the southern edge of the Dead Sea, the mercury climbed to 49.9 C (122 F). With no control over their land and water, Area C Palestinians are largely prevented from adapting to climate change.