[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
Israel Arrests Palestine's Jerusalem Minister Fadi al-Hadami Israeli Occupation Forces continued their daily arrests of Palestinian citizens in the West Bank and Jerusalem, in which they arrested at dawn today the Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, Fadi Al-Hadmi from his home. It is noteworthy that the Israeli occupation authorities declared that any activities of the Palestinian Authority would be prohibited under Israeli law.
Soldiers Raid Hebron Office of Women Committees, Seize Computers Israeli Forces stormed today the Hebron headquarters of the Union of Palestinian Women Committees and seized computer hard discs and other equipment, according to Sara Mtair, director of the Hebron office of the Women Committees.
Israeli Army Raids Center of Ramallah, Breaks Into Buildings Israeli Forces raided the center of Ramallah early today and broke into several buildings, according to local sources. They told WAFA that soldiers occupied rooftops in the heart of the city and broke into several buildings and coffee shops, but without any reports of arrests. Five Palestinian youths were injured when Israeli soldiers fired stun grenades and rubber-coated metal bullets at them for protesting.
Israel to Turn Over Corpses of Two Palestinians Its Army Has Been Holding For Months It said the corpses of Nasim Abu Roumi, fourteen, from Izzariyeh, east of Jerusalem, and who was shot dead by Israeli police in the middle of August in Jerusalem’s Old City, as well as the body of Omar Younis, twenty, from Siniria near Qalqilya, who was shot at Zaatara checkpoint, will be returned to his family for proper burial in his hometown.
Israeli Army Cuts Water Supply to Jordan Valley Village The Israeli army today cut water supply to the village of Bardalla in the northern Jordan Valley after shutting down the water taps supplying the village with its daily water needs, according to member of Bardalla village council Darrar Daraghmeh.
Six Palestinians Injured by Israeli Forces in Azzun At least six Palestinians were injured by Israeli Forces today during an Israeli army raid of the town of Azzun, near the city of Qalqilia in the occupied West Bank, according to local sources. Mohammad Radwan, a local activist, told WAFA that clashes erupted shortly after Israeli Forces raided the town and embarked on a large-scale search campaign.
Domestic Policy
Labor Unions Demand Enforcement of Minimum Wage Law The labor Unionists gathered at the Ministry of Labor in Ramallah to put their demands with the Minister of Labor, Nasri Abu Jish, who told them that his ministry intends to implement the minimum wage in all workplaces. In response to the protests, he said many businesses that have failed to meet the minimum wage requirement were ordered to shut down.
Gantz Party Says No to Netanyahu-led Unity Government Benny Gantz, the leader of Blue and White party, has rejected an offer by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to join forces in a governing coalition under the incumbent. Gantz, Netanyahu's main opponent in Israel's general election, told reporters he should be the prime minister in a broad unity government. With more than ninety-seven percent of the vote counted, the centrist Blue and White party has thirty-three seats, while Netanyahu's Likud party is behind with thirty-one, falling way short of the majority figure of sixty-one.
Arab Parties Endorse Gantz, Break Tradition to Remove Netanyahu Israel's main Arab political parties endorsed ex-military chief Benny Gantz for prime minister, breaking a nearly twenty-seven-year-long standard of not endorsing a candidate in the hope of removing current leader Benjamin Netanyahu.
Some Joint List Members Reject Benny Gantz Endorsement The Joint List endorsement of Gantz was projected to give him fifty-seven recommendations to become Israel's new prime minister, a possible lead of two over Netanyahu. But on Monday, three members of the Balad party announced they would not recommend either leader, saying given Gantz's military background and ideology his views were not that different from Netanyahu's right-wing party Likud.
Palestinian Factions Slam Joint List Over Support For Gantz Hamas and Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine strongly criticized Israeli political party the Joint List, which is made up predominantly of Palestinian ministers, after they backed former chief of staff of the Israeli army Benny Gantz to head the country’s next government.
Reports: Gantz Open to RotationAgreement in Coalition With Netanyahu Reports in the Israeli media yesterday suggested that Blue and White chair Benny Gantz is open to a coalition government with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while Likud negotiators work on sweetening such a deal by allowing Netanyahu to be Prime Minister for one year and Gantz to follow with three.
Netanyahu Tapped by Israel’s President to Assemble New Government Israel’s president tasked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday with assembling a new government after power-sharing talks with his strongest rival, Benny Gantz, failed. He will have twenty-eight days to form a coalition and can ask Rivlin for a two-week extension if necessary.
Foreign Policy
Labour Party Conference Venue Lights Up with Palestine Flag Projection On the eve of the Labour Party’s 2019 annual conference, the conference venue was illuminated by projections of a Palestine flag alongside the slogans “Free Palestine”, “Solidarity with Palestine” and “Freedom, justice and equality”, as part of a creative stunt by Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
Names of Palestinians Detained in Saudi Arabia Revealed The Palestinian Association for Human Rights has revealed the names and conditions of Palestinians detained in Saudi Arabia. In a report, the rights group said that dozens of the detainees are suffering from very bad conditions as they are being subjected to verbal and physical abuse.
Israel Has Been Caught Spying on the US, Again A recent report on the US news site Politico revealed that in 2017, US intelligence agencies discovered several cell phone interception devices near the White House. They concluded that Israel had most likely installed these “StingRay” spying devices, in an attempt to listen in on President Donald Trump’s phone calls.
Settlers and Illegal Settlements
CWRC Unveils New Israeli Settlement Plan in Nablus The plan reportedly aims to expand the settlement of Shavei Shomron by diverting agricultural land adjacent to the settlement from basin of Naqoura village for the use in construction and annexation of its borders for settlement purposes.
EU Calls on Israel to End All Settlement Activity And Dismantle Outposts The European Union called on Israel to end all settlement activity and to dismantle the outposts erected since March 2001, in line with prior obligations. This decision follows recent announcements about the possible annexation of the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea area.
Open-ended Sit-in Launched Against Israeli Settlement Project East of Jerusalem Chairman of the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, Walid Assaf, said today that an open-ended sit-in has started at Al-Mintar locality, east of Jerusalem, in protest of Israel’s plan to build an illegal settlement outpost in the area.
Israeli Forces Remove Tent Activists Had Set Up to Protest New Settlement in Jerusalem Area Israeli Forces removed today a tent set up by Palestinian activists and residents of al-Sawahreh to the east of occupied Jerusalem to protest Israeli plans to establish a new settlement outpost in the nearby Jabal al-Mintar area, said witnesses. They told WAFA Israeli Forces stormed the area and evicted the activists from the tent before removing it.
Boycott, Divest, and Sanction Movement
Join the Global Climate Week of Actions - Oppose Israel’s Climate Apartheid The Palestinian BDS National Committee on September 19 issued a call to action to support the Global Climate Week of Action, 20-27 of September, in order to demand an end to fossil fuel use, climate justice for all, and government action at the UN Climate Summit.
UK Labour Party Votes to Stop Arms Trade With Israel The motion, titled “Ethical Foreign Policy” was proposed by Constituency Labour Party of Hove and Birkenhead, and would only come into effect if Labour wins the next election and the motion is passed by parliament.
Law
140 Palestinian Prisoners on Hunger Strike For 14th Day Over Cancer-causing Devices Dozens of Palestinian prisoners behind bars in Israeli jails are continuing their open-ended hunger strike for the 14th consecutive day to protest the presence of cancer-causing mobile phone jammers in prisons.
Environment, Economy, and Other
Report: Current Deficit in Palestinian Payment Balance is $403 mln The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics and the Palestine Monetary Authority announced the preliminary results of the Palestinian Balance of Payments for the Second quarter of 2019. This data excludes those parts of Jerusalem annexed in 1967. An incessant deficit in the Current Account (goods, services, income, current transfers) which totaled 403 million dollars.
Israeli Central Bank Urges Easing of Rules on Palestinian Workers Israel's central bank has called on the government to ease rules on Palestinian workers who often buy work permits in the country illegally to bypass restrictions tying them to a single employer. About twenty thousand Palestinian workers, or thirty per cent of the Palestinian workforce in Israel, pay a monthly fee to obtain a permit from one employer and then work illegally for another, research from the Bank of Israel showed.
Football Final Cancelled as Israel Denies Gaza Team Travel Permit The Palestinian national football club championship has been called off after Israel denied travel permits to Gaza players who had hoped to face off with their opponents in the occupied West Bank. Israeli officials have not given a public explanation on why the permits were rejected.