[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
Palestinian Youth Shot Dead By IOF Near Hebron Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian young man on Monday during clashes at al-Arround refugee camp, north of Hebron. Sources in Hebron confirmed that twenty-two-year-old Omar Haitham al-Badawi died during clashes when a live round hit him in his right side.
Israel Attacks Palestinian Protesters; 69 Injured Israeli forces have injured at least sixty-nine Palestinians after the soldiers attacked anti-occupation protesters in the besieged Gaza Strip. Ashraf al-Qedra, a spokesman for the Gazan Health Ministry, said twenty-nine of the wounded people sustained gunshot wounds during the Friday protests in the east of the coastal enclave.
Top Jihad Commander And His Wife Killed in Israeli Attack on Gaza An Israeli strike killed top commander in the Islamic Jihad movement, Bahaa Abu al-Atta, forty-two, in his home in Gaza on Tuesday morning. Atta’s wife also died in the strike, which specifically hit Shija’iya neighborhood before dawn.
Palestinian killed During March Commemorating Arafat's Death Laid to Rest Omar Haytham Badawi, twenty-two, who was killed today when Israeli forces opened live fire at Palestinians participating in marches commemorating the fifteenth anniversary for the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, was laid to rest in his hometown of al-Arroub refugee camp.
Two Palestinians Killed in Ongoing Aggression on Gaza, 23 in Total An Israeli air strike killed two more Palestinians today in the Gaza Strip, according to medical sources, bringing the number of Palestinians killed since the start of the Israeli air strikes on Gaza to twenty-three as reported by the Palestinian health ministry.
Israel Warns Hamas Not to Get Involved in Islamic Jihad Battle Israeli occupation authorities have warned Hamas not to get involved in firing rockets into Israel. According to the Israeli broadcaster Kan, Israel sent the threat to Hamas that it should not get involved if it did not want the situation to escalate.
Domestic Policy
Gaza Schools, Universities Suspended Amidst Tension Schools and universities in the Gaza Strip were called off today due to the current tension in the area in light of the Israeli assassination of a top leader in the Islamic Jihad movement, said Gaza’s Ministry of Education and High Education and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
Palestinian Factions Shocked at Abbas Conditions For Elections Palestinian factions have expressed their shock at the conditions set by Mahmoud Abbas for elections. Abbas rejected the idea of holding a national summit prior to the elections in order to set out the guidelines which would regulate the electoral process, instead saying that the conditions would be set by his decree. According to Mustafa al-Barghouti, there must be a consensus on election regulations and “without this, there would be no democratic elections.”
Foreign Policy
Israeli Farmers in Limbo As Jordan-Israel Land Lease Deal Expires Twenty-five years after signing a peace treaty between Jordan and Israel, the Jordanian government has refused to renew a clause that allowed Israeli tourists and farmers visa-free access to two large stretches of Jordanian territory. The area runs along the border between the two countries.
UN Body Calls on Israel to Amend or Cancel Jewish Nation-State Law A United Nations body has—for the first time—called on Israel to amend or cancel its Jewish Nation-State Law in order to comply with an international human rights convention that it ratified in 1991, according to a press release.
Israeli Sources: ‘Tel Aviv Uses UAE to Spy on Qatar, Iran and Hezbollah’ Sources in Israel have revealed that Israeli intelligence officers in the reserve army are working in private companies, some of which are linked to the United Arab Emirates’ intelligence services. Dr. Ronen Bergman, intelligence editor for Yedioth Ahronoth, cited a former Israeli officer, whose identity has not been revealed, referring to him as “A,” stating that he revealed a great deal of Israeli intelligence operations.
Settlers and Illegal Settlements
Foodstuffs From Occupied West Bank No Longer ‘Made in Israel’ Foodstuffs produced in Israeli settlements on the occupied West Bank should from now on carry a label clearly indicating their geographical provenance. That is the official judgment issued today by the European Court of Justice. The judgment is valid in all member states of the European Union.
Israeli Settlers Vandalize Palestinian Vehicles in Northern West Bank Village Israeli settlers today vandalized Palestinian vehicles in the northern West Bank village of Qabalan, according to Ghassan Daghlas, a local official. He said settlers from the illegal Rehalim settlement sneaked into the village during the night and slashed tires of two vehicles and a tractor and spray-painted racist anti-Arab slogans on the walls.
Settlers Shatter Olive Trees Near Ramallah Marwan Sabbah, head of the village council of Um Safa, told WAFA that a group of illegal settlers from Halamish, an illegal Israeli settlement nearby, broke into a grove planted with olives in the village, before shattering six trees which belong to two brothers from the village.
Israel Settlers Attack Police During Arrest of Right-wing Activist As reported by Haaretz, the target of the raid, Yitzhar resident Neria Zarug, is wanted by authorities for violating “an administrative injunction prohibiting him from being in the West Bank.” Zarug “has been residing on a hilltop near Yitzhar…and openly defying the injunction for over a month.”
Boycott, Divest, and Sanction Movement
‘Hey Boston! Thanks for the guns!’ Guerrilla Ads Oppose U.S. Aid to Israel Yesterday a Palestinian solidarity group in Boston posted photographs of ads opposing US military aid to Israel that were put up in Boston bus kiosks. Richard Colbath-Hess, who has placed Palestinian solidarity ads in Boston in the past, says that the group doing this action is anonymous because such ads are banned, and these ads were placed in kiosks in guerrilla manner, swapped out for existing ads.
Pro-BDS Event Held in University of Massachusetts Despite Backlash Some of America’s most high-profile civil rights activists who took part in an event yesterday warning against efforts to outlaw the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement now face a backlash from vocal anti-Palestine groups. Local pro-Israel groups held rallies at the campus protesting against the decision to allow the pro-BDS event to go ahead.
Law
Israeli Supreme Court Greenlights Deportation of HRW Official Omar Shakir The Israeli Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday to uphold the state’s decision to deport Human Rights Watch’s Israel and Palestine Director Omar Shakir, over accusations that he advocates for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement—the international Palestinian-led boycott campaign criminalized by Israel in recent years.
Palestinian Ends 112-day Hunger Striker After Israel Agrees Terms of Release Palestinian hunger striker in Israeli jails Ismail Ali yesterday suspended his open hunger strike after reaching a deal with the prison services to end his administrative detention. According to the Palestinian Prisoner Club, the family of the prisoner announced that Ismail had suspended his hunger strike after 112 consecutive days after reaching a deal with the Israeli Prison Services to end his administrative detention within six months.
Environment, Economy, and Other
Israeli Soldiers’ Publicity For Cancer Patients Backfires, Highlighting Gaza Blockade Social media users have called out the Israeli army for a Twitter post celebrating two female soldiers for cutting off their hair for a good cause. The Israeli army said the pair donated their hair to make wigs for cancer patients and described it as “a beautiful act of kindness.” But critics pointed out the irony of the post, reminding the Israeli army that they regularly deny thousands of cancer patients from the Gaza Strip permission to travel for treatment.
French Footballer Threatens to Leave Israel Amid Racist Abuse French footballer Antoine Conte has said racist abuse may force him to leave Israel, reported Xinhua. Conte, who plays for Beitar Jerusalem, suffered abuse during a match on Sunday against Maccabi Haifa, with some supporters “taunted him for the color of his skin and made monkey chants.”
Gaza Specialist Doctors Emigrate Due to Israel Siege More than 120 highly qualified Palestinian doctors emigrated from the Gaza Strip in 2018 and 2019, pushing the Ministry of Health to close medical departments in hospitals. According to a report published by Amad.ps on Saturday, the Palestinian doctors who left their posts in Gaza highlighted the pressure of working under the twelve-year Israeli siege imposed on Gaza.