[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.]
The Occupation Forces
IOF Raze Palestinian Land West of Salfit Israeli occupation bulldozers on Tuesday continued to level dozens of dunums of Palestinian land in Hares village, west of Salfit in the occupied West Bank, to prepare the area for the expansion of the illegal settlement of Ariel and the construction of new factories.
Four Palestinians Killed By IOF in Less Than 24 Hours Israeli Occupation Forces killed four Palestinians in less than twenty-four hours: a Palestinian in the Bab al-Asbat area in Jerusalem under the pretext that he was carrying out a stabbing attack, Sergeant Tariq Badwan, who was shot by snipers while he was on duty in the police headquarters in Jenin, a nineteen-year-old man named Yazan Abu Tabikh during protests in al-Basatin, and a teenager who was killed by Israeli Occupation Forces during protests in Hebron.
Israel Attacks Gaza Again Amid Continued Tensions Over Trump Plan Israeli aircraft struck Hamas' positions in Gaza early on Thursday after Palestinians in the enclave launched projectiles and explosive balloons across the border, the Israeli military said in a statement. Palestinian security sources and witnesses in Gaza reported hits on unspecified targets north of al-Shati refugee camp near Gaza City and a Hamas facility in the southern Gaza Strip.
Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian Teen As More Troops Deployed The Palestinian health ministry says Badr Nafla, nineteen, died after being shot by Israeli forces in the neck near Tulkarem city. This comes after four other killings by Israeli military or police forces.
Soldiers Attack Palestinian Students at Town East of Jerusalem Israeli soldiers today attacked Palestinian students and teachers with teargas canisters in the schools’ area in the town of Abu Dis, east of occupied Jerusalem, causing many to suffer from suffocation, according to Hani Halabiya, a local activist.
Israel Seals Off Cluster of Ramallah-district Villages Witnesses confirmed that Israeli troops closed the metal gates at the entrances of Aboud, Deir Nidham, Deir Abu Mashaal, and Shuqba villages, forcing residents to take long difficult detours in order to get out of the villages and reach their destinations.
Israeli Soldier Who Killed Palestinian Teen Was Not in Danger, Video Suggests An Israeli Defense Forces soldier shot dead nineteen-year-old Badr Nafla in the West Bank last Friday. The army claims the soldier's life was in danger, but a video of the incident suggests a different story. According to both witness testimony and video evidence, Nafla was killed by an Israeli soldier just as a military jeep approached a group of Palestinians throwing stones. The soldiers were not in danger when the shooting occurred.
Domestic Policy
Poll: 89% of Palestinians Oppose Trump’s ‘Deal of the Century’ The latest poll on the Palestinian public opinion, prepared by Dr. Nabil Kukali of the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion, revealed that eighty-nine percent of the Palestinians oppose at various degrees the plan of the US President Donald Trump known as “Deal of the Century.”
Israel Bans Export of Palestinian Products Through Jordan As of today, the Israeli occupation authorities have banned the export of Palestinian products via Jordan to foreign markets. Minister of Agriculture Riyad al-Atari stated that this attempts to force the government to withdraw from its recent decisions to sever ties with Israel.
Ban on Entry of Israeli Goods into Palestinian Market Goes Into Effect The Ministry of Economy announced that the government's decision to ban Israeli vegetables, fruits, juices, mineral water, and carbonated drinks from entering Palestinian markets came into effect on Thursday 6 February. The government decided at its meeting on Monday to ban certain Israeli products in retaliation for an Israeli decision to prohibit entry of all Palestinian agricultural products to the Israeli market.
PA Cuts Cause Shock in Gaza Due to the Israeli blockade on Gaza and the resulting economic devastation, many rely on Palestinian Authority allowances to get by. Aziza al-Kahlout, the spokesperson for the Gaza-based social affairs ministry, told The Electronic Intifada more than 1,470 families have endured cuts to their allowances in recent weeks.
Fatah Leaders Arrive in Gaza, Factions Welcome Visit Members of Fatah’s Central Committee, Rawhi Fattouh and Ismail Jaber, arrived on Friday morning to the Gaza Strip via the Erez Crossing, Quds Press reported. Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other factions welcomed the visit of the Fatah leaders, confirming that they will discuss several issues, including ending the internal division of Palestinian factions and countering the US-Israel initiative.
More than a Dozen Injured in Suspected Attack in Jerusalem At least fourteen people, most of them Israeli soldiers, were reported injured after a vehicle ran into them in Jerusalem early on Thursday morning in what emergency services said was a suspected car-ramming attack on a popular nightclub. In a statement, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the attack was part of "resistance" operations, including a series of demonstrations in the occupied West Bank, but he stopped short of claiming responsibility.
Jewish Hate Groups Vandalize Property in Palestinian Village in Israel Members of Jewish hate groups today punctured tires of more than seventy vehicles and spray-painted racist, anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian hate slogans in the Palestinian Arab town of al-Jish, in the Galilee, northern Israel, according to local sources. Residents believe that the group responsible is named “Price Tag,” which routinely attacks Palestinians inside Israel.
Foreign Policy
PA's Mahmoud Abbas Says Trump Plan Offers 'Swiss cheese' State Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has reiterated the Palestinians' rejection of United States President Donald Trump's so-called Middle East plan, telling the United Nations Security Council that the recently unveiled proposal would bring neither peace nor stability. Despite a draft resolution by UNSC members Tunisia and Indonesia, there has yet to be a vote as many suspect US pressure has been halting a movement on the bill.
Palestinians Deny Reports of Pulling UN Resolution on US Plan Palestinian officials have denied reports that a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning US President Donald Trump's Middle East plan has been withdrawn, as Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas prepared to address the Security Council on Tuesday.
Over 100 US Democrats Reject Trump's "deal of the century" More than one hundred Democrats in the US House of Representatives signed today a letter rejecting President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan, known as the "deal of the century," saying it would “hurt Israelis and Palestinians alike, pushing them toward further conflict.”
Time to Ditch US As Peace Broker: Abbas Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rejected the Trump administration’s plan for Middle East peace on Tuesday and urged the United Nations Security Council to help chart a new course for cutting a deal with his Israeli neighbors. Addressing diplomats in New York, Abbas proposed an “international mechanism” to replace the Americans as a sole, honest broker, after Washington on 28 January unveiled a peace plan that was tipped heavily in Israel’s favor.
AU Slams US ‘Deal of Century’ Addressing the annual summit of the African Union leaders, the chairman of the bloc heavily criticized the United States’ so-called peace plan in Middle East, Anadolu Agency reports. Moussa Faki Mahamat stated that the deal was “a violation of the charter of the African Union and United Nations…African solidarity with the people of Palestine will never change.”
South Africa: Trump’s ‘peace deal’ Resembles the Notorious Bantustan System At the annual African Union summit, South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, compared US President Donald Trump’s so-called “peace plan” for Palestine to apartheid South Africa’s Bantustan system.
Settlers and Illegal Settlements
Israel to Annex Palestinian Land After the Upcoming Knesset Elections The National Bureau for defending land and resisting settlements stated in its latest weekly report, that US President Donald Trump’s adviser, Jared Kushner recently announced that Israel will not annex Palestinian lands before the upcoming Knesset elections.
Boycott, Divest, and Sanction Movement
Civil Rights Groups Sue Over US State's 'Israel boycott law' In a news conference, officials from the Georgia Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the CAIR Legal Defense Fund and the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund said they filed a free speech lawsuit after Georgia Southern University canceled a talk by Abby Martin, a journalist and rights activist, over her refusal to sign an oath that she would not "engage in a boycott of Israel."
New Hampshire Billboards Urge Democratic Candidates to End Aid for Israeli Rights Violations Palestine Advocacy Project has launched two billboard ads calling upon American voters and the next President of the United States to end US funding for Israeli human rights violations and restore humanitarian aid to Palestine.
Tunisian Rejects $400,000 to Sing with Israeli Lotfi Bouchnak, Tunisian “Pavarotti,” rejected the four hundred thousand dollars offer due to his support for the Palestinian cause. At a press conference, he stated, “My past, my opinions, my principles do not allow me to accept…the Palestinian cause…is not just a Palestinian cause, it is the cause of every noble Arab and every human being.”
UN Blacklists 112 Companies With Ties to Illegal Israel West Bank Settlements A blacklist report was released today by the human rights office of the United Nations containing names of one hundred and twelve companies with ties to illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The long-awaited report was expected to be published in 2019 but was delayed over concerns, namely that companies appearing in the document could be subject to boycotts.
Law
Israel Sentences Islamic Movement Leader Raed Salah to 28 Months An Israeli court on Monday sentenced the head of the outlawed northern branch of the Islamic Movement, Sheikh Raed Salah, to twenty-eight months in prison for "inciting terror." "In light of Sheikh Raed Salah's previous violations and his clear ideological motives, his activities have worsened with time," Israeli judge Shlomo Banjo said.
Minor Prisoner Says He Was Beaten After He Was Moved From One Israeli Jail to Another The Prisoners’ Affairs Commission revealed that Muhammad Ahmad Hadi, seventeen, from Bethlehem, was severely beaten and tortured after he was transferred from Ofer prison to Damoon and then Jalameh. The commission said the Israel Prison Service abuses the minor prisoners and keeps them in their cold cells without food or proper clothing.
Environment, Economy, and Other
678 Violations Against Media Freedoms in Palestine During 2019 The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms “MADA” issued its annual report on media freedoms in Palestine during the past year 2019, where they documented a total of 678 violations against media freedoms in Palestine.
VIDEO: Israeli Blockade Sours Revenue for Gaza Strawberry Farmers It is strawberry harvest time for farmers in Gaza with most of the berries heading to consumers in the occupied West Bank. But Israel’s blockade means getting them there is a challenge and Israel has also banned the use of certain fertilizers. Al Jazeera's Stefanie Dekker reports from Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip.
Israeli Groups Thank International Activists For Attempting to Break the Gaza Siege A statement from the organizations Boycott from Within, De-colonizer, The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, and Zochrot expressed thanks to the Gaza 2020: Breaking the Siege group for attempting to break the enclosure of Gaza by Israel.