[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
Israeli Forces Attempt to Remove a Palestinian Anti-corona Post in South of West Bank Israel soldiers apparently not happy with the sight of a Palestinian flag attacked a post set up by local volunteers to check people for coronavirus in the village of Khillet al-Mayeh, in Masafer Yatta in the south of the West Bank, according to local activist.
Israeli Army Says a Soldier Was Killed During a Raid of a Northern West Bank Town The Israeli army disclosed today that a soldier was killed during an operation in the northern West Bank town of Yabad as local sources told WAFA that the soldiers returned to the town this morning, raided the homes where the soldier was killed and questioned and detained dozens of Palestinians, some members of the same family.
IOF Fatally Shoot Palestinian Teen South of al-Khalil Amid Rising Tensions Palestinian media reported that Zaid Jamil al-Fayoumi, fourteen, was shot dead during clashes with Israeli soldiers at Fawwar refugee camp on Wednesday morning. The Fawwar clashes, which also wounded five more Palestinians, came one day after an Israeli soldier was killed by a rock thrown at his head during an arrest campaign in the northern West bank town of Ya’bad.
Domestic Policy
Palestine: No New Cases of COVID-19 For the 5th Consecutive Day On 12 May, Palestinian Minister of Health Dr May al-Kaila said that Palestine has not recorded any new cases of COVID-19 for the fifth consecutive day, with one thousand laboratory tests conducted from all governorates, while fifteen new cases of recovery were recorded.
COVID-19 Risks Creating And Exacerbating Women’s Vulnerabilities And Gender Inequalities in Palestine, Warns UN Women. Based on preliminary data collection, surveys and meetings that UN Women had with more than thirty women-led organizations and woman leaders in the West Bank and Gaza, the report warns that the pandemic is expected to disproportionately affect women, create and exacerbate pre-existing gender-specific risks and vulnerabilities and widen inequalities.
Palestinian Towns 'hemmed in' by Israel's Discriminatory Policies Palestinians with Israeli citizenship are being denied access to land for housing to accommodate "natural population growth," reflecting Israel's policy of confining Palestinian communities even beyond the occupied territories, says a new Human Rights Watch report.
Israeli MPs Approve Formation of Netanyahu-Gantz Government Israeli members of parliament have approved the formation of a unity government between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and rival Benny Gantz, paving the way to an end to more than a year of deadlock. Parliament voted by seventy-one votes to thirty-seven to back the coalition deal that will see Netanyahu and Gantz, a centrist former military leader, share power.
Foreign Policy
Letter to Be Sent UNSC, UNGA, Over Israeli Closure of Palestinian Institutions in Jerusalem Palestinian envoy to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour confirmed that a letter to the President of the Security Council and the United Nations General Assembly is in preparation, in order to convey the crimes of the occupation in Jerusalem, by closing down Palestinian institutions, the last of which was closing the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation’s radio and TV.
UN Security Council to Convene to Discuss Israel's Annexation Plan: Official Riyad Mansour, the Permanent Representative of Palestine to the United Nations, said today that the UN Security Council will convene on the twentieth of this month to discuss Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, and to mobilize international pressure on Israel to cancel this plan.
Palestinians Abroad to Facilitate Distance Work for Palestine Refugees The Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad announced on Friday that it would launch a new job platform to facilitate distance work for Palestinian refugees around the world, Quds Press reported. According to the conference, the initiative aims to enable Palestinian refugees to obtain jobs through highlighting their skills and expertise and linking them to potential employers.
Pompeo Arrives in Israel For Talks on Iran, Annexation Plans US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has arrived in Israel for talks with the country's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former rival Benny Gantz who is now part of Israel's new unity government that will be formed. During his visit, Pompeo is expected to discuss Iran, the coronavirus and Israel's possible annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank, a move expected to enrage the Palestinians and many of Israel's Western allies.
UK Should Stop Granting Israel Preferential Access to British Markets, Says House of Lords A committee within the British House of Lords is urging Number Ten to stop granting Israel preferential access to UK markets if the planned annexation of the West Bank, as laid out in the incoming unity government’s coalition agreement, goes ahead.
Settlers and Illegal Settlements
Settlers Uproot Hundreds of Vine Trees South of Bethlehem Head of Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission in Bethlehem, Hassan Brijieh, said that the Efrat settlers uprooted four hundred fifty vineyard seedlings belonging to Ibrahim Suleiman Sbeih. Brijieh added that Sbaih is subject to repeated attacks by settlers and the Occupation Forces.
Israel Approves 7,000 New Settlement Units in Southern West Bank Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennett has approved the expansion of the mega Efrat settlement in the southern occupied West Bank with seven thousand new housing units—nearly doubling the settlement in size.
US to Recognize Israel’s Annexation of 30% of West Bank Area In an interview published on Friday, Friedman announced that the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must negotiate with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas over the establishment of a Palestinian state in seventy percent of the occupied West Bank, and the United States will recognize Israel’s annexation of the other thirty percent.
WHO: Coronavirus Will Inevitably Reach Gaza The representative of the World Health Organization in Gaza, Dr Abdul Naser Soboh, said on Wednesday that the coronavirus COVID-19 is heading inevitably to Gaza as it has elsewhere, al-Rai News Agency has reported. The World Health Organization official called for the Palestinians to maintain safety measures, including social distancing, quarantine and other guidance issued by the Ministry of Health.
Boycott, Divest, and Sanction Movement
Rights Group Urge EU to Impose Sanctions on Israel For Its Annexation Plan In a letter sent to the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, the European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine has expressed concerns over Israel’s planned annexation of the West Bank, saying it was part of the ongoing ethnic cleansing, apartheid and colonization.
EU Foreign Ministers Mulling Sanctions on Israel in the Event of West Bank Annexation The foreign ministers of the European Union are considering imposing sanctions on Israel in the event the latter goes ahead with its plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, an anonymous European source told WAFA.
377 Scholars And Artists Pledge to Oppose Political Litmus Tests in Germany Some 377 scholars and artists from more than thirty countries have signed a pledge opposing litmus tests and political interference by institutions, municipalities, and public officials in Germany aimed at silencing advocates for Palestinian rights under international law.
Trump Turns on Colleges, Colleges on Human Rights The COVID-19 pandemic has required students supporting the Palestinian struggle for justice to postpone many of their activities. In New York’s Columbia University, a student-led referendum on divesting from companies that profit off Israel’s human rights violations, originally slated for April, has been delayed until the fall. Indeed, Columbia is the target of a discrimination complaint that a student filed with the US Department of Education days after President Donald Trump issued an executive order on combating anti-Semitism.
Israel’s New US ambassador Took Credit For States Passing anti-BDS Laws Israel’s new coalition government is beginning to take shape and Gilad Erdan will have two roles. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has selected the outgoing Minister of Public Security and Strategic Affairs to become ambassador to the United Nations and the United States. In his previous role, Erdan led Israel’s fight against the BDS movement.
Law
Israel Top Court Approves Netanyahu-Gantz Deal In its ruling against opposition petitioners on Wednesday, the Supreme Court also found that Netanyahu's unity government deal with his election rival Benny Gantz does not violate the law, dismissing arguments that it unlawfully shields him in a corruption trial. The ruling removes a critical legal hurdle to the coalition government the right-wing Netanyahu and centrist Gantz plan to swear in next week, following three inconclusive elections in the past year.
In light of COVID-19 Crisis, UN Officials Call for Immediate Release of Palestinian Child Detainees In light of COVID-19 crisis, United Nations officials today called for the immediate release of Palestinian children held in Israeli detention centers. At the end of March, 194 Palestinian children were detained by the Israeli authorities in prisons and detention centers, mainly in Israel, according to data released by the Israeli Prison Service.
ICC Prosecutor: ‘Smear campaigns’ won’t stop probe into Israel war crimes The International Criminal Court has responded to Israeli criticisms over the prosecutor’s decision to probe Israeli war crimes allegedly committed in the occupied West Bank, Gaza, and occupied East Jerusalem.
Israel Citizen Indicted For Helping Hamas Israeli District Court in Be’er Sheva on Sunday convicted an Israeli Jew from a town on the peripheries of the Gaza Strip for helping the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas by delivering “dual use” goods, local media reported.
Environment, Economy, and Other
Palestine Monetary Authority: Starting to Provide Electronic Payment Services in Palestine Palestine Monetary Authority issued today instructions to operate and provide electronic payment services, which include both e-wallet and prepaid cards. Payment service companies, licensed by Palestine Monetary Authority, will provide electronic payment service tools that enable subscribers to complete their financial transactions.
Israel Approves $230m Loan for PA’s Fight Against COVID-19 Israel will approve 230 million dollars payment to the Palestinian Authority to help it cope with the coronavirus, Finance Ministry officials confirmed yesterday evening. The money transfer is an advance on the tax revenue Israel collects on the Palestinian Authority’s behalf, government sources said.