[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
OPINION: The Dehumanization is the Point Israel’s violent suppression of the demonstrations is a manifestation of the very same factors that spur Palestinians in the West Bank to protest in the first place. Kufr Qaddum’s nine-year struggle is being waged against the military’s 2003 decision to close the main access road to Nablus, after the settlers from the adjacent expansion of the Kedumim settlement deemed the Palestinian residents’ presence unacceptable. The settlement itself was partially built on Kufr Qaddum residents’ land, through the declaration of “state land,” expropriation under disingenuous legal tricks, and invasion of private Palestinian land.
In a Massive Arrest Campaign in South of West Bank, Israeli Occupation Forces Detain More Than 40 Palestinians The Israeli occupation army waged a massive arrest campaign early this morning in the southern West Bank district of Hebron where it rounded up at least forty-three Palestinians. More than half of them are former prisoners, according to Palestinian security sources.
Video Shows Israeli Soldier Kneeling on Protestor’s Neck A video circulating on social media appears to show an Israeli soldier kneeling on an elderly Palestinian protester's neck while arresting him during a demonstration in the occupied West Bank. Footage circulating on Tuesday shows an Israeli soldier pushing Khairi Hannoun, a sixty-five-year-old Palestinian protester, to the ground as other troops raise their rifles and shout at a group of news photographers to back away.
Domestic Policy
Gaza Reports 162 New Coronavirus Cases Palestinian health authorities confirmed 162 new infections from the coronavirus pandemic in the blockaded Gaza Strip on Sunday. In a statement, Gaza’s Health Ministry said the enclave’s tally rose to 969 confirmed cases, including 7 deaths and 89 recoveries.
MOH: Virus Outbreak in Gaza Would be Faster Due to Dense Population Minister of Health Dr. May al-Kaila, talking about the rapid spread of the coronavirus in the Gaza Strip, said that its spread in the Gaza Strip will be different from all countries of the world due to the high population density. According to the ministry website, the total number of cases in Palestine hit 33,250, 10,465 of which are currently active, with 199 deaths. Meanwhile, there are 711 active cases in the Gaza Strip with 7 deaths. Numbers which have risen tremendously the past few days.
When Gaza City Became a Ghost Town Some people call Gaza City the Dark City. The nickname became increasingly relevant lately. The shutdown of Gaza’s only power plant meant that lights often could not be switched on at night time. As well as bombing Gaza repeatedly in August, Israel further tightened a severe blockade it has imposed for more than thirteen years.
Israel Says it Won’t Return the Bodies of Slain Palestinians Israel’s security cabinet ruled on Wednesday that it would not be returning the bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces to their family for burial, following weeks of appeals from the family of Ahmed Erekat, who was shot dead at a military checkpoint in the occupied West Bank in June.
Foreign Policy
Palestinian Factions Close Ranks to Reject US-Crafted Israel-UAE Normalization Deal Palestinian factions have unanimously dismissed the US-backed deal between the United Arab Emirates and the Israeli regime to normalize full diplomatic relations, as they sought to present a united front against the agreement. “We cannot accept anyone speaking in our name. We have never allowed it, and we will not allow it ever,” President Mahmoud Abbas said at a meeting in the occupied West Bank town of Ramallah held through video-conference to a parallel event at the Palestinian embassy in Beirut, where the chief of the political bureau of the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement, Ismail Haniyeh, and Islamic Jihad Secretary-General Ziyad al-Nakhalah attended.
Hezbollah and Hamas Leaders Hold Talks in Lebanon Hizballah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah held talks in Beirut with Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh and his deputy Saleh al-Arouri, reported Anadolu Agency. The talks covered the “latest political and military developments in Palestine, Lebanon and the region,” Hizballah said in a statement. The two group leaders also discussed “the hazards facing the Palestinian cause, particularly the US deal of the century and projects for normalization with Israel,” the statement said.
Official: UAE to Open Embassy in Israel in 3-5 Months A senior Emirati official has said that his country will open an embassy in Israel within three to five months, according to an Israeli daily on Friday, Anadolu Agency reported. Earlier this week, the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced that officials from both sides discussed opening embassies in Israel and the United Arab Emirates during talks that took place in Abu Dhabi with the participation of US officials.
The Next Congress Will Have More Members Who Want to Condition Aid to Israel and That’s What Democratic Voters Want After progressive challenger Alex Morse failed to unseat incumbent Representative Richard Neal in Massachusetts’ first district, the lobbying group Democratic Majority for Israel tweeted out their endorsement scorecard, which was 27-1. “If you think anti-Israel positions appeal to Democratic voters, think again,” read the tweet.
Meet Emgage, the Pro-Israel Muslims Backing Joe Biden As election day looms in the United States, one organization has jostled aggressively to become the go-to address for Democratic politicians courting American Muslim votes. Emgage has enjoyed a rapid rise. But there has been little attention given to the group’s troubling ties to Israel and its lobby–including trips to Israel paid for by an organization with close ties to the Israeli army.
Muslim-majority Kosovo Agrees to Normalize Ties with Israel Muslim-majority Kosovo agreed to recognize Israel as part of a US-brokered accord on Friday, a deal that will also see the Eastern European country normalize economic ties with erstwhile rival Serbia. The agreement, which was hailed by US President Donald Trump as "a major breakthrough," follows two days of meeting between US officials, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, and Kosovo's Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti.
Settlers and Illegal Settlements
Israel to Demolish Five Homes in Birin The Israeli Occupation Army on Wednesday handed out demolition notices to five Palestinian citizens to displace their families in Birin village in Masafer Yatta area, south of Hebron. Local official Rateb al-Rajoub said that the citizens received demolition notices issued by the Israeli army’s civil administration against five homes at the pretext that they were built with no permits.
Israeli Settler Attack Palestinian Vehicles Near Nablus On Sunday, 6 September, extremist Israeli settlers smashed the windshields of several Palestinian-owned vehicles in the village of Huwara, to the south of the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, said local sources. Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement activities in the northern West Bank, told WAFA that fanatic settlers attacked the vehicles, smashing their glass windshields and causing damage to them.
Boycott, Divest, and Sanction Movement
British Palestinian Activist Arrested in Protest Against Israel Arms Group Elbit A British-Palestinian activist has been arrested in a protest targeting Israel's largest arms company, as activists stepped up direct action against UK military cooperation with Israel and its occupation of Palestinian territories. A video was circulated on social media of Huda Ammori, a researcher at campaign group Corporate Watch UK, being held on the ground and arrested by several police officers on Saturday outside Elbit Systems' London offices. The Palestine Action group had organized the latest in a series of protests against Elbit, which supplies weapons technology to the Israeli army, used in its operations against Palestinians in the occupied territories.
Law and Prisons
Palestinian Prisoner Dies of Heart Attack in Israel’s Ofer Jail A Palestinian prisoner died of a heart attack in Israeli custody on Wednesday night, only a few months before the end of his eighteen-year sentence, Palestinian media has reported. Daoud Talaat al-Khatib, a forty-five-year-old from the town of Bethlehem, died in Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank, official Palestinian Authority news agency Wafa quoted the Palestinian Prisoners' Society as saying.
Hunger Striking Prisoners are in Difficult and Serious Health Conditions, Says PPS Two Palestinian prisoners in Israel, Maher al-Akhras, forty-nine, and Abdul Rahman Shuaibat, thirty, who are on hunger strike in protest against their administrative detention, are in very difficult and serious health condition, the Palestinian Prisoner Society said today.
‘Not a Right but a Privilege’: Israeli Jail Confiscates Fans Amid Searing Heatwave Israel’s Ofer prison administration has confiscated Palestinian prisoners’ fans and electrical appliances during a massive crackdown on protests that erupted following the death of a Palestinian prisoner in Israeli custody. The move comes amid a record-breaking heatwave where temperatures have reached well over forty degrees outside.
Environment, Economy, and Other
New EU Contribution: €9 Million for the Payment of July Salaries and Pensions of Palestinian Civil Servants The European Union has today provided a contribution of nine million euros to the July salaries of health and education workers and the pensions of more than 37,500 Palestinian civil servants in the West Bank. This support will enable the Palestinian Authority to pay Palestinian civil servants notwithstanding the difficult fiscal situation brought about by the COVID-19 crisis and recent political developments.
Faisal Husseini Foundation Launches Campaign to Support Remote Learning in East Jerusalem Schools Faisal Husseini Foundation launched a call to action that aspires to support 146 schools serving around 46,000 students in East Jerusalem. The campaign aims at its first phase to raise five million dollars from private donors to provide students and teachers with laptops to allow them to conduct remote learning during the upcoming school year in the midst of an ever-lurking COVID-19 pandemic. The campaign is called “Buy time for Jerusalem Schools” and was inspired by the call to action issued in the year 2000 by the late Faisal Husseini when he called upon the private sector and philanthropists in the Arab World to “Buy Time in East Jerusalem.”
7amleh Calls on Google to Stop Spreading Misleading Information About Palestine History 7amleh – The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media urged Google to urgently correct misleading information about Palestinians in its search engine’s “Knowledge Panel” and to ensure that historically accurate information is being used to reflect Palestinian history that reflects international law, norms and standards, instead of ignoring documented historical facts in favor of a bias to the Israeli government narrative. Google omits the Palestinian history both before and after the creation of Israel, and presents misleading information in their knowledge panel, as is the case for many prominent Palestinian persons.
OPINION: Why Campuses Need Non-Zionist Jewish Spaces It is far too often the case that the only spaces dedicated to Judaism and Jewish culture on college campuses in the United States and beyond are also affiliated with Zionism. When it comes to campus discussion on Palestine, this leaves little room for exposure to any Jewish-led narrative outside of Zionism, fueling the misconception that Palestine’s struggle for liberation is a religious conflict. This not only harms the liberation movement, but also students. One of the best-known campus organizations to claim affiliation with Judaism is Hillel. Most Hillels on university campuses are tied to Hillel International, an explicitly Zionist organization.
Culture and Art
Palestinian Holy Sites are Crumbling Under Israeli Rule Israel’s takeover of the mountain ranges and hills throughout the occupied West Bank has not spared sacred places of worship for Palestinian Muslims. According to a new report by Israeli anti-occupation group Machsom Watch, maqams—tombs or shrines built on a site associated with a Muslim saint or religious figure—across the West Bank have been informally annexed to Israeli settlements through military orders, the expansion of Israeli Defense Forces open-fire zones, and entrapment in nature reserves and antiquity sites. These houses of worship served as religious, cultural, and community centers in the rural areas of Palestine long before villages had their own mosques.
Remembrance of Struggles Past: Two Films by Julia Bacha Julia Bacha’s two documentaries, Budrus (2009) and Naila and the Uprising (2017), represent important contributions to the cultural struggle against Israeli apartheid—though watching them at this historical juncture feels somewhat bittersweet. Celebrating the power of non-violent Palestinian resistance, Bacha chronicles the ways that grassroots engagement has produced creative movements of social solidarity and enduring personal self-transformations. Yet even as the films underscore the power of local organizing and struggle, it is difficult to watch them now without sadly pondering the relative absence in today’s Palestine of the kinds of popular resistance that they so movingly dramatize.