The Occupation Forces
IOF arrested human rights activist near Bethlehem
Israeli occupation forces today detained and arrested Palestinian lawyer and human rights activist Fareed al-Atrash, 43, after stopping him at a military checkpoint near the city of Bethlehem, south of the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian security sources. Al-Atrash, a lawyer of the Independent Commission for Human Rights, was stopped and detained by Israeli soldiers at the Container checkpoint, northeast of Bethlehem, while he was on his way back home from Ramallah.
IOF & Settlers kill one Palestinian youth wound two near Nablus
Israeli occupation forces “IOF” and settlers opened gunfire Saturday at Palestinian civilians in the village of Qusra, south of Nablus city in the occupied West Bank, killing one of them and injuring two others, according to the Ministry of Health. Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors colonial settlement activities in the northern West Bank, told Journalist that Mohammad Fareed Hasan, a local Palestinian young man in the twenties of age, sustained a serious gunfire injury in his chest by the Israeli occupation army, and was pronounced dead a couple of minutes later. Hasan was standing on the rooftop of his home when he was shot, added Daghlas.
#SaveSilwan: 1,500 Palestinians under imminent threat of displacement
The clock is ticking for some 100 Palestinian families in the occupied East Jerusalem town of Silwan who have been forced to face an impossible decision: either demolish their own homes, or wait for Israeli forces to carry out the demolition. It’s a fate that the families in the al-Bustan neighborhood of Silwan have been fighting tirelessly against for years, and on Sunday it will all come to a head. Earlier this month Israel issued a series of demolition orders giving the families in al-Bustan 21 days to evacuate and demolish their homes. According to the demolition orders, if the residents, numbering around 1,500 people, do not destroy their own homes themselves by Sunday June 27th, the Jerusalem municipality will carry out the demolitions, and charge the residents with the demolition fees.
Israel demolishes 72 buildings and displaces dozens of Palestinians in three months
The Palestinian ambassador to the UN has warned officials about the increasingly violent and racist attacks carried out by Israeli occupation forces and extremist settler groups against Palestinians in the occupied territories, including East Jerusalem. Riyad Mansour made his warning in letters sent to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the current president of the UN Security Council, Estonia, and the president of the UN General Assembly, Turkish diplomat Volkan Bozkir. Mansour pointed out that the occupation forces have demolished 72 buildings in just three months, which led to the displacement of 78 Palestinians, including 47 children and 15 women. More than 350 other people were affected by the demolitions. A further 218 Palestinian families, comprising 970 individuals, including 424 children, have eviction cases pending in Israeli courts.
Israeli air strikes hit the besieged Gaza Strip last night in the third such incident since a ceasefire was signed between resistance factions in the enclave and the occupation, a Palestinian security source said. According to the source, several missiles hit a training site used by an armed Palestinian faction, south of Gaza City, and a site in the centre of the Strip was also targeted. No casualties have been reported.
West Bank: Israeli soldiers kill Palestinian being attacked by settlers
Late on Saturday afternoon, not long before sunset, Mohammed Hassan, 21, and a group of local construction workers were wrapping up their work for the day. The group were working on Mohammed’s new family home, which had been under construction for months, on the outskirts of the village of Qusra, in the northern occupied West Bank, when suddenly they came under attack. “Dozens of armed Israeli settlers descended onto the area around the house, jumping through the fields and concealing themselves behind the olive groves,” Murad Adbelhamid Hassan, 44, Mohammed’s uncle, told Middle East Eye. “The settlers were throwing stones at him from every direction, and when he tried to defend himself, the soldiers shot at him with live ammunition. Three bullets, right to the chest,” Murad said, recounting the moment he saw his nephew gunned down on the rooftop.
Domestic Policy
Video: Palestinians protest Abbas, PA following killing of Nizar Banat
On June 26, 2021, Fatah loyalists from Mahmoud Abbas’s faction, some of which identified as undercover Palestinian security personnel, attacked demonstrators with sticks and stones as they made their way to Palestinian Authority headquarters in Ramallah, West Bank. Protesters marched following the extrajudicial killing of prominent opposition activist Nizar Banat by the Palestinian Authority in Hebron three days ago. Banat, a staunch critic of the PA who was previously detained several times, was known for denouncing PA corruption, security coordination with the Israeli occupation and colonization authorities, as well as for compromising Palestinian liberation principles.
PA Security Forces Arrest Lawyer, Activists amid Nizar Banat Protests
Palestinian police arrested a lawyer and three activists Sunday morning in the West Bank amid ongoing protests against the Palestinian Authority over the death of activist Nizar Banat. Muhannad Karajah, the head of the Lawyers for Justice group and a lawyer for the Banat family, was arrested in front of the Ramallah Court Building. He was detained alongside activists Jihad Abdo, Salem Qatash, and Izzeddine Zaoul.
Palestinian women journalists speak out against 'deliberate' attacks by PA forces
For several days now, Palestinian journalist Najlaa Zaitoun has been trying to convince her children, 11-year-old Haytham and 8-year-old Zein, to leave the house. “I’m afraid the person who beat you will come and beat me,” Zein said to her, as she urged them to keep up their training at the sports club they usually go to every day. On 26 June, the 35-year-old was assaulted by plainclothes security forces while she was covering protests called following the death of popular Palestinian activist Nizar Banat while in Palestinian Security Forces custody two days earlier. he attack on Zaitoun is one of several instances of violence against women journalists in the course of their work covering the protests. The incidents indicate that Palestinian security forces are specifically targeting women journalists, as reflected in the escalating levels of hostility and violence towars them compared to their male counterparts.
Palestinian Authority asks to buy munitions from Israel to disperse protesters: Report
The Palestinian Authority has requested to buy munitions from Israel to target protesters, as it seeks to disperse demonstrations in the occupied West Bank over the death of activist Nizar Banat. Banat, 43, a parliamentary candidate and prominent activist, died last week in the custody of the PA security forces, who his family accused of killing him. The Israeli news site Ynet reported on Tuesday that the PA, headed by President Mahmoud Abbas, made a "rare" request to Israeli authorities to buy "non-lethal" munitions and replenish its stockpiles of gas canisters and stun grenades. Israel's security establishment needs to approve a limited quantity of the equipment before the inventory is transferred to the PA in the West Bank, said the report.Ynet said that officials in the PA were anticipating widespread protests in other cities and towns in the West Bank and that they had already used part of their stock to disperse protestors in Ramallah last week.
Palestinian labour minister to quit amid anti-government protests
The labour minister in the Palestinian Authority will resign, a member of his party said on Sunday, as protesters marched for a fourth day demanding that President Mahmoud Abbas step down. The left-wing Palestinian People's Party has decided to withdraw from the Fatah-led PA government due to "its lack of respect for laws and public freedoms", central committee member Issam Abu Bakr said. Nasri Abu Jaish, the labour minister and the People's Party representative in the government, will therefore resign on Monday, Abu Bakr told AFP. The announcement followed three days of heavy protests against the Palestinian Authority (PA), triggered by the violent arrest and death in custody of an activist.
Foreign Policy
European Court Refuses to Reopen Case into Arafat’s Death
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has rejected a case brought by the widow and daughter of late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat requesting it reopen an investigation into his 2004 death. After unsuccessful lawsuits in French courts, Suha and Zahwa Arafat filed a criminal complaint to the ECHR in 2017 claiming the former Palestinian Authority (PA), PLO and Fatah president had been the victim of premeditated murder.
Palestine slams German president's claim ICC lacks jurisdiction to investigate Israel
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs today slammed German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier's claims that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has no jurisdiction to investigate Israeli war crimes. The ministry described the German official's remarks as a "departure from the rules of international law" and an "interference with the ICC's work and decisions".
Family of Palestine activist murdered by PA seek international probe
The family of Palestinian activist Nizar Banat, who was murdered by the PA last week, has called for a local-international investigative mission to look into what led to his death, Arab48 reported yesterday. In response to the Palestinian Authority's announcement that its investigation committee had started probing the events that led to Banat's death, the family held a press conference in Hebron, Banat's birthplace, and announced their rejection of this committee "because all of its parties are affiliates to PA."
Biden administration says IHRA definition of antisemitism is ‘gold standard’
The Biden administration has reiterated its support for the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. The controversial interpretation conflates antisemitism with legitimate criticism of Israel. The IHRA working definition was formally adopted by the Trump administration in 2018. In April a group of Democratic House members, three of them Jewish, sent Secretary of State Tony Blinken a letter urging Biden’s team to consider alternatives to the IHRA’s working definition. The letter, which was led by Illinois Rep. Jan Schakowsky, suggested two different definitions: The Nexus Document and the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism. Both of these allow for broader criticism of Israel.
'It's wrong': Biden urged to stop Israel's evictions and demolitions of Palestinian homes
Israel's forcible evictions of Palestinians reached the floor of the US House of Representatives on Friday, as Representative Marie Newman called on the Biden administration to intervene. Congresswoman Newman, a Democrat from Illinois, urged Biden to end the displacement of Palestinian families, who continue to fight expulsion from occupied East Jerusalem and across the rest of the West Bank.
Settlers and Illegal Settlements
Hamas: Avytar settlement evacuation 'new achievement' for Palestine
The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas on Friday described Israel's evacuation of the Avytar settlement in the occupied West Bank as a "new achievement" for Palestinians. In a statement, Hamas Spokesperson Hazem Qassem announced: "The Palestinian people scored a new and important achievement with the withdrawal of Israeli settlers from Abu Sbaih Mountain under the pressure of resistance." Qassem added: "The evacuation of the settlement post in Abu Sbaih Mountain reiterated the ability of resistance with its different forms to impose the will of the Palestinians and push the occupation backwards."
US slams deal to keep illegal settlement intact
The US has slammed Israel's plan to keep the illegal settlement of Eviatar intact and turn it into a military base. The outpost in the occupied West Bank was expected to be razed to the ground because it violates not only international law but also Israeli law, say the Americans. However, the government led by far-right ultra-nationalist Naftali Bennett, a major proponent of Israel's illegal settlement enterprise, reached a deal with the settlers to keep their mobile homes intact and establish a base for Israeli troops.
Boycott, Divest, and Sanction Movement
Calls to boycott Zara after head designer attacks Palestinian model
Zara under fire as Head Designer Vanessa Perilman attacks Palestinian model Qaher Harhash on Instagram. Head designer for Zara's women's department Vanessa Perilman is under fire after harassing Palestinian model Qaher Harhash in private Instagram messages. The messages were in response to pro-Palestine posts shared by the model, who later posted screenshots of their conversation on Instagram. The publicised exchange caused thousands of Twitter users to call out Zara for their lack of action.
GOP House members want FBI to investigate BDS movement
Three Republican House members are calling on the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to investigate dubious connections between the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) and terrorism. Last month Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) led a letter, cosigned by Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) and Maria Salazar (R-FL), that was sent to FBI’s Counterterrorism Division. It claims that there are “serious concerns” that Americans who donate to BDS-affiliated organizations might be financing terrorist groups. The letter specifically cites the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) and The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) for having alleged links to “designated terror groups” like Hamas and Palestine Islamic Jihad.
America's largest teachers union to consider resolutions condemning Israel
The largest teachers union in the United States is scheduled to debate two resolutions this week, one condemning Israel's "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians and the other promoting the Palestinian struggle. Both resolutions, which each received 50 cosponsors, will be debated on during the National Education Association's (NEA) annual meeting from 30 June to 3 July.
Law and Prisons
The law tearing Palestinian families apart
In 2003, at the height of the Second Intifada, the Israeli government passed an emergency order titled “The Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law (Emergency Order).” Since then, the legislation has taken on many names: the family reunification law, the demographic balance law, the “security threat” law. But the goal of this law has remained the same: to prevent Palestinians in the West Bank or Gaza from marrying Arab citizens of Israel, and thus obstructing their path to Israeli citizenship.
Palestinian prisoner welcomed home after 6 years in Israeli prison
Palestinian prisoner Saeed Abu Hawa was given a hero’s welcome in his home town of Al-Tur in East Jerusalem after spending more than six years behind bars in an Israeli prison.
Israel: Family's agony as Palestinian detainee continues hunger strike
Ghandanfar, an officer with the Palestinian Authority customs police and Majdoleen’s oldest son, is on an open-ended hunger strike in Israeli prison in protest of his administrative detention - a policy used by Israel to imprison Palestinians without charge or trial. Ghadanfar began his hunger strike on 5 May, and since then he has refused all forms of food, including vitamins and supplements. “For 58 days he has only drunk water, nothing else,” Majdoleen told Middle East Eye from the living room of her home in the Hebron-area town of Dura, in the southern occupied West Bank.
Environment, Economy, and Other
PA finance minister says Israel restricts 60% of revenue collection
The Palestinian Authority Minister of Finance has revealed that Israel's role in the collection of taxes and customs dues limits Ramallah's ability to control 60 per cent of its public revenue. Shukri Bishara made his comment after meeting British Secretary of State for International Trade Liz Truss in the occupied West Bank. "Israel controls the borders, crossing points and areas under military occupation in the West Bank," explained Bishara. The occupation state's measures, he added, limit the PA's ability to spend and invest in state building
Yale students approve statement denouncing Israeli 'apartheid' and 'ethnic cleansing'
The student council in one of America's most prestigious universities has approved a statement denouncing Israel for "genocide", "ethnic cleansing" and "apartheid" in occupied Palestine. The Yale College Council, the undergraduate student government, approved the statement earlier this week. The vote was 8-3 in favour, with four abstentions.
Culture & Art
After the ceasefire, I struggle to imagine what is a normal life
The article is part of our series Gaza Diaries which shares firsthand accounts of Palestinians who lived through the 11-day Israeli attack on Gaza in May 2021, and are now dealing with its aftermath.
Gaza’s Sol Band determined to chase dreams in Turkey
Sol Band is mostly based in Turkey today. Being away from Gaza while it was bombed meant they were physically safe but that their mental anguish was considerable.