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News from Israel

Ibtisam Azem, author of “The Book of Disappearance.” (Courtesy of Ibtisam Azem)

this is an underline

By Edo Konrad and qawp writer January 28, 2024

Palestinians survey the destruction following an Israeli air strike, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, November 14, 2019. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

On the Gaza fence, a call for stability — not vengeance

The latest round of deadly violence in Gaza has already taken the lives of at least 34 Palestinians, including eight children. Meanwhile, in Israel’s southern towns, residents want stability — not more war. Israelis in the southern towns of Sderot, Ashdod, and Ashkelon are no longer interested in vengeance. Perhaps it’s their weariness and desperation, or…

By Oren Ziv and Dahlia Scheindlin November 15, 2019

Rowaida Abu Eid tries Palestine VR, an app that offers virtual tours of six regions in the West Bank and Gaza. (Screenshot of a a PIPD video)

New VR app circumvents Israel’s travel bans, takes viewers across Palestine

Palestine VR offers virtual tours across six regions in the West Bank and Gaza, allowing viewers to ‘see the reality on the ground’ themselves. By Jaclynn Ashly Israel’s separation wall snakes around Bethlehem’s Aida refugee camp in the West Bank. Solidarity graffiti is spray-painted all over the concrete slabs. Black water tanks, some of which are…

By +972 Magazine November 13, 2019

Latest

Daily police violence is the new norm in Issawiya — with no end in sight

For the past six months, Israeli police have subjected Issawiya’s residents to daily raids, arrests and beatings, alongside constant drone surveillance. No one seems to know the goal of the operation – including the police. In the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya, Monday evening looked like this: Border Police and riot police jeeps roving constantly;…

By Oren Ziv November 12, 2019

Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) speaks at the 2019 J Street National Conference, October 28, 2019. (Photo courtesy of J Street)

For J Street, holding Israel accountable is still a step too far

J Street’s 2019 conference heralded a new willingness to tie military aid to Israel to its human rights record. But the organization was quick to reaffirm a status quo of unconditional aid — despite ongoing abuses. What at first looked like a sea change on the horizon has turned out to be much less. One week…

By Joshua Leifer and Cafe Gibraltar November 7, 2019

A Palestinian woman seen after after crossing the a fence that had been damaged by demonstrators during the protest near the Gaza-Israel border fence, Gaza Strip, September 28, 2018. (Mohammed Zaanoun/Activestills.org)

Israel killed 222 Gaza protestors since 2018. Only one soldier has been indicted

As Othman Hiles began climbing the Gaza fence, an Israeli soldier opened fire and killed the unarmed 14-year-old. The soldier’s sentence? Community service. By Eyal Sagiv Two women and a teenage boy stand close to the fence separating Gaza from Israel, waving Palestinian flags. Four other teenagers approach. One of them, 14-year-old Othman Hiles, is wearing a…

By +972 Magazine November 6, 2019

Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch (Courtesy of Omar Shakir).

Supreme Court rules Israel can expel top Human Rights Watch director

Israel’s top court says Omar Shakir can be deported, escalating the government’s efforts to silence criticism of its policies. His case has been described as a watershed moment for human rights advocacy and free speech in Israel. Israel’s Supreme Court upheld the deportation of the Israel and Palestine Director of Human Rights Watch Omar Shakir…

By Henriette Chacar November 5, 2019

Activists from Israel demonstrate in solidarity with Jordanian-Palestinian prisoner Hiba al-Labadi outside Ofer Military Court in the West Bank, October 28, 2019. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Israel to release hunger-striking Jordanian national from admin detention

Heba Al-Labadi, a Jordanian national of Palestinian descent, has been on hunger strike for 41 days to protest her detention without indictment or trial. She was arrested by Israel while traveling from Jordan to a wedding in Jenin. Heba al-Labadi, a Jordanian citizen of Palestinian descent, who has been on hunger strike for the past…

By Oren Ziv November 4, 2019

Palestinian lawmaker Khalida Jarrar of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) upon her release from an Israeli prison, at a checkpoint near the West Bank town of Tulkarem, June 3, 2016. (Haytham Shtayeh/Flash90)

Israeli army arrests Palestinian feminist lawmaker, months after her release

Khalida Jarrar was last released from Israeli custody in February, where she was held for 20 months without charge or trial. By Jaclynn Ashly Dozens of Israeli soldiers arrested Khalida Jarrar, a prominent Palestinian left-wing lawmaker and activist, after raiding her home in central Ramallah city in the occupied West Bank overnight on Thursday. Suha Ghassan, Jarrar’s…

By +972 Magazine, Ami Kaufman and Dimi Reider November 1, 2019

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks at the future of the U.S.-Israel relationship at J Street's 2019 National Gala Dinner, October 28, 2019. (Photo courtesy of J Street)

J Street conference confronts America’s ‘blank check’ to Israel

By making U.S. aid to Israel the central theme of its 2019 conference, J Street is challenging bipartisan support for Israel ahead of 2020. Now that the organization is starting to talk the talk, will it walk the walk?

By Mairav Zonszein November 1, 2019

Illustrative photo of Israeli soldiers arresting a Palestinian man in the West Bank, on December 8, 2015. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)

Israel is turning Palestinian students into criminals

Israeli authorities have arrested at least 64 Palestinian university students since the start of 2019. That number is only growing. By Jaclynn Ashly Earlier this month, Mais Abu Ghosh, a student at Birzeit University in the West Bank, sent a letter to her family from Damon Prison in northern Israel. “I love you so much,” Abu…

By +972 Magazine October 31, 2019

A white supremacist seen during the Unite the Right rally, Charlottesville, Virginia, August 12, 2017. (Evan Nesterak/CC BY 2.0)

The GOP has mainstreamed white nationalist anti-Semitism

One year on from the Pittsburgh shooting, it’s clear that the Trump administration and the GOP, along with their media boosters, have helped create the climate for lethal white nationalist anti-Semitism to thrive. By Ben Lorber One year ago last Sunday, a white nationalist committed the deadliest attack against Jews in American history, killing 11…

By +972 Magazine October 28, 2019

Hiba al-Labadi, who has been in Israeli administrative detention since August. (Courtesy)

‘Want to know what I’m accused of? Me too.’

Hiba al-Labadi has been on hunger strike for 35 days after being imprisoned by Israel since August without trial. Now Palestinian and Israeli activists are trying to raise awareness about the case. Palestinian and Israeli activists launched a viral campaign on Sunday demanding the release of a Jordanian citizen who has been on hunger strike for…

By Oren Ziv October 27, 2019