Settlements

Israel’s settlement enterprise has had a devastating effect on the lives of ordinary Palestinians living in the occupied territories. Private Palestinian land is frequently expropriated for the building of settlements. Settlements also separate and isolate Palestinian population centers from one another and from the outside world. The presence of settlements, along with Israeli policies implemented under the guise of protecting them, severely restrict the movement of Palestinians, affecting employment, education, access to health care, and the economy.

Bassem Tamimi, Newsweek

Ahed Tamimi’s Father: We Will Continue to Resist Israel’s Occupation as a Family

Last week, a video of my 16-year-old daughter Ahed resisting an Israeli soldier who was trespassing on our land in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh went viral. The contrast could not have been clearer and was on display for the entire world to see: a heavily armed soldier from Israel’s army of occupation and a young Palestinian woman armed with nothing but her courage and a righteous desire for justice and freedom. And for that reason, she had to be punished by Israel.

on December 24, 2017

Betty McCollum, The Nation

US Tax Dollars Must Not Be Used to Detain Palestinian Children

Israel is a powerful nation with the most advanced and capable military in the Middle East. It is the single greatest beneficiary of American military assistance, receiving $3.8 billion, some 25 percent of its defense budget, from American taxpayers each year. The security of Israel is obviously important to the United States, with missile defense programs like Iron Dome and David’s Sling as success stories.

on December 11, 2017

Saree Makdisi, Los Angeles Times

Trump Delivers a Death Blow to the Two-State Solution

President Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel represents a major break with decades of U.S. foreign policy. It is a final, devastating blow to the prospect of a two-state solution for Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians. The move involves, first, a contemptuous dismissal of Palestinians’ aspirations and rights, a denial of their claim to the city they consider their capital, where almost 400,000 of them live.

on December 7, 2017

Rashid Khalidi, The Guardian

Trump’s Error on Jerusalem Is a Disaster for the Arab World … and the US Too

Every time it seems Donald Trump cannot outdo himself, he does it again. Now he has announced that his administration will recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, reversing nearly seven decades of American policy. This step will have multiple negative ramifications, many impossible to predict.

on December 6, 2017

Ishaan Tharoor, The Washington Post

Trump’s Jerusalem Moves Spark a Fire in the Middle East

There is a small constituency in the United States that genuinely cares about the location of the American Embassy in Israel. Evangelicals and a right-wing, pro-Israel lobby were thrilled by President Trump's campaign promises to reverse decades of U.S. policy by recognizing a “united” Jerusalem as Israel's capital and shifting the U.S. Embassy there from Tel Aviv. At a speech on Wednesday, Trump is expected to outline his plans to do just that.

on December 6, 2017

Zaid Jilani, The Intercept

In an Unprecedented Move, 10 Democratic Senators Demand That Netanyahu Halt Israel Demolition of Pal

In a startling demonstration of support for Palestinian human rights from Capitol Hill, 10 Democratic senators wrote a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday urging him to halt the impending demolition of two Palestinian and Bedouin towns. Israel has been actively planning the demolition of the West Bank Palestinian village of Susiya for months.

on November 29, 2017

Mariam Barghouti, Forward

No, You Can’t Be A Feminist And A Zionist

Near Qalandia checkpoint in the West Bank, I watch as two female Israeli soldiers fire tear gas at a crowd of protesting Palestinian youths. One canister ricochets, hitting a young boy in the arm. The soldier who was shooting begins to laugh. Her colleague proudly pats her shoulder as they both reach to refill their weapons.

on November 27, 2017

Philip Farah, Huffington Post

U.S. Faith Groups Defend Constitutional Right to Boycott in Support of Palestinian Freedom

Recently, the Kansas Commission of Education barred a math teacher from a program for training other teachers because she refused to sign a pledge certifying that she is “not engaged in boycotting Israel.” The teacher happens to be a Mennonite, and she supports a resolution passed by her church denomination opposing the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. The resolution urges the boycotting of “products associated with acts of violence or policies of military occupation, including items produced in [the Israeli] settlements.”

on November 9, 2017

Omar Barghouti, Nesweek

Balfour Sparked a National Tragedy for the Palestinian People—with BDS, We Are Fighting Back

When Zionist militias forced my grandmother, Rasmiyyah, and her family out of their home in Safad at gunpoint during the 1948 Nakba, the process of settler-colonialism that was propelled by the Balfour Declaration and that culminated in ethnic cleansing became more than just a national tragedy for the indigenous people of Palestine. It became personal.

on November 2, 2017