I’m writing as a J Street advocacy leader to share important updates from the region as well as J Street’s statements and resources from the past week.

This week, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced approval of a sweeping settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank designed to “bury” any prospect of a Palestinian state. This announcement comes as settler attacks in the West Bank are reaching a record high, hitting 750 attacks in just the first half of this year. Inside Gaza, starvation is looming, according to the World Food Programme, and aid agencies warn that treatment will grow harder as access remains severely restricted. Against this backdrop, hundreds of retired Israeli Air Force pilots rallied this week outside the Defense Ministry in opposition to the Israeli cabinet’s decision to expand military operations in Gaza, a move they say endangers the lives of the hostages, Israeli soldiers and Palestinian civilians.

You can find more on each of these developments and others below, along with our most recent statements here.

I invite you to reach out to your J Street Public Affairs staff with any questions.

All the best,
Lily

—
Lily Adelstein
She/Her
Deputy Director of Government Affairs, J Street
Cell: 202-699-2701
J Street’s Congressional Resource Page

This week on j street

Statement

Minister Smotrich’s Efforts to ‘Bury’ A Palestinian State are Doomed to Failure

Statement

Jewish Organizations Demand End to War, No Reoccupation of Gaza

Expert Analysis

Explainer: Gaza Humanitarian Aid – Myths and Facts

Webinar

WATCH: Former IDF Spokesperson on Why Reoccupying Gaza is a Dead End

Watch now →

Webinar

WATCH: Witnesses to Gaza’s Aid Crisis Speak Out

Watch now →

What we’re reading

Israel’s Smotrich launches settlement plan to ‘bury’ idea of Palestinian state

Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that work would start on a long-delayed settlement that would divide the West Bank and cut it off from East Jerusalem, a move his office said would “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state. The Palestinian government, allies and campaign groups condemned the scheme, calling it illegal and saying the fragmentation of territory would rip up peace plans for the region…a U.S. State Department spokesperson said: “A stable West Bank keeps Israel secure and is in line with this administration’s goal to achieve peace in the region,” and referred reporters to Israel’s government for further information.

Israelis Protest Nationwide for Hostage Deal, End of Gaza War

Israelis protested across the country on Tuesday, calling for an end to the war in Gaza, the release of hostages and expressing outrage over the handling of humanitarian aid. In Tel Aviv, approximately 50 activists demonstrated outside a hotel where they learned leaders of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation were staying…Meanwhile, hundreds of people participated in a rally for the hostages’ release in a community near the Gaza border…Separately in Tel Aviv, hundreds of air force veterans demonstrated, calling for a hostage deal and an end to the conflict.

With Arson and Land Grabs, Israeli Settler Attacks in West Bank Hit Record High

Such attacks were on the rise before Hamas led a deadly raid on Israel in 2023, setting off the war in Gaza, and they have since become the new normal across much of the West Bank. With the world’s attention on Gaza, extremist settlers in the West Bank are carrying out one of the most violent and effective campaigns of intimidation and land grabbing since Israel occupied the territory during the Arab-Israeli war of 1967. Settlers carried out more than 750 attacks on Palestinians and their property during the first half of this year, an average of nearly 130 assaults a month, according to records compiled by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. That is the highest monthly average since the U.N. started compiling such records in 2006.

Starvation is spreading in Gaza — and treating it won’t be easy

In late July, the world’s leading hunger monitor declared what many had already feared: Famine is unfolding across Gaza, it said, with “a rise in hunger-related deaths” driven by “widespread starvation, malnutrition, and disease.” Nearly 200 people have died of starvation in the enclave, according to the Gaza Health Ministry — a number experts believe is an undercount, both because malnutrition leaves patients more vulnerable to other infections and conditions that are listed as the cause of death, as well as the difficulty of recording deaths that take place outside hospitals. The wave of starvation sweeping across Gaza is making an already desperate situation worse. Even if Israel allows a surge in aid deliveries — as rights groups and its allies have urged — a boost in food supplies alone may not be enough to save severely malnourished patients, particularly children, who are more vulnerable to the worst effects and may need specialized treatment and intensive care.

Ministers Take Jabs at Israel’s Military Chief as Gaza Plan Stokes Tension

The Israeli military’s top commander, who officials say has cast doubt on government plans to capture Gaza City, was facing increasing pressure on Wednesday, with one minister criticizing him over the promotion of top officers and another suggesting he could be fired. The commander, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the military’s chief of staff, pushed back last week against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal to control Gaza City, according to the officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive issues. General Zamir was concerned about the exhaustion and fitness of reservists, about risking the lives of Israeli hostages and about potentially tasking troops with governing millions of Palestinians, the officials said. The government’s security cabinet nonetheless approved the plan.

Australia will recognize a Palestinian state, Prime Minister Albanese says

Australia will recognize a Palestinian state, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Monday, joining the leaders of France, Britain and Canada in signaling they would do so. His remarks followed weeks of urging from within his Cabinet and from many in Australia to recognize a Palestinian state and amid growing criticism from officials in his government over suffering in Gaza, which Albanese on Monday referred to as a “humanitarian catastrophe.” Australia’s government has also criticized plans announced in recent days by Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu for a sweeping new military offensive in Gaza.

Opinion | Recognizing Palestine? ‘It May Be a Punishment for Netanyahu, but It’s a Big Prize for Israel’

“Tamir says that recognizing a Palestinian state nor limiting arms exports is a punishment against the Israeli people. “Maybe they see it as punishment for [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, but as a Zionist Israeli, I see it as a big prize for us,” Tamir said. “I think that a Palestinian state is first and foremost an Israeli interest. There is no way Israel could remain the homeland of the Jewish people and a democracy if there will be no Palestinian state.””

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Opinion | How to Stop a Humanitarian Catastrophe in Gaza

“From the very beginning, U.S. President Joe Biden was steadfast in his support of Israel’s right to defend itself in Gaza and defeat Hamas as a military threat. But his administration, in which we both served, also made clear that Israel was responsible for exercising care to limit civilian harm and to ensure access to food, medical care, and shelter…While some on the right opposed humanitarian assistance, others in the Israeli government chafed when we in the administration reminded them that Israel had both a right to defend itself and an obligation and a strategic imperative to ensure that aid could reach Gazans. They took umbrage at the notion that U.S. pressure was needed to persuade them to provide humanitarian assistance. Given the tensions within the government, it took active and consistent U.S. engagement to manage the internal Israeli political dynamics and maintain the adequate flow of assistance. The message to our interlocutors in the Israeli government was in essence, “If the politics are hard, blame the United States.” Allowing Netanyahu to cite a need to satisfy U.S. demands was crucial then—and remains crucial today.”