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, J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami and Chief Policy Officer Ilan Goldenberg spoke with former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro on Substack Live. Fresh from the Doha Forum—a gathering of over 5,000 individuals from around the world—they discussed global reactions to the Gaza ceasefire, persistent violence, and uncertainty over whether the second phase of President Trump’s plan will advance. Reports indicate that foreign envoys to the Palestinian Authority have been barred from the Gaza Coordination Center—according to the US, under Israeli pressure—as Hamas tightens control in parts of Gaza. With the Jordan and Rafah crossings reopening, hopes for increased aid and evacuations are rising, however the reopening comes with strict limitations. In Washington, the Trump administration is preparing for Netanyahu’s fifth visit to address a proposed stabilization force, security arrangements with Syria, and possible terrorism-related sanctions on UNRWA.

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

This week on j street

Substack

How the International Stabilization Force for Gaza Could, Over Time, Replace and Disarm Hamas

Substack LIVE

Ambassador Dan Shapiro on How US Leverage Shapes Israeli Policy

Watch now →

What we’re reading

U.S. Bars Foreign Envoys to Palestinian Authority From Gaza Coordination Center

The United States, under Israeli pressure, has been preventing senior foreign diplomats to the Palestinian Authority from accessing the American military center in southern Israel that coordinates operations in Gaza and oversees the cease-fire, Haaretz has learned. Foreign diplomats said that in the first weeks after the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) opened in the southern Israeli city of Kiryat Gat, it was accessible to international representatives, but in recent weeks, the situation has changed… The effective ban on diplomats working with the Palestinian Authority visiting the coordination center aligns with the long-standing policy of the Netanyahu governments to prevent any move toward uniting the West Bank and Gaza under one authority. One diplomat who spoke to Haaretz speculated that the ban is also intended to reflect Israel’s negative view of close relations between certain countries and the Palestinian Authority, particularly countries that recognize a Palestinian state.

A Weakened Hamas Still Dominates Gaza, Building Day by Day

Hamas is facing more pressure than ever from both Israel and the international community to give up whatever arms it still has. The Trump plan for Gaza is predicated on Hamas’s disarmament and a new government taking over the territory’s administration with the support of an international stabilization force. Mr. Badran said Hamas was ready to discuss the issue of the group’s weapons, but only in the context of “serious” talks about a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a total halt to military operations in the territory, and the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem.

Trump to host Netanyahu on December 29 for talks on advancing Gaza plan

“The Prime Minister will meet with President Trump on Monday, December 29 they will discuss the future steps and phases and the international stabilization force of the ceasefire plan,” government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian said in an online briefing to reporters…The trip will mark Netanyahu’s fifth to the US to meet the president since Trump took office earlier this year, and the first since the Trump administration brokered a ceasefire and hostage release that effectively ended two years of fighting in the Gaza Strip. Israel hosted Trump, who addressed the Knesset, on October 13…Also likely on the agenda for Netanyahu’s visit is the issue of the negotiations for a new security arrangement with Syria, which have almost completely stalled as Israel has reportedly changed its demands in exchange for withdrawing its troops from territories in southern Syria that it has occupied since last December.

US considers hitting UNRWA with terrorism-related sanctions

Officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration have held advanced discussions on hitting the UN agency for Palestinian refugees and their descendants, UNRWA, with terrorism-related sanctions, said two sources with direct knowledge of the matter, prompting serious legal and humanitarian concerns inside the State Department. The United Nations agency operates in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, providing aid, schooling, healthcare, social services and shelter to millions of Palestinians…“Since January 2024, four independent entities have investigated UNRWA’s neutrality including the U.S. National Intelligence Council. While occurring at different times and from different perspectives, they have all come to the same conclusion: UNRWA is an indispensable, neutral, humanitarian actor,” William Deere, director of the UNRWA office in Washington, said.

Israel reopens Jordan crossing as pressure builds to advance Gaza truce

Trucks carrying goods from Jordan crossed into the West Bank for the first time in months on Wednesday, after Israel said it would reopen a key land bridge with its neighbor, including for aid and other cargo bound for the Gaza Strip… The move to restore Allenby as a transit point for relief comes as pressure builds on Israel to move a tenuous U.S.-backed ceasefire in Gaza into its second phase, and as the United Nations and other aid organizations have warned that nowhere near enough supplies are being allowed into the enclave to meet the needs of the Palestinian population, the majority of whom are displaced and living in makeshift shelters or tents…Israel closed the border in September after a Jordanian truck driver killed two Israeli soldiers at the crossing. An Israeli security official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press, said Jordanian truck drivers would undergo stricter screening processes and that a dedicated security force had been assigned to monitor the terminal…The reopening also coincided with a visit to Israel and Jordan by the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Mike Waltz, who met on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A statement from the U.S. mission to the U.N. said Waltz “welcomed Israel’s cooperation on expanding border crossings,” including Allenby.

Israel Is Pushing Us Out’: Plan to Open Gaza’s Rafah Crossing Leaves Palestinians With More Questions Than Answers

Israel has announced that the Rafah border crossing with Egypt will reopen in “the coming days,” allowing Palestinians to leave Gaza for the first time in months. The decision could mark a turning point for residents of the besieged Strip, where exit has been nearly impossible since the war began. It has raised hopes among the 16,500 sick and wounded people who, according to the World Health Organization, urgently need to leave the Strip to access life-saving medical treatment abroad, amid the near-collapse of Gaza’s health system. Reopening could also give a fragile boost to Gaza’s collapsed economy, offering merchants a rare chance to move goods beyond the enclave. But the reopening comes with strict limitations imposed by Israel and political disputes that have reignited fears the move may be part of a broader effort to push Palestinians out of Gaza permanently.

As Palestinians yearn for a leader, top candidate remains behind bars

In the first public video in 14 years of Israel’s most famous Palestinian prisoner, Marwan Barghouti’s eyes are sunken, his collarbones protruding, and he is being berated by one of Israel’s far-right cabinet members. When Barghouti responds, his words are hard to hear. The video, posted in August on the social media channels of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, encapsulates the place that Barghouti, 66, has come to occupy in the Israeli and Palestinian consciousness: a potent symbol but also an enigma; a man whose views are frequently discussed or debated yet rarely heard. An advocate of a two-state solution who has also backed armed resistance to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands, Barghouti consistently outperforms all other Palestinian candidates in polls assessing the popularity of potential leaders, even as he serves five life sentences for his alleged role in attacks on civilians between 2001 and 2002.

Scoop: Israel and Qatar hold secret meeting in New York to rebuild ties

The U.S., Israel, and Qatar are holding a trilateral meeting in New York on Sunday to rebuild relations after the failed Israeli strike in Doha, two sources familiar with the details told Axios. Why it matters: This is the highest-level meeting between the countries since the deal to end the war in Gaza, for which Qatar served as a key mediator. It’s taking place as the Trump administration prepares to announce that the Gaza peace process is moving to a new phase.

Ben-Gvir, Far-right Party Members Attend Death Penalty Bill Hearing Wearing Noose-shaped Pins

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir arrived Monday at a Knesset National Security Committee hearing on a proposed death penalty bill for terrorists wearing a yellow noose-shaped pin alongside other members of his Otzma Yehudit party… According to the advisers’ legal opinion, the issues the bill raises include the obligation to impose the death penalty, which nullifies judges’ discretion; its application only to Palestinians under military government in the West Bank, and its collision with international treaties to which Israel is a signatory… [MK Gilad Kariv] also requested that a representative from the Foreign Ministry be invited to present an opinion on possible implications for Israel’s relations with Western countries and the Association Agreement with the European Union.