Happy Holidays! I’m writing as a J Street advocacy leader to share several updates from the past week that are top of mind among our community, including the latest developments in the ongoing ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, new insights into Israel’s military strategy in Syria, and recent Knesset legislation aimed at undermining the establishment of a Palestinian state.

As always, please feel free 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

Joint Statement on Combating Hate And Protecting the First Amendment

ISSUE BRIEF

THE NETANYAHU GOVERNMENT’S WAR ON ISRAELI DEMOCRACY

ISSUE BRIEF

Israel’s Strategy in Syria: Analyzing the Approach to the New Rebels Regime

Israel and Hamas appear close to a ceasefire deal. These are the sticking points

Israel and Hamas appear closer than they have been in months to agreeing to a ceasefire that could wind down the 14-month war in Gaza and bring home dozens of people held hostage there. But the sides have come close before, only to have talks collapse over various disagreements. This round of negotiations also faces hurdles. The agreement would take place in phases and include a halt in fighting, an exchange of captive Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, and a surge in aid to the besieged Gaza Strip, according to Egyptian, Hamas and American officials. The last phase would include the release of any remaining hostages, an end to the war and talks on reconstruction. Although Israel and Hamas have expressed optimism that a deal is close, key sticking points remain over the exchange of hostages for prisoners and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, people involved in the talks say.

Netanyahu says Israeli troops will occupy a buffer zone inside Syria for the foreseeable future

Israel seized a swath of southern Syria along the border with the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights days after Assad was ousted by rebels last week. Israel’s capture of the buffer zone, a roughly 400-square-kilometer (155-square-mile) demilitarized area in Syrian territory, has sparked condemnation, with critics accusing Israel of violating a 1974 ceasefire and possibly exploiting the chaos in Syria in the wake of Assad’s ouster to make a land grab. “We will stay … until another arrangement is found that ensures Israel’s security,” said Netanyahu who had traveled to the buffer zone on Tuesday with Defense Minister Israel Katz. Katz said he instructed the Israeli military to quickly establish a presence, including fortifications, in anticipation of what could be an extended stay in the area. “The summit of the Hermon is the eyes of the state of Israel to identify our enemies who are nearby and far away,” he said.

Israeli Army Sources: Security Cabinet Has Ordered Increased Security Coordination With the Palestinian Authority

The Israeli security cabinet has ordered the Israel Defense Forces to increase its security coordination with the Palestinian Authority’s security forces, IDF sources said on Thursday. Intelligence cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority is also to be increased, IDF sources said, adding that the Israeli army’s stance is that the PA’s security forces should be bolstered so long as it doesn’t represent a threat to IDF soldiers or to Israeli settlers. It was also decided to consider the transfer of additional defensive weaponry to the PA’s security forces, including protective gear and equipment used to neutralize explosives devices, to help the PA deal with terrorist groups. That assistance would come primarily from foreign entities that would be allowed to train the PA’s forces.

Lawsuit accuses State Department of creating loopholes for Israel on military aid and human rights

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has denied that the department has given Israel a pass. “Do we have a double standard? The answer is no,” he said in April. The State and Justice departments declined to comment Tuesday. Israel says it makes every effort to limit harm to Palestinian civilians in its military operations. The Biden administration has warned Israel to do more to spare civilians in the Gaza war, holding back one known weapons shipment of 2,000-pound bombs. A State Department report in May concluded there was “reasonable” evidence that Israel’s use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza violated international law that protects civilians but bypassed a decision on limiting arms, saying the war itself made it impossible for U.S. officials to judge for certain. It also declined last month to hold back arms transfers as it had threatened over humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Israeli military strikes Yemen hours after Houthi attack targets Israel

Israel’s military launched deadly strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen early Thursday, just hours after the Iran-backed militant group’s latest attack on Israel. Nine people were killed and three others injured in Israeli airstrikes on a port and oil facility near the capital Sanaa, said Nasruddin Amer, deputy head of the Houthi media office, in a post on X. Earlier, Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV said the Israeli strikes targeted the Heyzaz and Dhahban power stations near the capital, and the Hodeidah port and Ras Isa oil facility. Israel’s military said the airstrikes were retaliation for Houthi missile and drone attacks on Israel over the past year, most of which were intercepted. “Israel’s long hand will reach you as well,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a warning to Houthi leaders following the strikes. “Whoever raises a hand against the State of Israel – his hand will be cut off, whoever harms us – will be harmed sevenfold.”

Faced with mounting public anger, a weakened Hamas starts to compromise

With its military power depleted and its political influence on the wane, Hamas is under growing public pressure to help bring the war in Gaza to an end. Palestinians in the besieged enclave are desperate for a ceasefire after 14 months of conflict, and many residents said they are increasingly fed up with the militant group as they struggle to survive hunger, displacement and Israeli attacks. Last week, Hamas publicly softened its negotiating position with Israel. A new proposal for a 60-day pause in hostilities and the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners includes key concessions from Hamas, which relented on its demands for a complete halt to the war and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces, a Hamas official told The Washington Post. The group is still insisting that displaced Palestinians be allowed to return to northern Gaza, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

MKs push bill to block West Bank territorial concessions, prevent Palestinian state

The so-called Israel Security Law would amend the Basic Law: Referendum, passed in 2014, which states that any plan to cede land in Israel, East Jerusalem, or the Golan Heights, as part of a future peace agreement, must be put to a public referendum. The 2014 law does not cover the West Bank. If passed into law, the new bill would require either a public referendum or “a special majority of at least 80 MKs to approve any agreement that involves territorial concessions, including in Judea and Samaria” and would “effectively prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state in any future arrangement,” the caucus declared in a statement, referring to the West Bank by its biblical names.

Analysis | Netanyahu’s Judicial Coup Is Back. Why Now, and Why Is It Worse Than Before?

“To understand the severity of the crisis, one must return – perhaps reluctantly – to the fights that shook Israel last year when Levin first presented his plan to turn the Israeli judiciary into a subordinate branch of government, its powers fully controlled by the ruling coalition… Levin has been promoting legislation to change the balance of power on the committee so that, in essence, the government would have an automatic majority and enjoy complete control over all judicial appointments, from the lowest courts right up to the Supreme Court.”

J STREET GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS NEWS DIGEST | December 20, 2024