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.

If the past few weeks have made anything clear, it’s that the current conditions under the ceasefire cannot become the new status quo. The Trump Administration’s push to unveil the “Board of Peace” by Christmas—and its proposals to build new housing compounds for displaced Palestinians in Israeli-controlled areas of Gaza—come even as the United States struggles to find willing partners for an international security force. As pressure mounts for the Gaza peace process to advance into its second phase, ceasefire violations by both sides continue and conditions on the ground remain dire. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s request for a presidential pardon in the midst of his ongoing corruption trial has drawn sharp criticism from Israeli legal experts, who have called the move unprecedented and a subversion of the principle of equality before the law—a cornerstone of Israeli democracy.

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

Statement

The Gaza Ceasefire Cannot Become the New Status Quo

Substack

The Ceasefire Has Not Brought an End to the Horrors in Gaza, But It Still Can

Substack LIVE

Ben Rhodes on Why Democrats Need to Change How They Talk About Israel

Watch now →

Expert Analysis

The Crisis Of Accountability For Assaults On Palestinians

U.S. Plans Compounds to House Palestinians in Israeli-Held Half of Gaza

The project could offer relief for tens of thousands of Palestinians who have endured two years of war, but has raised questions about whether it could entrench the partition of Gaza into Israeli- and Hamas-controlled zones…The Trump administration is pushing for the rapid construction of a number of residential compounds to provide housing for Palestinians in Israeli-controlled parts of the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, an effort that is fraught with risks and potential pitfalls. The compounds, or “Alternative Safe Communities,” as U.S. officials are calling them, will be concentrated in the eastern half of Gaza, currently controlled by Israel since a cease-fire took effect in October. Few of Gaza’s 2 million Palestinians remain there. Most are crammed in the Hamas-controlled part of the enclave where the United States and Israel are not yet allowing any reconstruction.

Trump plans to announce Gaza government, Board of Peace by Christmas, officials say

President Trump plans to announce before Christmas that the Gaza peace process is moving into its second phase and to unveil the new governance structure for the enclave, according to two U.S. officials and a Western source directly involved in the process. Why it matters: The fragile ceasefire in Gaza is the biggest foreign policy achievement of Trump’s second term so far, and his administration wants to proceed to the second phase to avoid sliding back into war… Behind the scenes: The sources say the U.S., Qatar, Egypt and Turkey are negotiating with Hamas on an agreement under which the group would step back from governing Gaza and begin a process of disarming.

International force at heart of Trump’s Gaza plan struggles to find takers

The proposed deployment of an international force in Gaza, seen as a crucial feature of President Donald Trump’s plan to bring peace to the enclave, is struggling to get off the ground as countries considered likely to contribute soldiers have grown wary. Concerns are mounting in foreign capitals over whether soldiers could be put in a position where they may be required to use force against Palestinians, with several countries backpedaling on troop offers.

Hamas Returns Body of Last Thai Hostage in Gaza

Hamas handed over the last body of a hostage from Thailand taken during the militant group’s 2023 attack on Israel, Thai and Israeli officials said on Thursday. The Thai hostage, Sudthisak Rinthalak, was a farmworker at an orchard when he was taken away to Gaza and killed on Oct. 7, 2023, the Israeli Defense Forces said on social media… The remains of all but one hostage, Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, an Israeli police officer who was also killed in the attack, have now been recovered. His remains are still in Gaza, the Israeli prime minister’s office said in a statement.

Netanyahu Asks Israel’s President to Pardon Him in Corruption Cases

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel asked its president on Sunday to pardon him in his long-running corruption trial, a request that the president called “extraordinary” and that critics said would run counter to the rule of law. Mr. Netanyahu’s unusual pre-emptive appeal to President Isaac Herzog, while his trial is still underway, came about two weeks after President Trump sent a letter to Mr. Herzog urging him to pardon the Israeli prime minister. A statement by the Israeli president’s office said the request would have “significant implications,” and that he would “responsibly and sincerely consider” it after seeking expert opinions. Mr. Netanyahu said he believed that canceling his trial would help heal the divisions in Israeli society. But the immediate effect of the request appeared to amplify the rifts that have intensified over two years of war and his long battle with the judiciary.

Israel launches airstrike in southern Gaza after earlier attack by militants wounded 5 soldiers

Israel said it launched an airstrike on a Hamas militant in southern Gaza late Wednesday in retaliation for an attack earlier in the day that wounded five Israeli soldiers. The strike was the latest test for a fragile ceasefire that has mostly held up since early October, despite claims of violations by both Israel and Hamas. Hamas put out a statement condemning the Israeli strike in Khan Younis… Israel has accused Hamas of ceasefire violations before launching previous airstrikes. Strikes killed 104 people in late October and 33 people in late November, according to local health officials.

Israel says Rafah crossing to open soon to let Palestinians leave Gaza via Egypt

Israel has announced it will open the key Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt in the coming days to allow Palestinians to leave the territory. Israeli military body Cogat said exits would be “facilitated through co-ordination with Egypt, following security approval by Israel and under the supervision of the European Union mission”. It added that this would be “similar to the mechanism that operated in January”, when the crossing opened during a previous ceasefire. An Israeli security official said it was an expression of Israel’s support for the current ceasefire with Hamas, which began seven weeks ago.

Israel Cleared to Compete in Eurovision 2026; Spain, Netherlands, Slovenia, Ireland to Boycott

Israel will take part in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna after surviving a contentious vote Thursday at the European Broadcasting Union’s General Assembly in Geneva, Israeli officials said. The decision prompted the Netherlands, Ireland, Slovenia and Spain to announce they would withdraw from the competition. The vote, held by secret ballot as part of a broader approval of new contest rules, followed months of debate over Israel’s participation amid the war in Gaza and public pressure from several European broadcasters. Delegates in the room described a tense atmosphere throughout the discussion.

How Israel’s Settlement Surge in the West Bank Is Displacing Palestinians

In the most extensive expansion in decades, the government approved 22 villages and neighborhoods for settlements across the territory, including one called Beit Horon North, near where Mr. Abdulrahman and his wife lived, west of the Palestinian city of Ramallah. It was part of a broader and decades-long push by Israel to entrench its control over the West Bank. That process has become more aggressive since 2022, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to office, and the outbreak of the war in Gaza, which was ignited by the Hamas-led attacks on Israel in October 2023. There has been a surge of settler violence in the West Bank, which Israeli police have largely failed to address. Israel has also conducted extensive military operations, which it has said were aimed at combating militants, that have uprooted entire neighborhoods in Palestinian cities. Historians and researchers say that has led to the largest wave of Palestinian displacement in the West Bank in a half-century.

Opinion | The End of the Israel Exception

“The bond between the United States and Israel has remained extraordinarily close for three decades. The United States has remained in lockstep with Israel through the heady days of the 1990s peace process with the Palestine Liberation Organization; the second intifada, the five-year Palestinian uprising that began in 2000; and then, over the next two decades, a series of conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. The bond endured through Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza, with two U.S. presidential administrations providing largely unconditional diplomatic and military support to Israel. But the Gaza war has also made clear that maintaining this type of bilateral relationship comes with steep costs. With few exceptions—most notably the cease-fire that went into effect in early October 2025—Washington has struggled without success to shape Israel’s conduct of the war. That failure is not an anomaly; it is rooted in the nature of the U.S.-Israeli relationship.”

J STREET GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS NEWS DIGEST | December 5, 2025