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.

With Venezuela and domestic issues leading headlines, I wanted to make sure you didn’t miss several major regional developments. Protests in Iran have surged over the past 24 hours, marking some of the most significant protests since 2022. At the same time, Israel is moving forward with internationally condemned construction in the E1 area of the West Bank, which Finance Minister Smotrich has explicitly described as the erasure of a Palestinian state. The US has announced it will proceed with phase two of the Gaza deal, as Israel and Hamas coordinate efforts to locate the remains of Sgt. Maj. Ran Gvili, the last Israeli hostage believed to be held in Gaza. Meanwhile, aid groups are seeking clarity on Israel’s new registration requirements; violence persists along Gaza’s shifting “Yellow Line” despite the ceasefire; and Israel’s Ra’am party has announced it will open its ranks to Jewish candidates in a significant political shift.

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

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

All the best,
Lily

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

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The Democratic National Security Community Is Beginning to Debate the US-Israel Relationship

Iran’s Supreme Leader Vows to ‘Not Back Down’ as Protests Swell

Iran’s supreme leader vowed on Friday that the government “will not back down” in the face of protests that have rocked the country in recent weeks, accusing demonstrators of being vandals who were trying to “please” President Trump… Iran was plunged into an internet blackout on Thursday as demonstrations demanding the ouster of the government spread and grew in size. The protests, which began in late December over economic concerns, have turned deadly… Amnesty International, a rights group, said Thursday that at least 28 protesters and bystanders, including children, had been killed between Dec. 31 and Jan. 3.

Israel Issues Tender for Internationally Condemned Construction in West Bank’s E1 Area

Israel’s Construction and Housing Ministry has issued a tender for 3,401 housing units in the 12-square-kilometer E1 area in the West Bank just east of Jerusalem, under highly controversial plans which will sever the northern and southern West Bank, damaging the chance of future Palestinian territorial continuity. The construction plans were delayed for years under international pressure, as they have far-reaching implications for the ability to reach a two-state solution and will draw sharp criticism worldwide. After the plan was approved in August, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said, “The Palestinian state is being erased – not with slogans, but with actions.”

US plans to start 2nd phase of Gaza deal before Hamas disarmed, last hostage’s body returned

US President Donald Trump’s administration told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week that it is committed to both bringing back the final deceased hostage from Gaza and disarming Hamas but is not prepared to condition the commencement of phase two of its peace plan on either, a US official and two sources familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel Wednesday. Jerusalem has pushed back on proceeding with phase two — which envisions the establishment of mechanisms involved in the rebuilding and management of postwar Gaza — before Hamas returns the remains of Israel Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili and hands over its weapons. The US has been in talks with Mideast mediators Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, which have assured Washington that Hamas will agree to a gradual disarmament plan that would begin with the terror group giving up its heavy weaponry and the launch of a “buy-back” program for lighter weapons, according to the US official and two Arab diplomats, who said the goal is to begin implementing the program in the coming weeks.

In coordination with Israel, Hamas renews search for final hostage Ran Gvili in Gaza

In coordination with Israel, Hamas restarted its search for the remains of the final Gaza hostage, St.-Sgt.-Maj. Ran Gvili, on Wednesday, a source confirmed to The Jerusalem Post. The search is occurring in Zeitoun, in northern Gaza. The neighborhood is split by the Yellow Line that divides the enclave between Hamas- and Israel-controlled territories. The coordination with Israel allows Hamas to continue the search on the IDF’s side of the Yellow Line…The announcement of Israel’s cooperation with Hamas on this matter comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that the Rafah Border Crossing will not be opened until Gvili’s remains are returned to Israel.

International aid groups grapple with what Israel’s ban will mean for their work in Gaza

Israel’s decision to revoke the licenses of more than three dozen humanitarian organizations this week has aid groups scrambling to grapple with what this means for their operations in Gaza and their ability to help tens of thousands of struggling Palestinians. The 37 groups represent some of the most prominent of the more than 100 independent nongovernmental organizations working in Gaza, alongside United Nations agencies. Those banned include Doctors Without Borders, the Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam and Medical Aid for Palestinians… The most immediate impact of the license revocation is that Israel will no longer allow the groups to bring supplies into the Gaza Strip or send international staffers into the territory. Israel says all suspended groups have to halt their operations by March 1.

Despite Gaza ceasefire, war still deadly along Israel’s ‘Yellow Line’

In the three months since a U.S.-backed ceasefire began, Israeli troops, tanks and drones have fired on residents almost daily in areas close to or abutting the line. The attacks have killed at least 250 people out of the more than 400 who have died since Oct. 10, according to the local health authority, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Thousands more have been displaced, the United Nations and other humanitarian groups say. Israel says it is responding to attempts by Hamas operatives to cross the line, either to attack troops or to gather intelligence, in violation of the ceasefire agreement that required Israeli forces to partially withdraw. The boundary, known as the “Yellow Line,” splits Gaza roughly in half, with the Israeli military in the east, much of the south and part of the north, and the vast majority of Palestinians crammed into the west.

Abbas says Ra’am party will be open to Jewish candidates, in major shift

Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas announced Monday that his Islamist party would become a broad-based party open to Jewish candidates, in a major shift. “Every citizen of the State of Israel — Jewish and Arab — can join Ra’am and be among its Knesset candidates,” Abbas said in a radio interview with Radio 103fm. “I want to expand the ranks of the party within Jewish society.”… Ra’am is affiliated with the southern branch of the Islamic Movement, and its candidate lists have historically been exclusively Arab Muslim. However, the party announced last month that it would separate from the religious council to which it is linked and establish its own institutions. That, combined with the latest move to open the party to Jewish candidates, appears to be aimed at distancing the party from hardline Muslim organizations in order to boost its legitimacy among Zionist Israeli parties ahead of elections set to be held before the end of October.

J STREET GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS NEWS DIGEST | January 9, 2026