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 the fallout from Israel’s military strikes on Iran top of mind, I want to make sure you saw our statement from earlier today, but also re-up a few key developments from this past week. You can find our full statement on the attack here.

This week the UK and several other US allies issued sanctions on far-right Israeli ministers Ben-Gvir and Smotrich for inciting violence against Palestinian civilians; Smotrich retaliated by moving to cancel bank waivers that allow coordination between Israeli and Palestinian banks, critical to the Palestinian economy. France pointed to the Palestinian Authority’s ‘unprecedented commitments to reform’ as a potential opening for renewed diplomacy; and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation continues to fall short of addressing the safety and humanitarian needs of Palestinians in Gaza.

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

J Street Statement Following Israeli Attack on Iran

Statement

Smotrich’s Retaliatory Attack on West Bank Economy Undermines Israeli Safety

Expert Analysis

The Dramatic Acceleration of Israel’s Annexation Policy in the West Bank

Blog

Jeremy’s Word on the Street Substack: 1938 Vienna, Antisemitism and Palestine

Iran strikes back at Israel, U.S. helping intercept missiles

Iran launched a counterattack against Israel on Friday, firing around 150 missiles in the first two barrages with a third wave now incoming, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Why it matters: This is the most significant Iranian retaliation thus far. It comes 18 hours after Israel launched a war against Iran, attacking its nuclear facilities and missile sites and killing dozens of top military leaders and nuclear scientists. The U.S. is helping to intercept incoming ballistic missiles, according to an Israeli official and a senior U.S. official.

What We Know About Israel’s Attacks on Iran’s Nuclear Sites and Military Commanders

Israel launched strikes across Iran on Friday, saying they targeted the “heart” of Iran’s nuclear programme. The strikes killed Hossein Salami, chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards, a powerful branch of the country’s armed forces, other senior military figures and several nuclear scientists. Civilians, including children, were also among those killed, Iranian state media reported. The BBC is not able to independently verify these reports. The Israeli military said Iran launched about 100 drones towards Israel on Friday morning, which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was intercepting. A state of emergency has been declared in Israel.

U.K., Canada and Others Impose Sanctions on Far-Right Israeli Ministers

Five Western countries announced on Tuesday that they would impose sanctions on two far-right Israeli cabinet ministers, a remarkable rebuke of Israel’s leadership and a significant escalation of Western pressure on Israel over settler violence in the West Bank and the conduct of the war in Gaza. Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Norway jointly imposed the sanctions, which will restrict the right to travel and freeze the financial assets of the Israeli security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich.

U.S. Envoy: ‘No Room’ for Palestinian State in West Bank Under Current Conditions

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said Tuesday that Washington does not wholeheartedly back a Palestinian state under the current circumstances. “Unless there are some significant things that happen that change the culture, there’s no room for it,” Huckabee told Bloomberg, adding that the changes are unlikely to occur “in our lifetime.” Asked whether the establishment of a Palestinian state is still a goal of American policy, Huckabee said, “I don’t think so.”

Palestinians Say Local Gunmen and Israeli Forces Opened Fire Near Gaza Aid Site

Palestinians in Gaza say they were fired on once again as they headed to one of the aid distribution centres run by the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation on Monday. Witnesses said that for the first time they were fired on by Palestinian gunmen near the GHF site in the Tal al-Sultan area of Rafah, in the south. They also said Israeli troops fired on them. Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said six people were killed and 99 injured from areas designated for aid collection. The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports. The GHF said the Tal al-Sultan site did not open on Monday and that there were no incidents at two other sites which did hand out aid.

Israel Knesset Rejects Vote on Dissolving Itself

Israel’s parliament rejected early on Thursday a preliminary vote to dissolve itself, the Knesset said in a statement, after an agreement was reached regarding a dispute over conscription. The vote, which could have been a first step leading to an early election that polls show Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would lose, was rejected with 61 lawmakers opposing it to 53 supporting it. The Knesset consists of 120 seats, and the majority needed to pass the vote was 61 lawmakers. This gives Netanyahu’s ruling coalition further time to resolve its worst political crisis yet and avoid a ballot, which would be Israel’s first since the eruption of the war with Hamas in Gaza.

Israel Says it Recovered the Remains of Two Hostages in Gaza

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said on Wednesday that the military and security forces had recovered the remains of two Israeli hostages held in Gaza since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that ignited the war. “The bodies of two of our hostages were returned to Israel,” Mr. Netanyahu said in a statement, adding that only one of their names, Yair Yaakov, had been cleared for publication. Mr. Netanyahu said Mr. Yaakov had been “murdered and abducted” by the militant group Islamic Jihad in the 2023 attack. “Together with all citizens of Israel, my wife and I extend our heartfelt condolences to the families who lost their dearest loved ones,” he added.

France says Palestinian Authority Makes ‘Unprecedented Commitments’ to Reform Ahead of Conference on Statehood

France said it has received a letter from the Palestinian Authority that contains “concrete and unprecedented commitments” to reform as Paris prepares to co-chair a conference on Palestinian statehood in New York. The letter, which France said was signed by Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, includes condemnation of the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, a call on Hamas to immediately release all hostages, and pledges to hold elections and reform the authority, according to excerpts shared with CNN.

Opinion | No Rational Aid-Distribution System Should Work This Way

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is presiding over an unmitigated disaster, and everything about the U.S.- and Israel-backed group’s failure was entirely predictable. After lifting a blockade on relief supplies to the Gaza Strip, Israeli authorities tapped GHF, which is barely months old, as the principal aid-delivery system for starving Palestinian residents. Since its operations began last week, dozens of civilians have been killed by gunfire while seeking to access the food-distribution centers. At least twice this week, GHF suspended its relief efforts in an attempt to improve security. Whatever you think of Israel’s conduct during its war against Hamas in Gaza, you should understand that its delivery system for aid was doomed to fail.

J STREET GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS NEWS DIGEST | June 13, 2025