I hope you are doing well.

I’m writing to share important updates from the region, as well as J Street’s statements and resources from this past week. As a reminder, you can always find our most recent statements on J Street crisis response page.

All the best,
Hannah

—
Hannah Morris
She/Her
Director of Government Affairs, J Street
Cell: 832-606-1817
J Street’s Congressional Resource Page

This week on j street

ISSUE BRIEF

ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, AND THE POTENTIAL FOR FULL-SCALE WAR

SHUSHAN STREET

PROTECT CAMPUS FREE SPEECH, COMBAT ANTISEMITISM, AND DEFEND DEMOCRACY

STATEMENT

J STREET WELCOMES RESCUE OF FOUR HOSTAGES IN GAZA

U.S. sanctions right-wing Israeli group for blocking Gaza aid

The Biden administration announced sanctions on Friday against the Israeli right-wing organization “Tzav 9” for blocking humanitarian aid convoys to Gaza, two sources with knowledge of the decision told Axios… The flow of aid into Gaza has been hampered in recent weeks by numerous factors, including the closure of the Rafah corridor. Efforts by right-wing Israeli activists to block convoys coming from Jordan — with the apparent support of some senior politicians — have made matters worse… In recent weeks, several such convoys have been blocked as they made their way through the West Bank and Israel to Gaza.

Gantz said it was an “easy decision” to join the government following Hamas’ attack on October 7, but warned that the situation in Israel and in the war cabinet’s meetings “changed.” “Strategic and fateful decisions are made by the government out of political considerations,” Gantz said. Ministers Gadi Eisenkot and Chili Tropper, also from Gantz’s party, also announced their resignations… U.S. officials have viewed Gantz as their preferred interlocutor inside the war cabinet since he joined the coalition. He informed the White House of his plans several days ago and asked for their opinion, according to an official. U.S. officials told Gantz that while they did not intend on intervening in Israeli politics, they noted the fragile state of the hostage/cease-fire talks. His departure will only lead to added pressure from the U.S. on Netanyahu.

After a 14 to 0 vote on Monday, with Russia abstaining, U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the council is sending a clear message to the Palestinian militant group Hamas. “This resolution sent a very clear, strong, unified message to Hamas that they accept the cease-fire deal that we put on the table and end this war immediately,” she told NPR’s All Things Considered on Monday. “Accept the deal, release the hostages, more aid will flow to Palestinians, and the cease-fire will continue as long as negotiations will continue.”

Hamas wants written guarantees from the United States for a permanent ceasefire and withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip in order to sign off on a U.S.-backed truce proposal, two Egyptian security sources said. Mediators Qatar and Egypt said Hamas had responded on Tuesday to the phased ceasefire plan for an end to the eight-month war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group, without giving details… The Egyptian sources and a third source with knowledge of the talks said Hamas had concerns that the current proposal does not provide explicit guarantees for the transition from the first phase of the plan, which includes a six-week truce and the release of some hostages, to the second phase, which includes a permanent ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal.

A CIA assessment circulated among US officials this week concluded that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu likely judges he can get away without defining a post-war plan — even as the Biden administration has launched a full-court press to pressure him to bring an end to the conflict in Gaza. Netanyahu “probably believes he can maintain support from his security chiefs and prevent defections” from the right wing of his coalition by discussing the future of Gaza in “vague terms,” the June 3 report, reviewed by CNN, reads. The assessment — which has not been previously reported — represents one of the most up to date intelligence assessments about Netanyahu’s mindset that has been circulated among senior US officials, according to a source familiar with internal reporting.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to release Palestinian tax revenues Israel’s ultranationalist minister of finance Bezalel Smotrich froze in early May, three U.S. and Israeli officials told Axios. The Biden administration is extremely concerned the Palestinian Authority could collapse if the tax revenues are not transferred soon, U.S. officials say. An economic crash could in turn lead to an escalation in the West Bank in addition to the war in Gaza and rising tensions between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Tax revenues Israel collects for the Palestinian Authority under an agreement between the parties are a major source of income for the PA, which is already in a deep financial crisis. After the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel, Smotrich suspended the transfer of all tax revenue funds to the Palestinian Authority.

In dozens of messages—reviewed by The Wall Street Journal—that Sinwar has transmitted to cease-fire negotiators, Hamas compatriots outside Gaza and others, he’s shown a cold disregard for human life and made clear he believes Israel has more to lose from the war than Hamas. The messages were shared by multiple people with differing views of Sinwar… In one message to Hamas leaders in Doha, Sinwar cited civilian losses in national-liberation conflicts in places such as Algeria, where hundreds of thousands of people died fighting for independence from France, saying, “these are necessary sacrifices.”

The weapon, the GBU-39, or small-diameter bomb, was used in an attack at a former United Nations school on Thursday and in a May 26 strike in Rafah. In both cases, the Israeli military defended its actions, saying the strikes were aimed at militants using civilians as human shields. The Gaza health authorities said that civilians had also been killed, and there were videos and pictures of women and children among the dead. Two weapons experts told The New York Times that Israel has appeared to increase the use of the bombs since the start of this year, compared with the war’s earliest days, when it launched them in only 10 percent of airstrikes against Gaza. As a recent spate of Israeli strikes demonstrates, even a relatively diminutive bomb can inflict severe civilian casualties.

J STREET GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS NEWS DIGEST | June 14, 2024

This week on j street

What we’re reading

U.S. sanctions right-wing Israeli group for blocking Gaza aid

Netanyahu’s Preventing Us From Achieving Real Victory’: Benny Gantz Quits Government

The U.N. Security Council endorses U.S. cease-fire plan to end the war in Gaza

Hamas seeking US guarantees in Gaza ceasefire plan, sources say

CIA assessment concludes Netanyahu is likely to defy US pressure to set a post-war plan for Gaza

Blinken pressed Netanyahu to release frozen Palestinian funds

Gaza Chief’s Brutal Calculation: Civilian Bloodshed Will Help Hamas

Analysis | A Small American Bomb Killing Palestinians by the Dozen in Gaza