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J Street Government Affairs News Digest | October 13, 2022

 

Government Affairs News Digest
I’m writing to share J Street’s statements and news updates.

This week brought some good news with the Biden Administration successfully brokering a diplomatic resolution of Israel and Lebanon’s long-running maritime dispute in the Mediterranean Sea. ​​This agreement is an example of the kind of proactive, engaged diplomatic role that the United States can and should play in the region — putting forward its own concrete proposals to help build common ground toward resolution of complex matters even between parties that don’t currently engage in direct, bilateral negotiations with each other. The agreement faces obstacles to formal adoption on the Israeli side, particularly with a vicious and truth-free campaign against it by opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, but it is moving ahead after Israel’s Cabinet approved it and Lebanese President Michel Aoun announced approval of the deal on Lebanese television.

This week also brought deeply tragic news, with multiple Israeli soldiers and Palestinians being killed in mounting violence in East Jerusalem and the West Bank over the past week. In particular, I want to draw your attention to events in the Shuafat refugee camp in East Jerusalem and in the West Bank city of Nablus and its vicinity. The former is under lockdown after 18-year-old Israeli soldier Noa Lazar was killed at a checkpoint on Saturday. In the latter, settlers accompanied by IDF soldiers today attacked Palestinians in the Palestinian town of Huwara. Violence in the occupied territory has been building to a dangerous crescendo in recent weeks. Urgent steps must be taken by all responsible leaders to reduce tensions and prevent further violence and suffering.

As always, you can find our Congressional briefing book, background information on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, recordings of previous briefings and more at J Street’s Congressional Resource Page.

Let me know if you have any questions or would like further information.

All the best,
Debra


Debra Shushan, PhD
Director of Policy, J Street
mobile: (757) 746-0366 | [email protected] | @DrShushan

This week on j street

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STATEMENT

J STREET CONGRATULATES ISRAELI GOVERNMENT, BIDEN ADMINISTRATION ON NEW ISRAEL-LEBANON MARITIME AGREEMENT

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STATEMENT

J STREET CONDEMNS HEARTBREAKING KILLING OF IDF SOLDIER IN CHECKPOINT TERROR ATTACK

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J STREET ISSUE BRIEF

US Mediation of Israel-Lebanon Maritime Dispute Nears Agreement

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What we’re reading

Israel says historic agreement made with Lebanon on maritime borders

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Israeli and Lebanese leaders appear to have agreed to a U.S.-brokered deal that will let both countries exploit gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean, potentially ending a decades-long dispute over their maritime border, easing growing military tensions and providing a desperately needed source of income to Lebanon’s collapsing economy…Officials hope the agreement, if finalized, will cool intensifying tensions along the frontier. Hezbollah, the Iran-allied militant group that controls southern Lebanon, has threatened to attack a new offshore gas facility that Israel is readying for production in what Lebanon claims are disputed waters. The group has launched drones toward the gas field more than once, including three unmanned aircraft that were shot down by Israel in early July.
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Israeli Soldier Killed in West Bank Drive-by Shooting During Settler March

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An Israeli soldier was shot dead in the northern West Bank on Tuesday in an attack claimed by a Nablus-based Palestinian militant group, according to the Israeli military spokesperson. Security forces are searching for several gunmen. The soldier, identified as 21-year-old Ido Baruch from Gedera, was shot near Shavei Shomron, an Israeli settlement near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, in what defense officials believe was a drive-by attack. Forces at the scene did not fire back at the shooters, who escaped unharmed…. The march was held at the initiative of the Samaria Regional Council, which was attended by thousands of participants, including lawmakers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir. The event was approved in advance by Israel’s military, which secured it.
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Unrest widespread in Jerusalem over latest Israeli clampdown

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Israeli police fired live rounds, tear gas and stun grenades in widespread Jerusalem street confrontations with Palestinians who threw stones, firecrackers and firebombs. It was the fiercest unrest in the contested city in months. Tensions in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem have been soaring since a suspected Palestinian assailant shot and killed an Israeli soldier at a checkpoint at the entrance to the Shuafat refugee camp earlier this week. Movement in and out of Shuafat, a neglected Jerusalem slum, has been restricted as troops search for the shooter.
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Clashes Erupt in West Bank Town of Hawara; Settlers Set Fire to Coffee Shop, Olive Trees, Palestinians Say

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Dozens of settlers attacked Palestinian property and vehicles in the Hawara area south of Nablus Thursday afternoon, Palestinian sources say. According to testimonies, masked settlers threw rocks at Palestinian vehicles near the town, and set fire to a truck and a café in the area. Around the nearby settlement of Yitzhar, settlers reportedly set fire to olive trees. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that 53 Palestinians were injured as a result of the attacks, although none of the injuries were serious. A Palestinian witness to the events in Hawara said that Israeli soldiers who were in the area protected the settlers, shooting Palestinians who attempted to protect themselves from the attacks.
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Israel Election: Netanyahu Missing 1 Seat for Majority as Arab Parties Barely Pass Threshold, Polls Show

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The latest electoral polls published on Tuesday evening on the Israeli news channels predicted that the bloc headed by opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu won’t obtain a majority with only 59 to 60 seats. According to the polls, the parties in the current coalition get 56 to 57 seats, with Arab party Balad and right-wing party Habayit Hayehudi not passing the electoral threshold. According to a Channel 12 News survey, if the elections were held today, Netanyahu’s Likud party would be the largest in the 120-member Knesset, with 31 seats.
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OPINION: The Settlers March, and Soldiers Die

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This is the embodiment of the warped situation. To protect settlers living in occupied territory who want to publicly celebrate the injustices they perpetrate, Israel sends soldiers to protect lawbreakers while also oppressing the Palestinians. The result is that Palestinians attack soldiers, yet the one who ultimately complains is Dagan. The army shouldn’t guard settler marches – not in ordinary times, and certainly not in times of tension, when terror attacks are happening almost every day. Instead of cooperating with this absurdity, Defense Minister Benny Gantz would do better to order IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi to put a stop to this dangerous ritual, even at the price of clashing with the settler leadership.
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