 |
|
I’m writing to share J Street’s news updates.
I hope you’ll check out, or continue making use of, our regularly updated dossier on the Netanyahu government. 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.
Please feel free to reach out with any questions.
All the best,
Debra
—
Debra Shushan, PhD
Director of Policy, J Street
mobile: (757) 746-0366 | [email protected] | @DrShushan
|
|
|
What we’re reading
|
Israeli Soldier Killed, Six People Injured in Ramming Attack Near West Bank Checkpoint
|
 |
| One Israeli was killed and six others, including Israel Defense Forces soldiers, were injured on Thursday morning during a ramming attack near a West Bank checkpoint… Driving a truck, a Palestinian assailant ran over the soldiers and subsequently escaped. He was shot and killed by security guards at the Hashmonaim check point in the West Bank, some 4 miles (6.44 km) away… The Israeli army confirmed the incident, calling it a terror attack and saying the terrorist was “neutralized”… Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich arrived at the scene and told reporters there that “we see at this stage the importance of the checkpoints, the same Hashmonaim checkpoint where the terrorist was eliminated.” When asked how the government intended to respond to the incident, Smotrich replied: “We will defeat terrorism.” …The checkpoint where the violence occurred is on a major highway leading from central Israel through the West Bank and into Jerusalem and is next to the Israeli city of Modi’in. The checkpoint is typically packed with commuters and security guards or soldiers. Thursday’s ramming attack comes a day after a 22-year-old Israeli was wounded in a stabbing attack in Jerusalem. The Palestinian assailant, a 14-year-old, was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer. On Thursday morning, four Israeli soldiers were wounded by explosive device while they were escorting Jewish worshippers to Joseph’s Tomb, near Nablus. |
| read more |
US, EU slam far-right Israeli minister’s ‘racist’ claim his rights outweigh that of Palestinians
|
 |
| The United States and European Union Friday slammed comments by far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir that his right to life outweighs Palestinians’ right to freedom of movement in the occupied West Bank. “We strongly condemn Minister Ben Gvir’s racist, destructive comments on the freedom of movement of Palestinian residents of the West Bank,” a US State Department spokesperson said. “Such messages are particularly damaging when amplified by those in leadership positions… President [Joe] Biden and Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken have been clear that both Israelis and Palestinians deserve to enjoy equal measures of freedom and security.” The European Union also strongly condemned the remarks, saying: “All human beings are equal and should be treated the same way.” Ben Gvir said Wednesday on Israel’s Channel 12 that his right, his wife’s right and his children’s right to walk through the streets of the West Bank was “much more important” than “Arabs’ right to movement and travel – excuse me, Mohammed, but this is the reality. This is the truth. My right to life outweighs your right to move on the streets.” The “excuse me, Mohammed,” remark was addressed to Palestinian-Israeli journalist Mohammed Magadli, who was sitting across from him in the interview. Ben Gvir’s far-right Jewish Power party draws support mainly from Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, and Ben Gvir is himself a settler. The EU said in its condemnation of Ben Gvir that “settlements are illegal under international law, constitute an obstacle to peace and threaten to make a two state solution impossible.” |
| read more |
U.S. tells Israel mega-deal with Saudis must include concessions to Palestinians
|
 |
| The Biden administration told the Israeli government last week that it would have to make significant concessions to the Palestinians as part of any possible mega-deal with Saudi Arabia that includes normalization between the kingdom and Israel, four U.S. officials and a source briefed on the issue told Axios… The administration is pushing to get an agreement before the end of the first quarter of next year, when the presidential campaign is expected to consume Biden’s agenda. But the Biden administration faces an uphill battle. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has strong reservations about taking any significant steps toward the Palestinians. Doing so would likely anger the extreme-right parties that are part of his coalition and risk bringing down his government. Ron Dermer, Israel’s minister of strategic affairs, visited Washington last week for talks at the White House and the State Department about the Saudi Arabia mega-deal… Blinken told Dermer that the Israeli government is “misreading the situation” if it thinks it won’t have to make any such concessions, two U.S. officials said. Blinken also said that Saudi Arabia will need to show the Arab and Muslim world that it got significant deliverables from Israel regarding the Palestinians in return for a normalization agreement, the officials said… Sullivan also told Dermer that Biden wants to get broad support from congressional Democrats for a mega-deal with Saudi Arabia, a source briefed on the issue told Axios. To do that, Sullivan said, there will need to be serious Israeli steps toward the Palestinians. Many Senate Democrats who will have to vote on parts of any mega-deal are highly critical of the Saudi or Israeli government or both. |
| read more |
Democrats Urge GOP to Lift Block on $75m in Palestinian Food Aid as Deadline Looms
|
 |
| Leading Democrats in both houses of Congress are increasing efforts to convince Republicans to lift their hold on $75 million in food assistance for the Palestinians, amid growing concerns about a looming humanitarian crisis that could spark further violence. Despite Congress’ August recess, 56 House lawmakers and seven Senators joined a bicameral effort to warn top Republicans that the UNRWA pipeline stands to break. “This will create a humanitarian tragedy and poses a huge risk to regional security,” warn the Democrats, led by Rep. Andre Carson and Sen. Bernie Sanders… Sen. Jim Risch and Rep. Michael McCaul — the top Republicans on the Senate and House foreign affairs committees — have placed holds on the State Department from providing the previously appropriated funding, which is designated for food assistance for Palestinian in the West Bank and Gaza administered by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). UNRWA has warned for months that it would not be able to refill their warehouses — which are distributed among 1.2 million Palestinian refugees, including 500,000 Palestinian children — if the funds are not provided by September 1. Further, the State Department will likely be forced to redistribute the allocated funds if the Republican hold is not lifted by September 30… Middle East Institute Senior Fellow Khaled Elgindy noted that Biden has the authority to ignore the Republican hold, considering he has no legal obligation to abide by the Congressional hold. In a piece published on The Hill, Elgindy describes it as “a courtesy extended by the executive branch to the legislative branch,” adding that “it does not supersede the legal obligation to release the funds as per Congress’s appropriation.” Elgindy further says that “in the meantime, both sides continue to play politics with Palestinian lives.” |
| read more |
U.S. ramps up efforts to de-escalate growing Israel-Hezbollah tensions
|
 |
| Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah have been escalating for months over an outpost established by the Lebanese militant group 100 feet south of the border in an area recognized by the UN as Israeli territory. The Lebanese government claims the area belongs to Lebanon. Amos Hochstein, President Biden’s senior adviser for energy and infrastructure, will arrive in Beirut on Wednesday for talks with senior Lebanese officials, according to U.S. and Israeli sources… The U.S. has for months pressed the Lebanese government and military to take steps to dismantle the Hezbollah outpost. Part of the outpost has since been taken down, but tensions remain high with both sides exchanging public threats, especially in the last week. [Israeli Defense Minister] Gallant said in a statement that he met with UN Secretary-General António Guterres in New York on Monday and stressed “the urgent need for immediate UN intervention in de-escalating tensions by strengthening UN peacekeepers’ authority in the region, ensuring their freedom of movement and implementing their mandate.” Hochstein’s trip to Lebanon is also timed with the arrival of a natural gas drilling rig. Hochstein helped broker the deal between Israel and Lebanon on the maritime border last year. The Biden administration believes the start of gas exploration in Lebanese waters could help restrain players like Hezbollah as the country seeks a way out of its devastating economic crisis, the U.S. source said. Israeli security officials agree with this assessment. Elias Bou Saab, the deputy speaker of the Lebanese parliament, told Lebanon’s MTV that Hochstein will focus on trying to solve the land border disputes between Lebanon and Israel at several different points along the border. “We hope Hochstein can solve the land border dispute like he solved the maritime border dispute,” Bou Saab said. |
| read more |
Uproar over Libya-Israel meeting shows limits of regional normalization
|
 |
| Libya’s foreign minister fled to Turkey this week after protests erupted over revelations of a closed-door meeting with her Israeli counterpart, exposing the limits of Israel’s push to normalize relations with its Arab neighbors. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen announced Sunday that he had met secretly in Italy last week with Najla el-Mangoush, foreign minister for Libya’s Tripoli-based government, touting “the great potential for relations” between the two countries. For Israel, the meeting with Libya’s top diplomat represented the latest milestone in its effort, facilitated by the United States, to establish diplomatic ties with once-hostile Middle Eastern countries. But in Libya, which does not recognize Israel, and where public sentiment remains staunchly supportive of the Palestinian cause, it sparked an outpouring of anger and a scramble by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah to contain the fallout… The protests in Libya highlight the persistence of anti-Israel sentiment in the region even as a new generation of leaders in the Gulf and North Africa seek to build economic, technological and security ties with their former adversary… In Israel, Cohen has been slammed for fumbling Israel’s diplomatic outreach to its Arab neighbors at a critical time… Washington is currently engaged in unofficial talks with Israeli and Saudi representatives that it hopes will lead to a historic deal between the two countries. The Biden administration does not believe the Libya-Israel scandal will doom those efforts, but it is a troubling sign, said two U.S. officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy. “This was absolutely an unforced error by the Israelis,” said one official, who said the destabilizing uproar in Libya could’ve been avoided if Israeli officials had exercised more discretion. |
| read more |
|
