 |
|
I’m writing to share J Street’s statements and news updates.
I hope you’ll check out, or continue making use of, our regularly updated tracker of far-right actions by 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
|
This week on j street
|
|
|
| STATEMENT |
|
J STREET MOURNS THE PASSING OF SENATOR DIANNE FEINSTEIN
|
| Read more → |
|
|
|
|
|
| STATEMENT |
|
ISRAEL’S CHANGES FOR ENTRY TO THE VISA WAIVER PROGRAM A WELCOME STEP; STRICT MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT NEEDED
|
| Read more → |
|
|
|
|
|
What we’re reading
|
Israel’s Supreme Court convenes to decide on law that could determine Netanyahu’s fate
|
 |
| Israel’s Supreme Court has started hearing petitions against a new law making it harder to declare a prime minister unfit for office… Within two months, the court would have heard arguments on three cases that challenge laws passed by the Benjamin Netanyahu government this year. Thursday’s petition, however, affects Netanyahu most personally. The law states that only the prime minister himself or the cabinet, with a two-thirds majority, can declare the leader unfit, and only “due to physical or mental incapacity.” The cabinet vote would then need to be ratified by a two-thirds majority in the parliament, known as the Knesset. The amendment is a change to one of Israel’s Basic Laws, the closest thing the country has to a constitution… The petitioners in Thursday’s hearing argue the amendment was passed solely for Netanyahu’s benefit – he faces an ongoing corruption trial – making it a “misuse of constituent authority.” That’s one of the bases on which the Supreme Court can, in theory, strike down amendments to a Basic Law. However, the court has never struck down a Basic Law or an amendment to one. Yiktzhak Burt, a lawyer arguing on behalf of the Knesset, conceded to the Supreme Court Thursday that the law in question did benefit the prime minister personally, but insisted that the legislature had the power to pass it because it has a democratic mandate and that the court should not strike it down. He acknowledged that the law had flaws, but that they did not rise to such a level that it should be struck down. Supreme Court President Esther Hayut said on Thursday that the court was not discussing nullifying the law but postponing its application. |
| read more |
In win for Bibi, U.S. allows Israel to join visa waiver program
|
 |
| Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas has decided to allow Israel to join the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, according to U.S. officials who briefed reporters. The Biden administration’s decision is a significant upgrade in relations between the U.S. and Israel, which has been trying to join the program for years. It’s also a major win for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a time when his far-right government is highly unpopular at home and facing criticism abroad… U.S. officials told reporters that the administration came to the conclusion that Israel met both the U.S. security criteria and the U.S. demand for reciprocity when it comes to the treatment of American nationals.. The Biden administration will continue to monitor the way Israel treats Palestinian Americans, other Arab Americans and Iranian Americans, the officials added, stressing the U.S. can suspend or remove a country from the program at any time if fails to comply with U.S. requirements… Three current and former U.S. told Axios that some within the administration worried during an internal debate on the issue several months ago that allowing Israel into the program would be seen as rewarding Netanyahu’s government for behavior the U.S. is unhappy with, including settlement expansion and its judicial overhaul… “This [decision] is not a favor to Israel,” a U.S. official said in the briefing with reporters, echoing Nides’ argument that the decision serves U.S. interests by improving security, increasing trade and tourism and allowing better access and movement for Palestinian Americans. |
| read more |
Israel Strikes Hamas Position as Palestinians Protest Along Gaza Border for 12th Day
|
 |
| The Israeli army struck three Hamas position in the southern Gaza Strip Tuesday evening, as dozens of Palestinians are protesting near the border fence for the 12th day in a row… The IDF said that Palestinians protested violently in these areas, which included shooting at Israeli forces. In the statement, the Israeli army added that its forces are using crowd control measures and sniper fire in response to “disturbances” near the border fence, and that “hits were detected.” The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza reported that 11 protesters have been lightly injured near the border fence. During the demonstrations, a firebomb was thrown at the border fence. Incendiary balloons were reportedly launched from the Palestinian side and set fire to fields in Israel. On Monday, the Israeli army said that it hit a Hamas position in the northern Gaza Strip with a drone strike, in response to gunfire toward Israeli troops during a demonstration. Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine announced Sunday that they agreed to continue escalating security tensions and violent action against Israel. |
| read more |
Israeli forces kill two Palestinians in West Bank raid, Hamas, emergency workers say
|
 |
| Israeli forces killed two Palestinians, including a fighter of the Islamist Hamas group, during a raid on a refugee camp in the West Bank on Sunday, emergency workers and Hamas said, while in Gaza Israeli strikes hit security posts for a second day. In the latest round of violence, Israeli forces raided the Nur Shams camp near the West Bank city of Tulkarm in the early hours of Sunday morning, setting off an hours-long gun battle with Palestinian fighters, witnesses said. The Israeli military said it conducted “counterterrorism activity” in the camp, dismantling an operational command centre equipped with computers and surveillance cameras and uncovering dozens of explosive devices and bomb-making components. “During the activity, suspects opened fire and hurled explosive devices at the forces, who responded with live fire. Hits were identified,” the military said in a statement, adding that an Israeli soldier was moderately wounded. Hamas, which has been extending its reach away from its base in Gaza and into the West Bank, said one of the men who were killed, 21-year-old Osaid Abu Ali, was a member of its armed wing. The family of the other man, 32-year-old Abdel-Rahman Abu Daghash, said he had stepped on to the roof of his house to observe what was going on when he was killed by a sniper. “He went up to the rooftop to film the ambulances. He barely had the chance to look and the sniper targeted him,” said his brother Mo’men Abu Daghash. “He has nothing to do with it and he has kids and his wife is about to give birth.” |
| read more |
Israel’s UN Ambassador: Saudi deal will isolate the Palestinians completely
|
 |
| Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan is pressed during a Kan public broadcaster interview on how the current hardline government will be able to make the concessions to the Palestinians necessary to secure a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Erdan recalls that in 2020 Netanyahu agreed to delay plans to annex large parts of the West Bank until 2024 in exchange for normalization with the UAE. “All the more so [is the same kind of concession] possible when talking about a peace deal that ends the Arab-Israeli conflict, except for the Palestinians. [This] will isolate the Palestinians and leave them alone by themselves. Under these circumstances, I’m confident that the ministers of the government will know how to make the right consideration,” Erdan says. |
| read more |
Analysis | Biden Doesn’t Need a Saudi Deal. Netanyahu Is Desperate for It
|
 |
| Four deeply flawed premises are circulating freely in the media and among pundits, framing the discourse on a U.S.-Saudi-Israeli deal in a very distorted way. They go like this: U.S. President Joe Biden “really wants a Saudi deal” because he is “desperate for a foreign policy achievement,” since his main goal is to “contain China’s foray into the Middle East” and this is obviously “important ahead of the 2024 presidential election.” This does not mean that a “Saudi deal” is impossible or unviable. It just means that all three sides of the triangle will have to pay a higher price than they are willing or can afford to pay… At this point, Biden is still very skeptical. Skeptical of the benefits of a pact with the Saudis; skeptical of Netanyahu’s ability and willingness to deliver on the Palestinian component given his far-right government; skeptical that the political fallout in Washington would benefit him. If both Crown Prince Mohammed and Netanyahu come through – which is a humongous “if” – Biden will likely embrace the idea. But to claim that this is his priority and passion in life, and that he “really needs it,” is just specious. |
| read more |
|
