J Street works to promote an open, honest and rigorous conversation about Israel. The opinions reflected in articles posted in the News Roundup do not necessarily reflect J Street’s positions, and their posting does not constitute an endorsement from J Street.
Deja Vu Permeates as Lawmakers Ready to Debate Iran Nuclear Deal, Roll Call
““What happened in 2018 was a tragedy. It was an unforgivable strategy, the fact that Israel pushed the United States to withdrew from the agreement ten years early,” said Tamir Pardo, who led Mossad from 2011-2016, in a statement circulated by J Street, a liberal pro-Israel advocacy group. “The Iran deal is not controversial in the way it was in the summer of 2015. And the world and American voters have moved on in a lot of ways. The jury came back on the two approaches to dealing with Iran’s nuclear program,” said Dylan Williams, the chief lobbyist of J Street. “Trump’s approach of breaking the deal and imposing maximum pressure through sanctions led to a surge in Iranian nuclear activity, the rapid development of its ballistic missile program, and increased Iranian support for acts of terror, including missile attacks against U.S. troops. The historical record is so noncontroversial on this.””
Israeli Troops Kill Palestinian Militant in West Bank After Deadly Tel Aviv Shooting, The Washington Post
Israeli troops on Saturday raided the hometown of a Palestinian who carried out a deadly shooting in Tel Aviv, sparking a gunbattle in the occupied West Bank that left at least one Palestinian militant dead, according to Israeli and Palestinian accounts.
Israeli Forces Shoot, Kill 2 Palestinians; One Was Unarmed, AP
Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinians, including an unarmed woman, in confrontations across Israel and the occupied West Bank on Sunday, Israeli and Palestinian officials said. It was the latest in a growing wave of violence that has broken out during the holy month of Ramadan.
Ministers Approve NIS 300 Million To Expand West Bank Security Barrier, The Times of Israel
The high-level security cabinet has approved additional funding for further construction on the West Bank security barrier, the Prime Minister’s Office says. According to a statement, the ministers voted unanimously to allocate NIS 300 million (some $93 million) to build 40 kilometers of barriers along the so-called seam line.
Israel to Advance Seven New ‘Strategic’ Jewish Communities in the Negev, Haaretz
Israel’s cabinet agreed Sunday to establish the southern Israeli village Ir Ovot as a rural community and to examine the possibility of founding six additional communities for Jews in the Negev – a city and five cooperative communities. Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked said the creation of the new communities is a strategic measure of the highest order. “Beyond the Zionist value of seizing state lands in the Negev, it is of security importance,” she said. The communities, she clarified, are intended for Jews.”
Palestinians Attack Biblical Figure Joseph’s Tomb in West Bank, BBC News
The tomb where the biblical figure Joseph is said to be buried has been vandalised by Palestinians amid spiralling tensions with Israel. The site in Nablus, in the occupied West Bank, was attacked in what Israel’s prime minister called a “frenzy of destruction”.
Bennett Said To Admit Blame for Silman Resignation, Promise To Change Party Strategy, The Times of Israel
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett reportedly told his close staff that he takes full blame for his fellow Yamina MK Idit Silman’s resignation from the coalition — a move that ended the government’s razor-thin majority in the Knesset, paralyzing its ability to pass legislation and leaving it near potential collapse — adding that his strategy towards his party “did not work.”
In a Village Divided, Palestinians See Their Hold on Territory Eroding, The New York Times
Raja Abdulrahim writes, “Carved up over decades, the village of Walaja sits partly in the occupied West Bank and partly in Jerusalem. Palestinians say this type of fragmentation undermines prospects for a state.”
Instead of Resolving the Conflict, Israel Goes to Elections Again and Again, Haaretz
Carolina Landsmann argues, “If we needed proof of the ways Israeli and Palestinian lives are interconnected, we have received it in spades. It turns out you can’t run from the conflict. The reality of the two nations is one. The future of one depends on the other. You can’t freeze one part of that reality. Israel will continue seeing repeated election cycles until it understands that as long as the diplomatic paralysis persists, so will the political paralysis.”