News Roundup for February 22, 2023

February 22, 2023

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J Street News Roundup

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Top News and Analysis

At Least 10 Palestinians Killed During Israeli Raid in West Bank, The New York Times
At least 10 Palestinians were killed and more than 100 others wounded, Palestinian officials said, in a gun battle between Israeli soldiers and armed Palestinian groups in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Wednesday. The firefight occurred during an operation to arrest Palestinian gunmen based in the city of Nablus, the Israeli military said. Some of the victims were reported to be gunmen but others appeared to be unarmed: Time-stamped CCTV footage from late Wednesday morning that circulated on social media seemed to show the shooting of at least two unarmed Palestinians as they ran away from gunfire.

Israeli Parliament Advances Bill That May Override Top Court, The Washington Post
Israel’s parliament advanced a bill Wednesday that would enable lawmakers to overturn a Supreme Court decision with a simple majority, a law that critics say would severely erode the country’s democratic checks and balances. The “Supreme Court override” bill’s approval in a preliminary vote in the Knesset was the latest step by Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition toward realizing the judicial overhaul that is steaming ahead despite calls for dialogue and consensus from American Jews and Israel’s president, and weekly protest by tens of thousands of Israelis.

News

Hamas ‘Losing Patience’ After Ten Palestinians Killed in West Bank, Israel Braces for Retaliation, Haaretz
A senior Israeli military official said that the security establishment is preparing for retaliations attacks, and that it is possible that the number of Palestinian deaths will lead to an escalation with militants in the Gaza Strip. Responding to the news of the raid, spokesman for Hamas’ military wing (also known as the Al-Qassam Brigades) Abu Obeida said “the resistance forces in the Gaza Strip are monitoring the crimes of the enemy and their patience is running out.”

Coalition Advances Bill That Would Return Deri to Cabinet, Defying High Court Ruling, The Times of Israel
The coalition on Wednesday advanced a bill tailored to return Shas leader Aryeh Deri to the cabinet, weeks after the High Court of Justice found his twin appointments as health and interior minister “unreasonable in the extreme” due to past offenses.

Israel Sentences Islamic Jihad Member to 22 Months in Prison, AP
The Israeli military said Tuesday it has sentenced a member of the Islamic Jihad militant group to 22 months in prison after his arrest helped spark three days of heavy fighting in Gaza last year.

Israeli Police’s Organized Crime Unit Used to Investigate, Surveil anti-Netanyahu Protesters, Haaretz
Israeli police are employing the unit that generally deals with serious crimes and criminal organizations to investigate – and surveil – leading activists in the protest movement against the Israeli government’s judicial overhaul plans. Several activists were detained last week during protests and questioned on suspicion of disrupting public order. During their interrogation, they were presented with documentation of themselves indicating that the police were employing special surveillance methods against them.

Opinion and Analysis

Democratic Deficit Will Lead to Economic Deficit, The Times of Israel
J Street’s Israel Director Nadav Tamir writes, “The judicial coup that is being promoted these days in the Knesset’s Constitution Committee endangers not only Israeli democracy, but also our economy and foreign relations. A coup that, if it goes through, will leave us in a situation akin to countries like Hungary and Poland whose economies are deteriorating, claim among the lowest quality of life indicators in Europe, and face a series of economic sanctions that make it increasingly difficult for them to provide a decent quality of life for their residents.”

Jimmy Carter Took More Risks for Middle East Peace Than Any Other President—by Far, The New Republic
Eric Alterman reflects on Jimmy Carter’s legacy, noting, “Jimmy Carter’s tireless efforts to bring Israel and Egypt together in a peace agreement during the 1978 negotiations at Camp David can be seen today as the most consequential contribution any U.S. president has made toward Israel’s security since its founding.”