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.
Trump Names JD Vance, Who Blamed Assassination Attempt on Democrats, as His Running Mate, Jewish Telegraphic Agency
“J Street, the liberal pro-Israel lobby, said Vance would embolden the right-wing Israelis to whom he spoke in Tel Aviv. ‘The Israeli far-right and settlement movement now has an enthusiastic cheerleader on the Republican ticket,’ president Jeremy Ben-Ami said in a statement. ‘It will be a disaster for Israel’s democratic future if he ends up in the White House.’”
Israeli Airstrikes Kill Over 20, Gazans Say, and Hit Another UN Building, The New York Times
It was the sixth former U.N. school facility to be hit in 10 days, according to the main United Nations agency aiding Palestinian refugees in the area, UNRWA. Last Tuesday, at least 27 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike near the entrance to a school turned shelter on the outskirts of Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, according to the local health authorities.
Netanyahu Works Behind the Scenes to Win Trump Back, Axios
Netanyahu was one of the first world leaders to issue a statement condemning the assassination attempt against Trump, and followed up with at least three additional statements and social media posts expressing solidarity. “Like all Israelis, my wife Sara and I were shocked by the horrific assassination attempt on the life of President Donald Trump,” Netanyahu said in his video message. He stressed it wasn’t just an attack on Trump but an attack on America and on democracy, and wished Trump “continued strength” on behalf of Israel.
Blinken Laments Gaza Civilian Toll, Discusses Hostage Deal with Israeli Officials, The Times of Israel
Blinken told two influential Israeli officials — Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi — that the US had “serious concern about the recent civilian casualties in Gaza,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters. Miller added, “We have seen civilian casualties come down from the high points of the conflict and even from where they were say six weeks, two months ago; but they still remain unacceptably high. We continue to see far too many civilians killed in this conflict.”
Netanyahu Pleads Ignorance in Meeting with Families of Slain Surveillance Soldiers, The Times of Israel
During a tense meeting on Tuesday with the bereaved families of observation soldiers slain by Hamas on October 7, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed he did not know that the soldiers had expressed concerns that the terror group was readying an attack. He also claimed not to have known that the surveillance soldiers at the base on the Gaza border, all women, were unarmed.
Hamas-Led Groups Committed ‘Numerous War Crimes’ on October 7, Rights Group Says, CNN
“The Hamas-led assault on October 7 was designed to kill civilians and take as many people as possible hostage,” said Ida Sawyer, crisis and conflict director at HRW. The assault was led by Hamas’ military wing – the Qassam Brigades – but included at least four other Palestinian armed groups, the report said.
A Gaza Father Mourns His Baby Boy, Killed in Bed by an Israeli Airstrike, AP
His son, Yaman, was killed by an Israeli airstrike. Israeli strikes killed more than 60 Palestinians in southern and central Gaza from Monday night into Tuesday, according to hospital records and health officials. Israel has said it is pursuing Hamas militants who are hiding among civilians after offensives uprooted underground tunnel networks.
France’s Macron discusses Israel/Hamas War with Egypt, Qatar and Bahrain, Reuters
“The President condemned recent Israeli air strikes that have targeted UN schools as well as displaced citizens in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp which have left a large number of civilian victims,” Macron’s office said in a statement. “He also reaffirmed France’s insistence that Hamas immediately release the hostages,” it added.
Israeli Army to Issue Thousands of Draft Notices to Ultra-Orthodox Men, Sparking Protests, Haaretz
After the army announced the impending draft notices, dozens of ultra-Orthodox men from the extremist Jerusalem Faction blocked Route 4 near Bnei Brak in protest. Police used riot-control equipment to remove the demonstrators, including mounted officers. But the highway, a major traffic artery, was nevertheless blocked for three hours before it reopened.
Gaza Man with Down’s Syndrome Attacked by IDF Dog and Left to Die, Mother Tells BBC, BBC
“They were trying to stop the bleeding. Then they left him without stitches or care. Just these basic first aid measures. Of course, as you can see, Muhammed was dead for a period of time already because he was abandoned. We thought he wasn’t at home. But it turned out he had been bleeding and left alone at home all this time.”
Netanyahu Says Iran Has Been Planning Multi-Front Ground Invasion to Destroy Israel; ‘Sinwar Simply Opened Fire Too Early’, The Times of Israel
In a leaked recording of the meeting broadcast by Channel 12 news, Netanyahu is heard telling the bereaved parents: “We discovered in the course of the [IDF] operation in Gaza that Sinwar simply opened fire too early — that Iran is planning to put us in a stranglehold of its proxies, to invade us, from Gaza, Lebanon, Judea and Samaria, Jordan.”
Surge in Violence by West Bank Settlers Draws Ire of Israel’s Allies, The New York Times
The European Union on Monday sanctioned five Israeli settlers, two outposts and an extremist group that were “responsible for serious and systematic human rights abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank,” the European Council said in a statement. The United States last week also imposed sanctions on Israelis and entities in the West Bank that the State Department said had incited violence against Palestinians or encroached on Palestinian land.
How Popular Is Hamas, in Gaza and Outside of It, After Nine Months of War?, Haaretz
Dahlia Scheindlin writes, “All this is only the culmination of a particularly terrible year in the West Bank; 2023 was a time of rampant settler violence, attacks on Palestinian towns and an extremist Israeli government. Ahead of Israel’s last Knesset election, 35 percent of West Bank respondents supported armed struggle as the means to end the occupation in PSR’s surveys. A year later, just ahead of Hamas’ attack, support rose over 20 points, to 54 percent.”
The Palestinian Authority Is Collapsing, Foreign Affairs
Shira Efron and Michael J. Koplow share, “The PA’s poor performance is reflected in its abysmal poll numbers. A Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research poll conducted in both the West Bank and Gaza between May 26 and June 1 found that satisfaction with Abbas’s performance stood at a dismal 12 percent. A quarter of Gazans said they would like a reconstructed Palestinian Authority with an elected president, parliament, and local government officers to control Gaza after the war, and ten percent said they would prefer PA rule under a new leader.”
Smoke on the Horizon – Israel and Hezbollah Edge Closer to All-Out War, BBC
Orla Guerin states, “Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has stressed the armed group is ready, but not eager, for war. He says if there is a ceasefire agreed in Gaza, Hezbollah will cease fire too, immediately. Will that satisfy Israel? Maybe not. It sees Hezbollah as a permanent threat too close for comfort. At the very least, it wants its heavily armed enemy to pull back from the border. There have been plenty of bellicose threats. Israel’s Education Minister, Yoav Kish, said Lebanon would be ‘annihilated.’ Defence Minister Yoav Gallant chimed in, saying the country would be returned ‘to the stone age.’”
Where Will JD Vance Stand on Israel? Wherever Trump Tells Him To, Haaretz
Ben Samuels writes, “In his first public remarks since earning the nod, Vance echoed Trump’s unvarnished opinion to Fox News’ Sean Hannity over the Gaza war, insisting that Israel needed to wrap it up as quickly as possible. Trump understood this messaging would not land with figures crucial to his electoral prospects and eventually changed tune, saying Israel should take all the time it needs. Vance will assuredly adjust course.”
I Can’t Erase All the Blood from My Mind’, Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch reports on “the nature and extent of violations of international humanitarian law, known as the laws of war, and serious international crimes committed by Palestinian armed groups across numerous attack sites on October 7′. The report also examines the role of different Palestinian armed groups involved, and their coordination before and during the attacks.”
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