“Not on our dime!”: Why U.S. Democrats are growingly challenging Israel
May 24th, 20230 Though the United States remains a strong supporter of Israel, there are some indications that the supposed “unbreakable bond” with Tel Aviv is faltering, though more in language than in deeds. Following the provocative “Flag March” on May 18, which is carried out annually by Israeli Jewish extremists in the Occupied...
Hundreds demonstrate in Dearborn in solidarity with the Palestinian people
May 19th, 20230 DEARBORN — Hundreds of demonstrators commemorated the 75th anniversary of the Nakba of Palestine, calling for freedom and justice for the Palestinian people and stopping the U.S. support for Israel, as well as condemning the recent Israeli attacks on the Palestinian people in Gaza. The demonstrators, who carried out a sit-in protest...
U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum introduces bill to restrict aid to Israel
May 16th, 20230 WASHINGTON, D.C. – A U.S. representative from Minnesota has renewed a push to ensure that aid to Israel does not contribute to abuses of Palestinians, particularly children, as progressive legislators continue to call for conditions to be placed on the assistance. On Friday, May 5, Democratic U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum reintroduced a...
U.S. appeals court upholds dismissal of lawsuit linking American Palestinian group to “terrorism”
May 6th, 20230 WASHINGTON D.C. – On May 2, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit charging that a Palestinian rights organization had provided “material support” for terrorism by engaging in advocacy. Brought by the Jewish National Fund (JNF) and several U.S. citizens who live in Israel, the suit targeted First...
Israel strikes target Hamas in Lebanon and Gaza after rocket attack
April 8th, 20230 Israel's military hit sites in Lebanon and Gaza early on Friday, in retaliation for rocket attacks it blamed on the Hamas group, as tensions following Israeli police raids this week on the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem threatened to spiral out of control. Loud blasts rocked different areas of Gaza, as Israel said its jets hit targets...
U.S. blocks Security Council statement condemning Israeli raids on the Al Aqsa Mosque
April 8th, 20230 NEW YORK – On Thursday, the U.S. blocked the adoption of a U.N. Security Council press statement condemning recent Israeli police raids on the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, diplomats said. A U.N. official told The National that there was initial widespread agreement among the 15 council members to issue a statement following Israel's...
Mass protests and false hope: Israel’s supreme court is no friend of the Palestinian people
March 16th, 20230 As hundreds of thousands, throughout Israel, joined anti-government protests, questions began to arise regarding how this movement would affect, or possibly merge, into the wider struggle against the Israeli military occupation and apartheid in Palestine. Pro-Palestine media outlets shared, with obvious excitement, news about...
U.S. rights groups call on the Biden administration to ban Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich from entering the country
March 10th, 20230 Several advocacy and rights groups throughout the United States are calling for the U.S. government to issue an entry ban on Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister, after Smotrich called for Huwwara to be “wiped out” earlier this week. Through multiple statements, several groups, including rabbinical groups and...
Israeli minister’s call to “erase” Palestinian village an incitement to violence, U.S. says
March 4th, 20230 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's call for a Palestinian village to be "erased" amounted to incitement to violence and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must publicly disavow it, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday. An ultranationalist in Netanyahu's right-wing coalition, Smotrich made the comments...
New Israeli law allows stripping residency of Palestinians convicted of “terrorism”
February 27th, 20230 Israel passed a law on Wednesday that would allow authorities to strip people who have been jailed of citizenship or residency if they receive Palestinian funds for actions deemed as "terrorism", as rising Palestinian resistance has stoked fears of escalation. Israel calls stipends for Palestinians resisting Israeli occupation and their...
U.N. Security Council denounces Israel in statement to avoid U.S. veto on resolution
February 22nd, 20230 UNITED NATIONS – On Monday, the U.N. Security Council issued a formal statement denouncing Israel's plan to expand settlements on occupied Palestinian territory, the first action the United States has allowed the body to take against its ally Israel in six years. Washington's support for the presidential statement — action the...
Biden withdraws candidate’s nomination to human rights post for criticizing Israel
February 17th, 20230 The Biden administration has withdrawn the nomination of a leading law professor to an international human rights post, for describing Israel as an “apartheid state” and accusing the top Democrat in Congress of being “bought” by pro-Israel groups. James Cavallaro, of Wesleyan and Yale universities, said he was told by the...
Israel, Sudan announce deal to normalize relations
February 6th, 20230 KHARTOUM – Israel and Sudan have finalized a deal to normalize relations, with a signing ceremony expected following a transfer of power from the military to a civilian government in Khartoum, the Israeli foreign ministry said on Thursday. Sudan's foreign ministry earlier said the deal was agreed during a visit by Israeli Foreign...
Israeli occupation forces invaded refugee camp, killed five Palestinians and held their bodies
February 6th, 20230 Israeli occupation forces invaded the Aqbat Jabr refugee camp near the West Bank city of Jericho early Monday morning, killing at least five Palestinians during the invasion. The bodies of the victims are being withheld by occupation forces. Malik Awni Lafi, 22, Thaer Owidat, 28, Rafaat Wael Owidat, 21, Adham Majdi Owidat, 22, and...
Analysis: Israel and Palestinians risk deeper conflict in a distracted world
February 4th, 20230 After bloodshed in Jerusalem and the West Bank and a month since Israel's most right-wing government took office, Israel and the Palestinians risk sliding into a cycle of wider confrontation with pressure on both sides for retaliation, analysts say. A Palestinian gunman shot dead seven people near a synagogue in Jerusalem's outskirts on......
leaked British documents reveal former President George W. Bush ordered the CIA to find a replacement for Arafat
February 3rd, 20230 The BBC is reporting that British documents have been leaked confirming former U.S. President George W Bush ordered the CIA to find a replacement for former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Bush’s order followed the escalation of the Second Intifada in 2001. The CIA effort came after negotiations failed between then-Israeli Prime...
Palestine is my cause: Arabs reaffirm support for Palestinians, rejection of the occupation
February 2nd, 20230 By Ramzy Baroud The latest Arab Opinion Index 2022 is yet more proof that Arab societies are diverse in every possible way, from their assessment of their economic situation and living conditions to their take on immigration, state institutions and democracy. With one single exception: Palestine. Seventy-six percent of all...
U.S. concerned over Israeli raid against Palestinian camp ahead of Blinken visit
January 27th, 20230 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Washington is concerned the security situation between the Israelis and Palestinians could worsen ahead of a visit to the Middle East by Secretary of State Antony Blinken starting on Sunday, a U.S. official said, after a deadly raid by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank on Thursday. The top U.S. diplomat...
Jenin resists: Israeli raid at Palestinian refugee camp kills 10, injures dozens
January 26th, 20230 At least 10 Palestinians were killed Thursday during an Israeli raid at the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank. According to the Palestinian health ministry, nine Palestinians were shot and killed by Israeli forces, including an elderly woman, and at least 20 others were seriously wounded. At least four people were in critical......
U.S. senators visit Israel, ask not to meet with far-right ministers
January 20th, 20230 According to an Israeli official, a delegation of U.S. senators arrived in Israel on Tuesday, asking not to meet with far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, along with any other members of their hardline factions. Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen’s office made the request. Rosen co-leads the bipartisan delegation...
Netanyahu says he and White House’s Sullivan discussed prospect of relationship with Saudi Arabia
January 20th, 20230 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, hosting his first senior member of President Biden's administration on Thursday, said they had discussed prospects for a diplomatic breakthrough between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Visiting White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan also heard from the Palestinians that their hopes of......
Arab normalizers face dilemma as Israel goes to the far right
January 16th, 20230 Israel's sharp tilt to what is likely to be the most hard right government in its history puts its new Arab allies in the awkward position of having to deal with ultra-nationalists while trying to do more than just pay lip service to the Palestinian cause. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet, sworn in two weeks ago, includes...
Israel was never a democracy: So why is the West lamenting end of “liberal” Israel?
January 6th, 20230 Even before the new Israeli government was officially sworn in on December 29, angry reactions began emerging, not only among Palestinians and other Middle Eastern governments, but also among Israel’s historic allies in the West. As early as November 2, top U.S, officials conveyed to Axios that the Biden administration is “unlikely......
