Rights Group Says Israel May Have Committed War Crimes in Gaza
Human Rights Watch says that Israel’s use of lethal force against Palestinian protesters in the Gaza Strip may constitute war crimes, ahead of an emergency UN General Assembly meeting to vote on a resolution condemning Israel’s “excessive use of force” (Associated Press)
U.S. to Oppose UN Resolution on Palestinian Protections
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said she will veto a Kuwait-drafted Security Council resolution that calls for providing protections to Palestinians in Gaza after more than one hundred Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in recent weeks (France24)
Dozens of Rockets, Mortars Fired into Israel
Militants in the Gaza Strip fired more than seventy rockets and mortars into Israel yesterday, injuring seven people; the Israeli military responded with airstrikes in the Gaza Strip that it said targeted training camps used by militant groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (Washington Post)
Gaza Protests Resume Following Yesterday’s Bloodshed
Protests by Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza that swelled yesterday continued today, Nakba Day, marking the Palestinian exodus that accompanied Israeli independence; at least sixty people were killed by Israeli forces yesterday (Guardian)
U.S. Opens Jerusalem Embassy Amid Gaza Violence
More than fifty Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces during mass protests in Gaza, as U.S. officials opened the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem. The Gaza Health Ministry reported more than 2,400 people have been injured in the Nakba Day demonstrations, which are also protesting the U.S. move (Washington Post)
Trump, Pence to Skip Jerusalem Embassy Opening
State Department officials, presidential advisors Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, and Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt will attend the ceremony to open the new U.S. embassy in Israel next week (Jerusalem Post)
Two Palestinians Killed In Fourth Week of Protest
Two Palestinians were killed and a dozen injured by Israeli troops as they were approaching the Gaza-Israel border fence today, Palestinian health officials said. The protest, pushing demands for Palestinian refugees to regain ancestral homes, reached its halfway mark this week (Reuters)
More Injuries Reported as Gaza Protests Continue
One Palestinian was killed and nearly two hundred others were reportedly injured during clashes with Israeli security forces today the Gaza border fence, in the third week of ongoing protests. Thirty-one Palestinians have been killed and hundreds more injured during the demonstrations (Reuters)
Palestinian Reportedly Killed in Israeli Airstrike
Hours after an explosive device detonated near an Israeli army vehicle along the Gaza-Israel border, Israel bombed Hamas military targets in the southern Gaza Strip killing one, Palestinian authorities said (Associated Press)
ICC Chief Calls for End to Gaza Violence
Chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, said crimes committed in Palestine could be subject to an investigation by her office after dozens of Palestinians were reported killed and hundreds were wounded in recent days by Israeli gunfire (Guardian)
Forty Reported Injured in Gaza Border Protests
The Palestinian Health Ministry reported forty injured and one dead after clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces erupted again in West Bank cities (Haaretz)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Israel to exercise “extreme caution” in its response to continuing demonstrations in Gaza (Guardian)
U.S. Blocks UN Inquiry into Gaza Protest Deaths
A UN Security Council statement that would have called for an independent probe into Gazan protesters’ deaths on Friday was blocked by the United States (Voice of America)
At least seventeen Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire during border demonstrations, and Palestinians have planned protests to continue through May (CNN)
Fifteen Dead as Gaza Protests Begin
Fifteen people were killed and hundreds were wounded as clashes erupted near the Israeli border on the first day of a six-week Land Day protest, according to officials in Gaza. The Israeli military reports 17,000 Palestinians were gathered to protest at several points along the Gaza Strip fence (Washington Post)
Ahead of Demonstrations, Israel Deploys Snipers Along the Gaza Border
The Israeli military deployed more than one hundred snipers along the Gaza border before the start tomorrow of the annual six-week long “Land Day” demonstration. The protest, supported by several Palestinian political parties including Hamas, calls for the right of return for Palestinian refugees (Al Jazeera)
Palestinian Killed in Jerusalem After Stabbing Israeli
A Palestinian was killed by police yesterday in Jerusalem’s Old City after stabbing an Israeli and seriously wounding him, said Israel’s Shin Bet security service. On Friday, a Palestinian drove his car into a group of Israeli soldiers in the West Bank, killing two (Associated Press)
$100 Million Pledged for UN Relief Agency for Palestine
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees received pledges of nearly $100 million in new funding from other donors after the United States cut $300 million of the $365 million reportedly pledged for 2018. The agency faces a $446 million gap in financing this year (Associated Press)
White House Hosts Meeting on Gaza
Nineteen nations including Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and several Gulf states participated in talks in the U.S. capital yesterday to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The Palestinian Authority boycotted the meeting (Reuters)
Bombing in Gaza Targets Palestinian PM
Seven people were injured when an explosive went off as a convoy carrying Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah entered the Gaza Strip through an Israeli checkpoint (Al Jazeera)
Palestinian Leader Calls for Peace Conference
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and U.S. envoy to the United Nations Nikki Haley, at the UN Security Council yesterday, traded accusations of obstructing peace talks on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Abbas called for an international peace summit to be held by mid-2018, under UN, not U.S., sponsorship (Washington Post)
Israeli Settler Leader Says West Bank Settlements Grew Rapidly in 2017
The population in Jewish settlements in the West Bank grew twice as fast as Israel’s overall population last year, according to a settler organization–backed report. The founder of the report said that the internationally backed two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is “over” (Associated Press)
Pence Says U.S. Embassy to Move to Jerusalem by End of 2019
In a speech to the Israeli parliament today, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence reiterated the Trump administration’s plans to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, saying that the new embassy would open before the end of next year (Reuters)
U.S. Withholds $65 Million in Aid to Palestinians
The United States announced yesterday that it will provide only $60 million of an expected $125 million to the UN Relief and Works Agency, which supports schools and health centers for displaced Palestinians. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “very concerned” about the U.S. decision (Wall Street Journal)
Palestinian Leader Says Israel ‘Killed’ Oslo Accord
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in a Sunday speech, rejected the United States as a mediator in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and said that Israel has “killed” the 1993 Oslo Accords (New York Times)
A top decision-making body of the Palestinian Liberation Organization voted yesterday to suspend recognition of Israel and back an international movement to boycott the country (Middle East Eye)
Israel’s Knesset Votes to Tighten Control Over Jerusalem
Israel’s legislature passed an amendment today that increases the number of votes needed to cede control over any section of Jerusalem to a “foreign party,” potentially complicating any future peace deal that involves handing over territory to Palestinians (Reuters)
Second Nation to Move Embassy in Israel
Guatemala announced it will follow the United States‘ lead and move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem (New York Times)