May 10,2018
Special Updates will be available weekly as needed. This update concerns the Gaza Fence protests between the Palestinians of Gaza and the Israeli Defense Forces. Please note: Opinions expressed in the following articles do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns.
Read previous issues of Middle East Notes
Read the PDF version of this Special Update
1) Hamas in Message to Israel: Willing to Negotiate Long-term Truce, Amos Harel, Haaretz, May 7, 2018
“According to intelligence assessments, the organization is still in dire distress and is currently more open to discussing options it rejected in the past. Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip have recently conveyed messages to Israel indicating their willingness to negotiate a long term cease-fire in the enclave.” … “Hamas wants to tie the cease-fire with an easing of the siege on Gaza, permission to embark on large-scale infrastructure projects and a prisoner and body exchange deal.” … Read more…
See also: An Alternative to Armed Struggle With Hamas, Haaretz Editorial, May 8, 2018
2) Palestinians Set Fires at Israel-Gaza Crossing; 70 Wounded by Israeli Fire in Border Protests, Jack Khoury and Yaniv Kubovich, Haaretz, May 4, 2018
“Some 10,000 Palestinians protested along the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip for the sixth consecutive Friday, with demonstrators attempting to breach the fence being met by Israeli attempts to disperse them.”… Read more…
See also: The Maiming Fields of Gaza, Derek A Summerfield, British Medical Journal, May 4, 2018
The heartbreaking reason this Palestinian joined the Gaza border protests , Gideon Levy and Alex Levac, Haaretz, May 4, 2018
3) Why rules of engagement on Gaza border must be revoked, Gilad Grossman, Ynetnews, May 1, 2018
“The attempts to intimidate the Israeli public into believing that a murderous crowd is about to cross the border and destroy everything in its way have been revealed as a fiery rhetoric aimed at justifying indiscriminate shooting at thousands of Palestinians.” … Read more…
See also: Top court hears first major challenge to IDF's live fire in Gaza,Joshua Leifer, 972 Mag. April 30, 2018
4) Focus On: Gaza, Ayah Abubasheer, Tareq Baconi, Haidar Eid, Victor Kattan, Esther Rappaport, Omar Shaban, Khalil Shaheen, Wajjeh Abu Zarifa, Al Shabaka, May 8, 2018
“World attention has refocused on Gaza since the Palestinians imprisoned there for more than a decade began their peaceful “Great March of Return” on March 30. Risking life and limb to protest the violations of their human rights – Israel has killed more than 40 protestors and wounded thousands more, many seriously – the Gaza Palestinians have also succeeded in going to the root cause of the conflict. They have forced the discourse to move beyond the occupation of the Palestinian territory in 1967 to the Palestinians’ dispossession and expulsion from their homeland to make way for the state of Israel in 1948.” …
Includes links to policy memos, briefs, and commentaries by Al-Shabaka analysts on political and economic issues informing the current situation. Read more…
5) Context for the Protests in Gaza: FAQs Gisha Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, May 3, 2018
"To promote a better understanding of the situation in Gaza, one that goes beyond the provocative, but reductive explanations making headlines in recent weeks, we have compiled key elements of Gisha’s research and professional analysis so as to provide answers to some frequently asked questions about the Gaza Strip." ... Read more...
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 Special Update Middle East Notes May 10, 2018 | 900.95 KB |