‘I am sure we will die young because of this,” a resident of Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem says in a Berkeley Law School study documenting that the Palestinian camp is the most-teargassed place in the world. More than half the residents surveyed told researchers they’d experienced three to ten tear gas exposures just in the previous month!
The pop singer Lorde announced on Sunday that she would be canceling her June 5th performance in Tel Aviv after pressure from the Palestinian BDS movement. “I had done a lot of reading and sought a lot of opinions before deciding to book a show in Tel Aviv, but I’m not too proud to admit I didn’t make the right call on this one,” the singer wrote on social media explaining her decision.
The President of the United States on Wednesday confirmed that countries voting in favor of a United Nations draft resolution condemning the U.S.’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel could lose U.S. aid money. “They take hundreds of millions of dollars and even billions of dollars, and then they vote against us. Well, we’re watching those votes. Let them vote against us. We’ll save a lot. We don’t care,” Reuters quoted Trump as saying during a White House press conference.
Israeli soldiers forced their way into the Nariman and Bassem Tamimi’s home before dawn on Tuesday, the way they have done dozens of times before — only this time instead of leaving with Nariman or Bassem, they arrested the couple’s 16-year-old daughter, Ahed Tamimi. It is alleged that Ahed was arrested for slapping a soldier during a demonstration the day before. The demonstration was organized to protest Israel’s use of force during a protest on Friday, when Ahed’s 14-year-old cousin Mohammed was shot in the face by an Israeli soldier, leaving him in critical condition. After a six-hour surgery the boy was put into a medically induced coma for at least 72 hours.
The United States on Monday vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for the U.S. to rescind its recent decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The other 14 members of the Security Council voted to approve the Egyptian-drafted resolution.
Last week, a photo of 16-year-old Fawzi al-Junaidi, showing the disoriented and blindfolded teen being manhandled by at least twenty fully-armed Israeli soldiers, went viral around the world on social media. Today, al-Junaidi will be taken in for a hearing in Israel’s military court where he faces up to 20 years in prison for throwing stones. The likelihood that Fawzi will be found guilty is high, as 99.74 percent of all cases brought to Israel’s military court end in a guilty verdict. Brad Parker of Defense for Children International – Palestine tells Mondoweiss that the photo should be seen as a symbol of Israel’s normal practices concerning Palestinian children, and not a special circumstance.
While the Trump administration has been firm in its commitment to go through with the unilateral decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, today the United Nations Security Council will vote on a resolution against the move, pushing the U.S. president to take back the controversial recognition. In response to the U.S.’s anticipated veto, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), plans to get the resolution taken to the General Assembly through the “Uniting for Peace” mechanism in the UN, which was created to deal with stalemates in the Security Council.
In Havana, Cuba, around 500 people, including Palestinian expats, students, as well as locals, and government officials, gathered in a large government-owned community center to mark the 50th anniversary of the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Mousa Solyman, the head of the PFLP in Cuba, told Mondoweiss that representing the group in Cuba was an experience like no other. “In the West it seems all aspects of the Palestinian struggle are illegal, not just the PFLP, any combative organization that supports Palestinian rights are considered terrorists, but in Cuba the government is always supporting us because our cause is justice, and living and working here, that support is felt everyday,” Solyman said.
Protests came to a head across the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip on Friday, as Palestinians took the streets against U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. One youth leader tells Mondoweiss they would have been much larger if the Palestinian Authority had not been involved: “The people are not happy with Abbas right now, and if the protests were not being launched by the PA and Fatah I think we would see massive participation, but right now people are feeling angry and a bit lost as to how we should be reacting.”
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyadh Malki has called for an emergency meeting of the Arab League to discuss recent rumors that U.S. President Donald Trump soon plans to go through with threats to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, de facto recognizing the city as the capital of Israel.