The new Israeli government this week moved forward on plans to build 3000 more settlement units in the West Bank; and yesterday the State Department issued its strongest opposition to the plans since Joe Biden took office, calling the plans “unacceptable.” The State Department spokesperson said yesterday the U.S. “strongly” opposes the expansion of settlements.

Reactionary Arab regimes are normalizing with apartheid Israel as international civil society, intellectuals, and artists honor the Palestinian call for BDS.

Palestinian students are forced to leave the mixed Israeli city of Nof Hagalil to attend school in nearby Nazareth. Why? Because local schools refuse to accommodate Arab students, which reflects the vision of local leaders — a town devoid of an Arab population whatsoever.

Ten globally recognized Christian organizations in Palestine “condemn and denounce in the strongest possible terms” Israel’s decision to designate six Palestinian groups, including leading human rights groups, as “terrorist organizations.”

Israel will not end its occupation and apartheid regime of its own free will. We call on those appalled by Israel’s apartheid and by its attempt to crush human rights organizations, to join us in supporting the organizations under attack and to support Palestinian civil society’s call for BDS.

Charges of antisemitism are being used as a weapon to weaken Palestinian solidarity. It is time for this tactic to be called out and confronted head-on.

For much of this year, Israel’s defenders have waged a successful battle to keep the word “apartheid” from entering the mainstream discourse. Israel just set that process back by smearing Palestinian human rights groups as terrorist organizations.

On Sunday Israel approved plans for 1,300 new settlement units in the occupied West Bank, in the first move of its kind since US President Joe Biden took office.  Later this week, the Israel Higher Planning Committee is expected to meet to push forward plans for an additional 2,862 units.

Small business owners in Gaza grapple with mounting debts and no means of income, after their enterprises were destroyed in the escalation with Israel last May.

Israel is facing widespread backlash for its dangerous decision to label six Palestinian human rights groups as terrorist organizations. “Supporters of Israel often say to critics, ‘Stop singling out Israel. Stop picking on Israel. Treat Israel like any other country,'” Mehdi Hasan said on his MSNBC news program. “Well, okay then. Let’s condemn them for doing this then because when our other allies, like Turkey or Saudi Arabia or Egypt, crack down on human rights groups, we condemn them for it. We criticize them. So why give Israel a pass?”