Weekly Briefing: The Trump administration is desperate to rein in the Israeli government

The ceasefire in Gaza remains mostly in place, despite repeated Israeli violations that have killed more than a dozen Palestinians. The exchange of captives continues. Israel this week returned 195 Palestinian bodies to Gaza. Many of them were bound and had signs of torture. Hamas has returned the bodies of several captives, but that effort is slow because of the enormous amount of destruction Israel caused across Gaza.

The Trump administration is desperate to rein in Netanyahu and the Israeli government. The Vice President arrived in Israel to apply pressure to Netanyahu, only to have the Knesset vote to move forward with the annexation of the West Bank. Vance said he took that vote as a personal insult, voicing much stronger criticism of the Israeli government than virtually any national Democratic Party figure has done in decades, if ever. This reminds me of the time that Joe Biden, as Vice President, arrived for a visit to Israel and was surprised by the expansion of 1,600 settlement units in East Jerusalem. He voiced some tepid disappointment, but remained in Israel for the trip. The settlements stayed too.

This week, we published some exclusive reporting from Tareq Hajjaj on the violence in Gaza between Hamas and the armed gangs that have been collaborating with Israel for some time, hoarding humanitarian supplies and carrying out operations for and with the support of the Israeli military. This violence is happening, and it’s being used for various propaganda purposes. Our reporting on it helps put it into much-needed context. Nicki Kattoura wrote a reflection on the limitations of statistics in the face of such widespread slaughter. “The only confirmed fact is that there is no confirmed death toll in Gaza,” they write.

In the U.S., Michael Arria examined the growing trend—let’s call it that now—for Democratic politicians to refuse AIPAC money or even return it. Democratic consultant Peter Feld says AIPAC is now “radioactive.” Michael also looked at an effort by elected officials in Portland to investigate the city’s ties to Israeli weapons. “Our choices at the local level matter in the global fight for justice,” explained Portland City Councilor Candace Avalos. “Silence and neutrality are not options in the face of oppression.”

Must read: Israel returns 195 dead bodies to Gaza, many mutilated with hands bound, signs of torture

Tareq Hajjaj: The Gaza Ministry of Health published photos of the mutilated bodies of Palestinian prisoners. Most of them showed clear signs of torture — hands and feet bound, blindfolded, bodies showing marks of tank tracks, burns, fractures, and deep wounds.

Genocide in Gaza

🇵🇸 Tareq Hajjaj: Hamas plans to expand its ongoing crackdown on gangs backed and funded by the Israeli army. The renewed effort “will be on multiple fronts” where these groups operate, a security source from the movement tells Mondoweiss.

📊 Nicki Kattoura: The death toll in Gaza remains unknown, and statistics have become a contested tool to understand the scale of the genocide. However, even if we had an accurate number of deaths, we would still not fully understand the depth of its meaning.

Catch-up

🇮🇱 Michael Arria: Half of Portland’s City Council has pledged to investigate the city’s connections to Israel, including the manufacturing and transportation of weapons intended for the country.

🫒 Qassam Muaddi: Since the Gaza ceasefire, Israel has intensified its operations against Palestinians in the West Bank, conducting military raids in the north and increasing settler attacks on Palestinians harvesting olive groves.

🧑‍🏫 Malek Abisaab, Rula Jurdi Abisaab and Michelle Hartman: In a 114-8 vote, the McGill Association of University Teachers endorsed the academic and cultural boycott of Israel. The win came after years of organizing, demonstrating the collective power of professors, librarians, and students against genocide.

🫏 Michael Arria: As support for Israel plummets among U.S. voters, Democrats are distancing themselves from AIPAC, and the Israel lobby group is on the defensive.