Weekly Briefing: Bulldozers in Beit Sahour, new borders in Gaza.

Israel is trying to cement the apocalyptic destruction it caused in Gaza into new facts on the ground. Tareq Hajjaj reports that Israel plans to use the so-called “Yellow Line” in Gaza as a new “border.” Palestinians describe this mass displacement and land grab, plainly, as a second Nakba. Similarly, across the West Bank, settlers are bulldozing land near the town of Beit Sahour, near Bethlehem, and tightening their control of territory around one of the last major Christian Palestinian communities. Israel’s primary patron, the United States, is preparing the legal and military framework to protect Israel from accountability, including a provision in the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act aimed at countering international arms embargoes.

We published several items this week about the political situation in the United States. In The Shift newsletter, Michael Arria covered Hillary Clinton’s claim that young people are being “duped” by social media. It is a confession that the pro-Israel, Zionist political class has lost the battle of public perception, so they are now trying to discredit the pubic audience itself. Andrew Ancheta reports on how the Israel lobby uses “free travel” to shape Congress’s relationship to Israel, with AIPAC setting the agenda. According to Majd Awad, YouTube removed hundreds of videos from Palestinian human rights groups after they were hit with U.S. sanctions. This is a warning to anyone who thinks Israeli “accountability” can survive inside corporate platforms. In Oakland, a broad coalition is organizing a people’s arms embargo to halt weapons shipments. In the U.K., Palestinian prisoners and supporters are risking their bodies in a historic hunger strike. Lara Kilani’s provocative essay demands seriousness from the solidarity movement. She writes that slogans about a “one state solution” are not plans, and “equal rights for all” means grappling with the hardest question of all—how Palestinians are supposed to live with those who carried out the Gaza genocide.

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on any or all of our coverage this week.

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Must read: Israel’s military chief says the ‘Yellow Line’ dividing Gaza will be Israel’s new border. Palestinians say this is a ‘second Nakba.’

Tareq Hajjaj: Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir says Israel views the “Yellow Line” dividing Gaza as its new border. Palestinians in Gaza report widespread demolitions east of the line, reshaping Gaza’s landscape through force in what they call a “second Nakba.”

Catch-up

🤳 Michael Arria in The Shift: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is doubling down on her assertion that young people are being duped by social media regarding Israel.

⬅️ Lara Kilani: The left’s view of Palestine’s future often reduces to vague terms like “one-state solution” or “equal rights for all” but few address the tough questions they raise, especially: how can Palestinians live with those who carried out the Gaza genocide?

✝️ Jeff Wright: Israeli settler groups have begun bulldozing Palestinian lands in the town of Beit Sahour to make way for a new settler outpost. The settlement threatens the existence of the largest remaining Christian community in the West Bank, residents say.

🇺🇸 Mitchell Plitnick: The 2026 National Defense Authorization Act includes a U.S. commitment to counter arms embargoes on Israel as the country’s isolation deepens due to the Gaza genocide.

🏛️ Andrew Ancheta: This year, Israel will account for nearly one-quarter of all free travel gifted to Congress members, and AIPAC is overwhelmingly setting the agenda.

🛫 Joseph Mogul: Oakland International Airport has become a key hub for transporting military cargo to Israel during the Gaza genocide. Now, over 30 groups and thousands of Oakland residents have come together in the Oakland People’s Arms Embargo to stop it.

🇬🇧 E.S. Wight: Eight people detained for allegedly protesting in support of Palestine are currently undertaking the largest hunger strike in UK prisons in over 40 years. The strikers need international solidarity to show the world they are not alone.

🚫 Majd Awad: After the U.S. imposed sanctions, YouTube took down over 700 videos from prominent Palestinian human rights groups. Rights advocates say this censorship goes beyond Palestine and affects the future of international justice and accountability.