Dozens of Palestinians in the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, who were set to be forcibly removed from their homes on Sunday, May 2, were given four more days by the Israeli Supreme Court to “reach an agreement” with the very settlers who have been attempting to force them from their homes for decades now. Members of the six families who are fighting to remain in their homes said they “firmly reject” the terms of such an agreement, “for these are our homes and the settlers are not our landlords.”

NYT Jerusalem correspondent Patrick Kingsley gives last word to Palestinian in Jerusalem who 8 times has been denied permission to expand his home to prove apartheid charge to readers. His coverage of the Human Rights Watch report affirms its findings and should be welcome by readers seeking changes in establishment opinion.

Gaza’s youngest voters hope Palestinian elections will move forward, amid reports saying the vote will be delayed due to disarray within the ruling Fatah party and a dispute with Israel around Jerusalem. “We are waiting for the elections to happen and want the local and international community to respect the results, to refute the argument of not having a unified Palestinian government,” Hind Judah tells Mondoweiss. The current division, she said, prevents “establishing the Palestinian state.”

Palestinian Christians and their supporters are urging Pope Francis and the World Council of Churches to intervene in more than a dozen evictions in Jerusalem “scheduled to take place on Sunday, May 2, which happens to coincide with the Greek Orthodox celebration of Easter.”

Recent videos show routine racism and violence directed against Palestinians with Israeli government support. Jewish settlers threaten to unleash dogs on Palestinians. Others spew hatred as soldiers protect them: “This is my land, King David walked around here two thousand years ago, herding his sheep. When you were where — in Saudi Arabia? Where Muhammad roamed…. Muhammad killed people. Raped. You’re a rapist people.”

Israeli authorities are failing to provide essential information on the vaccine in Arabic, to establish vaccine centers in Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, and to provide sufficient vaccines in Bedouin clinics in the Negev. These failures are “not a coincidence”, rights groups say.

Israeli authorities have announced a temporary freeze on home demolitions in occupied East Jerusalem, following legal pressure amidst a rise in the demolition of Palestinian homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

There are more than 2,300 active cases of COVID-19 in East Jerusalem, and the daily rate of infection continues to climb. Despite this, Israeli authorities have continued their policy of home demolitions and arrests in the occupied territory.

Malek Issa, 8, was shot in the face with a rubber-coated bullet by an Israeli police officer as he was on his way home February 15 in occupied Jerusalem. Israeli police said an officer claimed to have fired his weapon at a wall for “calibration” purposes, and thought Issa was hit by an alleged Palestinian stone-thrower.

It’s been six months of unrest in Issawiya. Excessive police brutality and indiscriminate daily raids by Israeli forces with no justification have left residents of the East Jerusalem district exhausted – and there is no end in sight.