First Moshe Yaalon, the Israeli defense minister, approved the takeover of al-Baraka, a church compound in occupied territory near Bethlehem. Then Israeli forces quelled a demonstration against it
Haaretz reports: Explosives expert Sami Najar, who the Shin Bet says is a potential danger to national security, is the only one left in detention out of over 100 Gazans arrested last summer. The Shin Bet security service says Najar remains in administrative detention because he has exceptional knowledge about building explosive devices. For now, it is not known when he will be released.
Ma‘an reports: Israeli forces shot and injured a 14-year-old Mohammad Abdul Ilah with live ammunition on Saturday when they opened fire on a march in the West Bank village of Kafr Qaddum near Qalqiliya.
AFP reports: An announcement by a [Palestinian] lawmaker that he plans to join a pro-Palestinian flotilla seeking to break Israel’s blockade on Gaza caused outrage Monday among the country’s political class. Basel Ghattas, an Israeli MP with the Joint Arab List, sparked controversy after he announced he would join other parliamentarians and public figures from around the world in the latest attempt to reach Gaza by ship later this month.
IMEMC reports: The Israeli District Court in occupied Jerusalem sentenced, on Sunday morning, a young Palestinian man to 13 months of imprisonment, with an additional four months suspended, for what the court called “incitement” on his Facebook page.
Ma’an News: Hamas military wing Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades reportedly claimed responsibility for Friday’s West Bank shooting that left an Israel man dead and another lightly injured. A statement released by the group identified the “Marwan Qawasmeh and Amir Abu Eisha Brigade” as the group directly behind Friday’s shooting, adding that “the operation was carried out days before the first anniversary of the martyrs Marwan Qawasmeh and Amir Abu Eisha.” The two were killed by Israeli forces after being accused of kidnapping and killing three Israeli teenage settlers near Hebron last summer in what many say was a triggering point for last summer’s Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip.
Ynet reports: Benjamin Netanyahu held talks with several officials over the weekend regarding the possible plans of action to combat BDS. The talks included Strategic Affairs and Information Minister Gilad Erdan, whose office’s purview includes fighting BDS, as well as other officials from relevant ministries. Netanyahu and Erdan agreed that his office will receive at least NIS 100 million, most of which will go to fighting BDS. Erdan’s office will also receive 10 new positions for employees who will deal solely with the boycott and de-legitimization activities against Israel. The minister mentioned that he is flooded with calls from Jewish leaders from across the globe, who want to join the effort against BDS.
Al Jazeera reports: Adoption of a bill by Israeli cabinet ministers aimed at imposing tougher penalties on stone-throwers is the latest discriminatory measure by Israel, singling out Palestinians, a Palestinian diplomat has told Al Jazeera. The draft law stipulates 10 years in jail for stone-throwers without the need to prove the defendant’s intention to harm anyone. “When it comes to the Palestinians and Israelis, Israel has two different judicial systems. One is applicable to Israeli citizens and the other for Palestinians,” Maen Rashid Areikat, the chief of Palestinian Liberation Organisation Delegation in Washington DC, told Al Jazeera.
Haaretz reports: President Reuven Rivlin yesterday described academic boycotts against Israel as a “strategic threat of the first order.” During a discussion of the issue at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem, the chairman of the Council of Presidents of Israeli Universities, Technion president Prof. Peretz Lavie, said it was still possible to stop the snowball effect of the movement, but warned that “we are at the 90th minute.”
Ma‘an reports: Heavy traffic jams were reported along the main road between Hebron and Bethlehem on Monday as a settler bicycle race took place in the area. The 30-minute drive between the two cities took three hours as Israeli forces closed a main exit from Hebron connecting to Route 60 as settlers from Kiryat Arba took part in a race.