Israel/ Palestine

As NYT’s Friedman Laments end of Israel-Palestine Two-State Solution, the Bantustan Alternative Looms

Montreal (Special to Informed Comment) – In a New York Times Dec. 18, 2022, opinion piece, Thomas L. Friedman, echoing many other mainstream commentators, bemoans that Israel’s aggressive settlement policies and growing religious nationalism “could bury the two-state solution and the one-state solution in the same grave.” However, what Mr. Friedman and other commentators fail to […]

Featured

If the US Aim in Helping Ukraine is a Rules-Based International Order it must Condemn Israeli Annexation of Syria’s Golan and Occupation of Palestine

Juan Cole

Zelensky Ukraine War Syria Israel Golan Occupation International Law

Israel/ Palestine

Why the Fight over defining Antisemitism is Key to the Future of BDS

Waging Nonviolence

By Shane Burley | – ( Waging Nonviolence) – Despite conservatives in America feigning their undying support for “free speech,” those convictions often vanish when it comes to even mild criticism of Israel. A recent Texas state bill was introduced that, among other things, barred any worker or company on a public sector contract from […]

Israel/ Palestine

New Extremist Israeli Government Further Marginalizes Palestinians and risks Alienating 70% World’s Jews

H. Scott Prosterman

Oakland, Ca. (Special to Informed Comment) – A crisis is brewing in the relationship between Israel and the United States, and even between Israel and the American Jewish community. The new Israeli government, the most extreme in the country’s history, is led by Benjamin Netanyahu, on trial for corruption, Itamar Ben-Gvir, of the far-right Jewish […]

Israel/ Palestine

Israel, Palestinian Children, and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (HRW)

Human Rights Watch

( Human Rights Watch ) – We write in advance of the 94th pre-session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child and its review of Israel. This submission includes information on unlawful attacks and the unjustified use of lethal force against children, detention, mistreatment, and abuse of children, the impact of movement restrictions […]

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2022 was Deadliest Year for Palestinians under Occupation on Record, with 153 Killed by Israeli Forces, Squatters: UN

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The UN Officer of the High Commissioner on Human Rights has issued a press release detailing the views of its experts on the Israeli treatment of the Palestinians during the past year, which they say has seen the worst death rate among the Occupied population since the organization began systematically […]

Israel/ Palestine

Heard the Phrase ‘Illegal Israeli Settlements?’ All such Squatter-Settlements are Illegal

Middle East Monitor

By Sari Al-Qudwa | – ( Middle East Monitor) – All Israeli settlements violate Article 49, paragraph six, of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949. They are, therefore, considered to be war crimes, according to Article 84, paragraph four of the additional first protocol of 1977; an annex to the 1949 Geneva Convention; and Article […]

China

At Arab Summit, China’s Xi calls for End to Israeli Settlements and Quick Establishment of Palestinian State With East Jerusalem as Capital

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – China’s trade with the Arab world was over $330 billion in 2021, and will likely be a third larger this year, given the high price of petroleum. The largest single source of oil for China is Saudi Arabia. It imports significant amounts of petroleum, as well, from Oman, Kuwait and […]

International Criminal Court

Can the Int’l Criminal Court Hold Israel Responsible for Crimes in Palestine?

Middle East Monitor

Mustafa-Fetouri | – Last February, the International Criminal Court (ICC) said it has jurisdiction over Gaza, Occupied Palestinian West Bank and East Jerusalem. The office of the Prosecutor, the announcement said, the “Government of Palestine” has accepted the Rome Statute, which established the Court over two decades earlier. This means the Government of Palestine is […]