The UN Security Council is set to meet Wednesday afternoon regarding Israel.
FRANCIS BOYLE, fboyle@illinois.edu
Boyle is professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law. His books include Palestine, Palestinians and International Law and World Politics, Human Rights and International Law. See relevant past IPA news releases. Boyle was an early advocate of divestment/disinvestment in Israel.
STEFANIE FOX, stefanie@
Fox is executive director of Jewish Voice for Peace which is joining with American Muslims for Palestine and other groups to protest Israeli policies at a rally at the Mall in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, May 14 at 1 p.m — “Nakba at 75.” See listing of protests around the U.S. by the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights.
JVP issued the following statement: “We are grieving and enraged by the Israeli government’s assault on Palestinians in Gaza … that killed at least 15 Palestinians, including 4 children. …
“As Palestinians in Gaza slept, the Israeli military led an aerial bombardment of the densely populated cities of Gaza, breaking a tenuous ceasefire.” Then, “the Israeli military led an incursion into the city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, reportedly injuring over 145 Palestinians, including 12 people who were shot with live fire. Our hearts break in the face of this latest round of Israeli escalation and violence.
“It’s been less than one year since Israel’s horrific three-day assault on Gaza last August, when the military killed over 49 Palestinians, including 17 children. These brutal attacks are not part of a ‘conflict’. They are one of the world’s largest militaries bombarding 2 million Palestinians trapped under a suffocating blockade.”
The attacks “are a clear and cynical move by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to attempt to save his own political career and unify his crumbling far-right and extremist government behind the drums of war. The Israeli government is proving that, as always, it awards no value to Palestinian lives.”
Fox noted: “In just under one week, Palestinians will mark 75 years since the Nakba — the catastrophe, in Arabic.” The recent attacks we are witnessing “are a cruel reminder that the Nakba is not just a historical event, but an ongoing structure of violence and ethnic cleansing. American Jews are waking up, and we must join in solidarity with Palestinians in their struggle for liberation.”
See from Haaretz, a major Israeli newspaper: “Gaza Assassinations Were All About Israeli Politics.” The paper writes: “Now that Ben-Gvir’s threat to the coalition has been lifted, we can only hope that Netanyahu will not be drawn into a lengthy conflict in the hope of suppressing the protest against him and ensuring the coalition’s survival.”
Shireen Abu Akleh was killed by the Israeli military on May 11, 2022, a year ago Thursday. See from The Intercept: “Israeli Forces Deliberately Killed Palestinian American Journalist, Report Shows.”