Palestine News

On March 7, a group of people dropped a banner in Quarry Plaza at the University of California, Santa Cruz that read "UC must divest/End Study Abroad in 'Israel' Now." UC Santa Cruz Students for Justice in Palestine writes: We have grave concerns that the UC's study abroad programs in Israel are opposed to the values of academic freedom and are complicit in the oppression of Palestinians. Israeli study abroad programs have a demonstrated track record of being racist against non-white students.

The lower house of the Irish parliament passed a bill preventing the importation or sale of goods from Israeli settlements on January 24. The law would "make it an offence for a person to import or sell goods or services originating in an occupied territory or to extract resources from an occupied territory in certain circumstances." Conversely, the U.S. Senate passed a bill on February 5 which included the "Combating BDS Act of 2019" that would allow state and local governments to sanction those who support the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions movement.

On December 20, Israeli settlers began creating a road through Palestinian-owned lands in the West Bank district of Bethlehem. Villagers attempted to prevent the settlers from razing their lands, but were stopped by the Israeli military. On Christmas eve, settlers stormed the area and erected a “caravan” as a prelude to a new illegal settlement outpost. Meanwhile, Christians in Gaza are regularly denied “holiday permits” to travel and celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem or elsewhere.

The Trump administration will close the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) office in D.C. This follows a State Department promise to cut more than $300 million in funding for humanitarian assistance. These moves appear intended to force Palestinians into a "peace deal" that would deny them a state, as well as denying the right of return for Palestinian refugees. Meanwhile, Israeli settlers storm the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque on a daily basis to push forward their plans to build the so-called “Third Temple.”

A five-month grassroots campaign led by human rights groups and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Missouri celebrated a win on May 18, when the Missouri legislative session ended, failing to pass legislation that would have denied state contracts worth over $10,000 to businesses and organizations boycotting Israel over its subjugation and dispossession of the Palestinian people.

May 14 marked the 70th anniversary of the Nakba in Palestine. Senior members of the Trump administration gathered for the opening of the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, sparking massive protests across Palestine. Israeli soldiers fired live ammunition into a crowd who gathered in Gaza, killing 58 and injuring 2,771. The following day, over 1,000 Palestine supporters showed up in San Francisco, San José, and Santa Cruz.

On March 30, massive protests were held in cities across Gaza on Land Day to start a six-week mobilization leading up to al-Nakba Day on May 15, which commemorates the expulsion of more than 750,000 Palestinians from their homeland in 1948 to make way for the state of Israel. Near Gaza border fences, Israeli forces used live ammunition to kill 17 demonstrators. 1,416 Palestinians were wounded, 758 of whom were shot by live ammunition. The U.S. has used its veto power in the United Nations Security Council to block a UN investigation into the Israeli military killings in Gaza.

Congressman Jimmy Panetta, who represents California's central coast, was a member of a Democratic congressional delegation that visited Israel on March 26 to congratulate the nation on the 70th anniversary of the establishment of its government. Nancy Pelosi, the leader of the delegation, stated ahead of their visit, “There is no greater political accomplishment in the 20th Century than the establishment of the State of Israel." Also on March 26, Israel's army announced that “dozens of snipers" would be deployed in Gaza – and four days later, over 750 Palestinians were shot during Land Day demonstrations.

When members of the Bay Area group Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism (QUIT!) heard about the imprisonment of 16-year-old Ahed Tamimi for slapping the Israeli soldier who had shot her cousin and was now invading her family’s home, they wanted to see her picture prominently displayed during January's Women’s Marches. QUIT! teamed up with artists from the queer arts collectives, Street Cred and Bay Area Art Queers Unleashing Power (BAAQUP), to create a powerful image that has now spread around the world.