Israel Threatens to Expand Genocide With Invasion of the West Bank | Palestine Policy Roundup 08.30.2024
Israeli tanks on Israeli Border
Welcome to the Palestine Policy Roundup, a weekly publication of the IMEU Policy Project.
👀 ICYMI: MEMBERS OF CONGRESS SPEAK OUT
Rep. Rashida Tlaib: “The Israeli government has launched the largest invasion of the West Bank in decades—with fighter jets, drones, armored vehicles, and ground forces. The goal has always been the ethnic cleansing of Palestine.”
Sen. Chris Van Hollen: “@UNICEF & @WHO have called for an IMMEDIATE PAUSE in hostilities in Gaza to vaccinate children against the further spread of the insidious poliovirus.
@POTUS should do the same. As we work toward a permanent ceasefire & return of hostages, we must stop the spread of polio NOW.”
DC DEVELOPMENTS
💣 MEMBERS OF CONGRESS MUST BLOCK RECORD WEAPONS SALES TO ISRAEL
On August 13, the Biden administration notified Congress of five possible Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to Israel totaling more than $20 billion, just days after Zeteo reported on August 9 that the State Department also notified Congress of a Direct Commercial Sale (DCS) of 6,500 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) to Israel valued at $262 million. This is a record-breaking series of potential sales which would further deepen US complicity in Israel’s genocidal violence against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip
Congress must exercise its authority over weapons transfers and stop these sales to Israel. The American people want an arms embargo on Israel and do not want to be complicit in its genocidal violence against Palestinians in Gaza. A March 2024 public opinion poll conducted by the Center for Economic and Policy Research found that 52% of Americans believe that the US should halt all weapons shipments to Israel until it stops attacking Palestinians in Gaza. Only 27% of Americans support continuing weapons shipments. Among those who voted for President Biden in 2020, 62% support halting weapons to Israel while only 14% oppose.
IMEU Policy Project also found that committing to imposing an arms embargo on Israel is a winning electoral strategy for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. Our public opinion poll of Democratic and independent voters in three key swing states conducted by YouGov found that 39% of Georgia voters would be more likely to vote for Harris if she commits to an arms embargo whereas only 5% of voters would be less likely to vote for her. Similar results obtained in Arizona (35% to 5%) and in Pennsylvania (34% to 7%).
💡 POLICY ASK: Members of Congress should introduce or cosponsor one or more JRDs to halt these weapons sales.
📖 LEARN MORE: Read IMEU Policy Project’s policy memo on the weapons sales and the urgent need for joint resolutions of disapproval.
🗞️BREAKING: Yesterday during a town hall meeting in Vermont, Sen. Bernie Sanders committed to introducing a joint resolution of disapproval to block the Biden administration’s proposed sales of $20 billion in weapons to Israel.
📺 TUNE IN: Join IMEU Policy Project’s Policy Director Josh Ruebner, along with Amanda Klasing, National Director of Government Relations and Advocacy, Amnesty International USA, and Annie Shiel, US Advocacy Director, Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC), for a webinar on Thursday, September 5, 2 PM Eastern, entitled “The Case for Suspending Arms to Israel”, hosted by the Forum on Arms Trade. Register for the webinar here.
📢 USAID INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT CONTRADICTS BLINKEN’S ASSURANCES TO CONGRESS
A report released by the USAID IG found that multiple USAID staff voiced opposition to the Gaza aid pier due to its likelihood to “detract from the Agency’s advocacy for opening land crossings, which were seen as more efficient and proven methods of transporting aid into Gaza.”
This report appears to be the first time officials within the U.S. government have confirmed publicly that aid was not getting into Gaza due to Israeli closures and delays, and knew when these closures occurred. The report says “numerous and prolonged border closures have significantly affected the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza,” and names several instances. The report also notes that the Erez East crossing in Gaza’s north was not kept open as of July 11 - Biden is reported to have requested the crossing to be opened in April after Israel’s deadly attack on World Central Kitchen staff - and that “closed routes” and “inspection delays at land crossings impeded efforts to deliver aid” since October. It also notes the closure of the Rafah crossing on May 7 through July.
This admission of Israel’s restriction of US-supplied aid has important implications - such actions clearly violate US laws and policies on weapons transfers to Israel, especially Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act and National Security Memorandum 20, and necessitate an immediate halt on all weapons transfers to Israel.
On May 10, Secretary Blinken assured Congress in the State Department’s NSM-20 report that the department did not assess that the Israeli government was restricting the delivery and distribution of US humanitarian assistance in Gaza, allowing for the continuation of weapons transfers to Israel. NSM-20 requires credible assurances from foreign governments that they will “consistent with applicable international law, facilitate and not arbitrarily deny, restrict, or otherwise impede, directly or indirectly, the transport of U.S. humanitarian assistance and USG-supported international efforts to provide humanitarian assistance in any area of armed conflict where the partner uses such defense articles.”
Earlier this year, State Department resignee Stacy Gilbert alleged that the Biden administration was “twisting the facts” and making “patently, demonstrably, quantifiably false” claims that Israel is not blocking humanitarian aid for Gaza.
The Biden administration cannot continue weapons transfers to Israel while it is in clear violation of US laws and policies. President Biden must abide by these laws and policies and immediately end all weapons to Israel. Members of Congress must pressure the Biden administration to comply with these laws and policies and exercise their oversight authority over weapons transfers and halt all weapons to Israel.
❎ STATE DEPARTMENT IMPOSES SANCTIONS ON ISRAELI SETTLER, NGO BUT MORE ACTION IS NEEDED
The State Department announced sanctions on Israeli NGO Hashomer Yosh and Yitzhak Levi Filant over their involvement and support for violence and land theft by Israeli settlers in the West Bank. While Hashomer Yosh is an NGO, it has received support and funding from the Israeli Ministries of Agriculture and Environment and its senior members are affiliated with Israeli cabinet ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.
While this is a welcome step from the BIden administration, much more action is needed: the violence and land theft associated with Israeli settler pogroms is part of the expansionist policy pursued by the Israeli government, and sanctions must therefore extend to Israeli officials. Earlier this year, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich outlined his plan to legalize settlements in the West Bank as part of an effort to facilitate Israeli annexation of the West Bank.
Last month the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza is illegal under international law and called on UN member states to cooperate with the UN to end illegal Israeli practices, including the construction and presence of settlements, and to not recognize or support Israeli control over the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
IN THE NEWS
🔍 AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: MAY ATTACKS BY ISRAELI FORCES IN GAZA SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED AS WAR CRIMES
An investigation by Amnesty International revealed that Israeli forces failed to mitigate civilian harm during two attacks on displaced Palestinians in Gaza in May, validating eyewitness reports from survivors of the attacks. The investigation focused on the Israeli strike on the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood of Rafah, an attack which drew widespread outrage as horrific photos of the aftermath of the strike emerged, and on an attack by Israeli forces on the al-Mawasi designated humanitarian zone.
The investigation confirmed earlier reporting on Israel’s use of US-made GBU-39 bombs in the strike on the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood, which at the time raised serious concerns about US complicity in Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and about President Biden’s failure to implement his “red line” promise to halt some weapons to Israel if it launched an invasion of Rafah. Contrary to claims that the use of these “small-diameter bombs” is consistent with a targeted approach, the report notes that the wide area effects of a GBU-39 bomb made it an unsuitable weapon for use in a crowded displacement camp such as the one in Tal al-Sultan when more precise weapons are available.
US-supplied GBU-39 bombs have also been used in at least four other attacks on Palestinians by Israeli forces which are likely war crimes. This investigation provides further evidence of the use of US-supplied weapons in possible war crimes, which under both US and international law should trigger a halt on all weapons shipments to Israel.
PALESTINE/ISRAEL DEVELOPMENTS
🚨 ISRAELI FORCES LAUNCH LARGEST INVASION OF NORTHERN WEST BANK IN TWO DECADES
Israeli forces launched their largest invasion of the West Bank in more than 20 years this week, targeting areas in the northern part of the occupied territory, including Tulkarem, Jenin, Tubas, the Nur Shams refugee camp, Nablus, and more, as the operation continues to expand. In comments about the invasion, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz suggested that evacuation orders should be issued to clear areas of civilians, stoking fears that Israel will displace Palestinians in the West Bank in the same way that it has done to Palestinians in Gaza. 18 Palestinians have been killed during the invasion at the time of writing, including at least 5 Palestinian boys.
This invasion is yet another escalation of violence by Israeli forces in the West Bank: since October 2023, more than 600 Palestinians in the occupied territory have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers. Israeli forces have blockaded entry and exit points from medical facilities in Jenin and detained Palestine Red Crescent Society medical workers in the Al-Fara’a refugee camp. Israeli bulldozers have also reportedly been used to damage critical infrastructure in Jenin, plunging the city into a communications blackout.
🔑 KEY TAKEAWAY: Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, speaking to Democracy Now on the Israeli invasion of the West Bank, stated: “They are trying to repeat the Nakba. They are trying to repeat the ethnic cleansing that took place in 1948. … They are trying to repeat the same ethnic cleansing, the same genocide that is committed in Gaza, where, by the way, the war crimes continue. And every day, the Israeli army is killing 40 or 50 Palestinians — most of them, of course, are civilians.”
🩺 REPORT DETAILS TORTURE OF PALESTINIAN HEALTHCARE WORKERS BY ISRAELI AUTHORITIES
A report released by Human Rights Watch details the arbitrary detention, mistreatment, and torture of Palestinian healthcare workers as Israel continues its attacks on medical facilities and infrastructure in Gaza. Of the 8 healthcare workers interviewed by Human Rights Watch, 6 were detained following Israeli sieges of hospitals or during hospital evacuations coordinated with Israeli forces. All of the healthcare workers were held without charges, and were sent to detention facilities in Israel, including the notorious Sde Teiman facility.
🔑 KEY TAKEAWAY: From the report: “One paramedic said that at the Sde Teiman detention facility he was suspended from a chain attached to handcuffs, electroshocked, denied medical care for broken ribs caused by beatings, and administered what he believed was a psychoactive drug before interrogations. ‘It was so degrading, it was unbelievable,’ he said. ‘I was helping people as a paramedic, I never expected something like this.’ Healthcare workers also reported being punished in detention for moving or speaking, and collectively punished if other detainees spoke. ‘Sometimes if one spoke, they [soldiers] punished the whole warehouse [at Naqab prison], collectively,” one healthcare worker said.’”
This report is in line with the testimony of Mohammed Abu Salmiya, the director of Al-Shifa hospital who was detained in November, who accused Israeli authorities of torturing him and other detainees. Earlier this year, Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh and Dr. Iyad al-Rantisi both died in Israeli custody, allegedly killed by the torture they endured. This report also comes as patients have fled the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah after Israeli forces issued evacuation orders for the surrounding areas. As outlined in the Human Rights Watch report, these attacks are exacerbating the health crisis in Gaza as more and more healthcare workers are detained and killed while the spread of disease runs rampant.
📺 WATCH: Watch a video report showcasing the chaotic scene at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital published by The Guardian.
🧬 WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION CONFIRMS PALESTINIAN CHILD PARALYZED BY POLIO IN GAZA
A 10-month-old Palestinian child has been partially paralyzed by polio in Gaza according to World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. This is the first confirmed case of polio in Gaza in more than 25 years. The WHO also confirmed that at least 3 more children are showing symptoms of paralysis, raising fears of the spread of the virus among children in Gaza.
While the WHO has announced an urgent vaccination campaign to protect children from the virus, Human Rights Watch warned that Israeli attacks on water and medical infrastructure, as well as obstruction of aid, are inflaming the spread of the virus. As more than 2 million people are being squeezed into a humanitarian zone the size of Manhattan as a result of Israel’s displacement of Palestinians, issues related to overcrowding and the lack of clean water caused by Israel’s destruction of water infrastructure threaten to allow the virus to spread rapidly. This also comes as the World Food Programme froze employee movement in Gaza after a clearly marked vehicle was shot at as it approached an Israeli checkpoint and UN aid operations were temporarily halted due to Israel’s evacuation orders in Deir al-Balah.
Image: Guardian, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
