Washington, Jerusalem -- Americans for Peace Now (APN) joins its Israeli sister organization, Shalom Achshav (Peace Now), in strongly condemning the Israeli government’s decision to take over a large swath of West Bank land to expand Gva’ot, a settlement-in-the-making west of Bethlehem, as well as neighboring settlements.

APN's daily news review from Israel

Monday September 01, 2014
 

Quote of the day:

"How will Abbas explain to his people the disregard and aggression of the Netanyahu government towards him?"
--Peace Now director Yariv Oppenheimer slams the Israeli decision to appropriate almost 1000 acres of land in the West Bank.** 

The Civil Administration declared 4,000 dunams (990 acres) as State Land near the settlement of Gva'ot west of Bethlehem. As far as we know, this declaration is unprecedented in its scope since the 1980's and can dramatically change the reality in the Gush Etzion and the Bethlehem area. For an explanation about state land declaration see here.

Gva'ot was established in 1984 as a Military Base between the Palestinian villages of Al Jab'a and Nahhalin. During the 90’s, the soldiers were replaced by Yeshiva students that occupied the 30 caravans on site, and in 1998 the site was included within the official Municipal Borders of the settlement of Alon Shvut, which is located 3 km away. Recently, some 10 families moved in Gvaot and established an education institution on site.

APN's daily news review from Israel

Sunday August 31, 2014
 

Quote of the day:

“(We discussed) what to do when students say ‘Death to Arabs’– which they do frequently – and we gave each other the benefit of our experience."
--Rani Hazon Weiss, a teacher at the Givat Gonen High School in Jerusalem, met with other teachers to talk about how to battle anti-Arab racism in Jewish Israeli schools, post Gaza war.**

Washington, DC – Americans for Peace Now (APN) today issued the following statement:

APN welcomes the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that was implemented yesterday. We hope fervently that this ceasefire holds, sparing both Israelis and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip further terror and bloodshed. We know, however, that unless the underlying causes of this conflict are addressed, this ceasefire will be nothing more than a prelude to the next round of fighting and misery.

Haim Oron, former leader of the left-wing Meretz party, fears that continued control of the territories will spell the end of Zionism, but isn't yet ready to give up hope.

On a recent Saturday, former leader of the left-wing Meretz party Haim Oron and his wife, Nili, spent hours at Sheba Medical Center, in Ramat Gan. They sat by the bedside of their grandson, Adi Zimri, from an elite unit of the Engineering Corps, who was seriously wounded in the fighting in the Gaza Strip. Hit in the leg by a rocket-propelled grenade while searching for Hamas tunnels, he saved his own life by applying an arterial tourniquet to staunch the blood.

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APN Publications

• Hard Questions, Tough Answers with Yossi Alpher on the absence of a viable Israeli strategy (September 2, 2014)
• Lara Friedman in the Forward: Did Hamas Get Bibi to Freeze Settlements? (August 29, 2014)
• Hard Questions, Tough Answers with Yossi Alpher on military stagnation, war of attrition, Hamas power grab, and new proposal from Abbas? (August 25, 2014)
• APN Calls on Obama Administration to Engage UNSC to End Hamas-Israel Conflict (August 21, 2014)
• Hard Questions, Tough Answers with Yossi Alpher on ceasefire talks (August 18, 2014)
• Hard Questions, Tough Answers with Yossi Alpher (August 11, 2014)
• APN Press Release: APN Urges Israel, US: Peace Talks Now with Legitimate Palestinian Interlocutors (August 6, 2014)
• APN: Ceasefire, Pivot to Diplomacy -- Now! (July 29, 2014)
  TAKE ACTION: Tell Secretary Kerry: Yes to a Gaza-Israel ceasefire (July 29, 2014)
• Yossi Alpher's Hard Questions, Tough Answers: The Gaza war, as of late Monday afternoon Israel time. (July 28, 2014)
• Yossi Alpher's Hard Questions, Tough Answers (July 21, 2014)
• APN Welcomes US Ceasefire Efforts; Urges Peace Talks: (July 21, 2014)
• APN podcast: Jerusalem-based spokesperson of UNRWA, Christopher Gunness on the humanitarian situation in Gaza. (July 18, 2014)
• APN podcast: Arnon Avni on living in a war zone (July 18, 2014)
• APN Disappointed at Ceasefire Collapse; Urges Immediate Ceasefire, Harnessed to a Diplomatic Process that Leads to Peace. (July 15, 2014)
• Press Release: APN Welcomes Ceasefire Agreement; Urges Peace Talks. (July 14, 2014)
• Take Action - Tell the Obama Administration: Work for a Ceasefire NOW (July 11, 2014)
• Peace Parsha: In Search of an Unbroken Peace (Parshat Pinchas, July 11, 2014)
• Press Release: APN Condemns Gaza Rocket Fire; Supports Israeli Self-Defense; Urges Israel to Avoid Harming Civilians (July 8, 2014)

Recommended Readings on the Israel-Gaza Crisis - from other sources.

Today's News Nosh - Special Section: The Israel-Gaza Crisis

From the Archives: Below is background reading from previous rounds of Gaza-Israel fighting:

APN Publications

• APN welcomes the announcement of a ceasefire agreement; thanks President Obama and Secretary Clinton for helping achieve it (11/21/12)
• APN Condemns Tel Aviv Bus Bombing, Calls Again for Ceasefire (11/21/12)
• APN on Gaza Crisis, Obama's Role, and a New Approach (11/20/12)
• Lara Friedman in the NYT: Only the U.S. Can Broker Peace (11/20/12)
• Peace Now/Shalom Achshav on Gaza - A Political Resolution is the Key (11/18/12)
• APN Concerned about Israel-Gaza Escalation; Urges Diplomacy (11/14/12)
• Peace Now Statement on Cast Lead 2 (11/15/12)
• Open Zion: APN's Lara Friedman - The Senate On Gaza (11/16/12)
• Special Edition: Hard Questions, Tough Answers with Yossi Alpher (11/18/12)
• Interview with Israeli Peace Activist Gershon Baskin (11/19/12)
• Interview with Mossi Raz (11/19/20)
• Briefing Call with Yossi Alpher on the Gaza Escalation (11/16/12)
• Lara Friedman for APN: Top 10 Reasons for Reassessing the Gaza Blockade Strategy (6/3/2010)
• The Gaza war one year later: strategic lessons learned -a special edition of APN's weekly publication, Hard Questions, Tough Answers with Yossi Alpher (1/15/2010)
• Board member Leonard Fein for APN: Where does it end? (1/15/2010)
• APN Statement: A Year after the Gaza War (1/15/2010)
• Lara Friedman for APN: A Year of Israel Rebuffing the US on Gaza Crossings (1/11/2010)

News Nosh Special Section: The Israel-Gaza Crisis
During this exciting time, News Nosh, our free, daily news roundup, will cover the latest news and analysis. Click HERE to get the News Nosh email delivered to you.

Recommended Reading

Most Recent:

• NEWLY ADDED: Daniel Byman in Foreign Policy: Mowing the Grass and Taking Out the Trash (August 25, 2014)
• Times of Israel: Arab League to ask UN to compel Israeli West Bank pullout (August 25, 2014)
• Hussein Ibish in The Middle East Policy Journal: Indispensable but Elusive: Palestinian National Reunification (August 23, 2014)
• Times of Israel: "Three Questions for the Prime Minister" by Naomi Chazan (August 11, 2014)
• President Obama on Gaza Ceasefire, ending the blockade, etc (final Q&A in the transcript) (August 6, 2014)
• Time for Netanyahu to make peace in Gaza by David Ignatius. (August 5, 2014)
• NY Times: "Start with Gaza" by Roger Cohen (August 5, 2014)
• Peter Beinart in Haaretz: Gaza myths and facts: what American Jewish leaders won't tell you (July 30, 2014)
• Roger Cohen in The New York Times: Zionism and Its Discontents (July 29, 2014)
• Naomi Chazan in Times of Israel: Tunnel vision (July 28, 2014)
• Dahlia Scheindlin in The Forward: Israel's Conflict Has a Past — and a Future (July 27, 2014)
• David Grossman in the New York Times: An Israel Without Illusions (July 27, 2014)
• David Grossman in Yedioth Achronoth: Thinking Outside the Bubble (July 27, 2014)
• Mira Sucharov in Haaretz: It isn't easy being an Israeli leftist during wartime (extensively quoting Peace Now's Lior Amihai) (July 26, 2014)
• Prince Turki Al Faisal in Al-Monitor: Israel's actions in Gaza trample hopes of Arab Peace Initiative (July 25, 2014)

APN Publications on The Gaza-Israel Crisis

Today's News Nosh - Special Section: The Gaza Crisis

• Etgar Keret in The New Yorker: Israel’s Other War (July 25, 2014)
• Spiegel Interview with Yuval Diskin: Ex-Israeli Security Chief Diskin: 'All the Conditions Are There for an Explosion' (July 24, 2014)
• Roger Cohen in the New York Times: Hope in the Abattoir (July 24, 2014)
• Times of Israel (AP): Egypt suggests restarting peace talks as part of ceasefire bid (July 22, 2014)
• Yitzhak Benhorin in YNet: Obama sends Kerry to Cairo to help truce efforts (July 21, 2014)
• Barak Ravid in Haaretz: Obama to Netanyahu: U.S. seeks immediate cease-fire (July 20, 2014)
• Jodi Rudoren and Fares Akram in The New York Times: Netanyahu Warns of Wider Israel Operation in Gaza (July 18, 2014).
• Zvi Bar'el in Haaretz: Hamas wages a lonely war, giving Israel the opportunity to boost Abbas' standing. (July 18, 2014).
• Haviv Rettig Gur in The Times of Israel: The tragic self-delusion behind the Hamas war (July 17, 2014)
• Times of Israel: Abbas, Sissi urge immediate Gaza ceasefire (July 17, 2014)
• Jodi Rudoren and Anne Barnard in the New York Times: Israeli Military Invades Gaza, With Sights Set on Hamas Operations (July 17, 2014)
• Batsheva Sobelman, Rushdi abu Alouf and Henry Chu in The Chicago Tribune Israel pounds northern Gaza Strip after warning residents to flee (July 13, 2014)
• +972 Magazine Live blog: Escalation in Gaza - July 2014
• Live Updates at Haaretz on the Gaza crisis
• Btselem Press Release: Bombing family homes of activists in armed Palestinian groups violates international humanitarian law (July 9, 2014)
• Noam Sheizaf at +972 Magazine: 'They left us no choice': On military escalation and its Israeli rationale (July 9, 2014)
• Larry Derfner at +972 Magazine: How Netanyahu provoked this war with Gaza (July 9, 2014)
• Amos Yadlin at the The Institute for National Security Studies: Operation Protective Edge: The Goals, and the Strategy to Achieve Them. (July 9, 2014)
• Benedetta Berti for Sada at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Hamas and Israel at the Brink. (July 8, 2014)
• David Grossman at Haaretz Israel Conference for Peace: On hope and despair in the Middle East. (July 8, 2014)
• Nahum Barnea at YNet: Escalation at Hamas' request (July 8, 2014).
• Ron Ben-Yishai at YNet: Hamas talks truce terms, but Israel balks (July 6, 2014)

From the Archives: Below is background reading from previous rounds of Gaza-Israel fighting:

• Full text: Terms of Israel-Palestinian cease-fire (Washington Post, 11/21/12)
• America And This Ceasefire (Ali Gharib at the Daily Beast, 11/21/12)
• A Gaza cease-fire: historic or futile? (Rami Khoury in the Daily Star, 11/21/12)
• Arab, Muslim, Israeli -- and under fire (Matti Friedman in the Times of Israel, 11/20/12)
• How this could be the last Gaza war (Khaled el Gindy at CNN, 11/20/12)
• The Middle East Won't Be Ignored (Akiva Eldar in the National Interest, 11/20/12)
• Israel and Gaza Trapped in Tragic Tape Loop (APN Board Member Leonard Fein in the Forward, 11/20/12)
• How Israel Could Really Harm Hamas (Peter Beinart at the Daily Beast, 11/20/12)
• Gaza Without End  (Roger Cohen in the New York Times, 11/20/12)
• Before the next baby dies (Izzeldin Abu el-Aish in Ynet, 11/20/12)
• Hamas's Illegitimacy (New York Times editorial, 11/9/12)
• The way out is the hardest (Nahum Barnea in Ynet, 11/19/12)
• Weaken Hamas through diplomacy (Ami Ayalon in Haaretz, 11/19/12)
• Israel's new Gaza honeymoon with Obama (and why it may not last very long) (Chemi Shalev in Haaretz, 11/19/12)
• WATCH: Israeli analyst and Arab MK clash over Gaza assault (Ami Kauffman at +972, 11/19/12)
• A plea to Israel from the right: End the Gaza war now (Bradley Burston in Haaretz, 11/19/12)
• The ongoing failure of Israel's military thinking  (Yagil Levy in Haaretz, 11/18/12)
• Give Mideast Peace One More Chance (Doni Remba at Open Zion, 11/17/12)
• Why Israel's Gaza Campaign Is Doomed (Janine Zacharia at Slate, 11/16/12)
• Living By The Sword (Daniel Levy at Open Zion, 11/16/12)
• Israel's Airstrike Gamble (Matt Duss at the American Prospect, 11/16/12)
• I'm Losing Hope for a Peaceful Israel (Jessica Apple in the New York Times, 11/16/12)
• Israel's Shortsighted Assassination (Gershon Baskin in the New York Times, 11/16/12)
• An endless war (Eitan Haber in Ynet, 11/15/12)
• A Gaza ground invasion will end badly (Meir Javedanfar in the Times of Israel, 11/15/12)
• Israel's Strategic Vacuum (Haim Assa in Maariv  11/15/12, translated in Al-Monitor)
• Gaza - the first Netanyahu war (Yossi Verter at Haaretz, 11/15/12)
• Another Israel-Gaza War? (New York Times editorial, 11/14/12)
• Gaza Expert Warns of Large Escalation (Adam Chandler at Tablet, 11/14/12)
• Operation Cast Lead 2.0 (Hussein Ibish at Foreign Policy, 11/14/12)
• Israel killed its subcontractor in Gaza (Aluf Benn in Haaretz, 11/14/12)
• Strategic Dimensions Of Attacking Gaza (Yossi Alpher at Open Zion, 11/14/12)

News Nosh Special Section: The Israel-Gaza Crisis
During this exciting time, News Nosh, our free, daily news roundup, will cover the latest news and analysis. Click HERE to get the News Nosh email delivered to you.