AFP (published in i24 News) – September 1
“Top Israeli court orders demolition of rogue outpost in West Bank settlement bloc,” The court order followed the petition by Peace Now and Palestinian residents of Al Khader who claimed the outpost was constructed illegally on Palestinian-owned land.

Jerusalem Post – September 1
“Court orders demolition of 17 settler homes in Derech Ha’avot outpost,” Israel’s High Court of Justice orders demolition of settler homes in response to Peace Now’s petition

France24 – August 31
“Israel approves more than 400 new West Bank settlement homes,” Peace Now quoted that Israeli Authorities approved 466 settlement homes in the Occupied West Bank despite growing international criticism.

Reuters – August 31
“Israel approves 284 new West Bank housing units, draws US ire,” Peace Now quoted saying the Civil Administration approved a 234-unit nursing home in Elkana,  30 houses in Beit Arye, and 20 houses in Givat Zeev.

AFP (published in Ynet News) – August 31
“Additional West Bank construction approved and retroactively sanctioned,” Peace Now quoted saying Netanyahu’s government “continues to plan and build all over the West Bank, while also giving settlers the message that any construction done without planning will be retroactively legalized."

Jerusalem Post – August 31
“Peace Now: Netanyahu abetting illegal settler building,” Peace Now charged that the Higher Planning Council for Judea and Samaria has advanced plans to retroactively authorize 384 settler homes and to legalize another 372 such structures, as well as to advance plans for 1,531 new settler homes this year.

New York Times – August 30
“Israel Quietly legalizes pirate outposts in the West Bank,” Isabel Kershner quotes Hagit Ofran and uses Peace Now’s aerial photographs in her major feature on Israel’s efforts to legalize outposts in the West Bank, such as Mitzpe Danny.

Al-Monitor – August 29
“Will Israel hold referendum over two-state solution?” Ben Caspit reports on the “Deciding at 50” referendum initiative, which will be launched on September 5. He attributes the idea behind to initiative to Peace Now’s Tzali Reshef.

Times of Israel: August 26

“Netanyahu’s Mixed Messages on Temple Mount Incitement”
by Lara Friedman, Director of Policy and Government Relations for Americans for Peace Now

In 2009, Israel arrested the head of the northern branch of Israel’s Islamic Movement for incitement, for saying that Israel “seeks to build a synagogue on Al-Aqsa Mosque.” Since then – and especially over the past two years, as unrest has rocked Jerusalem – Netanyahu has regularly argued that Palestinian Authority incitement over the Temple Mount is a chief cause of violence, and has called Palestinian officials’ statements about Israel’s intentions on the Temple Mount “gross lies.”

Earlier this month, on August 14-15, Jews observed the fast day of Tisha B’Av, commemorating various catastrophes that have befallen the Jewish people, including the destruction of the first and second temples. Israel’s Deputy Defense Minister, Eli Ben-Dahan, marked this solemn occasion by telling a crowd gathered for a march around the Old City: “We aren’t embarrassed to say it: We want to rebuild the Temple on the Temple Mount.”

Continue Reading

Al-Monitor: August 25
“Will 50 years of occupation unite Israel’s peace camp?” highlights the “Deciding at 50” campaign – “the only initiative by the peace camp on the horizon ahead of the 50^th anniversary of the occupation is coalescing around Peace Now.”

Israel National News: August 24
“Peace Now ‘slanders’ activists over Hevron construction,” discusses Peace Now’s campaign against Jewish construction in Hebron, which features “MK Orit Strok (Jewish Home) and right-wing activists Baruch Marzel and Bentzy Gopstein in cartoon profiles accompanied by the tagline: "He who established 28 housing units in the heart of Hevron wants to perpetuate the conflict and fan the flames in the most sensitive and explosive area of the West Bank."

Maan News: August 23
“Peace Now: New settlement will add 100 more Israeli settlers in Hebron,” details Peace Now’s response to the announcement of settlement expansion in Hebron. “While Peace Now reported on Monday that the renovations for the housing units were already underway, the statement on Tuesday said the planning process for the new settlement had not yet begun in the Israeli Civil Administration's High Planning Committee.”

Haaretz: August 22
“For first time in decade, Israel plans to expand Jewish settlement in Hebron,” Settlement Watch’s Hagit Ofran says “there is an attempt here to overturn a High Court decision that forbade building settlements on land seized for military use.”

Times of Israel: August 22
“Israel said planning to build several Jewish homes in Hebron,” Peace Now is quoted saying the expansion plan contravenes a High Court ruling, and their 2008 and 2010 petitions to the High Court are referenced.

Associated Press: August 22
“Israel takes steps toward new settlement in volatile city,” Settlement Watch’s Hagit Ofran says the approval of settlement expansion in Hebron is “the first approval in the area in more than a decade,” and is an example of Israel “using legal acrobatics, allocating the land to settlers instead of turning it over to the Palestinian-run municipality.”

Washington Jewish Week: August 17
“Closed doors for Israel aid package,” Yossi Alpher’s weekly Q&A column for APN is quoted in a story about the US aid package to Israel. Alpher says that Netanyahu cut Lieberman out of the process in reaction to the Defense Minister’s comparison of the Iran deal to the 1938 Munich Agreement as a way to coalition tensions and reaffirm the US-Israel security relationship.

Recommended Readings on the new initiative from Peace Now and its allies, Decision at 50

The Forward 9/6/2016: Israeli Leaders Call for Referendum as 50th Anniversary of Occupation Looms
Radio Tel Aviv, Tzali Reshef 9/6/16 Peace Now on the people's Referendum on the settlements (Hebrew Only)
The New York Times, 9/5/16: Israeli Groups Seeks Referendum on Palestinians
The Washington Post 9/5/16: Israeli groups seeks referendum on Palestinians
Jerusalem Post 9/5/16: Most Israelis support referendum on two states
Haaretz, 9/5/16: Israeli Public Figures, Former Politicians Call for Referendum on Future of West Bank Territories, Hebrew here
YNet, 9/5/16: Israeli groups seeks referendum on disputed territories
Maariv 9/5/16: Referendum Initiative: Public Campaign to Establish a Referendum on the Future of the Settlements (Hebrew only)
Arutz Sheva, 9/5/16: New Radical Left Initiative: Deciding at 50 (Hebrew only)
Al-Monitor, Ben Caspit, 8/29/16: Will Israel hold referendum over two-state solution?
Al-Monitor, Akiva Eldar, 8/25/16: Will 50 years of occupation unite Israel's peace camp?

Shalom Achshav (Peace Now), Israel’s preeminent peace movement, in cooperation with other Israeli civil society organizations, has launched a new initiative demanding a referendum on the future of Israel’s rule over the West Bank and on peace with the Palestinians. Americans for Peace Now, the U.S. sister organization of Shalom Achshav, supports the initiative. APN calls on all Americans who care about Israel’s future to support the call for a referendum on the occupation, which is now entering its fiftieth year.

Decision at 50 press release 9/5/16: A New Movement Demanding a Referendum on the Fate of Israeli Control over the Palestinian Territories and on the Future of Israel
Decision at 50 letter to Netanyahu 9/5/16: Letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu on the "Referendum at 50" (Hebrew)
APN Statement on the launch of Decision at 50 (September 5, 2016): APN to Support New Israeli Initiative for Referendum on the Occupation

Take Action:
If you are an Israeli Citizen, click here to learn more and sign your name in support of the Decision at 50 Referendum
Learn more about Decision at 50 in English at http://www.mishal50.org.il/en/

Media coverage (news and analysis) on Decision at 50