“If the Justice Ministry's department had related to the evidence like we do, they would have clearly seen that the police were responsible for the deaths of Abu al-Kiyan and Erez Levy, and for Odeh’s serious injuries. What we see is a persistent effort to manipulate the evidence, including the failure to provide evidence."
--Professor Eyal Weizman says new video footage categorically shows that it is the police who are responsible for the deaths of Bedouin resident Yakub Abu al-Kiyan and police officer Erez Levy and for the wounding of Arab lawmaker Ayman Odeh during the 2017 government eviction from and destruction of the Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran - and that the police and the Justice Ministry could have reached that conclusion, as well.**

Jared Kushner Just Killed the Palestinian Peace Camp (Muhammad Shehada, Haaretz+) 'Incapable' of governing themselves: Kushner's condescending slur betrays the Palestinians who have backed negotiations, and boosted the most violent and extreme voices in Palestine.
A century later, Trump’s deal for Palestine is no better than Britain’s (Jonathan Adler, +972mag) The British left Palestine in 1948 with their tail between their legs, having laid the groundwork for 100 years of conflict. With people like Trump and Kushner leading the way, we should expect nothing better for our own century.
Arab world summit reveals end of unity facade (Smadar Perry, Yedioth/Ynet) Trump's peace plan brought Muslim and Arab politicians together, but while they all agree that a Palestinian state is a must, they don't seem to be prepared to do much to make it a reality.
Israel Must Put an End to Bedouin Village Blood Libel (Haaretz Editorial) Israel must apologize formally to the family of Yakub Abu al-Kiyan and compensate it for his death. The state must also retract the blood libel it spread about the teacher from Umm al-Hiran. All this is required by the release of the final conclusions of an investigation into the January 2017 eviction of the village’s residents, during which Abu al-Kiyan and Erez Levi, an Israeli police officer, were killed. “Our analysis shows unequivocally that this wasn’t a terror attack or anything resembling one,” said Prof. Eyal Weizman, whose Forensic Architecture agency at Goldsmiths, University in London, investigated the incident. Weizman explained that Abu al-Kiyan hit Levi with his car because he lost control of it after being shot and wounded. As a result, Abu al-Kiyan bled to death, without any of the policemen lifting a finger to help him. This fact underscores the importance of the incident with MK Ayman Odeh, Weizman added, “since he and other activists were nearby and sought to reach [Abu al-Kiyan] to give him first aid, which could have saved his life. Odeh’s who was injured in the incident, said that he was hit by a sponge-tipped bullet at the scene. Weizman blamed the Justice Ministry department, saying that had its personnel “dealt with the evidence the way we dealt with it, they would have seen clearly that the police were responsible for the deaths of Abu al-Kiyan and Erez Levi, as well as for Odeh’s serious injuries.” Instead, he continued, “What we saw was an ongoing attempt to manipulate the evidence, including by not handing over evidence.” Given the results of this investigation, Israel must officially clear Abu al-Kiyan of all guilt and apologize to his family for the false accusations hurled at him. It must also compensate the family for the fact that he was shot, wounded and bled to death without being offered medical care that might have saved his life as well as for the smearing of his reputation and his memory, which exacerbated the crime of his killing. Finally, it must investigate everyone involved, both those who fired and those who perpetrated the cover-up, and see to the prosecution of everyone responsible for the scandalous handling of this painful affair.
The Gog and Magog War: Researchers and Shin Bet chiefs fear the worst scenario (Prof. Moshe Maoz, Maariv) The common denominator among Muslims around the world is the opposition to Israeli Jewish control of East Jerusalem, and the deep fear among them of the destruction of the Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, and the establishment of a (Jewish) Holy Temple on their ruins.
Israel's civilian military dictatorship (Alex Fishman, Yedioth/Ynet) Thanks to a prolonged election season, the cabinet is a rubber stamp and the Knesset is dissolved, leaving just Netanyahu – who is both prime minister and defense minister – making decisions regarding army operations.
The shortening fuse: The Temple Mount is a powerful explosive that is getting worse (Yossi Melman, Maariv) We again received a reminder of how sensitive and volatile the issue of the Temple Mount is, while the government is not functioning, and the one who decides is a single person, a person who is subject to a totally different issue - the election campaign.
Rosa Luxemburg’s Specter in a Palestinian Refugee Camp (Amira Hass, Haaretz+) Last week, the Shin Bet security service thwarted a mega-attack. At the last minute, it prevented 34-year-old Huriya from leaving the Gaza Strip to accompany her father to a Palestinian hospital in Jerusalem. Who is Huriya? How would her departure from Gaza endanger Israeli Jews’ security? The Shin Bet failed to explain that. But once again, treatment has been delayed for a man whose cancer has recurred after a six-year remission. But once again, treatment has been delayed for a man whose cancer has recurred after a six-year remission. Granted, another family has been living in tension for more than two months between the father’s pain and the hope of an exit permit. But we’re living happily, in the cozy darkness of having someone who knows and decides everything. He made a new doctor’s appointment and submitted a new request for an exit permit. But when the day of the appointment arrived, he still hadn’t received an answer – neither a yes nor a no. Such procrastination is typical. On the morning of the appointment, I asked the Shin Bet and the spokespeople at Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories how Ashour endangered the public welfare. I was told he could exit. Immediately. The permit was waiting for him at the Erez checkpoint.
How collapse of communism 30 years ago benefited Israel (Sever Plocker, Yedioth/Ynet) A series of events that began in Poland's industrial heartland sparked an unprecedented global revolution that bore Israel great fruit and shaped the Jewish state the way it is today.
Will Secular Israelis Be Left Alone in the Dark? (Roni Bar, Haaretz+) The vending machine at Meir Hospital in Kfar Sava contains various types of snacks, but if a customer tries to use it on Shabbat, it refuses to release its wares. The petition against the ban on bringing leavened bread products into hospitals on Passover is still awaiting decisions by the High Court of Justice. Meanwhile, Jerusalem Chief Rabbi Aryeh Stern has asked the city’s mayor, Moshe Leon, to order the removal of the rainbow flags hung along the route of the planned Gay Pride Parade. In schools, as Channel 12 News has reported, the warmer weather is once again putting the focus on dress codes for girls. The chairman of the National Union party, Bezalel Smotrich, is demanding that the prime minister give him the job of justice minister and said yesterday, “Israel, the state of the Jewish people, will with God’s help once again be run the way it was in the days of King David and King Solomon.” These are four examples just from the past week….
Stepping inside the shoes of occupation deniers (Tom Pessah, +972mag) Does watching acts of human rights abuses change the way people think about the conflict? A new film challenges us to put ourselves in the shoes of our political rivals in order to change their minds.
Democracy is not dead: Choosing Engelman as State Comptroller was an appropriate and healthy decision (Avishai Greenzweig, Maariv) It is not clear on what basis the assumption is based that only retired judges in the High Court or the District Court are eligible for the post of comptroller. Also, in my view, the State Comptroller is not supposed to serve as the long arm of police investigations unit or the State Attorney's Office. Therefore, it would be better to make a clear distinction between criticism, whose function is to ensure economic and organizational efficiency, and criticism aimed at catching criminals. (NOTE: The other candidate wasn’t a judge either. Greenzweig’s Op-Ed does not explain why choosing Netanyahu’s candidate was more appropriate than choosing Gideon Rom. - OH)
How Can Israel Keep Neglecting One of the Most Important Cities in the World? (Naama Riba, Haaretz+) The government has abandoned Jerusalem’s historic buildings, which could have drawn huge numbers of tourists. That demonstrates not love of the land, but hatred.