Americans for Peace Now calls on both Israelis and Palestinians to exercise responsibility and restraint tomorrow to avoid further bloodshed and deterioration toward another Israel-Hamas war.
Today's death toll on the Gaza border, 58 Palestinians killed and some 2,000 injured, of them eighty severely injured – seems to be the preamble for even heavier bloodshed tomorrow as Palestinians commemorate the 70th anniversary of the 1948 Nakba, which Palestinians observe as their national catastrophe.
Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. He is the former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, a former senior official with the Mossad, and a former IDF intelligence officer. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.
This week, Alpher discusses Jerusalem, Gaza, Nakba Day, Ramadan, Iran, and the Lebanese elections; US National Security Adviser John Bolton's statement that a US embassy in Jerusalem “enhances the chances for peace”; international opinion concerning Israel’s position vis-à-vis Iran in Syria and the Jerusalem issue; Netanyahu's influence Trump's decision to withdraw from the JCPOA; and the unanwered questions that remain.
Israel’s pre-eminent peace movement Shalom Achshav (Peace Now) and its American
sister-organization Americans for Peace Now are alarmed by the negative impact of Donald Trump’s transferring of
America’s Israel embassy to Jerusalem.
In a celebratory event attended by top American and Israeli officials, the Trump administration is today inaugurating its new embassy in Jerusalem.
Amid the pomp and circumstance, the destructive impact of this move appears to be lost on many in Israel and the United States.
APN hosted a briefing call on Thursday, May 17th with Jerusalem expert Daniel
Seidemann.
Danny discussed the impact that the Trump administration’s moving of America’s to Jerusalem has had on Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts, on Israeli-Palestinian relations in general and on dynamics in Jerusalem in particular.
Danny also addressed other developments on the ground in Jerusalem and in Gaza.
With his decision today to place the United States in violation of the Iran nuclear deal, Donald Trump has taken one of the most dangerous actions of his presidency. By withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and reimposing sanctions the US had waived in fulfillment of its obligations under the deal, Trump boosts hardliners in Iran who likely will push to exit the deal and restart Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
Trump’s move has potentially disastrous ramifications for both America’s national security and Israel’s. It pushes the United States and its allies closer to a regional war in the Middle East and could result in Iran’s leaping toward a nuclear weapon.
Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. He is the former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, a former senior official with the Mossad, and a former IDF intelligence officer. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.
This week, Alpher discusses Defense Minister Liberman's comment that "Israel has three problems: Iran, Iran, Iran"; the sense of urgency; the Iranian nuclear archive; Netanyahu's presentation; the argument that Israel is trying to goad Iran into responding militarily from Syria, thereby inviting a strong Israeli offensive against the entire Iranian deployment there; where Trump and Putin fit in; the argument that the threat is exaggerated; and Iran's awareness of all the arguments against reacting now with force against Israel and endangering its presence in Syria.
Since President Donald Trump took office, the Israeli right has
launched an unprecedented drive to annex the West Bank, piecemeal or in its entirety.
From Creeping to Leaping: Annexation in the Trump-Netanyahu
Era
APN at J Street panel -Setting Settlements In Stone: Formalizing
Annexation
Peace Now's Annual Construction Report: 17% Above Average Yearly
Growth, Three-Quarters in Isolated Settlements
Peace Now Settlement Watch - Creeping Annexation: Changes in the
Interpretation of the Laws Regarding Occupation
Peace Now Settlement Watch - Escalation in Israel's Settlement
Policy: The Creation of De-Facto Annexation
Why does the Palestinian Authority continue its security collaboration with Israel even today,
when Israeli-Palestinian political relations are at an all-time low? What is the nature of this cooperation? Who
are the Palestinian security forces? How sustainable is their law-enforcement and counter-terrorism assignment?
How long can they continue collaborating with Israel at the absence of any progress toward a political accord
between Israel and the Palestinians?
Our current episode addresses these questions with the help of two experts, Ghaith al-Omari and Neri Zilber, who just published a report on this topic.
Two leading U.S. human rights lawyers were denied entry into Israel Sunday, detained at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, and deported back to the United States.
The two are Columbia University’s Katherine Franke, who is the Chair of the Board of the Center for Constitutional Rights, and the Center’s Executive Director Vincent Warren. The two reported that they were repeatedly questioned about their associations with groups supporting boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel. They were part of a delegation of American civil rights activists heading to Israel and the Occupied Territories to learn about human rights situation there and to meet with local activists.
Urge your senators to sign the letter, being circulated by Senator Bernie Sanders, that calls for action by the Trump Administration to alleviate the humanitarian disaster in Gaza. The crisis in Gaza not only makes life virtually unlivable for the two million residents of the Gaza Strip; it also endangers Israeli security by creating a breeding ground for the radicalization of Gaza’s residents.
The letter, addressed to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, calls on the Trump Administration to:
More than this is needed to address the situation in Gaza. In particular, Secretary Pompeo and the Trump Administration should take steps to bring about a political solution which would facilitate an end to the Israeli and Egyptian siege on Gaza. This letter is, at least, a positive and necessary step – and one that should be entirely uncontroversial.
