BE’ER SHEVA/LYDD, OCCUPIED PALESTINE — In cities across 1948-occupied Palestine (modern-day Israel), Israelis are taking up arms to defend against so-called Palestinian terror. A wave of Palestinian-initiated attacks against Israelis occurred just before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in March, prompting Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to call on civilians to arm themselves. “Whoever…

JERUSALEM, PALESTINE – We are barely halfway into the month of Ramadan and already the toll has gone beyond 20 Palestinians dead and countless wounded. Al-Aqsa mosque has been raided and the images of militarized Israeli police storming the mosque, beating and shooting indiscriminately at worshipers, demonstrate what was clear from the beginning: Israel wants…

JERUSALEM – As I write these words, the Mufti of Jerusalem has just announced that the holy month of Ramadan will begin on April 2, 2022. I want to wish all of my Muslim brothers and sisters throughout the world, Ramadan Karim. Sadly, as Muslims around the world decorate their cities, towns, and neighborhoods for…

LYD, OCCUPIED PALESTINE – “I will take you to the home of Musa Hassuna, the Shahid,” Fida Shehada wrote to me. This was in February of this year. I was in Palestine and planned to go to Lyd to see Fida, a councilwoman for the city. I had met her previously and interviewed her about…

OCCUPIED WEST BANK — In the village of Khan al-Ahmar in the occupied West Bank, dozens of Bedouin families are at risk of losing their homes and becoming refugees again by July. While it is the Israeli government and military that are enacting the demolitions and evacuations, their efforts are largely driven by a pro-settler…

OCCUPIED WEST BANK — On March 10, five Palestinian boys hoped to spend their day foraging for vegetables south of their home in the occupied West Bank. Instead, they spent it detained for hours in Israeli custody. The children — ages eight to thirteen — were violently arrested by Israeli forces in southern Hebron while…

Jerusalem, Palestine — Wadi Hilweh, also known as Silwan, is a lovely, ancient town that sits in the valley directly below the Al-Aqsa compound, just outside the Old City of Jerusalem. Sadly, on any given day in this ancient valley, one can see ongoing ethnic cleansing, violence incited by Israeli settlers and the erasure of…

Israeli Jewish settlers are on a rampage in the occupied Palestinian West Bank. While settler violence is part of everyday routine in Palestine, the violence of recent weeks is directly linked to the general elections in Israel, scheduled to be held on September 17.  The previous elections, on April 9, failed to bring about political…

SAN FRANCISCO — In a major win for Palestinian human rights and the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement (BDS), the popular apartment-rental website Airbnb has announced plans to remove all listings in the Israeli-occupied West Bank that serve illegal Jewish settlers. According to the company’s statement, there are currently about 200 rentals available in Israeli…