Palestine Weekly Wrap: Israel's Quiet Annexation Grows Louder
The Lead
This week, Israel's campaign of land seizure that officials have pursued unofficially was declared aloud in places. In Hebron, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he had 'cancelled' the 1997 Hebron Agreement, stripping the Palestinian municipality of planning authority over the Old City and Ibrahimi Mosque.
Annexation – both quiet, and loud
The loudest move came in Hebron. Speaking at the inauguration of the new illegal settlement of Doran, Smotrich said that Israel had annulled the Hebron Accords and now held planning authority in the H2 zone of the occupied West Bank city containing Israeli settlements and the Ibrahimi Mosque.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry partially walked the claim back, saying the agreement itself had not been cancelled but that a cabinet decision months earlier had transferred planning powers over the Jewish community and holy sites.
The Data Analysis
- Israel's control over Gaza: 64% (up from 53% under the October 10 ceasefire)
- Post-ceasefire death toll in Gaza: 1,024
- Cumulative toll of Israel's war on Gaza since October 2023: 73,000+
- Number of Al Jazeera staff killed in Gaza since October 2023: 12
The Impact Analysis
The week intensified the early summer's trends: international censure mounting on one hand, and on the other, a state extending its hold over Palestinian land in Gaza and in the West Bank, in apparent contravention of international law and agreements.
The Prediction
Pressure from abroad continues growing at a steady pace. Norway announced plans to ban trade with West Bank settlements, 85 US House of Representatives members pressed Washington to halt the E1 settlement project, and the UN warned that Israeli settler groups could be added to its blacklist for grave violations against children.