Barak Ravid–Haaretz obtains U.S. proposal for weeklong cease-fire which Israel`s cabinet rejected; Kerry did not recognize Israel`s demand to continue working against the tunnels and presented Hamas as equal to Israel. dn
Gideon Levy–It began as a war of choice: A different Israeli policy in the last few months might have prevented it. It evolved into a pointless war. It’s already pretty obvious that it will not result in any long-term achievements. It could still deteriorate into a disaster, and in the end will turn out to have been a war of deception – Israel lied itself to ruination. The first deceit was that there was no alternative. True, when the rocket barrages landed on Israel, that was the case. But what about the steps that led up to them? They were steps to which there were other options. It isn’t difficult to imagine what would have happened had Israel not halted the peace talks; had not launched an all-out war on Hamas in the West Bank, in the wake of the murder of the three Israeli teenagers; had not held up the transfer of funds earmarked for the payment of government salaries in the Gaza Strip; had not opposed the Palestinian unity government; and had eased up on its blockade of the Gaza Strip.dn
Zeina Azzam –The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which aims to pressure Israel to comply with international law and end its military occupation of Palestinian territories, has garnered significant institutional and governmental support in recent years. dn
Humanize Palestine –Humanize Palestine was launched as a response to the brutal murder of Mohammad Abu Khdeir on July 2, 2014. After three Israeli youth went missing, a group of Israeli teenagers stopped Mohammad Abu Khdeir and pretended to ask him for directions. They kidnapped him, forced him into a car and burned him to death. This incident took place in the Beit Hanina/Shuafat neighborhood of Al-Quds (Jerusalem). After this story was released, images of Mohammad Abu Khdeir’s body at his funeral circulated. Why is it that when an Israeli goes missing or is killed, the media presents images of them from a happier time? They are usually smiling in these images or posing next to their family and friends. This helps create empathy in our hearts and connect with the person in the image on a deeper, more personal level. But when a Palestinian child is killed, images of their burned and mutilated bodies is circulated, and we immediately connect brown and Palestinian bodies with death and disposability. That person is stripped away from an identity, a family and loved ones, and a story. Humanize Palestine attempts to honor the deceased as martyrs by bringing them back to life through their pictures, stories, art, and poetry. Humanize Palestine reminds us, that contrary to Western bias, a Palestinian life is no less valuable than the life of another, by giving the life the respect and dignity that it deserves.dn
Julia Amalia Heyer–In an interview with SPIEGEL, Yuval Diskin, former director of Israel`s internal security service Shin Bet, speaks of the current clash between Israel and the Palestinians, what must be done to achieve peace and the lack of leadership in the Middle East.dn
Julia Chaitin–As we – Israelis and Palestinians – fall into this bottomless abyss of war and revenge that seems to have no end, our bodies and souls are being ravaged. dn
