Current Analysis Seltzer Colonialism Early each morning, dozens of workers from Jaba’ walk up a narrow set of stairs with trash strewn on either side to reach a bus stop on Highway 60, which bisects the West Bank on its way from Nazareth to Beersheva. As they climb the stairs, the workers pass a tunnel that once allowed villagers conve Michael Fin, Callie Maidhof • 8 min read
Current Analysis Palestine and the ICC At the close of 2014, Mahmoud ‘Abbas, head of the Ramallah wing of the Palestinian Authority (PA), announced that he would sign the Rome Statute, the 2002 treaty establishing the International Criminal Court based in The Hague. This move opens the possibility that the Palestinians could ask the Cour The Editors • 14 min read
Current Analysis Judging the Judge On July 2, 16-year old Palestinian Mohammed Abu Khdeir was abducted, beaten and burned alive, apparently by a group of Jewish Israelis [http://www.timesofisrael.com/suspects-arrested-in-killing-of-east-jerusalem-teen/]. News of this “torture and murder by fire,” prominent American commentator Jeffre Jamie Stern-Weiner • 6 min read
Current Analysis Under-the-Radar Palestinian Connections With intensity unknown since the second intifada [http://www.merip.org/mer/mer217] and at a daily cost of $12 million to the Hebron economy alone, Israel is cracking down on the West Bank in its search for three missing Israeli settler youth. The result is a growing Palestinian chorus: Stop Israeli- Raja Khalidi • 4 min read
Current Analysis Three Updates on Palestinian Political Prisoners Update 1 on prisoners and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, from the halls of the State Department: Last week, the United States considered releasing Jonathan Pollard, an American convicted of espionage on behalf of Israel, in exchange for Israel doing, as political analyst Yousef Munayyer put it, “ Amahl Bishara • 4 min read
Current Analysis A Darkly Intimate Thriller The first time I watched Omar [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2852406/], the latest Oscar-nominated work [http://www.merip.org/mero/interventions/paradise-nows-understated-power] by Palestinian director Hany Abu-Assad [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0009463/?ref_=tt_ov_dr], I nearly leapt out of my seat as Max Weiss • 3 min read
Current Analysis Breaking “America's Last Taboo” American Zionism has made any serious public discussion of the past or future of Israel -- by far the largest recipient ever of US foreign aid -- a taboo. To call this quite literally the last taboo in American public life would not be an exaggeration. Abortion, homosexuality, the death penalty, eve Alex Lubin • 9 min read
Current Analysis Viral Occupation Cameras and Networked Human Rights in the West Bank Rebecca L. Stein • 13 min read
Current Analysis Inquiring Into International Commissions of Inquiry A Palestinian political prisoner, Arafat Jaradat, died in Israeli custody on February 22. The Shinbet, Israel’s internal intelligence service, claims that Jaradat, 30, died of natural causes. Palestinian authorities suspect foul play, and the Palestinian prime minister in the West Bank, Salam Fayya Lori Allen • 4 min read
MER Article The Cost of Living Crisis in the West Bank In September 2012, declining living standards ignited a firestorm of street protests and strikes in the West Bank. The immediate spark was a sharp increase in fuel prices, alongside an increase in the value-added tax (VAT) rate. It seems that the protesters had a message for Palestinian Authority (P Numan Kanafani • 9 min read
Current Analysis An All-Consuming Occupation On June 6, 2012, the Jerusalem Development Authority launched its fourth annual Jerusalem Festival of Light in the Old City. The previous year’s show had been a resounding success, according to sponsors quoted in the Jerusalem Post, with over 250,000 visitors enjoying “art installations bursting wit Rebecca L. Stein • 8 min read
Current Analysis The Problem of Privilege “To believe in a democratic Jewish state today is to be caught between the jaws of a pincer,” writes Peter Beinart in his widely circulated and hotly debated op-ed [http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/19/opinion/to-save-israel-boycott-the-settlements.html?_r=3&pagewanted=all]. Indeed -- but it was ever t Shira Robinson • 4 min read
