Bedouin students fear losing their school in Area C
Al-Monitor

“Some 50 Palestinian children in the Bedouin community of Ras al-Tin and the surrounding Bedouin communities, east of Ramallah in the central West Bank, fear that the Israeli authorities will demolish their newly constructed school, which they started going to in September. The students are worried about losing the new school that provides them with a safe and stable environment. Due to its proximity to their homes, the students no longer need to walk several miles to schools located in neighboring villages. A few days after the school opened its doors, the Israeli authorities issued a demolition order. The school’s lawyers immediately petitioned the Israeli Central Court to prevent the demolition, but the court rejected the petition Oct. 8.” 

Image: Palestinian Bedouin children attend school in the Palestinian Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar, east of Jerusalem, in the occupied West Bank, Oct. 21, 2018. (Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images)

U.S. lawmakers urge Egypt’s Sissi to release prisoners
Washington Post

“Egypt's authoritarian regime has jailed thousands of political opponents, human rights activists and pro-democracy lawyers, often on flimsy or trumped-up charges. That has triggered widespread condemnation, yet the jailings have continued. Now congressional Democrats are signaling to Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi that human rights abuses will not be tolerated if Joe Biden wins the presidency next month. In a letter to be sent on Monday, 56 lawmakers detail several cases of what they say is unjust imprisonment and raise concerns of covid-19 spreading in Egypt’s jails. They urge Sissi to release those ‘unjustly detained for exercising their fundamental human rights.’ ‘These are people who should never have been imprisoned in the first place,’ the lawmakers say in the letter provided to The Washington Post. The letter is signed by 55 Democrats and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.).”

Image: A man stands outside the U.S. Capitol with a photograph of Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi in 2017. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

U.S. weighs labeling leading human rights groups ‘anti-Semitic’
Politico

“The Trump administration is considering declaring that several prominent international NGOs — including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Oxfam — are anti-Semitic and that governments should not support them, two people familiar with the issue said. The proposed declaration could come from the State Department as soon as this week. If the declaration happens, it is likely to cause an uproar among civil society groups and might spur litigation. Critics of the possible move also worry it could lead other governments to further crack down on such groups. The groups named, meanwhile, deny any allegations that they are anti-Semitic. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is pushing for the declaration, according to a congressional aide with contacts inside the State Department. Pompeo is eyeing a future presidential run and has taken a number of steps to gain favor with pro-Israel and evangelical voters who make up a key part of Trump’s electoral base.” 

Image: Amnesty International USA’s interim executive director said any allegations of anti-Semitism were “baseless.” (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Diplomatic bullying: Israel won't renew visas to UN workers in West Bank and Gaza
Haaretz

“The branches of the Offices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, or OHCHR, in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank are being emptied of members of their international staff, citizens of foreign countries. Israel is not renewing their work visas and so they are being forced to leave the country. This is an act of diplomatic bullying. Its purpose is to silence and paralyze any international opposition to the occupation and the settlements – and to portray it as antisemitism.” 

Image: United Nations' workers wearing protective clothing hand out medicine to a Palestinian man during the outbreak of the coronavirus, at the Beach refugee camp in Gaza City August 27, 2020. (Mohammed Salem/ Reuters)

Turkey seeks to replace Egypt in Palestinian arena – and Israel should be worried
Haaretz

“The Rafah crossing, which provides the Gaza Strip’s only access to Egypt, has been closed since March, apart from two brief periods. Officially, this is in order to stop the spread of the coronavirus. But although that reason is indisputably valid, Egypt has also likely kept the crossing closed as part of its sanctions on Hamas for daring to take independent political action. For two months, Hamas and Fatah have been discussing reviving their reconciliation plan and holding new elections – first for the Palestinian Legislative Council, effectively the parliament for Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza, then for the presidency, and finally for the Palestinian National Council, the representative institution for Palestinians everywhere.”

Image: Abbas and Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh in Ramallah, June 15, 2020. (Mohamad Torokman/Reuters)

Israel says UAE visit 'making history' - Palestinians call it 'shameful'
Reuters

“A group of United Arab Emirates officials became the first Gulf Arab delegation ever to visit in Israel on Tuesday (October 20), cementing a normalisation deal in an occasion that Israel and U.S. officials described as historic but the Palestinians called ‘shameful’. The UAE and Gulf neighbour Bahrain became the first Arab states in a quarter of a century to establish formal ties with Israel despite ongoing differences over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The deals, forged largely over shared fears of Iran, were brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of next month’s U.S. presidential election. ‘We are making history in a way that will stand for generations,’ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in welcoming Emirati Economy Minister Abdullah bin Touq al-Mari and Minister of State for Financial Affairs Obaid Humaid al-Tayer."

Image: Emirati and Israeli flags fly upon the arrival of Israeli and U.S. delegates at Abu Dhabi International Airport, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates August 31, 2020. (Reuters/Christopher Pike)