For months, groups on the Israeli far right have traveled to the crossings where aid is moved from the West Bank to the Gaza border in an effort to disrupt the shipmentsāeven attacking drivers and attempting to destroy the supplies. But now, other groups of Israelis are boarding buses from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and heading to those crossings to try and help the trucks complete their passage into Gaza to deliver the aid. This has sparked stand-offs near the border between right-wing groups such as Tzav 9 and pro-coexistence groups such as Standing Together.
On May 19, activists from Standing Together helped clear the roadĀ andĀ reload boxes of humanitarian aid destined for Gaza that had been thrown off a truck by Tzav 9 followers at the Tarqumiyah Crossing in the West Bank.
The name Tzav 9 (Order 9) is a reference to the Order 8 emergency mobilizationĀ notice that army reservists receivedĀ on Oct. 7 last year. (PRI, ToI, TNA)
Photo: Standing TogetherĀ via Times of Israel
Thousands rally in Tel Aviv for ceasefire agreementā
Thousands of Israelis took to the streets of Tel Aviv on June 1 to urge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire deal touted by President Joe Biden. The protests took place amidst mounting pressure to come to an agreement with Hamas to bring hostages home. Protestors held signs with slogans such as “Biden save them from Netanyahu,”Ā and “Biden cares more about the hostages than Netanyahu.”Ā There were reports of clashes with police and the use of tear -gas during the protests. (Jurist)
Bill in Israel to censure dissent
The National Union of Israeli Students as proposed a new law that would require universities to fire all academics who express dissent, including tenured professors. “Academic institutions will be obliged to immediately fire a lecturer, a teacher or researcher who expresses or acts in a manner that includes denial of the existence of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, incitement to racism, violence or terrorism and/or support for an armed struggle or an act of terrorism against Israel,”Ā the bill reads. Institutions that fail to comply would lose their state funding. (The Forward)
Israeli nationalists chant racist slogans on Jerusalem march
Police arrested 18 on June 5 as clashes broke out during the Jerusalem Day Flag March, in which tens of thousands of mosty religious-right Israelis marched through the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City to celebrate Israel's seizure of the city in 1967. As at previous Flag Marches, slogans such as "Death to Arabs" and "May your village burn" were heard.
Addressing the crowd before setting off for the Old City, ultranationalist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir declared: "Jerusalem is ours. Damascus Gate is ours. The Temple Mount is ours, and, God willing, complete victory is ours." He was flanked by Otzma Yehudit MKs and Social Equality Minister May Golan of Likud. (ToI)
Earlier in the day, hundreds of right-wing militants stormed al-Aqsa Mosque, under heavy protection from Israeli police. Midldle East Eye says these militants were associated with the group Humanitarian Guard, but a group of this name appears to be a project of the progressive pro-coexistence organization Standing Together, launched to protect the aid convoys from right-wing militants.
Israel: grenade attack on co-existence group
A grenade is suspected by police to have caused an explosion at the office of the Abraham Initiatives in Lod early June 26, the co-existence organization says in a statement. Images released by the group show damage to the office. No injuries were reported in the incident.
“The Abraham Initiatives expect the police and law enforcement to carry out a speedy and fundamental investigation into the serious incident, and bring the perpetrators to justice,”Ā the statement reads. (ToI)