The bad news from Israel and Palestine keeps coming

Trump’s Everlasting Peace Plan in the Middle East has been having some rocky going:

The Gaza Strip today resembles a wounded, bleeding animal, set upon by a pack of predators, each trying to tear off the fattest possible piece.

Businesspeople, private companies, states, international bodies, militias and terrorist organizations are all competing with one another to reap gains – political, economic, or reputational. Cynical interests and good intentions fuse into a seething mix. (1)

And, you may ask, how is that Gaza ceasefire going?

On Tuesday night, a company commander in the reservist Alexandroni Brigade was seriously wounded in northern Gaza. Israel responded with an airstrike in which more than 20 Palestinians were killed, among them Hamas and Islamic Jihad commanders who took part in the October 7 massacres.

It was the second heavy bombing of Gaza in less than a week. Since the declaration of the cease-fire last October, more than 400 Palestinians have been killed in the Strip.

U.S. generals ask their Israeli counterparts to explain every bombing, and also the clashes between the Israel Defense Forces and Palestinians. The Americans go into details but rarely intervene. (2)

But, Peter Beinart points out, the Peace President in Washington still has high hopes for his Gaza plans. 

A glance at the +972 Magazine website shows one story after another about the Israeli government’s hostile attitude toward Palestinians, those who live in Israel and are Israeli citizens and those who live – or struggle to survive – in Gaza and the West Bank, both areas that Israel has illegally occupied since 1967. Three examples:

U.S. secretly deporting Palestinians [from the US] to West Bank in coordination with Israel

With or without a ceasefire, Israel is still targeting Gaza’s journalists

‘Israel is using organized crime to control Palestinian citizens’

The latter story is about how the Israeli government looks the other way why organized gangs prey on Palestinian citizens, who are not treated as equal to Jewish citizens:

In 2023, the homicide rate among Palestinian citizens of Israel was the third highest in the OECD. Last year, Palestinians accounted for 252 of Israel’s 305 murder victims, despite making up just 21 percent of the population. And since the start of the new year, little has changed: In less than a month, 18 Palestinian citizens of Israel have already been killed in incidents linked to criminal networks.

In response, Palestinian citizens are stepping up their efforts to combat the spread of organized crime and the state’s inaction against the perpetrators — which many see as a deliberate policy. There were demonstrations across the country this week, from Sakhnin to Umm Al-Fahm, culminating in a general strike on Thursday called by the Union of Arab Mayors and the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens.

This new wave of protests began in Sakhnin, led by small business owners and local leaders, and quickly spread to dozens of Arab towns, even drawing support from a few Israeli institutions (such as the Hebrew University of Jerusalem). The strike concluded with a mass demonstration in Sakhnin, where more than 50,000 people gathered. [my emphasis]

Notes:

(1) Rozovsky, Liza (2026): Netanyahu Faces a Reckoning in Gaza as Trump's Triumph Exposes Israel's Postwar Failure. Haaretz 02/05/2026. <https://www.haaretz.com/gaza/2026-02-05/ty-article/.premium/netanyahu-faces-a-reckoning-in-gaza-as-trumps-triumph-exposes-israels-postwar-failure/0000019c-2cd6-d5a5-a9dc-7df646170000> (Accessed: 2026-06-02).

(2) Harel, Amos (2026): Netanyahu Gives the IDF More Leeway to Attack as He Hopes Trump Fumbles on Peace in Gaza. Haaretz 02/06/2026. <https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-security/2026-02-06/ty-article/.premium/netanyahu-gives-the-idf-more-leeway-to-attack-as-he-hopes-trump-fumbles-on-peace-in-gaza/0000019c-3335-d37f-affc-77b5ad560000> (Accessed: 2026-06-02).