Bernie Sanders - Senate Showdown: Should the US Keep Funding Israel’s War?

Apr 17, 2026 | Bernie Sanders address two Senate votes that could determine whether the United States continues funding Israel’s military campaign under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. After the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, which killed over 1,200 Israelis and took hostages, Israel had the right to respond. But that response, critics argue, has violated international law. In Gaza, more than 72,000 Palestinians have been killed and much of the territory destroyed, including homes, schools, hospitals, and infrastructure. Severe blockades have caused widespread hunger. Violence has also escalated in the West Bank, where over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed since then.

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Bernie Sanders: No More Arms Sales to Israel

Apr 15, 2026 | No more taxpayer dollars to support Netanyahu and his extremist Israeli government.

Christians Are Pressing Trump to Clear a Path for Israel to Annex the West Bank

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Some 80 percent of white, evangelical Christians voted for President Trump. Now, some want a policy change that could undermine a future Palestinian state.

Evangelical Christian leaders who delivered votes to President Trump are now pressing him to declare that Israel can claim ownership of the West Bank, based on a promise God made to the Jews in the Bible.

They are seeking a way to pave a path toward annexation of territory that is widely viewed internationally as intended for a future Palestinian state. Israel seized the territory as part of a war between it, Jordan, Egypt and Syria in 1967 and has occupied it since. In recent years, the right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been encouraging Jewish settlers to build homes there at an increasing rate.

Prominent evangelical supporters of Mr. Trump are mounting a multipronged approach to pressure the president — making appearances in Israel, petitioning the White House, pushing their ideas at a key evangelical conference and building congressional backing.

Some of America’s leading evangelicals, including Ralph Reed, Tony Perkins and Mario Bramnick, visited Jerusalem on Tuesday to publicly back Israel’s sovereignty of the West Bank. » | Ephrat Livni | Reporting from Washington | Saturday, March 8, 2025

The LGBTQ Community in the West Bank

Aug 20, 2019

Left-wing Americans 'Changed' Pro-Palestine View When Confronted with 'True Facts'

Aug 21, 2022 | Progressive Americans changed their perception once they were shown the "true facts" of Palestine's treatment of the LGBTQ+ community, filmmaker Ami Horowitz says. Mr Horowitz travelled to the West Bank and interviewed Palestinians to see what they think about gay people and then played that footage back to progressive Americans. He said "every single person" he spoke to "changed" their pro-Palestine position – with one American questioning the accuracy of the left-wing narrative on the issue. "People are less jaded than you think and when confronted with facts and you have them captured in the sense they're now listening to you ... you can change people's perceptions once the facts, the true facts, are given to them," Mr Horowitz said.

Full: Biden Makes Remarks in Historic Wartime Visit to Israel

Oct 18, 2023 | President Joe Biden reaffirmed his support for Israel during his visit to the country, making him the first U.S. president to do so in a time of conflict. Biden also announced that the U.S. will fund humanitarian aid in Gaza and the West Bank.

Why Is the US Saying Illegal Israeli Settlements Are Okay? I Inside Story

It’s a dramatic shift in US policy, and goes against the position taken by international organisations and most other countries.

The US says it no longer views the illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied West Bank as “inconsistent with international law”... The Palestinians are furious and many observers say it makes Israeli-Palestinian peace even more elusive.

It’s another U-turn on policy by the US President in favour of Israel. Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moved the American embassy there. He also recognised Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights from Syria.

So what's the reason for this latest controversial move?

Presenter: Imran Khan | Guests: Gideon Levy, columnist at Haaretz News and author of 'The Punishment of Gaza’; Richard Falk, professor emeritus at Princeton University. Richard is the former UN special rapporteur for occupied Palestinian territories; Nour Odeh, political analyst and former spokesperson for the Palestinian Task Force on public diplomacy

Noura Erakat: US Recognition of Israeli Settlements Is “Entrenchment of an Apartheid Régime”

The Trump administration has announced it no longer views Israel settlements in the occupied West Bank to be a violation of international law, in another blow to possible Israel-Palestine peace negotiations. On Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced a reversal to the US position, putting the US at odds with the international community. A UN resolution in 2016 declared the settlements a “flagrant violation” of international law. Israel’s embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Pompeo’s announcement as a historic day for Israel, but Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat condemned the US decision. Soon after Mike Pompeo announced the new US policy, the US Embassy in Israel issued a travel warning to Americans in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. From Washington DC, we speak with Noura Erakat, a Palestinian human rights attorney and legal scholar. She is an assistant professor at Rutgers University and the author of “Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine.”

US Says Israeli Settlements No Longer Considered Illegal in Dramatic Shift

THE GUARDIAN: US declaration marks rejection of 2016 UN resolution that settlements on the West Bank are a ‘flagrant violation’ of international law

The US has declared that Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land are not necessarily illegal, in a dramatic break with decades of international law, US policy and the established position of most US allies.

“Calling the establishment of civilian settlements inconsistent with international law has not advanced the cause of peace,” said Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state. “The hard truth is that there will never be a judicial resolution to the conflict, and arguments about who is right and who is wrong as a matter of international law will not bring peace.” » | Julian Borger in Washington | Monday, November 18, 2019

Israel Demolishes EU-funded Structures in West Bank

Israeli forces have demolished four structures in the West Bank which were part of an EU-funded project. Nathan Frandino reports.

Israelis Favour Discrimination against Arabs - Poll
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A majority of Israeli Jews favour introducing discriminatory policies against the country's Arab population and would support an "apartheid" system in the West Bank if it were ever annexed, an opinion poll has shown.

With three months to go before a general election, a survey reported in the Haaretz newspaper shows further evidence of a sharp tilt towards nationalism in Israeli society.

More than two-thirds of those questioned by Dialog, an opinion pollster, said they would oppose suffrage for the 2.5 million Palestinians living in the West Bank were it to be annexed to Israel.

Nearly three-quarters -- 74 per cent -- say they also support a system of segregated roads for Palestinians and Israelis in the West Bank, although the majority say they would view such a policy as “necessary” rather than “good”.

Although favoured by some nationalist Jews, the prospect of Israel annexing the West Bank, which it has occupied since the Six-Day War of 1967, remains a distant one.

But with little progress being made in resurrecting the Middle East peace process, the possibility of annexation is viewed by some as increasingly likely. » | Adrian Blomfield, Jerusalem | Tuesday, October 23, 2012

PA Sermon in the West Bank: "Every Evil and Catastrophe" in the Whole World "Is Caused by the Jews"

A Drinker's Guide to Islam

THE GUARDIAN: A Palestinian beerfest is not as bizarre as it seems. Alcohol has long been a tolerated aspect of Muslim culture

If I said that we went to an Oktoberfest last weekend, readers may wonder why I am writing about it. If I added that the beer festival in question was in the West Bank and there we encountered a couple of self-deprecating young Germans dressed in lederhosen, some may start asking themselves what I've been drinking, or perhaps smoking.

To add to the bizarreness of the situation, this Oktoberfest, the seventh of its kind, took place not in hip Ramallah but in the remote village of Taybeh, perched picturesquely at 850m above sea level and with a population of just 1,500. Moreover, readers in western countries may wonder why thousands upon thousands of revellers had trekked all that way to attend a beer festival with only one beer on tap.

Secular Palestinians, expats and even leftist Israelis equipped with glasses of Taybeh beer wandered around food and handicraft stands, watched traditional Dabke dancers, modern music, comedy and theatrical performances.

Despite its remoteness and tiny proportions, Taybeh has earned its place on the cultural and social map as being the location of the only Palestinian beer brewery. It has battled the restrictions imposed by the Israeli occupation and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism to become a rare Palestinian business and cultural success story.

This may explain why Taybeh once adopted "Taste the revolution" as its advertising slogan. And, judging by its micro-brewery quality, the revolution tastes pretty good.

The very existence of Taybeh overturns the stereotype associated with Palestinians – and Arabs in general – as teetotal, fanatical Muslims. This caricature has been reinforced since Hamas's takeover of Gaza, where the Islamist party has imposed a de facto ban on alcohol, though bootlegging has become a popular, if risky, pastime.

There are those who will protest that Taybeh is the exception that proves the rule. After all, it is the only Palestinian brewery, and it is owned and run by Christians. But the absence of local competitors has more to do with the difficulty of setting up a viable business in the Palestinian territories, which requires a certain foolhardiness and courage – and, anyway, most of the people who drink Taybeh are Muslims. » | Khaled Diab | Saturday, October 08, 2011

Hamas and Fatah Sign Reconciliation Deal
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Fatah and Hamas signed a reconciliation deal on Wednesday, setting Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader, on a collision course with Israel.

In a surprise announcement following secret talks in Cairo, Mr Abbas’s moderate Fatah party and its Islamist arch-rival Hamas said they had put a four-year rift behind them.

The two parties pledged to form an interim unity government with elections in both the West Bank and Gaza in December.

The rapprochement is seen as a vital step towards the creation of a Palestinian state but immediately stoked fears in Israel that the moderate Palestinian Authority, led by Mr Abbas and dominated by Fatah, would swing towards radicalism.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, immediately condemned the deal.

“The Palestinian Authority must choose either peace with Israel or peace with Hamas,” he said. “There is no possibility for peace with both. Hamas aspires to destroy Israel and fire rockets at our cities ... at our children.” » | Adrian Blomfield, Middle East Correspondent | Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Binyamin Netanyahu Calls on World to Act after Killing of Jewish Settlers
THE OBSERVER: Israel's prime minister demands international condemnation after murder of five members of West Bank settler family

Israel's prime minister demanded international condemnation of the murder of five members of a Jewish settler family that Palestinian militants said was in reprisal for Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.

Binyamin Netanyahu's robust statement placed what he described as a despicable act – which shattered the relative calm in the West Bank over recent months – at the centre of strenuous efforts by the US and European countries to restart peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

Israeli soldiers mounted a massive search in the West Bank after a mother, father and three children, aged between three months and 11, were attacked with knives in their house in the West Bank settlement of Itamar, near the Palestinian city of Nablus. It was believed that two of the dead had their throats cut. >>> Harriet Sherwood in Itamar | Sunday, March 13, 2011

Netanyahu Blames Palestinian Incitement for Deadly Attack
Mar 12 - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Palestinian incitement for a lethal West Bank attack that killed five members of an Israeli family. Jon Decker reports

REUTERS: Jewish couple and three children killed in W.Bank: A Jewish couple and three of their children were stabbed to death in bed in a West Bank settlement in what Israeli officials said on Saturday was an attack by one or more Palestinians who broke into their home. >>> Rami Amichai | ITAMAR | Sunday, March 13, 2011

Christians Caught in Jewish-Muslim Crossfire

Boney M Asked Not to Sing Rivers of Babylon at West Bank Concert
THE TELEGRAPH: The lead singer of the 1970s disco group Boney M was asked not to sing Rivers of Babylon at a concert in the West Bank because of its reference to Israel. >>> | Thursday, July 22, 2010

Palestinians to Face Deportations

’You’re a Terrorist’: Tony Blair Taunted by Young Palestinian in West Bank Mosque
DAILY MAIL: Tony Blair's bodyguards had to rush to protect him today when a protester calling him a terrorist assailed the former prime minister in a Palestinian mosque.

Mr Blair, now the Middle East envoy, was on an official trip to the West Bank city of Hebron when the man verbally attacked him.

His bodyguards backed the man into a corner and tried to keep him quiet as he shouted 'You're a terrorist' at Mr Blair.

'He is not welcome in the land of Palestine', the struggling man, who was carrying a bag, added. >>> | Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Tony Blair Branded a 'Terrorist' by Heckler During West Bank Visit
THE TELEGRAPH: Bodyguards subdued a Palestinian heckler as he approached Tony Blair shouting 'you are a terrorist'.

Middle East envoy Tony Blair heckled in Hebron.
The Middle East envoy and former British prime minister was verbally assailed while visiting an ancient mosque during an official trip to the West Bank city of Hebron.

The protester, carrying a bag, was backed into a corner by guards who tried to shut him up. "He is not welcome in the land of Palestine," the struggling man shouted.

Mr Blair, 56, is envoy for the "Quartet" of powers on the Middle East, comprising the European Union, the United States, Russia and the United Nations.

He gave a tight-lipped smile and a pacifying wave in the general direction of the shouting man, and afterwards played down the incident. >>> | Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Binyamin Netanyahu Pushes Barack Obama into a Corner with Settlement Plan
TIMES ONLINE: Israel’s plans to have one last burst of settlement building in the West Bank before agreeing to a temporary, partial freeze is a slap in the face to the Obama Administration and a warning to the Palestinians that it intends to fight for every inch of land.

Binyamin Netanyahu’s refusal to include east Jerusalem — captured in the Six Day War — in any future settlement freeze suggests that Israel is trying to push the Palestinians into a checkmate situation.

The Palestinians demand east Jerusalem, still predominantly populated by Palestinians, as their future capital. An expansion of settlements ringing the city could cut it off from the Palestinian hinterland and slice the West Bank in two.

From the outset relations between the Netanyahu and Obama administrations have been testy. The new Israeli Government was at first shocked by Washington’s insistence on a total settlement freeze — something that has never happened in 16 years of peace negotiations, during which the Jewish communities in the West Bank have grown inexorably.

Israel has tried to persuade Washington to allow “natural growth” in the settlements, where about 300,000 people live in neat, red-tiled villas perched on strategic hilltops across the West Bank, known to Israelis as Judea and Samaria. When that failed it tried to rebrand “natural growth” as “normal life” but the Americans still refused. The latest announcement puts Washington in a difficult position — >>> James Hider: Analysis | Saturday, September 05, 2009