With bulldozers and bricks instead of bullets, Israel cements its control of Jerusalem

via The National

Thomas Helm Jerusalem. May 15, 2026

Almost 60 years ago, Israeli forces captured East Jerusalem in one of the most dramatic and consequential battles of the latter half of the 20th century. After days of fighting, Israel gained control of historical sites sacred to the billions of followers of the Abrahamic faiths.

On June 7, 1967, defence minister Moshe Dayan stood at the Western Wall, shortly after Israel had taken it from Jordanian troops, and declared that the Israeli military had “liberated Jerusalem this morning”.

“We reunited divided Jerusalem, the bisected capital of Israel. We have returned to our holiest places, we have returned in order not to part from them ever again,” he said. In 1980, Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, passed a law that stated “Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel”.

Read the article here, complete with a map and photos

Gaza's water crisis: Families survive on less than 10 litres a day amid Israel's ongoing genocide

Before Israel's genocidal war on Gaza, the daily share of water per person in the Gaza Strip was around 80 litres, obtained simply by turning on a tap inside the home.

Now, with cities and towns destroyed and most residents displaced to shelters, securing water is no longer easy, and the daily per-person share has dropped to less than 10 litres.

As a result, water collection has become a daily struggle for displaced families across Gaza. Dozens of Palestinians — men, women and children — queue in front of small water outlets extending from a water truck parked outside a shelter for displaced people in central Gaza City.

Each person tries to fill the small water containers they carry, return them to the tent to empty them into a slightly larger container, and then go back again to refill the smaller ones.

Because water supplies are so limited, all members of displaced families help fetch water while the truck, carrying no more than 10,000 litres, remains at the camp.

Read the entire article from “The New Arab” here.

WEBINAR, THIS FRIDAY, MAY 22: Defense integration could entrench US support for Israel

Beyond Aid: How Defense Integration Could Entrench US Support for Israel

May 22, 2026

10:00 am - 11:00 am EDT

The current Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the United States and Israel is set to expire at the end of 2028. Discussions are already underway about what the security assistance relationship between the two countries should look like going forward. Prominent Israel officials – including Prime Minister Netanyahu – support the phasing out of US military aid, calling it a critical step towards Israel’s independence. But there is more than meets the eye. Israeli policy makers wish to pivot from security assistance towards defense integration, a transformation that could deepen the US-Israeli strategic relationship while insulating it from  political oversight. 

How would this reorientation alter the US-Israel strategic relationship? Are there feasible alternatives to continuing the security assistance program as it is now structured, phasing it out over time as the Israelis have publicly proposed, or shifting it toward defense integration under the auspices of the two countries’ defense establishments? Will shifting US financial support for Israel from the category of “aid” to that of “mutual readiness” stymie the growing call for ending unconditional US support for Israel? 

To discuss these questions and more, join a Quincy Institute conversation featuring Steven Simon, senior research fellow in the Middle East program at the Quincy Institute, Ben Freeman, director of the Democratizing Foreign Policy program at the Quincy Institute, and Josh Paul, human rights activist and former State Department official who resigned over the Biden administration’s Gaza policy and continued military support for Israel. Annelle Sheline, research fellow in the Middle East program at the Quincy Institute who also resigned from the State Department over Gaza during the Biden administration, will moderate. 

The conversation will take place on Friday, May 22nd from 10:00 – 11:00 AM ET.

Register here.

Palestine 36 on Netflix

Palestine 36 (Arabic: فلسطين ٣٦) is a 2025 historical drama written and directed by Annemarie Jacir. The film recounts the 1936–1939 Arab revoltagainst British colonial rule in Palestine during the Mandate period.[3] It stars Hiam Abbass, Kamel El Basha, Yasmine Al Massri, Jalal Altawil, Robert Aramayo and Saleh Bakri. (via Wikipedia)