Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. He is the former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, a former senior official with the Mossad, and a former IDF intelligence officer. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.
October 1, 2024- Americans for Peace Now welcomes the new sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury Department on violent Israeli settlers and organizations in the occupied West Bank. The nationalist violence against Palestinians has reached the point where even the Israeli government is taking action against the most notorious settlers. Avichai Suisa, the leader of extremist group HaShomer Yosh, Eitan Jordani from the illegal outpost Havat Ma'on and Hilltop Youth certainly deserve to be sanctioned, by both Israel and the U.S.
But individual sanctions against local leaders are not enough. Two powerful Ministers in the Israeli
government, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, control much of the civilian administration in the West Bank and
the police, respectively. Their incitement to violence, land theft and de facto annexation as well as measures
taken to protect violent settlers makes them ultimately responsible – along with Prime Minister Netanyahu – for the
immense upsurge in anti-Palestinian lawlessness. The Biden Administration should not shrink from sanctioning these
Ministers because of their official positions, which only heighten their dangerous irresponsibility.
Dr. Dahlia Scheindlin, a scholar and writer,
is an international political and strategic consultant. She has advised and conducted research on nine national
campaigns in Israel over the past twenty years, and has provided research and advising for elections, referendums,
and civil society campaigns in fifteen different countries. She is the author
of The Crooked
Timber of Democracy in Israel.
Wednesday, October 2, 20204, at 1:00pm Eastern Time.
In the months following the horrific attacks on October 7, troubling allegations about the involvement of a handful of United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) employees came to light. UNRWA and the UN responded swiftly to the accusations by immediately terminating the employees allegedly involved, ordering an independent outside review of the Agency’s neutrality practices, and directing a review of the allegations by the UN’s highest investigative body, the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS). At that time, some donor states, including the United States, froze their contributions to UNRWA. The US was one of 16 nations to impose such a ban. Recently, the Biden Administration indicated a desire to resume funding, something which the other 15 donor nations have already done. And yet, the Congressionally mandated ban remains in place. UNRWA is the primary aid organization in Gaza, and its work there is crucial. Without immediate restoration of funds, the situation will worsen, exacerbating tensions and further destabilizing the region.
To discuss all of these challenges– from hostilities hindering the delivery of aid to southern Gaza to the steps that must be taken for the US government to restore funding– we’re speaking with William (Bill) Deere, the director of UNRWA’s Washington Representative Office. This webinar, hosted by our Director of Government Relations Madeleine Cereghino, will take place on Wednesday, October 2, 20204, at 1:00pm Eastern Time.
September 25, 2024- Yesterday, Representative Adam Smith (D-Wash) was joined by 102 of his colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden, Secretary Blinken and Attorney General Garland requesting a thorough, independent, and transparent US-led investigation to determine the facts surrounding the killing of American citizen Aysenur Ezgi Eygi.
Americans for Peace Now strongly supports the continued push for accountability and an investigation into her killing, which Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called “unprovoked and unjustified.” Given the evidence, and the reality of the unreliability of previous Israeli investigations, the United States must conduct its own independent inquiry. There must be clarity about what happened to Aysenur Ezgi Eygi and accountability for her death.
In the months following the horrific attacks on October 7, troubling allegations about the involvement of a handful of United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) employees came to light. UNRWA and the UN responded swiftly to the accusations by immediately terminating the employees allegedly involved, ordering an independent outside review of the Agency’s neutrality practices, and directing a review of the allegations by the UN’s highest investigative body, the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS). At that time, some donor states, including the United States, froze their contributions to UNRWA.
Then, in March of this year, Congress imposed a funding ban on UNRWA. The US was one of 16 nations to impose such a ban. Recently, the Biden Administration indicated a desire to resume funding which every other donor nation has already done. And yet, the Congressionally mandated ban remains in place.
September 23, 2024- Americans for Peace Now is extremely concerned by the escalation of military hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah. For almost a full year Hezbollah has been firing rockets into the north of Israel, leaving tens of thousands displaced from their homes. Last week’s massive pager attack and the subsequent bombings deep into Lebanon have killed hundreds and wounded thousands. And today, Hezbollah is firing rockets deep into Israel while Israel has now again bombed Beirut. Millions of people, men, women and children, on both sides of the border, are looking for shelter and living in fear.
The failures in Gaza, the failure to bring the hostages home, the failure to defeat Hamas, and the failure to fight this war without killing tens of thousands and creating a humanitarian disaster have led Netanyahu to escalate on Israel’s northern front in order to distract from the failures in the south.