Welcome to +972’s Sunday Recap! Here’s your wrap-up of the latest articles from our contributors.
On Monday night, Israeli settlers raided the Palestinian village of Susiya in the occupied West Bank, where they assaulted activists and residents — including +972 contributor and Oscar-winning filmmaker Hamdan Ballal, co-director of “No Other Land.” After 24 hours in Israeli military and police detention, where he faced more abuse, Ballal recounted his ordeal to Oren Ziv.
Unlike daily settler and soldier attacks in the West Bank, the assault and detention of Ballal received swift and extensive international media coverage — but it was framed largely around his Oscar win. Sleman Altehe asked: Must the Palestinian have an Oscar for the world to care when he’s attacked?
For nearly a month, Israel has prevented all humanitarian aid — including food, water, fuel, and medicine — from entering Gaza. Lee Mordechai and Liat Kozma explained why this is a precursor to the Israeli military seizing full control over the mechanisms of aid distribution in the Strip.
In a collaborative investigation led by Forbidden Stories, Youssr Youssef and Magdalena Hervada revealed how operating drones has become a death sentence for Gaza’s journalists. Israel has killed or maimed at least five drone-operating journalists since October 7; survivor testimonies, along with Israeli military sources, corroborated the fact that this is no accident.
Gaza was rocked this week by the largest protests the enclave has seen in years. Ruwaida Amer spoke to Palestinians who had taken to the streets in several locations to call for an immediate end to Israel’s bombardment and for Hamas to step down and allow new elections.
Protests also intensified inside Israel, where the government moved this week to fire the attorney general and the head of the Shin Bet. Orly Noy and Amos Brison explained why the government’s plans must be resisted — but the attorney general’s image as a “guardian of democracy” only makes sense if you ignore that she proudly signed off on Israel’s crimes against Palestinians.
Finally, Oren Ziv spoke to 18-year-old conscientious objector Ella Keidar Greenberg — the first transgender refusenik in a decade — about why going to prison is a small price to pay in the struggle against Israeli occupation and patriarchy.
***
We are in an extraordinarily dangerous era in Israel-Palestine, as the Gaza war reaches extreme levels of brutality and threatens to engulf the region. It has never been more vital for our journalists, led by Palestinians and Israelis, to report on and analyze what is happening on the ground and beyond, guided by humanism, equality, and justice. +972 Magazine is proof that an alternative is possible — and we need your support to increase our impact. Join us.
