Welcome to +972’s Sunday Recap!

After Israeli police prevented the main procession of the annual March of Return, Local Call reporter Baker Zoabi wrote about how Palestinians marked the Nakba anyway. Across the country, people returned to depopulated villages, keeping alive the memory of what was lost in 1948.

Hanno Hauenstein reported on the ‘extraordinarily far-reaching’ Palestine Action trial that begin in Germany this past Monday. The ‘Ulm 5’ are facing prison sentences over a break-in at Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems, in a case experts warn could set a precedent for criminalizing direct action.

After undermining the ceasefire through continued attacks and restrictions on aid, Israel is now conditioning its withdrawal, as outlined in phase 2 of the agreement, on Hamas’s total disarmament. As Muhammad Shehada argued, this demand is not a pathway to reconstruction but a trap dressed in diplomatic language, one that requires Palestinians to prove their absolute, verifiable defenselessness in order to survive. 

Over the past week, two seemingly minor episodes in Modi’in and at an anti-government protest in northern Israel revealed how, as Amos Brison wrote, Israel’s crackdown on the Palestinian flag has veered into the surreal. A mutilated kippah and the confiscation of a Hungarian flag betray the deep sense of insecurity underlying Israel’s projections of military grandeur.

In Al-Bustan, a neighborhood of East Jerusalem, Israel is forcing out 1,500 residents to build a biblical theme park. Shatha Yaish spoke with the families who, in order to avoid paying huge fines, have been left with no choice but to demolish their own homes.

***

We are in an extraordinarily dangerous era in Israel-Palestine, one defined by genocide, apartheid, and Jewish supremacy from the river to the sea. 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.