Palästina-News No. 55

August 2025

Palästina-News appears monthly. Each issue quotes articles from English-language online newspapers, portals and publications about Palestine and Israel in abridged form, edited by Martin Luzi Büechi. The German edition contains the translations.

In this issue

4 out of 5 Jewish Israelis are not troubled by the famine in Gaza
Annexation of the West Bank starts with Judaizing Muslim places of worship: Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron
Humanitarian crisis in the West Bank: no stable access to food, water, or shelter
First Jewish Anti-Zionist Congress Vienna 2025
Suggested for further reading

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Palästina-News Nr. 55,

August 2025

What you don't learn in Switzerland

The aim of this newsletter is to improve information about events in Palestine and Israel, with a focus - but not only - on the German-speaking part of Switzerland. For this purpose, articles from English-language online newspapers, online portals, publications, etc., are quoted in abbreviated form.

References provide a link to the original article and / or publication medium. The edited articles have been shortened and may not fully reflect the opinions of the authors. Martin Luzi Büechi (MLB)

Mail: palnews@bluewin.ch Website: www.palaestina-news.ch

The two brothers, Youssef Abdel Rahman Matar, 6, and Amir Abdel Rahman Matar, 4, are cared for by their mother inside a school sheltering displaced families in Gaza City as they face life-threatening severe malnutrition. (Photo: Omar Ashtawy/ APA Images)

Set-up photos? It is highly likely that the photographer, Omar Ashtawy, staged the scene. However, the emaciated bodies of the two children are not staged. They are a sad and brutal reality in Gaza. MLB

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4 out of 5 Jewish Israelis are not troubled by the famine in Gaza

Israel Democracy Institute

A new poll by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDS) released on Tuesday, August 5, 2025, shows that 79% Jewish Israelis are not troubled by reports of Palestinian famine and suffering in Gaza. 23.4% of Jewish Israelis are “not so troubled” by Palestinian famine and suffering, and 55.6% are “not at all troubled.” Another Poll from June 2025 showed that over 75% of Israeli Jews “highly agree” with the statement that “there are no innocents in Gaza”. One could therefore argue that the IDI poll measures the level of support for the Gaza genocide without explicitly using the term.

After the Second World War, Germans would say 'We didn't know' about the Holocaust. However, given the extensive media coverage of the genocide in Gaza, both internationally and in some Israeli outlets, it is unlikely that the Israeli public will be able to use the same excuse once the moral consequences of their actions are presented to them. But maybe they still don't care. MLB

A boy salvages flour in the aftermath of a reported Israeli strike on a tent shelter in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday, April 17, 2025. Credit: Eyad Baba/AFP

Results from the poll (Quotes):

Personal response to the reports from Gaza: From examining the conduct of the state, we moved to a more personal question, asking: “To what extent are you personally troubled or not troubled by the reports of famine and suffering among the Palestinian population in Gaza?” A very large majority of Jewish respondents reported that they are not so troubled or not at all troubled personally by events in Gaza (79%), while the majority of Arabs said that they are very troubled or somewhat troubled (86%).

The indifference of Jewish Israelis is alarming, even though they are well aware of what is happening in Gaza. Prime Minister Netanyahu's lies that there is no famine in Gaza and that no policy of starvation is being pursued do nothing to change this. It has been discussed on their mainstream news channels in recent weeks. While some journalists acknowledge the famine with a certain degree of regret, others deny it, and still others even mock it. An example of how Israelis mock Palestinians was recently seen on the Israeli channel “Channel 14.” The channel put up a photo of a starving child with his mother and described them as “well-fed.” It was also claimed that the mother “may have eaten all of her child's food.” They revel in their sadism: “This is a woman who ate an entire goat...” – “Who ate the child herself!” They find this funny, which is simply abhorrent! MLB

Resultate aus der Umfrage (Zitate):

Persönliche Reaktion auf die Berichte aus Gaza: Von der Untersuchung des Verhaltens des Staates gingen wir zu einer persönlicheren Frage über und fragten: „Inwieweit sind Sie persönlich beunruhigt oder nicht beunruhigt über die Berichte von Hungersnot und Leid unter der palästinensischen Bevölkerung in Gaza?“ Eine sehr grosse Mehrheit der jüdischen Befragten gab an, dass sie persönlich nicht so sehr oder überhaupt nicht beunruhigt über die Ereignisse in Gaza sind (79 %), während die Mehrheit der arabischen Israelis angab, dass sie sehr beunruhigt oder etwas beunruhigt sind (86 %).

Die Gleichgültigkeit der jüdischen Israelis ist alarmierend, obwohl sie sich sehr wohl bewusst sind, was in Gaza geschieht. Die Lügen von Premierminister Netanjahu, dass es in Gaza keine Hungersnot gibt und keine Politik der Aushungerung betrieben wird, ändern daran nichts. In den letzten Wochen wurde darüber in den Mainstream Nachrichtensendern diskutiert. Während einige Journalisten und Journalistinnen die Hungersnot mit einem gewissen Bedauern anerkennen, leugnen andere sie, und wieder andere verspotten sie sogar. Ein Beispiel dafür, wie Israelis Palästinenser und Palästinenserinnen verspotten, war kürzlich auf dem israelischen Sender „Channel 14” zu sehen. Der Sender zeigte ein Foto eines hungernden Kindes mit seiner Mutter und beschrieb sie als „gut ernährt”. Es wurde auch behauptet, dass die Mutter „möglicherweise das gesamte Essen ihres Kindes gegessen hat”. Sie schwelgen in ihrem Sadismus: „Das ist eine Frau, die eine ganze Ziege gegessen hat...” – „Die das Kind selbst gegessen hat!“ Sie finden lustig, was einfach abscheulich ist! MLB

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Annexation of the West Bank starts with Judaizing Muslim places of worship: Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron

Mondoweiss

Israel is accelerating its efforts to cement its permanent control over the West Bank through a number of sweeping legal and institutional changes, according to a new report from Adalah, The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel. The 87-page report, Legal Structures of Distinction, Separation, and Territorial Domination, describes the ways in which the Netanyahu government is rapidly building on a long-stan-ding legal matrix that further threatens Palestinians’ right to self-determination.

“These developments are not something new to us,” Dr. Suhad Bishara, Legal Director of Adalah and lead author of the report, told Mondoweiss. “All eyes are on Gaza, justifiably so,” she said. “How-ever… it is important to highlight the intensity of the structural changes that have taken place since the current government took over in December 2022.” Jeff Wright, July 24 and Qassam Muaddi, July 30, 2025.

Cave of the Patriarchs or Cave of Machpelah (Ibrahimi Mosque). Credit: Mamoun Wazwaz/Anadolu Agency

In the latest Israeli move to impose its annexation of the West Bank, the Israeli army’s central command transferred the administrative authorities over the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron from the Palestinian city’s municipality to the Religious Council of the Israeli settlement of Kiryat Arba’ last week. Until the latest Israeli decision, the Ibrahimi mosque was run by the Hebron municipality for the maintenance of infrastructure as a Palestinian historical site, and by the Palestinian religious endowments department, or the Awqaf, for the religious staff and the administration of the Mosque.

Entrance to the Abrham Cave. Credit: Wikipedia

The Awqaf department is part of the Palestinian Authority, and it is the institution that safeguards the religious c haracter of holy sites and their associated religious rights.

Im Rahmen der jüngsten Massnahmen Israels zur Durchsetzung seiner Annexion des Westjordanlands hat das Zentralkommando der israelischen Armee letzte Woche die Verwaltungshoheit über die Ibrahimi-Moschee in Hebron von der palästinensischen Stadtverwaltung auf den Religionsrat der israelischen Siedlung Kiryat Arba übertragen. Bis zu dieser jüngsten Entscheidung Israels wurde die Ibrahimi-Moschee von der Stadtverwaltung Hebron für die Instandhaltung der Infrastruktur als palästinensische historische Stätte und vom palästinensischen Amt für religiöse Stiftungen (Awqaf) für das religiöse Personal und die Verwaltung der Moschee verwaltet.

Die Awqaf-Behörde ist Teil der palästinensischen Autonomiebehörde und die Institution, die den religiösen Charakter heiliger Stätten und die damit verbundenen religiösen Rechte schützt. Wenn die Awqaf-Behörde ihre Zuständigkeit für einen Ort verliert, gilt dieser nicht mehr als palästinensische religiöse Stätte – und könnte einer anderen Nutzung zugeführt werden, beispielsweise als Touristenattraktion. Wenn jedoch die Awqaf-Behörde von israelischen Behörden ihre Zuständigkeit für einen Ort verliert, ist dies Teil eines Projekts zur Judaisierung und damit Israelisierung dieses Ortes. Mit anderen Worten: Israel versucht, den palästinensischen Charakter des Ortes auszulöschen und den Zugang der Palästinenser und Palästinenserinnen zu diesem Ort einzuschränken oder vollständig zu blockieren.

Dieser beispiellose Schritt wurde in der Presse kaum angemessen behandelt, obwohl die Ibrahimi-Moschee nach der Al-Aqsa-Moschee in Jerusalem seit Jahrzehnten im

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When the Awqaf’s authority is revoked over any location, it is no longer considered a Palestinian religious site — and could be given over to another usage, like a tourist attraction. But when the Awqaf’s authority is revoked by Israeli authorities, it is part of a project to Judaize, and therefore Israelize, the site. In other words, Israel seeks to erase the Palestinian character of the site and limit or completely block Palestinians’ access to it.

This unprecedented move has transpired with barely any adequate coverage in the press, despite the fact that the Ibrahimi Mosque, after the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, has been at the heart of political tensions for decades, holding a multi-religious and centuries-old tradition of being the burial place of the Biblical and Quranic figure of the Prophet Abraham and his family. Mentioned by Flavius Josephus in the first century CE as “a cave,” the location became the site of a Byzantine church in the fourth century, and then the same building was used as a mosque from the seventh century. The site was rarely a subject of conflict throughout this vast expanse of time — until Israel’s occupation of the West Bank in 1967.

Zentrum politischer Spannungen steht und eine multireligiöse, jahrhundertealte Tradition als Begräbnisstätte der biblischen und koranischen Figur des Propheten Abraham und seiner Familie hat. Der Ort, der von Flavius Josephus im ersten Jahrhundert n. Chr. als „Höhle” erwähnt wurde, wurde im vierten Jahrhundert zum Standort einer byzantinischen Kirche, und ab dem siebten Jahrhundert wurde dasselbe Gebäude als Moschee genutzt. Während dieser langen Zeit war der Ort selten Gegenstand von Konflikten – bis zur Besetzung des Westjordanlands durch Israel im Jahr 1967.

Palestinians at Ibrahimi Mosque on the anniversary of the birth of the prophet Muhammad, Hebron February 16, 2011. (Photo: Najeh Hashlamoun/APA Images)

Humanitarian crisis in the West Bank: no stable access to food, water, or shelter

Mondoweiss

Six months since Israel’s expanded military assault on the refugee camps of Jenin and Tulkarem in the northern West Bank, over 42,000 Palestinian refugees remain forcibly displaced and have no stable access to food, water, or shelter. They were driven out by occupation forces from three refugee camps across the cities of Tulkarem and Jenin within the first month of Israel’s military assault, which began in late January. Many remain stranded living in mosques, schools, and other shelters as history repeated itself with cruel precision. The Palestinians in these camps - survivors of the 1948 Nakba and their descendants - were cast into the streets overnight. Now twice-displaced, most were forced out of their homes with nothing but the clothes on their backs and the weight of generational expulsion. Zena al-Tahhan July 28, 2025

While cities in the occupied West Bank are meant to be under the governance of the Palestinian Authority (PA) as part of the Oslo Accords, Israel has effectively reasserted direct military control over Jenin and Tulkarem for the past six months. Observers say it is the first step towards the formal annexation of the occupied West Bank amid other Israeli measures such as taking over record amounts of Palestinian land since the war on Gaza, and expelling dozens of Palestinian Bedouin villages in remote areas outside the

Während die Städte im besetzten Westjordanland gemäss den Osloer Verträgen der Palästinensischen Autonomiebehörde (PA) unterstehen sollen, hat Israel in den letzten sechs Monaten die direkte militärische Kontrolle über Dschenin und Tulkarem wiederhergestellt. Beobachtern zufolge ist dies der erste Schritt zur formellen Annexion des besetzten Westjordan-landes inmitten anderer israelischer Massnahmen wie der Aneignung von palästinensischem Land in Rekord-höhe seit dem Krieg gegen Gaza und der Vertreibung Dutzender palästinensischer Beduinendörfer in abgelegenen Gebieten ausserhalb der Städte. Neben den unübersehbaren Annexionsmassnahmen hat der ranghohe Minister Bezalel

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cities. Alongside blatant acts of annexation, top government minister Bezalel Smotrich has promoted a “decisive plan” to expand illegal settlements, block Palestinian statehood, and solidify Israeli control.

Israeli armored vehicles and bulldozers in Jenin refugee camp, February 25, 2025. (Photo: Mohammed Nasser/APA Images)

The Israeli onslaught in Jenin and Tulkarem forms a part of this overall Israeli strategy of clearing Palestinian land of its inhabitants ahead of potential annexation. The Israeli campaign in the two northern West Bank cities has proven to be the largest mass expulsion of Palestinians in the West Bank since the occupation of 1967, and the longest Israeli operation in the territory since the Second Intifada in 2000.

“The situation in Tulkarem is disastrous. While local and international organizations, as well as the PA, are helping, the situation has surpassed our capabilities. Tulkarem city can-not withstand this large number of displaced people,” Manal al-Hafi, Director of the Palesti-nian Red Crescent Society in Tulkarem, told Mondoweiss. “There are people asking for help every day — whether for money, humani-tarian aid, or food. Families have been sepa-rated, with the mother and children staying in one place and the father in another,” she continued.

According to a report published by Doctors Without Borders earlier this month, based on almost 300 interviews with displaced residents of the Jenin and Tulkarem refugee camps, over 47 percent of respondents had inconsistent or no access to food and water. The group called for an immediate and urgent scale-up in humanitarian assistance, noting that the majority of people are relying on overstretched local communities to aid them.

Smotrich einen „entschlossenen Plan“ zum Ausbau der illegalen Siedlungen, zur Verhinderung der palästinensischen Eigenstaatlichkeit und zur Festigung der israelischen Kontrolle propagiert.

Die israelische Offensive in Jenin und Tulkarem ist Teil der israelischen Gesamtstrategie, palästinensisches Land im Hinblick auf eine mögliche Annexion von seinen Bewohnern und Bewohnerinnen zu säubern. Die israelische Kampagne in den beiden Städten im nördlichen Westjordanland ist die größte Massenvertreibung von palästinensischen Menschen im Westjordanland seit der Besetzung von 1967 und die längste israelische Operation in dem Gebiet seit der Zweiten Intifada im Jahr 2000.

"Die Lage in Tulkarem ist katastrophal. Lokale und inter-nationale Organisationen sowie die Palästinensische Autonomiebehörde helfen zwar, aber die Situation übersteigt unsere Möglichkeiten. Die Stadt Tulkarem kann diese grosse Zahl von Vertriebenen nicht verkraften", erklärte Manal al-Hafi, Direktorin der Palästinensischen Rothalbmondgesellschaft in Tulkarem, gegenüber Mondoweiss. "Jeden Tag gibt es Menschen, die um Hilfe bitten - sei es um Geld, humanitäre Hilfe oder Lebensmittel.»

Laut einem Anfang des Monats veröffentlichten Bericht von Ärzten ohne Grenzen, der auf fast 300 Interviews mit vertriebenen Bewohnern der Flüchtlingslager von Dschenin und Tulkarem beruht, hatten über 47 Prozent der Befragten keinen oder nur unregelmässigen Zugang zu Nahrungsmitteln und Wasser. Die Gruppe forderte eine sofortige und dringende Aufstockung der humanitären Hilfe und wies darauf hin, dass die meisten Menschen auf die überforderten lokalen Gemeinschaften angewiesen sind, um ihnen zu helfen

People carry their belongings as they cross a destroyed street while fleeing the Nur Shams refugee camp east of Tulkarem, February 26, 2025. (Photo: Mohammed Nasser/APA Images)

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First Jewish Anti-Zionist Congress, Vienna 2025

Wiener jüdische antizionistische Erklärung

Ein gemeinsames Foto aller Redner und Rednerinnen. MLB

Zionism emerged at a time of rising racist nationalism in the late 19th century. Vienna played an important role in this, as it was here in 1896 that Theodor Herzl wrote his famous work “The Jewish State.” It was a time of supremacism and colonialism and the destruction of “the other,” including Judaism. Herzl's work is shaped by this experience, and in response to anti-Semitism, he envisioned a purely Jewish settler state in Palestine or Argentina, in keeping with the spirit of the times. This was intended to give Judaism a perspective for political emancipation. With the Congress on Jewish Anti-Zionism in June 2025, Vienna is now set to become the place that gives public voice to the anti-Zionist positions of Jews and formulates a clear rejection of the appropriation of Jewish identity to justify colonial violence and against the appropriation of Judaism by Zionism

Over 1,000 anti-Zionist Jews and non-Jews gathered at the end of June 2025 for a three-day Jewish anti-Zionist congress. This was the first event of its kind in Europe, and there are already concrete plans for a second congress in Ireland in 2026. MLB

Selected comments from individual speakers. The name is linked to a video in the original language (German or English) with subtitles in the other language.

Stephen Kapos: Es gab einen Bericht der bei den Vereinten Nationen vorgelegt wurde, der warnte dass aufgrund der Belagerung und des Hungers in Gaza, eine ernsthafte Möglichkeit besteht, dass 14'000 Kinder innerhalb von Tagen oder einer Woche sterben.

Stephen Kapos (on the far left in the photo above) Holocaust survivor: Stephen is an activist for Palestinian human rights and an active member of the Camden branch of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Standing up for Palestinians living under brutal occupation is particularly important to him - especially as a Holocaust survivor. “Palestinians live under an apartheid system, as recognized by Amnesty International and other major human rights organizations.” These are Stephen's political beliefs,

Katie Harper: Zu sagen Antizionismus sei antisemitistisch ist selbst antisemitistisch, weil es Jüdischsein mit Zionismus vergleicht. Und so tut, als

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Ilan Pappè: Ich denke, es ist sehr wichtig zu hören, nicht zionistische und antizionistische jüdische Stimmen in einer Zeit, in der im Namen der jüdischen Identität der Staat Israel Verbrechen gegen das palästinensische Volk begeht.

Ilan Pappé is an Israeli historian, political activist, and professor at the University of Exeter, England, and director of the European Center for Palestine Studies. He was previously a lecturer in political science at the University of Haifa. He is best known for his book “The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine.”

Rahma Zein: Es zeigt nur, dass Zionismus nichts mit Juden und Jüdinnen zu tun hat. Israel ist der Leuchturm der weissen Vorherrschaft. Wer könnte besser darüber sprechen als Juden und Jüdinnen die von Israel benutzt wurden zu ver-kaufen, dass es ein Zufluchtsort für Juden und Jüdinnen ist.

Rahma Zein is an Egyptian journalist. She began her career as an investigative crisis reporter for Egyptian television and the private broadcaster CBC, where she reported on key events during a period of great upheaval in the region. Zein gained international attention in 2023 through a viral confrontation with a CNN reporter at the Rafah border crossing. There, she criticized the station for its biased reporting, which she said justified Israel's ongoing war crimes.

Dalia Sarig: I think it can be effective to make clear the simple fact, that anti-Zionism is not antisemitic and that “never again” applies to all people and you can’t use Jewish identity to justify all of this.

Dalia Sarig ist Initiatorin dieses Erster Kongress zum jüdischen Anti-Zionismus und Mitgründerin der von JüdInnen in Wien gegründeten Initiative „Not in our Name“ und Kandidatin der Liste GAZA.

wären Juden und Jüdinnen eine geschlossene Gruppe mit nur einer einzigen Meinung.

Katie Halper is an author, filmmaker, and presenter from New York City. She hosts the podcast, YouTube show, and radio show on WBAI called “The Katie Halper Show” and is co-host of the podcast and YouTube format “Useful Idiots.” Katie was first censored by The Hill TV and then fired from the morning show “Rising” after writing a monologue in which she supported US Congresswoman Rashida Talib and declared that Israel was indeed an apartheid state. Katie received the Women and Media Award from the Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press in 2022 and the Leadership Annual Award from the organization American Muslims for Palestine in 2023.

Ghada Karm: Mit diesen bewusst geschaffenen Bedingungen und der Straflosigkeit, die Israel von Anfang an bedingungslos zugestanden wurde, hätte der Völkermord in Gaza und der begleitende Angriff auf das Westjordanland keine Überraschung sein dürfen.

Ghada Karmi is a Palestinian doctor, scientist, and writer. She has been active in the Palestinian rights movement since the 1970s and has published extensively on the subject. Her recently published book, One State: the Only Democratic Future for Palestine-Israel (2023), describes her vision of a shared and just state and a path to justice in Palestine.

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Dr Mohamed Salha, is the Medical Director of Al Awda Hospital in Jabalia, northern Gaza. He sent a message from Gaza because Israel made a live presentation impossible

In front of the entrance to the convention center: lively discussions. MLB

Video Message from Roger Waters, british musician, founding member of Pink Floyd.

Nachtrag

Demo an den Salzburger Festspielen durch Palästinaaktivisten und --aktivistinnen von Palästina Solidarität Österreich.

At the opening of the Salzburger Festspiele, predominantly Jewish Palestine activists drew attention to the Austrian government's shared responsibility for the genocide in Gaza. On behalf of the majority, they demanded immediate action from the government to stop the starvation. This can only be achieved through sanctions! Unlike in the past, this time the “regime media” also reported on the actions, from ORF to tabloids such as Der Standard to the front page of Die Krone – in some cases not even in a negative light. This is a sure indicator of the mood among the Austrian population, which wants an end to the complicity in genocide.

Interview mit Dalia Sarig