Press review on Gaza, the West Bank and Israeli politics

In view of the continuing complicit silence of the Western - especially German - media and public discourse on the ongoing genocide in Gaza, we consider it necessary to publish a press review containing media and research contributions on the events in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel as well as its relationship and/or cooperation with the EU and the US. The aim of this press review is to counter the complicit silence and make critical contributions more accessible. The press review contains articles of the past two months.

Gaza

General

14.06.25 Guardian: Strikes on Iran ease pressure on Israel to end starvation in Gaza: In the hours after Israel attacked Iran, food shipments and distribution in Gaza stopped and a French-Saudi summit meant to pave the way for wider recognition of a Palestinian state was postponed indefinitely.

International pressure over starvation and civilian killings in Gaza had apparently dissipated in little more than the time it took for the smoke of the first missile strikes to clear over Tehran.

03.06. Foreign Affairs: Israel’s Dangerous Escalation in Gaza: "How Politics and Ideology Are Sidelining National Security and Creating a Forever War"

05.06.25 Armed Conflict Location & Event Data: Israel intensifies operations as May becomes deadliest month in over a year: "In May [2025], Gaza witnessed its deadliest month of 2025 so far as Israeli forces launched Operation Gideon’s Chariots. The operation significantly escalated military activity amid a deadlock in US-led ceasefire negotiations. ACLED records over 900 Israeli airstrikes and shellings in May — the highest monthly figure since early 2024."

04.06.25 Guardian: Palestinian Red Crescent details medic’s account of 15 colleagues’ slaughter: "The Palestinian Red Crescent Society has detailed the harrowing account of one of its paramedics, who told the organisation he heard Israeli troops shoot first responders while they were still clinging to life."

06.06.25 Guardian: Netanyahu defends arming Palestinian clans accused of ties with jihadist groups: "The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has admitted arming clans in Gaza that he says are opposed to Hamas, after allegations that members of these criminal gangs looted humanitarian aid and have ties to jihadist groups. The admission came after Israeli media reports quoted defence sources as saying Netanyahu had authorised giving weapons to a clan reportedly led by a man known as Yasser Abu Shabab, a Rafah resident from a Bedouin family, known locally for his involvement in criminal activity. Israel allegedly provided Abu Shabab’s group, which calls itself the ´Anti-Terror Service`, with Kalashnikov assault rifles, including weapons seized from Hamas."

Also see New York Times 06.06.25: Israel Armed Palestinian Militia to Fight Hamas, Officials Say: "Mr. Abu Shabab is believed to command a relatively small armed group in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. He became notorious in the territory last year amid accusations — which he disputed — that he had looted and resold truckloads of humanitarian aid intended for hungry Gazans."

29.05.25 ACLED: Violence in Gaza after the Collapse of the Ceasefire, 19. March - 23. May 2025: "Since the breakdown of the ceasefire on 18 March, Israel has carried out its most intense bombardment of the Gaza Strip since the initial months of the current war in late 2023 (see graph below). This latest aerial campaign has resulted in the deaths of over 3,400 Palestinians, including both civilians and combatants."

Also see taz Tagesschau 27.05.25: Warnung vor massiven Angriffe:n Israel fordert Menschen in Süd-Gaza zur Flucht auf; 26.05.25 taz: Weitere Eskalation in Nahost: Israel will 75 Prozent des Gazastreifens besetzen; 22.05.25: Netanjahu fordert Vertreibung der Palästinenser; Aljazeera 21.05.25: Netanyahu says Israel will control ‘all of Gaza’ after latest offensive; Der Spiegel 17.05.25: Wie Israel den Gazastreifen schrumpft und die Menschen vertreibt; AJE 06.05.25: Israel has turned 70% of Gaza into no-go zones, in maps

16.05.25 Haaretz: Gaza's Last Hospital for 10,000 Cancer Patients Shuts Down Due to Repeated Israeli Strikes: "In an attempt to kill Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar, Israel struck the European Hospital in Khan Yunis, Gaza's last remaining facility for treating cancer patients. The IDF has struck 122 hospitals and 180 ambulances since the Oct. 7 attack, the WHO says."

16.05.25 +972: Hundreds killed in Israel's intensified Gaza assault: "Over the past 36 hours, the Israeli army has escalated its attacks across the Gaza Strip, killing at least 250 Palestinians and wounding hundreds, according to local health officials. The wave of air and artillery strikes has drawn comparisons from residents to the earliest and most brutal days of the war.​​​​​​​"

15.05.25 +972: ‘Render it unusable’: Israel’s mission of total urban destruction: "While airstrikes account for mass casualties, bulldozers and explosives are flattening Gaza from the ground — what soldiers say is a systematic campaign to make the Strip unlivable, a joint investigation reveals."

05.05.25 France 24: Netanyahu announces 'intensive' Gaza offensive, displacement of its population: "Israel is set to seize the Gaza Strip and remove its population ´for its own protection`, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced in a video posted on social media on Monday. Plans for the new, "intensive" offensive were approved by the security cabinet earlier in the day."

Also see AJE 04.05.25: Israel calling up tens of thousands of reservists to expand war on Gaza; NYT 03.05.25: Poised to Expand Gaza Offensive, Israel Calls Up Thousands of Reserve Soldiers

14.04.2025 Jacobin: “It’s a Misnomer to Call It a War": "Omer Bartov, once a soldier in the IDF, is now one of the most vocal critics of the Israeli government. In this interview, the renowned Holocaust researcher discusses why Germany has drawn the wrong lessons from its history and what makes the ‘bureaucratisation’ of genocidal violence so dangerous."

Starvation

10.06.25 taz: Gangster-Miliz von Netanjahus Gnaden: Bewaffnete Palästinenser sollen Hilfslieferungen in Gaza plündern und auf die eigenen Leute schießen. Israel hat sie aufgerüstet.

30.05.25 Guardian: Gaza is ‘hungriest place on Earth’ with all its people at risk of famine, says UN: "Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said the territory was ´the only defined area – a country or defined territory within a country – where you have the entire population at risk of famine. One hundred per cent of the population at risk of famine,` he said on Friday [May 30]."

29.05.25 NYT: New Aid Site in Gaza Brings More Scenes of Chaos: "A new Israeli-backed aid group opened a third hub in Gaza on Thursday to try to get more food to a desperate population. But more chaotic scenes unfolded during the opening, similar to the launch of the first center this week. The United Nations and other aid organizations have declined to cooperate with the new aid group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, describing it as a militarized distribution operation that violates humanitarian principles."

13.05.25 NYT: In Private, Some Israeli Officers Admit That Gaza Is on the Brink of Starvation: "Israel’s government has publicly dismissed warnings of extreme food shortages after it blocked aid deliveries, but an internal analysis concluded that a crisis looms if food supplies are not restored."

12.05.25 Guardian: Food security experts warn Gaza at ‘critical risk of famine’ amid Israeli blockade: "Gaza is at “critical risk of famine”, food security experts have warned, 10 weeks after Israel imposed a blockade on the devastated Palestinian territory, cutting off all supplies including food, medicine, shelter and fuel."

08.05.25 +972: ‘She’s dying in front of my eyes’: The Gazan children starving under Israeli siege: "For a little over two months, Israel has prevented all food, goods, and medical supplies from entering the Gaza Strip. "Dr. Ahed Khalaf, a pediatric specialist at Nasser Hospital, told Al Jazeera recently that they have never seen such severe cases of malnutrition in children. ´They are suffering from blood poisoning, organ failure, liver and kidney damage, bacterial and microbial infections, and weakened immunity`."

30.04.25 FA: Israel, Gaza, and the Starvation Weapon: "By publicly declaring Israel’s intention to impose a total siege of Gaza and then enforcing measures that deprive Gazans of food and other goods that are indispensable to civilians’ survival, the ICC prosecutor alleges, Netanyahu and Gallant have committed the war crime of starvation. It is the first time in history that a major court has centered a war crimes prosecution on this particular charge."

Also see Guardian 30.05.25: Gaza is ‘hungriest place on Earth’ with all its people at risk of famine, says UN; AJE 28.05.25: Gaza’s aid system isn’t broken. It’s working exactly as designed; NYT 28.05.25: U.N. Condemns Israel’s New Aid Program in Gaza, After Chaotic Start; France 24 27.05.25: Scenes of chaos as thousands in Gaza rush into new US-backed aid centre; NYT 27.05.25: Chaos Mars Opening of Israeli-Backed Aid Distribution Site in Gaza; 27.05.25 AJE: ‘Deliberate massacre’ in Gaza as starving Palestinians seek Israeli-US aid; NYT 24.05.25: New Gaza Aid Plan, Bypassing U.N. and Billed as Neutral, Originated in Israel; NYT 19.05.25: What to Know About Aid Getting to Gaza

04.06.25 NYT: Israeli-Backed Aid Sites in Gaza Close Temporarily After Deadly Shootings: "The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it was working to improve operations, a day after health workers said at least 27 Palestinians were killed near a distribution center."

28.05.25 Guardian: Four people killed after starving Palestinians burst into UN food warehouse in Gaza: "Four people have died as thousands of Palestinians burst into a United Nations warehouse in Gaza, tearing away sections of the building’s metal walls in a desperate attempt to find food."

17.05.2025 Guardian: Israel-backed food aid group admits it won’t be able to reach most vulnerable in Gaza: "The organisation backed by Israel to take over food distribution in Gaza as famine looms has admitted it would not be able to feed some of the most vulnerable civilians from the militarised compounds it plans to set up."

Also see Der Spiegel: Israel erklärt Straßen rund um Verteilungszentren zu »Kampfgebieten«: "Die Ausgabestellen der umstrittenen Stiftung GHF in Gaza bleiben nach der jüngsten Eskalation vorerst geschlossen. Israels Armee warnt die hungernde Bevölkerung davor, die Areale um die Zentren zu betreten."

Westbank

06.06.25 Haaretz: Israel's Expulsion of Palestinian Communities in West Bank Hits Record High With U.S. Support: "The eviction of residents from a Bedouin community marked the final piece in a chain of Palestinian communities that have vanished. In today's political climate, settlers no longer feel the need to hide their goal: the ethnic cleansing of Area C."

06.06.25 Jewish News Syndicate: Smotrich: Prepare ‘operational plans’ for sovereignty in Judea and Samaria: "Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also has authority over civilian matters in Judea and Samaria, has directed his office to prepare practical plans for Israeli sovereignty over the area. Smotrich told the Defense Ministry’s Settlement Administration to ´formulate an operational plan for applying sovereignty, and we will not stop until the entire area receives its full legal status and becomes an inseparable part of the State of Israel,` he said on Thursday [June 5]."

05.06.25 ACLED: West Bank: Settler violence surges following rare Hamas attack: "Settler violence in the West Bank surged to its highest level since October 2023, with around 200 events recorded in May. The uptick followed a deadly 14 May attack by a Hamas operative, who opened fire on a settler vehicle near the Bruchin settlement, killing a pregnant woman and wounding her husband. In response, settlers launched a week-long rampage through the nearby village of Bruqin, burning homes, destroying property, and displacing residents."

03.06.25: Israeli Authorities Promote Major New Settlement Plan to Close-Off Sheikh Jarrah from the North: "Israeli authorities are moving forward with an extensive new settlement plan along the northern perimeter of Sheikh Jarrah that will further seal-off the area and transform the character of the Palestinian neighborhood. The plan calls for the construction of 1,500 housing units across 120 dunams of land in an area where Israel’s National Police Headquarters and several government offices, including the Ministry of National Security, are currently located."

29.05.2025 PeaceNow: The Cabinet Decided on the Establishment of 22 New Settlements in the West Bank - Peace Now: "This week, Israeli media reported that the cabinet has decided to establish 22 new settlements in the West Bank. Cabinet decisions are considered classified and the information about the decision was published by one of the settler councils. One day later, the Ministry of Defense confirmed the decision, however its text remained classified."

27.05.25 AJE: Mapping Israel’s military campaign in the occupied West Bank: "Research group Forensic Architecture finds that Israel is using tactics in the West Bank similar to those used in Gaza."

13.05.25 Jewish Currents: The Destruction of Khalet a-Daba’: "In under two hours, Israeli military forces demolished nine houses, six residential caves, 11 bathrooms, ten water tanks, seven water cisterns, four animal shelters, an electricity room, the majority of the village’s solar panels, and the community center. By the time the army left, only four structures remained; 90% of the village was in ruins."

Also see Foundation for Middle East Peace 06.06.24 Settlement & Annexation Report: Foundation for Middle East Peace [research]; Tagessschau 29.05.25: Israel kündigt 22 neue Siedlungen an; NYT 08.05.25: The Huge, Under-the-Radar Shift Happening in the West Bank; ACLED 02.05.25: Iron Wall or iron fist? Palestinian militancy and Israel’s campaign to reshape the northern West Bank

Inside Israel

11.06.25 NYT: Ehud Olmert on Israel’s Catastrophic War in Gaza: "This is an edited transcript of an episode of “The Ezra Klein Show.”

08.06.25 Der Spiegel: Tausende Demonstranten fordern Ende des Gazakriegs: "Tausende Menschen haben am Abend in mehreren Städten Israels gegen die Regierung von Ministerpräsident Benjamin Netanyahu protestiert und die Freilassung der Geiseln in Gaza aus der Gewalt islamistischer Terroristen gefordert. Die Tochter einer getöteten Geisel warf der »Times of Israel« zufolge bei einer Kundgebung in Tel Aviv der Regierung vor, den seit 20 Monaten andauernden Krieg in dem abgeriegelten Küstenstreifen auf Kosten der Verschleppten in die Länge zu ziehen. Laut Berichten gingen Sicherheitskräfte am Rande gewaltsam gegen Antikriegsdemonstranten vor."

26.05.25 France 24: Israeli nationalists chant ‘Death to Arabs’ during Jerusalem Day march: "Chanting ´Death to Arabs` and singing ´May your village burn`, groups of young Israeli Jews made their way through Muslim neighborhoods of Jerusalem’s Old City on Monday ahead of an annual march marking Israel’s conquest of the eastern part of the city."

Also see Guardian 26.05.25: Thousands of Israelis join violent, racist march through Jerusalem’s Muslim quarter

23.05.25 AJE: ‘No soldiers, no occupation’: Israel’s anti-war protests small, but growing: "More young Israelis are turning their backs on the Gaza war, but wider society shows little sympathy for Palestinians."

Also see AJE 31.05.25: Divided Israel faces internal unrest amid escalating Gaza conflict

14.05.25 +972: How Kahanism found its way into the Israeli political mainstream: "Genocidal rhetoric is not new to Israeli politics. But Gaza's destruction mirrors the apocalyptic language pouring out of the Knesset — where the establishment has gradually absorbed members of a former terrorist group."

Europe/Israel

12.06.25 Guardian: Attack dogs: how Europe supplies Israel with brutal canine weapons: “There is a clear risk that these exports help to promote practices that violate international and human rights law, so companies and states should seriously consider whether their activities are linked to unlawful acts committed by Israel.”
The IDF said that it places “great importance on the wellbeing of the operational dogs – who are an integral part of the combat apparatus – and the unit continues to operate with constant efforts to minimise harm to all components of the force, including its dogs.”

09.06.25: Israeli forces take control of Gaza aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg: "Israel’s military took control of a boat trying to deliver food to Palestinians in Gaza in the early hours of Monday morning, and brought its crew of activists including Greta Thunberg to an Israeli port."

04.06.25 NYT: Israel, Fighting a War, Says It Sold More Weapons Than Ever Last Year: "Israeli producers signed contracts to export about $14.8 billion in weapons last year, up from a previous record high of $13 billion in 2023, according to new data from Israel’s Defense Ministry. The figures reflect the remarkable speed at which Israel has ramped up its wartime production and sought new markets in Europe, where demand is growing for arms to protect against Russian aggression."

28.05.25 taz: Waffenlieferung an Israel: Macht sich Deutschland mitschuldig?: "Trotz Kriegsverbrechen in Gaza liefert Deutschland weiter Waffen an Israel. Dafür könnte Kanzler Merz angeklagt werden."

26.05.25 TNI: Niamh Ní Bhriain: Europe Is Getting Rich Off Genocide in Gaza: "Niamh Ní Bhriain, coordinator of the War and Pacification Programme at the Transnational Institute, exposes how European governments are complicit in Israel’s genocide in Gaza—not just through silence, but through active weapons transfers and military support."

20.05.25 Guardian: UK suspends trade talks with Israel and attacks ‘repellent’ extremism | Israel-Gaza war | The Guardian: "UK-Israeli relations have plunged to their worst state for decades after the British foreign secretary, David Lammy, suspended negotiations over a new free trade deal, saying Israel’s cabinet ministers’ calls to “purify Gaza” by expelling Palestinians were repellent, monstrous and extremist."

16.05.25 Times of Israel: 7 European governments call on Israel to reverse aid blockade responsible for Gaza ‘humanitarian catastrophe’: "´We will not be silent in front of the man-made humanitarian catastrophe that is taking place before our eyes in Gaza. More than 50.000 men, women, and children have lost their lives. Many more could starve to death in the coming days and weeks unless immediate action is taken,` the leaders of Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Slovenia and Spain say in their joint statement."

13.05.25 Associated Press: UK High Court hears challenge to British government’s role arming Israel: "Human rights groups launched a court fight Tuesday challenging the U.K. government’s decision to supply parts for F-35 fighter jets, saying they are being used by Israel in Gaza in violation of international law. The legal challenge in the High Court alleges that the government is breaking domestic and international law and is complicit in atrocities against Palestinians by allowing essential components for the warplanes to be supplied to Israel."

12.05.25: Is Britain breaking international law over Israel to avoid offending Trump?: "The British government will be in the high court defending the indefensible: its continuing approval of arms exports to Israel. As the government’s lawyers take the floor to deliver their opening remarks – in a case that was brought by the Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq and is supported by Human Rights Watch – thousands of children in Gaza will be starving."

10.05.25 Guardian: Israel committing genocide in Gaza, says EU’s former top diplomat: Josep Borrell also criticises EU response to what he calls largest ethnic cleansing operation since second world war

Also see Der Spiegel 07.06.: Mehrheit in Deutschland für Begrenzung oder Stopp von Waffenlieferungen an Israel; Guardian 27.05.25: UK must impose sanctions on Israel to meet legal obligations, say more than 800 lawyers; Tagesspiegel 26.05.25: Debatte über Krieg in Gaza: Jeder zweite Deutsche lehnt Waffenlieferungen nach Israel ab

25.05.25 France24: Spain convenes European, Arab nations to ramp up pressure on Israel over Gaza campaign: "Spain’s foreign minister called on the international community to impose sanctions on Israel to end the war in Gaza, as European and Arab nations met in Madrid on Sunday to push for a ceasefire and increased humanitarian aid."

Also see France 24 30.05.25: Israel slams Macron’s ‘crusade against Jewish state’ over call for recognition of Palestinian state

USA/Israel

05.06. F.A.: America and Israel Follow the Same Old Script: "The United States will cut its own path when it comes to the region and beyond. But it will stand by Israel when it comes to the Palestinians, and it will continuously protect the country. Netanyahu has had to accept, however grudgingly, that Trump will no longer bow to his requests on Iran. But just like all his predecessors, Netanyahu retains a free hand in Gaza and the West Bank. He can move ahead with his plans to destroy and depopulate the former and to annex territory in the latter. He ultimately might not take these measures, thanks to broader international pressure or shifts in domestic public opinion or because he strikes a deal to normalize ties with Saudi Arabia. But he will still have ravaged Gaza with American consent."

18.05.25 NYT: The Group Behind Project 2025 Has a Plan to Crush the Pro-Palestinian Movement: "Now the Heritage contingent was in Israel, in part, to discuss another contentious policy paper: Project Esther, the foundation’s proposal to rapidly dismantle the pro-Palestinian movement in the United States, along with its support at schools and universities, at progressive organizations and in Congress. Drafted in the wake of Hamas’s attack on Israel in 2023 and the mounting protests against the war in Gaza, Project Esther outlined an ambitious plan to fight antisemitism by branding a broad range of critics of Israel as ´effectively a terrorist support network,` so that they could be deported, defunded, sued, fired, expelled, ostracized and otherwise excluded from what it considered ´open society`."

16.05.25 NBC: Trump administration working on plan to move 1 million Palestinians to Libya: "Details are murky and no final agreement has been reached, but the plan is under serious enough consideration that the administration has discussed it with Libyan leadership. In exchange for the resettling of Palestinians, the administration would potentially release to Libya billions of dollars of funds that the U.S. froze more than a decade ago."