Israel

US vetoes immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, presents its own resolution to the U.N.

US vetoes immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, presents its own resolution to the U.N.

In recent weeks, the United States has faced criticism both from the international community and from U.S. citizens for its stance on an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. On Feb. 20, 2024, the United States vetoed the Algerian draft proposal for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire at the U.N. Security Council vote, NPR reported.

‘Middle East Crisis’ panel leads to tensions on campus

‘Middle East Crisis’ panel leads to tensions on campus

Significant tension filled the air as students, faculty and staff arrived at Hooker Auditorium to attend “Middle East Crisis: Implications for Israel, Palestine, and U.S. Policy in the Region,” a panel discussion on Oct. 24. A campus Public Safety and Service officer stood at the door, and as attendees entered they were greeted by large signs stating that no recording of any kind was allowed.

Hamas attacks Israel, leads to fears of increased destabilization

Hamas attacks Israel, leads to fears of increased destabilization

A surprise military attack on Israel by the militant group Hamas has prompted a declaration of war by Israel. On Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, at 6:30 a.m. local time, Hamas fired rockets into central and southern Israel, although, as ABC News reported, the exact number is disputed — Israel claims 2,200 while Hamas has said 5,000. At the same time, bulldozers driven by Hamas militants tore down a section of the fence surrounding Gaza, allowing Hamas militants into southern Israel.

Proposed judicial overhaul of Israeli judicial system sparks mass protests

Proposed judicial overhaul of Israeli judicial system sparks mass protests

On March 27, 2023, Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he will be delaying the proposed judicial reforms that were announced earlier this year. According to an Al Jazeera news article, this announcement followed a mass strike of workers across the country, as well as protests from tens of thousands of Israelis opposed to the reforms. Malls and kindergartens were closed, seaport workers refused to work and flights were suspended at Ben Gurion International Airport. Al Jazeera also explained that the delay announced last Monday means that the proposed changes will not be voted on by parliament until late April at the earliest. 

Nuclear deal talks resume after recent cyberattack on Iranian nuclear facility

Nuclear deal talks resume after recent cyberattack on Iranian nuclear facility

Signatories of the Iranian nuclear deal have resumed talks in Vienna regarding a revival of the agreement. Despite a recent accident at Iran’s nuclear facilities, participants in these conversations have touted positive results and plans for re-signing the 2015 agreement.

Israeli Prime Minister Begins Trial

Israeli Prime Minister Begins Trial

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, is facing charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust, to all of which he is pleading not guilty. The trial, which began in 2019, recommenced on Monday, Feb. 8, a month before the country’s next election. Netanyahu, who has been in power for over 14 years, is facing criticism for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, along with his right-wing ideology.

Palestinian Prisoner Ends over 100-Day Hunger Strike

By Saman Bhat ’22 & Amelia Luo ’23

Global Editor & Staff Writer, Photographer


Maher al-Akhras, currently a Palestinian prisoner, has ended his over three-month-long hunger strike after Israeli forces agreed to grant him freedom on Nov. 26, rather than renewing his sentence. Beginning on July 27 of this year, the day he was detained, the 49-year-old father of six went on a hunger strike for more than 100 days. According to The Guardian, he lost over 90 pounds. 

Al-Akhras was arrested and detained under what is known as “administrative detention,” a controversial policy that Israel implements to legally detain Palestinians for indefinite periods due to suspicion of undisclosed security offenses. These detentions can last for years without trial. According to Al-Jazeera, Israel claims that the “procedure allows authorities to hold suspects and prevent attacks while continuing to gather evidence.” However, some critics think the country is abusing its power through this practice. Amnesty International, along with several other Palestinian rights groups, have claimed that Israel’s administrative detention policy is a human rights violation, as it obstructs Palestinian peoples’ right to due process.  

According to a Time magazine article written in 2016, Israel has imprisoned nearly 4,000 people under administrative detention over the past decade, with only 35 of them being Jewish. This procedure heavily targets Palestinian citizens, as over 350 Palestinians — including two minors — were being held in Isreali prisons under the policy as of August 2020, as reported by the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories. This violates international humanitarian laws, as Article 76 of the fourth Geneva Convention states that protected people under occupation should be detained only in the occupied territory. 

One anonymous Mount Holyoke student noted that administrative detention has a historic connection to colonization, writing, “I think that the parallels between the methods of administrative detention taken by Israel and the colonization efforts made by Great Britain in the past highlight the fact that Israel is clearly colonizing Palestine.” 

 According to the Shin Bet, Israel’s security agency, al-Akhras was arrested because information suggested that he was an active member of the Islamic Jihad Movement and was involved in “activities that endanger public safety.” Michael Lynk, a special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Palestinian territories, called for al-Akhras’s immediate release. In a report to the United Nations Human Right Council, he said that “Israeli security forces who arrested and detained Mr. Al-Akhras have not provided any persuasive evidence in an open hearing to justify its allegations that he is a genuine security threat.” 

The Shin Bet also suggested that al-Akhras had been arrested five times previously for the same reason, but the involvement was denied by al-Akhras’ family and by al-Akhras himself, who claimed not to have any involvement in “security activity.” According to the International Association for Democratic Lawyers, two of al-Akhras’s  previous arrests were under the same circumstances he is now facing. Al-Akhras was held for 16 and 11 months during 2009-2011 and 2018, respectively. He was not charged with a crime or given a trial either time.

Mount Holyoke’s Palestine Solidarity Group commented on how al-Akras’ situation is far from unique, but has brought global attention to the true nature of Israeli detention. They stated, “The Israeli prison system is an inhumane and violent tool of the illegal occupation of Palestine. Maher al-Akhras’ 103-day hunger strike has brought the conditions faced by Palestinian political prisoners to the eyes of the world, but he is far from the first or the last Palestinian to experience this violence.”

Al-Akhras is not the only Palestinian prisoner that has been detained for long periods of time due to questionable circumstances. In 2016, a Palestinian journalist named Muhammad al-Qiq was freed from six months of administrative detention after a 94-day hunger strike. Time magazine reported that “75 percent of administrative detainees are held for longer than ​six​ months without trial, and 40 percent for more than a year. Just 5 percent of Palestinians held in administrative detention are indicted at the end of their detention.”

Anat Matar, a Tel Aviv University philosophy professor who coordinates the Israeli Committee on Palestinian Prisoners advocacy group, told The Guardian about how the goal of al-Akhras’ hunger strike was not just his immediate release but also to highlight the injustices and suffering caused by administrative detention. She said, “The point for us is to protest administrative detention. What he wants is to move the discussion from his own case to the general one, and that is why he pays with his own life.”

According to Al-Jazeera, many Palestinian prisoners state that they have been subjected to torture and violence while in custody. As a result, these Palestinian detainees stage protests, including hunger strikes, against their prison conditions. This form of protest seems to be an effective tool in undermining Israeli occupation. “A hunger strike offers a rare opportunity to take back control. It is a paradoxical move, asserting the essence of your freedom by denying your oppressor control over your body,” Sally Abed wrote for The Nation. 

Al-Akhras was set to be transferred back to a prison medical facility on Oct. 23, but submitted an urgent petition against the transfer. The interim order was granted by the court. According to The Times of Israel, there were concerns from Physicians for Human Rights that the prison medical facility might engage in forced treatment or feeding, which a public hospital would not do. 

Al-Akhras’ family stated that he would be in Kaplan hospital until Nov. 16, and would then be transferred to an Arab hospital in east Jerusalem for another 10 days.

The Palestine Solidarity Group stated that they are “overjoyed that al-Akhras won his freedom.” They added, “We know that freedom for one man does not solve the collective punishment that Palestinians face on a daily basis at the hands of the Israeli occupation. We stand in solidarity with Maher al-Akhras and all imprisoned Palestinians and are committed to working against carceral systems in Palestine, in the U.S. (Turtle Island) and across the world.”

Policy Brief: Trump’s New Israel-Pales-tine “Deal of the Century”

On Jan. 28, President Trump proposed his plan for resolving Israeli-Palestininan conflict. He called it the “Deal of the Century.” According to The New York Times, the plan would give control of Jerusalem to Israel as its capital “and not require it to uproot any of the settlements in the West Bank that have provoked Palestinian outrage and alienated much of the world.”

UMass hosts "Criminalizing Dissent" resistance panel

The University of Massachusetts at Amherst Fine Arts Center hosted “Criminalizing Dissent: The Attack on BDS and Pro-Palestinian Speech” in conjunction with the nationally-recognized Media Education Foundation and the Resistance Studies Initiative on Nov. 12.