In 2018, PSC successfully challenged the government in the UKs Supreme Court resulting in those regulations being overturned, on the basis that the government did not have the legal grounds to introduce these regulations

With the UK government announcing that it will press ahead to pass its long-anticipated Anti-BDS Bill, this week Palestine Deep Dives Mark Seddon speaks with two British Palestinian campaigners, Aimee Shalan and Ben Jamal. Shalan is co-director of Makan and chair of the British Palestinian Committee (BPC) and Ben Jamal is director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC).

The Economic Activity of Public Bodies bill, which was given its first reading in parliament on June 19^th, is due to be debated in the House of Commons in the first week of July. Its stated purpose is to prevent public bodies from being influenced by political or moral disapproval of foreign states when taking certain economic decisions. In other words, it will prevent public bodies (e.g. universities and local councils) from divesting from companies and organizations found to be complicit in Israeli crimes against Palestinians.

But at a time when Israel further entrenches its settler-colonialism and apartheid by the day, killing Palestinians at an unprecedented rate, shooting journalists, expanding its illegal settlements, demolishing Palestinian homes, and upholding its besiegement of millions of Palestinians in the open-air prison of Gaza, this bill is being widely interpreted as an attempt by the UK government to maintain Israels impunity in the face of growing solidarity with Palestine.

The call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) was formally launched in 2005. Shalan explains, it was a call from Palestinian civil society organizations, and that included unions, womens organizations, refugee networks, and Palestinian citizens of Israel.

Inspired by the case of South Africa, BDS calls for the ending of Israels occupation and colonization of Palestinian lands and the dismantling of the wall, the recognizing of fundamental rights of Palestinian citizens of Israel to fully equality and also respecting, protecting, and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN Resolution 194. Despite frequent mischaracterizations of BDS, Shalan stresses that theres nothing dangerous about it. Its about upholding t...

Some of the rockets were said to be home-made, and others were Russian-made Cornet missiles. Also on display were anti-aircraft guns and launchers, as well as the Gaza-made Shahab drone.  

Only two days before the Israeli military carried out a massive invasion of Jenin, in the northern West Bank to destroy the Palestinian Resistance, Palestinian Resistance in Gaza organized the first military exhibition of its kind. 

Hundreds of Palestinians from throughout the besieged Gaza Strip flocked to the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades exhibition, taking selfies with fighters and viewing the groups increasingly sophisticated military arsenal. 

The Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, had issued a public invitation to the exhibition. 

Three separate exhibitions were held at the same time, one in Gaza City, another in the central Gaza Strip, and the third in the northern region. 

This is the first time that Hamas allows civilians to take pictures of some of its weapons, a show of confidence in its military capabilities.

Generally, Gaza groups ensure that no civilians have access to or even approach their military sites, a policy that contests the Israeli governments claims that the Palestinian Resistance is stationed inside populated areas. 

Part of the display took place in an area adjacent to the Unknown Soldier square, west of Gaza City where Al-Qassam Brigades displayed a number of rockets.

Some of the rockets were said to be home-made, and others were Russian-made Cornet missiles. Also on display were anti-aircraft guns and launchers, as well as the Gaza-made Shahab drone.  

The Brigades hung a large banner to welcome the visitors to the exhibition, where dozens of Qassam fighters, who were masked and wearing military uniforms, were present.

Scores of Hamas activists and volunteers helped visitors around the site, allowing them to take photos.

The Palestine Chronicle correspondents visited the military exhibition and sent us these photos. 

...

Hundreds of Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip rushed to the fence separating Gaza from Israel to show support for Jenin, which is currently under Israeli military attacks.

Hours after news reported that thousands of Israeli soldiers are invading the town and refugee camp of Jenin, on July 3, Palestinians in the Strip protested in a show of solidarity. 

In the gallery below, hundreds of Palestinian protesters burned tires, raised Palestinian flags, and warned the Israeli government that a Palestinian response to the Jenin violence was forthcoming. 

The protests took place east of Gaza City. 

The Palestine Chronicle reporters visited the fence and sent us these photos. 

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Numbers can be dehumanizing. However, when placed in their proper context, they help to illuminate wider issues and answer urgent questions, such as why occupied Palestine is at the threshold of a major revolt. And why Israel cannot crush Palestinian resistance no matter how hard or violently it tries.

Thats when numbers become relevant. Since the start of this year, nearly 200 Palestinians have been killed in the Occupied West Bank and Gaza. Among them are 27 children.

If one is to imagine a heat map correlating the towns, villages and refugee camps of the Palestinian victims to the ongoing armed rebellion, one will immediately spot direct connections. Gaza, Jenin and Nablus, for example, paid the heaviest price for Israeli violence, making them the regions that resist most.

Unsurprisingly, Palestinian refugees have historically been at the forefront of the Palestinian liberation movement, turning refugee camps such as Jenin, Balata, Aqabat Jabr, Jabaliya, Nuseirat and others into hot spots of popular and armed resistance. The harder Israel attempts to crush Palestinian resistance, the greater the Palestinian reaction is.

Take Jenin as an example. The rebellious refugee camp has never ceased its resistance to the Israeli occupation since the famous battle and subsequent Israeli massacre of April 2002. The resistance continued there in all of its forms, despite the fact that many of the fighters who defended the camp against the Israeli invasion of the Second Palestinian Uprising, or Intifada, were killed or imprisoned.

Now that a new generation has taken over, Israel is at it again. Military incursions of Jenin by Israel have become a routine, resulting in a mounting number of casualties, though at a price for Israel itself.

The most notable and violent of these incursions was on January 26, when the Israeli army invaded the camp, killed ten Pa...

Last week, the Israeli military killed three Palestinians in its first aerial drone strike in the occupied West Bank in nearly 20 years marking a grave escalation in state violence against the territory.

Using an Elbit Systems Hermes 450 drone, the military struck a vehicle in Jenin carrying Palestinians suspected of fatally shooting four Israelis the day before. According to the Israeli military, this was the first drone strike since 2006 during the Second Intifada, or Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation.

Drones have been mainly used in the West Bank for intelligence and surveillance purposes. Yet last September the rules changed when Israeli Army Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi, approved the use of armed drones for targeted killings in the West Bank. Amid the armys announcement, reports emerged the military was already preparing units to operate armed drones during raids.

Experts surmised Israels decision to use an armed drone suggests its losing control of the West Bank amid increased armed resistance.

It was designed to project power and deterrence, but in effect only underscored Israels growing weakness in its efforts to contain, let alone stifle, the spreading militancy across the West Bank, Foreign policy analyst, Yonatan Touval, told MintPress News.

Additionally, the move also points to Israels intensifying use of automated weaponry against Palestinians as becoming the norm.

The choice of using an armed drone to strike suspected militants outside the city could convey reticence in the use of ground troops for a simple military operation, Touval said.

surprised to see more drone warfare on Palestinians in the WB. It reminds me of the introduction of other remote controlled-weaponry, like the AI-powered gun installed in Hebron last year. Remote-controlled warfare would ostensibly reduce human risk for Israel as it attempts /2

Diana B. Greenwald (@dbgreenwald)...