In his May update, Jeff Halper considers the beginning of the Israeli invasion of Rafah which has led to the renewed displacement of some 350,000 Palestinians. This has resulted in an increase in protests, particularly amoung young people, with student protests streading from the United States into Europe, Latin America and the Arab world. Some of the protests have been met with violent actions by law enforcement, becoming a focus to shift public opinion and subsequently, potential government shifts as well.
In the short- to medium-term, the major issue facing us is normalisation of relationships between Israel and the international community as soon as the fighting ends, a process in which the Palestinians will be sacrificed. Jeff discusses the large-scale geopolitical situation. Normalisation leads to the international acceptance of the Israeli aparthed state with Palestinians limited to small 'islands' in Areas A and B and in Gaza, the latter being essentially uninhabitable. Biden has already announced that the Palestinian Authority will receive $26 billlion and other sweeteners if they sign off on this 'deal', allowing normalisation to continue, which, Jeff argies, is the death knell for the Palestinians. There will be an apartheid two party state with Palestinians locked into small bantustans.
This has to come into our calculations in terms of protest and speaking out, Jeff ending by considering the possible response of the international activist community.
Watch Jeff Halper's May 2024 Update here