Jessica Buxbaum
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Articles by Jessica Buxbaum
Honenu: Inside the legal machine defending Israeli extremists
In-Depth: From Sde Teiman to Jewish terror suspects, Honenu provides legal support for Israel's most notorious extremists, all while cultivating political ties In 2025, Israeli society became embroiled in debate after leaked footage of Israeli guards raping a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman military base was released to the public.
How important is UAE trade to Iran's economy?
Abu Dhabi and Tehran were never merely neighbours separated by Gulf waters but close trading partners despite repeated political tensions between them. [Getty] The UAE announced late on Tuesday that it had suspended trade and financial exchanges with Iran over the war in the region, after accusing Tehran of launching two missiles targeting "maritime navigation" near the country, a claim Iran denied.
Honenu: Inside the legal machine defending Israeli extremists
In 2025, Israeli society became embroiled in debate after leaked footage of Israeli guards raping a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman military base was released to the public. The right justified the assault as part of Israeli wartime efforts, while the left supported then-Military Advocate General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi’s decision to release the video as necessary for upholding Israeli democracy.
How church land became Israel's new battleground in Jerusalem
East Jerusalem - On 15 June 2026, officials from the Jerusalem Municipality, accompanied by Israeli police, raided property belonging to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem in the neighbourhood of Silwan. The Israeli authorities forcibly removed the church land’s caretaker, tore down equipment, uprooted trees, and installed a fence.
Israel bombs Beirut, exchanges fire with Hezbollah in south Lebanon
From 1997 to 2007, Israel transferred 150 families from the Arab al-Jahalin Bedouin tribe from their villages in the eastern Jerusalem hinterland to a satellite of the Palestinian town of Al-Eizariya known as Al-Jabal, or the mountain. Displaced next to a Jerusalem municipal landfill, these Bedouins not only lost their homes but also their traditional way of life, now living in stone townhouses with limited grazing land for their livestock.
How Israel is preparing the expulsion of Palestinians from E1
Israel has advanced plans to expel Bedouin communities from the E1 area, paving the way for settlement construction that will split the West Bank in two East Jerusalem - From 1997 to 2007, Israel transferred 150 families from the Arab al-Jahalin Bedouin tribe from their villages in the eastern Jerusalem hinterland to a satellite of the Palestinian town of Al-Eizariya known as Al-Jabal, or the mountain.
How Israel is preparing the expulsion of Palestinians from E1
East Jerusalem - From 1997 to 2007, Israel transferred 150 families from the Arab al-Jahalin Bedouin tribe from their villages in the eastern Jerusalem hinterland to a satellite of the Palestinian town of Al-Eizariya known as Al-Jabal, or the mountain. Displaced next to a Jerusalem municipal landfill, these Bedouins not only lost their homes but also their traditional way of life, now living in stone townhouses with limited grazing land for their livestock.
Taybeh: The West Bank's last fully Christian village is on the verge of erasure Original
Taybeh, West Bank - In September 2025, armed settlers descended on Roland Bassir’s family-owned quarry and cement factory in the West Bank village of Taybeh. They shot at him and other workers and set fire to a NIS 17,000 ($6,000) cement bagging machine, destroying the piece of equipment. Since then, the factory has been shuttered, and Bassir has been out of work. “Our work is interrupted,” Bassir told The New Arab.
In Jerusalem’s Silwan, the City Is Forcibly Emptying Large Areas of Palestinian Residents
On April 15, 2026, Saleh (Abu Kamel) Dweik received a call from his neighbor alerting him that his house was about to be demolished by the Jerusalem Municipality. The 77-year-old rushed to the al-Bustan area of Silwan and pushed his way through the police-barricaded streets to reach his home. “I told them, ‘No matter what you do, this is still my house, this is still my place. You can demolish it, but it’s still mine, it’s not yours, it’s not the municipality’s.
A new Israeli wall could sever the West Bank's Jordan Valley
Trapped between a new Israeli military barrier and expanding settlements, Palestinian farmers in the Jordan Valley are being forced to flee their homes Atouf, West Bank - In the Jordan Valley village of Atouf, Palestinian farmers are hauling ladders, fences, and other agricultural equipment into their pick-up truck - preparing to leave their lands.
A new Israeli wall could sever the West Bank's Jordan Valley
Atouf, West Bank - In the Jordan Valley village of Atouf, Palestinian farmers are hauling ladders, fences, and other agricultural equipment into their pick-up truck - preparing to leave their lands. “I invested NIS 150,000 [$48,800] in planting these peas, and I still didn’t have the time to pick them all before they dried up,” Yahya Bisharat said on 28 March 2026, when The New Arab visited Atouf, located just south of Tubas in the occupied West Bank.
After Area C, Israeli Settlers Expand Into PA-Controlled Area B
Houses under construction at the illegal Israeli settlement of Kfar Eldad, south of Bethlehem, occupied West Bank. Photo: Garry Walsh/Trócaire (CC BY 2.0) On the morning of 13 February 2026, more than 30 masked settlers, brandishing machetes and throwing stones, stormed the village of Talfit in the occupied West Bank. They fired live ammunition at residents, their homes, vehicles, and even the town mosque. Several villagers were beaten and stabbed, and a 19-year-old man was shot in the shoulder.
After Area C, Israeli Settlers Expand Into PA-Controlled Area B
Houses under construction at the illegal Israeli settlement of Kfar Eldad, south of Bethlehem, occupied West Bank. Photo: Garry Walsh/Trócaire (CC BY 2.0) On the morning of 13 February 2026, more than 30 masked settlers, brandishing machetes and throwing stones, stormed the village of Talfit in the occupied West Bank. They fired live ammunition at residents, their homes, vehicles, and even the town mosque. Several villagers were beaten and stabbed, and a 19-year-old man was shot in the shoulder.
How Israel’s Strangulation of the West Bank Is Collapsing the Palestinian Educational System
Over the last three weeks, the majority of Israeli students have been unable to attend classes amid the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. Yet for Palestinian students in the occupied West Bank, this has been the case for the last two years. Under financial strain, the Palestinian Authority (PA), the West Bank’s governing body, has been paying only 60% of public school teachers’ salaries since October 2023 — resulting in schools operating just three days a week.
Palestinians from the West Bank Endanger Their Lives Seeking Work
For the last two years, the owner of the Salhab Supermarket in the Palestinian neighborhood of Dahiyat al-Barid just outside the municipal boundaries of northeastern Jerusalem has watched, from across his store, Palestinian men die climbing the Israeli-built Separation Wall, which separates East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank. Some men are killed when Israeli border police shoot them; others die falling from the eight-meter-high slab of concrete.
Will ultra-Orthodox conscription collapse Netanyahu's coalition?
With ultra-Orthodox parties crucial allies in Netanyahu's coalition, a draft bill to end their military exemption could threaten his political survival Yosef Eisenthal was dragged by a city bus for several hundred meters through Jerusalem on the night of 6 January 2026 during a demonstration against drafting ultra-Orthodox Jews into Israel’s military. The 14-year-old protester was declared dead at the scene.
Will ultra-Orthodox conscription collapse Netanyahu's coalition?
Yosef Eisenthal was dragged by a city bus for several hundred meters through Jerusalem on the night of 6 January 2026 during a demonstration against drafting ultra-Orthodox Jews into Israel’s military. The 14-year-old protester was declared dead at the scene. Shock and condemnation rippled through Israeli society in the aftermath of Eisenthal’s death.
E. Jerusalem schools suspend classes after Israeli restrictions
Dozens of private schools in occupied East Jerusalem have suspended classes after an Israeli decision to limit the days on which work permits are granted for teachers from the occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials said Tuesday. The strike was called by the General Secretariat of Christian Educational Institutions in Jerusalem and later joined by all private schools in East Jerusalem.
Israeli settlers beat elderly, deaf Palestinian man in WB attack
Dozens of masked men armed with sticks beat and injured a Palestinian in the Israeli-occupied West Bank when they attacked a plant nursery, according to people who saw the attack and video footage obtained by The Associated Press. Video filmed by security cameras shows men dressed mostly in black, faces covered, with several hitting and kicking a man on the ground.
How Israeli settlements threaten Palestine's Christian heritage
As illegal Israeli settlements seize more land and violent settler attacks escalate, Palestine's Christian community faces a quiet erasure Beit Sahour - Overnight on 19 November 2025, Israeli settlers bulldozed the Ush al-Ghurab hilltop in the Palestinian town of Beit Sahour, just east of Bethlehem. The next morning, Beit Sahour residents woke up to caravans placed on the hill and an announcement from Yaron Rosenthal, council head of the nearby Israeli settlement of Gush Etzion.
How Israeli settlements threaten Palestine's Christian heritage
Beit Sahour - Overnight on 19 November 2025, Israeli settlers bulldozed the Ush al-Ghurab hilltop in the Palestinian town of Beit Sahour, just east of Bethlehem. The next morning, Beit Sahour residents woke up to caravans placed on the hill and an announcement from Yaron Rosenthal, council head of the nearby Israeli settlement of Gush Etzion. “Tonight, we established a new community in Gush Etzion at Shdema,” Rosenthal said, referring to the Israeli designation of the land.
Israel Is Fast-Tracking the Displacement of Palestinians across East Jerusalem
From his balcony in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, Zuheir Rajabi indicates which Palestinian homes have been seized by Israeli settlers, including one just below him.
Israel Is Orchestrating an Economic Collapse in the West Bank
Dispatch The view from the ground. HEBRON, West Bank—Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, Rauf, a Palestinian construction worker from the West Bank, has only returned to his job in Israel once, in July 2024. After climbing over the Israeli-built wall separating the West Bank and Israel, Rauf was caught by Israeli police during a raid at his employer’s construction site and jailed for 38 days for entering without a permit.
Israel warns recognising Palestinian state could trigger action
Israel's foreign minister branded a recent international push to recognise Palestinian statehood a "mistake" on Sunday and warned it could trigger an unspecified unilateral response, after reports that Israel plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank. Several countries, including France and Britain, have pledged to recognise a Palestinian state during the UN General Assembly later this month.
Israel's E1 settlement: Paving the way to annex the West Bank
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Israel's E1 settlement: Paving the way to annex the West Bank
Just a week before Israel approved the E1 settlement in the occupied West Bank, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich laid out plans for the massive project. Announcing he will approve tenders to build more than 3,000 homes for the settlement, Smotrich clarified the construction’s true intention.
How Israel Is Funding Settler Violence To Overrun Palestinian Villages in the West Bank
Just days after Israeli settlers drove out the Palestinian Bedouin community of Al Mu’arrajat East at gunpoint, one of the settlers arrived at Farahan Ghawanmeh’s doorstep. “Wait a few days, this will be my house,” he told Ghawanmeh, a resident of Ras Ein al-Auja, another Bedouin village in the occupied West Bank’s Jordan Valley.
In Push from Settlers, Israel Begins Renovating Courtyard Next to al-Aqsa
Nearly every night since Israel’s war on Gaza began on October 7, 2023, Israeli settlers have stormed the historical landmark known as Ribat al-Kurd in the Old City of Jerusalem, kicking Palestinian residents’ doors and urinating on their steps. Neighborhood complaints to Israeli police are met with a shrug, telling the community of 14 families that authorities can’t do anything without evidence from surveillance.
Jerusalem Palestinians Are Not Protected amid Israel’s Wars
When air raid sirens sound in the neighboring Israeli settlement of Gilo, Palestinian resident Zakaria Abu al-Halaweh goes with his wife and young daughter to the lobby floor of their apartment building. There isn’t a siren system or a single bomb shelter in Zakaria’s East Jerusalem neighborhood of Bir ‘Awna, located beyond the Israeli-built Separation Wall that snakes in and around this side of the city (see Neighborhoods beyond the Wall).
Egypt’s Sinai Megaproject Is Erasing Bedouin Culture
Once a place of near-untouched desert sands nestled in the Sinai Peninsula’s mountains, Wadi al-Raha (“the Valley of Rest”), in the Egyptian town of St. Catherine, has now been transformed into a construction site.
As FIFA Preps for 2025 Club World Cup, Fans Demand Israel Be Shown the Red Card
As FIFA finalizes preparations for the expanded Club World Cup in the United States, football fans across the globe are demanding that Israel be shown the red card—just as Russia was barred following its invasion of Ukraine. From Glasgow to Cape Town, stadiums are echoing with calls to ban Israel over its war on Gaza—especially now, as Israel’s latest strikes on Iran threaten to ignite a wider regional war.
Hamas open to Gaza talks despite being 'bitten twice' by Israel
A member of Hamas's political bureau said on Friday that the movement has not rejected the latest Gaza ceasefire proposal put forward by US envoy Steve Witkoff, and remains open to further negotiations. Mohammed Nazzal, speaking to The New Arab's Arabic sister outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, said it was Israel, not Hamas, that makes peace impossible, describing it as unreliable. "The talk of us rejecting the proposal is inaccurate," Nazzal stated.
Revealed: EU Nations Condemning Gaza Genocide Secretly Inking Billion-Dollar Arms Deals with Israel
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius believe Russia could launch a full-scale attack on Europe by 2030, a fear that has prompted governments across the continent to prepare for war. As European citizens stockpile food and governments ramp up military readiness, one country sees opportunity in that fear: Israel. The European Union is planning to increase its military budget by €800 billion ($900 billion) over the next four years.
African News Agency : Welcome
Home Gaza/Annihilation Back [Published: Thursday June 05 2025] Israel advances a Gaza endgame of conquest and ethnic cleansing By Jessica Buxbaum ISRAELI OCCUPIED GAZA, 05 May. - (ANA) - This month, Israeli forces launched a new offensive in the Gaza Strip meant to “conquer” the besieged enclave and displace its population to the south of the territory for their “protection”.
As Trump reshapes America, a pushback grows in local US politics
As the expression goes, all politics is local. In the United States, this is even more true today than in previous years, when it wasn’t uncommon for voters to leave the bottom of their ballots empty, leaving thousands of seats across the country uncontested. Though many local races remain overlooked, there is a growing recognition of their importance.
Israel advances a Gaza endgame of conquest and ethnic cleansing
This month, Israeli forces launched a new offensive in the Gaza Strip meant to “conquer” the besieged enclave and displace its population to the south of the territory for their “protection”. Once considered a fringe movement, Israel’s takeover of Gaza and expulsion of its residents is now becoming a mainstream ideology among Israelis.
Israel Aiming to Supplant Umm Haroun Area of Sheikh Jarrah with Settler Skyscrapers
Under the guise of “urban renewal,” the Jerusalem Development Authority is planning to demolish part of the historic Palestinian neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem and replace it with a new Jewish neighborhood with hundreds of high-rise apartments on a plot of 17 acres (4 dunums).1 The area in question is called Umm Haroun and it lies west of Nablus Road.
Israel Increasing Efforts to Expel Jerusalem’s Palestinian Villages
Israeli demolitions of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem hit a new record in 2024, with 255 buildings razed that year.1 This year is already on track to surpass that figure as more structures have been demolished thus far in 2025 than during the same period last year.2 It’s not just the spate of demolitions that’s increased, however; entire communities are now threatened with displacement as Israel ramps up its demolition streak across East Jerusalem.
Israel's army faces a growing crisis of dissent over the Gaza war
On 10 April, 970 current and former Israel Air Force reservists penned a letter demanding the return of 59 hostages and an end to the genocidal Gaza war. 140,000 Israeli civilians, reservists, and veterans have since joined the call in their own ways. Is Israel's army facing a crisis?
Israel's army is facing a crisis of dissent over the Gaza war
Lining the streets of Jerusalem are pictures of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza in the last 18 months, with the words “Until victory” scrawled across the smiling men in uniform. Juxtaposing these signs are posters reading, “Until the last hostage”, next to the faces of those kidnapped by Hamas on 7 October 2023.
Israel's army is facing a crisis of dissent over the Gaza war
Lining the streets of Jerusalem are pictures of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza in the last 18 months, with the words “Until victory” scrawled across the smiling men in uniform. Juxtaposing these signs are posters reading, “Until the last hostage”, next to the faces of those kidnapped by Hamas on 7 October 2023.
Gaza medic killings: How Israel’s system protects itself
Autopsy reports obtained by the New York Times reveal some of the Gaza medics killed by Israeli troops last month were shot in the head and chest. The Israeli military refused to comment on the report, instead saying it wouldn’t provide comment until its probe is complete. Israel’s military launched a preliminary investigation into the killings of 15 Palestinian Red Crescent workers on 23 March by soldiers belonging to the Golani Brigade, who then buried the bodies in a shallow grave.
Why Israel is embracing Europe's far-right parties
In February, Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Gideon Sa’ar quietly told diplomats to begin talks with right-wing extremist parties in France, Spain, and Sweden, which, until now, have been boycotted by Israel. Discussions began with France’s National Rally, the Spanish Vox party and the Sweden Democrats - all who have voiced their support of Israel since Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attack and the ensuing war on Gaza.
Why Israel is embracing Europe's far-right parties
In February, Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Gideon Sa'ar quietly told diplomats to begin talks with right-wing extremist parties in France, Spain, and Sweden, which, until now, have been boycotted by Israel. Discussions began with France's National Rally, the Spanish Vox party and the Sweden Democrats - all who have voiced their support of Israel since Hamas' 7 October 2023 attack and the ensuing war on Gaza.
Where is Bilal? The dilemma of a Palestinian family
The story of Bilal, who works as a legal consultant for the Palestinian Preventive Security Forces, began shortly over three years ago when he was driving to work through the Huwara military checkpoint outside Nablus when he was stopped and shot at by the Israeli army. Bilal was severely injured and an Israeli army helicopter came and picked him up and transferred him to an unknown location. The day after, Israeli military officials notified Bilal's family that he was injured.
Israeli Soldiers Face Arrests And Travel Bans Worldwide
Above photo: Baz Ratner | AP | Editing by MintPress News. On January 5, 2025, Yuval Vagdani, an Israeli army reservist, fled Brazil while on vacation after a federal judge in the country opened a war crimes investigation into Vagdani over his alleged involvement in demolishing homes in the besieged Gaza Strip. The Brazilian judge used a legal tool called “universal jurisdiction” to pursue Vagdani.
Pariah State: Israeli Soldiers Face Arrests and Travel Bans Worldwide
On January 5, 2025, Yuval Vagdani, an Israeli army reservist, fled Brazil while on vacation after a federal judge in the country opened a war crimes investigation into Vagdani over his alleged involvement in demolishing homes in the besieged Gaza Strip. The Brazilian judge used a legal tool called “universal jurisdiction” to pursue Vagdani. Universal jurisdiction allows governments to prosecute individuals for serious crimes, regardless of where they’ve been committed.
A wave of settler violence is sweeping across the West Bank
On 25 January 2025, six days after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect, Ali Awad, a resident of the Palestinian village of Tuba in the occupied West Bank south of Hebron, was sitting in his car next to his house when he saw settlers running toward him with a gun and a bottle of gasoline. Awad fled his jeep and moved his family away from their home. When he looked back, his car was in flames.
A wave of settler violence is sweeping across the West Bank
On 25 January 2025, six days after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect, Ali Awad, a resident of the Palestinian village of Tuba in the occupied West Bank south of Hebron, was sitting in his car next to his house when he saw settlers running toward him with a gun and a bottle of gasoline. Awad fled his jeep and moved his family away from their home. When he looked back, his car was in flames.
As Israel bans UNRWA, Palestinian refugees fear for the future
On 30 January, Jerusalem's Deputy Mayor Arieh King popped open a bottle of champagne outside the headquarters for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in occupied East Jerusalem. "To this happy, special, and historical day...This is the first day in implementing the law against UNRWA," King said to cheers from a small group of right-wing activists.
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