BDS@20: Redefining International Solidarity

On July 9th, we marked a milestone in the liberation struggle of the Indigenous people of Palestine, as the Palestinian-led nonviolent, anti-racist BDS movement completes 20 years of grassroots organizing and building intersectional people power. This day will be remembered in history as the start of a principled, strategic, and creative process that has isolated Israel’s 77-year-old regime of settler-colonialism, apartheid, and military occupation at the grassroots and institutional level. It has redefined the meaning of solidarity with our struggle as starting with ending the complicity of states, corporations and institutions with this regime.

Meaningful solidarity, as BDS has tirelessly advocated, must uphold the fundamental ethical principle of doing no harm and stopping or offsetting harm done in one’s name.

Thank you for in the midst of Israel’s livestreamed genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians in the occupied and besieged Gaza Strip, we are too grieved and too enraged to celebrate the phenomenal BDS impact. But we owe it to every single Palestinian, especially our people in Gaza, to reaffirm our unbreakable commitment to march on until Israel’s regime of oppression is entirely dismantled. This obliges us to recognize and share with the world the immense people power we have collectively built over these two decades and the many milestones we have reached toward isolating genocidal Israel as a rogue state that threatens humanity at large.

Read the article here, which includes “20 of the most inspiring impacts the movement has achieved, or contributed to, in coalition with and active participation of our cherished global partners and allies”.

Honoring Professor Walid Khalidi at 100: A Life of Scholarship, Integrity, and Dedication to Palestine

Today, we celebrate the 100th birthday of Professor Walid Khalidi, one of the most influential Palestinian scholars of our time, and a foundational figure in the modern intellectual, academic, and political life of the Palestinian people. As co-founder of the Institute for Palestine Studies (IPS) in 1963, Professor Khalidi's enduring legacy has shaped not only the institute itself, but also the wider field of Palestinian and Arab research and advocacy.  

Over the past century, Professor Khalidi's life has been defined by an unwavering commitment to truth, historical rigor, and justice for Palestine. His career began in the 1940s with the Arab Office in Jerusalem, where he worked to present the Palestinian case to the world during a time of profound upheaval. After witnessing the trauma of 1948 firsthand, he went on to study and later teach at Oxford University. In 1956, he resigned in protest over Britain's role in the tripartite invasion of Egypt—an act emblematic of the principled stances that have defined his life. 

He would go on to teach for decades at the American University of Beirut, Harvard University, and other institutions, shaping generations of students—many of whom became prominent scholars, diplomats, and leaders. In parallel with his academic work, Professor Khalidi remained deeply engaged with political and intellectual movements in the Arab world, especially the rise of Arab nationalism and the evolution of Palestinian politics in the aftermath of 1967. 

Professor Khalidi's scholarly contributions are both vast and transformative. He helped lay the foundations for academic writing on the Nakba, debunking long-standing Zionist myths and placing Palestinian history on solid scholarly ground. His articles such as “Plan Dalet” and “The Fall of Haifa”, republished in the Journal of Palestine Studies, remain landmark texts. His books—including From Haven to Conquest, Before Their Diaspora, and All That Remains—represent a collective intellectual achievement that has shaped global understanding of the Palestinian experience. 

As a co-founder of IPS, alongside Constantine Zurayk and Burhan Dajani, and a member of its first Board of Trustees—along with Wadad Cortas, Najla Abu Izzedin, and others—Professor Khalidi envisioned the institute not only as a research center, but as a pillar of cultural and political resilience. For more than 60 years, IPS has worked to publish authoritative scholarship, support younger generations of researchers, and preserve Palestinian memory through its extensive archives, journals, books, and digital platforms. 

Read the article here—it has lots of great photos!

Over 700 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire while collecting water in Gaza

GAZA CITY, Palestine / ISTANBUL

More than 700 Palestinians, mostly children, have been killed by Israeli army fire while collecting water since October 2023, local authorities said on Monday.

“The Israeli occupation continues to wage a systematic and deliberate war of thirst against the Palestinian people in Gaza, in a flagrant violation of all international and humanitarian conventions,” Gaza’s government media office said in a statement.

The office accused Israeli forces of using water as a weapon of war “to deprive the Palestinians of their most basic rights.”

It noted that Israeli army forces had committed 112 massacres against Gazans collecting water, killing more than 700 people, mostly children, since October 2023.

On Sunday, at least 12 people were killed, including eight children, by Israeli fire while waiting to collect water in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.

The media office said that over 720 water wells were deliberately destroyed by the Israeli army in Gaza.

“Attacks on water wells have deprived more than 1.25 million Palestinians of access to clean water," it added.

According to the statement, the Israeli army has obstructed the entry of 12 million liters of fuel monthly, the necessary amount to operate the minimum number of water wells, sewage stations, waste collection mechanisms, and other vital sectors in Gaza.

“This has caused a complete paralysis in water and sewage networks and the spread of epidemics, mainly among the children,” it added.

The media office called on the international community and human rights organizations to take immediate action to stop Israel’s systematic and deliberate use of water as a war weapon and allow the necessary amount of fuel and heavy equipment to reoperate water wells and drainage stations.

Israel has kept Gaza crossings closed to food, medical, and humanitarian aid since March 2, deepening an already severe humanitarian crisis in the enclave, affecting Gaza’s 2.4 million residents. The blockade has pushed the region into famine conditions, with many reported deaths due to hunger.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, killing over 58,000 Palestinians so far, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages and a spread of disease.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

via AA.com. Middle East

Children collecting water among 92 Palestinians killed by Israel in Gaza

Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City, said there is a water crisis across the Gaza Strip.

“Even though water is not suitable for drinking as most of the time it’s contaminated, thirst is pushing people to these areas,” he said, referring to Nuseirat.

“This is not the first time it’s happening. This is close to 10 times and just in the past few months when people were directly and deliberately targeted as they were trying to get water.”

Read the article here.