The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) released a statement July 15 confirming the occupied status of East Jerusalem. "UNESCO wishes to reiterate that, contrary to recent claims, there has been no change in UNESCO's position on Jerusalem," the statement reads. "In line with overall UN policy, East Jerusalem remains part of the occupied Palestinian territory, and the status of Jerusalem must be resolved in permanent status negotiations." The statement notes that the Old City of Jerusalem is inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger. "UNESCO continues to work to ensure respect for the outstanding universal value of the cultural heritage of the Old City of Jerusalem." UNESCO had been criticized recently after it emerged that the organization's website listed Jerusalem as Israel's capital, despite the international—and United Nations—consensus that the Eastern part of the city is under military occupation. (Ma'an News Agency, July 15)

We have had plenty of occasion to point out before: Isn't it funny that those who invoke the supposed superiority of Western culture the loudest are the quickest to betray those values which supposedly make it superior (pluralism, tolerance, etc.)? It is nearly hilariously ironic in the case of Israel, whose apologists repeat like a mantra that it is "the Middle East's only democracy," in contradistinction to all those Arab dictatorships. When push comes to shove, however, pluralism and tolerance get chucked overboard. The Knesset has just passed a law banning calls for a boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel. The Israel-based website BoycottIsrael!—"Supporting the Palestinian BDS call from within"—remains online at the moment, and it will be interesting to see if any action is taken against it. Here are the basic facts from Ha'aretz, July 11:

The Israeli army last week began tearing down a section of its separation barrier in the West Bank near Bil'in village, where weekly protests have become a symbol of opposition to the wall's encroachment on Palestinian land. The rerouting of the barrier, after long delays, was a rare instance in which Israeli military officials were forced to change plans by a court order. It comes four years after the Israeli Supreme Court ruled on a petition by villagers that the barrier's route did not serve security needs, but cut through village farmland for purposes of expanding the adjacent Israeli settlement of Modi’in Ilit, a fast-growing town of ultra-Orthodox Jews. The court ordered the barrier torn down and rebuilt closer to the settlement.

For the first time in three years, the Israeli state confiscated uncultivated land in the West Bank last week, to "legalize" a nearby settlement outpost. Acting on orders from the government, the Civil Administration declared 189 dunams of land belonging to the Palestinian village of Karyut to be state land, so as to retroactively "legalize" houses and a road in the Hayovel neighborhood of the settlement of Eli. The expropriation was carried out under an Ottoman land law dating from 1858 that allows uncultivated land to be declared state land. Hayovel was built on Karyut lands in 1998 as a temporary outpost, and later permanent houses and an access road were added.

In a resolution that passed 406-6, the US House of Representatives on July 7 threatened to cut off funding to the Palestinian Authority if it pursues recognition of statehood outside of negotiations with Israel. The text of the resolution "affirms that Palestinian efforts to circumvent direct negotiations and pursue recognition of statehood prior to agreement with Israel will harm United States-Palestinian relations and will have serious implications for the United States assistance programs for the Palestinians and the Palestinian Authority." It also calls on the Obama administration to review assistance to the Palestinians, which runs to about $500 million a year, in the light of negotiations with Hamas toward a unity government. The Senate passed a similar non-binding resolution last month.

A new report by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon into the violence along the Israeli-Lebanon border on Nakba Day harshly criticizes the Israeli army for using unnecessary force in firing on protesters. The report was released this week to the 15 members of the Security Council, with a copy also passed on to Israel's Ha'aretz newspaper. The study focuses on the events of May 15 when thousands of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon marched on the Israeli border. As the protesters tried to scale the fence, Israeli troops opened fire, killing seven and injuring 111, the report finds. The report states that Israeli troops "used direct live fire against unarmed demonstrators" and urged the army to avoid doing so in situations where there was no immediate threat to life.

The French-flagged Dignite, which slipped past the Greek coast guard bound for Gaza earlier this week, was detained by the coast guard while refueling in Crete July 7. A Greek official told CNN that the ship would not be allowed to continue on to Gaza. Meanwhile, Leslie Cagan, coordinator of the US Boat to Gaza, announced that the team of activists from the United States called off its activities and is returning home. “The Greek government’s willingness to serve as the enforcer of Israeli’s naval blockade of Gaza made it impossible for this journey to happen,” Cagan wrote. The US-flagged Audacity of Hope remains in the hands of the Greek authorities, and it is not known when it will be released. (JTA, July 7)

The Tahrir, a Canadian ship taking part in the planned aid flotilla to Gaza, was forced to return to Aghios Nikolaos harbor in Crete after an attempt to reach international waters was thwarted by coast guards after just 15 minutes on July 4. But another flotilla vessel, the Dignite al Karama, managed to slip past Greek authorities that night, and is believed to have reached international waters. Activists on board will have to decide whether to proceed to Gaza without the other vessels that remain immobilized in Greece. The vessel's passengers include Olivier Besancenot, head of the New Left Party in France, and French member of the European Parliament Nicole Kiil-Nilsen. Charges have meanwhile been dropped against the captain of the US ship Audacity of Hope, who was arrested near Athens. (AlJazeera, AlJazeera, July 5)