Zionists move on East Jerusalem, Congress
The colonialization of Palestine is rapidly moving in the West Bank and in Washington DC
The colonization of Palestine and the criminalization of Palestinian advocacy in the United States moved on parallel tracks this week. In the past week, the Israeli Civil Administration issued Expropriation Order H/02/26, seizing 109.79 dunams at al-Nabi Samwil north of Jerusalem, including a mosque owned by the Islamic Waqf and the traditional tomb of the Prophet Samuel. This expropriation of an Islamic Waqf-owned holy site in the occupied West Bank extends a precedent set in September 2025 with an order covering an open area at the Ibrahimi Mosque compound in Hebron.
Israel is also pushing forward the consolidation of Palestinians in East Jerusalem, with Plan No. 1627/7. It is a planned expansion in Abu Dis, designating roughly 79 dunams for up to 950 multi-story housing units, less than 100 meters from the Abu Dis landfill to effectively displace the residents of Khan al-Ahmar, among others. The proposal is positioned to serve as the state’s “alternative location” before the High Court when Bedouin residents of the E1 corridor petition against expulsion, replicating the mechanism used against the Jahalin community during the Ma’ale Adumim expansion. Combined with the previously approved E1 construction plan, ongoing road construction that would close roughly 3% of the West Bank to Palestinian movement, and the al-Nabi Samwil expropriation, the components of an integrated displacement and annexation operation in the central West Bank surfaced together within a single week of coverage.
In Washington, a coordinated legislative push is advancing at the same time. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) introduced S. 4576 on May 20, the “Jewish American Security Act,” which grounds federal antisemitism enforcement in Trump Executive Orders 13899 and 14188, the orders that codify the IHRA definition and its examples conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism. Representative John McGuire (R-VA) introduced HR 8843 on May 15, reclassifying property damage at protests as domestic terrorism. Representative Chip Roy (R-TX) introduced HR 8905, barring entry of foreign religious leaders deemed “militant adversarial mullahs,” and HR 8906, restricting “Chinese Communist and Islamist” home ownership. Representative Nancy Mace (R-SC) introduced H.J.Res. 188, a constitutional amendment to restrict Congress, federal judgeships, and Senate-confirmed offices to natural-born citizens.
The broader zionist movement is advancing these two convergent agendas: physical infrastructure for severing the central West Bank, and using Palestinian organizing as the logic to strip away all kinds of civil rights and liberties and restrict political participation in the US and elsewhere.
2026 year-to-date data
Home demolitions: 195 incidents, 598 structures destroyed, 881 people displaced (401 children), through May 25. Same period 2025: 256 incidents, 831 structures, 1,089 displaced.
Arrests: 3,951 arrests. (Same period 2025: 4,228).
Settler attacks: 1,476 attacks year-to-date.
Recent killings
Nasser Ali Kamel al-Saadi, 45
Killed: 26 May 2026 Location: Jenin refugee camp
Israeli forces shot Nasser Ali Kamel al-Saadi, 45, in the hip and thigh during an invasion of Jenin refugee camp. Red Crescent paramedics later recovered his body from the soldiers.
Mahmoud Ziad al-Amla, 32
Killed: 17 May 2026 Location: Beit Ula, Hebron
Mahmoud Ziad al-Amla, 32, lived in Beit Ula, west of Hebron. He was crossing the separation wall to reach work inside Israel when Israeli soldiers shot him in the head. He died several days later at Al-Ahli Hospital in Hebron after time in intensive care.
Nour al-Din Kamal Hassan Fayyad, 34
Killed: 16 May 2026 Location: Wadi Burqin, Jenin
Nour al-Din Kamal Hassan Fayyad, 34, taught at the Jenin Basic Boys’ School and lived in the nearby village of Wadi Burqin. During an Israeli raid on the Jenin refugee camp, soldiers shot him in the thigh as he tried to enter. He went into cardiac arrest at the camp entrance; Red Crescent paramedics could not save him.
Fahd Zaidan Awais, 15 (child)
Killed: 15 May 2026 Location: Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya, south of Nablus
Israeli soldiers shot Fahd Zaidan Awais, 15, on farmland outside Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya, south of Nablus. They blocked Red Crescent paramedics from reaching him and then took his body.
Izz al-Din al-Haddad (Abu Suhaib), 59
Killed: 15 May 2026 Location: Gaza City
Izz al-Din al-Haddad, 59, took over as general commander of Hamas’s al-Qassam Brigades in May 2025 after Israel killed his predecessors during the Gaza war. Known as Abu Suhaib or “the Ghost of al-Qassam,” he had survived at least six Israeli assassination attempts since 2009. Two of his sons had been killed earlier in the genocide.
On the evening of 15 May 2026, an Israeli airstrike hit a residential building in central Gaza City, killing al-Haddad along with his wife and daughter.