“Bismillaahir-rahmaanir raheem”
(In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful)
Watermelon Wednesday is a weekly brief shared with our elected officials to ensure they are aware of Israel’s aggression, the Palestinian experience, and our country’s complicity in this genocide and international war crimes.
TL;DR:
- ~435 Gazans killed in a week, many near aid sites, water points, a market, and Gaza’s only Catholic Church.
- Israel begins work on controversial “concentration camps” for 600,000 Palestinians, amid international condemnation.
- Violence in the West Bank escalates, with rising killings and settler harassment.
- Israel defies international bodies like the ICC and UN as global pressure mounts.
- U.S. politicians (excluding Trump) show growing interest in pursuing just peace.
Takeaways:
- The world is applying pressure to Israel, yet it continues its killing and assaults in Gaza, the West Bank, and beyond, with America as its sole supporter.
- Israel begins work on a “concentration camp” for 600,000 Palestinians, as its bombing of Gaza’s Catholic Church draws outcry, including from the US.
- American politicians have shown an interest in peace overseas in specific matters, and they could use support.
As your constituents we urge you to:
- Publicly condemn Israel’s expanding crimes.
- Combat Trump’s support of Israel.
- Divest from Israel-supporting businesses.
Church Bombed, Palestinians Assaulted
- Scores killed in Gaza.
- Numbers continue accelerating…
- 7/13 – >92 Gazans killed near water sites and a market. [Al Jazeera]
- 7/14 – >78 Gazans killed, many near aid sites. [Al Jazeera]
- 7/15 – >61 Gazans killed, 2 near aid sites. [Al Jazeera]
- 7/16 – >20 Gazans killed at aid site. [Reuters]
- 7/17 – >27 Gazans killed, 3 at a church visited by Pope Francis. [Reuters]
- 7/18 – >41 Gazans killed. [Al Jazeera]
- 7/19 – >116 Gazans killed, many near aid sites. [Al Jazeera]
- 7/18 – UNRWA report: [UNRWA]
- >737,000 displaced since March
- >1.9M displaced since Oct 7
- >58,573 killed since Oct 7
- 7/13 – Israel announced plan to relocate 600,000 people into “concentration camps” in south Gaza. Demolition has begun. [Al Jazeera]
- 7/14 – Israel is weaponizing Chinese-made drones to kill Gazans. [Al Jazeera]
- 7/15 – 1/10 of children screened in UN clinics in Gaza are malnourished. [UN]
- 7/15 – UN: >875 killings near aid points in Gaza within last six weeks. [UN]
- 7/16 – >21 killed in stampede and suffocation at aid site. [NYT]
- 7/16 – Israel has begun ploughing for a “concentration camp” for Palestinians in Rafah. [Al Jazeera]
- 7/17 – Israeli strike on Gaza’s sole Catholic Church killed 3. [AP]
- Numbers continue accelerating…
- Escalated violence in the West Bank.
- 7/13 – Palestinian-American man beaten to death by settlers in the West Bank, second man shot dead. [Reuters]
- 7/13 – 9 West Bank Palestinians killed last week. [Al Jazeera]
- 7/14 – Christian leaders accused Israeli settlers of attacking sacred sites in West Bank. [AP]
- 7/15 – Uptick in assaults against Palestinians in West Bank, says UN. [Reuters]
- 7/18 – Palestinian Bedouins accused Israelis of killing 117 sheep and stealing hundreds of others, in an attempt to displace them. [Reuters]
- 7/18 – 968 Palestinians killed in West Bank since March 18. [UNRWA]
- 7/18 – 162 West Bank Palestinians killed during 2025. [UNRWA]
- Israel’s instability, unreliability, and cruelty show.
- 7/14 – 2 Israeli politicians criticized plans by Netanyahu to build a “humanitarian city” in Gaza, akin to a “concentration camp”. [Al Jazeera]
- 7/15 – Ultra-Orthodox Jewish party UTJ quit Netanyahu’s coalition in dispute over military service, a show of Israel’s injustice. [Reuters]
- 7/16 – Chief prosecutor of ICC was threatened that he and the ICC could be “destroyed”. [Al Jazeera]
- 7/17 – Israel demands UN scrap an investigation into rights violations in Palestine and Israel. [Reuters]
- 7/18 – Israel has denied renewal of a UN official’s visa. [Reuters]
- 7/18 – Israel rejected a ceasefire agreement that would release all captives held in Gaza. [Al Jazeera]
Father Gabriele Romanelli receiving medical attention, after being injured by an Israeli strike on the church. [Reuters]
Pressure and Prejudice
- The world vs. Israel
- 7/14 – EU says there needs to be more improvement with aid getting into Gaza. [Reuters]
- 7/14 – Egypt: aid into Gaza has not increased despite agreement last week between Israel and the EU. [Reuters]
- 7/14 – UN: “No parallel” to Gaza’s “horrific” destruction. [Al Jazeera]
- 7/15 – UN special rapporteur: nations must take concrete steps to stop Israel’s “genocide” of Gaza. [Al Jazeera]
- 7/16 – ICC rejected Israel’s request to withdraw arrest warrants against Netanyahu. [Reuters]
- 7/17 – Slovenia declared 2 Israeli cabinet ministers persona non grata, the first EU country to do so. [Reuters]
- 7/18 – A Cardinal entered Gaza to bring aid to victims of Israel’s strike on the sole Catholic Church in Gaza. [Reuters]
- 7/18 – Netanyahu called Pope Leo, who appealed for a ceasefire in Gaza. [Reuters]
- Israel attacks Lebanon and Syria
Itmar Ben-Gvir, one of two Israeli cabinet ministers whom Slovenia has declared persona non grata. [Reuters]
Trump’s Injustice, Eventual Dissent
- American politicians slowly begin preferring peace, at Trump’s dismay.
- 7/15 – ICE uses Canary Mission “hate” site against Palestine advocates and those critical of Israel. [Al Jazeera]
- 7/15 – US has called on Israel to probe the killing of American Sayfollah Musallet in the West Bank. [Al Jazeera]
- 7/18 – A federal judge blocked enforcement of Trump’s order targeting those who work with the ICC. [Reuters]
- 7/19 – US ambassador called for perpetrators of attack on West Bank church to be prosecuted, vowed “harsh consequences”. [Haaretz]
Federal judge blocked enforcement of Trump’s targeting of ICC workers. [Reuters]