“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:
- 260 Gazans killed since the ceasefire, with 282 violations by Israel. There is minimal electricity, medical supplies, and shelter from the rain, still.
- Settler violence in the West Bank is at an all time high, with 167 settler attacks since Oct. 1st 2025. Mosques, trucks, farmland, etc. are torched.
- The international community is trying to help, by citing the environmental state of Gaza, helping plan for a Palestinian state, and training members to aid Gaza.
- At home, there are small steps being made, including a potentially genocide-recognition resolution and a lawsuit against free speech crackdowns.
Takeaways:
- Israel is not recognizing the ceasefire, with scores still killed.
- Settler violence in the West Bank remains high, with dozens of terrorist attacks.
- The international community is helping Palestinians on their terms, unlike us.
- There are opportunities at home to help the Palestinians.
As your constituents we urge you to:
- Call for a complete end to the killing in Gaza, and a stronger flow of aid.
- Oppose Trump’s resolution for deep intervention in Gaza’s politics.
- Support Rep. Tlaib’s resolution to recognize the genocide in Gaza.
- Divest from Israeli companies operating on violently occupied land, and use those funds at home.
282 Violations, 260 Dead
- Killings and torture amidst lack of electricity, medicine, and shelter
- 11/15 – Since the ceasefire, Israel has killed 260 Palestinians, violating the truce 282 times. [IAK]
- 11/11 – UNRWA report: [UNRWA]
- Almost 70,000 Gazans killed since Oct. 7th 2023
- 1,012 West Bank Palestinians killed since Oct. 7th, 2023
- 11/10 – ~2 Gazans killed in an Israeli drone strike east of Khan Younis. [Al Jazeera]
- 11/11 – A de facto partition of Gaza between an area controlled by Israel and another ruled by Hamas is increasingly likely. [Reuters]
- 11/11 – Gazans are suffering psychological trauma from Israel’s military campaign. [Reuters]
- 11/11 – Israel has killed ~3 Gazans in the last 24 hours. [Al Jazeera]
- 11/12 – There is still no electricity in Gaza. [Reuters]
- 11/12 – Half of Gaza’s hospitals are totally out of service. [Reuters]
- 11/13 – Israeli soldiers accused of sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee are trying to win sympathy through the media, as the person who leaked the video of the assault faces prison. [Al Jazeera]
- 11/14 – UN: Israel is deliberately crippling its operations and blocking entry of vital aid into Gaza. [Al Jazeera]
- 11/15 – Dozens of Palestinian prisoners are being held indefinitely in an underground Israeli detention facility, subject to torture. [Al Jazeera]
- 11/15 – Israel blocks tents and shelter supplies into Gaza as it faces heavy rainfall and cold temperatures. [Al Jazeera]
- Captive exchange
- 11/11 – Israel is returning hundreds of Palestinian bodies to Gaza without names or identifying records, often showing signs of torture. [Al Jazeera]
- 11/13 – Israel received the body of Meny Godard from Hamas. [Reuters]
- Terrorism in the West Bank
- 11/12 – OCHA update on the West Bank: [OCHA]
- >1,500 Palestinians displaced by lack-of-permit demotions so far in 2025
- ~1,460 structures destroyed or damaged in Jenin, Nur Shams, and Tulkarm camps
- Since Oct. 1st 2025, 167 settler attacks related to the olive harvest season, affecting 87 Palestinian communities
- 45 Palestinian children killed by Israel since January 2025
- 11/9 – Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian villagers, activists, and journalists who attempted to harvest olives. [Reuters]
- 11/9 – A Palestinian is shot and killed by Israeli troops during a raid on Far’a refugee camp in the West Bank. [Al Jazeera]
- 11/11 – Masked Israeli settlers stoned and torched trucks, farmland, and Bedouin structures in the West Bank. [Reuters]
- 11/11 – UNICEF: essential items including syringes to vaccinate children and bottles for baby formula are being denied entry to Gaza by Israel. [Reuters]
- 11/12 – Israeli forces demolished more Palestinian homes and livestock shelters in Masafer Yatta, the West Bank, a town featured in the Oscar-winning “No Other Land”. [Al Jazeera]
- 11/13 – Israeli settlers set fire to the Hajja Hamida Mosque in the West Bank. [Al Jazeera]
- 11/12 – OCHA update on the West Bank: [OCHA]
Torched Hajja Hamida Mosque, one of several instances of terrorism by Israeli settlers in the West Bank. [Al Jazeera]
Training and Intervention
- International community tries to aid, as Israel continues its terrorism
- 11/10 – Palestine’s ambassador to Brazil told the COP30 climate summit that Israel’s genocide in Gaza and occupation of Palestine has added significantly to the climate crisis. [Al Jazeera]
- 11/11 – France to help the Palestinian Authority draft a constitution for a future state. [Reuters]
- 11/13 – Russia proposed its own draft of a UN resolution on Gaza to challenge the US’s draft. [Reuters]
- 11/14 – Indonesia has trained ~20,000 troops to take on health and construction-related tasks during a planned peacekeeping operation in Gaza. [Reuters]
- 11/14 – EU foreign ministers will discuss a proposal to train 3,000 Palestinian police officers to later deploy them in Gaza. [Reuters]
- 11/14 – UN: a wall built by Israel crosses the de facto border between Israel and Lebanon. [Reuters]
- 11/14 – 130 Palestinians admitted to South Africa despite lack of papers, leading to suspicions of an unregistered organization arranging their trip in an “irregular and irresponsible manner”. [Reuters]
Tents in Gaza City. Indonesia plans on sending thousands of trained troops to medically aid areas like this. [Reuters]
Opposition Against Complicity
- Support of criminality, attempts at justice
- 11/10 – Sami Hamdi is set to be released by US immigration authorities, two weeks after his detention. [Reuters]
- 11/12 – US gathered intel last year of Israeli officials discussing how to send Palestinians into Gaza tunnels that were potentially lined with explosives, using them as human shields. [Reuters]
- 11/12 – Trump sent a letter to Israel’s president urging him to consider granting a pardon to Netanyahu. [Reuters]
- 11/14 – A University of Kentucky law professor sued the university on accounts of violating free speech and due process rights. [Reuters]
- 11/14 – Democrat Rashida Tlaib introduced a resolution in Congress to recognize Israel’s brutal assault on Gaza as a genocide. [Al Jazeera]
US intel suggests that the IDF may have used Palestinians as human shields to test for explosives in tunnels. [Reuters]