The war in Gaza has been the main focus in the Middle East. Yet in the West Bank, Israel's government is seizing land and Jewish settlers are establishing outposts at the highest rate in decades.
Small pro-Palestinian protests are popping up sporadically as colleges and universities hold commencement services. Among the demonstrations on Saturday were dozens of graduating students at Virginia Commonwealth University who walked out on Gov. Glenn Youngkin's address. While some of the estimated 100 students and family members who left during the Republican governor's speech showed support for Palestinians, others held signs signaling their opposition to Youngkin's education policies, according to WRIC-TV. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a small group of demonstrators staged what appeared to be a silent protest during commencement ceremonies. A campus police spokesperson says no arrests were made. There were also protests in North Carolina and California.
The formula for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has long called for negotiating a Palestinian state. What if that were reversed and a state were declared first and then negotiated later?
With Arab students suspended for social media posts, it's "the first time we see this large amount of disciplinary procedures against students for expressing themselves," says a civil rights attorney.
In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a recent poll found 68% of Palestinians say the Oct. 7 Hamas attack was a legitimate act of defiance and support for the group has more than tripled to 44%.
Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, is widely believed to have helped mastermind the unprecedented Hamas attack that changed the course of Israeli-Palestinian history.
Paul Kessler, 69, died of a head injury a day after the altercation, which California authorities haven't ruled out as a hate crime. A suspect was identified but no arrests have been made.
NPR has interviewed neighbors and relatives of one of the attackers and reviewed footage and information the Israeli military says it collected from villages and militants.
The conflict between Israel and Hamas has led to accusations of war crimes on both sides, as combatants are bound by international humanitarian law to minimize the impact on civilians.
