The Jerusalem Post has learned that Mandelblit said the database would be illegal unless the Knesset passes a law that properly balances civil rights concerns while giving the Strategic Affairs Ministry the authority to collect such information. In cases where an Israeli citizen is believed to pose a security threat, the Shin Bet security services are responsible for monitoring the citizen, Mandelblit said. Joint List MK Ayman Odeh (Hadash) responded to Erdan's plan on Twitter stating, "The thing that frightens this government the most (except for free media) is a nonviolent struggle against the occupation – we promise to continue the struggle." These revelations of Erdan’s intent come follow the passage of a law earlier this month which allows the Interior Ministry to refuse entrance or residency visas to non-Israelis if they have "issued a public call to boycott Israel – including settlements in the West Bank" – or have stated their intention to participate in a boycott. In December, Erdan, who is also the Public Security Minister, proposed new legislation that sought to blacklist companies who advocate a boycott of Israel or Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Last weekend, more than 800 Israelis signed a petition which opens "Gilad Erdan Note: We Boycott the Settlements!" The petition continues: "We, who wish the best for the State of Israel, are highly concerned by the deterioration into subjugation and oppression of minorities and dissenters. It has just become known that the Minister of Public Security, Mr. Gilad Erdan, seeks to compile a database of Israelis who call for the boycott of settlements. This move comes on the heels of an Israeli Government decision to block the entry to Israel of non-Israelis who support the boycott of settlements. UN Security Council Resolution 2334 calls upon UN member states to differentiate between Israel proper and the occupied territories. Settlements create a reality of apartheid, are responsible for extensive human rights violations against Palestinians, and lead to actions of ethnic cleansing." The petition concludes: "Our response to those actions [the law blocking entrance of BDS supporters] is to call upon all decent persons, in Israel and abroad, to ANNOUNCE A TOTAL BOYCOTT OF THE SETTLEMENTS -- ECONOMIC, CULTURAL, AND ACADEMIC -- and will do our utmost to convince others that such a boycott is essential for the preservation of Israeli democracy."

Minister Seeks Database of Israeli Activists; Petition – “Erdan Note, We’re Boycotting the Settlements”

Minister of Strategic Affairs Gilad Erdan plans to compile a database of Israelis involved in the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel or Israeli settlements in the Palestinian occupied West Bank. The database would center on “the main boycott activists working with the BDS movement in order to prevent their attacks” Erdan wrote…

Palestinian youth has seen burning tires during demonstrations against occupation in the neighborhood of Issawia on October 24, 2014 in occupied East Jerusalem (Photo: Activestills)

MK Barakeh condemns plans to expand illegal settlements in East Jerusalem

Palestinian Liberation Organization Executive Committee Member Saeb Erekat, in a statement, strongly condemned the latest Israeli announcement to expand illegal settlements in and around the Occupied East Jerusalem. “This announcement amounts to evidence of an intent to further commit crimes defined by and punishable under international law,” stressed Erekat. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has…

CPI: The South African decision delivers a clear message

The Communist Party of Israel (CPI) welcomes the decision of the South African ministry of Trade and Industry, headed by Comrade Rob Davies (Member of the Central Committee of the South African Communist Party), to ban labeling of West Bank settlement products as “Made in Israel”. The policies pursued by the Israeli government, of expanding…

Palestinians protest in Al-Bireh on Wednesday, November 18, against US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit to Psagot settlement and winery. The residents of Al-Bireh have seen their land taken over by Psagot and other Israeli outposts in the area, including some landowners who hold US citizenship. Pompeo is the first high-ranking US official to have visited an Israeli settlement in the heart of the West Bank.

163 UN States Support Palestinian Statehood & An End to Occupation

A United Nations General Assembly committee endorsed overwhelming on Thursday, November 19, a draft resolution recognizing “the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including the right to their independent State of Palestine.” Israel and the United States voted against the resolution. The proposal put forward in the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee — the committee…