NEWS:
UNESCO votes to add Bethlehem holy sites to world heritage list.
The evacuation of the “unauthorized” settler outpost of "Ulpana” is completed without incident. Palestinian citizens of Israel express concern about new plans regarding mandatory National Service. Hamas airs videos of confessions of accused Israeli collaborators. Another 25 Palestinian prisoners are going on hunger strike in Israeli jails. Women in Palestinian society with disabilities face double discrimination. Palestinians say the upcoming meeting between Pres. Abbas and Deputy PM Mofaz is not a resumption of negotiations. Israeli police are reportedly told to specifically target any Palestinian citizens of Israel joining “social justice” protests. Israel reportedly suspends plans to relocate Bedouins to a site near a garbage dump. A Palestinian activist in the occupied West Bank says the US is supporting “an apartheid system that is suffocating us.”
COMMENTARY:
Tania Hary talks about supporting human rights in Gaza. Mira Sucharov says the only way for Israelis to forget about the occupation in the long run is to end it. Jay Bushinsky says that since Israel is effectively annexing the occupied Palestinian territories, ways should be found to integrate the Palestinian population better into Israeli society. Ami Kaufman says it would be foolish to combine Israeli social justice protests with the issue of the occupation. Jessica Montell says PM Netanyahu is playing a shell game with settlements in the occupied West Bank. Donald MacIntyre says Israel must see that mistreatment of Palestinian children in detention will come with a heavy international cost. Dan Ephron says moderate Israeli settlers are afraid to speak out against extremists among them. The Economist says frustration is bubbling up in the occupied West Bank and another intifada is indeed possible. Stuart Eizenstat evaluates the views of his former boss, Pres. Carter, on Israel and the occupation. David Shulman looks at the threatened Palestinian West Bank village of Susya, slated for demolition by Israeli occupation authorities.
NEWS:
Hamas says one of its operatives has been assassinated in Damascus and blames Israel. Palestinians are intensifying their efforts to get UNESCO to recognize the Church of the Nativity in occupied Bethlehem as a World Heritage Site in Palestine. Israeli scientists are working on a pre-battlefield treatment for PTSD. Hamas urges Pres. Abbas not to meet with Deputy PM Mofaz next week as planned. Israel allocates $90 million for infrastructure repair in Arab towns inside Israel. Hamas says it intends to broadcast "confessions of collaborators” with Israel. Israeli officials claim they have convinced Russia not to sell missiles to Syria. Two Egyptian men are criminally convicted in a case regarding cheap gas supplies to Israel. An Israeli border patrol officer faces trial for shooting a 10-year-old Palestinian child. Palestinian leaders in Lebanon asked the military to ease its behavior towards certain refugee camps.
COMMENTARY:
Avi Issacharoff and Amos Harel save the murder of a Hamas operative in Syria won't stop the flow of arms to Gaza. Eric Yoffie says the Israeli right cannot comprehend the settlements really are a major obstacle to peace. Giora Eiland says Israel should recognize Gaza as a de facto state. Alon Liel says misleadingly labeling settlement products “made in Israel” demonstrates Israel's self-deception. Diana Moukalled says Israeli television has just provided supporters of Pres. Assad with an undeserved gift. The Jordan Times says more Russian involvement in the Middle East peace process could be very helpful. Ruth Elgash says more Palestinian citizens of Israel are volunteering for National Service. Jonathan Schanzer says Palestinians may be gearing up for another major UN effort. Zafrir Rinat says Israel's policy of uprooting Palestinian olive trees is entirely political. Hamze Awawde says a new generation of young Palestinians is developing their own, independent political identity.
NEWS:
Israeli and Palestinian leaders may meet early next week. Gazans increasingly turn to the ancient technique of cupping therapy. Israeli academics oppose upgrading the status of a settler college in the occupied Palestinian territories. Israel slams accusations by Iranian officials that “Jews are behind the global drug trade.” Israel's use of Caterpillar bulldozers in demolitions of Palestinian homes is a factor in getting the company dropped from a socially responsible investment index. Egypt says it will increase the flow of people through the Rafah border crossing. A new poll among Palestinians shows a drop in support for Pres. Abbas. A Hamas commander is convicted by Israel of killing 46 Israelis. FM Lieberman accuses a Palestinian MK of being “a terrorist.” Human rights groups say Israeli security forces threaten the families of detainees. Israel fears the UN might be about to establish a fact-finding mission on its settlement activities. British lawyers report that Israel is subjecting Palestinian children to “a spiral of injustice.” Anti-Israel billboards are taken down in Los Angeles. The National profiles two Palestinian officials key to law enforcement and, according to some, crushing dissent. Israel continues to prevent Palestinian students in Gaza from traveling to the West Bank to complete their education.
Israeli officials say they're confident that Egypt will maintain the peace treaty.
COMMENTARY:
ATFP Pres. Ziad Asali poses a series of questions to one state advocates. Bradley Burston says no form of bigotry is “pro-Israel.”
Zalman Shoval says Israel still doesn't have a peace partner in the Palestinian leadership. Ben Caspit says Israel will learn to live with the new Egyptian president.
NEWS:
Israeli settlers begin evacuating a tiny “unauthorized” outpost. Pres. Putin visits the West Bank. Israel arrests 3 ultra-Orthodox Jewish suspects in a vandalism attack on its Holocaust Memorial. Pres. Abbas reiterates that negotiations are the only path to peace with Israel. Mohammed Morsy's presidential victory in Egypt causes alarm in Israel, and Hamas claims it will help win them international recognition. Senior Fatah leaders in Gaza resign. Sami Michael, head of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, says it is “the most racist state in the developed world.” Palestinian road accident victims are caught between competing authorities in “Area C.” Israel demolishes a Bedouin village for the 39th time. Palestinians say Israel is preventing some 300 couples split between Gaza and the West Bank from reuniting. The New York Times looks at the threatened West Bank village of Battir.
COMMENTARY:
ATFP Executive Director Ghaith Al-Omari asks what “pro-Palestinian” American activists, totally alienated from their country's political system, have achieved. Adam Gonn says Israel is not a priority for Egypt's new Islamist president. Eric Yoffie says Israel's settlement project is undermining its relationship with Jewish Americans. Tom Segev profiles David Ben-Gurion. Uri Pasovsky says Israel could be a big loser in the emerging new global order. Bernard Avishai asks why, if Israel is really interested in creating the basis for a Palestinian state, it continues to prevent Palestinians educated in major Western universities from returning to the occupied territories. Elisheva Goldberg looks at left and right wing state party votes in the United States that undermine a two-state solution. Karin Laub and Ibrahim Barzak say the Muslim Brotherhood victory in Egypt's presidential election offers no quick fixes for Gaza or Hamas. Brian Levin says Jewish Americans should repudiate Islamophobia.
NEWS:
Hamas celebrates the victory of the Muslim Brotherhood candidate in Egypt's presidential election while Israel frets. Hamas threatens to escalate attacks against Israel. Israel and the US are planning their largest-ever joint military drill. PLO official Ishtayya says Palestinians are moving forward with efforts to gain membership in more UN bodies but the US has asked for a delay. Fatah says Pres.
Abbas and Hamas leader Mishaal have agreed to set a date for their next meeting.
The PA has arrested more than 100 people following the assassination of the governor of Jenin and is holding them under controversial circumstances. Settler Council leaders denounce extremist “price tag”
violence. The mixed Jewish-Arab town of Acre is drawing more tourists and Jewish extremists. A Palestinian man is reported to have been killed during an Israeli military training exercise in the occupied West Bank.
COMMENTARY:
The Washington Post interviews PM Fayyad, who says he may run in future elections. Nathan Thrall says a third intifada is “inevitable.”
Merav Michaeli says police are to blame for clashes with social justice protesters in Tel Aviv. Rivka Cohen says Israel's Jewish and Arab schools are separate and distinctly unequal. Khaled Abu Toameh says Hamas seems to be losing control of the Gaza Strip.
Maya Sela says Israelis could learn from Alice Walker's novel The Color Purple if she would allow a Hebrew translation. Walid Choucair says it makes no sense for Palestinians or other Arabs to put their cause on hold for the next US elections, which are always around the corner. Yael Gvirtz asks what the real costs of the settlements are to Israel. Aaron David Miller looks at how the Palestinian-Israeli peace process got sidelined. Akiva Eldar says it's a shame that Israeli “social justice” protesters don't notice of the plight of Palestinians living under occupation. Hazem Saghiyeh says that regarding the tragedy of the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, there is no answer but the Lebanese state but no state to provide that answer.
NEWS:
Two more rockets are fired into southern Israel from Gaza, without causing any damage or injuries. Pres. Peres says Israelis and Palestinians must learn to forget the past in order to achieve peace. A Fatah official vows Palestinians will not turn their issue into a domestic Lebanese dispute and that “foreign powers” are inciting violence. After another West Bank mosque is torched, a synagogue is vandalized with graffiti. Israeli veterans describe serving in the occupied territories. Two Hamas militants die inspecting a bombed tunnel in Gaza. Palestinian officials say Israel must choose between peace and settlements. Mitt Romney says he would do the “opposite” of Pres. Obama on Israel. Palestinians and Israelis are closely watching developments in Egypt.
COMMENTARY:
Ha'aretz interviews former negotiator Itamar Rabinovich and Deputy PM Ya'alon. Richard Haass thinks American dominance over the Mideast peace process is ending. Jon Donnison says Hamas was flexing its muscles in a recent exchange of rocket fire with Israel. The National says Hamas' violence undermines real Palestinian resistance. Patrick Seale looks at the Norwegian role in the Middle East. Paul Salem says Hezbollah is deeply concerned about current trends in the Middle East. Alex Fishman says the Hamas-Israel escalation in Gaza has explosive potential. Shaul Arieli looks at the potential negative consequences of Israeli unilateralism in the occupied West Bank. Saleh Al-Naami says Deputy PM Mofaz's peace initiatives are merely designed to buy time.
NEWS:
Egypt reportedly brokers a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel, as two more Palestinians are killed under Israeli fire. Israel is considering settling nomadic Bedouins on a landfill. Israel says “all options” are on the table if Western talks with Iran fail. Some Palestinian refugees still dream of returning home after 64 years. The PA fines date dealers for selling settlement products. A new report finds that only 6 percent of public sector employees in Israel are Palestinian citizens of the country. Deputy PM Mofaz says he thinks there's a good chance negotiations with Palestinians will resume soon, and the Obama administration is also reportedly working on renewed talks. Hamas publicly celebrates what it hopes is the victory of the Muslim Brotherhood candidate in the Egyptian presidential election. Palestinians are reportedly interested in a new Israeli technology combining solar and wind generated power. A UN expert criticizes censorship by Israel, the PA and Hamas. Palestinians are seeking to attract more Muslim visitors to the al-Aqsa Mosque. Palestinian refugees in Lebanon work to contain the fallout from recent deadly clashes with the Lebanese military.
COMMENTARY:
The Washington Post interviews DM Barak and Pres. Peres. Gideon Levy says Hamas and the Israeli government are behaving like kindergartners. Khaled Diab says both principle and pragmatism call for an end to the Gaza blockade. The Forward says the Olympics should honor slain Israeli athletes. Danny Rubinstein looks at the future of the Palestinian high-tech sector. Moriel Rothman looks at the logic behind Israel's planned destruction of a Palestinian village near Hebron.
NEWS:
Israel is considering its next move in an exchange of violence with Hamas, as another Palestinian is killed. A toddler in Gaza is killed when militants apparently misfire a rocket. Three Lebanese soldiers and ten Palestinian refugees are wounded in clashes in a refugee camp in northern Lebanon. Israeli settlers are expanding an outpost near Nablus. A new poll suggests that a large majority of Palestinians have no confidence in reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas. Political tensions in Egypt are fueling unrest in Sinai. Recent Palestinian corruption convictions raise the question of political prosecutions. A small group of Israeli settlers prepare to evacuate an "unauthorized"
outpost. Former Mossad chief Dagan says "Israel is in a unique place to make peace with Arabs." Japanese investment in a business park near Jericho aims to help Palestinian society towards economic sustainability. American novelist Alice Walker refuses to authorize a Hebrew translation of “The Color Purple” in protest against Israeli policies.
COMMENTARY:
Crispian Balmer looks at Israeli anxieties about the Egyptian presidential election. Pres. Peres says the Middle East badly needs a two-state solution. Barak Ravid asks if PM Netanyahu's speech 3 years ago endorsing a two-state solution was sincere. Carlo Strenger says "national-religious messianism" is endangering Israel. Norman Ornstein profiles the late Economist Jerusalem Bureau chief Peter David. Osama Al Sharif looks at the possibility of a war in the Middle East this summer. John Daly says Israel's growing relations with China are compromised by disputes over Iran and energy. Colum Lynch looks at the Palestinian bid to have the Church of the Nativity listed as a World Heritage Site in Palestine.
NEWS:
A hunger-striking Palestinian soccer player is released in a deal with Israeli authorities. Hamas welcomes Muslim Brotherhood claims of victory in the Egyptian presidential election. Two Palestinians are killed in a refugee camp in Lebanon. The death toll on Israel's Egypt and Gaza borders rises to seven. PM Netanyahu condemns an attack by extremist settlers on a mosque near Ramallah. Israelis and Palestinians cooperate in stopping the spread of deadly bacteria. Israel says Hamas, in a rare move, is firing rockets into southern Israel, and reports say Hamas is taking “credit” for the attacks. No Palestinian citizens of Israel will be in that country's upcoming Olympic delegation. Former Palestinian prisoners describe life after being released. Palestinians are seeking full representation at the Rio+20 sustainable development summit.
COMMENTARY:
Shaul Arieli says unilateral Israeli moves may not advance the peace process. Carlo Strenger says messianism is endangering Israel. Yaakov Katz says Israel can't deal with it security concerns In Sinai and elsewhere, and it needs Egyptian cooperation. Nachman Shai asks if it's really a good idea for Israel to surround itself with barriers. Gerson Baskin says national unity talks between Fatah and Hamas have broken down completely. The National says the MRSA bacteria scare in Gaza is one more affliction the people there don't need. Aaron David Miller looks at what he identifies as five myths about the US-Israel relationship. Yael Gvirtz says Israeli society needs to count the costs of the settlement project. Lara Friedman says Israeli unilateralism won't work.
NEWS:
Israeli workers constructing a barrier along the Gaza border are attacked and one is killed, along with two of the assailants. Two Palestinians are killed in Israeli shelling of northern Gaza. Israeli officials accuse the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood of ordering a missile attack on southern Israel from Gaza. An Israeli truck driver kills two Palestinians and wounds another in what he says was an attempt to foil an armed robbery. Israel may fit drones with a new sensor. Pres. Abbas accuses Israel of not being committed to a two-state solution.
Palestinian anti-corruption authorities say PA and PLO officials are under investigation. Extremist Israeli settlers issue a guide to "struggling against evictions" by the Israeli government. Israel begins expelling hundreds of African migrants. The Israeli government is trying to increase the employment rate of Palestinian citizens of Israel. Refugees processed in southern Lebanon after a Palestinian refugee is killed in a confrontation with the Lebanese army. EU diplomats visit a Palestinian town near Hebron ordered demolished by Israeli occupation authorities.
COMMENTARY:
Raja Shehadeh says classical music is gaining a foothold in Palestinian society. Adam Gonn says Deputy PM Mofaz may be trying to chart his own foreign policy course. Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff say Egypt is becoming a “hotbed of terrorism” and Israel is powerless to stop it. Akiva Eldar says recent remarks by Deputy PM Ya'alon reveal PM Netanyahu's real intentions. Naomi Chazan says Israel's best friends are human rights watchdog groups. Adel Safty says legalizing land theft is part of Israel's broader strategy. Emily Hauser explains why she still believes in a two-state solution. Noga Tarnopolsky says an unused waste treatment plant in the Israeli settlement of Ofra in the West Bank has come to symbolize the conflict.