ATFP President Ziad Asali says Palestinians are developing a new diversified and peaceful strategy for liberation. Jackson Diehl says Palestinian-Israeli peace is not achievable under present conditions. Menachem Begin's grandson critiques national identities. Al Qaeda-style fanatics in Gaza claim 11,000 followers. DM Barak expresses concern about rift with the United States, says occupation must end. Israel seals the occupied West Bank for two days. Pres. Peres urges faith in peace. The PA denies Israel is to transfer more territory to its control. Pres. Abbas urges Palestinian prisoners to promote national unity. YNet says even PM Fayyad's harshest critics are giving him credit. Ari Shavit urges Netanyahu to act before it is too late. Akiva Eldar says Israel is turning its back on the Arab Peace Initiative. Shlomo Avineri asks what would happen if Palestinians declared statehood. Tariq Alhomayed says the onus for national reconciliation is on Hamas. Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid says Netanyahu's policies are strengthening the Arab position. The Jordan Times says Israel is escalating tensions. IPS interviews Ziad Abuzayyad.
Hamas executions highlight Palestinian political divisions. King Abdullah of Jordan tells the Chicago Tribune time is running out for peace. Israeli forces kill a Palestinian in Gaza. Palestinians see return of Israeli military rule in eviction order. Zeev Sternhell says Israeli policies are turning Jerusalem into a settlement. Israeli Amb. Oren meets the J Street leadership. Ha'aretz reports that unauthorized settler outposts slated for demolition are instead receiving significant state funding. Sec. Clinton says Israel must do more for peace. Students in occupied East Jerusalem get half the funding of those in West Jerusalem. Judge Goldstone is banned from his grandson's bar mitzvah. Vice PM Ya’alon says Israelis should be able to stay in "a Palestinian entity" but "under Israeli sovereignty." The JTA profiles tensions in occupied East Jerusalem. Rep. Robert Wexler's makes his public debut as President of the Center for Middle East Peace. UC Berkeley's student government tables a motion on divestment from Israel till next week. The cattle trade continues in Gaza tunnels.
A US representative to the UN strongly reaffirms US commitment to a two state solution and Pres. Obama declares this "a vital national security interest." Hamas denies closing Gaza tunnels and Egypt opens the Rafah crossing. Hamas executes two Palestinians. Israel is considering more settlement construction in occupied East Jerusalem. WJC President Lauder questions US commitment to Israel's security. Ha'aretz reports that Obama is skeptical about Netanyahu's willingness and ability on peace. Settlers uproot 300 olive trees. David Axelrod says a two state solution is in Israel's interests. Israel prepares soldiers for more settler violence. Palestinians increasingly adopt nonviolent protests. Carlo Strenger says any new US peace plan must deal with theological problems. George Hishmeh says Netanyahu's intransigence undermines Obama. Michael Jansen says Israel's new expulsion orders in the West Bank are another violation of international law. Daoud Kuttab describes how Palestinians are affected by Israeli military rule.
Israelis and Palestinians bicker over street names. Israeli soldiers kill two Palestinian militants in Gaza. Egypt closes the Rafah crossing as Israel warns all its citizens to leave the Sinai, and Hamas orders Gaza tunnels to shut down. Controversial new Israeli deportation orders come into effect. Israeli Pres. Peres says a Palestinian state is in Israel's interests. Special Envoy Mitchell will return to the region next week. Shaul Arieli says Israel must give up the idea of exclusive sovereignty in Jerusalem. The Israeli military complains Palestinian protests are not nonviolent. Senators urge Sec. Clinton to heal relations with Israel. Gen. Petraeus calls Israel a strategic ally. The Jerusalem Post confirms PM Netanyahu avoided the nuclear summit for bilateral reasons. A 43-nation plan for managing Mediterranean water resources collapses because Israel will not accept the term "occupied territories." UK advertising authorities warn Israeli tourism officials not to represent the occupied territories as part of Israel. Mahmoud Habboush despairs over Palestinian disunity. Omar al-Sharif says Jordan is changing its policy towards Israel. Rami Khouri says an international peace plan would be better than an American one.
The World Bank says the PA is on track with state building, but hampered by Israeli restrictions. Israel's new military order allowing for the potential eviction of tens of thousands of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank draw heavy criticism. Richard Cohen praises a new film about Israel's West Bank separation barrier. Aluminum and wood will be allowed into Gaza for the first time in three years. Reports say the US is refusing entry to Israeli nuclear scientists. Israeli forces kill a Palestinian in Gaza. Bradley Burston says Middle East experts who claim time is on their side are lying. David Makovsky says there are few prospects for improved relations between Pres. Obama and PM Netanyahu, and Simon Tisdall says it could get worse. Israel's mayor in Jerusalem wants to resume Palestinian home demolitions. Israeli officials say they will reject US proposals for timelines and benchmarks in peace talks. Sacked Palestinian official Rafiq Husseini says he was set up. The Independent looks at the plight of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.