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NEWS: PM Netanyahu calls for early elections on September 4, in which he is expected to be returned to office. Palestinian journalists are fighting back against PA moves to censor them in the West Bank. Palestinian refugees reconnect with their families through Facebook. Israel's Supreme Court seems unsympathetic to government requests to delay the court-ordered demolition of a large “unauthorized” settlement outpost. The High Court also denies appeals for release by two hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners being held without charge, as the protest action becomes more widespread. Israel's internal security force recommends the demolition of the homes of two Palestinians convicted of murder. A Fatah official says PM Fayyad will likely remain prime minister even if there is a cabinet reshuffle. Israeli soldiers testify they threw stones at other occupation forces while posing as Palestinians during protests in the West Bank. Palestinian policewomen are breaking gender stereotypes. Pres. Abbas is reportedly trying to recover PLO intelligence documents from the Arafat era from Tunis. Fatah officials say the latest reconciliation talks with Hamas in Cairo yielded no results. COMMENTARY: Ben Birnbaum profiles Fayyad. Akiva Eldar says Pres. Obama's rhetoric will help Netanyahu get reelected in September. Smadar Shir says releasing a conspirator in the assassination of the late PM Rabin invites the next assassination. Uri Avnery says there is a virtual uprising of former military and security officials against Netanyahu, but he'll probably be reelected anyway. Libby Lenkinski says even if Palestinian prisoners under “administrative detention” were to get Israel's occupation version of “due process,” they wouldn't get fair trials anyway. Shay Fogelman says Israel should agree to the prisoners' demands and end “administrative detention.” Yossi Alpher says neither the Israelis nor the Palestinian leaderships seem to have a viable strategy for moving forward. Ghassan Khatib says all those who care about the future of Jerusalem and a two-state solution must act.
NEWS: Palestinians increasingly see nonviolent tactics, like hunger striking, as key to their movement. PM Fayyad says PM Netanyahu is ultimately responsible for prisoners' health. Hungers-striking prisoners appeal to Israeli courts. Israeli prison authorities say prisoners cannot consult their lawyers if they can no longer stand to meet them. Public Security Minister Aharonovitch agrees “administrative detention” should be kept to a minimum. The brother of the assassin of the late PM Rabin is released. The Israeli Navy inaugurates its 4th Dolphin class submarine. Sec. Clinton's top technology adviser tells Palestinian bloggers the US supports Internet freedom. Hamas complains the PA detained 61 of its members in the West Bank last month. An abandoned Israeli military base in the occupied West Bank becomes the latest settlement outpost. Israel removes six large roadblocks near major West Bank towns. COMMENTARY: Saliba Sarsar says Palestinian Christians are disappearing. Adrian Blomfield asks if a revolt against Pres. Abbas is brewing in the West Bank. The CSM interviews former Israeli official Yossi Beilin. Yoel Marcus says if he wins the coming Israeli election, Netanyahu will have a mandate for his policy of doing nothing. Guy Bechor says Israel's regional dominance in deep-sea waters is growing through its expanding submarine fleet. Racheli Malek-Boda says she and other settlers should realize the humanity of the Palestinians around them. Jay Bushinski says there is growing interest in Israel about a "federated state" with the West Bank, but not with Gaza. J.J. Goldberg says a recent conference demonstrated huge rifts between Israeli and Jewish-American perceptions regarding Iran. Patrick Seale says Netanyahu's attitudes are increasingly being challenged within the Israeli establishment. Ahmad Majdoubeh says Arabs and Muslims should keep visiting Jerusalem. George Hishmeh says Israeli politics are in disarray over Iran and the Palestinians.
NEWS: The United Methodist Church votes against divesting from companies that provide equipment to enforce Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories. Hamas says it has been holding secret diplomatic talks with five EU countries. The regional epidemic of foot and mouth disease among livestock has spread to Gaza. Some Palestinian journalists boycott a press freedom reception at the US consulate in Jerusalem in support of hunger striking prisoners. A Likud official says September 4 is the most likely date for the next Israeli election. Some Israelis say the upcoming election make an Israeli attack against Iranian nuclear facilities more unlikely. Palestinian political leaders meet in Cairo. Nuns in Bethlehem protest the next phase of Israel's separation barrier in the occupied West Bank. Hamas officials say Khaled Meshaal may “be asked” to run for another term of Politburo leadership even though he said he would not. An Israeli marathon runner supports Palestinian human rights and says they also face a marathon struggle. COMMENTARY: Raja Shehadeh looks at how Israeli settlement activity has grown relentlessly over the decades and how it has compromised the prospects for peace. Jonathan Rosen says Netanyahu might end up with the largest party in the Knesset and still not be prime minister after the next election. Harriet Sherwood asks why Israel is holding elections now. Sadegh Zibakalam says the Arab uprisings have created a new atmosphere for real, lasting peace with Israel. Aaron David Miller lists five “dumb ideas" about dealing with the Middle East. Frank Barat interviews Jeff Halper about the state of the occupation. Robert Blecher says, difficult and remote as it may seem, a two-state solution is still the most straightforward and only conflict-ending solution for Israel and the Palestinians. Philip Farah says Palestinian Christians are united in opposing the occupation. Elliott Abrams says Hamas is one of the big losers of the “Arab Spring.”
NEWS: The Israeli military has closed an investigation into the killing of 21 members of a family in Gaza in 2009 and says no charges will be filed regarding the tragedy. Hamas denies that Khaled Meshal and the Politburo have been stripped of control of the organization's budget and paramilitary operations. A “blame-game” is hampering a solution to the Gaza energy crisis. Palestinians say new Israeli settlement plans threaten the Palestinian tourism industry. The US is reportedly pressuring the UN Human Rights Commissioner to postpone an investigation into Israeli settlement activity. Speaker Rivlin says the Knesset is likely to be desolved next week. Arye Deri may return to a senior position in the ultra-Orthodox Shas party. Abbas and PM Fayyad separately send condolence letters to PM Netanyahu upon the death of his father. A Palestinian TV station is sued as the PA media crackdown continues. Hezbollah may be stockpiling drones in anticipation of possible conflict with Israel. COMMENTARY: Alon Ben-Meir says Israel's continued independence depends on Palestinian independence. Hadani Ditmars explains how traveling overseas can easily cost Palestinian Jerusalemites their residency permits. Attila Somfalvi says Tzipi Livni's career is not over. Bruce Acks says most Israelis and Palestinians could find a peace agreement if their leaders would permit them the chance. Susan Hattis Rolef says the epidemic of settlement outposts challenges both Israel's rule of law and the prospects for peace with the Palestinians. Tony Karon says Netanyahu's push for a war with Iran is losing momentum. The National says hunger striking Palestinian prisoners are losing world attention, but Osama Al Sharif says the Arab world and others should rally to their cause. Gershom Gorenberg looks at the legacy of Netanyahu's recently deceased extremist father. Hussein Ibish says the PA must stop censoring the Internet.
NEWS: Israel says its inclusion on a UN list of human rights violators is “absurd.” Israel renews its "administrative detention" order against a senior Hamas figure. Four Palestinian protesters are injured by occupation forces at a protest near Ramallah. A new poll shows most Palestinians blame both Hamas and Fatah for the impasse in national unity talks. International Muslim organizations are donating $65 million to the health sector in Gaza. Abbas says he still sees PM Netanyahu as a peace partner. Israeli occupation forces order Palestinians to uproot 1,000 olive trees. A new poll confirms that Jewish Americans vastly prefer Pres. Obama over Mitt Romney. A major European supermarket group decides to boycott all products coming from Israeli settlements. Jewish and Muslim student groups are forging new links on some American campuses. COMMENTARY: Moshe Arens says even if it's ordered by the Supreme Court, evicting settlers from outposts is immoral. Akiva Eldar says Obama didn't need former Shin Bet chief Diskin to inform him that Netanyahu is not interested in peace. Bernard Avishai says Diskin's remarks may be the beginning of a stirring of the Israeli majority against present government policies. Kamel Abu Jaber says Israel isn't a safe place for Arab Christians. Uri Avnery says he's still an optimist and the two-state solution is the only way to end the conflict. Gil Troy and Rashid Khalidi continue their debate about the “Museum of Tolerance” being built on the site of a Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem. Raja Shehadeh says Israeli courts have at times softened the harshness of the occupation but this may have counterintuitively led to its perpetuation. Jeffrey Goldberg says that the hard-line positions of his recently deceased father uniquely position Netanyahu to deliver majority Israeli and Jewish opinion for a peace agreement.
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