Palestinian leaders agree to meet in Gaza, and independent figures prepare to receive Pres. Abbas. Egypt resumes natural gas exports to Israel. Daoud Kuttab says the murder of settlers is unacceptable and that it remains to be seen if popular protests for Palestinian unity will have any lasting impact. A Palestinian man is attacked inside a settlement. The Israeli military renews orders to forcibly keep Gazans away from the border. Jordan says settlements threaten peace. Gaza
NGOs call on Hamas to investigate attacks on peaceful national unity rallies, in which at least one person was killed. Ari Shavit says settlements are Israel's nuclear meltdown. Some residents of occupied East Jerusalem will no longer pay local taxes. A new initiative seeks to use Israeli flight attendants for public diplomacy. D. Bloomfield says PM Netanyahu is presiding over terrible PR. Larry Derfner says to prevent future atrocities, Palestinians must loose their victim mentality. Settlers vow to never leave the occupied territories. Sec. Clinton says Egypt will maintain its peace treaty with Israel. JJ Goldberg says the murder of the settler family shows the urgency, not the futility, of Israel working with the Palestinians. George Hishmeh says Israel may need a change of leadership.
David Remnick says Pres. Obama is right to pursue the establishment of a Palestinian state. Settlers bond over the murder of a family. Hamas forces violently break up Palestinian unity rallies in Gaza. Pres. Abbas says he would travel to Gaza for unity and Hamas says they would welcome him. Two Hamas men are killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza. Israel unveils seized arms. Abbas says he will not run for another term. Uruguay recognizes Palestine. Jordan urges a two-state solution. Aluf Benn says DM Barak must join the opposition. France says EU recognition of Palestine is "a possibility." The film "Jenin, Jenin" continues to spark controversy. Nahum Barnea says Israel is only punishing itself with settlement expansion. Israel says it will build a new wall along the border with Jordan. Republicans in the House of Representatives are floating a bill that would force the Executive to
move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. The National says PM Fayyad is right that a fractured Palestinian society cannot form a state. Mkhaimar Abusada looks at security from a Palestinian
perspective. Amor Boubakri looks at what the Arab Peace Initiative says about regional security.
Demonstrators in Gaza call for Palestinian national unity. The Israeli navy intercepts a ship carrying weapons. Israelis remember Gilad Schalit. Jewish groups protest the screening of a new film at the UN. The LA Times says the killing of a settler family is part of a cycle of violence. Settlers are still outraged and erect a new unauthorized outpost. An announcement on the new PA cabinet is expected next week. Israel releases a leader of Palestinian nonviolent protests. Few hopes
are attached to PM Netanyahu's new peace plan. Nehemia Shtrasler says Netanyahu is exploiting the murder of settlers. The Danish company says it will stop operating in the occupied territories. Palestinian citizens of Israel compete over music. Settlers throw stones at Palestinians. Gershon Baskin says without a Palestinian state, Israel cannot continue to exist either. Daud Abdullah says Europeans have lost respect and affection for Israel. The Gulf News says the murder
of settlers is unacceptable, but is no excuse for settlement expansion. Uri Avnery says Israel's leadership does not know how to respond to Arab change.
Israel hunts for killer of a settler family, and vows more settlement construction in response to the murders drawing US criticism. Pres. Abbas calls the murders "inhuman" and says the PA would have prevented them if they could have. The killings spark fears of renewed violence, and even Jewish terrorism, as settlers lash out. Palestinians of all political stripes seem embarrassed by the attack. Hamas says the culprits may not be Palestinians and insists the attack has no connection to Gaza. No major Israeli policy changes are expected. Some Palestinians in the West Bank honor a hijacking leader. FM Lieberman says Hamas could take over the West Bank. Israel's mayor in Jerusalem
says the city will never be divided. Foreign Policy looks at the plight of Bedouins in the Negev.
Hussein Ibish argues that the "Arab street" is both a pernicious myth and a dynamic reality that bears no resemblance to the bogeyman of the Western imagination. Relatives say Israel is secretly holding a Palestinian man from Gaza. PM Netanyahu is under heavy political pressure. Israeli Amb. Oren says his country welcomes Arab democracy. Uri Dromi says Israel needs a new leadership for peace. A Gaza crossing is still closed due to a transport strike as Hamas urges Egypt to ease movement of people. Netanyahu's new adviser could be a sign of change. Netanyahu requests a meeting with Pres. Obama. Hamas may be planning to resume operations in the West Bank. Israeli leftists plan a new settlement. Bedouins reject compensation from the Israeli government. Larry Derfner takes another look at pro-Israel arguments. A former Mossad chief doubts a deal between Israel and the Palestinians is possible. Israel may soon have its first museum of Arab culture and art. A Knesset committee will investigate the activities of J Street. Ahmad Majdoubeh says Israel may face Palestinian protests. The Jordan Times denounces Netanyahu's position on the Jordan Valley. Aaron David Miller says there may be a flurry of peace process activity coming up, but prospects of success bleak.