PM Fayyad explains the state-building program. Palestinians object to
Israel's latest settlement expansion plan in occupied East Jerusalem.
Leaked cables suggest Israel considered Pres. Abbas to be weak and
unpopular and Pres. Peres called the Oslo agreements a mistake. A
former PLO leader dies in Jordan. Fayyad is named among the world's
top 100 thinkers. Aid groups say the Gaza blockade remains
devastating. Israel has a new spy chief. The Non-Aligned Movement
calls on Israel to cease settlement activity. Palestinians mark the
63rd anniversary of the UN partition plan. Gaza farmers are now
exporting to Europe. Akiva Eldar calls PM Netanyahu unreliable.
Israeli hummus is the target of a boycott campaign at Princeton. Abbas
calls settlements a time bomb. Likud MKs and members call for
Netanyahu's ouster. Hassan Barari says the Arabs must make continuing
the occupation more costly than ending it. A sick Palestinian
toddler's fight for her life is complicated by the occupation.
Israeli companies cash in on global counterterrorism. The UN marks the international Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Leaked US diplomatic cables suggests Israel tried to coordinate the Gaza war with the PA, but the PA says it did not cooperate. They also cite Egyptian officials as saying neither Hamas nor Fatah was serious about Palestinian unity. Kadima leader Tzipi Livni says they show a common interest in peace. Tony Blair says Israel must do more to ease conditions in Gaza. Gaza resumes limited exports to Europe. Israeli soldiers wound four Palestinians in Gaza. Israeli officials approve another 137 housing units in occupied East Jerusalem. Israeli human rights workers have video of soldiers shooting bound Palestinian prisoners. Israel launches another effort to improve its international image. The Independent profiles a Palestinian extremist in Gaza. Arab leaders accuse PM Netanyahu of rejecting peace. Hussein Shabokshi says Israeli secularism is dying. Rami Khouri says the lack of an Arab or Palestinian strategy facilitates one-sided US support for Israel. The Arab News says peace cannot depend on Israeli referenda.
Israel has a mixed blessing in the GOP midterm successes. Palestinians issue a report questioning the history of the Western Wall. Israel refuses to allow Palestinians to use a road they have built in Area C.
Italian officials call for easing restrictions in Gaza. Occupation forces seize parts of Nablus. Islamists claim the PA is discriminating against them. A Gaza boy recalls being used as a human shield by Israeli troops. Israeli plans for a train line deep into occupied territory spurs Palestinian concerns. US efforts to restart peace talks stumble. DM Barak says the Israeli cabinet may have to change.
Israel will allow limited exports from Gaza. Activists try to reenergize the Israeli left. AB Yehoshua says Zionism is not an ideology. Settler schools agitate against any settlement freeze.
Israeli scholars say Jews are now a minority between the river and the sea. Two new books look at the refugee issue. Khaled Diab says the EU should pressure Israel on peace. The Forward says the proposed settlement freeze deal is bad for both Israel and the US. George Hishmeh says it's high time for the UN to include Palestine as a member state.
PM Fayyad says Palestinians are committed to green development as well
as independence. Palestinian state building efforts extend into
occupied East Jerusalem. The eviction of a Palestinian family by
settlers in Jerusalem and new Israeli legislation requiring
referendums on peace deals stir tensions. Palestinian courts differ on
punishing land sales to Israelis. Occupation forces destroy a
Palestinian home in Jerusalem. Pres. Abbas says PLO headquarters will
eventually be in Jerusalem. Hamas officials say Fatah officials can
only leave the Gaza Strip if Hamas operatives are released in the West
Bank. Doubts persist about progress on peace. Israel's claims to
Jerusalem leave it internationally isolated. Ha'aretz says Israel's
leaders have handcuffed themselves to the extreme right. Amira Hass
says Israeli generals and not just soldiers should face charges over
the use of human shields. Palestinians clash with occupation forces
over home demolitions. 100 leading Norwegians call for a cultural
boycott of Israel because of the occupation. Alon Ben-Meir says Robert
Wexler would make a good Mideast envoy. Palestinians might use the
Kosovo model for a declaration of independence. The Forward profiles
an Israeli Bedouin diplomat. PLO officials say they will insist on a
complete settlement halt.
Israel is going forward with a bill that would require a referendum for some withdrawals of occupied territory. Palestinians denounce the move. Pres. Obama faces a tough audience in the Middle East. Nablus'
governor speaks about an alleged Hamas assassination plot against him.
Right wing settlers are trying to force a Palestinian family out of their home in occupied East Jerusalem. Akiva Eldar says US will not allow Israel to build in Jerusalem flashpoints. Ha'aretz says settlers are turning water sources in the West Bank into tourist sites. A leader of Palestinian nonviolent protests is held in Israeli prison after completing his sentence. A Jaffa imam is released from jail.
Larry Derfner looks at the treatment of Palestinians by the Israeli legal system. Gershon Baskin says time is running out for Israel to make peace. The Israeli military prepares for more settler violence.
Oliver Miles looks at the difficulties in applying international law to the conflict. The Independent profiles an Israeli-Palestinian marriage. The campaign to free convicted spy Jonathan Pollard continues. Mary Robinson and Lakhdar Brahimi say the Gaza blockade harms women. Ghassan Khatib says settlements make Israel less secure.
Yossi Alpher says the US should promote Palestinian state building rather than focus on settlements.