65% of Palestinians think Abbas should step down

What We’re Reading

Palestinian politics

Poll: 65% of Palestinians want Abbas out,

“A recent opinion poll showed that a majority of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip want President Mahmoud Abbas to resign, but the success of any elected replacement will be contingent on international approval,” writes Adnan Abu Amer.

Occupation/Human rights

Four Out of Five East Jerusalemites Live in Poverty, a Sharp Rise Over Past Years,

Separation wall cited as key reason for growing impoverishment, along with the upsurge in violence and lack of welfare benefits.

EU: Israeli accusations of ‘colonialism’ false and offensive,

The European Union on Wednesday dismissed strident criticism by an Israeli official — who, among other things, had accused the organization of “colonialism” — as “offensive, inaccurate and inappropriate.”

Will retaliatory measures on Tel Aviv attackers' hometown curb violence?,

Following the Tel Aviv attack, Israel has completely isolated Yatta, the hometown of the perpetrators, under its policy of collective punishment.

Palestinian family resists eviction: 'I will not leave',

An Israeli court has ordered Mazen Qerish to vacate the home where his family has lived for eight decades.

Settlers crowd-fund construction of illegal outpost on Palestinian land,

After Israeli security forces demolished two structures in an illegal settlement outpost near Hebron, settlers are raising money to rebuild on an Israeli crowd-funding website.

Gaza

Israelis who live along Gaza border: Stop the next war,

Israelis who live along Gaza border suffer more than anybody in Israel whenever war breaks out. A group of local residents recently marched on the Erez military crossing into the Strip, demanding that leaders from Israel, Hamas, and the world, find a solution to the violence and hope for a normal life.

Israel plans for billion-dollar artificial island off Gaza coast,

Israel is advancing a plan to build a billion-dollar artificial island off the coast of Gaza to connect the coastal enclave to the rest of the world, the country’s Intelligence and Transport Minister said on Monday.

Israeli politics

Michael Oren advises Netanyahu not to sign US aid deal,

Oren has taken a risk by promoting a point of view opposed by his party leader, Moshe Kahlon. When Kahlon urged Netanyahu to sign a deal as soon as possible at Monday’s Kulanu faction meeting with cameras rolling and Oren by his side, the former ambassador raised eyebrows by leaving the room.