Hanan Ashrawi meets visiting delegation from FMEP

What We’re Reading

FMEP in the news

Ashrawi meets visiting delegation from Foundation for Middle East Peace,

PLO Executive Committee Member Hanan Ashrawi met on Sunday with a visiting delegation from the Foundation for Middle East Peace, which included its president Matthew Duss and members of its board of directors, Ambassador (ret.) Richard W. Murphy, Joseph Englehardt, Michael Van Dusen, and Edison W. Dick.

US-Israel relations

Opinion: Donald Trump is wrong about Israel's 'security' wall,

“Trump’s use of Israel’s separation wall as an example of a successful security measure is based on gross ignorance, at best,” writes William Parry.

Opinion: Mattis Could Resolve the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict,

“Finding a way to resolve the conflict without jeopardizing Israel’s security should become an important dimension of the defense dialogue between the two countries,” writes Shai Feldman.

Occupation/Human rights

Opinion: Unilateral actions will not advance the peace process,

“No one has the moral right to advance empty provocations at the expense of the vision of peace,” writes Amir Peretz.

EU pension funds invest billions in businesses linked to Israeli settlements,

Major European pension funds have invested billions of dollars in businesses linked to illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, according to an investigation by a Danish investigative news team.

Amona residents given 48 hours to leave outpost,

IDF says it is ready to carry out eviction order once government gives green light, after settlers on West Bank hilltop are served with notices ahead of court-ordered demolition.

Saudis condemn Israeli building in West Bank, East Jerusalem,

The Saudi cabinet on Monday condemned Israeli settlement-building in the West Bank, as the Jewish state prepared to vote on legalizing illegal outposts.

Israel Police backtrack over injury to Palestinian MK,

When MK Ayman Odeh received a head wound during clashes in Umm el-Hiran a fortnight ago, witnesses contradicted the police claim that he had been hit by stones. A new forensic report throws the official narrative further into doubt — and police spokespeople are now denying their original statements.

Palestinian politics

Palestinians and the Syrian War: Between Neutrality and Dissent,

Like millions of Syrians, Palestinians from Syria have suffered immensely throughout the five-year war. However, unlike other Syrians, their precarious  position as stateless residents of the country has been amplified.

PA hasn’t given up on Trump, senior official says,

Husam Zomlot, who may be the next envoy to the US, says the White House has yet to reach out to Palestinians, but doesn’t subscribe to the idea that it’s completely in Israel’s corner.

Palestinians decry Israel's settlement bill,

The bill, if passed by the Knesset on Tuesday, will allow the confiscation of private Palestinian land in the West Bank.

Gaza

Can Hamas' Haniyeh accept Egyptian demands?,

During their trip to Cairo, Hamas officials heard a long list of Egyptian security demands in exchange for mending ties, and now incoming leader Ismail Haniyeh must sell the deal or be left to rule the Gaza Strip without Egypt’s help.

Israeli politics

Israeli left warns against 'de facto annexation' in Knesset vote,

Approval of the so-called “settlement regulation bill” is tantamount to de facto annexation, opposition and Zionist Union Party head MK Isaac Herzog warned on Monday afternoon.

Probe of Israeli opposition leader Herzog closed,

Attorney-General Mandelblit closed the corruption case against opposition leader Herzog citing insufficient evidence.