Hamas tones down rhetoric for Palestinian elections

What We’re Reading

A Gaza of Shopping Malls With Nary a Fighter in Sight,

“Hamas appeals to voters by promising good government, roads with no potholes, public parks and other middle class desires,” writes David Rosenberg. “Compare that to a Fatah Facebook posting last week that noted the party’s accomplishments include killing 11,000 Israelis and ‘sacrificing 170,000 martyrs’ for the Palestinian cause.”

Opinion: No One's House Should Be Demolished. But if That's the Law, It Must Hold for Jews as Well,

In considering the petition of the Abu Khdeir family to demolish the homes of their son’s murderers, the court must recognize the ineffectiveness of the policy as a whole and the racist reality of demolitions only for Palestinians.
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UN report: West Bank house demolitions up 25%,

The number of Palestinian homes demolished by Israel has sharply increased this year, leading experts to question Israel’s agenda.

How Israel is trying to enforce gag orders beyond its borders,

At Israel’s request, Twitter is blocking Israelis from viewing certain tweets published overseas. Similar take-down notices have been sent to other international online platforms, the Justice Ministry confirms.

US ‘troubled’ by demolitions of EU-funded Palestinian homes,

State Department says ‘provocative’ razing of West Bank structures ‘part of an ongoing process of land seizures’ and ‘denial of Palestinian development.’

Opinion: Rejecting the Occupation Is Not the Same as Rejecting Israel's Right to Exist,

“By this formula, recognizing Israel cannot be separated from recognizing its right to continue occupying the territories, and therefore the occupation must continue,” writes Zvi Bar’el.

Israel to reinforce West Bank barrier,

Israel began building its controversial separation barrier in 2002 after a wave of suicide bombings. Just over 60% of it is complete and after recent attacks on Israelis by Palestinians, Israel has promised to reinforce areas and make it harder for people to cross.