Six Palestinian activists have begun a hunger strike demanding their immediate release, after being held without charge and tortured for more than six months by the Palestinian Authority, according to a Ramallah-based prisoner and human rights group.

Along with a number of Arab countries, Egypt has been making recent efforts to achieve reconciliation between President Mahmoud Abbas and dismissed Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan in conjunction with the Palestinian preparations for local elections.

The Palestinian Authority will hold presidential elections within one to two years following a series of political steps, a senior Palestinian official told The Times of Israel on Thursday, predicting an end to an impasse that has left PA President Mahmoud Abbas in power for seven years beyond his official term.

“Usually readers weigh in to dismiss my opinions and insult my lineage. This time a fair number of readers wrote to tell me what the Palestinians actually believe,” writes J. J. Goldberg. “They looked at a piece of scientific research, saw that it doesn’t confirm their own prior beliefs and decided that it’s made up and that they know more than the experts.”

The European Union issued a statement late Thursday condemning Israel’s decision the previous day to approve the construction of over 460 new Israeli homes over the Green Line, calling it “a serious concern.”

Defence minister says government will abide by court ruling, but pressure group says residents will simply be moved metres down road.

The Israeli army shut down Palestinian radio station A-Sanabel in the early hours of Wednesday morning, arresting five of employees and confiscating equipment. According to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, the station was closed “due to inciting broadcasts.” However, the IDF Spokesperson could not provide examples or statistics on such incitement.

The wife of a prominent Palestinian journalist and critic of the Islamist terror group that rules the Gaza Strip said Hamas has arrested her husband. Mohammed Othman’s wife, Huda, said Hamas officers arrested him at his home on Thursday after showing up with a warrant for his arrest.

“With the reconciliation agreement now signed between Israel and Turkey, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has practically forgotten his demands to lift the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip,” writes Akiva Eldar.

For three hours, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ofIsrael held forth on all sorts of topics — on Israel and the Middle East, on his record and on his plans. One subject that Mr. Netanyahu studiously avoided in his expansive conversation with American visitors last weekend, though, was the United States election.

Israeli police announced on Thursday that in their investigation into allegations of corruption by Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog, they did not find evidence of criminal intent, and have delivered their findings to the Tel Aviv District Court.