Israel says it no longer occupies Gaza after disengaging from the strip of land in 2005.But Palestinians, international organisations, human rights groups and governments, including the United States, argue Gaza is still occupied.
Netanyahu: I Don’t Want a Binational State, but We Need to Control All of the Territory for the Foreseeable Future, Ha’aretz
‘I’m asked if we will forever live by the sword – yes,’ says prime minister.
Jerusalem, Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif
Jordan Agreement Says Israel Will Uphold Temple Mount Exclusivity, The Forward
After meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday and with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and King Abdullah of Jordan in Amman on Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that Israel had promised to maintain the tradition that only Muslims are allowed to pray at a holy site in Jerusalem, an issue at the center of recent violence.
Palestinian FM says Al-Aqsa surveillance ‘a new trap’, Al Jazeera
Unrest continues in West Bank after US said Israeli-Jordanian plan to install cameras inside mosque could calm tensions.
Sources: Netanyahu considering revoking residency from east Jerusalem Arabs, The Jerusalem Post
The prime minister is allegedly mulling the move in response to current wave of violence, sources in Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee say.
Occupation/human rights
Hebron at eye of the storm as death toll rises, Ma’an News
As the death toll has risen across the occupied Palestinian territory, the southern West Bank city of Hebron has found itself at the center of violence.
Fresh Israeli-Palestinian violence after new Al-Aqsa measures, Middle East Eye
A spate of Sunday attacks – including a settler shooting a Palestinian harvesting olives – comes after the announcement of Aqsa security cameras.
Checkpoints stir Palestinian anger in East Jerusalem, Middle East Eye
Concrete blocks and partitions set up around Palestinian neighborhoods disturb every day life.
Settler violence
How to bungle an investigation into settler violence, +972 Magazine
A Palestinian man identifies the Israeli settlers who cut down his olive trees. Police close the case anyway, claiming they have no idea who the perpetrator is — without ever questioning the suspects.
Israeli settler attacks peace activist in West Bank, Middle East Eye
The attack against the Israeli-American peace activist Rabbi Arik Asherman was caught on video.
Car set ablaze in suspected ‘price tag’ attack in East Jerusalem, Ynet News
A car was set on fire in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Umm Tuba early Sunday and the words “administrative revenge” were sprayed next to it, in a suspected “price tag” attack.
Israeli politics
Netanyahu nixes vote on latest Jewish State bill, The Jerusalem Post
The coalition agreement states that a committee with representatives of all coalition factions will draft a Jewish state bill that will get government support, and not a private member bill.
Gaza
Egypt’s siege on Gaza: ‘Rafah opens only for the dead’, Al Jazeera
Palestinians continue to suffer a year after Egypt tightened its severe blockade on Gaza in coordination with Israel.
Palestinian politics
Caught Between Protesters and Israel, Palestinian Security Forces Shift Tactics, The New York Times
The relatively low-key presence of Palestinian security forces at protests surging throughout the West Bank this month suggests a shift after years of close coordination with Israeli agencies.