As violence continues in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, tensions within the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) appear to be rising, with critics accusing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of increasingly trying to weaken and silence opponents.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said Thursday that a push for a UN resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlement expansion will be put on hold to focus instead on a French proposal for a peace conference.

A comment made by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas earlier this week about the PA’s security cooperation with Israel has caused outrage in the various Palestinian factions.

The Gaza-based Hamas terrorist group deployed fighters along the border between the southern Strip and Egypt, the commander of the organization’s security forces said Thursday. According to Israel’s Walla website, Hussein Abu Adrah said the deployment came at the request by Egyptian authorities, and was meant to “enhance border security, in order to maintain the security of Egypt.”

The trial of Sergeant Elor Azaria, a soldier indicted for the killing of an incapacitated Palestinian knife-attack suspect in Hebron last month will mostly likely begin soon, but it isn’t really necessary. If public opinion and legal precedent tell us anything, his fate has already been sealed and his future looks very bright indeed.

Only a month after being launched, a new initiative aimed at fostering more fair and equal representation and coverage of Arab citizens in Israeli media has had a dramatic, positive impact on the number of Arab experts interviewed on Israeli television and radio broadcasts.

Palestinian journalists are increasingly threatened, arrested and interrogated just for doing their jobs. And for the most part, Israeli journalists remain silent.

Deputy Palestinian Information Minister Mohammed Khalifa tells Al-Monitor that, while Israel blames them for incitement, right-wing Israelis are responsible for the violence.

Israel closed all points of entry between the occupied West Bank, the Gaza strip, and Israeli territory on Friday for the Jewish holiday of Passover, announcing that the lockdown will continue into Saturday.

Sen. Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, said declaring Israeli ownership of the Golan Heights was not “timely” while Syria was mired in civil war.