“Amid all the preparations for a French-led conference on Israeli-Palestinian peace in the next year, Western officials continue to turn a blind eye to the increasingly autocratic tendencies of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas,” writes Grant Rumley. “The failure of the U.S. and Europe to address Abbas’s autocratic tendencies could have a devastating effect on the long-term prospects for a viable Palestinian state.”

Extending civil law to the settlements, as the justice minister is attempting, lays the legal groundwork for Israel to extend its permanent grip over the West Bank. Obama cannot remain silent.

Five-year plan aims to provide basic humanitarian assistance and create jobs in enclave where unemployment is 40%.

“In his opinion piece ‘Dear Abbas, answer Kerry, and establish a Palestinian state now,’ Mr. Yossi Beilin provides several assertions that are not factual, including the allegation that Palestinians had agreed to establish a state with provisional borders in the past,” writes Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat.

New survey reveals rifts between Jewish, gentile citizens; most people fear they’ll be hurt in terror attack, albeit fewer than before.

The Palestinian Authority’s police force, in cooperation with Israel, has significantly increased its operations in villages and towns around Jerusalem, Palestinian sources said this week. The increased activity is taking place in West Bank areas, designated as Area B.

Egypt will use its influence as chair of the UN Security Council in May to defend the interests of the Palestinian people, the presidency said on Monday.

State comptroller’s draft report into functioning of political-military leadership highlights worrisome failings.

“Israel and Hamas are threatening each other with open warfare over Palestinian factions’ tunnels that lead from Gaza into Israel, though military experts are divided on whether either side would take such action,” writes Adnan Abu Amer.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demonstrates again and again how his political survival is more important to him than the strength and credibility of the Israel Defense Forces,” writes Mazal Mualem.