“The United Nations has predicted that Gaza would be unlivable by 2020. But they are wrong. It is unlivable right now,” writes Bill Corcoran, president of Americans for Near East Refugee Aid.

One-third of Americans think the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement presents a legitimate strategy against Israel, while nearly two-thirds see it as anti-Semitic, a new poll found.

“From economics, to health, to venturing into public spaces, Palestinian women feel their security is often at risk,” writes Ylenia Gostoli.

Residents of the village of Deir Istiya, located next to the West Bank settlement Ariel, have been nonviolently protesting the blocking off access to their farmland by the Israeli army, which affects the lives of 500 families.

Former Mossad director Efraim Halevy has been an outspoken critic of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and once said that Jewish extremism was a bigger threat to Israel than nuclear Iran.

“Since 2001, Labor party leaders have done little to confront the security narrative of the ruling Likud party and its partners,” write Nathan Hersh and Abe Silberstein.

“Never has a prime minister appointed a defense minister so far beyond the consensus,” writes Alon Mizrahi.

Housing Minister Yoav Galant (Kulanu) reportedly told US Jewish leaders last week that the official Israeli government policy was not to build in the West Bank. Galant’s comments represented a break with the right-wing government’s support for Israeli settlement in the West Bank, though he admitted that building was ongoing under the aegis of other government ministries.

The cabinet on Monday morning unanimously approved Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman as defense minister as a looming coalition crisis dwindled and the government moved to expand its membership.