“Trump didn’t create Netanyahu’s legal troubles. But Trump has given him the opportunity to use bulldozers in occupied territory for the short-term goal of saving himself politically—and for his longer-term goal of cementing Israeli rule over the West Bank,” writes Gershom Gorenberg.

Senate Democrats vow tough hearing on David Friedman as advocates of a two-state solution ramp up their lobbying.

“It is obvious that the government – often labeled the most right-wing government in Israel’s history – wanted to soften the blow of the Amona evacuation,” writes Herb Keinon.

For many in the Israeli settlement of Bet El, deep in the occupied West Bank, Donald Trump’s choice of Jared Kushner as his senior adviser on the Middle East is a sign of politics shifting in their favor.

The announcement came less than 24 hours after Israel announced the advancement and/or authorization of 3,000 homes in other settlements.

Spot the difference, in pictures.

Twelve homes in a West Bank village are handed demolition orders. Meanwhile, construction continues unabated in West Bank settlements.

Police said Yaqub al-Qi’an’s headlights were switched off when police officers shot at his car. A video analysis by Forensic Architecture and Activestills appears to disprove that claim.

‘We struggled for 20 years to get our land back,’ says mayor of nearby Palestinian town. ‘Our feeling is indescribable.’

The Palestinian UN ambassador accused Israel of an “extreme barrage of illegal behavior” over the last 10 days and demanded that the UN Security Council take action.

There is no target date for the appointment of the Palestinian organization’s secretary-general. While Ismail Haniyeh seems to have the best chance, the Hamas parliament could decide to extend Khaled Mashal’s mandate by another year.