“The American president has surprised everyone with his enthusiasm for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. But he might not understand what he’s getting into,” writes Rosie Gray.

“The outside-in approach is merely the latest in a series of failed tactics aimed at creating new incentives to make peace, rather than pursuing strategies—withholding financial assistance, to begin with—that steer the parties away from the status quo,” writes Nathan Thrall.

The Arab leaders U.S. President Donald Trump met with Sunday are willing to take steps toward Israel if the Israeli-Palestinian peace process makes progress, Trump told Israeli leaders Monday, a senior Israeli official told Haaretz.

Trump stopped short of endorsing Palestinian statehood, but stressed that if Israelis, Palestinians can make peace, ‘it will begin’ a process leading to regional peace — not the other way around.

Also missing from the president’s comments was any mention of his vision for a road-map to peace.

In a joint appearance at Netanyahu’s residence, the two leaders voiced optimism about prospects of improved ties between Israel and Arab states.

President Trump has arrived in Israel, promising the ultimate deal. Ahead of the big day, a few political activists and commentators shared their thoughts on what, if anything, Trump can bring to the region.

A slew of protests against Donald Trump and American policy await the U.S. president, who visits Israel as the Palestinian prisoners’ hunger strike reaches its 36th day.

“President Abbas assures me he is ready to work toward this goal [of peace] in good faith. And Prime Minister Netanyahu has promised the same,” Trump says in Bethlehem.

“Trump wants to play peacemaker, but he has a weak opening position: zero credibility among Palestinians, thanks to his aversion to the words ‘Palestinian state’ and ‘Israeli occupation’,” writes Hisham Sharabati.

The Arab Orthodox Union scouts of Jerusalem were barred from accompanying US President Donald Trump into the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City on Monday because of the Palestinian flag on their costumes, according to the Arab Orthodox Union Club.

A screen announcing imminent statements by US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the Prime Minister’s Residence, and the livestream of their remarks, noted the location as “Jerusalem, Israel.”

The questions of civil status of East Jerusalem residents and the fate of property they owned on both the east and west sides of the city were interwoven from the very beginning of the discussion around the implications of annexing the Old City and the villages in its vicinity to the State of Israel. Some of the records pertaining to this discussion during the first year of the occupation are presented here.

Russia is hoping its persistence pays off in the Middle East as it seeks to broker talks between the Palestinians and Israelis.

Clashes erupted between local Palestinians and Israeli soldiers who escorted some 4,000 right-wing Israelis to Joseph’s Tomb east of Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank overnight Sunday, when at least two Palestinians were detained and several others suffered from tear gas inhalation.

“Deputy Speaker Bezalel Smotrich’s admiration for the biblical genocidaire Joshua bin Nun leads him to adopt values that resemble those of the German SS,” writes Daniel Blatman.

“Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has strenuously lobbied President Donald Trump on behalf of the Palestinians, but his rival Marwan Barghouti and Hamas are trying to sabotage his efforts,” writes Shlomi Eldar.