The tough comments by Hamas’s leader, Ismail Haniyeh, provided a reminder of the long road that lies ahead after this week’s launch of talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement.

“With Russian involvement, American support, and Israel’s tacit agreement, the Palestinians are taking active steps toward national reconciliation,” writes Menachem Klein.

While Israeli Arab lawmakers see the reconciliation attempts between Hamas and Fatah as a sign for possible peace between the rivals, Israeli Jewish lawmakers view it as a cynical attempt to gain favor with the general public.

Sissi says reconciliation between rival factions could lead to wider regional peace; Hamas welcomes Cairo’s efforts.

If the road will be completed and its southern part built, connecting Al-Za’ayyim to Al-Azariya and Abu Dis, Israel will be able to argue that Israeli construction in the area does not separate the West Bank because there is a transportation route for Palestinians.

Based on information from a well-placed government source, it now appears that Netanyahu has recently reversed his previous instructions to refrain from publishing the Givat Hamatos tenders.

Israel is not complying with a UN Security Council resolution demanding a halt to all settlement activity and instead is continuing to expand settlements, making a two-state solution “increasingly unattainable,” the United Nations envoy for the Mideast said Monday.

“In Jerusalem and across the West Bank, settlers exploit archaeological sites as ideological-political tools,” writes Akiva Eldar.

US President Donald Trump reportedly told United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres that in his efforts to mediate a Middle East peace deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been a “bigger problem” than Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.