Top news stories from Israel/Palestine: December 14, 2017

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FMEP Resources

Settlement Report: December 14, 2017,

A weekly report on Israeli settlement activity by the Foundation for Middle East Peace. This week covering: Following Trump’s Jerusalem proclamation, Israel hints new plans for the East Jerusalem settlements of Atarot and Pisgat Ze’ev; a special committee fast tracks approval of a Jerusalem cable car project; and more.

Gaza

Israel closes Gaza border crossings after Palestinian rocket strikes,

Israel announced the closure of its Gaza border crossings on Thursday in response to daily rocket fire from the enclave over the past week after U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital stoked Palestinian anger.

US-Israeli/Palestinian relations

Trump's New Jerusalem Policy: Early Assessment,

The full implications of President Trump’s proclamation declaring U.S recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and his announcement of the commencement of the process to move the U.S. embassy there, remain to be seen.

Palestine's Vatican Envoy: President Trump, You Poisoned the Peace Process - and Our Christmas,

“The U.S. president’s Jerusalem decision is a black hole that will swallow every achievement of the Mideast peace process and dealt a harsh blow to moderates. But as a nation, we Palestinians will be resurrected again,” writes Issa Kassissieh.

White House: Abbas’s rhetoric ‘has prevented peace for years’,

The White House on Wednesday panned Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s comments against the US and its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, saying such rhetoric “has prevented peace for years.”

Mike Pence’s visit to Israel postponed for a few days,

Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to Israel has been postponed by several days so he can stay in Washington to promote the Trump administration’s tax reforms in Congress, according to Israeli reports.

Jordan is boiling: How to contain the popular anger at Trump's Jerusalem decision,

With tension rising, Jordanian MPs are due to put the peace agreement signed in 1994 under review in a strong message to Israel.

Occupation/Human rights

EU backed into a corner on Israel-Palestine,

Trump’s Jerusalem announcement and Netanyahu’s visit have placed unprecedented strain on Europe’s Israel-Palestine policy.

WATCH: Israeli troops taking away 7 and 8-year-old Palestinian boys,

Israeli Border Police officers were filmed dragging very young Palestinian children into their jeep in a West Bank refugee camp on Tuesday. The footage, provided by Israeli human rights group B’Tselem and shot by one of its volunteers in Bethlehem, shows the officers detaining the three boys, aged seven and eight.

Former Residents of Evacuated West Bank Outpost to Be Housed on Private Palestinian Land,

Evacuees of the disputed Amona outpost are being redirected to a plot of land that was expropriated from Palestinians for ‘public use,’ but no public buildings were erected there.

China calls for early resumption of Palestinian-Israeli talks,

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said China supports the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with full sovereignty on the basis of the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.