Top news stories from Israel/Palestine: January 10, 2018

What We’re Reading

Occupation/Human rights

Israel to approve 1,200 settlement homes in West Bank,

Israel is set to approve the construction of more than one thousand settlement units in the occupied West Bank, the defense ministry said.

Jerusalem's political orphans,

Some 150,000 Palestinians living in Jerusalem neighborhoods on the eastern side of the Israeli-built wall snaking in and out of Jerusalem and the West Bank continue to live in a legal and administrative limbo.

Detained, Arrested and Harassed: The Life of Palestinian Teens in East Jerusalem,

Under Israeli law, minors can be arrested only in rare circumstances and held for the shortest time possible. But human rights organizations say the security services ride roughshod over this when it comes to young Arabs in neighborhoods like Silwan.

The Paramedics of Jerusalem,

Palestinian ambulances can be stopped at every checkpoint, the vehicle searched and emergency responders interrogated.

'You Want a Girl? How Many?': Tapes Reveal How Right-wing Group Tried to Make East Jerusalem Jewish,

“You want a girl? One, two, how many do you want … how old do you want?” The speaker is Matityahu Dan, chairman of the Ateret Cohanim organization and a driving force behind Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem. He is offering a girl, plus Viagra if needed, to the Palestinian owner of a property his organization seeks to acquire.

After settler murder, IDF beefs up West Bank presence,

The Israeli military increased presence in the Samaria region of the West Bank Wednesday following a deadly terror attack near the Havat Gilad outpost Tuesday evening.

Liberman: We’ll look into legalizing outpost after resident killed by terrorists,

Defense Minister Avidgdor Liberman said Wednesday that he had ordered his office to examine the possibility of recognizing an illegal West Bank settlement outpost after one of its residents was slain by terrorists in a drive-by shooting attack the night before.

US-Israeli/Palestinian relations

Trump administration split on cutting aid to Palestinian refugees,

The Trump administration is headed for a showdown over whether to follow through on threats by President Trump and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley to cut off U.S. funding for Palestinian refugees. It’s a major test case of Trump’s new approach of using aid to punish foreign governments for bad behavior.

After terror attack, US ambassador accuses Palestinians of preventing peace,

The US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, launched a scathing attack on the Palestinians and their leadership on Wednesday, blaming them squarely for the lack of peace with Israel.

Palestinians insist US must rescind Jerusalem decision for peace talks to resume,

The chief negotiator for the Palestinians said they will not resume any kind of peace negotiations with Israel until the United States walks back its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Israeli politics

Isaac Herzog tells Arab media he hopes for a regional deal,

Opposition Leader Isaac Herzog, in an interview published Tuesday, spoke of the changes happening in the region, his plans for peace with the Palestinians, and how he forfeited his political position in an attempt to reach a comprehensive agreement with Israel’s neighbors.

Israeli Minister on Gaza Rocket Fire: The Time Has Come for Dead Palestinians,

Minister Uri Ariel said Wednesday that there need to be more dead and wounded Palestinians in Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian politics

Abbas' electricity deal an olive branch to Gaza,

By convincing Israel to restore Gaza’s power supply, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas hopes to regain the trust of Gazans ahead of a Palestinian National Council meeting.