According to Peace Now, a left-wing Israeli NGO that monitors settlement activity, the number of construction starts in the settlements was 17 percent above the annual average in 2017.

“The EU is strongly opposed to Israel’s settlement policy which is illegal under international law and an obstacle to peace,” the EU spokesperson’s office wrote in a statement.

The U.N. political chief called on Israel Wednesday to ensure that urgently needed humanitarian supplies for the Gaza Strip are not “held hostage to political and security developments.”

The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees suggested that the United States slashed his budget early this year to punish the Palestinians for their criticism of the American recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, but he warned that the Palestinian refugee issue will not go away.

“It is not tools — new organizations and programming — that are lacking. It is a willingness to listen to Diaspora Jews and change course from policies and attitudes which repel us,” writes Debra Shushan.

“Salazar’s election would be a breakthrough for [New York City’s] Jewish left: proof that their institutions can become a pathway to formal political power, that anti-Zionist Jews can win high-profile elections.”

Israel said on Thursday a Palestinian gunman killed by its forces on the Gaza Strip border this week was a nurse working for Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) and that it was seeking an explanation from the international aid group.

Speaking during a visit to the communities in the Gaza periphery, Liberman said he is “not involved” and does not believe in an accord with Hamas.

“Israel is the one that will pay the price if [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s] sanctions against Gaza continue or intensify,” the group said. “Israel is the one responsible for ending the current situation that is coordinated and encouraged by [Abbas].”