Mixing nationalism and religion on the Temple Mount

What We’re Reading

Pic of the day: Israeli soldiers use tear gas against protesters in Bethlehem.

Sacred to the Nation,

“Netanyahu’s awful choice of PR chief reveals how nationalism feeds the conflict at Jerusalem’s holiest spot,” writes Gershom Gorenberg.

US-Israel relations

Bibi and Barack: Scenes from a Marriage,

Amir Tibon and Tal Shalev document “the worst relationship between a U.S. President and an Israeli prime minister ever—as autopsied by the people closest to them.”

US: EU product labeling is not a boycott of Israel,

The European Union’s guidelines on consumer labels for Israeli products produced over the pre-1967 lines is not tantamount to a boycott of Israel, Edgar Vasquez, a State Department spokesman, told The Jerusalem Post.

West Bank/East Jerusalem unrest

Palestinian, 23, shot dead during Hebron-area clashes,

Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian man Friday during clashes in the town of Halhul north of Hebron in the occupied West Bank.

Shooting attack leaves two Israelis dead near Hebron,

Two Israeli civilians – a father and a son – were shot dead and another youth was wounded in a terrorist shooting outside of Otniel on Route 60 in the South Mount Hebron region on Friday afternoon.

Occupation/Human rights

EU Labelling and the Challenge to “Greater Israel”,

“If properly explained and pursued consistently on the other hand, EU differentiation can have a beneficial political impact by re-affirming international respect for the Green Line and helping to buttress the viability of a two state solution to the conflict,” writes Hugh Lovatt.

Indyk: Settlement freeze would make Abbas a peace partner ‘tomorrow’,

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas could be a partner for peace “tomorrow” if Israel were to impose a freeze on settlement construction, former US special envoy Martin Indyk said Thursday.

For some Israelis, EU label on settlement goods is a boon,

The settlements are illegal under international law and considered by some countries as major stumbling blocks to peace efforts, with those in the West Bank and East Jerusalem built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state. But while efforts to single out products from such areas have gained steam, others have seen an opportunity.

Opinion: Why can't Palestinians harvest olives in peace?,

“Data shows that the police simply cannot prevent Israeli felons from ruining the yearly Palestinian olive harvest,” writes Yossi Gurvitz.

Israeli Army Begins Broad Reserve Call Up for West Bank Deployment in 2016,

The army is preparing for the possibility of deploying as many as 70 reserve battalions on unplanned operational activity in the West Bank next year.

Gaza

Israel to build underground barrier around Gaza Strip,

Israel plans to build an underground barrier around the besieged Gaza Strip, officials announced on Wednesday.

Israeli politics

How a year of war and terror changed Arab-Israeli views of their country,

In April 2014, nearly 60 percent of Israel’s 1.7 million Arab citizens said they felt “part of the state and its problems.” The 11 months that followed saw the nationalistically motivated murders of four teenagers — three Jewish and one Arab — a two-month war in the Gaza Strip, a wave of terror in Jerusalem and a tense election campaign.