France on Friday presented a document to the United Nations Security Council outlining the practical steps they plan to take to advance negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians, which include holding an international meeting on the peace talks in April ahead of beginning of direct negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians in July.

“The proposed French initiative follows a familiar pattern, and indeed some would say it is outdated. So far, there is no reason to believe it will go anywhere because the political stars are not aligned today in its favour,” writes John Bell.

In an interview with the Jerusalem Post, UN Mideast envoy Nickolai Mladenov warns that very soon the two-state solution will not be realistic any more.

A deal may be struck Sunday between the Palestinian Authority and Israel to release hunger striker Mohammed al-Qiq from Israeli custody, the Palestinian Ma’an news agency reported Saturday, quoting Palestinian officials.

Documentation of a Friday stabbing attack at Jerusalem’s Old City in which two Border Police officers were lightly wounded shows that the assailant was shot many times by Israeli officers, even after he already lay on the ground, before succumbing to his wounds.

“The orchestrated onslaught against Israeli anti-occupation groups have led to death threats and physical attacks. But we will not be scared — we are determined to save our country from the same messianic, nationalistic, and racist forces that harm it,” writes Yuli Novak of Israeli veterans’ group Breaking the Silence.

“The findings highlight broad themes in Palestinian attitudes: Diplomacy fails, and violence may be cathartic, but ultimately harms their interests,”writes Dahlia Scheindlin. “Not only do they see no hope or horizon in the negotiating process meant to lead to a state, but the existence of statehood even as an idea is dwindling along with the territory, in their eyes. The sense of doors slamming on all sides, in my analysis, creates the most fertile possible ground for incitement and copycat tendencies to be effective. Therefore, despite the worsening conditions and falling support for an intifada, it is hard to see how the current violence ends.”

“New Hamas-Fatah unity talks in Doha reflect rival groups’ need to break away from current crises, but past failures may overshadow future deals,” writes Abdulrahman Murad.

“While the idea of creating the post of a PA vice president may be appealing as a solution to succession, the devil is in the details, some of which make it impractical if not impossible,” writes Ghaith al-Omari.