“The burning question in the minds of the Gazan people is why has there been a one year delay in the reconstruction?” writes Bassem Eid. “The answer is simple — both Hamas and Mahmoud Abbas want to hold the purse strings of the reconstruction funds, which donor nations pledged at $5.5 billion.”

“The easing of some of the harsher conditions of the closure may help as many as 100,000 Gazans, but it ignores the basic needs and rights of the other 1.7 million Palestinians in the Strip,” writes Amira Hass.

“Hamas is spying on Egypt, training IS jihadists and smuggling arms — all while cracking down on Gaza’s home-grown Salafists,” writes Avi Issacharoff.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas claimed in a recent interview with an Egyptian paper that Hamas, with which he signed a reconciliation treaty with early last year, is holding secret negotiations with Israel to establish an Arab state in Gaza.

A senior official in Jerusalem said that while the EU wanted to discuss construction of settlements and steps that could threaten the two-state solution, Israel made clear it was prepared only for the talks to deal with improving the economic situation for Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel on Sunday withdrew a request that the cabinet discuss continuing legislation of the Bedouin settlement bill known as the Prawer plan from the point it left off during the term of the previous Knesset.

Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian youth as he fled after throwing a stone at a military vehicle, a B’Tselem investigation reveals.

Israel on Sunday released an Islamic Jihad leader, Khader Adnan, from jail following a deal last month in which he agreed to end a 56-day hunger strike, Islamic Jihad sources in the West Bank said.

Two ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties have warned they would bring down the government over the new state budget, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attempted to walk back post-election promises he made regarding funding for their electorates.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered lawmakers from his Likud faction Sunday to oppose a bill that would institute the death penalty for convicted terrorists, until after it can be sufficiently examined from a legal perspective.

“Not only would the death penalty have no deterrent effect on bona fide terrorists. It’s just plain wrong,” writes Dahlia Scheindlin.

Eight months after the previous Netanyahu government dissolved, in part due to controversy surrounding the “Jewish state bill,” Likud MK Benny Begin on Sunday submitted an amended version of the legislation for debate in a ministerial committee.

Israel is waiting for some response, official or unofficial, from Hamas on the reports that two Israeli civilians are being held in the Gaza Strip; says fate of the two are not connected to return of IDF bodies.

In a report by the Palestinian Legislative Council’s Oversight and Human Rights Committee, the Palestinian Authority is accused of neglecting Gaza’s financial needs, while it is witnessing the deterioration of its people’s living conditions.

A top PLO official recently fired by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas says he was dismissed illegally in a move that bodes ill for Palestinian institutions.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah will not decide on a government reshuffle until after the Eid next weekend, sources told Ma’an Saturday.