Eleven-day border closure hits some four million Palestinians as week-long Jewish holiday commences.

After a statement he made Tuesday during a visit to the settlement city of Ma’ale Adumim, east of Jerusalem, the Palestinians and some Western media outlets are convinced he is. His office, however, was hesitant to discuss the matter.

The political front is stalemated, and the occupation grinds on—but some Palestinians are creating their own facts on the ground.

Not a single Israeli outlet covered the incident.

Egypt has informed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that Hamas will not discuss disarmament as part of reconciliation talks with Fatah, and will not consider the possibility before a peace deal is reached with Israel, the London-based pan-Arabic daily Rai al-Youm reported Thursday.

A Fatah and Hamas delegation is preparing to head to Cairo next Tuesday to hold meetings in favor of applying the reconciliation agreement signed in Cairo in May 2011, member of Fatah’s revolutionary council Fayiz Abu Aita said Wednesday.

Saleh al-Arouri, a senior member of Hamas’ military wing responsible for the organization’s militant activities in the West Bank, was appointed deputy head of the organization’s political bureau on Thursday, replacing Musa Abu Marzook.

A Hamas delegation went to Russia to keep Moscow in the loop on Palestinian-Israeli problems and the Palestinian quest for statehood, to discuss the Palestinian reconciliation and to enlist Russia to pressure the international Quartet to lift the siege imposed on Gaza and provide humanitarian aid.

Israel’s intelligence community does not think a Fatah-Hamas reconciliation will last in the long run, and the current Israeli government hopes it is right.

Attempts by Arab countries to oppose Israel’s candidacy for a nonpermanent seat at the UN Security Council have not gone unnoticed in the Arab League and Arab foreign ministers’ meetings.

While core elements of the relationship remain in place, the diplomatic crisis threatens energy cooperation projects, joint employment ventures.

Jordan reportedly excluded Palestinian investors from the West Bank from investing inside the kingdom, which some analysts link to the talks about finding a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, namely by creating a Jordanian-Palestinian confederation.

“The official Israeli government body that accredits journalists has just been honored by the country’s PR association for enhancing Israel’s image abroad. Anyone who values an independent and free press should be alarmed,” writes Michael Omer-Man.