“Once again, Israeli-Palestinian relations are at an impasse. Unlike myriad previous times, however, many on both sides and in the international community are giving up on the possibility of conflict resolution in the near future,” writes Natan Sachs. “Many are even rethinking their basic assumptions about whether and how this conflict might be resolved.”

Israeli police can now use snipers to open fire on stone-throwing Palestinian and Bedouin youth in some parts of the country. While government officials say the snipers are non-lethal, the weapons have killed Palestinian children in the past.

“If the penalty for throwing a stone is not much different than the price for firing a gun then the nature of the civilian struggle is likely to change,” writes Odeh Bisharat.

“End the occupation, and extend full civil rights to Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem,” writes Lisa Goldman. “It’s that simple.”

“If live ammunition hasn’t stopped stone throwing in the West Bank, what makes the prime minister think it will work in Jerusalem?” asks Michael Omer-Man. “The one thing we can be sure the change in policy will do is kill more Palestinians.”

More than half of Palestinians no longer support a two-state solution to the conflict with Israel, a survey released on Monday showed, rejecting the goal that has underpinned four decades of international diplomacy.

As tensions continue to simmer in Jerusalem’s Old City, Nahum Barnea goes to the Temple Mount and speaks with a sheikh, who explains the limits of reconciliation, and an Israeli former security commander, who explains the importance of the status quo.

The leader of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, Raed Salah, expects the outbreak of a third intifada – or a Palestinian uprising – in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem if the situation there remains unchanged.

Agreeing to Dani Dayan’s appointment would be tantamount to legitimizing settlement enterprise, a delegation including three former Israeli ambassadors told the Brazilian government.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in conversation with a number of European diplomats last week that he does not intend to announce the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority or the cancellation of the Oslo Accords during his upcoming speech at the United Nations General Assembly, a senior Israeli official told Haaretz.

Israel has toughened restrictions on exiting Gaza and canceled a quota for permits for medical treatment in Israel and the West Bank given to thousands of patients with non-urgent medical conditions.